Lucius Malfoy not only has the pleasure of being the father of Harry’s greatest rival, but he was also one of Lord Voldemort’s most devoted servants. This Pure-Blood fanatic had more appearances in the Harry Potter books and films than any other member of Voldemort’s army of Death Eaters. The only exception is the double-agent, Severus Snape. In addition to this fact, Lucius was really the only legitimate Death Eater who went through a complete story arc.
Lucius Malfoy starts off as an extremely wealthy aristocrat who hides his devotion for the former Dark Lord as he seeks to spread his bigoted messages throughout the Wizarding World in Great Britain. He even manages to push Dumbledore out of Hogwarts for a short time. But after Lord Voldemort returns to his noseless humanoid form, Lucius comes out as a proud supporter. However, after a series of notable mistakes, he loses face with the Dark Lord and spends the remainder of the series fighting to get it back. It’s not until the tail end of the series that he chooses his own family over his devotion to the Dark wizard.
Though Lucius’ story continues, as well as deepens, in the two-part stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, many fans have no idea about some of the craziest details about this slippery, arrogant, and powerful Harry Potter villain. We aim to shed a little bit of light on this dark, mysterious character.
Without further ado, here are 20 Crazy Details About Lucius Malfoy.
20. He Was The Prefect Of Slytherin House
Lucius Malfoy wasn’t just an accomplished man as an adult, he was also a successful student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During his time at the magical school, Malfoy was chosen to be the Prefect for Slytherin House. This means that he had extra-authority and responsibilities, including running the House they’re been chosen to represent.
One male and one female Prefect are chosen by the Headmaster of the school in their Fifth Year to represent each of the four Hogwarts’ Houses. Theoretically, these Prefects continue their roles until their graduation in Year Seven. This is precisely what happened with Lucius Malfoy, who was granted this high honor by the Headmaster during his time at Hogwarts.
19. His Family Was Part Of “The Sacred 28”
The Malfoys take Blood Purity very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they have been a member of Britain’s Sacred 28 for generations.
The Scared 28 are a select group of families in Great Britain that have only had magical blood in their family, whether by choice or coincidence.
In addition to the Malfoys, families who have been adamant about keeping their bloodlines “pure” are ones like the Lestranges, Carrows, Crouchs, Rosiers, Yaxleys, Rowles, and Blacks up until the events right before the start of the series. Families like the Weasleys, Shacklebolts, and Longbottoms also are part of the Scared 28 but merely out of coincidence and not out of a dislike for people with non-magical genetics.
18. He Avoided Prison By Pretending He Was Under The Imperius Curse
After the First Wizarding War, many of Voldemort’s Death Eaters were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. Beforehand, many of them were put on trial in front of the full Wizengamot in order to determine whether they chose to take part in the attempt to overthrow the Ministry and attack the Wizarding World in Britain.
Lucius Malfoy was one of the Death Eaters who managed to get their crimes reduced or completely got off. He did this by convincing a great majority of the Wizengamot that he wasn’t in Voldemort’s inner circle, but had rather been placed under the Imperius Curse which forced him to commit each crime. Due to Malfoy’s stature in the community, as well as his connections, it was believed that Voldemort would have had a need to use him as a tool.
17. His Most Famous Line Was Ad-libbed
In a documentary on the casting of the Harry Potter series, actor Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in five of the eight Potter films, said that one of his most famous lines was ad-libbed. The scene in question was after Harry and Dumbledore bested Lucius at the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Isaacs told the director, Chris Columbus, that he wanted to improvise an exit line for his character as he didn’t believe that he’d say nothing.
Columbus gave him the “okay” and Isaacs came up with the now-famous, “Let us hope that Mr. Potter will always be around to save the day.” Isaacs stated that he was impressed with Daniel Radcliffe when he came up with his own improvised line in response, “Don’t worry, I will be.”
16. He Was A Member Of The Slug Club
Aside from being a Prefect during his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Lucius Malfoy was also one of Horace Slughorn’s most prized students. In fact, Malfoy was an expert at potions making. This, as well as his wealthy and famous last name, granted him a membership to Horace Slughorn’s Slug Club, the same club that Harry and Hermione are invited to join in their sixth year at Hogwarts.
Horace Slughorn prided himself in “collecting” the best of the best at Hogwarts during his long-run as the potions professor. He would throw exclusive parties for them during their school year, and then begin to weed them out. Needless to say, Lucius made it until the final group of Slughorn’s most prized students.
15. The inspiration behind his voice
While at the Phoenix ComicCon in 2015, Lucius Malfoy actor, Jason Isaacs, addressed the crowd of Harry Potter fans to explain how he came up with Lucius’ slithery, pompous voice. He said that he was a fan of what Alan Rickman did with Snape’s voice in the first Harry Potter film and wanted to attempt to create something as iconic.
