Okay, for the last time...
Draco is NOT a werewolf!
An opinion based on the canon by SeaIsleWitch
So, the Draco is a Werewolf theory has popped up again. I've seen it twice in the past week. This is a never-before-posted essay of sorts, which I wrote last year -- or maybe even the year before -- with special assistance from the fabulous lewlinX. Clearly, I'm not an essayist or a theorist, but I felt the need to dispel this idea.
Note: This should also help to dispel other Draco theories, such as Draco is a Vampire. Obviously, this rant should be more concisely written, but I am working on my final WIP -- Part III of my trilogy -- and I must finish it by next week.
(Thanks to missblane for proofreading. *hugs*)
MYTH: Draco's appearance is just like Lupin's, so he must be a werewolf.
Draco's Appearance
…Malfoy did, after all, look a little ill. This was the first time he had seen Malfoy close up for ages; he now saw that Malfoy had dark shadows under his eyes and a distinctly greyish tinge to his skin. (HBP, page 321 - All quotes are from the American hardcover editions.)
Certainly he (Draco) looked paler; his skin still had that grayish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. (HBP, page 474)
I saw Malfoy sneaking of with a couple of girls...that's the second time he's made sure he isn't down on the Quidditch pitch with the rest of the school; he skipped the last match, too.( HBP, page 417)
He (Remus Lupin) looked rather pale and peaky (was the full moon approaching?)... (OOTP, page 642)
(Lupin) was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals. (POA, page 130)
Lupin's appearance changes with the lunar cycle. Sometimes he appears ill because the full moon is near or just passed, and other times he looks healthier. Draco looked fine on the train, which Pansy will attest to in detail, but as the school year passed, Draco gradually became ill-looking, and his appearance worsened by the end of the year.
Paleness, Pallor, Skin Pale or Gray Skin is characterized by an abnormal loss of normal skin colour which develops suddenly or gradually. Common causes include: fair complexion/thin skin (inherited), lack of exposure to the sun, anemia (possibly from poor nutrition), and shock. (healthallrefer dot com)
Malfoy has inherited a very pale complexion and white-blond hair, so his skin would be very thin. He would be susceptible to discolouration of skin tone due to cardio vascular issues brought on by extreme stress (see below), vitamin deficiency (poor nutrition), lack of sun, and shock of his predicament.
Draco's Weight loss
Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy...look thinner? (HBP page 417)
(Summary) Malfoy is in the Room of Requirement. Harry is outside. Ron and Hermione are at lunch. Malfoy is missing a meal. (HBP page 464-466)
The American Institute of Stress says that stress can have varying effects on eating problems and weight. Some people suffer a loss of appetite and lose weight.
Draco is under a great deal of stress. He is being forced to do things under the threat of his parents and himself being killed. You aren't going to be eating very much if that's your reality, so you will lose weight, especially if you are a teenage boy who is still growing.
Draco's Lack of Sickness
Professor Lupin was back at work. It certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless he smiled at the class…(POA page 185)
Well… all right. I'll try to help (to teach Harry to fight Dementors). But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill. (POA page 189)
“He (Lupin) says he is feeling too ill to teach today,” said Snape with a twisted smile. (POA page 170)
If Draco were a werewolf, he would be too ill to go to classes and wouldn't have had enough time to work on his mission. He would be in the infirmary or some other 'safe' place. I won't even entertain the notion of the Shrieking Shack because that is no place for a Malfoy. You know how sensitive Draco is to pain -- remember the Buckbeak incident? Dumbledore, Snape and perhaps Slughorn would know, as well as Madam Pomfrey, and there's no indication of that anywhere in the text.
Draco's Attitude
But there was no air of smugness, excitement, or superiority none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort. (Harry's thoughts) (HBP page 474 )
The mission, whatever it was, was going badly. (HPB page 474)
Draco's attitude has changed because of the monumental stress he is under to complete both parts of his tasks -- kill Dumbledore and/or get the Death Eaters inside Hogwarts. Even sixteen-year-old Harry can tell the mission is going badly, and you should realise that too!
