Draco: He wasn't the boy who made all the wrong choices...He was the boy who didn't have a choice: agree or disagree; why?

Draco is the antithesis of Harry in that sense he did not have much of a choice while Harry did. Even if the both of them were the "chosen one" (Harry chosen by the prophecy, Draco by the Dark Lord).

Draco had a very present and sometimes a bit too much present family (Aunt Bellatrix... ah, the weight of family history and background !). While Harry had nobody.

Draco had the prejudices of his class and family. While Harry was the victim of the prejudices of his mother's sister's family.

Draco had to be like his parents, especially like his father - to become the next Malfoy Death-Eater. While Harry had chosen to model his behavior after his parents' (his choice to be a Gryffindor like James and Lily, for example).

Last but not least, Draco's parents, and even himself, were under the dominance of a psychopath that could murder them anytime. He was well aware he could die if he failed. So was Narcissa.

Moreover he witnessed the humiliation of his father by Voldemort - which is something, in my humble opinion, that made him become aware he could now have a choice - betrayal. A bit like Severus in a sense. Hence his not recognizing Harry at Malfoy Manor in DH.

Somehow, Harry had a freedom Draco did not have. He was free to make choices (good or bad, that is not the issue), while Draco could not - until he realized that following the Dark Lord would lead nowhere.

I agree; Draco didn't have much of a choice.

There's something Sirius had that Draco didn't. Support from a real friend who didn't share the views of his parents, and whose family gave him a home when he ran away from his.

Also, Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater; Orion Black was not.

Two entirely different situations.

okay, rather than responding to others comment i might as well write my own answer.
where to start...

Okay, I do agree Draco doesn't have much choice in this case. but i want you to remember that Draco doesn't want to be on the 'good' side or the 'bad' side of the war. he just want to keep his family ALIVE. he doesn't like either Dumbledore or Voldemort, smart thing because I do believe both of them are damn manipulative.

he just a boy, a spoiled boy who don't know a thing but what his parents tell him and what they are expected of him. you might think that Lucius is an evil bastard but you have to remember, he loved his family. and Draco, equally, love his parents to a fault and always try to make them proud. if joining death eater is what his father expected him to he will do so without realizing how deep in shit he was getting himself into.

and that's where the problem start, Draco maybe a prat but he is not a murderer or even an evil crazy who loved to torture people.

you wish him to throw away his parents and joining harry who hate him since day one? sucking up to Dumbledore who discredit slytherin in his second year? like hell he will. try to think from his point of view not Reader's point of view.

he is a coward? maybe, but not everyone is a 'hero'. and remember unlike harry who've been told that Slytherin are evil (which I disagree) since his first day at hogwarts. Draco has been told that slytherin is the best house. again he never learn to think differently for himself until death eater start swarming their manor.
because why would he? he is very comfortable in his place before all the death eater business. why would he change it for anything?

if he had a choice, I think he would prefer to go aboard with his parents until the war is over.
but you know what? he can't! his father was in Azkaban and his mother might as well imprisoned in the manor by the crazy noseless bastard!

I agree, because all of his choses was made for him. maybe that ways why he was so mean to harry and his friends.

Nope he had a choice just as Sirius did to break the chain of his family ignorance and bigotry but he chose what is easy not what was right like Sirius did

If Draco didn't do what he was told, him and his family would probably die. He was scaried and didn't know what to do. We saw him change as the story went on. Like in the last book, he knew it was Harry, but he didn't tell them. At first you see a bully and then you meet his father who pretty much bullies him. So you see why he's like that, Draco's a good person, he's just around the wrong people and never could make his on choices.

I strongly disagree,'cause ever since the story of harry began he was so mean and do nothing except taunting harry and his friends,my point is if he wants to be good,first he would refuse to be in slytherin 'cause he already knew what will happen to him,second,he will never do anything for the benefit of the dark side,i mean if he wanted to choose the choice of becoming a good wizard he would do anything to make that happen

I agree: I think he never really did have a choice. His parents and Bellatrix usually told him what to do. I don't think he wanted to become a Death Eater, since he looked uncomfortable at the meeting we saw in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Draco Malfoy, in my opinion, was the boy who didn't have a choice.

Well, this is depending on a lot of factors, in the first place from the beginning, Draco was condition by his family to believe that people like the weasley were blood traitors and that Voldy was powerful and all that so being brought out in all of that, he already had that mind set, therefore, treated Harry such in the first few movies. and i think that it is fairly obvious malfoy somewhat envies harry, hear me out, so one reason he acts on harry cause of what his family had repeatedly told him and secondly, if you notice half the insult of harry pick on the fact that he is the choosen one and tries to downplay his heroic actions. it is therefore he acted out. But this coud have been controlled by him, he could have stopped such from happening, he didn;t have to pick on harry or belittle him, instead he did what was expected. on to more serious matters, #1the fact that he didn;t tell bellatrix was by itself not that he was making a right decision, it was more to a fact that he did not want to be responsible for a death of someone he sort of grew up it ( face it, as much as they disliked each other, they sort of grew up together) #2 for the ROR, i'm not so sure on that part so, no comment, dont remember what i read #3 he still had a choice of whether he wanted to stay or not, also there was no saying whether voldy would kill his family if he did not say, if he really knew right from wrong, he would have stayed and helped fight instead, as we saw he and his family, fled the scene. so in conclusion, i just think that draco is a coward.

draco never had a choice because he faild to kill dumbldore and his dad lost the prohoce, and made draco a death eater to punish him.

Draco, even if this didn't seem, has a lot of scruples. For this, he denied any choice than that, automatic, to be Death Eater.If he had been more reckless, untamed, regardless .. Of his fate and his family .. So yes, he could refuse, fight to death on the side of good, trying (in vain, I think) to protect the family and himself from the man who never knew in life, a positive feeling.
The immy is from Lego Harry Potter years 5-7,the Slughorn's memory about Tom Riddle and his first 3 Horcruxes. So,the image of a man who dedicates his life to dodge the Hereafter,sending the other at his place.

I agree with you... :)
I feel pity with Draco. If only his father and mother weren't a death eater, he would have a better life. I know he's arrogant, snob, and all, but he has a good side too. Like he was hesitant to kill Dumbledore, because he was forced to do that. And maybe he teaches his son to be a better man than him. ^^

DISAGREE. You ALWAYS have a choice. ALWAYS.

Well Draco was the boy known as he had no choice , bully cute and hot but his dad was always on his face I mean his farther was t like his mother but what Draco needs to do is just stop choosing the wrong choices and listen to what other teachers wresting because they are right about it he was just helping voldemort and voldemort was just taking advance of his help and that's all and his house so no one bows were voldemort could be Draco Malfoy always looked at hermoine as a strange loving way we all think that Draco Malfoy still has feelings for hermoine p.s HE HATES HARRY POTTER ALOT HE WAS GLAD THAT HIS PARENTS WERE DESD HE REALLY DIDNT GIVE A CRAP

I disagree. There are always choices. Even if Draco might not have realised they existed, they were there. He did choose to follow his family's biases (I know he was raised to do so, but some people with such an upbringing didn't, e.g. Sirius, Andromeda). He chose to become a Death Eater, seeing only the glory of it at first, until he realised what it was really like.