Harry Potter Notes 05: Draco Malfoy's Survival Strategy
The Harry Potter series features
a great number of villains.
Among them,
Draco Malfoywas a character
in a rather unique position.
He is certainly an unpleasant guy.
He makes snide remarks,
uses discriminatory language,
and participates in insidious harassment.
But at the same time,
as the series progresses,
we begin to feel a certain sense of unease.
"Is Draco truly 'evil'?"
This time,
I would like to reconsider the character of Draco Malfoy
from the perspective of
"surviving."
Looking back at Draco (Sorcerer's Stone to Order of the Phoenix)
In the early series, Draco Malfoy
was depicted as a very straightforward "unpleasant guy."
True to being a Slytherin,
he would stop at nothing
to bring down his rival, Harry.
Insidious harassment.
Discriminatory remarks.
And in The Goblet of Fire,
he even comes up with and distributes badges slandering Harry.
However, on the other hand,
at the time, Draco
was depicted somewhat as a "small-timer."
He fears those stronger than him,
and runs away as soon as things get slightly disadvantageous.
Particularly memorable
is the scene with Hermione
in The Prisoner of Azkaban.
After acting tough and provoking Harry and his friends,
he finally incurs Hermione's wrath,
and gets punched in the face.
And then Draco runs away pathetically.
While he remains a hateful character, in that scene,
one might even feel a certain"charm".
*By the way, this scene
was originally supposed to be a slap.
However, in reality,
due to Emma Watson's ad-lib,
a surprise punch was delivered .
As a result,
even though he was a hateful Draco,
at the very last moment,
"pity (sympathy)" might have been felt.
That is precisely why,
the Draco of that time
was not
"absolute evil"
like Voldemort, but
he had a strong sense of reality as "the annoying guy everyone has at school."
Viewers might have felt a sense of humanity in him,
along with feelings of disgust.
Looking back at Draco (Half-Blood Prince to Deathly Hallows)
However, in the latter half of the series,
the atmosphere around Draco begins to change significantly.
He still harbors hostility toward Harry.
But something is off.
In the background,
there was a terror closing in on the Malfoy family.
Due to his father Lucius Malfoy's repeated failures,
the family was targeted by Voldemort.
And the task imposed on 16-year-old Draco was
"assassinating Dumbledore"
a task that was
far too heavy.
Moreover, if he failed,
his whole family would be killed.
In other words, Draco,
while still a student,
was burdened with "the lives of his family
".
Draco in "The Half-Blood Prince"
no longer has the composure he had in the early series.
He was constantly terrified,
cornered,
and on the verge of a mental breakdown.
And then comes
his confrontation with Dumbledore.
He points his wand.
But, in the end, he cannot kill him.
This is the important part.
Draco could harbor malice, but he could not become a
true murderer.
Is that because he's small-time?
Perhaps that's part of it, but more than that,
it was a scene that suggests he is,
after all, a good person at heart.
And then, 'The Deathly Hallows.'
In the Room of Requirement,
Draco once again opposes Harry and his friends.
However, due to the fire,
this time Draco himself becomes the one being cornered.
At that moment, the one who reached out a hand was
Harry, who should have been his enemy.
Harry did not forgive Draco.
But at the same time, he did not abandon him either.
And then, the end of the story.
After being rescued as mentioned above,
Draco was waiting on the Hogwarts side.
When called by Voldemort,
Draco's expression showed
clear hesitation.
He probably
didn't want to fight anymore.
He wanted to go to Harry's side.
You could even see that emotion.
However,
his parents were on Voldemort's side.
If he betrayed them here, his family would be in danger.
Perhaps thinking that,
Draco finally
walks toward Voldemort's side.
However, in the ensuing chaos,
the Malfoy family seizes the opportunity to turn their backs
on the battlefield and run.
The Malfoy family survives.
-----
And 19 years later.
In the final scene, which focuses on Harry and his friends, Draco is also shown
as the head of his own family.
Harry and Draco.
Even though they are on the same platform,
the story ends without them ever interacting.
I think that,
much like in Stand By Me,
they sublimated their memories as each other's youth,
and chose a
“
parting” that was also a “reconciliation”
in order to move forward.
The version of him that saw Harry as a sworn enemy
was no longer there.
