Does anyone else think that Draco Malfoy gets less credit than he deserves?

Question

I got into an argument with my friend, she thinks that Draco is an idiot but i disagree
Alright, this is the deal...
Draco Malfoy is hated by the trio and for good reasons.
What vexes me so much is when people call Draco an idiot.
Draco is shown that he is a smart student.
1. he managed to fix the vanishing cabinet
2. he can produce protean charm (hermione did that for the DA and was praised for because it was Newt level)
3. in the 6th book he was in all the class harry was in. (newt level)
4. He is a good seeker, he only lost to Harry

he is not a idiot but i know he is a git but that can't be helped since he was raised that way and i also don't think that Draco and his father had a bad relationship. He cares for Draco as shown in the end of the 7th book.
Anyways what do you guys think, is Draco a smart student or not? also you can give me more evidence to prove that he is smart

Alright i know that he bought his way into the quidditch team but he was able to defeat all the quidditch teams in book three but lost to harry. If he didn't then he wouldn't have been able to face the Griffindors in the final match otherwise

There is another evidence, though Snape favored Draco, Snape cannot give him an O on his Potions OWLs. Draco was in Newt Potions with his stuff ready and obviously he had an O in order to be accepted into the class with Snape's standards. If that makes any sense.

Answer 1

Draco's problem is not his intelligence, it is his cowardise. Crabbe and Goyle ARE very stupid. If they were not stupid, Crabbe would have known that Fiend Fyre was too hard for him to control and he might have survived book seven.

Draco is definitely intelligent, but he is an elitist who wants to seem more important than he actually is. Because of this, his big mouth and inflated ego get him in over his head many times, especially with the Death Eaters. If not for the agreement between Snape and Dumbledore (which reselted in the unbreakable pact Snape entered into with Narcissa), Voldemort would never have let Draco survive book six.

As is clearly evidenced many times in Book Six and Book Seven, Lucius and Narcissa are also elitist bigots who talk a good game, but are cowards in the end. They want the prestige of saying they are part of the Dark Lord's inner circle, but they are very afraid of the actual risk involved.

Answer 2

Draco probably got good grades in Potions, because Snape favored his own house, but "Mad-Eye" liked him so little that he turned him into a ferret, so he had to earn his grade there. Snape was a smart kid who was a product of deeply prejudiced parents in a devoted family. Despite movie portrayals, he wasn't a coward, but the pressure he was under in Book 6 nearly broke him. It took guts to stay behind at the Battle of Hogwarts. A git, yes! Smart, yes! Not bad for someone with his background.

Draco is Latin for dragon. I assume everyone knows that.

Answer 3

Vanathy - for the most part, we only see Draco through Harry's eyes. Harry didn't like him, didn't trust him and didn't think much of him, so that's what most people believe about Draco.

But, remember Draco was born in a wealthy, pureblood family and had to live up to those standards. He is a good student and he cares about his family, which is why he went to work for Voldemort. Draco is also clever and ambitious.

Draco hates Harry because Harry was famous and Harry wouldn't befriend him in their first year at Hogwarts.

Answer 4

You're right. Draco is no dummy, but his upbringing and environment lead him to misuse and misapply his smarts. Crabbe and Goyle (especially Crabbe) are good examples of characters who are only slightly smarter than a box of rocks. Look how Draco stands out by contrast.

Intellectually, Draco doesn't have **quite** as much on the ball as Hermione. But IMO he outclasses Ron and is easily a match for Harry. He (Draco) may be a jerk, but you've gotta give him some credit for brains.

EDIT - to Ralph: Please STOP spamming your reading list all over the place!!

Answer 5

Okay, I pity him. He's not like Voldemort, and what does hating people in the books other than him do? It makes you feel terrible later, like with Snape. I agree, he isn't an idiot, but he he's not a good guy. He did bad things, terrible things, but he can't be that bad. He can remorse. Hey he had a son and got married! who would want to marry him if he that bad? anyhow he is very smart, he could probably rival hermione by now (okay maybe not hermione, but harry at least! and he's not half a stupid as people take him either!) His father brainwashed him from birth, so he wasn't at fault for his upbringing. he also has good logic. he was thinking before dumbledore was killed, i bet he was. He was proabably thinking "Do i really want to do this? think of what'll become of me! do i really want to?"

Answer 6

Not going to give you any evidence. Going to contradict you.

1. He forced Mr. Borgin to help him and give him instructions on how to fix the cabinet. Draco threatened him with the Dark Mark.
2. I'm sure with much practice he was able to perform a protean charm. He was at NEWT level, and that was NEWT magic.
3. So? A lot of people were in the same classes as Harry. It doesn't mean they are genius, it means they did well on their OWL exams.
4. No, I think I remember reading that he bought his way on to the Slytherin team by giving each player a Nimbus 2001. (Then again, I might be wrong because I haven't read that book in ages.)

Draco isn't an evil person, but he's not a great one either.

Answer 7

i agree that draco doesnt get enough credit. hes a jerk but like mentioned earlier, he did think for himself in book 6, we saw him crying to myrtle, he didnt want to kill dumbledore, i dont think he would have and in book 7 he was certainly vague when he kept being asked to see if it was the trio that was brought to his house by the snatchers. although no one bothered him about it i think it would be difficult to be so vague to his parents and the others when they know that he could easily recognize the trio. i think in book 7 he felt forced into what he was doing and was trying to do as little as possible for the death eaters and still not get him or his family murdered. and yes i agree, i think he is intelligent, above average at least but not a genius like hermione.

and yes ralph needs to stop answering every hp question with "yes it was disappointing...hey read these!"

Answer 8

Draco is a smart boy but sometime he doesn't think.
And he can be a cry baby.
Harry,Herminoe and Ron has saved his life more then plenty of times.
But he can be dumb like his friend Crabe and Goyle.

Answer 9

Hes a smart kid that was born into a family that raised him to believe certain morals. Yes. He is very smart and talented he just didn't apply it to the right areas.

Answer 10

Well, I guess he wasnt really bad but he did quite a few bad things. Everyone above has already explained.