Summary

• Lucius Malfoy's family wealth and power came from a long history of manipulating Muggles and the Royal family, but this ended with the International Statute of Secrecy.
• Despite his nastiness, Lucius was a talented student at Hogwarts, becoming a prefect and a member of the exclusive Slug Club.
• Lucius ed Voldemort and the Death Eaters, using his wealth and influence to their cause. He was given the task of hiding the Horcrux diary in Malfoy Manor, but ultimately lost favor with Voldemort due to his failure to follow orders.

Lucius Malfoy started the Harry Potter series at his pinnacle of power, but the Dark Lord's return began his family's devastating descent. The character was among the more evil of the fantasy series, made even more despicable by his tendency to throw money at a problem rather than get his hands dirty himself. This worked well for him for a time, and Lucius' affinity for the Dark Arts and the Malfoy family's generational power and wealth allowed the patriarch to feel secure in the wizarding world. His entire upbringing had allowed him to feel like he was untouchable, but the events of Harry Potter would prove this was never the case.

Lucius Malfoy was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and the man's nastiness perfectly explained how Draco had gotten to be such a pain. The father of Harry's rival was different from the other Death Eaters seen throughout Harry Potter in that he was regal, polished, and believed himself to be better than Muggles and the rest of the wizarding world. His wealth and power allowed him to pull strings at Hogwarts, within the Ministry, and in the Death Eaters' circle—which made Lucius' loss of influence all the more bitter for him to swallow.

Lucius Malfoy's Family Wealth Came From Muggle Royalty

To better understand Lucius Malfoy, it's essential to understand his origins. The Malfoy family was supremely rich, with wealth acquired centuries before Draco or Lucius were born. Though the modern family would never it it, the Malfoys of Harry Potter hadn't always hated Muggles. In fact, the property at Malfoy Manor had been granted to the family by William the Conqueror in 1066 as thanks for Armand Malfoy's assistance in the Norman Conquest.

After helping King William in his occupation of England, the Malfoys continued to use their Dark magic to assist the royal family. They dealt with political rivals, turned the tides of war in England's favor, and arranged for the right of the Muggle court to fall in love. With each favor, the Malfoy family's wealth grew. Lucius' ancestors still believed themselves superior to Muggles but found that a close relationship with the royal family secured their power in England. This all changed with the International Statute of Secrecy, which made such dealings highly illegal. The Muggles then became useless to the Malfoy family.

Lucius Was A Hogwarts Prefect & Member Of The Slug Club

By the time Lucius Malfoy came along, his family had long established themselves as a powerful force in the wizarding world. Therefore, it was no surprise when Lucius came to Hogwarts and impressed his teachers with his talent. Little is known about this time in the man's life. However, in Snape's Pensieve memories in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it's revealed that Lucius was already a prefect by the time young Severus started school. This means he was about five years ahead of the Marauder generation of Harry Potter.

It is also revealed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that Lucius was a member of Professor Slughorn's exclusive group, the Slug Club. As a prefect, this was fairly typical. However, when Draco started at Hogwarts, Lucius' status as a Death Eater had already become public knowledge in the wizarding world. So, despite Slughorn's preference for children of his past star students, Draco wasn't invited to become a member.

Lucius Became A Death Eater After Leaving Hogwarts (& Was Given A Special Job)

When Lucius left Hogwarts, there was no reason for him to work. It's often assumed (thanks to the Harry Potter movies) that he worked at the Ministry of Magic, but this was not the case. Lucius spent a lot of time at the Ministry because he contributed great sums of money to the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and any other official over whom he wanted some influence or control. His family had held the "job" of the general benefactor for generations, and Lucius wasted no time taking over the business.

In addition to sinking his golden claws into the Ministry of Magic, Lucius ed up with Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. His wealth and ancient pure-blood ties made him just as valuable to Voldemort as to the various Ministers for Magic of the time. The Malfoys believed that Voldemort's mission was what they had been waiting years for. It would mean the end of their Muggle-sympathising enemies (like Albus Dumbledore) and the beginning of an era in which their power could extend far beyond the wizarding world.

It's unclear precisely when, but at some point after Lucius Malfoy ed the Death Eaters, Voldemort gave him a special job to do. Malfoy Manor was full of Dark artifacts, making it the perfect place to hide the Dark Lord's Horcrux diary. Lucius never knew the truth about Tom Riddle's diary—all he knew was that it was a key to opening the Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort instructed him to keep it safe until he was told otherwise. After the Dark Lord's downfall, Lucius continued to hold onto the diary until Chamber of Secrets, when he realized it was an opportunity to get rid of Arthur Weasley.

Lucius Malfoy Avoided Azkaban After both Wizarding Wars

After Voldemort's spell rebounded and the First Wizarding War came to an abrupt end, Lucius Malfoy managed to get lucky. While Death Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange proudly went to Azkaban after the Dark Lord's downfall, Lucius claimed to have been put under the Imperius Curse. This, combined with some Galleons sent to the right person, meant he was able to resume life as usual after the war ended. Of course, Voldemort wasn't too happy about this when he made his return in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The fact that Lucius so quickly cast away his loyalties meant he was several rungs lower on the Death Eater ladder after Voldemort's return. Then, once the Dark Lord learned that his follower hadn't followed orders and had planted the Horcrux diary at Hogwarts without permission, matters were even worse. Lucius was severely punished, but Voldemort offered a chance to make things right. He ordered Lucius to meet Harry Potter at the Department of Mysteries and retrieve the prophecy from him. When the prophecy was broken, any power Lucius still had was lost.

Lucius was taken to Azkaban at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, finally exposed as the villain he was. As further punishment, Voldemort ordered Draco Malfoy to kill Albus Dumbledore, assuming, as everyone else did, that the mission would get Draco killed. The success of Lucius' son in breaking Death Eaters into Hogwarts earned the man his freedom, but the Malfoys had little loyalty left for Voldemort—only fear. This led Lucius' wife, Narcissa, to lie to the Dark Lord about Harry Potter being alive. After the Boy Who Lived won his final battle in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Lucius again avoided prison by playing informant for the Ministry of Magic.

Lucius Malfoy Continued To Believe In Wizard Superiority After Harry Potter

Lucius Malfoy's life didn't go how he had expected. The Dark wizard believed that Lord Voldemort would lead his family to a place of dominance over the Muggle and wizarding worlds. Instead, Lucius and his family spent agonizing months as the lowest of the low among the Death Eaters, constantly in fear that Voldemort would murder them and those they loved. These events led Draco Malfoy to look at the world differently. According to the Wizarding World website, Lucius' son continued to have a fascination for Dark artifacts but no longer believed in the sanctity of pure blood, a change of heart the Malfoy patriarch himself did not share.

When Draco married Astoria Greengrass, a fellow Slytherin who had also switched away from the pure-blood ideals, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were disappointed. Despite all they had been through on their mission to dominate the Muggles, Lucius still believed that his family deserved such a position, and it caused significant tension when Draco and Astoria decided to teach their son tolerance and acceptance. Ultimately, this goes to show that Harry Potter's Lucius Malfoy never learned his lesson about devoting his life to the idea of blood purity—but at least his son did.