Lucius Malfoy

"Ah, poor Lucius... what with Voldemort's fury about the fact that he threw away the Horcrux for his own gain, and the fiasco at the Ministry last year, I would not be surprised if he is secretly glad to be safe in Azkaban at the moment."

- Albus Dumbledore on Lucius

Lucius Malfoy II (b. 1954) was a pure-blood wizard, and son of Abraxas Malfoy, husband of Narcissa Black and the father of Draco Malfoy. Lucius was educated at Hogwarts, where he was 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.

After Lord Voldemort's first defeat, Lucius managed to avoid imprisonment by claiming 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 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 failure and treated the Malfoys with disdain. Lucius and his family defected at the end of 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.

Early life


Lucius was born in 1954, and was the son of the apparently infamous Abraxas Malfoy.

In 1965 at the age of eleven, he began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Slytherin House. During his education, he became a member of Potions master Horace Slughorn's group of specially-selected students, the Slug Club. In his fifth year, Lucius was made a prefect, becoming friends with new student Severus Snape. He graduated from Hogwarts in 1972.

First Wizarding War
"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 to Harry Potter about Lucius's association with Lord Voldemort while onboard the Hogwarts Express in 1991

At some point after his time at school, he married Narcissa Black; their son Draco was born in 1980.

Lucius eventually became a Death Eater, one of the followers of Lord Voldemort, and even one of the most trusted servants, but abandoned that side after the Dark Lord's first fall in 1981. Lucius claimed he had been bewitched by Voldemort through the Imperius Curse and had not meant to serve him. Though this explanation was accepted by the Ministry of Magic, some, such as Arthur Weasley, believed it was a lie. Lucius then went on to get a position at the Ministry of Magic and to become one of the twelve Governors of Hogwarts School.

Lucius knew Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang Institute, and a former Death Eater as well, and considered sending his son to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts. However, Narcissa did not like the idea of Draco going to school so far away, thus they sent him to Hogwarts. Lucius also associated with a gang of Slytherins that included Severus Snape. In his later life, Lucius retained his acquaintance with Snape, speaking highly of him to Ministry officials such as Dolores Umbridge. Snape also seemed to favour Lucius' son, Draco, when he was a student.

Between the wars
"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 request to Dumbledore to have "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" banned from Hogwarts



After claiming he did Voldemort's work under the influence of the Imperius Curse, Lucius eventually became a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. As a governor, Lucius submitted a demand to headmaster Albus Dumbledore to have The Fountain of Fair Fortune banned from the Hogwarts library, as it depicted a love between a witch (Amata) and a Muggle (Sir Luckless). 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 Board of Governors, and the headmaster 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. 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.

Opening of the Chamber of Secrets


In 1992, Arthur Weasley was conducting raids on several wizarding households and confiscating Dark or illegally enchanted objects. Before his home could be raided, Lucius sold several of his more incriminating possessions at Borgin and Burkes. Just before Draco and Harry's second year at Hogwarts, Lucius then set in motion a plan Voldemort had assigned him prior to the Dark Lord's downfall that involved planting the old school diary of Tom Riddle in Ginny Weasley's potions cauldron while she was shopping for school supplies at Flourish and Blotts, after he had fought with her father and was hit in the eye by a copy of Encyclopedia of Toadstools.

Lucius planted the diary on Ginny in a plot to use her to reopen the Chamber of Secrets, which would lead to attacks on Muggle-born students. Lucius knew the diary was cleverly enchanted, but was not aware that it contained a part of Voldemort's soul. Lucius intended to use the opening of the Chamber of Secrets by Ginny for many of his own personal interests; he would have used it to discredit Ginny's father, Arthur Weasley, get Albus Dumbledore thrown out of Hogwarts, and several Muggle-borns would be targeted, as well as getting rid of a highly incriminating object at the same time.



This plan was initially successful, despite Lucius's house-elf Dobby's attempt to warn Harry Potter. 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 to attack their families if they didn't cooperate) to influence the school's Board of Governors to discredit and vote to dismiss Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster for his poor running of the school.

