It’s weird how Draco Malfoy has scores of fangirls on his side when he was really just a big brat who kept on getting lucky due to his father’s influence or because of dumb luck. In actuality, he was a pretty terrible person, and his actions in the Harry Potter series reflect that.
There are many moments where Malfoy should’ve been sent to Azkaban or, at the very least, been expelled. We could fill several lists with instances where Malfoy deserved to be punished severely, but for the time being, we’ve prepared these 10 times where he should’ve been thrown out of Hogwarts, or shoved into an Azkaban jail cell.
Expelled: Launching A Snake At Harry
Although it was a dueling club that was in effect here, there’s no excuse for you to want to kill someone so gruesomely. Malfoy would conjure up a live snake at Harry (where did he learn this spell in the first place?) and only back away with a look of satisfaction.
That was clearly attempted murder, but one could argue it was a mistake on Malfoy’s part. Still, throwing a snake at someone in school isn’t something a student can just be let off with hardly a warning, and Malfoy should’ve been kicked out right then and there from Hogwarts.
Azkaban: Poisoning Ron
Malfoy had earlier tried to use a necklace as a cursed artifact to try and kill Dumbledore, only for it to fall in Katie Bell’s hands. You could argue that this was a half-hearted attempt and think about letting Malfoy off here, but poisoning Ron really is a punishable crime.
He was trying to poison Dumbledore in reality, which doesn’t make it any less bad. Had it not been for the Headmaster’s understanding, Malfoy would’ve been counting the fleas in his Azkaban jail cell for trying to kill someone so horribly. You’ll recall how wildly Ron was thrashing after drinking the poison.
Expelled: Calling Hermione A Mudblood
The equivalent of extremists in the real world are the purebloods in the Harry Potter universe. And the worst word you can think of is to call someone a Mudblood. You don’t even need to spell it out; it clearly accuses one of having mud in their blood.
Malfoy would openly call Hermione this horrible word and was never punished for it. This speaks volumes as to how terrible things were at Hogwarts over student behavior, as Malfoy should’ve been expelled after his first or second offense. It’s even a wonder how he called Hermione a Mudblood in front of teachers and still got away with it.
Azkaban: Dumbeldore's Murder
Yeah, yeah, all the Malfoy fangirls out there are going to cry about how he wasn’t going to kill Dumbledore when the time called for it, but get this: He attempted to kill Dumbledore and was involved in the lead-up to the actual murder. Even if Malfoy's own attempts were half-hearted and he was conflicted, feeling bad about attempted murder does not mean all should be forgiven.
It doesn’t matter if Malfoy didn’t outright kill Dumbledore when he had been the one to set the whole thing up. Had it not been for Snape, someone from the rest of the group would’ve stepped up and killed the Headmaster. Yet, Malfoy was never tried for setting up someone’s murder, and he wasn’t even seen feeling bad about it.
Expelled: Joining The Inquisitorial Squad
Dolores Umbridge was removed from her position as Headmaster of Hogwarts after it came to light all the horrendous dealings she had going in the school, but the children doing her bidding didn’t get any repercussions.
It was one thing that Malfoy would abuse power and dock points from people like Hermione for being a Mudblood, but he made it a lot worse by assaulting the good guys during the climax of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This was the first time we’d seen him be outright evil, and he should’ve been ousted from the school the same way Umbridge was.
Expelled: Bullying Neville
This wasn’t shown in the movies, so people aren’t really aware that Malfoy was a full-on bully to Neville. It was most apparent in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, where Malfoy was shown routinely putting Neville in a leg-locker curse, forcing the poor boy to hop around the school to look for Hermione to undo the spell.
Malfoy was also seen physically abusing Neville, such as in the Quidditch game where he continually hit Neville to the point where the latter had enough and fought back. For putting an already meek boy through so much emotional pain, Malfoy really should’ve been expelled.
Azkaban: Becoming A Death Eater
Being proven as a Death Eater should have been a one-way ticket to Azkaban without the possibility of parole, but some weird logic in the Harry Potter universe allowed Malfoy to walk free. He even had the Dark Mark branded on his arm, serving as very clear evidence that the boy had sworn loyalty to Voldemort.
Malfoy was also seen attending the Death Eater meetings as shown in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where he was witness to the murder of Charity Burbage. He did eventually rebel against Voldemort's teachings and was, admittedly, thrust into the situation by his family; nevertheless, Malfoy got off way too easily.
Expelled: Attacking Harry On the Train
By Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Malfoy had seen a personality change in that he was stoic and vengeful as opposed to cocky and arrogant like before. This manifested in a violent way when he spotted Harry spying on him on the train to Hogwarts.
Although Harry was in the wrong here, it was no excuse to physically assault him. Malfoy would firstly hit Harry with a curse, then stomp on the latter’s face before hiding him away in the Invisibility Cloak so he’d miss Hogwarts entirely. Harry should’ve reported Malfoy for this, and without his father’s influence on the school gone, Malfoy wouldn’t have been around to carry out his plan to kill Dumbledore.
Expelled: Spreading Fake Information To Rita Skeeter
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Malfoy would make life hell for Hagrid and Hermione by passing rumors to Rita Skeeter so they can be published in the Daily Prophet. This turned the public at large against the two victims, and they were even met with violent repercussions from haters for this.
It’s a wonder why Dumbledore didn’t put a stop to this by catching Malfoy. Sure, Dumbledore was too lenient to expel Malfoy, but at least the brat wouldn’t have continued making Hermione and Hagrid miserable. A more competent Headmaster would’ve seen to it that a tattler like Malfoy would’ve been expelled swiftly.
Azkaban: Trying To Stop Harry In The Room of Requirement
Even after so many reprieves and chances at redemption, this idiot continued making the wrong choices. Ron was right in punching Malfoy after he saved him from death in the Room of Requirement, seeing as Malfoy would’ve caused everyone to die by burning.
Harry and his friends were inches close to finding the diadem and ending everything but were first met with Malfoy and his lackeys, who tried to retrieve the diadem for Voldemort. After the whole fight was over, no one would’ve faulted Harry for alerting the authorities over Malfoy attempting to hand the Dark Lord a part of his soul.