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bicrimcut for DH spoilers and pro-Malfoy rant I actually loved what she did with the Malfoys as a family in this book. They are a _family_ here, first and foremost. Lucius is beaten down, and obviously has come to realize that power is not as important to him as his wife and son. The fact that LUCIUS MALFOY OF ALL PEOPLE is ignoring the big duel between Harry and Voldie and running around with his wife desperatly looking for Draco is cruicial here--he is made human, he is a man, a husband, a father. God, that tiny little line made me cry buckets.
Narcissa continues in DH what we saw of her in HBP- her son is everything to her, more important than her sister, or her politics. She risks torture and death to lie to Voldemort and tell him Harry is dead, just to get information on Draco's well-being. That is a mother for you. I loved her here.
And Draco? Just like in HBP, his family is his first and only priority. I think that his whole life, his parents and especially his father were constants for him, and he could take them for granted, like most secure children do. But when his father was imprisioned, and Voldemort refused to save him, and indeed threatened both of his parents, he changed. His old pettiness and anger left, and he was desperate to save his family, no matter what the consequences. In DH, this just continues. He is horrified, terrified of Voldemort and the reality of being a Death Eater, but he is thinking of his family's survival. He does what he has to do to keep them all alive, and no more. He clearly hates it, he clearly wants not to be with the DEs, but even more clearly, he needs his family, and his loyalty is with them.
Now maybe the Malfoys are selfish, because they want to be together more than they want "the right thing" to be done in society. Lupin and Tonks abandoned their infant to die in battle, and maybe that is the braver, more Gryfinndor thing to do. But I hated them for it, and I love the Malfoys for being "cowerdly" in this way. It is real. I'm a mother, and I would never, ever, leave my son to go fight to the death. I just wouldn't. And I would guess that many, many parents feel the same way.
I loved the Malfoys in this book. And I'm not sorry. This image of Lucius and Narsissa running after Draco just kills me, and the final image of them, huddled together, surrounded by celebrating Order member, is so beautiful to me. They survived, and they cared more about each other than the fucking war, either side of it.
Narcissa continues in DH what we saw of her in HBP- her son is everything to her, more important than her sister, or her politics. She risks torture and death to lie to Voldemort and tell him Harry is dead, just to get information on Draco's well-being. That is a mother for you. I loved her here.
And Draco? Just like in HBP, his family is his first and only priority. I think that his whole life, his parents and especially his father were constants for him, and he could take them for granted, like most secure children do. But when his father was imprisioned, and Voldemort refused to save him, and indeed threatened both of his parents, he changed. His old pettiness and anger left, and he was desperate to save his family, no matter what the consequences. In DH, this just continues. He is horrified, terrified of Voldemort and the reality of being a Death Eater, but he is thinking of his family's survival. He does what he has to do to keep them all alive, and no more. He clearly hates it, he clearly wants not to be with the DEs, but even more clearly, he needs his family, and his loyalty is with them.
Now maybe the Malfoys are selfish, because they want to be together more than they want "the right thing" to be done in society. Lupin and Tonks abandoned their infant to die in battle, and maybe that is the braver, more Gryfinndor thing to do. But I hated them for it, and I love the Malfoys for being "cowerdly" in this way. It is real. I'm a mother, and I would never, ever, leave my son to go fight to the death. I just wouldn't. And I would guess that many, many parents feel the same way.
I loved the Malfoys in this book. And I'm not sorry. This image of Lucius and Narsissa running after Draco just kills me, and the final image of them, huddled together, surrounded by celebrating Order member, is so beautiful to me. They survived, and they cared more about each other than the fucking war, either side of it.