Lucius's plans were ultimately thwarted, however, when the Riddle in the diary decided to pursue his own goals, and rather than continue to petrify the Muggle-borns of the school, he set his eyes on the destruction of Harry Potter, the boy that Ginny told him would kill him in his future. Ginny finally stopped trusting her diary and threw it away, but Riddle soon took control of her again, taking Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets in hopes of luring Harry there.



Harry followed to save Ginny, and killed the basilisk with Godric Gryffindor's sword and destroyed the diary with a basilisk fang, which (though he didn't know it was a Horcrux at the time) also destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul inside. Harry proved Ginny's innocence and pointed an accusing finger at the true culprit — Lucius. Subsequently, and adding insult to injury, Harry also managed to trick Lucius into setting Dobby free 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, thus, he was no longer forced into servitude of the Malfoy family.



Upon being tricked into freeing his house-elf, Lucius attempted to murder Harry with his wand (using the Avada Kedavra curse) but he was only able to say "Avada &mdash;!" before Dobby disarmed him before he could do any harm, blasting his former master down a flight of steps. Lucius had no choice at that moment but to leave, but before he left, Lucius told Harry that his parents were "meddlesome fools," too. He also told Harry that one day, very soon, he would meet the "same sticky end" as them.

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. Despite his sacking, he still maintained strong ties with the Ministry of Magic.

It was hinted that Lucius's target in this plan, along with harming Muggle-born students and Ginny, and discrediting Arthur Weasley and Albus Dumbledore, was to sabotage the Muggle Protection Act that Arthur Weasley had recently proposed, which Lucius, a believer in blood purity and the inferiority of Muggles, found offensive. Lucius's selfishness risked the endangerment of the diary, which, unbeknownst to him, was actually one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes.

During this year, Lucius also bought the whole Slytherin Quidditch team Nimbus 2001 broomsticks, as Draco was made the team's Seeker. He was present at the match where Harry was being chased by a rogue Bludger.

The Buckbeak case


During the 1993 school year, Lucius’ son Draco was attacked by the hippogriff named Buckbeak after he provoked it during a Care of Magical Creatures class. Lucius took the case to court and insisted that the hippogriff be put to death. Buckbeak's owner, gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, desperately tried to defend him, with 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 Potter and Hermione Granger, and subsequently came to be owned by Sirius Black.

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 Potter and Hermione Granger, Lucius and Arthur restrained themselves due to being in Fudge's presence. 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 was not known at that time to the public and officials. He fled when the Dark Mark was launched into the sky.

Return of the Dark Lord
"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 to Lucius Malfoy after his return



When Lord Voldemort rose again in the summer of 1995, Malfoy returned to him on his summons, claiming that he had done everything he could all along to find Voldemort and 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 World Cup.

Even though Harry witnessed Malfoy's declaration of loyalty to Voldemort, almost nobody in the Ministry believed him and Malfoy continued maintaining strong ties to very high places in the Ministry, most prominently in the form of financial support, as has been in the past.

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. Malfoy appeared doing shady dealings with Cornelius Fudge in the Department of Mysteries just prior to Harry's trial. Malfoy could possibly have been convincing Fudge not to clear Harry's name.



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.

Lucius also gave his support of the formation of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, which is 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 pretense of caring for the future of the school and feared Dumbledore's "eccentric decisions".

Battle of the Department of Mysteries
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.

Imprisonment and fall from grace


Lucius' mission to retrieve the prophecy ultimately failed when Neville Longbottom, under the influence of a Step Dance Curse from 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 sent to Azkaban prison, as was the rest of the Death Eater squad, the sole exception being Bellatrix Lestrange, who escaped with Voldemort. After the events in the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort mainly blamed Lucius for the failure, as Lucius was the commander of Voldemort's small task force.