---
Learning from Draco: The Malfoy Family's Survival Strategy
What I would like to look back on here once more is
the maneuvering of the Malfoy family itself.
Their philosophy is,
in a sense, extremely consistent.
It is
"to survive"
It boils down to this.
Lucius Malfoy, just when you think he has sided with Voldemort,
he leans toward the Ministry of Magic,
and then returns to Voldemort's side again.
It may look like he is constantly changing his stance.
But conversely, one could say
he was trying to protect his family
while constantly assessing"which side will win
"
.
And that is what,
by the skin of his teeth,
has continued to be permitted by fate.
In this,
lies the terror of the Malfoy family.
They are not brave heroes.
But at the same time,
they are not reckless nihilists either.
They thoroughly
"not to perish"
is what they prioritize.
And,
the person who most symbolized that philosophy was
Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy.
In the final stages of 'The Deathly Hallows'.
Voldemort
orders Narcissa to confirm whether Harry is alive or dead.
She approaches the lying Harry,
and checks his heartbeat.
A few seconds later, she says:
"Harry is dead"
She lies to Voldemort.
She made a bold gamble.
Of course,
it was not that she wanted to save Harry.
What lay beyond her gaze was,
her beloved son, Draco.
Whether Draco was alive.
That was all that mattered.
In other words, Narcissa
deceived even Voldemort"to see her son
".
And after that,
she reunited with Draco safely.
They were also able to escape from the battlefield.
The Malfoy family was
a clan that continued to prioritize
"the survival of the family"
until the very end.
As a survival strategy,
this way of living is something we should learn from.
---
The hero who played the role that couldn't be a hero
Now,
I would also like to touch upon Tom Felton,
who played Draco Malfoy.
Draco in the story
was positioned quite close to being a villain.
Perhaps because of that,
it is said that he was actually booed overseas.
It seems it became a custom
for children in various countries to behave that way.
However, what is interesting is that
Tom Felton himself
took that as a"compliment as a villain
".
In other words, he
was not"hated
",
but rather"
he was able to make the role of Draco Malfoy that convincing"
is how he perceived it.
This is quite cool as an actor.
However, Japan seemed to have a slightly different character.
When Tom Felton first visited Japan,
he himself
thought a critical atmosphere would be waiting for him here as well.
But when he actually landed at the airport,
what was waiting for him was
a warm welcome from a large crowd of fans.
He was reportedly quite moved by that level of enthusiasm.
And in fact,
looking at his subsequent affection for Japan,
I feel that this event was quite significant.
Especially the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Immediately after it occurred, he is said to have actively engaged in his own charity work and provided material support to help Japanese fans and victims.
Selling charity T-shirts with handwritten messages.
All proceeds were donated in full to
the Ashinaga Foundation's 'Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Orphan Fund'.
It is said that he also carried out various other support activities.
-----
In the story, Draco Malfoy
never became a hero until the end.
However, Tom Felton,
who continued to play such a Draco,was undoubtedly
one of the
heroes,wouldn't you say?
wasn't he?
He did not fear being hated, and even accepted the boos from around the world as
"
a compliment for his role as a villain".
That is not an easy thing to do.
That is precisely why the character of Draco Malfoy
remains in the memories of so many people even today.
For those who want to know more about Tom Felton
Among the works featuring Tom Felton,
who played that Draco Malfoy,
one I highly recommend is
'Rise of the Planet of the Apes'
In this film, Tom Felton
does not play on the protagonist's side,
but rather a somewhat unpleasant and overbearing character.
The atmosphere of that performance
has parts that overlap with his Draco Malfoy era,
"Draco grown up just like that"
I even get a sense of that atmosphere.
Of course, the roles themselves are different. However, Tom Felton's unique
• Provocative expressions
• Annoying attitude
• A somewhat small-time vibe
are still present, and Harry Potter fans, in particular, might find themselves grinning.
Also, the film itself is very well-crafted. It is not just a simple sci-fi work, but includes
• Intelligence
• Discrimination
• Domination
• Fear
and other quite social themes.
That is why I think it is a work that can be fully enjoyed as a film in its own right, not just for those looking to see Tom Felton.
Furthermore, as of 2026, it is said that Tom Felton is appearing in the stage play 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' as Draco Malfoy.
The fact that he continues to play Draco again, even now, so many years after the series concluded, conveys just how much he cherishes this role.