Draco Malfoy, a Werewolf?

Is it just me, or does Draco Malfoy exhibit the symptoms of a werewolf? Throughout Half-Blood Prince, we are treated to a barrage of hints and clues about our Slytherin friend, both in his behavior and appearance. We know that he missed a Quidditch match against Gryffindor, a deadly rival. Draco's disappearance is odd in light of the fact that he never would miss a chance to outperform his nemesis, Harry Potter. We also find out from Hermione that he did not hand in his Transfiguration homework for two days in a row. Why would Draco do this? He is relatively a good student and is gifted enough to enter McGonagall's N.E.W.T. level class. What is going on here?

On page 321, Harry's observation of Draco is interesting (emphasis bold).


Harry stared at Malfoy. It was not the sucking-up that intrigued him; he had watched Malfoy do that to Snape for a long time. It was the fact that 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 grayish tinge to his skin.

Compare this to the description of Remus Lupin in Prisoner of Azkaban on page 185 (again, emphasis bold):


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...

This is not the only time that Draco is described as being in ill health. Later on in Slughorn's class, on page 474, Draco is described as looking "thinner" and "paler," and "his skin still had that grayish tinge." Through Harry's opinion, we are led to believe that Draco's condition is linked to the mission's "going badly." But what if there is something else? Why is Draco described with the same symptoms as that of Lupin, a werewolf himself? What if Draco is a werewolf?

Next there is the question of how Draco knows Fenrir Greyback. We are introduced to Greyback in Borgin & Burkes when Draco threatens Borgin with "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" (page 125). I personally don't really buy the whole "Greyback-is-a-family-friend-of-the-Malfoys" thing- especially since Greyback is a dangerous werewolf whose taste for children is insatiable. There is a point in chapter twenty-seven, "The Lightning-Struck Tower," where Draco seems to be afraid of Greyback (emphasis mine, once again).


"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...."
"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---" (page 593).

There are two points to consider when examining this conversation. Why is Dumbledore shocked to see that Draco invited Greyback to Hogwarts where his friends live? Dumbledore only mentions Draco's friends as opposed to Draco himself. This implies that Draco is not so much in danger from Greyback as his friends are. Is Dumbledore suggesting that Draco is already a werewolf? Also, why is Draco afraid of Greyback? Is there some prior history between them?

We already know what Greyback is capable of through the words of Lupin: "Fenrir Greyback is, perhaps, the most savage werewolf alive today. He regards it as his mission in life to bite and to contaminate as many people as possible; he wants to create enough werewolves to overcome the wizards" (page 334). I find it very interesting that this is mentioned on the same page that Voldemort "promised him [Greyback] prey in return for his services." Could Draco have been one of Greyback's "promised" preys? This is not so far a stretch as we already know that Voldemort is angry with Lucius Malfoy. Narcissa, Draco's mother, believes that Draco's assignment to kill Dumbledore is "vengeance for Lucius's mistake" (page 33). Lucius not only failed at getting the prophecy when it smashed in the Department of Mysteries, but he also carelessly mishandled one of Voldemort's Horcruxes (the diary) for his own ends. What if Voldemort commanded Greyback to bite Draco as punishment for Lucius's mistakes? If this is true, then the mission alone was not enough to appease the Dark Lord's lust for vengeance. Something more was required. (This, by the way, parallels Lupin's own unfortunate situation: It was Lupin's father who offended Greyback, and the werewolf in turn bit his son.)

Let's get back to the scene at Borgin & Burkes. Draco shows something to Borgin when he mentions Greyback as a family friend. Harry assumes that this is the Dark Mark and that Draco is a Death Eater. He seems to hold this opinion throughout the novel and does not admit the slightest possibility of being wrong when Hermione tries to argue otherwise. What if the thing that Draco showed Borgin was not the Dark Mark, but a werewolf bite?

