I don't believe in erasing the unattractive bits of a character's personality so that you can turn your favorite 'bad boy' into a fluffy, innocent little dewdrop who is secretly the best of all who just 'temporarily' went wrong because he was victimized or tricked or... whatever. Feh. I truly hate that as much as I do the way that many fans blind themselves to the flaws in their favorite 'good' characters *coughWeasleyTwinscough*
I agree with you that Draco, Regulus and Snape were equally clueless and knowledgeable about what being a DE really meant; still, something in Tom Riddle/Voldemort's murderous, elitist message appealed to each of them. I am far more interested in knowing what it was and why it appealed to them than I am in trying to come up with 'feel good' excuses that absolve the characters of any responsibility for their choices.
So far as Draco is concerned, I adored the SL in HBP. I think that Draco truly enjoyed being a 'junior' DE ... for a while. He got to prove how smart he was by using the Vanishing Cabinets and planting 'cool' poisons and curses and whatnot. My, my, so clever. But when it came to actually killing an innocent, helpless victim up close, face to face, he couldn't do it. I dont' think it was cowardice that stayed his hand, I think that Draco only truly understood what it was to kill someone when he had his victim right there in front of him. It was real. It wasn't something 'clever' or flashy. It simply would have been murder, and at least as of HBP, Draco Malfoy isn't a murderer. (Though honestly? If it had been Harry there instead of Dumbledore, I think that Draco could have killed him out of sheer, furious hatred.)
You know, one thing about that entire sequence that delights me is that Dumbledore's last true moral student "lesson" is to Draco, and only secondarily to Harry (who is frozen and can only watch). It just reinforced to me that Draco's choices and his SL is as important as Harry's, and that their fates are closely intertwined.
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I agree with you that Draco, Regulus and Snape were equally clueless and knowledgeable about what being a DE really meant; still, something in Tom Riddle/Voldemort's murderous, elitist message appealed to each of them. I am far more interested in knowing what it was and why it appealed to them than I am in trying to come up with 'feel good' excuses that absolve the characters of any responsibility for their choices.
So far as Draco is concerned, I adored the SL in HBP. I think that Draco truly enjoyed being a 'junior' DE ... for a while. He got to prove how smart he was by using the Vanishing Cabinets and planting 'cool' poisons and curses and whatnot. My, my, so clever. But when it came to actually killing an innocent, helpless victim up close, face to face, he couldn't do it. I dont' think it was cowardice that stayed his hand, I think that Draco only truly understood what it was to kill someone when he had his victim right there in front of him. It was real. It wasn't something 'clever' or flashy. It simply would have been murder, and at least as of HBP, Draco Malfoy isn't a murderer. (Though honestly? If it had been Harry there instead of Dumbledore, I think that Draco could have killed him out of sheer, furious hatred.)
You know, one thing about that entire sequence that delights me is that Dumbledore's last true moral student "lesson" is to Draco, and only secondarily to Harry (who is frozen and can only watch). It just reinforced to me that Draco's choices and his SL is as important as Harry's, and that their fates are closely intertwined.