Draco Malfoy

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Draco Malfoy
Harry Potter character
Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
First appearanceHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Last appearanceHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)
Created byJ. K. Rowling
Portrayed byTom Felton
In-universe information
Full nameDraco Lucius Malfoy
Family
  • Lucius Malfoy
    (father)
  • Narcissa Malfoy
    (mother)
Spouse
Scorpius Malfoy
(son)
Relatives
NationalityBritish
Slytherin
Born5 June 1980

Draco Lucius Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen. Draco is characterised as a cowardly bully who tricks and hurts people to get what he wants; he is also a cunning user of magic. He was played by Tom Felton in the Harry Potter film series
.

Character development

Draco serves as a

Madam Malkin's.[2] Rowling uses the Malfoys to introduce themes of intolerance and bigotry into a setting where people are often judged solely by their blood lineage rather than their good character or accomplishments. Draco, adhering to his family's beliefs, thinks that Muggle-born witches and wizards, which he and other characters derogatorily describe by the epithet Mudbloods, should be denied a magical education. Harry's first impression that the Wizarding community is a "magical wonderland" is instantly shattered. Says Rowling, "[Harry] found out that many people in power in the wizarding world are just as corrupt and nasty as they are in our world."[2]

Malfoy was originally named "Draco Spungen" in the earliest drafts of Philosopher's Stone.[3] "Spungen" also appeared on her pre-canon class list, but it was crossed out and replaced with the surname "Spinks", while "Malfoy" was later added after the completion of the list. Philip Nel believes that Malfoy is derived from the French phrase mal foi, meaning "bad faith".[4] In an article published in 2002, Nilsen and Nilsen argue that "Draco" has connotations with draconian, and that his name starts with "mal", a French prefix for "bad" or "evil".[5]

Many of Draco's relatives on his mother's side of the family (the Blacks) are named for stars or constellations (e.g.,

Regulus Black, Andromeda Black Tonks, Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Cygnus Black, Orion Black). Another constellation is Draco (the Dragon). Draco Malfoy eventually named his son for yet another constellation, Scorpius.[6]

Appearances

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Draco Malfoy makes his first appearance in the series when he and Harry meet while being fitted for school robes at Madam Malkin's, a clothing shop in

Hogwarts Express. After Draco ridicules Ron Weasley
's family, Harry rejects his offer of friendship, demonstrated by a handshake, and their mutual antagonism is born.

According to Rowling, Malfoy originally makes an effort to be Harry's friend because "it will be cool to turn up at the school being Harry Potter's friend, because Harry is so famous."[1] However, Harry did not want Malfoy as a friend because he "has been so rude about Rubeus Hagrid and about Ron, who Harry likes so much".

At the first years' Sorting Ceremony, the

Argus Filch
in advance, but the plan fails when Harry evades Filch and safely makes it back to his dormitory.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

In

Chamber of Secrets
. Harry and Ron disguise themselves as Crabbe and Goyle with Polyjuice Potion and infiltrate the Slytherin common room in an attempt to collect additional information, whereupon they realise that their initial suspicion about Draco is incorrect.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

During Hagrid's debut as

Care of Magical Creatures instructor in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the hippogriff, Buckbeak, attacks Draco after he fails to observe proper protocol while approaching it and insults it. He exaggerates the extent of his injury, giving Slytherin a chance to postpone their Quidditch match against Gryffindor until later in the year and as an attempt to have Hagrid fired. Hermione punches Draco when he mocks Hagrid for crying over Buckbeak's death sentence. Draco, who implies that he is aware of how Sirius Black
was supposedly involved in the deaths of Harry's parents, also taunts Harry about the impending threat of Black: "If it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

After Harry is unexpectedly chosen as a Triwizard Tournament champion in

Barty Crouch, Jr in disguise via Polyjuice Potion) humiliates Draco by transforming him into a ferret
and repeatedly slamming him against the ground as well as dropping him down Goyle's pants.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In

Department of Mysteries, Draco twice attempts to get revenge on Harry, but Snape and Minerva McGonagall
thwart his first effort, and while returning home on the Hogwarts Express, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle are transformed into giant slugs by a barrage of hexes cast by several D.A. members coming to Harry's defence.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Draco is drawn into Death-Eaters' activities more directly in

Unbreakable Vow
to aid Draco with this task and protect him at all costs, and if Draco fails to complete the mission, he will complete it himself; he agrees.

Under the

Katie Bell is almost killed in Hogsmeade after handling a cursed necklace and Ron nearly dies by drinking poisoned mead
, Harry suspects Draco is behind both attacks.