It makes sense that Draco is a werewolf. It explains why he was sick for much of the school year. It explains why he was afraid of Greyback. It explains why Snape at Slughorn's Christmas party was looking at Draco as though both angry and...was it possible?...a little afraid? (page 321). It explains why Draco was crying in front of Moaning Myrtle. It explains why the movie scene in Prisoner of Azkaban where Draco howls like a werewolf in Snape's Defense against the Dark Arts lesson is so significant (J.K. Rowling said in the PoA DVD interview that she got goose bumps when she saw certain scenes because they actually foreshadow events in the final two novels).

The implications for this are enormous. Will Harry find out about Draco's condition? Will Harry actually feel pity for his arch nemesis, especially in light of Draco's performance in the North Tower when he failed to kill Dumbledore? Will Harry be aware of his own prejudices and biases when it comes to certain people like Draco? Whatever the case, this will make Draco's character a more complex one than we've seen in the other novels. For this and all of the abovementioned reasons, I believe we can be assured that Draco Malfoy is indeed a werewolf.

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The reasons I have behind my opinion that Draco Malfoy is a Werewolf in the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, are all based off my interpretation of the events that occurred and my own guesswork and assumptions. You may think differently, and I look forward to discussing it with you, for I have only read the book once fully through, and may have missed key points that could either add or detract from my theory.

When we first start the book, in the second chapter, we see Narcissa beg Severus Snape to help Draco, her son, her “only son”, eventually persuading Snape to make an Unbreakable vow with her to protect Draco, to help Draco, and incase Draco should fail -in his at this point unspecified task- complete it for him (important note for later).

Later, in chapter six we see Narcissa and Draco in Diagon Ally, buying new dress robes of a green colour in Madam Malkin’s shop. There, he shouts at her about where she is “jabbing her pins” and Harry later describes him jumping a “mile into the air when she reached for his left arm” coming to the conclusion that Draco had been branded with the Dark Mark. This I will dispute now….

If Lord Voldemort is sending a student into Hogwarts to complete a very important task, would he -especially since Draco is underage and normally wouldn’t be made a full-fledged Death Eater until he comes of age- mark the boy? It would be overly obvious, if he were in fact suspected of anything in the school, to just request Draco to pull up his sleeve and show them his left forearm. A chance the Dark Lord surely wouldn’t take. He may have assigned Draco the task counting on him dying in his attempt, but he also wanted Dumbledore dead, therefore, he wouldn’t add to the circumstances of Draco failing as much as just not mourn him if Draco were to fail and simply press on with his desire to kill the Headmaster. Therefore, it is my opinion, that Draco would not have the Dark Mark as of this time in the Harry Potter series.

Lucius Malfoy “failed” the Dark Lord so it is said. He not only failed in attaining the prophecy, but the prophecy was destroyed without anyone hearing it, and Lucius, along with many faithful Death Eaters were captured in the Ministry that night in June and was sent to Azkaban. Very, very, naughty Malfoy in the Dark Lords eyes. Snape said so himself that the Dark Lord was very angry indeed and Snape actually refused to look Narcissa in the eyes when she suggested that it was punishment for Lucius’s mistake that Draco was chosen for such a dangerous task. The Dark Lord is clearly fierce, and quite serious when it comes to dealing out punishment.

Furthermore, Lupin explained at Christmas at the burrow in chapter sixteen a great deal that gave me a strong impression that Draco was a Werewolf at that point. Lupin had -somehow- worked his way into the Dark Lords Werewolf followers and was trying to persuade them to join the “right side” and so forth. He explains to Harry that Fenrir Greyback is the “most savage werewolf alive today” his mission: to bite as many people possible, wanting to create enough Werewolves to overcome the wizards. Lupin then explained that Voldemort promised Greyback prey in return for services. Greyback “specializes in children” and Voldemort is said to “unleash” Greyback upon people’s sons and daughters. Now, Lucius failed the Dark Lord miserably, and I was given the impression later on in the book that Fenrir was used to “punish” the sons and daughters of those who fail, displease, or offend the Dark Lord. Draco was given the task to smuggle Death Eaters into Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore -as Narcissa put it- “this is vengeance for Lucius’s mistake!” but who is to say, the Dark Lord, known for his short tempter, did not already have Greyback bite Draco as a rash punishment for Lucius’s failure already?

