Draco

[Imelyen]

Bravo Draco, Bravo...Finally he does something noteworthy. I always thought he was just a pampered little prince who couldn't think up an intelligent plan if it bit him on the butt....but the end proved me wrong (although, it didnt QUITE make up for the crying in the bathroom...)

[thestral]

yeah that crying in the bathroom thing had me stumped. and his hesitation in killing. i don't think he'll turn good, but maybe he doesn't have the guts to be a DE after all. but yeah. i was surprised he had the brains to mastermind that cupboard plan. just shows, never underestimate anyone.

[Scarleteyes]

What was he cryinf about. I can understand not wanting to die but couldn't he suck it up. Was it his idea about the cupboards or did he-who-must-not-be-named idea. If it was his then he definately had more brains then I thought he had, anyone who can fix something without really knowing what they are doing would be incredible hard. I give him props yet I still thought the whole time that he was after Harry not Dumbledore.

[Ginny-DA]

The crying in the bathroom may have not been very manly, but you've got to remember however nasty Draco is he hadn't killed anyone before. There is a world of difference in hexing someone and killing them. It doesn't necessarily mean that he is not pure evil. If he had killed in the heat of the moment it would've been different, but this was a premeditated thing, he had months to plan it.

And Draco is very narcissistic (well it would be in his nature when his mother is called Narcissa!) So he is always looking out for number one. He wouldn't want to die for a cause no matter how worthy he felt it was!

[Un'Anima Persa]

Seriously, if u and your family were gonna die if u didnt kill someone, wouldnt you be in tears?

I really do think he was on the cowardly side though. After all t hat talk and the disarming, he should have gone through with it instead of leaving it to Snape.

Which brings me to a question

If Snape hadn't killed Dumbledore, does that mean he would have failed to keep the unbreakable vow, only coz Draco wouldnt let hime help? Would Snape have died because he didnt keep his vow?

[Ginny Potter]

The crying in the bathroom may have not been very manly, but you've got to remember however nasty Draco is he hadn't killed anyone before. There is a world of difference in hexing someone and killing them. It doesn't necessarily mean that he is not pure evil. If he had killed in the heat of the moment it would've been different, but this was a premeditated thing, he had months to plan it.

And Draco is very narcissistic (well it would be in his nature when his mother is called Narcissa!) So he is always looking out for number one. He wouldn't want to die for a cause no matter how worthy he felt it was!

That about sums it up for me. Didn't JKR say that in the last two books that choosing between what is right and what is easy would be paramount? Not to mention, she's also said Slytherins tend to be out for self-preservation...notice killing Dumbledore and all that implies didn't weigh nearly as heavily on Draco as what he personally would stand to lose? Was Draco sorry about what he had to do or sorrier still for his predicament? Sometimes, I wanted to shake Draco for refusing to see the person his family has supported all this time is totally ruthless and careless in regards to human lives as everyone, excepting Voldemort himself, is "disposable" for lack of a better word.

Basically, anyone "for" Voldemort is his puppet...Dumbledore had it right...he doesn't have any friends or anyone he is loyal to but himself. While it was easy for me to be repulsed by Draco, I couldn't help but pity him...everyone loses in regards to Voldemort. I don't think Draco's a *good* character, but I didn't envy his position at all...repugnant as he's been over the books, he (and his mother) really were paying for Lucius's choices. I think Draco's always wanted to be big and important, but when it comes down to it, while he isn't nice, I don't know if he has it in him to be "hard-core"...

[Scarlet Lioness]

The crying in the bathroom may have not been very manly, but you've got to remember however nasty Draco is he hadn't killed anyone before. There is a world of difference in hexing someone and killing them. It doesn't necessarily mean that he is not pure evil. If he had killed in the heat of the moment it would've been different, but this was a premeditated thing, he had months to plan it.

