The Knave of Spades

The Knave of Spades

"Two of spades: conflict. Seven of spades: an ill omen. Ten of spades: violence. Knave of spades: a dark young man, possibly troubled, one who dislikes the questioner -"

(HBP, p.185)

After reading OotP I was a little worried that Draco might slowly and gradually fade out of Harry's (and therefore the reader's) consciousness. Draco doesn't really develop much in the first five books of the series; he struts around the castle, insults Harry and his friends, and thinks up ridiculous little plots that are bound to fail most of the time. True, once in a while he does manage to get under Harry's skin, but fewer and fewer of these moments occur as Harry grows older and has to deal with far more dangerous threats than a schoolboy grudge. By the end of OotP it becomes unmistakably clear that Draco is no match for Harry. If he stays the way he is, he will fade away.

Yet he doesn't. HBP brings completely new aspects to his character, and a development which comes as a surprise to most readers. We often wondered whether Draco would follow into his father's footsteps, or come round to the good side; we explored the different possibilities thoroughly in our fanfics. However, most of us never guessed that Draco's character would have such a prominent role in one of the books and that Jo would give him so much thought and detail after she warned us "not to become too attached to him."

*

Two of Spades: Conflict.

What changed Draco so much in such a short time? I think the first step of the ladder was the arrest of his father. Lucius has always played a prominent role in Draco's life, but now he is gone and the childhood world shatters. Draco can no longer rely on him for support, and he's used to someone showing him the way. Also, although Lucius raised Draco to be a proud pureblood, he never seemed to be particularly keen on letting him in on his darker secrets. Throughout the books, Draco shows no particular skills concerning dueling or the Dark Arts; he is easily defeated by Harry and his friends over and over again. Either Lucius doesn't think Draco capable of mastering the Dark Arts or he tries to keep him out of 'Dark Lord business' to protect him; maybe a mixture of both.

But Lucius is gone now, and here comes Aunt Bellatrix, who takes a far more aggressive view on things.

"... I know what you're doing, I'm not stupid, but it won't work - I can stop you!"

There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, 'Ah ... Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see."

(HBP, p.302)

Probably Occlumency isn't the only thing, Draco was taught during his summer holidays. The fight with Harry in the bathroom shows he's made considerable progress in dueling as well. Draco and Harry face each other as equals now while at the end of OotP, Draco didn't even get his wand out in time. He also received some training in the Unforgivables; we don't know whether he himself put the Imperius on Rosmerta, but he sure tries to use Cruciatus against Harry in the middle of their duel. That's a lot of magical achievement in such a short time; it appears Bella has worked him day and night to improve his skills. The days of the pampered little prince are finally over.

At first Draco seems to welcome his chance to prove himself and to finally play with the big guys. He is important now; he's a man with a mission.

"...I will say this for Draco: he isn't shrinking away from his duty, he seems glad of a chance to prove himself, excited at the prospect - "

"That's because he is sixteen and has no idea what lies in store."

(HBP, p.38)

Draco boasts about his mission on the train journey, although he almost certainly knows an enemy is present and listens to every word he says. Is he really as confident as he seems? Or does he secretly hope that Harry will talk to Dumbledore about what he overheard and the Headmaster will put a stop to it? Or is he still so innocent that he thinks what he's about to do is no different from the school pranks he used to plot? I imagine he killed Harry, Ron and Hermione a hundred times over in his dreams.

We don't know, but Draco will soon find out that his mission is not as easy as he thought it would be and what lies ahead if he should fail.

*

Seven of Spades: An Ill Omen.

Being in the service of the Dark Lord is not a game like shouting out insults to Muggle-borns and trying to cheat at Quidditch. Slowly, Draco realizes that he has maybe bitten off more than he can chew. The pressure on him increases as he tries to set his plan in motion and things don't work out the way they're supposed to.

This brings up one question that is being thoroughly discussed in the fandom: is or is Draco not branded with the Dark Mark? I think the evidence points towards yes in this matter.

"Perhaps this will make you more confident."

He moved towards 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.

"Tell anyone," said Malfoy, "and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback?"

(HBP p.121)

There's another scene at Madam Malkin's shop, only a few pages earlier where Draco flinches when Madam Malkin touches his left arm as she pins his new robes. Possibly the Mark is still fresh and the arm hurts; after all Draco would have received it only a short while ago.

A possible counter theory might be that Draco has a fresh bite on his arm, because he was turned into a Werewolf by Fenrir Greyback who likes to "bite them young."(HPB p.314) Also, Draco shows some of the signs, Remus showed during third year; he disappears at certain intervals and looks ill.

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.

(HBP p.301)

Personally, I think, the Dark Mark theory is the more plausible one of the two; Werewolf!Draco being too much of a fanfic thing. Draco's shadows and grayish skin probably derive from a mixture of fear, lack of sleep, and much, much brooding over the broken cabinet. When school started he neglected his studies, his prefect duties, Quidditch, and his usual taunts of Harry Potter because he believed he was moving on to bigger and better things, but by now he has realized that his old life is gone and there is no returning to it.

