Draco Malfoy is one of the most memorable secondary characters in the Harry Potter movies and books. It may be due to his irredeemable and despicable behaviour,as everyone loves a good villain. It could also be the appeal of actor Tom Felton in the movies, and all the subsequent fan fiction they have produced.
However, not a lot is revealed about him in the books, and less even less is shown on screen, leaving him a mystery. We do know that his family has an unhealthy obsession with their pure blood heritage and an unflinching loyalty to Voldemort. One thing that we also know is that during his sixth year, Draco became even more villainous. He was given the task of assassinating Dumbledore and allowing the Death Eaters access to his present school, Hogwarts.
Some aspects that remained more hidden, though, including the origins of his name, which has links to the Hogwarts motto. His talents in transfiguration, charms, potions, and Occlumency are also never fully explored or known by the average person.
More surprisingly than all of this is the fact that despite being mortal enemies, Draco and Harry only duel twice - and one of them was in the presence of teachers, so it barely counts. Including these examples and every other duel that Draco is involved in, we have discovered that he never wins a single fight. This might be J. K. Rowling highlighting his cowardice and lack of morals that weaken his character ultimately. However, it might also have to do with his particular skillset.
With that said, here are the 20 Strange Details About Draco Malfoy’s Anatomy In Harry Potter.
He is a gifted Occlumens
While Harry Potter is undoubtedly a gifted wizard, one of the things he was never able to master was Occlumency. This is the act of closing your mind to anyone who attempts to read it.
Draco managed to surpass his rival by mastering the art of this notoriously tricky skill.
While it may seem peculiar that Draco can keep other wizards out his head while Harry cannot, this is in keeping with his character. J. K. Rowling confirmed that Draco managed to become a gifted Occlumens due to his ability to suppress his emotions. The fact that Draco can excel in this area is only due to his repressed emotional issues that may stem from his dysfunctional family.
His name says a lot about his personality
J. K. Rowling puts a lot of thought into her character’s names and the names of locations - and the seemingly bland name of “Draco Malfoy” is no exception upon closer examination if we take a look at its origin on Pottermore.
The name Draco can either be linked to the Latin for “dragon” or the constellation. The word “Draco” is even in Hogwart’s motto: “Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, “which translates as “never tickle a sleeping dragon.” Draco’s last name, Malfoy, could have its roots in French, with “mal foi” translating as “unfaithful.” Rowling could have perhaps been a bit more subtle when thinking of names for her villains, however, as “unfaithful dragon” doesn’t leave a lot of space for redemption.
He temporarily had control of the Elder Wand
During his sixth year, Draco was given the task of destroying Dumbledore and giving the Death Eaters access into Hogwarts. While he succeeded with the latter, Draco was unable to take the life of the Hogwarts headmaster.However, when confronting Dumbledore, he disarmed the professor, which was a significant action even if Draco did not realize it at the time.
By disarming Dumbledore, Draco unknowingly had control of the most powerful wand in existence - the Elder Wand.
This was only temporary, though, as Harry later confronts Draco in his house in the Deathly Hallows and disarms him. This meant that control of the Elder Wand was passed down to Harry, who still technically can wield it today. For one brief moment, however, Draco could have been the most powerful wizard in the world.
He learnt the Unforgivable Curses
Draco’s sixth year at Hogwarts was a pivotal and important year for the sole Malfoy child. As well as being given the task of overthrowing his school, he was taught the Unforgiveable Curses by Bellatrix Lestrange.
Lestrange, being Draco’s aunt, most likely taught him these forbidden spells to prepare him for his role. We know for certain that Draco can perform Crucio (the torturing spell) and Imperio (the controlling spell). However, it is unclear whether Draco ever learnt the ultimate Unforgiveable Curse: Avada Kedavra, which would destroy the receiver. Though Draco seemed like an antagonist during his first year at Hogwarts, few fans expected him to become such a villain later in the story. However, it could be argued that this was due to the pressures of his family.
He is supposedly one of the only Death Eaters who can love
Death Eaters are more ingrained to respond with acts of hate than love. This is hardly surprising, though, considering the amount of carnage and havoc that they have created. However, what is surprising is that even though Draco is a Death Eater, he is supposedly capable of feeling genuine love.
This love manifests itself towards both his parents and his future wife, Astoria Greengrass. This is at odds with the other Death Eaters, whose hate trumps their love. Be it Bellatrix Lestrange or Lucius Malfoy, these individuals are consumed by their service to the Dark Lord. While it could be argued that they love Voldemort, this is closer to worship than a romantic or platonic love.
He’s proud of his pure blood family
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter may be incredible, but when it comes to metaphors, it is not very subtle. The fact that some wizarding families, such as the Malfoys, favor those with pure blood is meant to echo the real world prejudices that some hold. Draco’s parents instilled the belief that he is superior to half blood and muggles on him at a young age. This explains his resentment towards Hermione, whom he calls “Mudblud” incessantly.
