7 most misunderstood Harry Potter characters

4. Draco Malfoy

It’s not hard to understand why Draco Malfoy deserves a spot on the list of most misunderstood Harry Potter characters. Look, Draco is awful in many, many ways. His behavior, especially early in the series, is very callous; he shows a lack of respect for pretty much everyone at Hogwarts and it's atrocious.

It’s easy to understand Draco’s perspective on life when you look to his parents and his upbringing. That’s not an excuse for the way Draco behaves, but he believes himself to be better than everyone. And he acts that way because of fear. He’s terribly insecure, emotionally unstable, and fearful that his place in the world actually means nothing. His heart is not in this fight against Harry, Dumbledore, and the rest of the Wizarding World, and that shows continuously throughout the series.

Again, I don’t want to make light of Draco’s actions, words, and choices. He is solely responsible for all of that. I just think that sometimes people, especially young people, deserve a smidge of grace when they’re raised in an abusive, repressive household with unhinged parents. When I look at Draco, what I see most is jealousy. He wants to be the center of attention, but he goes about it in the absolute worst way possible.