Draco's Obvious Stress
Stress is extremely debilitating because virtually all body systems (the heart and blood vessels, the immune system, the lungs, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and brain) are modified to meet the perceived danger. Isolated individuals, adolescents, and angry personalities have a high risk for stress. Intense worry about a harmful event and the tensions of unresolved stress cause insomnia, change in appetite/weight loss, and lessened concentration. (Source: The American Institute of Stress - www dot stress dot org)
Sirius himself suspected that Regulus got in a little too deep. Like Draco. He was attracted to it, but the reality of what it meant was way too much to handle. JKR interview 7-16-05 TLC/MN
The reality of the situation...the stress is too much for Draco to handle according to J.K. Rowling. Privileged Draco has never had much to worry (that we know of) about until he is charged with this task. He has to keep himself and his parents from being killed. It is the single most important thing that he's ever had to do, and things are not going well. He is so stressed out he looses sleep, skips meals, doesn't turn in Transfiguration homework due to lack of concentration and time, and spends hours upon hours trying to fix a broken vanishing cabinet, and time is running out. He's not himself; even Harry notices it. His complexion is suffering because of the constant fear of failure, and dark circles form under his eyes from the lack of sleep.
Draco's Lack of Scarring
Not once is it mentioned that Draco had any injuries or scars when we see him again after every 'disappearance' (into the Room of Requirement) throughout HBP, so it must not be critical to the plot and therefore does not exist. Even if he's controlling 'his transformations' by taking Wolfsbane, there would be at least one visible scar with the very delicate skin of Draco Malfoy for the plot to make sense.
Draco's Disappearances
"......The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform...I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf...." (POA, pages 352 - 353)
Draco's disappearances were not contingent on the full moon, or Miss Know-it-All would have noticed and told Harry, so we would know too.
MYTH: Moaning Myrtle knows Draco is a werewolf.
Moaning Myrtle's World
…but that doesn't mean I can't visit other places…
I came and saw you in your bath once, remember? (HBP, page 462)
She followed Olive around until the Ministry had to step in and stop her. So Myrtle went back to her toilet and moaned and cried and splashed water out whenever she felt particularly miserable. (Source - The Harry Potter Lexicon hp-lexicon dot org)
Myrtle has been in the girls' bathroom on the second floor (COS), Black Lake (when toilet was flushed) (COS), the Prefects' bathroom on the fifth floor (GOF), and the boy's bathroom on the sixth floor(HBP).
As far as we know, Moaning Myrtle doesn't go/isn't allowed into the Forbidden Forest, Shrieking Shack, offices, classrooms, hospital wing or places a werewolf would possibly go to transform, even with Wolfsbane.
Draco was not changing into a werewolf in a Hogwarts bathroom and hiding out there during the duration! Harry would have seen him on the Marauder's Map. Myrtle knows nothing!
What Moaning Myrtle Actually Said
He said he'd come back and see me…
I've learned not to expect too much from boys. (HBP, page 461)
But I thought he liked me.
Maybe if you two left, he'd come back again…We had lots in common…I'm sure he felt it…. (HBP, page 462)
Myrtle is delusional if she thinks Draco felt a connection with her.
I mean he's sensitive, people bully him too, and he feels lonely and hasn't got anybody to talk to, and he's not afraid to show his feelings and cry!"
"There's been a boy in here crying?" said Harry curiously. "A young boy?"
"Never you mind!" said Myrtle, her small, leaky eyes fixed on Ron, who was now definitely grinning. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, and I'll take his secret to the--- (HBP, page 462)
Myrtle is talking about Draco crying, but she's not a very good secret keeper, is she? Not to Harry, anyway. She's told him secrets before in COS and GOF. Myrtle only clammed up when she saw Ron grinning and realised she had let the cat out of the bag.
Draco would never want anyone to see him cry! He would make her swear not to tell anyone -- ever! He cries because he finds himself in a situation he has no control over. Draco is also upset about people (Death Eaters and Voldemort -- and perhaps Snape and Harry too) bullying him.
Let's see what JK Rowling says:
But I thought of Draco as someone who is very capable of compartmentalizing his life and his emotions, and always has done. So he's shut down his pity, enabling him to bully effectively. (JKR post HBP interview with TLC/MuggleNet)
Let's see… What could Draco's secret be? Oh, that he's now a Death Eater, and he has to get Death Eaters into Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore. I don't think he needs anymore secrets than that, and J.K. Rowling didn't give him any either. Let's see what else she says:
He's shut down compassion - how else would you become a Death Eater? So he suppresses virtually all of the good side of himself. But then he's playing with the big boys, as the phrase has it, and suddenly, having talked the talk he's asked to walk it for the first time and it is absolutely terrifying. And I think that that is an accurate depiction of how some people fall into that kind of way of life and they realize what they're in for. I felt sorry for Draco. Well, I've always known this was coming for Draco, obviously, however nasty he was. (JKR post HBP interview with TLC/MuggleNet)
The big secret is that Draco is a Death Eater, and he's got to walk the walk, and he's terrified. THIS is what was coming for Draco, not him being a werewolf. There was no mention of him being a werewolf or any hint of any other issues for him. Truly, being a Death Eater with a mission to kill Dumbledore or he and his parents will be killed are big enough issues to cause amazing amounts of stress.
Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.
“Don't,” crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from one of the cubicles. “Don't…tell me what's wrong…I can help you…” (HBP pages 521)
Myrtle obviously doesn't know what's wrong!
“No one can help me,” said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. “I can't do it…I can't…It won't work…and unless I do it soon…he says he'll kill me…” (HBP page 522)
Draco is stressed out about his evil assignment. That is the ultimate secret! He's not stressed out about being a werewolf because he isn't.
MYTH: Snape knows Draco is a werewolf.
And why was Snape looking at Malfoy as though both angry…and was it possible? ...a little afraid? (HBP, page 321)
Snape looked 'a little frightened' with Draco at Slughorn's party because he feared Draco might crack under all the pressure, and then Draco could have been expelled or worse.
"Severus was very interested in where I went every month... Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform..." (POA page 357)
“You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves.” (Snape talking.) (POA, page 173)
Snape is more than capable of recognising the behaviour of a werewolf, and Draco would be quarantined at certain times of the month.
MYTH: Snape or Slughorn is brewing Wolfsbane Potion for Draco.
There is no evidence of this. There was nothing mentioned to that effect.
(Snape) was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his black eyes narrowing.
You should drink that directly, Lupin. (Snape)
Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me,” he said. “I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex.”
“I've been feeling a bit off-color,” (Lupin) said. “This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working along Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it."
The empty goblet was still smoking. (POA, pages 156- 157)
So, really the only ones who can brew it are Snape and probably Slughorn.
I doubt Slughorn is brewing it because he seems a bit afraid of controversy, so he would not be associated with a werewolf. Slughorn snubbed Draco for the Slug Club because of Lucius' incarceration and Death Eater affiliation, not because he suspected Draco of being a werewolf.
It's doubtful that Draco could make the potion because of lack of skill, procedure and ingredients. Also, Draco can't be buying Wolfsbane and having it secretly sent because everything is being searched -- except bottles of meade.
Lupin looks better when he takes Wolfsbane Potion too. Draco doesn't look better from one time to another.
MYTH: Dumbledore knows Draco is a werewolf.
"Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual...You have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?" (Dumbledore speaking to Greyback)
"That's right," said Fenrir Greyback. "Shocks you that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?" (Greyback speaking to Dumbledore)
"Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little," said Dumbledore. "And, yes, I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live..." (Dumbledore speaking to Greyback)
"I didn't," breathed Malfoy. He was not looking at Fenrir; he did not seem to want to even glance at him. "I didn't know he was going to come--" (Malfoy speaking to Dumbledore)
"I wouldn't want to miss a trip to Hogwarts, Dumbledore," rasped Greyback. "Not when there are throats to be ripped out...Delicious, delicious..." (Greyback speaking to Dumbledore) (HPB, pages 593 - 594)
The Draco is a Werewolf theorists think this passage is definitive proof that Draco is a werewolf. Well, I don't think they are reading the passage correctly.
If Dumbledore knows Malfoy is a werewolf, then why would he be a little shocked that Draco invited Greyback -- a known werewolf with a disturbing interest in children -- into the school? Dumbledore would expect dangerous behaviour from a dangerous Dark creature; it wouldn't shock him! Instead, Dumbledore suspects Draco has been given a task by the Dark Lord, and he tells us so right there on the tower! As usual, Dumbledore is correct.
MYTH: Draco showed Mr. Borgin a werewolf bite.
Would Mr Borgin recognize a werewolf bite? Where would it be? On his neck? Torso? Back? I don't believe Draco is going to undress in front of Mr Borgin. I don't think he had enough time to do that either. I think Draco simply pulled up his left sleeve and showed Mr Borgin a Dark Mark to intimidate him. That's all it took.
(Emphasis is mine. - SIW)
...She bent toward Malfoy who was still glaring at Harry.