This hatred for anyone who is not pure blood is a trait that many of the old wizarding families share.
The notable exceptions are Nymphodora Tonks and Sirius Black, who were cast out of the family for their beliefs that muggles and wizards are equal. Draco may not be as hostile towards muggles and muggle-born wizards by the end of the Deathly Hallows, but it is still a prejudice that he cannot escape.
He has used a Time Turner
J. K. Rowling may live to regret introducing Time Turners into the Wizarding World. The amount of problems that this device, which was used by Hermione in Prisoner of Azkaban, could solve is countless. It could be used to stop Voldemort from ever existing or it could be used to bring back beloved characters. However, in Prisoner of Azkaban, it is used by Hermione to ensure that she can go to all her classes and to save Buckbeak.
Having not learnt the amount of plot holes attached to such a device, Rowling revealed the existence of a secret Time Turner belonging to the Malfoys. Without revealing too many details of The Cursed Child, Malfoy uses it successfully, which makes him – alongside Hermione, Harry, Albus, and Scorpius – one of the few known people to have used a Time Turner.
He has a Dark Mark
Some fans believe that it was inevitable for Draco to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a Death Eater. He did this sometime between the events of Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. We know this since we can clearly see a Dark Mark on his arm during the events before Dumbledore’s assassination. While Dumbledore looked unsurprised to see Draco pointing a wand at him, he did seem surprised by the fact that Draco now had a Dark Mark.
It is not possible to get rid of a Dark Mark, so despite the fact that Draco’s character has since been redeemed, he is not able to reverse the procedure. Draco will forever have the mark of He Who Must Not Be Named on his arm.
He was an extremely intelligent student
Although the movies show Draco to be just an arrogant bully, in the books, we see another aspect of Draco - we soon discover that he is an intelligent student, too. While Harry was always picked on in Potions due to Snape’s hatred for him, Draco was always the teacher’s pet.
Whether he was actually better than Harry is debatable, though, as Snape never gave the Gryffindor student a fair chance. However, one subject where Malfoy definitely excelled was in Charms, in which he was described as equally intelligent as Hermione.During his sixth year, he managed to cast the extremely difficult Protean charm. The only other person in the class who could cast it was Hermione.
He was supposed to get along with Harry
Draco and Harry were supposed to get along. According to Pottermore, Draco’s birthday is June 5, which makes him a Gemini. Meanwhile, Harry’s birthday is July 31, which makes him a Leo.
These two star signs are meant to get along with one another and are even able to become close friends.
During their first meeting, there was definitely potential for them to become friends, as Malfoy extends a hand of friendship to Harry. However, Harry sensed Draco’s arrogance and hostility and rejected him. Despite this, the fact that their star signs match up so well may have been a coincidence on behalf of J. K. Rowling. Or perhaps it could have been a hint that had Harry Potter shaken Draco’s hand, they could have formed an evil alliance.
He really wished he was the heir of Slytherin
While it may be obvious that the heir of Slytherin could only be Voldemort in hindsight, there was a lot of speculation over who it could be. During the events of Chamber of Secrets, many students thought that Harry was the heir due to his Parseltongue abilities.
Harry himself believed that Draco was the heir and took Polyjuice Potion in order to investigate. However, Draco admitted he was not the heir of Slytherin despite his family’s allegiance to Slytherin and their prejudiced view against Muggles. Although Draco didn’t know who the heir was, he served as nothing more than a pawn of the real heir: Tom Marvolo Riddle. This was still an honor for his family, though.
During Half-Blood Prince, he is described as unhealthily pale
Though one of Draco’s defining features is his pale skin, in Half-Blood Prince, he is described as being paler than ever. This is due to the fact that he was assigned by Voldemort to take down Dumbledore and help the Death Eaters infiltrate Hogwarts, which can put a lot of stress on a person.
Since he is the only one able to complete the tasks, he begins to physically show the signs of stress. It is notable to other students, particularly Harry, who notices his rapid deterioration over the course of sixth year. Before Half-Blood Prince was filmed, Tom Felton was told that he wasn’t allowed to come back tanned from holiday. His paleness may also draw some parallel’s to Voldemort’s own appearance, as some fans have spectated that Draco becomes more gaunt by committing evil deeds.
He wanted to use alchemy to become a better man
Alchemy is an ancient practice. Because of this, it is shielded in mystery. However, it principally involves turning lead into gold. For some reason, Draco became heavily invested in Alchemy after he left Hogwarts.