Lucius Malfoy's failure at the Department of Mysteries combined with accidentally destroying part of Voldemort's soul with the diary of Tom Riddle resulted in his loss of any standing with the Dark Lord. Some believed that he was safer in Azkaban than being free. Lucius was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.

Escape from Azkaban


In the summer of 1997, nearly a year after being imprisoned, Lucius and all incarcerated Death Eaters escaped Azkaban prison with the help of Voldemort, who never bothered to get him out after all that time.

However, the Malfoys were no longer held in high regard by the Dark Lord, who commandeered their home as his base of operations. Voldemort openly mocked the family at a Death Eater meeting in the summer of 1997, taking Lucius' wand and deriding their relation to werewolf Remus Lupin through Narcissa's niece Nymphadora Tonks. Lucius had become little more than a servant.

Skirmish at Malfoy Manor
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.



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 Godric 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. After their escape, the Malfoys and Bellatrix were severely punished by Voldemort.

Battle of Hogwarts


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."

Following Voldemort's defeat, Lucius, Narcissa and Draco sat in the Great Hall during the celebrations, looking unsure that they belonged there.

Later life
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. Lucius would eventually gain a grandson, Scorpius Malfoy, after Draco married Astoria Greengrass.

Physical appearance


Lucius had a pale, pointed face, with pale blond hair and cold grey eyes. He often carried a walking stick with a snake head that contained his wand. His son Draco resembled him strongly. It is stated that his grandson, Scorpius Malfoy, resembles Draco, meaning that Lucius and his grandson also had a resemblance.

Personality and traits
"I don't give a damn what your father thinks. He's vile, and cruel. And you're just pathetic."

- Harry Potter to Draco Malfoy

Despite being the embodiment of wealth and influence in the wizarding world, Lucius Malfoy was a ruthless bigot; he took great pride in his aristocratic stature, viewing himself as being racially superior to Muggles, Muggle-borns, and half-bloods. He was also a 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.

Lucius's slick demeanour did little to hide his self-serving nature, as 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.

However, Lucius cared greatly for his wife and son and was one of the few Death Eaters who was capable of feeling genuine love. 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. When Lucius displeased Voldemort, the Dark Lord charged Draco with the task of killing Dumbledore as an indirect attack on Lucius. In the end, along with Narcissa, he demonstrated that his family was more important to him than serving Voldemort. Lucius' love for Draco and Narcissa also allowed him to overcome his fear of his former Master as he charged straight into the thick of battle during the siege on Hogwarts in an attempt to find Draco.

Magical abilities and skills

 * Love: Despite his cold and ruthless nature, Lucius was one of the few Death Eaters who was capable of feeling love. Lucius cared deeply about his family, especially Narcissa and Draco. In the end his love for his family drove him to abandon Voldemort to search for Draco. His abandonment of Voldemort led to him avoiding another sentence in Azkaban along with his family.
 * Dark Arts: His former house elf called him a dark wizard, and Lucius was a high-ranking Death Eater, being a member of Voldemort's innermost circle. Lucius was skilled with the Imperius Curse, using it multiple times in the Ministry of Magic. As a member of the innermost circle amongst the Death Eaters, it can also be assumed that he may have taken part in murder and torture via the Cruciatus Curse. At one point, whilst overcome by rage, he attempted to use the Killing Curse on Harry Potter, only to be repelled by Dobby.
 * Duelling: Lucius was a skilled duelist and known to be unafraid to use violence when it suited the purpose of his presence during missions as a Death Eater. The fact that he were second-in-command for most of the First Wizarding War and therefore had to take charge and lead several battles against both Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix between his graduation in the early 1970's and 1981, and managed to successfully evade capture until after Voldemort's fall from power, a testament of his ability to handle himself in magical combat when required to do so. Being an aristocratic gentleman of stature, displayed great form and elegance in his dueling style, and were quick on the draw. Whereas some of the other Death Eaters were forced to break their ranks early on during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries when members of Dumbledore's Army attempted to stun them, Lucius showed proficient reflexes&mdash;in spite of his abilities in martial magic were likely to have grown somewhat rusty after fourteen years of absence from active service to Lord Voldemort&mdash;deflecting Harry Potter's stunning spell with relative ease. Shortly afterwards, he were able to hold his own against Sirius Black and Harry Potter. simultaneously in the Ministry of Magic. He was also the only Death Eater, apart from Severus Snape, who had enough confidence in his abilities to stand up to Bellatrix Lestrange and deflected one of her spells which had been aimed at Harry, because he was worried that she might accidentally smash the prophecy Harry was carrying. Lucius was present during the Battle of Hogwarts but did little, if any, fighting during the battle, because he was with Lord Voldemort in the Shrieking Shack for the first part of the battle and was searching for his son during the second part.
 * Potioneer: While in school at Hogwarts, Lucius was noted by Horace Slughorn to be quite talented in potions.