Isaacs explained that he once had a teacher in drama school who made it clear that he didn’t like him.
As a sort of retribution, Isaacs used his voice as the base for Lucius Malfoy’s character. To add a more unique quality to his voice, he added in a snobby tone that a British art critic used.
14. He Wanted Draco To Go To Durmstrang
Originally, Lucius was keen on sending Draco to Durmstrang Institute in the far north of Europe. He wanted to do this for two reasons. Firstly, Dumbledore was appointed as Headmaster of Hogwarts, which angered Lucius due to his secret allegiance to Voldemort and Dumbledore’s relaxed attitude on Wizard and Muggle relations.
Secondly, Lucius wanted Draco to go to Durmstrang due to having a camaraderie with the Headmaster there, Igor Karkaroff. Karakaroff, who was seen in Goblet of Fire, once served Voldemort during the First Wizarding War, where he spent time with Lucius. Karkaroff was captured but was pardoned due to handing over information to the Ministry. Although Lucius almost did send Draco to Durmstrang, his wife, Narcissa, stopped this from happening as she didn’t want her son so far away.
13. Voldemort Broke Him Out Of Azkaban
Harry Potter fans who were just into the movies and never read the books were a little confused about where Lucius Malfoy went between Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Although it was briefly mentioned in The Half-Blood Prince, it wasn’t explicitly clear that Lucius was sent to Azkaban.
At least, it wasn’t as clear as it was in the books. After the failed attempt to retrieve Harry’s prophecy, all of the Death Eaters present at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, with the exception of Bellatrix, were caught. Voldemort was angry with all of them for their failure so he let them rot in jail for more than a year before he decided to break them out.
12. He Was On The Hogwarts Board Of Governors
Even though Lucius Malfoy actually wanted Draco to go to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts, he still took an active role in his son’s education at the school. This is mainly because he was highly against Albus Dumbledore’s relaxed opinions on Wizard-Muggle relations. Knowing that Dumbledore would lead his staff to teach these more progressive and inclusive ideologies, Lucius joined the Board of Governors in order to have some sway over the school. He probably caused a lot of anxiety for other parents as well as the students and staff.
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, thanks in part to his relationship with the Minister of Magic, Lucius temporary got Dumbledore kicked out of his position. However, thanks to Harry, as well as others, Dumbledore was reinstated.
11. His House Has Been Passed Down To Him
Although it’s spoken about in previous Harry Potter installments, we don’t get to see Malfoy Manor until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where it’s used as the base of operations for Voldemort, as well as a place where his most loyal followers stayed, including Wormtail and Bellatrix Lestrange. Malfoy Manor was actually passed down to Lucius through a lineage that dates back to when his ancestors arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror and the rest of the invading Norman Army.
The Manor has stayed in Lucius family for more than ten consecutive centuries and will be passed onto Draco.
It rests on a prime piece of real estate in Wiltshire, which was supposedly seized from local landowners.
10. He Collected Dark Artifacts
Another interesting fact about Lucius Malfoy is that he was an avid collector of dark magical objects, most of which were completely illegal. This is something that was explored throughout the Harry Potter book series, and referenced in the movies, especially in a deleted scene from The Chamber of Secrets.
However, after the downfall of Lord Voldemort, Lucius had to sell a number of these items to Borgin and Burkes because Arthur Weasley and the Ministry were raiding the homes of people they thought might possess magical objects that could cause harm. Although a lot of his items were kept in Malfoy Manor’s cellar, Lucius needed to keep his hands clean in order to continue to prove that he wasn’t a supporter of Voldemort.
9. He Got His Influence At The Ministry Dates From His Father
Lucius Malfoy didn’t just have influence at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he also had his hands in the Ministry of Magic as well. This was a learned trait from his father, Abraxas Malfoy, who also made sure he had influence with the Ministry of Magic. This included a personal relationship with the Minister himself, much like how Lucius had a friendship with Cornelius Fudge that he used against both Harry and Dumbledore on a few different occasions.
His “ins” with people high up in the Ministry also came in handy for Voldemort in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars.
Abraxas Malfoy was also suspected of taking part in the premature retirement of Nobby Leach, the first Muggle-born Minister of Magic, who was forced to resign after contracting a mysterious illness.
8. He Purchased Broomsticks For The Entire Slytherin Team
Another trait that Lucius Malfoy has is that he likes to throw around money if it gets him what he wants. And one of the things he’s always wanted is for his son to succeed in everything possible. This is both because he cared for his son, and also cared for the reputation of the Malfoy name.
