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- "Lucius, my slippery friend. I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? Yet you never tried to find me, Lucius."
- — Lord Voldemort regarding Lucius's dual nature[src]
Lucius Malfoy (b. c. 1954) was a British pure-blood[2] wizard, the son of Abraxas Malfoy, husband of Narcissa Black, father of Draco Malfoy and paternal grandfather of Scorpius Malfoy. As well as a member of the Malfoy family. Lucius was educated at Hogwarts, where he was made a prefect in Slytherin House. As an adult, Lucius was an aristocratic wizard and patriarch of the Malfoy family, believing strongly in notions of blood purity and the superiority of pure-blood wizards. He joined the Death Eaters, who shared his views on blood purity, and participated in the First Wizarding War, becoming Voldemort's second-in-command. However, he was replaced by Bellatrix Lestrange in the Second Wizarding War.
After Lord Voldemort's first defeat, Lucius managed to avoid imprisonment by lying that he had been acting under the Imperius Curse. He and his family remained members of the social elite, though Lucius continued to demonstrate his prejudice. He attempted to sabotage Arthur Weasley's career by slipping Arthur's daughter an old school diary of Tom Riddle's, opening the Chamber of Secrets in 1992, and in 1994, he participated in the humiliation of a Muggle family after the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.
When Voldemort returned, Lucius once again served him as a Death Eater, leading the efforts to obtain the prophecy Voldemort sought. In the battle that ensued, the prophecy was destroyed, and Lucius and his comrades were imprisoned in Azkaban in 1996. Although Voldemort broke them out of prison in 1997, he was displeased with Lucius for his failures and treated the Malfoys with much disdain and abuse. Lucius and his family finally rebelled against Voldemort's tyranny and defected before the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, with them all surviving the Second Wizarding War.
Because he and his family defected from the Death Eaters they were pardoned for their crimes after Voldemort's final defeat and did not serve a stint in Azkaban. He and Narcissa later had a grandson, Scorpius Malfoy, after Draco married Astoria Greengrass.
Quick Answers
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Biography
Early life (1953/1954–1965/1966)
Lucius Malfoy was born in 1953 or 1954 in Great Britain and raised in the lap of luxury at the ancestral home of Malfoy Manor in the county of Wiltshire in England; a magnificent mansion that had been in his family's possession for around a thousand years.[15] Historically rather well-known for their cast-iron belief in wizards' superiority over Muggles and espousal of pure-blood values, Lucius adopted the unfeigned contempt for the Muggle world of his elders from a young age and was encouraged to make friends 'of the right sort' when the time came for him to attend school, a sentiment Lucius would later follow to the point where he viewed those who openly associated themselves with Muggles to be a "disgrace to the name of wizard".[16]
Descending from a long line of cold, brutal fathers that produced cold, brutal sons,[17] while it is unknown just how close he was with his parents during his formative years, quite arguably the biggest influence in his young life was that of his father. A proud member of the social elite that commanded great respect in certain circles, Abraxas Malfoy was, in addition to a harshly demanding parent with high expectations and known to have kept a collection of Dark magical artefacts harking back to family history, also a man of considerable (and much resented) influence at the Ministry of Magic in London; all things that Lucius would eventually go on to emulate later in life.[15]
Hogwarts years (1965/1966–1972/1973)
Lucius was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from around the year of 1965/1966 to 1972/1973, once there, he honoured his family's tradition of being Sorted into Slytherin House, a place where many other like-minded young idealists were often found.[18] It was during this time that he first met his future wife, a proud member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black; one of the most prominent pure-blooded wizarding families in Great Britain, and, like the Malfoys, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
Lucius's third year also saw the premature retirement of Nobby Leach, the first Muggle-born Minister for Magic to ever hold office, after he fell ill with a mysterious illness. Before long, a number of conspiracy theories were circulating regarding what actually happened to him, and for a time, Lucius's own father fell under suspicion of having had a hand in the shady plot that led Leach to resign, although nothing was ever proven against him.[15]
The scion of an old wizarding family noted for its wealth and influence, Lucius was ultimately a model student that led by example and became a voice of authority among his peers, and who effectively managed to uphold his family's name, be a credit to Slytherin House and master the art of keeping up appearances all in one fell swoop when he was named a Prefect in his fifth year, and by being invited to join the out-of-hours dining and social club hosted by their always talent-scouting Potions Master, Horace Slughorn, known as the 'Slug Club'.[19][20]
In 1971, Lucius also became the first person apart from Lily Evans to ever extend Severus Snape a hand of friendship when he warmly welcomed him into the fold after the latter's sorting into the same house; a gesture that marked the beginning of a lifelong, mutual respect and camaraderie between the two young wizards.[3] Which was not to say, however, that his magical education was by any means an uneventful one.
Lucius's arrival at school coincided with a recent increase in Dark magical activity throughout Great Britain; while few knew what lay behind the mounting attacks and sightings, the truth was finally revealed in the form of a Dark wizard of immense power. But whereas Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were swiftly becoming a source of widespread fear by a most of his own kind, Lucius, on the other hand, found himself rather agreeing with their views regarding the treatment that the non-magical community deserved.
Over the course of his schooling, Lucius also developed a strong dislike for the school's Head of Transfiguration.[21] Not only a shamelessly vocal pro-Muggle activist, Albus Dumbledore was also quickly becoming the biggest symbol and rallying point for opposition to the dark forces, thus representing everything that Lucius despised. As such, when Dumbledore succeeded Armando Dippet as headmaster, Lucius saw it as the worst thing ever to have happened to Hogwarts; a sentiment he would carry with him into to adulthood.[22]
First Wizarding War (1972/1973–1981)
- "Malfoy's been giving generously to all sorts of things for years... gets him in with the right people... then he can ask favours... delay laws he doesn't want passed... Oh, he's very well-connected, Lucius Malfoy."
- — Arthur Weasley regarding Lucius's former influence at the Ministry[src]
Lucius graduated from Hogwarts around the year of 1972/1973, and being independently wealthy and with no need to work for a living, continued to inhabit the family estate; free at last to enjoy full-time the creature comforts that their ancestral home had provided him throughout his privileged upbringing. At some point, he also became romantically involved with Narcissa Black, a fellow wealthy pure-blood and Slytherin student back at Hogwarts with whom he had a lot in common; not least of all their shared anti-Muggle sentiments, fondness for the lavish and privileged lifestyle that their rich family vaults afforded them. In due time, the uppish couple entered what was seen as a very respectable, pure-blood marriage, and took up residence at Malfoy Manor.
In doing so, Lucius also officially assumed both the patriarchy of the Malfoy family, ownership of their house-elf, Dobby, and gained the possession of a prized family heirloom that had been passed down for many generations.[23] This, he began to carrying around with him, both as a status symbol and as a replacement for his original wand. Heir apparent to a long line of wily beneficiaries of political patronage in the magical community, Lucius also wasted little time in carrying on the family tradition of frequenting the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic in London, where he successfully used his family name and fortune to curry favour with a number of high-ranking Ministry officials, and became a very well-connected man.[1]
That was not to say, however, that this was all he aspired to do with his life, because even though his former teachers had done an adequate job of sheltering their charges from the storm that had only continued to brew in the world beyond Hogwarts Castle in the years that he had resided there, and despite the strong-arm tactics that the Auror Office had been authorised to employ in the effort to suppress it, it was nevertheless the case that the Dark Lord's campaign of violence had just grown ever fiercer. Throughout the entirety of his magical education, Lord Voldemort and his followers had only been gaining in strength, until finally the ongoing conflict culminated in the First Wizarding War.
In the motley collection that made up Lord Voldemort's innermost circle of followers, Lucius most certainly fell into the category of "the ambitious seeking some shared glory". By the time Lucius left Hogwarts, rumours had also began to circulate that the Lord Voldemort, who had indulged in all manner of Dark Magic in an attempt to make himself invincible, had somehow made himself immortal,[24] thus further cementing the idea that he was unstoppable. And, being no less enthralled by their quest for the purification of the wizarding race than before, not to mention very much in favour of the idea to rid the world of Muggle-borns and putting pure-bloods in charge, Lucius eventually swore his eternal allegiance to the Dark Lord and, officially joined the ranks of the Death Eaters in earnest.[15]
Although never made privy to the names of every one of his new comrades,[25] they were all still able to tell each other apart when it mattered by the masks they wore to conceal their identities; which were all unique to the individual using them.[26] Not only was he ideally positioned supply his brothers-in-arms with important information directly from the Ministry itself, but nor did he, as an advocate for violence and unafraid to use it himself, shy away from lending an extra wand in actually waging the war either. More than willing to turn his talents to coercion,[27] torture,[28] murder[29] and other atrocities in order to carry out his Master's bidding if called upon to do so, Lucius quickly proved himself a most valuable servant to the Dark Lord.
By the height of the war, Lucius had risen ambitiously through the ranks of the Dark Lord's followers and even placed in charge of his fellow Death Eaters, becoming second-in-command to their Master himself; a time Lucius would later go on to call their family's "glory days".[29] An efficient leader and a master at delegation, many successful battles were fought under Lucius's direction, and even though the Aurors had put up a valiant fight, by the time the Dark Lord's ascendancy was almost complete, true resistance to their cause had become concentrated in an underground organisation called the Order of the Phoenix, a group the Death Eaters already had greatly outnumbered and was systematically picking off one by one.[30]
And just when victory seemed to be within reach, and Lucius his family were at the very cusp of authority and prestige the likes of which his family had never known, Narcissa gave birth to their son and only child, Draco, on 5 June 1980.[31] Around the same time, Lucius was entrusted the Dark Lord's old school diary, which he was told had been cleverly bewitched so that whenever smuggled into Hogwarts Castle, it would reopen the legendary Chamber of Secrets and send the monster living inside to finish Salazar Slytherin's "noble work" of cleansing the school of all Muggle-born students, a plan he was supposed to carry out only when he had been told to do so by Voldemort himself.[32]
When, however, by then fellow Death Eater and spy for the Dark Lord, Severus Snape, revealed that he had eavesdropped on a job interview between Albus Dumbledore and a prospective Divination Professor by the name of Sybill Trelawney at the Hog's Head Inn and learned of a foretelling of their Master's downfall,[33] Lord Voldemort concluded that Harry Potter were the child who had been prophesied to bring about his destruction and subsequently marked the Potters for death shortly afterwards. Securely hidden by the powerful Fidelius Charm, however, it was only when one of their own friends and Secret Keeper, Peter Pettigrew, joined them out of fear and disclosed their whereabouts that this new enemy could be dealt with.
