Thank you! I think Draco is easily one of the most relatable characters in the series and the reason probably why some people resent him is that they keep focusing on specific actions he did rather than looking at the whole picture, his whole ass arc from the first book to the last one.
(like wow 6th year and 7th year Draco's characterisations are so delicious and yet... less brought up)
I think it's not just about age, my friend. If it were, I’d probably be more forgiving toward James. But that’s not the case for me.
There’s a whole ensemble of reasons why sympathizing with Draco is easier—if you just try, or even want to try. At least for me.
From the very beginning, we’re introduced to an arrogant child with bigoted views. Views that are, without a doubt, shaped by his parents. You could even argue that lil bro doesn’t fully understand what he’s spouting؟ that he’s just parroting what he’s been taught.
Then this indoctrinated child gets placed in Slytherin, a house that reinforces the same prejudices he was raised with. His “friends” (Greg and Goyle) are the children of his father’s friends. His whole entourage is one echo chamber that the school system does nothing to break. This is a 101 textbook example of how a child becomes easily radicalized.
People overlook this, but growing up in an ideologically homogeneous environment is incredibly radicalizing. When everyone around you, especially the people who matter most, shares the same beliefs, it reinforces the idea that they must be right. I mean, why would they be wrong?
Which brings me to my next point.
Draco Was Never Ideologically Challenged.
Throughout the books, we never see anyone truly confront Draco’s views. Sure, he gets insulted, hexed, or beaten up every time he opens his mouth, but we don't ever see anyone (old or young) who actually sits him down and tells him why he’s wrong. No debates, no real pushback—just dismissal or violence.
And that doesn’t change people. If anything, it deepens their resentment. It makes them double down.
(This is not me saying the trio or whoever should have been uwu with Draco.. No. This is me trying to see how Draco came to be the person he is)
(ofc Doylistly speaking I'm asking too much from this series, but this whole rant is from a Watsonian perspective. Bear that in mind please).
I think this is why fifth year Draco is also interesting because, by the end of OoTP, you’d expect Draco to go full-blown Death Eater, to be about that life. The pieces are all in place. He’s angry, humiliated, and has every reason to lean into that path. The dominoes are stacked neatly to be pushed.
Then Half Blood Prince happens.
The entire book revolves around Draco’s struggle with the idea of killing. He hesitates. He breaks down. He panics. And that’s what makes him so compelling.
There’s a quote from a video I love that sums it up perfectly: "Draco is the least equipped character, yet he’s put through the most difficult ethical situations"
Second, Draco as a Person :
His reluctance to kill in HBP isn’t just about him being young, it’s about who he is. Narcissa says, “He’s just a boy,” but it’s more than that. Draco, for all his big talk, is repulsed by real violence. He’s a shit-talker, not a fighter. (at least not in the traditional way?)
Compare him to James. When the Marauders cornered Snape in Snape's worst memory, Snape’s first instinct was to attack—because he knew an attack was coming. But when Draco, Greg, and Goyle cornered Ron in Hogsmeade? Ron just stood there, enduring the insults. The difference in their reactions says a lot about the difference between their bullies.
Draco, compared to James, is non-threatening.
So non-threatening that when Harry saw Snape’s worst memory, he didn’t compare James to Draco—he compared Draco to a possible victim of the twins paralleling the marauders, (although in a negative way)
So non-threatening that Ron and Hermione, who supposedly suffered under Draco’s bullying, laughed at the idea of him being a Death Eater.
So non-threatening that Moaning Myrtle, the ghost who literally cries all the time, pitied him.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Draco can be cruel. But his cruelty is immature, performative, childish. The moment he’s faced with a situation that requires actual, meaningful true to the word cruelty, he hesitates. He fumbles.
He’s naïve, and not just because he’s young but also because he was sheltered. He was loved, protected, raised in comfort.
While most characters were fighting in OoTP, Draco was sulking over missing out on a fake secret weapon/jk
Maybe that’s why he’s non-violent? Maybe it’s because, unlike so many others, he was cared for as a child??
And in the end, that’s what stops the dominoes from falling as expected.
His so-called cowardice? In his case, you could even call it a virtue.
I could go on longer and longer about 7th year Draco but what sums it for me is again a quote from the same video: "Draco is the only character who we're shown self-reflected."
The summary of his arc is basically: immature kid is racist, when confronted by what could be heavily serious consequences of his racism he gets so shooketh he stops being racist. and imo this is so realistic and that why it's easy to sympthize with and relate to.
I mean who from us didn't have problematic views and grows out of it? Are the people harping over 12-year-old Draco being “evil” really trying to say they’ve never been wrong about anything in their lives? or they've neved did anything wrong to anyone and then changed? Especially as children who are known to react more on emotion rather than logic.
Finally, I want to just conclude that for me Draco is sympthetic because he embodied all these points at the same time.
(Age + personality + background)
Take one out and yeah no, I'm not interested anymore.
There are other points but I feel I'm making this longer than necessary.