And Draco is very narcissistic (well it would be in his nature when his mother is called Narcissa!) So he is always looking out for number one. He wouldn't want to die for a cause no matter how worthy he felt it was!

Yeah I agree with this statement...

But I also secretly want Draco to turn good I think he might be useful source of info for the Order...

[Herminny]

I think we would all love to believe Draco would do a nice 180 spin and help out the order, but I seriously doubt it. As everyne has said, he is out for himself, probably worried more of the punishment, he was not able to go through with killing DD, I think though that Voldy will keep him on his side, Draco is not strong enough in my opintion to turn against his father, his heritage, his friends, his mother and other relatives and definitly Voldermort. He craves power and achnowladgement (think of how he tired to get the attention of the new potions master) and the Order is totally oposite, where is is sacrifise for the greater good. I can't really see Draco being into that. He isn't overly courageous

[witherwings]

i dont really think Draco is 'evil'. I mean, we all know hes not nice ... he's a bully and, as others have said, is only concerned for himself, but i dont think its really his fault. Draco is a product of his upbringing, he only knows what his family and their friends (other DE) have taught him. for example the fact that Malfoy is the leader with Crab and Goyle as his 'cronies' would have been something they all learnt from their fathers.

I think we see Draco's true colours when he lowers his wand and doesnt kill Dumbledore, and the fact that he is ABLE to cry, which I deffinately believed him incapable of. J.K's probably just trying to show he's a real person. I dont think he's going to do a 180 and work for the order either, he's too self absorbed for that, but i dont think he's evil to the core ... just power hungry, because thats all his know for his entire life.

[Dacre]

I think Draco is too young to be totally evil - vindictive, yes, but not utterly evil. Killing a headmaster, who I expect he does respect is a big ask - I think voldermort asked him too simply to get back at the family for the failure of his dad.

[thestral]

sure in the conversation between narcissa, bella and snape at the start they pretty much said they expected him to fail as no-one else had achieved it.

also yes draco is petty, self-absorbed and frankly a bit cowardly. but he doesn't have the guts to be a death eater. he thinks about himself foremost and anyone else second. and that isn't a good trait if you are going to follow a 'master' like voldemort. lucius was the same, he used voldemort's power when it suited him and look where that got him.

[silverserpent]

I will be keeping with the hope that although Draco will never be truely 'good' he will be coming to Harry's aid in book seven in some format or another. DD on the astronomy tower, apperead to beilieve that there was some form of hope for Draco, by convincing him that he would not kill DD.

The biggest thing that I saw as motivating his actions was not necessarily a desire to gain power, but rather the fear of loosing his family with Voldemort's wrath. The crying in the bathroom is probably linked to this and I did not see it as cowardly as he realized perhaps at that point that he could not complete the task that Voldemort handed him and was now being forced to face the reality of possibility having his family killed.


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[thestral]

i didn't see the crying in the bathroom as cowardly. that's just himan. i mean if someone told me they would kill all my family if i didn't kill someone i think i'd shed a few tears too.

i think he just realised the enormity of what he got himself into. and what he couldn't get himself out of. doesn't make him good person. just more human. we all hit rock bottom at some point.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

For someone that isn't yet pure evil, killing someone as utterly defenceless as Dumbledore probably just made him question why they (the Death-Eaters) did it all.
Also, when you're extremely angry at someone, it always aggravates you when they speak in a calm voice, and I thikn we can all agree that DD was a master of that particular talent.
[Ahhhh, I hate saying "was".]

[dibble2]

I liked the new Draco. Rowling's characters tend not to be characitures, which is what Draco seemed like for the rest of the series. The classic bully, the snobby rich kid. After his breakdown, he becomes more human. I wondered, since book 5, why Dumbledore didn't think keeping the son of a Death Eater in his school was a big risk. I think he hoped Draco would turn from the path of his father, and after reading the end of Half-Blood Prince, I don't think he'll want anything to do with Voldemort anymore. Of course, it isn't really his choice...