Upon learning this, the Dark Lord personally left to bring about the destruction of this one, inexplicable threat, only for his Killing Curse to rebound back at himself, obliterating his body instead.[34] Following the apparent demise of what had appeared to be their almighty leader, the Death Eaters were left shocked and distraught. Subsequently, the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic were able to round up many of his followers. By no means inclined to risk his own social standing and the reputation of the Malfoy family in a duel with the Aurors; he had already went on a careful campaign of bribery, blackmail, and flattery to win his freedom.
This meant that by the time he was brought in front of the Council of Magical Law to answer charges relating to his activities as a Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy had so many high-placed Ministry officials in his pocket that the official story, namely that he had been acting under the influence of the Imperius Curse,[35] was a little more than a formality. Thus, even though many like Arthur Weasley, the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, never believed his version of the events, Lucius nevertheless became one of the first to "come back" to the right side and released from custody.[15]
Between the wars (1981–1995)
- "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."
- — Ron Weasley talking about Lucius's involvement with Voldemort[src]
Lucius lived a rather good life with his family. Independently wealthy and therefore without any need to work, he was more than content with a settled life, preoccupying himself with upholding his influence in the Ministry of Magic and maintaining a collection of Dark artefacts harking back to family history.[15] Lucius eventually went on to raise his son in an atmosphere of regret that the Dark Lord had not succeeded in taking command of the wizarding community.[29] Lucius did not search for Voldemort after his sudden disappearance, believing him to have died that night in Godric's Hollow.[28]
Despite his high standing in the ranks of the Dark Forces, his loyalties were primarily towards the cause rather than to the man representing it, as shown by how he still associated with some of his former comrades who, like him, avoided Azkaban, many of whom became close friends of the family. Indeed, he even remained in touch with Igor Karkaroff, who had won his freedom after capture by cowardly putting a numerous amount of Lucius's old comrades into Azkaban in his place. The most prominent evidence for his initial disinterest in revisiting his past and lack of faithfulness to the Dark Lord himself was how Lucius disregarded rumours of Lord Voldemort's survival as wishful thinking, and instead took interest in potentially allying himself with the very person who had brought about their former Master's downfall.
Many different theories regarding how The-Boy-Who-Lived had survived the Dark Lord's attack were made over the years, the most persistent of them being that the boy himself was a great Dark wizard. This assumption was one Lucius prescribed to most eagerly, even taking comfort in the thought that he one day might get a second chance of world domination if Harry Potter grew up to become another, and greater, pure-blood champion.[29]
As the time of Draco's magical education grew ever closer, Lucius informed his wife that it was his wish for their son to attend Durmstrang Institute, where Karkaroff now was Headmaster. The school did not allow Muggle-borns to attend, and it was also argued that Durmstrang took a 'far more sensible line' about the Dark Arts than Hogwarts, which was still headed by Albus Dumbledore, whom Lucius held in no higher regard after the war than he had during it for the man's advocacy for Muggle rights and other values that went against their own. His wife, on the other hand, did not like the idea of Draco going to school so far away; thus they decided that he would go to Hogwarts after all.[36]
Joining the Board of Governors
- "Any work of fiction or nonfiction that depicts interbreeding between wizards and Muggles should be banned from the bookshelves of Hogwarts. I do not wish my son to be influenced into sullying the purity of his bloodline by reading stories that promote wizard-Muggle marriage."
- — Malfoy's requesting "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" to be banned from Hogwarts[src]
It was presumably in order to influence the day-to-day running of Hogwarts as much as possible and undermine Dumbledore's authority and influence which led him to join the Hogwarts Board of Governors.[22] As a governor, Lucius submitted a demand to the Headmaster to have The Fountain of Fair Fortune banned from the Hogwarts library, as it depicted a love between a witch and a Muggle.[37] Malfoy claimed that he did not want his son, Draco, to be influenced into sullying his pure-blood by reading a story that promoted marriage between wizards and Muggles.
Dumbledore's refusal to allow the book to be removed was backed by a majority of the other Governors, and Dumbledore wrote back to Malfoy saying that pure-blood families maintained their so-called purity by disowning, banishing, or lying about Muggles and Muggle-borns in their family trees, and then ask for works that dealt with these truths to be banned.[37] Dumbledore considered it illogical and immoral to remove works dealing with the mixture of wizard blood and Muggle blood for the knowledge of the students. Dumbledore's response prompted several further letters from Lucius, consisting of "opprobrious remarks" on Dumbledore's sanity, parentage, and hygiene. This also marked the beginning of Malfoy's long campaign to have him removed from the post of Headmaster of Hogwarts.[37]
During the 1985–1986 school year, he arrived at the school for a surprise inspection, which he claimed was on instructions of the board, bringing Draco with him. He questioned several teachers and students, including Jacob's sibling and Ben Copper. Lucius entrusted Jacob's sibling and Merula Snyde to babysit Draco, having specifically requested those two students, as Jacob's sibling was said to be the best student in their year and Merula was the scion of two of Lucius's Death Eater comrades and thus considered the "appropriate" kind of person for Draco to socialise with. The decision did not rub off well with any of the three, as the two older students were irritated and disgusted by the younger Malfoy's snobbishness and prejudiced remarks.[38]
During the inspection, Lucius's wand went missing.[39] He refused to leave without it and initially blamed the theft on their house-elf Dobby, as the perpetrator knew Lucius kept his wand inside his walking stick, which wasn't common knowledge. Jacob's sibling investigated and discovered that Draco had taken his father's wand, as he was too young to have his own and wanted to perform magic after seeing Merula perform the Jelly-Legs Curse on Jacob's sibling. They successfully convinced Draco to tell them where the wand was and returned it to Lucius.[40]
During the 1986–1987 school year, Lucius performed yet another surprise inspection of Hogwarts, this time in an attempt to convince his son Draco Malfoy to attend Durmstrang Institute, a school that taught the Dark Arts and didn't admit Muggle-borns, instead. Privately, he also believed that if the son of one of the governors of Hogwarts didn't attend Hogwarts, then it would cause such a scandal that Dumbledore would be likely to step down out of embarrassment. To this end, he attempted to influence his son's decision of school by bribing Jacob's sibling, who was Draco's chaperone, loudly deriding the school and Slytherin House, and repeatedly describing how the school had gone downhill since his time there. Ultimately his plans were foiled when Draco decided to go to Hogwarts, claiming that Hogwarts always needs a Malfoy and revealing that his mother had offered him a second birthday cake if he went to Hogwarts. Lucius, who was visibly disappointed, nevertheless accepted Draco's decision.[41]
After discovering R's intention of clearing the British Ministry of Magic of corruption via mind control, Jacob's sibling met with the Circle of Khanna to discuss the moral ethics of such mechanisms. During this discussion, Tulip Karasu, who was leaning in favour of it being a situation where 'the ends justified the means', brought up Lucius Malfoy while noting how being rich and powerful gave a wizard a good chance of worming their way out of the Ministry's bad books, telling Corey when they objected to this statement that her mother and father had never believed Lucius's claims of acting under the Imperius Curse, and feeling Lucius had only escaped justice because he was of his family's status in the wizarding community.[42]
Opening of the Chamber of Secrets
- "Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —"
- — Lucius slipping Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny Weasley's school books in Flourish and Blotts[src]
In 1992, during his son's return home from his first year at Hogwarts, Lucius was informed of Harry Potter's refusal of Draco's offer for friendship in favour of his allegiance to the Weasleys through their youngest son Ron. Despite his disappointment that the wild hopes of the ex-Death Eaters — that Harry was another, and better, Voldemort — were completely unfounded,[29] he nevertheless discouraged Draco from seeming "less than thrilled" about the Potter boy since open hostility towards him could prove potentially disadvantageous to their social standing, as Draco spent a lot of his time away from Hogwarts talking badly of Harry and him being placed on the Quidditch Team as a first year.[16]
Over the summer, Arthur Weasley began conducting raids on several wizarding households to confiscate Dark or illegally enchanted objects under his recently proposed Muggle Protection Act.[35] Before his home could be raided, Lucius sold several of his more incriminating possessions at Borgin and Burkes. The items sold included several dangerous cursed objects of unknown effects. He then set in motion the old task that Voldemort assigned him which involved reopening the Chamber of Secrets. Although his master fell before the plan came to fruition, Lucius still had Tom Riddle's Diary in his possession.
Therefore, he could still make excellent use of it by not only purging Hogwarts of Muggle-borns but also by sabotaging Weasley's reputation, eliminating an incriminating Dark artefact all at once and hopefully even exploiting the forthcoming chaos to have Dumbledore removed from his position at the school.[16] While in Flourish and Blotts, Lucius got into a physical altercation with Arthur. Lucius then slipped the diary into Ginny's schoolbooks after meeting the Weasleys at Flourish and Blotts just before the start of the school term.[43]
Only the Malfoys' house-elf Dobby was aware of the diary's true nature, but Lucius did not believe his servant would interfere since house-elves were unable to disobey the commands of their masters. Unbeknownst to him, Dobby took this to his advantage by attempting to warn Harry Potter against returning to Hogwarts.[44]
Early this school year, Lucius bought the whole Slytherin Quidditch team Nimbus 2001 broomsticks. The Nimbus 2001 was an highly advanced broom and the top of the line, therefore his gift was very expensive. He did this as a bribe in order to get Draco instated as the team's Seeker.[45] He was present at the match where Harry was being chased by a rogue Bludger.[46]
Students, animals, and ghosts were systematically petrified by the Basilisk that a possessed Ginny released as the diary's grip on her became gradually stronger. Lucius used the ensuing terror (as well as threats of cursing their families if they failed to cooperate) to influence the school's Board of Governors to discredit and vote to dismiss Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster for his poor governance of the school.[47] Harry, with some help from his friends, managed to save Ginny and killed the Basilisk with Godric Gryffindor's sword. He then destroyed the diary with a Basilisk fang, which (though he did not know it was a Horcrux at the time) also destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul inside.[48]
Harry proved Ginny's innocence and pointed an accusing finger at the true culprit — Lucius. Lucius challenged the boy to prove his claims, but Dumbledore who had returned to Hogwarts at the request of the governors, stated that would be impossible with the diary beyond repair. However, he warned Lucius not to sell any more of Voldemort's school things, as Arthur Weasley would likely trace them back to him.
