He was a lot like Dudley, Harry's cousin — "raised as a pampered only son, indoctrinated with his parent's beliefs." The moment Draco got what he thought he wanted, to become a Death Eater, and given a mission by Lord Voldemort, as he did in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," reality finally hit him, Rowling said, because his dream was "so very different."

"If the question is whether Draco would have committed the murder, my answer is no," Rowling said. "I don't think he would. He had lowered his wand. He was prepared to come over to Dumbledore's side. I hope you see that there's some of that same feeling in Book Seven, when he does try to protect Harry. But he's in too deep. Like a lot of characters, he's not a hero. There's a real moral cowardice to Draco. But is he wholly bad? Absolutely not."