WARNING: mild spoilers for the new Harry Potter movie, which I went to see this morning. I may never talk about anything else again.
Sonia and I were discussing that scene in the new movie where Voldemort slaps a sickly, pathetic-looking Lucius Malfoy and says, “How can you live with yourself, Lucius?”
US: Um, he was doing fine until YOU came back.
Then we had the realization…was he? Sure, we saw him swanning around the World Quidditch Cup and stuff, but…he mostly seems to pick on kids!
LUCIUS: Hey, where are those kids you don’t like from school? Maybe we should put them in their place again.
DRACO: Dad, why don’t I ever see you bullying other adults?
LUCIUS: For some reason, they aren’t as intimidated by my snake-cane and sweet hairdo.
I mean, sure, he got in that brawl with Arthur Weasley at the beginning of book 2, but that isn’t really very dignified, is it? Maybe all the adult wizards are laughing at him behind his back and Harry just doesn’t know! Maybe they make fun of his hair! Maybe he has Imposter Syndrome! Maybe he’s ALWAYS been THIS close to a complete loss of confidence/nervous breakdown.
Oh. Interesting point. True that after he’s spent time in Azkaban and his son is threatened, he’s a lot less confident. Certainly no one seems to like him. Sure, he has bought some influence and other Death Eaters listen to him, sort of. I think he sort of aged out of being the school bully and didn’t know where to go from there, so he’s just nasty and pathetic.
And yeah, flabby, friendly Mr. Weasley owned his a$$ in that fight.
Poor guy! I feel like Draco has this big inferiority complex because his dad is so “confident and powerful” and he’s so…not. But perhaps they have more in common than he realizes!