Subsequently (and adding insult to injury) Harry in gratitude to Dobby managed to trick Lucius into setting Dobby free. He accomplished this by wrapping the diary in his own sock before handing it back to Lucius. Dobby then caught the sock after Lucius carelessly tossed it aside; therefore, he was no longer forced into the servitude of the Malfoy family.[43]
In a fit of rage upon both losing his servant and being tricked by a much younger adversary, Lucius lost his normally controlled and calculating demeanour and tried to attack Harry. However, he was stopped by Dobby, who blasted him down a flight of steps. Lucius had no choice at that moment but to leave. While his role in the opening of the Chamber of Secrets could not be successfully proven, Lucius was ultimately stripped of his title as a Hogwarts school governor for threats against his eleven other colleagues.[43] Despite his sacking, he still maintained strong ties with the Ministry of Magic.
The Buckbeak case
- Hermione Granger: "You'll have to put up a good strong defence, Hagrid. I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."
- Rubeus Hagrid: "Won't make no diff'rence! Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An' if I lose the case, Buckbeak —"
- — Discussion of Buckbeak's hearing before the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures[src]
During the 1993–1994 school year, Lucius's son Draco was attacked by the hippogriff named Buckbeak. Draco was attacked after he provoked the hippogriff during a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Lucius took the case to the Ministry of Magic's Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Once he was before the committee, he insisted that the hippogriff be put to death.
Buckbeak's owner, gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, desperately tried to defend him. Hagrid had the assistance of Hermione Granger, arguing that Buckbeak had been provoked by Draco and had attacked in self-defence. Despite his actions, Malfoy still won the case and Buckbeak was sentenced to death. However, before Ministry executioner Walden Macnair could carry out the execution, Buckbeak was saved by Harry and Hermione (with the help of Hermione's Time-Turner) and subsequently came to be owned by Sirius Black.[49]
1994 Quidditch World Cup
In 1994, Lucius attended the Quidditch World Cup with his family, sitting in the luxury box of Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. Though he was disgusted that Arthur Weasley was there in the Top Box with his children along with Harry and Hermione, Lucius and Arthur restrained themselves due to being in Fudge's presence.[50] In the aftermath of the cup, Malfoy and some other former Death Eaters were involved in the torture and humiliation of the Muggle site manager of the stadium and his family, though it was not known at that time to the public and officials. He fled when the Dark Mark was launched into the sky.[51][28]
Second Wizarding War (1995–1998)
Return of the Dark Lord
- Lucius Malfoy: "My Lord, I was constantly on the alert. Had there been any sign from you, any whisper of your whereabouts, I would have been at your side immediately, nothing could have prevented me -"
- Lord Voldemort: "And yet you ran from my Mark, when a faithful Death Eater sent it into the sky last summer? Yes, I know all about that, Lucius.... You have disappointed me.... I expect more faithful service in the future."
- Lucius Malfoy: "Of course, my Lord, of course.... You are merciful, thank you..."
- — Lord Voldemort berating Lucius for his disloyalty[src]
When Lord Voldemort rose again in the summer of 1995, Malfoy returned to him on his summons. He arrived in Little Hangleton Graveyard and claimed that he had done everything he could all along to find Voldemort. He also insisted that he did everything to help him rise again. Voldemort believed that Malfoy had not truly renounced his old ways, but mildly doubted his loyalty because Malfoy had fled the Dark Mark at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.[52]
Even though Harry witnessed Malfoy's declaration of loyalty to Voldemort, almost nobody in the Ministry believed him. Malfoy continued maintaining strong ties to very high places in the Ministry, most prominently in the form of financial support, as he had been doing in the past.[52] This was a key position that insured that the Death Eaters were privy to insider information regarding the goings on within the Ministry.
Continued connection with the Ministry
In 1995, after the trial of Harry Potter, Malfoy and Fudge encountered Harry, and it was implied that Malfoy was giving money to the Ministry.[1] Malfoy appeared doing shady dealings with Cornelius Fudge in the Department of Mysteries just prior to Harry's trial.
Malfoy's frequent excursions to meet with Fudge were also used as excuses to place the Imperius Curse on Ministry officials such as Broderick Bode and Order of the Phoenix member Sturgis Podmore on Voldemort's orders. These curses were placed in a bid to obtain Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy. However, these attempts were short-lived, as Bode failed to obtain the prophecy, therefore causing Voldemort to murder Bode, and Podmore was arrested for attempting to break into the Hall of Prophecies.[1]
Lucius also gave his support of the formation of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, which was to create the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor for Dolores Umbridge to inspect the teachers' performance. During an interview about this post, he used this to discredit Dumbledore under the false pretence of caring for the future of the school and fearing Dumbledore's "eccentric decisions".[1]
Battle of the Department of Mysteries
- Lucius: "Potter, your race is run. Now hand me the prophecy like a good boy...."
- Harry Potter: "Let — let the others go, and I'll give it to you!"
- Lucius: "You are not in a position to bargain, Potter. You see, there are ten of us and only one of you ... or hasn't Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?"
- — Lucius making threats during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries[src]
After the failure of his previous attempts to obtain the prophecy, Voldemort successfully attempted to lure Harry to the Hall of Prophecies by planting a vision of his godfather being tortured in his mind. Malfoy — along with Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus and her brother-in-law Rabastan Lestrange, and fellow Death Eaters Augustus Rookwood, Antonin Dolohov, Nott, Mulciber, Jugson, Crabbe, Walden Macnair, and Avery — was involved in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, when they were sent to pry the prophecy from Harry's hands.
However, Harry and the five friends who accompanied him, all D.A. members, managed to hold off the Death Eaters until several members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived. Lucius and the other Death Eaters battled the Order members until Dumbledore arrived and they all were captured. All the Death Eaters (expect Bellatrix Lestrange) were rounded up and bound together. At one point during the battle, Lucius was knocked unconscious by a Stunning Spell cast by Nymphadora Tonks.[1]
Imprisonment and fall from grace
- "Wow... look at that... he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"
- — Harry Potter calls out Lucius's wife Narcissa in Madam Malkin's shop.[src]
Lucius's mission to retrieve the prophecy ultimately failed when Neville Longbottom, under the influence of the Dancing Feet Spell cast by Antonin Dolohov, accidentally broke the prophecy. Lucius was seen by a myriad of Ministry officials called by Albus Dumbledore to the scene. Now with irrefutable evidence pointing to his identity as a Death Eater, Lucius was promptly given a trial and sent to Azkaban prison along with the rest of the Death Eater squad, the sole exception being Bellatrix Lestrange, who escaped with Voldemort.[1]
After the events in the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort mainly blamed Lucius for the failure, as the latter had been the commander of Voldemort's small task force, even though Dumbledore himself had entered the fray.
Lucius Malfoy's failure at the Department of Mysteries, combined with his accidentally destroying the part of Voldemort's soul contained within the diary of Tom Riddle, resulted in his loss of any standing with the Dark Lord. Some believed (such as Albus Dumbledore) that he was safer in Azkaban than being free, as he was away from Voldemort's wrath.[53] Marked as prisoner ᛟᚫ537, Lucius was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.
Escape from Azkaban
- Lord Voldemort: "No volunteers? Let's see ... Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand any more."
- Lucius Malfoy: "My Lord?"
- Lord Voldemort: "Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand."
- — Voldemort stripping Lucius of his wand[src]
In the summer of 1997, nearly a year after being imprisoned, Lucius and all the other incarcerated Death Eaters escaped Azkaban with the help of Voldemort, who never bothered to get him out after all that time. It was mentioned that Lucius might have been secretly glad to have been incarcerated in Azkaban, as he was away from Voldemort and his terrible wrath.
Voldemort was convinced to do so by Draco Malfoy's success in the plot to assassinate Albus Dumbledore. In actuality, this was a further attempt to punish Lucius. Voldemort did not actually believe that Draco would succeed in this mission and would thereby dispose of Draco and possibly the other Malfoys as well.
However, because Draco didn't kill Dumbledore himself, the Malfoys were no longer held in high regard by the Dark Lord, who commandeered their home as his base of operations, and his favour fell on Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius's sister-in-law, and Severus Snape, Lucius's former protégé, since he killed Dumbledore. Voldemort openly mocked the family at a Death Eater meeting in the summer of 1997, taking Lucius's wand and deriding their relation to werewolf Remus Lupin through Narcissa's niece Nymphadora Tonks. In short, Lucius had become reduced to nothing more than a servant.[54]
Skirmish at Malfoy Manor
- Lucius: "Well, Draco? Is it? Is it Harry Potter?"
- Draco Malfoy: "I can't — I can't be sure."
- Lucius: "But look at him carefully, look! Come closer! Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv—"
- — The Malfoy family attempting to identify Harry Potter[src]
The Malfoys were desperate for a chance to be forgiven, and thus were excited when a group of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback brought Harry Potter and his friends to the Manor in the spring of 1998. Lucius pressed his reluctant and fearful son to identify Harry and identified Ron Weasley as one of Arthur Weasley's sons. However, Draco denied knowing who Harry was.
