Lucius Malfoy

Lucius Malfoy

Alias: None

Age: 43 (Born in 1954)

House: Slytherin

Special Abilities: Lucius is a Death Eater and very skilled in the Dark Arts. According to Lord Voldemort, Lucius always took the lead in Muggle-torture, something at which he undoubtedly excelled. Lucius is also an expert at manipulating people. He wields his wealth and social position like a weapon, deftly using it to influence or intimidate other wizards and witches into compliance.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Lucius Malfoy has white-blond hair and cold, gray eyes. His face is very pale and pointed. Lucius is a wealthy man, who uses his wealth to influence people. He is arrogant, calculating, and used to getting his own way at any cost. His smug self-importance seems to be a family trait, as both his wife and son act the same way.

Heritage: Pureblood.

Family: The Malfoys are an old, aristocratic wizarding family of great wealth and influence. Little else is known about Lucius's family apart from their pureblood lineage and penchant for the Dark Arts. It is known that the pureblood wizard families are all inter-related and the Malfoy family is no exception. Lucius married Narcissa Black, a pureblood witch. This marriage connected him to several pivotal characters in the books, namely Bellatrix (Black) Lestrange, Nymphadora Tonks, and Sirius Black, Narcissa's sister, niece, and cousin, respectively. Lucius and Narcissa have one child, the bullying and arrogant boy they named Draco.

First Mention: Sorcerer's Stone / Philosopher's Stone, chapter five.

First Appearance: Chamber of Secrets, chapter four.

General: Lucius Malfoy is a cunning and dangerous man. Born in 1954, he likely entered Hogwarts in 1965 or 1966, depending on his exact birthday. Like all the Malfoys, Lucius was in Slytherin as a student. Unsurprisingly, he possesses all of the qualities that make Slytherin House a veritable breeding ground for dark wizards. Lucius graduated in 1972 or 1973, when the Marauders were still in the beginning of their Hogwarts education (second or third year). Lucius probably became a Death Eater directly after graduating from Hogwarts, in which case he likely had an instrumental role in aiding Voldemort's rise to power in the late seventies and early eighties. Sometime during this period, Lucius married Narcissa Black. Although working for Lord Voldemort, Lucius was able to present a respectable visage to the wizarding public at large, steadily gaining wealth and influence as Voldemort gained power. In 1980, Lucius and Narcissa's only child, Draco, was born. Then everything started to unravel.

With the downfall of Voldemort on October 31, 1981, Lucius Malfoy's world was undoubtedly shaken. Somehow, and it isn't too hard to imagine how, Lucius managed to escaped prosecution and imprisonment after Voldemort's fall. He went before the Ministry claiming he was not responsible for his actions and was absolved and allowed to return to respectable wizard society with a clean record. As Lucius notoriously uses his excessive wealth to gain any advantage he can, there is little doubt that many generous donations followed (and perhaps preceded) the clearing of his "good" name. Despite what he said to the Ministry, Lucius was fully responsible for his actions and had no change of heart. He continued to practice the Dark Arts and secretly kept a number of Dark Artifacts, including many of Voldemort's personal effects, hidden in his mansion. Although many Death Eaters were sentenced to Azkaban, Lucius continued to live a comfortable life with his family while waiting patiently for his master's return to power.

Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco live in Malfoy Manor, his family's ancestral mansion. During the summer of 1992, the Ministry of Magic conducted a series of raids looking for Dark Artifacts. Even Lucius was unable to avoid these raids and was forced to sell a number of illegal items to Mr. Borgin, of Borgin and Burkes, in Knockturn Alley. Directly after selling these items, Lucius went to Flourish and Blotts bookstore, where he instigated a fight with Arthur Weasley. This fight was a diversion, allowing Lucius the opportunity to slip an old diary of Voldemort's into Ginny Weasley's school supplies. This diary contained more than just the memory of sixteen-year old Tom Riddle, the boy who became Lord Voldemort. Through the diary, Tom Riddle was able to possess Ginny, using her to open the Chamber of Secrets and release the Basilisk from within. Lucius had acted in an attempt both to rid Hogwarts of Muggle-born students and to help his old master regain power. At the time, Lucius was one of the twelve Hogwarts governors and his disdain for Dumbledore was well known. Once the Chamber had been opened and Muggle-borns were attacked, Lucius forced the other school governors into signing an Order of Suspension that removed Dumbledore from Hogwarts. Regrettably for Lucius, his plans were thwarted when Harry Potter defeated the Basilisk and the diary, destroying the memory of Tom Riddle and clearing Ginny of all guilt. Enraged, Lucius went to Hogwarts, where Harry then tricked him into freeing his house-elf, Dobby. This led to even greater animosity between Lucius and Harry.