He grows ever more desperate as time passes and still doesn't achieve anything. How does Voldemort manage to increase pressure over him as time passes? At Hogwarts Draco is relatively safe from physical attack; the Dark Lord wouldn't need him if he could enter the castle on his own. The Dark Mark, however, would give him special powers over Draco, he could control him, perhaps even kill him from afar. Although he can't use it to make Draco Apparate to his side, we don't know how many other uses the Dark Mark has.

"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 p.488)

This certainly sounds like Voldemort does have the power to kill Draco at Hogwarts and the Dark Mark would possibly give him such power. Also Draco realizes one other thing during that time: not only will he die if he fails; he was never really meant to succeed in the first place.

*

Ten of Spades: Violence.

In his original plan, Draco meant to let the Death Eaters into the school which would leave the killing to somebody else. As time passes and he grows more desperate by the day, however, he thinks up several plans to kill Dumbledore himself and soon finds out that killing is a very different thing from talking about killing. He still carries on with his plan despite all the pressure, rejects Snape's repeated offers for help, and tries to smuggle a cursed locket and a poisoned drink into the school which almost kill two of the students.

In both cases, it's sheer dumb luck that Draco does not become responsible for another's death and it's difficult for me to understand that Dumbledore, who cherishes his students above all else, still counts him among the innocent. Draco does not kill anybody face-to-face, but he does risk other students' lives to achieve his goal and Dumbledore lets it happen. And I wonder, would Harry still feel pity for Draco, if Ron hadn't survived the poison attack?

However, there's another side to this:

And Harry realized with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying - actually crying - tears streaming down his pale face into the grim basin.

(HBP p.488)

So Draco secretly withdraws in the bathroom to cry whenever the pressure becomes overwhelming. This is viewed by many fans as a proof of his softer side, but we shouldn't forget that he cried several times when he got hurt, just remember Buckbeak and the ferret. Also, we don't know if his tears truly have something to with remorse or if it's simply the fear for his own life.

Remarkable is, however, that he does not use his tears for personal gain this time; he hides them from everyone, and this is a clear sign of true emotion. He finally realizes what he has gotten himself into.

And as the battle of Hogwarts takes place, Draco for the first time is truly confronted with death. He stumbles over Bill's unconscious body (believing him dead) and proceeds to find Dumbledore. He achieved the goal of his mission despite all the obstacles in his way, but now he isn't able to take the final step. Draco may be a lot of things, but he isn't a killer after all, at least not face-to-face. He even starts to feel remorse for letting the Death Eaters in, after he realizes what Fenrir's presence means for the children, and he still can't carry it through. He looks into Dumbledore's eyes and just can't do it.

He's reached a true turning point in his life and as Dumbledore offers him help, he's ready to take it, ready to turn his back on his past and come over to the side of good. This is the first time we actually see a redeemed Draco in canon, and his story is told skillfully, believable, and above all, heartbreaking.

Because the sad thing is that Draco never gets his chance.

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Knave of Spades: A Dark Young Man, Possibly Troubled, One Who Dislikes the Questioner -

In Tarot, the Knave of Spades stands for inner conflict, a quarrel between old and new ideas inside a person's soul. The new ideas often come from an outside source, an opportunity, another path you could take in life. In my opinion this is a symbolic description for Draco's development in HBP, so Sybil Trelawny could well be talking about Draco with these lines. He is a dark young man, he is troubled, and as for the questioner, there could be several possibilities. My first guess was Voldemort, since he set Draco out to do the task, but the phrase could also refer to Snape or Dumbledore. Both try to influence Draco's life during the story, both try to show him another path. But in the very same moment that Draco lowers his wand and considers Dumbledore's path, this opportunity is taken away from him.

Dumbledore is gone and Draco is once again with the Death Eaters. Even if he did decide to become one of the good guys, where would he turn to? The Ministry? His crimes are enough to earn him a life-sentence in Azkaban; he can expect no help from people like Rufus Scrimgeour. The Order of the Phoenix? He doesn't know them very well, let alone trusts them. Would they simply forgive him everything and take him in with open arms? After he brought Death Eaters into the school, endangered the life of all the students and is partly responsible for Dumbledore's death?

He could run, of course. He could try to run for it and last a few days like Regulus Black did. But Draco was never one to willingly sacrifice his life for a noble cause, and he would also endanger the lives of his parents by an action like this.

Severus and Narcissa will certainly do everything in their power to protect Draco, but that power is limited. Draco wouldn't want his mother to get involved, wouldn't want her to get killed. As for Severus, he cannot blow his cover, not after all these sacrifices. Not even for Draco. He can try to protect Draco's life, but he cannot help Draco turn away from Voldemort. Revealing his true identity to Draco is a risk he simply can't take. What if Draco turns him in, and it was all for nothing?

Everything points to the same conclusion, if Jo doesn't come up with another brilliant piece of plot, (which I hope she does) Draco will stay with the Dark Lord. He will receive more lessons from Aunt Bellatrix, he will follow his master's orders, and with the constant threat to his life he will finally loose the last bit of his innocence and learn to kill.

Harry did not believe that Malfoy would have killed Dumbledore. He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike. Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under the threat of killing him and his parents?

(HBP p. 596)

When Harry meets Draco again in the last book of the series, he will probably have to face a fully-fledged Death Eater.