He then argued with his sister-in-law about who would be the one to call Voldemort with their Dark Marks, but they held off when Bellatrix noticed Gryffindor's Sword, which she had believed to be in her Gringotts vault, among their possessions. Subsequently, Bellatrix tortured Hermione Granger for information about the sword with the Cruciatus Curse while the others were taken to the cellar downstairs.
After Hermione lied about the sword being a copy and Griphook went along with her story, Bellatrix signalled Voldemort, but Dobby, the Malfoys' former house-elf, came to the rescue of the prisoners. Harry and Ron ran back upstairs, and the former stunned Lucius and Greyback. After their escape, the Malfoys and Bellatrix were severely punished by Voldemort and were confined to the manor.[54]
Malfoy Manor massacre
- "The Elder Wand slashed through the air and green light erupted through the room; the kneeling goblin rolled over, dead; the watching wizards scattered before him, terrified: Bellatrix and Lucius Malfoy threw others behind them in their race for the door, and again and again his wand fell, and those who were left were slain, all of them, for bringing him this news, for hearing about the golden cup — "
- — Voldemort ruthlessly massacres the Goblins with the Killing Curse[src]
Lucius was present when Voldemort was informed by several goblins from Gringotts that the Trio had robbed the Lestrange Vault.[55] This caused Voldemort to panic, and when he was informed that a small golden cup had been stolen, he flew into a rage. Realising at that moment that Harry was hunting his Horcruxes, Voldemort unleashed the Elder Wand while Nagini watched. The rest of the witnesses fled, Lucius and even Bellatrix were pushing others aside in their haste to leave the room.[55]
The Dark Lord smote each goblin on the floor in their turn[55] (including Griphook who collapsed holding the Sword of Gryffindor),[56] until he was left alone amongst the dead with his followers. His followers were slowly and fearfully approaching the carnage.[55]
Battle of Hogwarts
- Lucius: "My Lord... please... my son..."
- Voldemort: "If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault. He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins..."
- — Lucius begging Voldemort to let him find Draco[src]
By the time of the Battle of Hogwarts, Lucius showed that he was more concerned with his son's safety than Voldemort's cause, begging to be permitted to find him when the fighting began. Narcissa lied directly to Voldemort for Harry's sake when he informed her that Draco was still alive, and she and Lucius ran through the crowd, "not even attempting to fight, screaming for their son".
Lucius was present in for Harry Potter's final defeat of Lord Voldemort. Following Voldemort's defeat, Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco sat in the Great Hall during the celebrations, looking unsure that they belonged there.[54]
Later life (1998–)
Lucius and Draco's crimes were forgiven due to their abandonment of Voldemort and his cause, and Narcissa's lie to the Dark Lord that saved Harry Potter's life in the Forbidden Forest in the Battle of Hogwarts. None of them served time in Azkaban due to the evidence he provided against fellow Death Eaters and his help to ensure the capture of many of Voldemort's followers who had fled into hiding.[15] However, the revelation of their previous loyalty to Voldemort had invariably destroyed Lucius's prized and precious reputation and few people would forget the Malfoy family's previous loyalties.
Lucius would eventually gain a grandson, Scorpius Malfoy, after Draco married Astoria Greengrass.[57] Because of Astoria's change of view regarding blood purity after the war, Lucius and Narcissa found her to be a somewhat disappointing daughter-in-law despite her pure-blood heritage.[29] According to Draco, Lucius was frequently telling Astoria that he wanted grandchildren to continue on the family line, despite Draco telling her otherwise.
Lucius still enjoyed collecting Dark artefacts, particularly ones that no one else had. Theodore Nott worked for him and they created a prototype for a new Time-Turner, having decided the ones created by the Ministry were unsuitable and, having been destroyed, unavailable. The prototype was hindered by the five minute rule, but they then found a way to create another Time-Turner which would enable Lucius to travel back in time years, as he had hoped. However, he never used it, which led Draco to believe that he actually preferred a world without Voldemort. The Time-Turner he created was kept by Draco, and it was used to save Scorpius and his friend, Albus, who were trapped in the past.[58]
Physical description
Lucius had a pale, pointed face, with pale blond hair and cold pale grey eyes. He often carried a walking stick with a snake head that contained his wand. As a Death Eater, he bore the Dark Mark on his left inner forearm; this had faded to a mere scar upon Voldemort's death.
After spending a year in the wizarding prison of Azkaban, his looks suffered greatly, his skin taking on a yellowish and waxy look, and his eyes sunken and shadowed. His voice was also quite hoarse. Later that year, after having been a victim of the Dark Lord's wrath upon Harry Potter's escape from the Manor, Lucius's looks took a turn for the worse, as he seemed ragged, and he carried traces of his punishment, meaning he might have looked beaten and bruised. It is likely that his looks might have improved upon the fall of his former Master once he returned to everyday life.
His son Draco resembled him strongly.[4] It was stated that his grandson, Scorpius Malfoy, resembled Draco, meaning that Lucius and his grandson also had a resemblance.
Personality and traits
- "Good lord, Arthur. What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"
- — Lucius displaying contempt towards Arthur Weasley[src]
As pretty much the embodiment of wealth and influence in the wizarding community, Lucius Malfoy took great pride in his aristocratic stature, and viewed himself as superior to Muggles and Muggle-borns, although his views on half-bloods were likely more tempered, as many half-bloods appear on the Malfoy family tree.[59] He was also a very shrewd, opportunistic social climber who was good at controlling others, but behind his veneer of respectability, he treated people cruelly. He callously utilised eleven-year old Ginevra Weasley in an attempt to both discredit her father in the Ministry and remove Albus Dumbledore from his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts. This attempt would have resulted in her death if Harry Potter had not intervened.[60]
Lucius could be intelligent and manipulative when he needed to be, allowing him to gain respect and the good will of high-ranking individuals through his fortune and family name. He even had influence over Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. Lucius's constant donations to important establishments were actually nothing more than bribing Fudge for classified information, delaying laws, and receiving undeserved rewards and recognitions.
While putting much effort into maintaining an appearance of respectability, Lucius's slick demeanour did little to hide his self-serving nature. He had no qualms about appealing to whichever side would be more beneficial to his social advancement. He was never unconditionally loyal because he didn't want to be put in a negative light with people on either end. During the Quidditch World Cup, he anonymously participated in the lowly torturing of Muggles but fled when the Dark Mark was cast in the sky.
In fact, rather than going to find Lord Voldemort when he lost all his powers in the first place, he instead pretended to have seen the error of his ways and tried to ingratiate himself to the Ministry of Magic. He claimed that he was always alert for Voldemort's return but when Voldemort pointed out that he had fled from the Dark Mark, Lucius was instantly silenced. Despite this, he did attempt to go through with Voldemort's plan of using his old school diary to open the Chamber of Secrets, not realising that the diary contained a piece of his master's soul (although Lucius was more focused on ridding himself of an incriminating piece of Dark magic when the Ministry was conducting searches).
However, in spite of his ruthless and prejudiced nature, one of Lucius's more redeeming traits was that he was very loving and devoted towards his family, especially caring greatly for his wife and son. He and Narcissa were indulgent and protective of their only child, though Lucius also demonstrated that he had expectations for his son, in one instance berating him for being beaten academically by Hermione Granger. In the end, along with Narcissa, he demonstrated that his family was more important to him than serving Voldemort, especially after Voldemort lost both the respect and trust he once had from the Malfoys. Lucius's love for Draco and Narcissa also allowed him to overcome his more self-serving side as he charged straight into the thick of battle during the siege on Hogwarts in an attempt to find Draco, eventually locating him after Voldemort was finally defeated and the battle came to an end.
Despite his love for his son, Lucius became disappointed in Draco for losing his value in pure-blood supremacy after the Second Wizarding War and for marrying Astoria Greengrass, who underwent similar changes to Draco's. Father and son had an argument for Draco's willingness to let the Malfoy bloodline end with him to preserve Astoria's frail body, showing that Lucius still maintained his belief in pure-blood supremacy over the well-being of a human being and that the mistreatment he received from the Second Wizarding War did little to change his opportunistic and bigoted personality.
He even employed Theodore Nott to create a "true" Time-Turner, a dangerous device that would give him the potential to go back in time to avert Voldemort's demise. Yet due to the fact that he never used it, it shows Lucius remained inclined to the Dark side, as was seen by his creating and keeping such a dangerous and illegal device and passing it on to his son. However, it can be also inferred that Lucius didn't have any intention at all to bring back his former master, as Draco later reflected that Lucius seemed to like a world without Voldemort.
Magical abilities and skills
- "It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."
- — Lucius's fondness for martial magic[src]
Being one of Voldemort's inner circle and, up until the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, one of his most trusted and valued allies, Lucius was a very powerful and experienced wizard.
- Love: Despite his cold and ruthless nature, Lucius was one of the only Death Eaters in Voldemort's inner circle who was capable of feeling genuine love. Lucius cared deeply about his family, especially Narcissa and Draco. In the end, his love for his family drove him to abandon Voldemort and search for Draco, especially after Voldemort refused his offer to stop the battle in order for him to search for Draco while Voldemort searched for Harry Potter. His abandonment of Voldemort led to him avoiding another sentence in Azkaban along with his family.
