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"He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks..."
Yaxley while entering Malfoy Manor[src]

Malfoy Manor was the home of the wealthy pure-blood Malfoy family, located in Wiltshire,[1] England. It was mainly used as the base of operations for Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters during the Second Wizarding War, much to the immense discomfort of Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy.[2]

History[]

Founding[]

Like many other progenitors of noble English families, the wizard Armand Malfoy arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror as part of the invading Norman army. Having rendered unknown, shady, (and almost certainly magical) services to King William I, Malfoy was given a prime piece of land in Wiltshire, seized from local landowners, upon which his descendants lived for ten consecutive centuries.[4]

Over hundreds of years, they managed to add to their lands in Wiltshire by annexing those of neighbouring Muggles, and the favour they curried with royalty added Muggle treasures and works of art to an ever-expanding collection. This expansion ceased when the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was passed, in which the Malfoys hotly denied any connections with Muggles to uphold their position of influence in the newly formed Ministry of Magic.[4]

Death Eater headquarters[]

Lord 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 Malfoy: "Nothing — nothing, my Lord!"
Lord Voldemort: "Such lies, Lucius..."
Voldemort after he makes Malfoy Manor his headquarters[src]
Meeting-0

Death Eaters having a meeting in Malfoy Manor

Following Harry Potter's survival of his duel with the Dark Lord after the latter returned to power and prior to his arrest after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Lucius would hold meetings with his fellow Death Eaters over the summer at his home. During these meetings, they discussed the Rebirth of Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter's survival of the duel with the Dark Lord, and the likely explanations for the odd reactions of their wands. However, Lucius' son Draco would grow increasingly (and secretly) envious of his school rival for being discussed seriously as an adversary, whereas he himself was still seen as a mere schoolboy by Death Eaters who met at his parents’ house.

By the summer of 1997, Lucius Malfoy and many other Death Eaters had escaped Azkaban prison, and the Dark Lord had made the Malfoys' home his headquarters, replacing the Riddle House in Little Hangleton. While the Malfoys were very uncomfortable with this, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius's sister-in-law, who also resided there, claimed there could be "no higher pleasure" than having Lord Voldemort stay with them.[2] Delphini, the daughter of The Dark Lord and Bellatrix, reported that she was born at the Manor.[5]

Meeting at Malfoy Manor

Death Eaters discuss their infiltration of the Ministry during the Malfoy Manor meeting

Shortly before Harry Potter's seventeenth birthday, Death Eaters Yaxley and Severus Snape entered the Manor to bring news of how the Ministry of Magic was being infiltrated and of the activities of the Order of the Phoenix, respectively. The resulting plans would lead to Voldemort's take-over of the Ministry using the puppet Minister for Magic Pius Thicknesse, and to the Battle of the Seven Potters. At this meeting, Voldemort also killed Charity Burbage, the professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and fed her to his snake Nagini.[2]

In 1998, the Manor was used to hold some prisoners of Lord Voldemort, such as Mr Ollivander, Luna Lovegood, Griphook, and Dean Thomas.[6]

Skirmish[]

Bellatrix Lestrange: "Wait. All except... except for the Mudblood."
Ron Weasley: "No! You can have me, keep me!"
Bellatrix Lestrange: "If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next. Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Greyback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them — yet."
— Bellatrix isolating Hermione for interrogation[src]
Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

When Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were caught by a group of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback around Easter of that year, they were brought to Malfoy Manor so that one of the Death Eaters residing there could signal Voldemort with the Dark Mark. However, Bellatrix spotted the Sword of Gryffindor among the prisoners' possessions and delayed calling the Dark Lord.

Instead, she interrogated and tortured Hermione with the Cruciatus Curse to try to find out how the trio had obtained the Sword, which she believed to be in her vault at Gringotts. Bellatrix also threatened to kill Hermione with her knife when Harry and Ron came in with wands they had stolen. All the prisoners managed to escape with the assistance of the house-elf Dobby.[6]

Post-war[]

After the Battle of Hogwarts and Lord Voldemort's defeat, the Manor was once more in the control of the Malfoys. At some point the estate became home to Draco Malfoy and his wife and son, Astoria and Scorpius Malfoy.[4] Following the conclusion of the Second Wizarding War, two portraits had been added to the family's gallery[7] that depicted the late Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange which still hung in the manor by the end of the Calamity in December of 2021.[8]

Manor and land[]

Driveway[]

"They turned right, into a wide driveway that led off the lane. The high hedge curved with them, running off into the distance beyond the pair of impressive wrought-iron gates barring the men's way... the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than a pure-white peacock, sturring majestically along the top of the hedge."
— Description of Severus Snape and Yaxley walking along the driveway[src]
Malfoy Manor exterior

Malfoy Manor landscape

The gravel driveway to the manor house was wide and had a large hedge curving alongside it. The driveway and hedge went past a pair of wrought-iron gates. These gates permitted select individuals (those who made some sort of salute) to pass through them as if they were smoke, and with others the iron contorted into a face which demanded the purpose of the person trying to enter the manor.