In this book, Draco is, for the first time since being introduced in the series, portrayed as having considerable initiative, ingenuity, and perseverance. However, unlike Harry, who always relies on his friends' support and help, Draco mostly works alone in the Room of Requirement, refusing to confide in or involve his own circle of friends, whom he treats more as underlings. This, and the realisation of what he is ultimately expected to do, nearly drives him to a nervous breakdown. When Harry walks in on Malfoy crying in

Moaning Myrtle
's bathroom, Draco attempts to cast the Cruciatus Curse. Harry is faster to the draw with an obscure Sectumsempra spell that he learned from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince's book. The spell cuts deep gashes into Malfoy's face and chest, resulting in severe blood loss. Snape, alerted by Myrtle's screams, swiftly arrives and heals Draco's cuts, then takes him to the hospital wing.

Near the conclusion, Draco ambushes and disarms a gravely weakened Dumbledore at the Astronomy Tower. After Draco disarms him, Dumbledore calmly reasons with the frightened teenager and persuades him to reveal how he was, according to Voldemort's orders, to kill the headmaster through the cursed necklace and the poisoned mead. Malfoy reveals that he mended the broken

Vanishing Cabinet
in the Room of Requirement to act as a portal enabling Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts. Draco is hesitant to kill Dumbledore and he eventually lowers his wand. Snape arrives, dispatches Dumbledore himself and then flees Hogwarts with Draco in tow. As revealed during his confrontation with Dumbledore, Draco was an insecure boy incapable of committing cold-blooded murder and was forced to do Voldemort's bidding under the threat of his and his parents' deaths. Harry, who was horrified by the result of his duel with Draco in the bathroom incident, feels "the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike" for his old rival.

During an interview in 2005, Rowling revealed that she enjoyed writing Draco in this book, and that the character "did a lot of growing up" as well.[7]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Malfoys remain reluctant followers of Voldemort, who now uses their home as his headquarters; Draco passes out after witnessing Voldemort murder

Dobby
, Harry overpowers Draco and captures his wand.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione seek

Ravenclaw's diadem in the Room of Requirement, Draco, along with Crabbe and Goyle (Blaise Zabini in film version rather than Crabbe), attempts to capture Harry alive. However, Crabbe (Goyle in film version) defies Draco's orders and attempts to kill the trio by casting the deadly Fiendfyre
; unable to control the spell, he dies in the blaze while the trio rescue Draco and Goyle (Zabini in film version). Draco, despite his often condescending and belittling attitude toward Crabbe and Goyle (as well as his other underlings), grieves for his lost friend. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco is seen pleading with a Death Eater who seems intent on killing him. He is once again saved by Harry and Ron, the latter of whom punches Draco in the face under the invisibility cloak for attempting to appease the Death Eater.

At about this time, it is revealed through the

Pensieve that Dumbledore had known he was dying after being cursed by Voldemort's ring. However, to spare Draco's soul from being forever tainted by committing murder, Dumbledore pre-arranged his own death with Snape. Voldemort intended Draco to die in the attempt to kill Dumbledore so that Lucius would be punished for his failure to retrieve the prophecy from the Ministry of Magic
.

After Harry is struck by the

Elder Wand's master when he disarmed Dumbledore, even though Draco never actually possessed the wand. The wand's allegiance passes to whoever defeats its owner, so Harry, having taken Draco's wand at Malfoy Manor, became its new master; this prevents Voldemort from using its full power. In the end, it is Narcissa's lie to Voldemort concerning Harry's death that enables the Malfoys to narrowly avoid imprisonment in Azkaban.[8]

Epilogue

In the epilogue, Draco marries Astoria Greengrass and has a son, Scorpius Malfoy. Draco's hairline has receded, making his face look even more pointed. Though they are not friends, Malfoy has somewhat decreased his animosity toward Harry, and, upon seeing them at King's Cross station, gives a brief and curt nod to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.[8]

Appearance in other material

In the play

nee
Greengrass) died due to an inherited blood curse, which could shorten her lifespan and disallow her from growing into old age.

The play also explores some of Draco's later life after the

wizarding world's oldest pure-blood families
and also an individual who had the embodiment of the old pure-blood beliefs. Despite having lost the favour of his parents, he still inherits the massive fortune of the Malfoy family, which made him independently wealthy and having no need to work. The inheritance also included his father's collection of Dark Arts artefacts.

After he was married, Draco initially contemplated letting the Malfoy bloodline end with him to allow Astoria to live longer (much to

Lucius
's disappointment), as he was aware of Astoria's family blood curse and that childbirth would weaken her further. Astoria, however, persuaded him from doing so as she wanted a child not for the pure-blood beliefs, but for him so that he will not be alone should she die some day, which culminated in the birth of Draco's first and only child Scorpius. Draco had once considered the birth of his son as the greatest day of his life, even though Scorpius's birth had led to Astoria's health to be further weakened and eventually caused her to die fourteen years later.