Post-Deathly Hallows, Draco settled down with his wife and child and began to study Alchemy. Being the heir of his family fortune and the Malfoy Manor, he did not have to worry about getting a job after school. However, Draco also spent time caring for his wife, Astoria, who was ill due to a curse that was put on her ancestors. While at home, Draco soon became fascinated by alchemical manuscripts. According to Pottermore, Draco’s obsession with Alchemy was pure - he wished to use it to become a better man.
He is never seen winning a duel
Despite Draco and Harry being sworn enemies during their time in Hogwarts, they only face off against each other twice. Their first duel happens during their second year in front of other second year students. However, Snape and Lockhart intervene after a snake is conjured by Malfoy. When Draco and Harry next duel, it nearly results in the demise of Malfoy during Half-Blood Prince.
During the events of Order of the Phoenix, Ginny and Draco also duel, which results in Draco losing his wand.
The final duel we see Draco participate in is during Deathly Hallows, when Hermione gets the better of him. At least during his youth, it was clear that Draco’s arrogance was just used as a shield.
He was a Prefect
A Hogwarts prefect is meant to inspire the younger students and act as a role model to them. By definition, Harry Potter would be the ideal Prefect for Gryffindor students, or any house for that matter. However, throughout his six years at Hogwarts, he is never given the coveted Prefect badge. While students like Percy Weasley may be obvious choices to become prefects, characters like Draco Malfoy aren’t typically expected to obtain the badge.
Draco is not a character that you typically associate with good morals, leadership, or as a role model. Regardless, Draco does become a prefect. Perhaps this was done by J. K. Rowling to show us that Draco did make for a decent leader, despite his lack of morals. In fact, some fans speculate that by giving Draco the badge, Rowling was not giving up on him.
He has ice grey eyes in the books, but Tom Felton has blue eyes in the movies
In the books, Draco is described as having platinum blonde hair and ice grey eyes. There are many parallels between Voldemort and his army and the Axis leaders and their army in WWII, so it makes sense that Draco would look like this. However, in real life, the actor who brought Draco Malfoy to life on the big screen, Tom Felton, looks nothing like this. Felton has brown hair and blue eyes. Because of this, he had to dye his hair blonde for the movies.
Similarly, Daniel Radcliffe did not have Harry Potter’s green eyes. However, he found the contact lenses too painful to wear so the movies were filmed without them. Though not many fans may remember Draco’s eye color from the books, Harry’s eyes are constantly referred to in both the books and movies, which makes it even more noticeable.
He was unable to produce a Patronus
Though anyone can find out what their Patronus is on Pottermore, it is not as simple in the Wizarding World. Some wizards and witches are actually unable to produce a Patronus. While we know that Harry’s Patronus is a stag, many fans don’t know what Draco’s is. However, it has since been revealed that Draco is unable to conjure one.
This is apparently a common trait among Death Eaters, as many fans believe that they don’t have enough light and goodness to summon one.
While it has been established that Draco is capable of feeling love, this may not enough to produce the special charm. J. K. Rowling has also mentioned that Death Eaters are unable to produce a Patronus because Voldemort controls Dementors anyway.
He is a master of Transfiguration
Transfiguration is known to be a difficult class to pass at Hogwarts. After all, we see how hard it is for Ron to transform Scabbers into a grail in the movies. However, Draco is an accomplished hand at this craft. We see signs of this during his second year duel against Harry.
When they face each other in the Great Hall, Draco manages to summon a snake that slithers menacingly towards Harry. If it had not been for Harry’s ability to speak Parseltongue, he might have been attacked by the snake. In his later years, Draco even manages to transform Harry into a doppëlganger of Voldemort, which is an extremely complex charm. While the movies do not emphasize Draco’s intelligence, it remains clear in the books that he should not be underestimated.
His love life is fairly ambiguous
Draco’s love life is left relatively ambiguous in both the Harry Potter movies and the books. The only girl we see Draco talk to in the books and movies is Pansy Parkinson, who is described as the closest Draco comes to a girlfriend in the books. However, it is never actually confirmed that Pansy is his girlfriend in the series. At one point, the books describe a scene where Pansy is resting her head on Draco’s lap, but this is the closest we ever see them get.
While Draco eventually marries Astoria, little is known about how they met or even when they married. However, we do know that his parents disapproved of Astoria and that she was kind, and taught their son Scorpius to respect others (including muggles).
He is the only person Voldemort is known to have hugged
One of the most sinister Voldemort moments happens when he tries to honor one of his followers. This moment occurs during the Battle of Hogwarts, when Voldemort demands loyalty from the students of Hogwarts.
In a gesture of goodwill, Voldemort slowly and awkwardly brings Draco into an embrace in front of his followers. Understandably, Draco looks absolutely terrified, since the Dark Lord has never shown affection of any kind before. This is the only known instance of a Death Eater - or anyone for that matter - receiving a hug from Voldemort.
Are there any other interesting facts about Draco Malfoy’s body in Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments!
