Indonesia’s FIRST Magazine did a character study on our favorite Slytherin. No, not Tom, but the character he plays – one Draco Malfoy, esquire. This is from a series in the magazine Feltbeats.com previously shared with you that also included an interview with Tom, an interview with Webmistress Misha, and character studies of other Harry Potter characters from sidekicks to psychopaths.

Lord Voldemort may be Harry’s archenemy, but Harry’s true rival is this arrogant blond-haired Slytherin: Draco Malfoy.

Son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and heir to the powerful Malfoy family, Draco is everything that Harry is not. He still has both of his parents living whereas Harry is an orphan; his family is wealthy in that old money kind of way whereas Harry’s relatives are vulgarly nouveau riche; he is a sneaky Slytherin whereas Harry is daring Gryffindor; he is light-haired whereas Harry is dark. In short, they have very little in common and, since the very beginning of this wondrous tale by J. K. Rowling, Draco has been as a persistent thorn on Harry’s side.

In the first year, he offered his hand for an alliance with Harry. He was, of course, rejected, thanks to his pompous attitude and his snickering comment made on Harry’s new friend, Ron. Needless to say, from that moment onward, that they were both doomed to a relationship of mutual dislike and enduring rivalry.

Draco’s ultimate goal is to undermine everything Harry has accomplished at Hogwarts. After Harry had been made Seeker in the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Draco weaseled his way in the Slytherin team in their second year, playing the same position Harry played. He attempted to get Harry’s friend Hagrid, who had been appointed as a teacher in their third year, fired and, while that didn’t work, he successfully sentenced Hagrid’s pet, a hipogriff named Buckbeak, to death. Their fourth year saw Draco betting against Harry and taking Diggory’s side in the Triwizard Tournament. And finally, in their fifth year, Draco joined Dolores Umbridge’s Inquisitor Squad and took part in unraveling Harry’s effort to teach proper Defense against the Dark Arts to his friends. There is no doubt that Draco strove to make Harry’s life one big living hell.

It’s safe to say, though, that Draco’s villainy has never truly presented any real danger for Harry so far. His nastiness, with all the pranks and the taunts, is the kind that every growing teenager have indulged in at one point in life. Come the sixth movie, however, Draco loses his status as comic relief and is now cast in a more serious light.

Draco becomes more than Harry’s schoolyard rival in Half-Blood Prince. Both older, though perhaps not wiser, both develop a new intensity in their rivalry that is previously unmatched, because the game that Draco now plays is not mere sports; he is playing a game of life and death, a game that whether directly or indirectly affects Harry’s life. He is the catalyst that sets the wheels moving, initiating the chain of events that lead to the real war between Harry and Lord Voldemort. With these changes in Draco, so does Harry change as well. Rivals they might forever be but from this point onward, their destinies are intertwined.

Feltbeats.com reported on exclusive interviews with the magazine given by Feltbeats.com’s own Misha, and Tom himself. To read those and other character studies, click on each individual link below.

• Exclusive Tom Felton interview, Part 1
• Exclusive Tom Felton interview, Part 2
• Exclusive Tom Felton interview, Part 3
• Interview with Feltbeats.com Webmistress Misha
• Harry Potter: A never-ending sensation
• Harry Potter: A die-hard Gryffindor
• The Sidekicks’ Journey
• Albus Dumbledore: The Eccentric Headmaster
• Tom Riddle: The True Terror
• Severus Snape: The Mysterious Professor

We thank interviewer Amanda Aayusya for the translations.