"I think this left sleeve could come up a little bit more, dear, let me just -"
"OUCH!" bellowed Malfoy, slapping her hand away. "Watch where you're putting your pins, woman!" (HPB, page 114)
"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel [the Dark Mark on their arms turn black]? And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?" -- Lord Voldemort (source: Lexicon)
Snape strode forward, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.
"There," said Snape harshly. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord." (GOF, page 709 -- emphasis is mine)
"What's so urgent?" he heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff.
"This," said Karkaroff, and Harry, peering around the edge of his cauldron, saw Karkaroff pull up the left-hand sleeve of his robe and show Snape something on his inner forearm. (GOF, page 519)
(See how easy and quick it is to show a Dark Mark?)
Summary: Borgin tells him that without seeing it the job is difficult and impossible, so he can't guarantee anything.
"No?"..."Perhaps this will make you more confident." (Draco speaking.)
He moved toward Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.
(See how quick that was? There was no time to pull up robes and flash his back at Borgin!)
"Tell anyone," said Malfoy, "and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback? He's a family friend. He'll be dropping in from time to time to make sure you're giving the problem your full attention." (HBP, page 125)
If Draco has the Dark Mark, showing it to Mr Borgin would indeed frighten him. Draco is trying to use Greyback's name to further intimidate Borgin and to ensure his silence.
Greyback is NOT a Malfoy-family friend. No, Narcissa doesn't have a dangerous half-breed with disgusting manners around for dinner! Greyback and Draco are part of Voldemort's family of Death Eaters'.
MYTH: Draco was bitten purposefully by Fenrir Greyback because Voldemort was trying to punish Lucius.
Lucius is not the only one who failed at the Ministry that day. Nott and Crabbe were also there, and they also have sons Draco's age. As far as we know, nothing has happened to them.
Actually, the fact that Draco is a Black is the reason Voldemort wanted to use him to kill Dumbledore. Draco may be more powerful than we realize or may have access to ancient artefacts that could contribute to the fall of Voldemort. The House of Black has been decimated, perhaps by their choices, but perhaps by their misguided alliance with someone who wants a powerful family destroyed. So, giving this mission to Draco kills two birds with one stone! When Draco fails and is killed somehow in the process, Rita Skeeter could twist it all around: Look! Dumbledore's negligence has killed a pure-blood from The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black! Dumbledore is the dangerous one! Draco's death could be used for PR spin. If Draco manages to succeed, well, the Dark Lord can just exploit him some more!
If Volde's aim is to exact some sort of revenge on pure-bloods as well, then Draco's the perfect choice. Lucius didn't do anything special to warrant this -- well, maybe those flowing, silky locks make ugly Voldemort jealous! Who doesn't want to punish the rich and beautiful?
MYTH: Fenrir Greyback bit Draco, so that's why he's afraid of Fenrir on the tower.
If Fenrir did in fact bite Draco, turning him into a werewolf, then Draco really wouldn't be afraid of that because it's already happened. No, I think the threat of what Fenrir is and what he could do to him or his family -- or his friends or girlfriend, Pansy -- is why Draco is repulsed by him.
If Draco were a werewolf and needed to kill Dumbledore, why doesn't he position himself near Dumbledore on a full moon and then strike when he transforms? No, instead he tries using an expensive cursed necklace (how Malfoyesque!) and poisoning a bottle of meade.
Would Draco really care about the mission if he was a werewolf, anyway? No, his pure-blood life would be over, and Mummy would hide him or Draco might even kill himself.
MYTH: Draco Being a Werewolf Furthers the Plot
While we can only guess what JKR has planned, it seems to serve no purpose for Draco to be a werewolf. We already have Remus, who was a significant part of the POA plot. Now Bill has been hurt by Greyback. Bill's bites allowed Molly to accept Fleur's love of her son. Greyback is disgusting and shows how dangerous Dark creatures can be.
Honestly, Draco as a werewolf doesn't do much for the plot other than to punish Draco for the way his family has raised him. I'm quite sure that's not where J.K. Rowling is going with this. Draco made his own choice on the tower. Despite the threat of death, Draco made his own decision that night: He would not become a murderer. A lot of people call Draco's behaviour on the tower cowardly, but I call him brave. Draco was redeemed.
Myth: Pansy Parkinson would pet a werewolf.
No way! A werewolf is a dangerous Dark creature and would never be allowed to touch her delicate pure-blood flesh. The fact that Pansy is clearly his witch means Draco is NOT a werewolf. (I couldn't resist throwing this bit in.)
Conclusion
Draco is NOT a werewolf!