- Dark Arts: As a high-ranking Death Eater, Lucius was highly familiar and skilled with all kinds of Dark magic and with the casting of Dark charms, being an accomplished Dark wizard. He was able to recognise the effects of such unfriendly spells on sight. When Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were captured by Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor, for example, Lucius was able to quickly identify the cause of the former's appearance as the result of a Stinging Jinx, even though his comrades present could not. The extent of his power and skill as a Dark wizard was shown by how he was able to successfully perform the Unforgivable Curses, which required tremendous skill and genuine malice, as shown by his proficiency at the Imperius Curse, successfully placing Sturgis Podmore and Broderick Bode under control, which allowed him to carry out his master's orders.[27] He was also known to enjoy the torturing of Muggles with Dark magic, along with his fellow Death Eaters.[28] Furthermore, Lucius owned an impressive collection of numerous Dark magical artefacts and cursed objects in his home, many of which he likely purchased from Borgin and Burkes, being a frequent customer there, and was also able to understand them thoroughly and interact with them.[11] Indeed, even Voldemort trusted him to take care of his diary, one of his Horcruxes, speaking for his confidence in Lucius's ability to manage Dark objects, although his neglect and misuse of this item ultimately led to its destruction, much to his master's fury. He also used Dark charms (such as the jinx Levicorpus) when he lead fellow Death Eaters in torturing Muggles at the riot at the World Cup.[51]
- Duelling: Lucius was a highly skilled duellist, though not as aggressive as some of his fellow Death Eaters, instead favouring a more elegant, refined technique when he engaged an adversary and generally demonstrating great form in his duelling style. A veteran of the First Wizarding War, Lucius fought the enemies of the Dark Lord during his former master's first rise to power and, as his most senior lieutenant at the time, led fractions of the Dark forces into battle.[61] Having held his own against trained Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix alike during the historical conflict, Lucius survived the war and were ultimately able to evade capture until after Voldemort's fall from power. An impressive feat, given the fact that he and the rest of his allies were up against the likes of Alastor Moody, who filled half the cells in Azkaban with those Lucius fought alongside with and how the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the day, Bartemius Crouch, authorised the Auror Office to kill rather than capture, and Lucius consequently proved capable of emerging from combat situations that were no-holds-barred as well as fending off people who simply sought to arrest or capture him. In spite of not having seen action for about thirteen years, Lucius had maintained his skill at martial magic; successfully fought the Ministry officials that tried to apprehend him and his comrades during the Riot at the Quidditch World Cup, although he, like them, fled when the Dark Mark was sent skywards by one of their fellows. He was also notably the only Death Eater (apart from Severus Snape) who had enough confidence in his own abilities to stand up to Bellatrix Lestrange. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Lucius showed proficient reflexes in deflecting Harry Potter's Stunning Spell with relative ease, contrasting at least two of his comrades who broke their ranks to avoid the ones from his friends. Shortly afterwards, he blocked another such spell from Nymphadora Tonks, one of the Aurors in the Order of the Phoenix that had arrived to rescue the students that he and the other Dark wizards present were targeting. In the same battle, he also stood his ground against Remus Lupin, until the arrival of Albus Dumbledore saw him rounded up with his peers.
- Nonverbal magic: Lucius was capable of casting offensive spells while duelling non-verbally, showing a great amount of skill in this field, given the high level of difficulty required in the casting of non-verbal spells, a further testament to his skills as a powerful wizard.[62]
- Intellect: Lucius was a rather astute and wily man, having been a model student during his time as a student and even made a Prefect at his fifth year, a position bestowed upon academic high-achievers that had proven themselves capable, both in class and out. As an adult, his political acumen was such that it enabled him to effectively influence matters of state; being persuasive enough in conversation to win the respect of high-ranking bureaucrats such as Dolores Umbridge, and the goodwill of various politicians, whom he was able to convince to make changes that favoured Lucius's own agenda over that of other important people. Indeed, throughout the First Wizarding War and during the early stages of the Second, Lucius was able to effectively balance his roles as both among the most prominent and politically influential individuals at the Ministry of Magic, and the Dark Lord's second-in-command, while also possessing the foresight to prepare a contingency plan on the off-chance that he fell under suspicion of being involved with the Dark Lord by ensuring that he was owed favours by people in high places and could call in to collect them when necessary. After the war, Lucius retained his influence at the Ministry, even becoming a close advisor of the Minister for Magic of the time, Cornelius Fudge.
- Acting skills: Lucius was a capable actor, having been able to successfully pretend to be on the side of the Ministry of Magic during the First Wizarding War while he was actually the Dark Lord's second-in-command, and, even after being captured, managed to convince most of the Ministry that he had been an unwilling pawn and helped the Death Eaters against his will. He was also able to successfully pretend that he had no idea at all who was behind the Chamber of Secrets attacks while it was actually he who caused it and even when confronted by Dumbledore over this fact, Lucius was able to keep his emotion in check to avoid a confrontation with Dumbledore he most certainly knew he would not win. In the beginning of the Second Wizarding War, Lucius was once again able to act as apparent ally to the Ministry while once more serving the Dark Lord, carrying out several acts of covert coercion in an attempt to steal the Prophecy of the Chosen One without being noticed and was only exposed upon his capture in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
- Leadership skills: Lucius was a talented leader even in his younger years, as shown by how he was able to successfully keep his fellow Slytherins in check as a Prefect. Throughout the majority of the First Wizarding War and in the beginning of the second, Lucius's leadership skills made him the Dark Lord's second-in-command. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Lucius displayed his leadership by remaining calm and focused on the mission even when faced with the unexpected situation when Harry Potter and his friends made a run for it and split up to confuse them, which he swiftly handled by quickly pairing up the Death Eaters under his command so that they would be pursuing all the teenagers at the same time, leading to the Death Eaters rather quick capture of them all apart from Harry, and then leading them against the Order of the Phoenix, where they even got the upper hand until the arrival of Dumbledore; which led to the swift defeat of him and his allies. In addition to being unaffected by the mockeries of his cause and insults from the Dark Lord, he showed that if the objective was sufficiently important, he would not hesitate in leaving fallen comrades behind, focusing instead on seeing Lord Voldemort's orders through to the very end.
- Potions: Lucius was skilled in the brewing of potions.[63] While in school at Hogwarts, Lucius was noted by Horace Slughorn to be proficient in potions and his talent in potion-making even earned him a place among Slughorn's elite Slug Club.[53] Furthermore, Lucius owned a rather impressive repertoire of various poisons, showing he likely had knowledge of such substances.[16]
- Apparition: Like most accomplished adult wizards, Lucius was capable of apparating at will. After the Return of the Dark Lord, he Apparated to the Little Hangleton Graveyard to witness the rebirth of his master, along with many other Death Eaters.[28]
- Wizard's Chess: Lucius was a proficient chess player during his time at Hogwarts, and was good enough that he was able to tutor and instruct other Slytherins during his time as Governor.[64]
Possessions
- Wand: Lucius owned a wand which he kept in his walking stick. This wand was passed down through generations in the Malfoy family.
- Slytherin tie pin: Like other Slytherins, Lucius owned a tie pin in the shape of a serpent of Slytherin House, to show his pride for his house. He wore this throughout his years at Hogwarts.
- Walking stick: Lucius owned a walking stick that was enchanted with the shield charm to protect him from spells. His wand was hidden within the stick for sneak attacks, so he could block and cast spells at the same time. The cane was also ornamented with a snake head at the top. This ornamentation was broken off by Voldemort in the Meeting at Malfoy Manor, when Voldemort forced Lucius to give him his wand, under the assumption that another's wand but not his own can kill Harry Potter.
- Poisons: In 1992, he was seen by Harry Potter selling Dark poisons at Borgin and Burkes because the ministry was conducting raids on private homes.
- Tom Riddle's Diary: When he became a Death Eater, Lord Voldemort trusted Lucius with a Horcrux. However, Lucius attempted to use it in a way to discredit his enemies, the Weasley family, by slipping it into the luggage of Ginevra Weasley. This culminated in a turn of events where the diary was destroyed by Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.
- Second wand: Lucius owned a second wand that he used during the Battle of Hogwarts to replace the one that was destroyed.
- Time-Turner: As an avid collector of powerful artefacts, Lucius had Theodore Nott create a new Time-Turner which was not restricted by the safety boundary of five hours as was created by the Ministry, nor by the boundary of the five minute restriction created by Nott's prototype. The improved Time-Turner gleamed gold and could travel back to any time for a long duration. Lucius passed it down to Draco. Lucius and Draco kept it secret as the Ministry would have sent them to Azkaban for having such a dangerous artefact. Lucius never actually used it, and Draco believed his father actually preferred the world without Voldemort in it.[58]
Relationships
Family
Parents
Although not much is known about Lucius's parents, it is known that they were both pure-bloods. His father, Abraxas, died of a case of Dragon Pox, when he was very old. He was also a friend of Horace Slughorn. It is unknown if Lucius's mother died, but it is possible that she was not alive during the Second Wizarding War.
Wife and son
- Bellatrix: "That was not my fault! The Dark Lord, has, in the past, entrusted me with his most precious — if Lucius hadn't —"
- Narcissa: "Don't you dare - don't you dare blame my husband!"
- — Narcissa defends Lucius for failing to get the prophecy[src]
Lucius and his wife, Narcissa, appeared to have a close and affectionate relationship. They both enjoyed being members of the social elite of the wizarding world and spoiling their only child, Draco. Lucius acquiesced to his wife's wishes when she wanted their son to attend Hogwarts, rather than Durmstrang. Narcissa was very upset when her husband was briefly imprisoned in Azkaban and became highly defensive when others mentioned it.[53] In 1997, when Lord Voldemort took over Malfoy Manor and demanded that Lucius give him his wand, he looked to Narcissa, and only when she touched his wrist, which gestured him to be calm, then he turned it over.[54]
- Lucius: "I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin... Though if his school marks don't pick up, that may indeed be all he is fit for —"
- Draco: "It's not my fault. The teachers all have favourites, that Hermione Granger —"
- Lucius: "I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam."