Possessions

 * Enchanted Cane: 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 attack, 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, the diary was destroyed by Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.

Parents
Although not much is known about Lucius's parents, it is known that they were both pure-blood. 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 when Lucius' mother died, but it is possible that she was not alive during the Second Wizarding War.

Wife and Son


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. 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 gestered him to be calm, then he turned it over.



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. He was furious with Harry Potter after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, blaming him for getting Lucius incarcerated.

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. Lucius too cared far more about Draco than about his life as a Death Eater, 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, instead desperately searching for their son.

In 2006, Lucius had a grandson, Scorpius through Draco and his wife, Astoria Greengrass. Lucius, along with Narcissa, didn't think highly of Astoria, as she raised their grandson Scorpius with a more tolerant view on Muggles and possibly non-pure bloods and Squibs as well. 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.

Arthur Weasley


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. Also, Arthur never believed Lucius' claim that he had been under the Imperius Curse during the First Wizarding War, indicating that their enmity likely dates back to their younger years.

Severus Snape
"Lucius always spoke highly of you."

- Dolores Umbridge to Severus Snape



Lucius ran in the same circles as Severus Snape since their Hogwarts days, welcoming him into Slytherin house when Severus was sorted there and Lucius was a prefect, and as part of a group of future Death Eaters. 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’ “lap dog”. 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 demonstrates the trust and respect the Malfoys had for Severus, apparently in spite of his being a half-blood, though it is possible they were unaware of his blood status.

Bellatrix Lestrange


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 fought for Lord Voldemort in the First and the Second Wizarding War. Lucius was antagonistic with Bellatrix, despite that she had been imprisoned in Azkaban for fourteen years, unlike Lucius.

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' fault that he didn't give Voldemort the Prophecy. 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 along during the Battle of 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, while Lucius and his family reformed, as they regretted being loyal to Voldemort.

Dobby
"You've lost me my servant!"

- Lucius to Harry Potter, after he freed Dobby.

Dobby was Lucius' 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. It is unknown how Lucius reacted when he learned it.

Lord Voldemort


Lucius was one of Lord Voldemort’s most trusted and high-ranking Death Eaters, serving him in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Upon his rebirth in 1995, Voldemort questioned Lucius’ loyalty, since he had never tried to find the Dark Lord after his fall in 1981. Voldemort accepted Lucius’ explanations and exultations of devotion, and entrusted Lucius with the task of obtaining a prophecy concerning him and Harry Potter. Along with Lucius selfishly throwing away the diary Horcrux, and failure and subsequent imprisonment in Azkaban made him and his family lose any favour in Voldemort’s eyes, and the Dark Lord may have given Lucius’ son a nearly impossible task to punish Lucius.

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 this that came with the capture of Harry Potter in the spring of 1998 ended in disaster; Harry and his friends escaped, and the Malfoys were severely punished. By the Battle of Hogwarts, Lucius abandoned his loyalty to Voldemort to protect his family, and was pardoned for his crimes due to his last-minute defection.

Albus Dumbledore
"I'm afraid we feel you've rather lost your touch."