An example of Lucius using his money as a powerful tool was when he bought the entire Slytherin Quidditch team Nimbus 2001s; the most expensive and fastest broomstick on the market at that time. By doing this, Lucius clearly hoped that his son’s team, as well as his old House, would have a victory over the other Hogwarts Houses, especially Gryffindor.
7. He Always Thought Highly Of Snape
After Lucius Malfoy was made Slytherin House’s Prefect, he warmly welcomed a younger Severus Snape into his social group. During their time in Hogwarts, the two befriended one another, even though Lucius clearly wouldn’t have liked Snape’s secret crush’s non-magical blood status.
In the books, Sirius Black even makes a comment about how Snape was Lucius Malfoy’s “lapdog” in school.
Later in life, Lucius continued to hold Severus Snape in very high regard even though others believed that Snape had turned away from Voldemort’s leadership after his demise. This trait was clearly passed to his wife, Narcissa, who sought out Snape’s help in The Half-Blood Prince, even though her sister Bellatrix, the only Death Eater to never trust Snape, adamantly advised against it.
6. He Was Competitive With Bellatrix
It seemed pretty obvious that Lucius Malfoy didn’t have the largest amount of respect for Bellatrix Lestrange, despite her fanatical loyalty to Voldemort. This makes sense because the two of them, whether they knew it or not, were vying for Voldemort’s right-hand position. This competition was clearly won by Bellatrix, who rarely disappointed Voldemort, as well as Snape, after he successfully took out Dumbledore.
This slight disrespect was demonstrated in the Deathly Hallows book when Lucius argued with Bellatrix over who would get to call Voldemort after they caught Harry. Additionally, Bellatrix had a strong relationship with her sister, Narcissa, who, of course, married Lucius. There’s no doubt that he disliked the hold Bellatrix had over her.
5. He Was Pardoned By The Ministry A Second Time
The Malfoy family clearly maintained some of their influence even after the permanent fall of Lord Voldemort at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as all three of them were pardoned for their crimes and stayed out of Azkaban Prison.
Although their status clearly had something to do with it, it was also because Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco decided to eventually leave the battle.
In addition to this, Narcissa actually ended up saving Harry’s life by lying to Voldemort about his demise in the Forbidden Forest. In the movie, The Malfoys are seen walking away from the final battle even with Bellatrix screaming after them. In the book, they even join the celebration in the Great Hall after the battle is won, even though they don’t know quite what to do with themselves.
4. His Job Was Different In The Books
In the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie, Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy have an interaction at Flourish and Blotts that suggested that they would see each other at work. Although it wasn’t stated outright, it was implied that Lucius also worked at the Ministry in some capacity. However, in the books, Lucius had no job.
This is because he didn’t need to have a career. Money and power have been passed down to him through generations. Aside from the role of father, Lucius spent the majority of his time influencing the Hogwarts Board of Governors, the Ministry of Magic, and other magical institutions in order to spread his prejudiced ideology and ensure the success of the Malfoy name.
3. He Was Disappointed With His Daughter-In-Law
Due to being a member of the Sacred 28, it was a requirement that Draco marry a pure-blood witch. Although Lucius and Narcissa got their wish, they weren’t exactly happy with Draco’s choice in partnership.
Draco married Astoria Greengrass, a younger witch he had met at Hogwarts during their time there.
Astoria was a member of the Greengrass family, who were among the oldest and more “pure” magical families in Great Britain. But after the Second Wizarding War, Astoria’s opinions on non-magical blood shifted and therefore came into conflict with those of the family she married into. Although Lucius and Narcissa didn’t exactly get what they wanted, Astoria did give them Scorpius Malfoy, as seen in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
2. He Tried To Steal The Prophecy Many Times
Lucius Malfoy famously led the mission to retrieve the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic after Voldemort managed to lure Harry there. However, this mission failed thanks to Harry’s friends and the Order of the Phoenix. Except for Bellatrix Lestrange, all of the Death Eaters present, including Lucius, were caught and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. In addition to this, the prophecy was destroyed. Obviously, all of this angered Voldemort greatly.
This was actually not the first time Lucius attempted to steal the prophecy. In fact, for months leading up to the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Lucius had been placing the Imperius Curse on Ministry workers in order to order them to retrieve the prophecy. However, every one of these attempts wasn’t successful.
1. He Actually Loved His Wife And Son
Despite being a monster who probably shouldn’t have been pardoned by the Ministry of Magic on either occasion, it’s clear that Lucius has actually always loved his family. There was never a moment shown where he had any disrespect for his wife, Narcissa, and he obviously wished to protect his son.
In fact, his love for his son and wife is what caused him to turn against Lord Voldemort at the end of The Deathly Hallows in order to lead them to safety.
Lucius Malfoy may have been a slippery, manipulative, villain, but at least he had some saving graces.
What do you think is the most interesting thing about Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments below!