- — Lucius and Draco in Borgin and Burkes[src]
While both Lucius and Narcissa spoiled their son, Lucius was the more demanding parent. Regardless, he spoiled Draco with everything from unlimited freedom to money, and personally purchased broomsticks for the entire Slytherin Quidditch team when Draco was made Seeker. He was also openly critical of Draco's school marks being lower than those of Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born witch, reproving Draco for his lack of effort to show her up. Draco looked up to his father, often boasting about his influence and emulating him.[60] He was furious with Harry Potter after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, blaming him for getting Lucius incarcerated.[1]
Draco was terrified that his parents would be punished for his failure to assassinate Albus Dumbledore on Lord Voldemort's orders, and appeared to be close to accepting Dumbledore's offer to keep them safe before Severus Snape interceded and killed the Headmaster.[53] Lucius also cared far more about Draco than about his life as a Death Eater, as he was begging Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts to allow him to go search for Draco. Once it resumed, neither Lucius nor Narcissa fought at all but instead went desperately searching for their son.[54]
In 2006, Lucius had a grandson, Scorpius through Draco and his wife, Astoria Greengrass. Lucius didn't think highly of Astoria, as she raised their grandson Scorpius with a more tolerant view on Muggles.[29] It is unknown what kind of relationship Lucius and Scorpius had, given Astoria's nurturing. Scorpius also resembled Lucius physically, as he resembled Draco, too. However, Lucius's relationship with Draco seemed to have been slightly more strained since Astoria's marriage into the family, as Draco made it clear he was willing to let the Malfoy bloodline end with him in order to preserve the health of his wife's frail body, to which Lucius protested.[58]
Arthur Weasley
- Lucius: "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
- Arthur: "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,"
- Lucius: "Clearly. The company you keep, Weasley ... and I thought your family could sink no lower."
- — Lucius and Arthur Weasley arguing in Flourish and Blotts[src]
Lucius and Arthur Weasley despised each other, often exchanging insults when they met, and even getting into a fistfight on at least one occasion. Lucius disdained the Weasley family for its poverty and so-called blood traitor status; while the Malfoys prized their pure-blood heritage, the Weasleys accepted Muggles and Muggle-borns. He and Arthur apparently clashed multiple times over this at the Ministry of Magic.
When Arthur proposed the Muggle Protection Act in 1992, Lucius was furious to the point of trying to sabotage Arthur by placing an old diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle's on Arthur's eleven-year-old daughter, Ginny, endangering her life as well as those of Muggle-born Hogwarts students, as this led to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.[60]
Also, Arthur never believed Lucius's claim that he had been under the Imperius Curse during the First Wizarding War, thereby indicating that their enmity likely dates back to their younger years.
Severus Snape
- "Lucius always spoke highly of you."
- — Dolores Umbridge to Severus Snape[src]
Lucius was the first person in Hogwarts who offered kindness to Severus Snape and later took him on as a protégé during their Hogwarts days. Lucius welcomed him into Slytherin House when Severus was Sorted there and Lucius was a prefect, and as part of a group of future Death Eaters.[3] Lucius continued to think and speak highly of Severus later in life, and Severus seemed to favour Draco as a student in his Potions class, leading Sirius Black to once acidly comment that Severus was Lucius's lapdog.[65]
The fact that Narcissa Malfoy went to Severus for help when Lucius was in Azkaban and Draco had been given a dangerous mission by Voldemort[53] demonstrated the trust and respect the Malfoys had for Severus. Severus, on his part, was the only Death Eater who continued to treat Lucius kindly after his fall from favour and was the one who convinced Voldemort to free him from Azkaban. It is unknown how Lucius reacted when he learnt of Snape's death and his true loyalties to Dumbledore, though it is possible that he was saddened by the death of his old friend and may have been sympathetic towards Snape due to his own disillusionment from the Death Eaters.
Bellatrix Lestrange
- "I TOLD YOU, NO! If you smash it — !"
- — Lucius's anger at Bellatrix during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries[src]
Lucius did not seem to have very much respect for Bellatrix Lestrange, his sister-in-law, as the rest of the Death Eaters did. Bellatrix was a fanatically loyal Death Eater, who also fought for Lord Voldemort in the First and the Second Wizarding War. Lucius was antagonistic with Bellatrix due to usurping his place within the Death Eater ranks despite the fact she had been imprisoned in Azkaban for fourteen years, unlike Lucius. Their differences in loyalty in the Dark Lord also fuelled their antagonism for each other.
When Bellatrix wanted to kill Harry Potter during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Lucius restrained her. After the battle, Bellatrix told Narcissa that it was Lucius's fault that she couldn't give Voldemort the Prophecy. When Draco was made a Death Eater, she trained Draco herself In 1997, Bellatrix stayed with Lucius at his house, as she wanted to come closer to Voldemort, who was also staying there. Bellatrix and Lucius also fought together during the skirmish at Malfoy Manor, where they argued about who would call Voldemort when they caught Harry Potter. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Bellatrix was eventually killed by Molly Weasley, although Lucius's reaction to her death is unknown.
Dobby
- Lucius: "Come Dobby, I said come."
- Dobby: "Master has given Dobby a sock. Master gave it to Dobby."
- Lucius: "What's that? What did you say?"
- Dobby: "Got a sock. Master threw it, and Dobby caught it, and Dobby — Dobby is free'"
- — Lucius unknowingly liberating Dobby of his servitude[src]
Dobby was Lucius's house-elf. Lucius treated Dobby with cruelty and abuse and was very sadistic with him. Dobby feared Lucius, but did everything Lucius ordered him. In 1993, Harry Potter freed Dobby by making Lucius give him a sock. Lucius became very angry and attempted to kill Harry. The last time Lucius saw Dobby was in 1998, when Dobby came to Malfoy Manor to rescue Harry Potter and his friends. Dobby was eventually killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, and it is unknown how Lucius reacted when he learned about his death.
Lord Voldemort
- Voldemort: "I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late… What is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?"
- Lucius: "Nothing – nothing, my Lord!"
- Voldemort: "Such lies, Lucius."
- — Voldemort and Lucius in Malfoy Manor in 1997[src]
Lucius was one of Lord Voldemort's most trusted and high-ranking Death Eaters, serving him in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Voldemort gave his diary Horcrux to Lucius to retain. Upon his rebirth in 1995, Voldemort questioned Lucius's loyalty, since he had never tried to find the Dark Lord after his fall in 1981.[52] Voldemort accepted Lucius's explanations and exultations of devotion, and entrusted Lucius with the task of obtaining a prophecy concerning him and Harry Potter.
Later however, Lucius selfishly throwing away the diary Horcrux, his failure in retrieving the Prophecy, and subsequent imprisonment in Azkaban made him and his family lose any favour in Voldemort's eyes, and the Dark Lord may gave Lucius's son a nearly impossible task to punish Lucius.[53]
Although he broke Lucius out of Azkaban in 1997, along with many other Death Eaters, Voldemort treated him with disdain, taking over his home and his wand, and mocking the Malfoys for their relation to a werewolf through Narcissa's niece. Lucius was desperate to regain his master's favour, but the opportunity for that came with the capture of Harry Potter in the spring of 1998 and, unfortunately for him, ended in disaster; Harry and his friends escaped, and the Malfoys were severely punished. By the Battle of Hogwarts, Lucius had abandoned his loyalty to Voldemort in order to protect his family, and was pardoned for his crimes due to his last-minute defection.[54]
Draco mentioned many years later that Lucius never wanted to use the "true" Time-Turner to save Voldemort, as he probably preferred a world without him, suggesting that even Lucius despised the Dark Lord in the end, particularly due to the ill treatment Voldemort had given to the Malfoy family at their later half of their Death Eater services.
Albus Dumbledore
- "Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place. "
- — Draco Malfoy discusses his father's derisive opinion of Albus Dumbledore.[src]
Lucius Malfoy had a strong dislike of Albus Dumbledore. This is due to two reasons – Dumbledore believed in Muggle rights which contradicted Malfoy's pure blood supremacist beliefs. In addition, Lucius was a Death Eater, so he believed that Lord Voldemort was a much more powerful wizard than Dumbledore. Lucius always believed that Dumbledore becoming Headmaster was the worst thing that happened to Hogwarts. Dumbledore was Headmaster at least part of Lucius's schooltime as Lucius was in his sixth or seventh year when the Marauders started at Hogwarts and then Dumbledore was already Headmaster.
- "Dreadful thing, Dumbledore, but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension — you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school."
- — Lucius announcing Dumbledore's removal from office[src]
In 1992, Lucius Malfoy was indirectly responsible for the second opening of the Chamber of Secrets. This was an attempt to discredit Arthur Weasley but Lucius also wanted to include Dumbledore by using the excuse of blaming him for doing nothing to stop the Chamber's opening. Lucius abused his position as a Hogwarts Governor and threatened the other Governors to vote for Dumbledore's suspension after several attacks on Hogwarts students. However, when Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber to lure Harry Potter, the other Governors decided to face Malfoy and Dumbledore was reinstated. Lucius was furious that Dumbledore dared to return to Hogwarts to help Harry successfully save Ginny, but Dumbledore was aware that Lucius had threatened the other Governors. Consequently, Lucius was sacked as a Hogwarts Governor.
In the following years, Lucius continued to dislike Dumbledore and cause trouble for him. When Voldemort was resurrected in 1995, Lucius returned to his service. As the Ministry was refusing to believe Dumbledore about Voldemort's return, they started a smear campaign to discredit him. Lucius contributed to this smear campaign by describing Dumbledore as "eccentric" for his past choice of teachers including the werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and ex-Auror Alastor Moody. Later that year, Lucius participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and fought against the Order of the Phoenix. However, he was arrested and sent to Azkaban.
Dumbledore believed that Lucius would feel "safe" in Azkaban because Voldemort was furious at Lucius's failure in the Department of Mysteries, and Dumbledore offered to protect Lucius along with Narcissa when Draco threatened to murder the headmaster. It is unknown how Lucius reacted when he learned of Dumbledore's death.
Harry Potter
- "You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter. They were meddlesome fools, too."
- — Lucius coldly threatening Harry Potter[src]
Lucius was the father of Draco Malfoy, Harry's school bully. During their first years at Hogwarts, Lucius discouraged their rivalry, feeling it wouldn't reflect well on them to be on poor terms with such a famous person. When Lucius first met Harry in Flourish and Blotts in 1992, he pretended to be polite to him.
After Harry succeeded in killing the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, he confronted Lucius about his suspicions on how Ginny obtained the diary at the beginning of the year and then tricked him into freeing his own servant Dobby. Lucius was furious and from that point on, treated him with cool contempt.