As a father, Draco was strict in Scorpius's upbringing and taught him to not believe in the old pure-blood beliefs and instead raised him to become a better child than Draco was in his own childhood, and was willing to allow his son to be punished for breaking the school rules. He was also supportive of Scorpius's decision to befriend Harry's son Albus Severus, even though he and Harry had a history of animosity during their schooling years. Draco even trusted Albus to help Scorpius to heal him of his pain over losing his mother, and he valued his son's friendship to the point that he personally went to the Potter house to confront Harry, who tried to separate the two best friends apart. Despite having become more civil with his old enemies from the past, Draco remained apathetic and full of mockery towards them, including how he continued to mock Harry and his friends and sending a cold reply letter to Ginny's request to invite Scorpius to stay in the Potter house. These feelings only began to dissipate gradually as they became united by their common interest to save their sons. He was also revealed to be constantly envious of how Harry had true friends like Ron and Hermione (the latter whom became

Crabbe and Goyle
, who did not amount to being true friends for Draco.

During the events of the play, Draco slowly made amends with Harry and his friends as they all embarked on a journey to save their sons from

Delphini, demonstrating his slow, but gradual acknowledgement of Harry as a friend and his outright denouncement of his Death Eater past.[9]

Portrayal

Film portrayal

Harry Potter films. Prior to landing the part of Malfoy, Felton auditioned to play Harry and Ron.[10]

Felton contributed to premieres, articles and interviews, and received the Disney Channel's Kids Awards for Best DVD Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 22 September 2003 with Hermione Granger actress, Emma Watson.[11] He also won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for his portrayal as Malfoy in the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the 2011 MTV Movie Awards.

Malfoy grew into one of the series' most popular characters due to Felton's performances and Felton quickly became synonymous with the character to many female fans, much to Rowling's dismay.

"I'm trying to clearly distinguish between Tom Felton, who is a good looking young boy, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It’s a romantic, but unhealthy, and unfortunately all too common delusion of girls ... it actually worried me a little bit, to see young girls swearing undying devotion to this really imperfect character ... I mean, I understand the psychology of it, but it is pretty unhealthy."[7]

Rowling has also noted that Malfoy "is certainly stylish in the film."[2]

Theatre portrayal

In the theatre play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Draco was portrayed by Alex Price[12] and later by James Howard.[13] In the theatre play Draco has a style like his father's, such as his long hair. Draco was married to Astoria Greengrass, who had died, and has a son named Scorpius.[12]

Characterisation

Outward appearance

Draco is described as a tall, slender boy with a pale, pointed face, sleek blond hair, and ice grey eyes.

Personality

Draco is the prototypical spoiled, rich brat; he believes that his family's wealth and social position gives him the right to bully those poorer than himself, such as Ron Weasley. He also insults Hermione Granger's

Muggle-born status by referring to her as a "Mudblood", a term that, as stated by Hagrid, is one not used in civilised conversations. As Rowling explained in 1999, "He's a bigot and he's a bully, and as I say, in the most refined sense, he knows exactly what will hurt people".[1]

In a July 2005 interview, Rowling added that Draco, unlike Harry, never feels remorse for his actions: "I thought of Draco as someone who is very capable of compartmentalising his life and his emotions, and always has done. So he's shut down his pity, enabling him to bully effectively. He's shut down compassion— how else would you become a Death Eater?"[7]

Draco, as well as

Dudley Dursley, was indoctrinated with his parents' beliefs. Rowling commented that "The moment Draco got what he thought he wanted, to become a Death Eater, and given a mission by Lord Voldemort, as he did in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, reality finally hit him" because his dream was "so very different". Rowling also stated that there was a real moral cowardice in Draco, but that he was not wholly bad.[14]

Having gone through the horrors of the second wizarding war as a Death Eater, Draco abandoned the pure-blood beliefs he was originally devoted to, and grew to become a better person than he was in his youth, growing more tolerant and accepting of the non-pure-bloods of the wizarding world. He also made sure to discipline his son Scorpius to be a better child than he himself was in his youth, which made Scorpius to show kindness and become friends with Harry's son Albus Severus, as evidence of his reformation.[9]

Magical abilities and skills

During the series, Draco is portrayed as a cunning, competent young wizard. In his second year, he successfully performed the Tarantallegra curse against Harry,

Occlumency, which he learned from his Aunt Bellatrix.[18] Rowling recalled a discussion with her editor about Draco having mastered Occlumency while Harry could not. The author said that this is due to Draco being someone "very capable of compartmentalising his life and his emotions".[7] Draco's wand is 10 inches precisely, made of hawthorn with a unicorn hair core, and which Ollivander states is "reasonably springy".[19]

When asked what shape Draco's

Patronus Charm is, Rowling replied that, at least by the end of the sixth book, Draco was not capable of producing a Patronus, as it is not magic routinely taught at Hogwarts.[20]

Family

The Malfoy family is one of the few remaining

Dobby the house elf until the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
.