During the 1993-1994 school year, Draco provoked Buckbeak the hippogriff into attacking him during a Care of Magical Creatures class. In retribution for his son's injuries, Lucius lobbied for Hagrid's termination and Buckbeak's death. Although Lucius won the trail against Buckbeak, his plans were ruined yet again by Harry, this time with the help of Hermione. The two of them used Hermione's Time-Turner to travel back in time and to save not only Buckbeak, but Sirius Black as well.

During the summer of 1994, Lucius proved that he had no trouble influencing high ranking officials to get what he wanted. He gave "a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries" (GoF, p 110). As such, Lucius and his family were invited by the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, to join him in the top box for the Quidditch World Cup Final. After the game ended, a band of masked wizards joined in a game of Muggle torture. Draco all but admitted that his parents were a part of the masked group, but they all Disapparated when the Dark Mark was cast into the sky, leaving the Ministry to speculate about the true identities of the culprits.

On June 24, 1995, Voldemort was restored to his body and power. When summoned, Lucius eagerly returned to his old master, happy to reprise his role as a Death Eater. Lucius watched as Voldemort dueled with Harry, and failed as he tried to stop Harry from escaping. Fortunately for Lucius, the Minister chose not to believe Harry's story of Voldemort's rebirth, so Lucius was free to wander about the Ministry, making deals and snooping around. By the 1995-1996 school year, Lucius seemed to have Fudge in the palm of his hand. An active Death Eater once more, Lucius's favor with the Minister posed a great threat to both Harry and the Order of the Phoenix. Lucius even recognized Sirius in his Animagus form when Sirius accompanied Harry to the Hogwarts Express before the school year started. With both the ear of the Minister and a direct link to Voldemort, Lucius became even more formidable.

Over the 1995 Christmas holidays, Sirius lost his temper and told his house-elf, Kreacher, to get out. Kreacher took Sirius at his word and left, going "to the only Black family member for whom he had any respect left - Black's cousin Narcissa" (OotP, p. 830). Although Kreacher couldn't divulge the location of Order headquarters or any other information directly referring to the Order, he was of use to Lucius. Kreacher told Lucius about the strong relationship between Harry and Sirius. This information was highly valuable, and Voldemort used it to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries under the guise of saving Sirius. Once in the Department, Harry and his friends realized too late that they had been tricked. Lucius emerged, leading a band of Death Eaters, and demanded the prophecy Harry had been duped into taking. In the fight that ensued, Lucius tried to get the prophecy from Harry. His attempt failed when members of the Order arrived. The prophecy was smashed before Lucius could retrieve it and Lucius was subdued and bound by Dumbledore and sent off to Azkaban.

Lucius spent the whole of the 1996-1997 school year locked away in Azkaban. Having twice failed the Dark Lord, Lucius may actually find himself safer in the wizard prison. Lucius first failed Lord Voldemort when he gave Riddle's diary to Ginny Weasley. Little did Lucius know at the time that the diary was actually a Horcrux; an object that possessed not simply the memory of Lord Voldemort, but a piece of his very soul. In giving the diary to Ginny, he negligently allowed it to be passed around. Eventually the diary was destroyed by Harry. When the diary was destroyed, the piece of Voldemort's soul it contained was also destroyed. Lucius's second failure came when he failed to retrieve the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries. By allowing the prophecy to shatter unheard, Lucius failed to claim for Voldemort the one thing the Dark Lord had been trying to get for over seventeen years. To add insult to injury, Lucius was then apprehended and sent to Azkaban, publicly disgraced in such a way that even his money and influence were unable to save him.

Lucius's role in the final book is uncertain. With the dementors growing stronger, more restless, and far from being under Ministry control, it seems unlikely that Lucius will be held in Azkaban much longer. However, he has finally lost the respectable facade he has used in regards to the wizarding world as a whole. Disgraced in the eyes of the public, jailed, and no longer able to act in secret, Lucius Malfoy does not have many options open to him, which may result in him becoming desperate and even more dangerous than before. He maintains the support of his wife and son, but whether he has the favor and protection of the Dark Lord is unknown. Lord Voldemort did make his malice for Lucius's failures known by assigning his son, Draco, an impossible task. The penalty for failure was death, for both Draco and his parents. Apparently, Voldemort is not willing to accept any more failure with regards to the Malfoy family. Draco did fail in his mission, which was to kill Dumbledore, but the mission itself was successful when Severus Snape stepped in and completed the task. Whether or not Voldemort will be lenient with the Malfoys for Draco's failure is unknown. What can be assumed is that the Malfoy family as a whole will play an important role in the conclusion of the series.