Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be looking at five Draco Malfoy theories that have recently caught my eye. To start, I’d like to acknowledge that there are loads of debates out there between fans as to whether Malfoy was a redeemable character or not. There seems to be two very distinct camps – one that believes Draco was a snake at the beginning of the series, and an even bigger snake at the end; and another that believes he was simply brought up in an environment of hate but was really a good person. The latter of these two groups, suggests that there is a very obvious character arc and redeeming storyline that Draco goes through in the latter half of the series. I must admit that I’m somewhat with the second group of fans in my beliefs regarding Malfoy. Sure, he was a pompous pureblood that did terrible things to Harry and his friends in their youth. But these terrible things were always done with juvenile intent. For example, in The Philosopher’s Stone, Draco was responsible for tricking Harry into thinking he was going to fight Malfoy in a midnight duel. BUT his true intention in challenging Harry was to have him found outside of bed, running around the castle after hours – something which would have resulted in Harry’s expulsion. EXPULSION – not death – not even harm. So, I imagine you take my meaning. Draco seemed to hate Harry but not to the point that he would cause him actual harm – at least as an 11-year-old boy. Of course, later in the series, there are many times in which Draco is presented with the opportunity to bring harm to Harry – such as when he was asked to identify if a very badly stung Harry was indeed THE Harry Potter. This happens at Malfoy Manor in The Deathly Hallows after a group of snatchers find Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the woods and they use a charm to puff up Harry’s face beyond the point of recognizability. Of course, the snatchers suspect it’s Harry, his lightning-bolt scar mainly to blame. But when Draco, home from school on holiday, is asked to confirm that the puffy-faced, adolescent wizard IS THE Harry Potter, he falters. He knows it’s Harry – we know he knows. But he does not confirm it to his father, Lucius, even though it would’ve brought the Malfoy family back into great favour with the Dark Lord, because Draco knows that if he were to identify Harry as HARRY, he would’ve been killed. This is one of the MOST telling moments into the true nature of Draco Malfoy. And, so, it’s with this perspective that I’ll be taking you through today’s theories on Mr. Malfoy.
Let's dive in.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices