Draco Malfoy. Self-righteous, Slytherin, prejudiced, and pure-blooded. In the words of Ron Weasley, a "bloody git." Later on, a Voldemort fanboy, as well as a cowardly snake. These are all the sides of Draco Malfoy, at least according to the author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling. However, should fans of the books who believe ill of Draco simply click onto the internet and type in a search engine "Draco Malfoy fanfiction", their socks will be rocked. Enter a world of infinite possibilities: the Harry Potter fandom, where the good can be bad and the bad can be saints. Fan fiction is a place where the fate of the wizarding world is in the hands of mostly younger people (13 years old to mid-twenties). They can twist the personalities and destiny of characters beloved and hated, hated being the general word describing Draco Malfoy. But he is just that character we love to hate and hate to love, at least in the books. Fanfiction shows us a completely different version of Draco Malfoy, one some go as far as to love. However, with the new door of the fanfiction Draco Malfoy opening, fans are left with a choice, whom do they choose as the true Draco: the ambitious, cunning antagonist of the books, or the suave, smirking romantic of the online fandom? Both certainly have things going for and against them, but in the end only one can reign supreme as the true Draco Malfoy.
We'll start by examining the most basic part of Draco Malfoy: the look. First of course is his platinum blond hair, the most noticeable Malfoy trait. However, the most loyal fangirl looks deeper into the styling of the several classic Draco haircuts. Going off of both the books and the movies, one can infer that as he grew up, Draco's hair got shorter and shorter. Some would dismiss this as simply him growing up and wanting a change, but the reader could also see it as his way of subtly renouncing his father, who infamously had hair flowing past his shoulder. In the books, it is most likely the first option. This is the same in parts of the fandom, but in others the second option is much more likely. More often used in the redemption, and sometimes some of the darker, stories a shorter length of hair can signify that he is different than his father and, to the careful reader, says much more than the longest, most beautiful speech about his horrible childhood. After all, actions speak louder than words.
Then there are his eyes. Of course they are the same color in both worlds (grey), but the real difference is in the words describing them. In the books they are often described as being "cold", reflecting his lack of ability to show any real emotions other than contempt, anger, and occasionally fear (Can I hear an "amazing bouncing ferret"?). In contrast, fanfictions tend to allow Draco to show more emotion, often because in fandom he is under less pressure, or he figures he has nothing else to lose. As for clothes, well, there are many more similarities between the multiple Dracos in this category. In both worlds, Draco is prone to wearing darker clothes, though he will occasionally break out into lighter tones, often dark green to show his support of his Hogwarts house, Slytherin.
The next thing most evident when the two Draco Malfoys are put side by side is personality. In the books, as one reader puts it, the Slytherin was "an arrogant, snide, elitist bully", though he showed throughout the series that he cared deeply for his family. In the sixth book in the series, Moaning Myrtle, it would appear, believed that Draco was a very compassionate person deep inside. It is possible that being in Slytherin forced him to hide any compassion he might possess. That being said, it is feasible to believe he cared so deeply for his family because they were the only thing he was really allowed to love. He also has the general disdain for muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards that seems to often come with the name "Malfoy". It is assumed he was brainwashed throughout his childhood to stick with this ideal by his pureblooded parents.
The fanfiction Draco Malfoy, on the other hand, is often much more open to new ideas, as well as more tolerant of muggles and their offspring, magical and non-magical alike. As I said before, he even allows himself to show more emotion, as well as being more confident in himself, in contrast to moments of self-doubt in his sixth year at Hogwarts. However, he is also usually completely estranged from his family in these fics. And while his family is not exactly on the side of "Light", family's family: you can't live with them, you shouldn't have to live without them.
A third thing that largely shapes a person's being is their relationships. They need not be romantic, but more just the ties a person has to other people in general, especially during the school years. For example, in the books Draco Malfoy's relationship with Blaise Zabini seems to be cordial, but, at least to me, nothing more. In the fanfiction world Blaise is often portrayed as more the "best friend" character to Draco. Actually, it would appear J.K. Rowling never graced Draco with a best friend, nor really a true friend at all. His relationship with Pansy Parkinson was romantic through some of his Hogwarts' years, but often seemed one-sided, with Pansy being far more interested in him than he was in her. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were more his lackeys than anything else, though the fact that he was upset by Crabbe's death shows he may have cared about Crabbe and Goyle more than he let on. And, of course, he is sworn enemies with the protagonists of the books, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Some would include Hermione Granger, the last link of the "Golden Trio", as an enemy, but I really believe the only reason he singled her out was because of her choice in friends. Had it not been for the Troll Incident in First Year that led to Hermione becoming friends with Harry and Ron, I don't think Draco would have paid all that much attention to her at all.
In the Harry Potter fandom, Draco's school-day relationships vary from story-to-story. With Pansy, the most often-used idea is that she likes him, but he does not return her feelings. Romantically, the most popular significant others for Draco are, in no particular order, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. For non-Harry/Draco stories, the general consensus is that while Draco, Harry, and Ron have gotten over their hatred for each other, don't expect Harry and Ron to be inviting Draco over to a Weasley barbeque anytime soon. As previously mentioned, Blaise is either the "best friend" character, or never mentioned. There is no in-between for Mr. Zabini. Usually Crabbe and Goyle are portrayed in the same in fandom as they are in the books: walls of meat with legs. I suppose fanfiction writers, with the exception of one that I've found, simply don't see much potential with those particular characters.
As you can see these are two very different characters we are talking about, although in root the same person. One of the main differences is the approach these Draco Malfoys took to handle their lives. The Draco Malfoy of print became overwhelmed by his family and the expectations set on his young shoulders by good ol' Voldie and didn't think he could ever get out of it. The Draco Malfoy of fan fiction, on the other hand, decided to break away and become his own person, refusing to get caught up in Voldemort's schemes. But I think the biggest difference of them all is the way the Draco Malfoys of print and fan fiction were forced to mature. In the books, Draco was pulled into the adult world by the age of seventeen, his initial adulthood surrounded by dark magic and a task that was supposed to prove deadly. In fan fiction, though Draco never has it easy, he is allowed to come into adulthood in his own time, on his own terms, rather than those of a homicidal Dark Lord. But in the end, it is up to the reader to decide who the real Draco Malfoy is, the one the reader will accept as truth. Just because the world says that J.K. Rowling's word in her own world is law, doesn't mean it really is, for what is the writer without the reader? I quickly chose the fan fiction Draco as truth upon entering the fan fiction world. However, despite my personal decision it is not the choice for everyone. So which Draco will you choose? The fact, or the fiction?
This was an essay I wrote for my English class, for a teacher who'd never heard of fanfiction. She liked it, but the real question is, did you?