- "You've lost me my servant, boy!"
- — Lucius attempting to assault Harry Potter[src]
Lucius was a little bit more tactful around Harry than other Death Eaters (such as Bellatrix Lestrange) depending on the circumstances. However, Lucius did not openly declare himself against him until after Lord Voldemort took control of the Ministry.
During the Battle of Hogwarts, the Malfoy family switched sides, meaning they were forgiven for their crimes. Draco, while he did not necessarily become "friends" with Harry, ultimately made peace with him. Lucius did the same as well, or at least simply decided to leave Harry and his friends and family alone.
Cornelius Fudge
- Lucius Malfoy: "Shall we go up to your office, then, Minister?"
- Cornelius Fudge: "Certainly, this way Lucius"
- — Lucius's sycophantic relationship with Fudge[src]
Cornelius Fudge was easily and strongly swayed by money and power. As a result, he favoured people like Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy influenced and likely bribed Cornelius Fudge many times during the latter's tenure as Minister for Magic, in return receiving favours such as delays in laws and given classified information. In the summer of 1994, Fudge invited Malfoy to occupy the top box with him at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup final, thanks to his "generous" donations to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
In 1995, Lucius returned to Voldemort, but Fudge denied Voldemort's rebirth and insisted that Malfoy had switched sides, and the wealthy Malfoy continued to work with the Ministry. They met after Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing and went upstairs to Fudge's office, where Harry suspected Lucius gave gold to Fudge. Malfoy's frequent visits to Fudge also may have given him opportunity to put Ministry workers (such as Broderick Bode and Sturgis Podmore) under the Imperius Curse to attempt to steal a prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort.[27]
After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Fudge was forced to believe that Voldemort had indeed returned, and all the Death Eaters who took part on the battle (with the exception of Bellatrix Lestrange) were sentenced to Azkaban, among them being Lucius. After being imprisoned, Lucius lost his job and influence at the Ministry; Fudge, having been blind to Lucius's true intentions until it was too late, also lost his career and popularity as well.
Rubeus Hagrid
- Rubeus Hagrid: "What're you doin' here? Get outta my house!"
- Lucius Malfoy: "My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your — er — d'you call this a house?"
- — Rubeus Hagrid and Lucius demonstrating mutual contempt[src]
Rubeus Hagrid was not on good terms with the Malfoy family. He was disgusted with their pure blood supremacy, their bullying of Muggle-borns and blood traitors, their allegiance to Lord Voldemort and their disrespect to Albus Dumbledore, whom Hagrid was fiercely loyal to. In turn, the Malfoys disliked Hagrid, referring to him as an "oaf".
In particular, Hagrid disliked Lucius. In 1992, Hagrid had to separate Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy from fighting in Flourish and Blotts. During the 1992–1993 school year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Lucius was indirectly responsible for the Chamber's opening. However, Hagrid was blamed because he had been framed by Tom Riddle for the Chamber's first opening fifty years before. As a result, Hagrid was arrested as a precautionary measure by Cornelius Fudge. Lucius was present at Hagrid's arrest, although Hagrid reacted angrily to his presence and ordered him to get out of his house.
Lucius mocked Hagrid by wondering how he called his small hut a "house". Lucius was only present at Hagrid's arrest because he had to inform Dumbledore that he and the other governors had voted on his suspension. Hagrid saw through Lucius and shouted at him accusing him of threatening the other governors. Lucius's response was to mock Hagrid's temper and advising him not to shout at Azkaban guards like that. This instance proved that Hagrid did not trust Lucius. Lucius described Dumbledore's decision to employ Hagrid as a teacher as "eccentric".
In 1993, Lucius's son, Draco, was injured by Hagrid's Hippogriff Buckbeak. Lucius was furious and complained to the Ministry of Magic. At Buckbeak's trial, Lucius was the witness for the prosecution. Hagrid desperately tried to defend Buckbeak but he lost due to Lucius's influence at the Ministry. Buckbeak was sentenced to death but was saved by Harry and Hermione, which possibly led Lucius to feel that the Hippogriff had made him and Draco look like fools.
Death Eaters
- "Leave Nott, leave him, I say, the Dark Lord will not care for Nott's injuries as much as losing that prophecy — Jugson, come back here, we need to organise! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary — Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left, Crabbe, Rabastan, go right — Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead — Macnair and Avery, through here — Rookwood, over there — Mulciber, come with me!"
- — Lucius commanding his fellow Death Eaters during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries[src]
As a high ranking Death Eater, Lucius was occasionally given leadership over his fellows by Voldemort. When given commands, the other Death Eaters usually follow them without question or signs of resentment. Once Lucius and his family lost favour with Voldemort the other Death Eaters largely lost any respect they had towards Lucius, even loudly jeering at him when Voldemort mentioned their relation by marriage to werewolf Remus Lupin (through Lucius's niece Nymphadora Tonks).
Peter Pettigrew worked alongside Lucius in keeping prisoners in the Malfoy Manor. They also stood next to each other in the Death Eater circle following Voldemort's rebirth. Lucius and Peter's Hogwarts years would have overlapped. The relationship between the two is unknown beyond this, although Pettigrew was assigned to work in the dungeons in Malfoy Manor as a servant, meaning he possibly had a low opinion of him.
Barty Crouch Jnr was a highly loyal Death Eater who had a strong dislike towards Lucius for never attempting to search for Voldemort after he disappeared. While disguised as Alastor Moody at Hogwarts, Barty enjoyed intimidating Lucius's son Draco.
Corban Yaxley seemed familiar with Lucius and his wealthy and extravagant lifestyle, though he expressed this in a snide manner.
Igor Karkaroff was a friend and comrade of Lucius's during the First Wizarding War. Lucius considered sending his son to Durmstrang due to Karkaroff's headmastership and the fact that Durmstrang doesn't allow muggle-born wizards and witches to attend.
Lucius appeared to be friendly with Crabbe and Nott, as their sons were familiar with each other prior to arriving at Hogwarts. Nott visited the Malfoy Manor on at least one occasion to discuss unknown things with Lucius. Despite this, Lucius didn't hesitate to leave an injured Nott behind during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, knowing that Voldemort would be much angrier at losing the prophecy.
Lucius shared at least some of his Hogwarts years with Avery, Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Wilkes, and Rodolphus Lestrange. He and Rodolphus were brother-in-laws through their marriages with Naricissa and Bellatrix respectively. Lucius also chose Mulciber as his partner during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
Lucius was disdainful towards werewolf Fenrir Greyback when he brought Harry Potter and his friends to the Malfoy Manor. Greyback was likewise resentful of the Malfoy's cold reception and argued with Lucius over who would receive credit for capturing Harry.
Media
Etymology
- The name Lucius may come from the Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who extrajudicially executed his rivals. His name could also be a reference to the Roman Emperor Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also known as Nero. Lucius is a name that derives from Latin meaning "bright" or "intelligent" and is related to the name Lucifer, the first name of Satan, which may reference Lucius Malfoy being bright but evil, or just evil.
- Malfoy is derived from the French mal foi or mal foy, meaning bad faith or unfaithful.
- A Latin male first name. A character in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Lucius is the servant of Brutus, the leader of the conspirators who plot against and assassinate Caesar.
Behind the scenes
- In the films, Malfoy is played by Jason Isaacs. To prepare for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and to get a sense of how nasty Lucius should be, Isaacs went back and watched Tom Felton's performance in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Brett Underwood appears as young Lucius Malfoy in a Slug Club photograph in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.[66]
- According to Isaacs, the studio initially wanted Lucius to wear a pinstriped suit with his normal hair. Isaacs thought that Lucius wouldn't wear this outfit, due to his hatred of muggles and the fact that Draco was blond, and came up with Lucius's signature look from how he'd imagined a wizard aristocrat would look.[67]
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Lucius pushed Harry's hair back over his head to view his scar, which does not happen in the novel.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Lucius, during his encounter with Arthur Weasley, curtly says to the latter "See you at work", implying that Lucius himself may actually work in the Ministry and thus act as Arthur's coworker. However, this does not seem to be the case in the books, as Draco mentions in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that "he's always popping in and out of the Ministry", thereby implying he does not actually work there.
- The line in the film could also imply that Lucius has visited the Ministry enough times that he and Arthur encountered each other, making the comment a sarcastic joke on Arthur's part.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Lucius accidentally smashes the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, rather than Neville Longbottom.
- Despite not having an appearance in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as an adult, Isaacs cameos in a photograph in the Daily Prophet, and Brett Underwood plays him in a Slug Club photo.
- In the novels, Lucius is not stated to have long hair. However, Isaacs requested long hair so that people could tell the difference between Lucius and Draco.
- It is interesting to note that like his wife, Lucius Malfoy (perhaps subtly) tried to stop Voldemort from killing Harry. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Lucius prompted Voldemort to tell the Death Eaters his backstory on how he returned to power after Voldemort stated that Harry was his guest of honour, which could have been the moment where Voldemort initially intended to duel and kill Harry. This, along with the courtesy and care towards Harry in the Department of Mysteries in the next book could establish that Lucius, as a father, does not like the thought of witnessing, let alone bring about, the murder of someone Draco's age, despite him being a sworn enemy.
- Lucius scolded Draco for badmouthing Harry, and reminds him that it was not prudent for him for doing so since the wizarding community regarded Harry as the hero who has vanquished Voldemort.
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Bellatrix Lestrange attempted to summon Voldemort after the capture of Harry Potter, Lucius tried to stop her and argued that Harry has been summoned in his house, so it was him who should summon Voldemort instead.
- Also, in the films, Lucius's wand is concealed within a snake-handelled walking stick that he almost always carries with him. The walking stick may have magical abilities of its own, as Lucius is seen wielding it during a duel in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries until Harry disarms him of it, to which Sirius Black comments "nice one".