- Lucius on Dumbledore's suspension



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 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.

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, the other Governors decided to face Malfoy and Dumbledore was reinstated. Lucius was furious that Dumbledore dared to return to Hogwarts, 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' failure in the Department of Mysteries, and offered to protect Lucius along with Narcissa when Draco threatened to murder the headmaster.

Harry Potter
"Your parents were meddlesome fools, too. Mark my words, Potter: One day soon, you too will meet the same sticky end."

- Lucius when Harry freed Dobby



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.

Lucius was a little bit more tactful around Harry than other Death Eaters (such as Bellatrix Lestrange) depending on the circumstances. However, Lucius didn't openly declare himself against him until after Lord Voldemort took control of the Ministry.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, the Malfoy family switched sides. This meant they were forgiven for their crimes. Draco made peace with Harry but they were not friends. It is likely that Lucius did the same, or merely decided to leave Harry and his family alone.

Cornelius Fudge


Cornelius Fudge was somewhat swayed by money and power. As a result, he favoured people like Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy influenced and bribed Cornelius Fudge many times during the latter's tenure as Minister for Magic. In the summer of 1994, Fudge invited Malfoy to occupy the top box with him at the Quidditch World Cup final, thanks to his "generous" donations to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

In 1995, Lucius returns to Voldemort, but Fudge denies Voldemort's rebirth and insists that Malfoy has switched sides, and the wealthy Malfoy continues to work for the Ministry. In 1995, Malfoy and Fudge begin to see each other quite a lot in 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 are also being used as excuses 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.

After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Fudge is forced to believe that Voldemort has returned, and all the Death Eaters who took part on the battle (with the exception of Bellatrix Lestrange) were sentenced to Azkaban, among them was Lucius. After being imprisoned, Lucius lost his job and influence at the Ministry; Fudge, having been blind to Lucius' true intentions until it was too late, also lost his career and popularity.

Rubeus Hagrid
"What're you doin' here? Get outta my house!"

- Rubeus Hagrid to Lucius Malfoy.

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' responce 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’ 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’ influence at the Ministry. Buckbeak was sentenced to death but was saved by Harry and Hermione.

Etymology

 * The name Lucius may come from the Roman dictator, who extra judiciously executed his rivals. His name could also be a reference to the Roman Emperor Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also known as . 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.
 * In the Chamber of Secrets film Lucius pushed Harry's hair back over his head to view his scar, which does not happen in the novel.
 * In the Chamber of Secrets film, Lucius states that he works at the Ministry. However, this does not seem to be the case in the books, as Draco mentions in Order of the Phoenix that "he's always popping in and out of the Ministry", implying he does not actually work there.
 * 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 Half-Blood Prince as an adult, Jason Isaacs cameos in a photograph in the Daily Prophet, and Tony Coburn plays him in a Slug Club photo. Luciusmask.jpg
 * In the novels, Lucius is not stated to have long hair. However, Jason Issacs requested long hair so that people could tell the difference between Lucius and Draco.
 * Also, in the films, Lucius' 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".
 * 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. In the film adaptation, 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 Issacs' 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.
 * 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 Jason Issacs and Daniel Radcliffe, respectively, and was not in the original script. It was ad-libbed because Jason Issacs felt it was completely out-of-character for Lucius Malfoy to simply let Dumbledore have the last word.
 * In the two last films, Part 1 and Part 2 of Deathly Hallows, Lucius appears to be un-shaved, 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.
 * Lucius Malfoy is ranked Number 12 on the Forbes Fictional 15 list of the richest people in the world.
 * 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"; Fehu (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". 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, Jason 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 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and be outraged when Buckbeak escaped, however Jason Issacs was unavailable for filming at the time.

Appearances



 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * 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
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * 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: A Pop-Up Book
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
 * Harry Potter LEGO Sets
 * Pottermore

Notes and references
Lucius Malfoy Lucius Malfoy Lucius Malefoy Lucius Malfidus Lucjusz Malfoy Люциус Малфой