Draco would not let Madam Malkin, Harry Potter, or his mother for that matter, see his left arm, and when Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Draco into Borgin and Brukes, Draco showed Mr. Borgin something on his left arm, mentioning “Fenrir Greyback” as he did so. Why Greyback and not any of the other many Death Eaters the Malfoys know? And “friend of the family” as Draco put it, could possibly not mean his literal family, but the werewolf “family” or “community” he was by then newly apart of.

Now at Hogwarts, and working on his plan, Draco is often sick, and always looking rather ill. He is said to have “dark circles under his eyes” and “pale, almost grayish skin”…such descriptions were used for Lupin all throughout the third Harry Potter book, as well as Lupin at Christmas who was “thinner and more ragged than ever”. Draco was using the Room of Requirement to work on the Vanishing Cabinet, but the room is whatever one requires, so, my thought is, on the night of the full moon Draco would require a room where he could safely transform. Something I believe easily attainable by the room (Lupin could have used the room, but I was given the impression that neither Lupin, or Dumbledore knew of the room entirely since the room is not on the Marauders Map, and Dumbledore, in the forth book during the Ball, mentioned the room as a room he did not know). Draco is also exceptionally gifted in Potion Making, so I wouldn’t put it past him to try and make some Wolfsbane in the Room of Requirement as well. All things he was capable of doing without having to tell anyone of his condition.

Draco being a Werewolf would certainly detract from his performance at School. Lupin, in the third Harry Potter book missed several classes at a time, or appeared exhausted or ill while trying to carry on in class. Draco was mentioned to have missed Transfiguration homework’s, Quidditch practices and games, and even classes from time to time. Exhaustion from his task could explain this away to an extent, but his sick appearance is really not what I would expect from just stress and lack of sleep and sun. his breakdowns to Moaning Myrtle in the boy’s lavatory is another case of stress, but could not only be stress of his task, but of his health. Myrtle was not an overly liked student, not accepted. Draco could have felt a connection with her now that he was even more alienated from the student body.

Then there is the end of the book, at the top of the tower. Draco had Dumbledore at his mercy, but did not push on and kill the feeble old man. And when the Death Eater backup showed up, Draco seemed rather panicked to see Greyback with them. His fear of the Werewolf, though rightfully so, seemed rather extreme in my opinion, but, if that very Werewolf in fact infected him, it would explain his terror.

Now, even if you do not believe that Draco is a Werewolf all throughout the 6th book and he was, just as Harry believed, a Death Eater, then one could take a wager that he will be one soon. Draco failed the Dark Lord. (As we know that is a bad, bad thing to do). He got the Death Eaters into the school where one died, and did not kill Dumbledore. Tied by the Unbreakable Vow Snape had to complete the task or die himself. Draco’s hesitation (as I see it) will be blamed for the death of the Death Eater at Hogwarts, and his loyalties will no doubt be questioned. The Dark Lord seemed to be unconcerned with Draco’s outcome in the task, as long as it was fulfilled. Him having sent Greyback to Hogwarts that night seemed to say to me that he was hanging something over Draco’s head. Either reminding him what he had let Greyback do to him (made him a Werewolf), or maybe threaten him with Greyback should he fail.

I have a strong feeling the Dark Lord is not happy with Draco and it isn’t beyond the Dark Lord to take out his frustration on his followers. Giving Draco (a child still) to Greyback fits rather nicely into all that JKR had said already in the book. She made a rather nice point of explaining a lot about Greyback in the book for him to have been such a small character in it. The details she revealed through Lupin seemed to be leading us somewhere, but then stopped short of our expectations. Sending Lupin into the Werewolf pack seemed to me that JKR want to lead the readers somewhere. This is where I was lead. I, of course, could be completely wrong and this is all just my wishful thinking, but I think I have enough reasoning behind this theory that, though it can’t be proved, it can’t be disproved either as of this point. At no point is the Dark Mark ever confirmed to be on Draco’s arm. So there…*sticks out tongue*

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Theory by [RabidSphinx] no stealing this without giving just credit to me....thank you.

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