- Isaacs improvised the scene where he kicked Dobby down the stairs, as he was amazed with the freedom the special effects gave him.[68]
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, after Harry caused him to inadvertently set Dobby free, Lucius Malfoy was about to cast a curse at Harry, but was stopped by Dobby. It sounded as though he was about to cast the Killing Curse, because it sounded as though he said, "Avada-", the entire curse was not heard because he was cut off by Dobby. The attempted use of this curse was the result of an improvisation on Isaacs's part, as the script did not specify which curse he was supposed to use, so he used the first spell that came to his mind.
- It is worth noting that the Killing Curse's incantation (Avada Kedavra) had not yet been introduced in the Chamber of Secrets novel. However, the film version was released after the publication of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (where the incantation was first introduced), which may be the reason why Isaacs could utter the spell.
- Similarly, his dialogue to Harry where he sardonically states that they should hope that Harry Potter is still around to save the day, and Harry's response, was an improvisation by Isaacs and Daniel Radcliffe, respectively, and was not in the original script. It was ad-libbed because Isaacs felt it was completely out-of-character for Lucius Malfoy to simply let Dumbledore have the last word.[69][70]
- In the two last films, Part 1 and Part 2 of Deathly Hallows, Lucius appears to be unshaved, having been put under pressure and stress by Lord Voldemort, not to mention being in Azkaban for a year or so, where he would have been living in poor state. As a result, he appears thinner and has bags under his eyes.
- In addition, Lucius did have a replacement wand in the 7th film, but was dispatched by Harry before he could use it.
- Lucius Malfoy is ranked Number 12 on the Forbes Fictional 15 list of the richest people in the world.[71]
- A variety of Elder Futhark runes are depicted on Lucius's Azkaban placard. The easily identified ones are: Othila, which means "estate, heritage, possession" and corresponds to the Latin letter "o"; Ansuz (albeit rotated slightly), meaning "one of the Æsir (gods)" and corresponds to the Latin letter "a"; Uruz, meaning "wild ox" or "water"; and Mannaz, meaning "man".[72] It is unknown if these serve any purpose (other than for identification, like the numbers and letters), though they may be a reference to different parts of his character. For example, Othila, which could represent his abundance of material possessions & wealth, as well as his emphasis on blood purity ("heritage").
- According to Lucius's actor, Isaacs, in the Maximum Movie Mode of Deathly Hallows Part 2, he believed after the battle, Lucius felt isolated from not only from everyone but his family as well.
- In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Lucius was not able to perform a Killing Curse. Instead, he was able to release a peacock from his inventory. (It's strange because he was able to kill in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4.) This is because of the game's design, where the Killing Curse at Death Eaters and the inventory takes the same slot. It is likely that Lucius was "disarmed" from this ability because there were a lot of playable Death Eaters in the game who could perform a Killing Curse.
- The filmmakers had planned for Lucius to appear at the execution of Buckbeak in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and be outraged when Buckbeak escaped; however, Isaacs was unavailable for filming at the time.
- Recently, New Zealand biologist Tom Saunders named a new species of wasp after Lucius (Lusius malfoyi).[73]
- According to Saunders, "People see wasps as villains, as the 'bad guys.' But the truth is that the vast majority of wasp species are either neutral or beneficial, from a human standpoint. Just as Lucius Malfoy is pardoned after separating from Voldemort's allies, I'm asking people to pardon wasps in order to restore their reputation as interesting, important creatures."
- The blond appearance of Lucius Malfoy may be an allusion to Adolf Hitler's master race ideology, known as Aryan supremacy, with the belief of "tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed" Germans to be the supreme and superior race.
- This element may have also helped Rowling to create the character as a snobbish and xenophobic villain, as Rowling herself created the series with partial basis on the horrors of the Third Reich.
- Despite Lucius being an Aryan, his actor, Jason Isaacs, is Jewish.
- The scene of Lucius kicking his house elf Dobby down the stairs and beating him with his cane in the film adaptation of Chamber of Secrets (though the former was technically ad-libbed by Isaacs as stated previously) may be inspired by the abuse suffered by Jewish Helen Hirsch during her years of servitude under Nazi commandant Amon Goeth. Ironically enough, Lord Voldemort is played by the same actor as Goeth, Ralph Fiennes.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned) (Mentioned as "dad")
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (Mentioned only) (Mentioned as "dad")
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance) (First identified as Lucius Malfoy)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears in photographs)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
- LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
- LEGO Harry Potter
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter for Kinect
- LEGO Harry Potter
- Pottermore
- Harry Potter (website)
- Harry Potter: The Character Vault
- Harry Potter: The Creature Vault (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
- Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
- Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Appears in the spell book)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 15 (The Hogwarts High Inquisitor) tells us that he was 41 when he gave an interview to the Daily Prophet published in September 1995. 2 September in the book is Monday. Then the week goes by. The next Monday is the day the article is published. The article is about an event announced on the Sunday. Malfoy gave his interview that night. He was already 41, or turned 41 on that Sunday. Since Monday was the 2nd, Sunday was the 8th meaning he was born between 9 September 1953 (he could only have turned 42 that day for the interview age to be true) or 8 September 1954 (if he turned 41 the day of or before the interview).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Draco Malfoy" at Harry Potter (website) - "With the unquestioning belief in his own superior status he has imbibed from his pure-blood parents, he initially offers Harry friendship on the assumption that the offer needs only to be made to be accepted."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33 (The Prince's Tale) - "And Severus Snape moved off to the other side of the Hall, away from Lily, to where the Slytherins were cheering him, to where Lucius Malfoy, a prefect badge gleaming upon his chest, patted Snape on the back as he sat down beside him. ..."
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8 (The Quidditch World Cup) - "A pale boy with a pointed face and white-blond hair, Draco greatly resembled his father."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8 (The Quidditch World Cup) - "Mr Malfoy's cold grey eyes swept over Mr Weasley, and then up and down the row."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 14 (Cornelius Fudge) - "Dumbledore had not taken his bright blue eyes off Lucius Malfoy's cold grey ones."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 (Dobby's Reward) - "Mr Malfoy went even paler than usual, but his eyes were still slits of fury."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 (Dobby's Reward) - "He saw Mr Malfoy's white hands clench and unclench."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 1 (The Dark Lord Ascending) -"Malfoy glanced sideways at his wife. She was staring straight ahead, quite as pale as he was, her long blonde hair hanging down her back, but beneath the table her slim fingers closed briefly on his wrist."
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor) - ""Of course not, of course not!" said Lucius impatiently. He approached Harry himself, came so close that Harry could see the usually languid, pale face in sharp detail even through his swollen eyes."
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- ↑ J.K. Rowling and the Live Chat, Bloomsbury.com, July 30, 2007
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "HOGWARTS TRIVIA" Achievement
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Beyond Hogwarts, Volume 1, Chapter 14 (HIGH SOCIETY)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Malfoy Family" at Harry Potter (website)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 4 (At Flourish and Blotts)
- ↑ Interview with Jason Isaacs about his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy, seen here.
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 5 (Diagon Alley)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club) - "My father used to be a bit of a favourite of his."
- ↑ The Road to Hogwarts Sweepstakes (see this image)
- ↑ Dumbledore taught Patricia Rakepick when she was a student and became headmaster when she was still a pupil. Lucius is about a year older, so the same is true for him as well.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 12 (The Polyjuice Potion)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Wizards Unite "Registry: Challenges"
- ↑ Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, Chapter 3 (Horace Slughorn)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 30 (The Pensieve) - "You must understand that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy... He preferred that we never knew the names of every one of our fellows - He alone knew exactly who we all were -"
- ↑ Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (see here)
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 26 (Seen and Unforeseen)
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 33 (The Death Eaters)
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Draco Malfoy" at Harry Potter (website)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 9 (The Woes of Mrs Weasley)
- ↑ Explore the Story: Draco Malfoy at Pottermore
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 23 (Horcruxes)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 30 (The Pensieve)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 17 (Bathilda's Secret)
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 3 (The Burrow)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 11 (Aboard the Hogwarts Express)
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 The Tales of Beedle the Bard, "The Fountain of Fair Fortune"
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, "MEET THE MALFOYS" Achievement - Part 1, Side Quest "Inspection and Influence"
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, "MEET THE MALFOYS" Achievement - Part 2, Side Quest "Draco Malfoy"
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 2, "MEET THE MALFOYS" Achievement - Part 4, Side Quest "Crime and Punishment"
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "SLYTHERIN CELEBRATION" Achievement
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 47 (The Circle and the Crown)
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 (Dobby's Reward)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 2 (Dobby's Warning)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 7 (Mudbloods And Murmurs)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 14 (Cornelius Fudge)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17 (The Heir of Slytherin)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 8 (The Quidditch World Cup)
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 9 (The Dark Mark)
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 53.3 53.4 53.5 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 54.4 54.5 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 27 (The Final Hiding Place)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- ↑ Bloomsbury Webschat with J.K. Rowling 30 July 2007
- ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act Four, Scene Four
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Pure-Blood" at Harry Potter (website)
- ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- ↑ Draco Malfoy's page on Pottermore tells us that "All his life, he had idolised a father who advocated violence and was not afraid to use it himself, and now that his son discovered in himself a distaste for murder, he felt it to be a shameful failing." Evidently, while not murderous and sadistic like Bellatrix, Draco is aware that his father readily partook in disposing of the enemies of the Dark Lord when ordered to do so/deeming it necessary.
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- ↑ Pottermore
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, "HOGWARTS TRIVIA" Achievement
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 24 (Occlumency)
- ↑ Brett Underwood's profile on Casting Call Pro
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI2ofaMtZW0&ab_channel=kianahiapo
- ↑ https://youtu.be/tHdrDeVu-38?t=190
- ↑ https://youtu.be/tHdrDeVu-38?t=315
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5don9ACZEI&t=54s
- ↑ Forbes Fictional 15: Lucius Malfoy
- ↑ Elder futhark#Rune names on Wikipedia
- ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/10/asia/harry-potter-wasp-lusius-malfoyi-lucius-malfoy/index.html