The Old Black Magick
Dracy Malfoy's Charisma
"Is evil attractive? Yes, I think that's very true. Harry has seen the kind of people who are grouped around this very evil character. I think we'd all acknowledge that the bully in the playground is attractive. Because if you can be his friend, you are safe. This is just a pattern. Weaker people, I feel, want that reflected glory. I'm trying to explore that." J.K. Rowling
What is it about the bully that makes him so attractive? Power? Our culture is very schizophrenic. While espousing Christian values of humility and turning the other cheek, most of us admire power even when it is an expression of "evil." The ability to inflict pain is undeniably a harbinger of power. Some of the most devastating and easy-to-inflict pain of all is that which tampers with people's self-esteem. Most of us have scars, aspects of ourselves we don't want to look at too closely. Someone who knows how to rub our faces in that part of ourselves can exercise a great deal of power over us. True bullying is a form of black magick. Those who employ it believe, whether consciously or not, in the words of Professor Quirrell, "There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it."
Looking at our favorite bully, Draco Malfoy, let's examine the ways in which he exercises his power over the "good guys." He is adapt at knowing what buttons to push whereby he can shake up his opponents' self-esteem. With Ron Weasley, it is easy. All he has to do is remind Ron that his family is poor. Ron could take back his own power by accepting the simple truth that he is poor. It's really silly to think ill of oneself or of one's family just because one doesn't have as much money as someone else. If Ron could really understand the foolishness of his belief, Draco would no longer have this particular weapon over him. But he doesn't. When Ron goes out for the Quidditch team, Draco exploits his lack of confidence. Simply by chanting a little ditty, he practically puts Ron in a trance in which he actually controls not only Ron's self-esteem, but even his ability to act effectively. The Slytherins sing and Ron fumbles. At least, he finally gets over that one.
Draco is not as successful in his efforts to taunt Hermione. She does not buy into the idea that a "mugblood" is an inferior person so his use of this word doesn't harm her. His attacks on Harry utilize the scars on Harry's psyche created by years growing up in a household where he was treated like vermin. He is consciously aware of his worth as a human being but deep down, he doesn't quite believe it. How could he when his most formative memories were of constant put-downs.
Another bully we encounter in Harry Potter is, of all people, Harry's father, James Potter. James, to Harry's shock and dismay, teases and torments Severus Snape, humiliating him in public while showing off his prowess in catching the golden snitch and messing up his hair.
The need to bully, of course, comes from a deep-seated self-loathing in the psyche of the bully. Those who really love themselves never want to go around belittling others. Draco's lack of self-love evidently comes from his father's highly conditional acceptance, an acceptance which his father constantly threatens to withdraw whenever Draco doesn't measure up to the father's standards. Such an upbringing causes one to always be comparing and measuring people's worth according to some scale of values internalized within one. First of all, Draco, as a Malfoy, is a pure-blooded wizard. That is one measure of excellence he can count on not to ever lose (unless "mugbloods" become completely acceptable). No wonder, this value is so important to him. His family is not only "pure," they are powerful, wealthy and influential. Everyone outside the family is evaluated by those standards.
When Draco meets a new person, he needs to know how to relate to him/her. For example, upon meeting Harry, Draco immediately tested him to see whether Harry would subordinate himself by letting Draco "help" him discover which friends are "the right sort" and which are not. When Harry refused to accept his "help," a rivalry began. What Draco can't subordinate or control must become neutralized, hence his constant campaign to tear Harry down. Unfortunately for Draco, Harry is very good at things. He beats him at Quidditch, keeps winning battles against Lord Voldemort and upholds a world in which Draco is not the center of power. Harry is a pureblood, himself. He has his own fortune. In Book Five, we find Draco aligning himself with "Professor" Umbridge, a powerful adult who can do to Harry what he, Draco, can't do himself.
As Harry is Draco's nemesis, Dumbledore is Voldemort's nemesis. He is the only wizard Voldemort fears. But his power is more than just the power to cause pain. He also enjoys the esteem of his friends for his goodness. When Dumbledore says, "Voldemort had powers I will never have," Professor McGonagall replies "Only because you're too — noble to use them." Thus, we see here another kind of power than the power to inflict pain. The power to inspire love and admiration are very important and real. The more someone is loved and admired, the harder it is to harm them. An effective bully knows how to isolate his foe. A person with damaged self-esteem is less likely to attract friends and supporters. In this way, the bully works both on the victim's own mind and also in his immediate environment. Popular political leaders are not as easily hexed as the lone wolf. Umbridge's power, which was based only on her ability to hurt breaks down when the "subjects" of her domain refuse to grant her the respect and cooperation she requires. She had plenty of self-confidence (one may say "entitlement") but her approach was so ugly and contemptible that she inspired only fear without any admiration. A successful bully has qualities that also attract admiration, if not love. That is one of the reasons Draco is a leader in his group and not Crabbe or Goyle. Draco is handsome and clever. He has the "gift of gab" which allows him to be charming when he wants to be. James Potter also has a lot of positive traits that improve his ability to prevail over his victim, Severus Snape. I never quite bought the image of Dudly Dorsley as a successful bully. I don't think anyone as fat and stupid and spoiled as he was could ever rise to that much prominence amongst his fellows.
Gryffinders are not at all good at matching insult for insult. All Draco has to do is insult a family member and the Gryffinders immediately resort to their fists (or wands). Then Draco can sit back and look like the innocent victim while the Gryffinder gets punished. Here is a choice insult Harry could have thrown at Draco if he had the wit of a Slytherin:
Draco: "Watch out, Potter, here come the Dementors!"
Potter: "I'm glad you like Dementors so much, Draco, because you are clearly going to end up in Azkaban some day."
All Draco's ragging on the families of Harry, Ron or Herminone can be returned very easily and realistically by alluding to the fact that Draco's father is a Death Eater and will "probably" end up in Azkaban. Example: "Where are you going to live once your father ends up in Azkaban? In an orphanage or in the next cell?"
A successful bully manages to surround himself with an aura of glamour. He will be able to appear more able, more successful, more powerful and just-plain-better! That is the secret of a bully's strength. Draco has scars, pains and inadequacies like everyone else. But he is a great bluffer and he keeps up a front to the world that he is on top of the world.
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