There is no indication that Draco is anything other than frightened for his life (and his parents' lives) until DD suggests it in the tower. In the bathroom when he's crying he's talking about not being able to get the cabinet to work. He doesn't say that he's concerned about having to commit murder. One feels sorry for him because he is a child and is in danger and is out of his depth and looks likely to fail, the chump. But any moral scruples are the reader's, not Draco's! Even at the last minute in the tower Draco avoids questioning himself about his actions and ambitions. He fears the act he has to commit but wants to commit it for the rewards it will give him and because it will confirm his success. Dumbledore says that the necklace and mead attempts were because Draco was reluctant to murder, but this is just flattery (They were because Draco didn't want to get caught, for heaven's sake!): DD doesn't want Draco to kill him - or anyone - and offers Draco success in the form of a moral victory along with safety for himself and his parents if he chooses not to kill.
I know Mistful's already answered this as I'm going to below, but this just erases the heart of HBP to me. There's no point to most of Draco's story if he's just a chess piece that clever Dumbledore manipulates at the last minute long enough to keep him from killing. Death itself is an unreality for Draco until book VI, at which point he gladly takes on the cool task of killing Dumbledore for glory. But saying that he just fears the task he has to do without a sense of right and wrong avoids the central issue. What's to be afraid of if it's not wrong? If he doesn't kill Dumbledore he's got a Dark Lord, several Death Eaters and a werewolf at his back. If he does kill Dumbledore he's got nothing but the alleged glory. Nothing to fear from Dumbledore himself--that's why, imo, it's important that Dumbledore's made so helpless. So that it's clear Draco doesn't have anything external forcing him in that direction. His wand lowering moment explicitly lays it out as well. He literally goes over, to himself, slowly, the fact that he is lowering his wand from a position of strength, that he hasn't failed. Peter faced similar situations and always chose to kill.
What Dumbledore put into Draco's head was the fact that he could not kill and not die. Draco's already struggled the entire year coming to the realization that he couldn't kill. Dumbledore on the tower welcomes him with open arms knowing that he's already been cracking all year seeing that although he has no other definition in his mind for what glory is, he isn't a murderer. He can't even speak about someone else killed below without his voice cracking.
On the Tower Draco is not avoiding questioning his own actions and ambitions, what he's trying to avoid is killing and admitting the truth even he already knows about himself, that he's not going to kill. The very thing Dumbledore keeps confronting him with. But no matter how many times Draco says he's a killer, he never makes a move to kill, no matter how much he's supposed to want to do it. Which is why Dumbledore praises him during the scene--he's not flattering him by saying the previous murder attempts were due to reluctance--what kind of flattery is that to a DE? That's what makes him a failure from that pov, what Draco himself is trying to deny. Dumbledore praises (I won't say flatters though it sort of is, because I think the praise is earned) Draco's clever plan to build up the confidence he needs to make a choice for himself: you're not a total screw up, you're worth something without killing. And even Harry notices it works--Draco draws comfort and courage not from his empty threats of violence but from a plan that, however badly intentioned, actually was a personal achievement.
Young people in the books always upset the plans of older people by zigging when they're supposed to zag, and Draco is no different in HBP. He's supposed to be an easily-predictable chump from the beginning. He's not.
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Date: 2006-11-20 06:59 pm (UTC)I know Mistful's already answered this as I'm going to below, but this just erases the heart of HBP to me. There's no point to most of Draco's story if he's just a chess piece that clever Dumbledore manipulates at the last minute long enough to keep him from killing. Death itself is an unreality for Draco until book VI, at which point he gladly takes on the cool task of killing Dumbledore for glory. But saying that he just fears the task he has to do without a sense of right and wrong avoids the central issue. What's to be afraid of if it's not wrong? If he doesn't kill Dumbledore he's got a Dark Lord, several Death Eaters and a werewolf at his back. If he does kill Dumbledore he's got nothing but the alleged glory. Nothing to fear from Dumbledore himself--that's why, imo, it's important that Dumbledore's made so helpless. So that it's clear Draco doesn't have anything external forcing him in that direction. His wand lowering moment explicitly lays it out as well. He literally goes over, to himself, slowly, the fact that he is lowering his wand from a position of strength, that he hasn't failed. Peter faced similar situations and always chose to kill.
What Dumbledore put into Draco's head was the fact that he could not kill and not die. Draco's already struggled the entire year coming to the realization that he couldn't kill. Dumbledore on the tower welcomes him with open arms knowing that he's already been cracking all year seeing that although he has no other definition in his mind for what glory is, he isn't a murderer. He can't even speak about someone else killed below without his voice cracking.
On the Tower Draco is not avoiding questioning his own actions and ambitions, what he's trying to avoid is killing and admitting the truth even he already knows about himself, that he's not going to kill. The very thing Dumbledore keeps confronting him with. But no matter how many times Draco says he's a killer, he never makes a move to kill, no matter how much he's supposed to want to do it. Which is why Dumbledore praises him during the scene--he's not flattering him by saying the previous murder attempts were due to reluctance--what kind of flattery is that to a DE? That's what makes him a failure from that pov, what Draco himself is trying to deny. Dumbledore praises (I won't say flatters though it sort of is, because I think the praise is earned) Draco's clever plan to build up the confidence he needs to make a choice for himself: you're not a total screw up, you're worth something without killing. And even Harry notices it works--Draco draws comfort and courage not from his empty threats of violence but from a plan that, however badly intentioned, actually was a personal achievement.
Young people in the books always upset the plans of older people by zigging when they're supposed to zag, and Draco is no different in HBP. He's supposed to be an easily-predictable chump from the beginning. He's not.