The Malfoys are a wealthy

Department of Mysteries in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
. Despite maintaining a respectable, but false, image before these events, some in the Wizarding world were previously aware that the Malfoys were devoted to Voldemort and the Dark Arts. Draco constantly uses his elite status and his father's name and influence to gain advantages and to threaten others. Lucius is also known to have used bribery and threats.

Reception

In an interview at the Royal Albert Hall, Rowling noted that boys liked to dress up as Malfoy a lot more than Harry, and that people are "getting far too fond of Draco", which she finds "a little bit worrying".[2] In the same interview, Stephen Fry noted that just as Harry met Malfoy, he found out that there is also racism in the wizarding world and that many characters in power can be "as nasty and corrupt as in our world". Fry also noted that while "Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe are almost irredeemably bad", Malfoy, unlike his companions, "is reasonably stylish".[2] IGN listed Malfoy as their ninth top Harry Potter character.[21]

In popular culture

Draco and the Malfoys during a performance at Los Angeles Public Library in July, 2006.

Wizard-rock band Draco and the Malfoys' lyrics are inspired by the Harry Potter books but from Draco Malfoy's point of view.[22] As well as Harry and the Potters, the members of Draco and the Malfoys dress themselves as Hogwarts students, in this case in Slytherin-themed costumes. The band is one of about 750 bands of young musicians playing music inspired by the Harry Potter series.[22][23]

Draco is parodied as Jerko Phoenix in the series

dementor.[25] Draco was also parodied in a Big Bite sketch, where he was known as Mailboy (with his father Lucius being parodied as Mailman). In Neil Cicierega's Potter Puppet Pals, Draco stars in the episode "Draco Puppet". He is different from all the other characters, simplistically made out of paper and is a smaller puppet, held and voiced by the Harry puppet. Harry created him in order to torture him, and after the puppet "annoys" Harry, he does a series of strange things to the paper Draco and eventually burns it on a stove. In A Very Potter Musical
Draco is played by actress Lauren Lopez. He has a very obvious crush on Hermione and spends a great deal of time posing and rolling around on the floor.

References

  1. ^ a b c "J. K. Rowling Interview". The Connection. 12 October 1999. WBUR Radio.
  2. ^ a b c d e "J.K. Rowling at the Royal Albert Hall". MSN. 26 June 2003. Archived from the original on 12 November 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. ^ "HPL: Guide to jkrowling.com- Transcript: Very early draft of Philosophers Stone (Page 1)". The Harry Potter Lexicon. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  4. ISBN 0-8264-5232-9
    .
  5. ^ Alleen Pace Nilsen; Don L.F. Nilsen (23 November 2016). "Lessons in the teaching of vocabulary from September 11 and Harry Potter" (PDF). Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 46 (3): 254–260. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Harry Potter Character Names Derived From Astronomy". Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d "The Leaky Cauldron and MN Interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling – Part 2". The Leaky Cauldron. 28 July 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b "J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript". The Leaky Cauldron. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780751565362
    .
  10. Time For Kids. Archived from the original
    on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  11. ^ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets wins Best DVD, archived from the original on 7 November 2021, retrieved 13 November 2019
  12. ^ a b Bradley, Laura (2 June 2016). "Here's What Draco Malfoy and His Son Will Look Like in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  13. ^ Wiegand, Chris (30 March 2017). "New cast announced for West End hit Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  14. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (19 October 2007). "'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Outs Dumbledore at New York Event". MTV. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  15. ISBN 0747538492.[page needed
    ]
  16. ^
    ISBN 0747551006.[page needed
    ]
  17. ISBN 1551929767.[page needed
    ]
  18. ^
    ISBN 0747581088.[page needed
    ]
  19. ISBN 1551929767
    ., page 493
  20. ^ Rowling, J.K. "What is Draco Malfoy's Patronus?". J.K. Rowling Official Site. Archived from the original on 26 December 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  21. ^ Brian Linder; Phil Pirrello; Eric Goldman; Matt Fowler (14 July 2009). "Top 25 Harry Potter Characters". IGN. Archived from the original on 19 July 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  22. ^ a b Brady, Shaun (28 November 2006). "Yule Ball rolls into Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 27 February 2007. [dead link]
  23. ^ Humphries, Rachel (13 July 2007). "Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic". United States: ABC News. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  24. ^ ""Wizards of Waverly Place" Wizard School (2008)". IMDb. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  25. ^ Jaquish, Jeannette. "Excerpts from Harry Potter and the Obnoxious Voice". Retrieved 1 January 2011.

External links

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