by Hiya Debnath » Wed Feb 07, 2024 7:12 am
I would like to say that "Death Eaters go to Azkaban" doesn't have to be a hard and fast rule because no matter what the action, the person behind the action is not necessarily bad, not to mention in quite a few cases can be rehabilitated. Unnecessary punishment reduces the chances of rehabilitation and makes the person feel worse, not to mention takes away time that could used for doing better things and rehabilitating oneself. What matters is whether there is remorse or not. While remorse can be faked, it was clear that Draco Malfoy's remorse was not fake. There have been instances when he cried in the bathroom because he couldn't do it. The motivation behind the action also matters. Whether the person did it themselves or whether they were forced to, or what we call the intent behind the crime, is a major factor in determining the seriousness of the crime. Draco Malfoy had no major motivations of his own except keeping up the name of his family. Born in a Slytherin family to a rich man, it was only natural that he thought he was superior, mostly because of the way he must have been brought up if Lucius was his father. Moreover, which son wouldn't want to save his family from Voldemort's wrath or punishment and which son would like to see Voldemort shame his/her family. However, he has definitely indicated many times that he had second thoughts and didn't really want to kill Dumbledore, actually he even failed to do that. Speaking of bullying muggle-borns, again that comes from the way he was brought up since childhood, but it's also quite possible that he didn't realise he was hurting the people he bullied and thought it was all in good fun, as he was not very kind to pure-blood Slytherins either, for e.g., when he told Goyle that he didn't know Goyle could read or when he treated them as his minions or called them negative names for failing to be his perfect allies. In defence of him despite him being a great bully, we can argue that James Potter was no less an entitled chap and an arrogant bully than Draco Malfoy, maybe even more than Draco, for e.g., when he hung Severus Snape upside down by the ankle using the spell Levicorpus. Yet for some weird reason or for the purpose of the plot, James was painted in a noble light and Lily was even made to fall in love with him. Some actions just get justified by being a Gryffindor, I guess.
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." - Albus Dumbledore.