All of us knew who he as we had read the famous Harry Potter books or even watched the film adaptations. As the phenomena is nearing its end with the final installment of the film due on the first half of next year, mixed emotions rushed to every Harry Potter fanatic. In line with this, I would love to write my thoughts on some characters that I had grown to love.
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Let me start with the favorite bully of all time. Draco Malfoy, once a son of a death eater, and a death eater himself, student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We had followed his life through Harry, Ron and Hermione’s eyes as they started their journey. The pale blond wizard that we hated because of his notorious hobby of bullying other students and his prized prejudices had revealed a large part of his life in the last two books with and without the aid of the views of our heroes and heroine.
I personally admired him, pitied him, felt sorry for him and became happy for him. He was a young boy who grew in a prejudiced society, fed with injustice towards people of lower birthright and deprived with true love.
As part of the higher society, Draco had forced to learn codes of conduct to present him as agreeable to the upper class. Even though I’m not part of that society, I could only imagine how hard it is for an eleven year old boy to keep up appearances to everyone he doesn’t even know of. If you think putting the world’s fate upon the shoulders of an eleven year old is hard, then think of putting the fate of a known family name upon the shoulders of a boy at the same age, how hard could it be? Very hard indeed, as I may say. Just think of the language lessons you need to take so that you’ll be fluent to communicate with businessmen around the world, of firm hands that lay on you whenever you did a mistake, then change it to hexes that reach your system for every error. That’s what I imagine whenever I think of Draco.
How did I conjure with that picture? Simple really. In the last book, when Draco had to recognize Harry Potter when the trio was captured and was took in the Malfoy Manor, I had seen how Lucius put pressure on every word he said to him. I barely recall the line but it run along ‘Dark Lord will be pleased’ or ‘glory for their name to the Dark Lord’ or something. See, he was seventeen then but he was still a boy help prisoner in his own house and pressured to keep his family name in good graces. Just think of him six years before with the same circumstances only they were younger. Do you think Lucius wouldn’t keep the same pressure on him? Do you think he wouldn’t let Draco be part f the torture scene in front of him? I’d think not. What’s important to Lucius is keep their family in the high position no matter what happened, and his pureblood bigotry, if I may add. And if forcing his son to identify the hero of the wizarding world would do the job, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Then you would be mad at Draco because he tormented the Golden Trio when they were younger. But I say it’s unfair to judge him because we only saw Harry’s point of view right? I believe Draco’s hobby of tormenting the Trio especially is because of three sets reasons, one for each member. First, for Harry Potter, Draco was infuriated that someone had the spotlight and it wasn’t him. He was spoiled, an only heir of a ‘filthy rich’ family so naturally all attention was upon him. But then Harry Potter had all the attention of the whole wizarding world, who was he to fight with that. Then there was the fact that Harry rejected his offered friendship. Like I said he was spoiled, so everything he wanted, he got it. But it was probably the first time that someone had rejected to give him what he wanted. Second is for Ron Weasley. It was rather simple. It’s the fact that their families had a broken connection upon the “traitor” issue on their families. The Blacks had connected them both in the family tree but since the Weasleys are muggle loving people which was against the doctrines purebloods hold, then Malfoys and Weasleys had separated ways. Ron and Draco were just stuck in the middle of an old family war. Third is for Hermione Granger. Draco was fed at the very young age that pureblood hold the greatest deal of intelligence and power to everyone. But this brunette Gryffindor had defied them all. She was after all the ‘smartest witch of her age’, which apparently infuriated Draco. She maybe of lower birthright but she was above him in many aspect. That didn’t go well with what was taught to him. So I think Draco had concealed his confusion and doubts upon these doctrines behind his taunts and smirks.
So you see why I admire him. These complications of his upbringing were challenges to him but in the end, he had conquered them all. He had achieved the open-mind state that the Ms. Rowling had planned for him to have. After all isn’t that the goal of the story? Inter-house unity? Conquering all evils? Yes, yes it is. Draco is one of those people who had achieved and had reached the peak of the mountain, and he had placed his flag to mark his achievement. For me, Draco is a hero. He is a hero against internal and external evils for he had fought against the beliefs of the society he had lived in, and his own flaws so that in the end, he will survive the war; may it be internal of external battle.
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Then there was my ultimate idol, Hermione Granger. Who would have thought, that a girl from a world different from this new world without any magical blood from her parents would defy the rules of a prejudiced society and would grace her cleverness and good heart to make a change? Surely J. K. Rowling thought that, but none of us realized that at the beginning right?
I would always admire Hermione. And if ever I would be graced with a child, I’ll name her after her. Her brilliance, and good heart really showed me that even a girl who was treated an outcast could wrap the world on her finger- in a good way, mind you- to make it a better place to live in. When I was young, really young, I always imagined being in her position, learning the things she studied, or even being her friend. How great would that be? I could only imagine.
She has this great loyalty to her friends. Maybe because she was an only child, that’s why she gives her trust easily or it’s just the natural goodness of her heart. No matter what, she’s still the heroine of all time. Her cool use of her mind amazed us all, but her compassion and deep emotional range moved us more. She was the life of the golden trio. She was the hope when everything wasn’t in order. Her being a control freak wasn’t something you would despise when you see the good in it. After all, who would save Harry and Ron in the middle of a mind boggling puzzle?
Then what I love about her is actually her love for her parents. Yes I know it’s just a bit part of the seventh book but she was very noble in that part. I personally was crying hard when I first watched the film- which really portrayed a better picture than my imagination when I read that part. The fading of her pictures, and the emotions she had released silently with the sacrifice to help save the world that was very touching that I couldn’t help my tears from rolling off my cheeks. I never actually cried on a film or a book unless someone died, but that very part of Hermione’s life, I cried buckets of tears.
This girl, nay young lady, actually deserves all the praises she has now. She deserves the title “Smartest witch of the age”. She deserves the life she has not after enduring pain, anguish, fears and defeat but in the end left as the triumphant heroine. I would never forget Hermione Granger, for her beauty, intelligence, bravery, and good-heart. She’s a model for every girl from the moment she learned how to read and comprehend till the moment she died.
Yeah right, I would thank Hermione Granger for being part of Harry’s life. Haha, indirectly mine too, and yours of course. Anyway, without Hermione, how would Harry and Ron get out of their puzzling thoughts? How would they make themselves calm if they always wear their emotions on their sleeves? How could we know the spells and charms necessary in times of our needs? All of it is because of Hermione, and thus I thank her for inspiring my life.
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