The yew hedge was known to have albino peacocks roving along the top of it. The outside of the manor was grand and the land surrounding it was vast, filling many acres. Those acres contained numerous types of trees and various plant and perhaps other animal life.[2] Exiting the hall, there was a fountain in the garden.[9]

Entrance Hallway[]

"The hallway was large, dimly lit and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the walls followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past. The two men halted at a heavy wooden door leading into the next room, hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then Snape turned the bronze handle."
— Severus Snape entering the Manor[src]

The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering the stone floor. The walls of the entrance hall displayed pale-faced portraits lining the walls, and at the end of the hall was the bronze-handled door to the drawing room.[2]

The Manor[]

"A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond-paned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing..."
— Description of the manor[src]
Lucius Malfoy at Malfoy Manor with his dogs

Lucius sitting in one of the main rooms

Malfoy Manor was a "handsome manor house" surrounded by elaborate gardens, including a fountain. The front door swung inward at the approach of a person (or perhaps just a select group of people) without anyone visibly opening it.[2]

Drawing Room[]

"The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table...Illumination came from a roating fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror."
— Description of the drawing room[src]
Malfoy Manor drawing room

The drawing room

The drawing room was a widely proportioned room. Probably the grandest room of the house, it had ceilings 30 feet high, two chandeliers, and a pipe organ at one end. It had a long ornate table, where the Death Eaters and Voldemort sat during their meeting. Also, during the Death Eater Meeting, the usual furniture was pushed carelessly up against the walls.[2]

DH1 The Malfoy Family

The Malfoy family in the drawing room of their manor

The drawing room had a handsome, ornate marble mantelpiece with a gilded mirror which had an intricately scrolled frame on top. Many of the known activities of the Death Eaters took place in the drawing room, which had dark purple walls with more portraits, and a large crystal chandelier, which was eventually destroyed by Dobby during the escape of several prisoners.[6] It was probably restored (by magic) to where it was previously hung.

Cellar[]

"They were forced down a steep flight of stairs, still tied back-to-back and in danger of slipping and breaking their necks at any moment. At the bottom was a heavy door. Greyback unlocked it with a tap of his wand, then forced them into a dank and musty room and left them in total darkness."
— Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are forced into the cellar after being captured by Snatchers[src]
MalfoyManorCellar

The cellar

These prisoners had all been held in the secret room below the drawing room.[6] According to Draco Malfoy, the family's collection of Dark artefacts were hidden below ground level in this room so as to prevent any from being seized during Ministry raids, one such raid having been conducted in December 1992.[10]

During Lord Voldemort's stay in the manor, the function of this room changed to that of a holding cell for the aforementioned prisoners. This room was completely escape-proof and had no light; only house-elves could bypass the room's securities. It had nothing in it except a water jug, a food bowl and a nail.[6]

See also[]

Behind the scenes[]

  • J. K. Rowling has stated that there was a deleted scene, which was to take place either in Chamber of Secrets or Goblet of Fire, in which Draco Malfoy would be shown talking to fellow Slytherin Theodore Nott in the gardens of Malfoy Manor. Rowling said that she really liked the scene:
    • "Firstly because it showed the Malfoys' home, and the difference between the place where Draco has grown up and number four, Privet Drive; then because we rarely see Draco talking to anybody he considers a real equal, and he is forced to see Theodore as such, because Theodore is just as pure-blooded as he is, and somewhat cleverer. Together these two Death Eaters' sons discuss Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts and Harry Potter, with all sorts of stories that the Death Eaters tell about how this baby boy survived the Dark Lord's attack."[11]
  • In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the exterior scenes of Malfoy Manor were shot at Hardwick Hall.
  • Considering that Abraxas Malfoy was still alive when Lucius resided in the manor with his wife and son, and Draco likewise took over the ownership of it and lived there with his wife and son, while both Lucius and Narcissa were still alive, it is possible that the ownership of the Manor is passed on from parent to child when the latter in adult age is to marry and have a family of his/her own. If this is the case, the Malfoys have a presumably somewhat smaller property into which they move.

Appearances[]

Wiki
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Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 15 (The Hogwarts High Inquisitor)
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 1 (The Dark Lord Ascending)
  3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 18 (Dobby's Reward)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Malfoy Family" at Wizarding World
  5. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act Four, Scene Eleven
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 1 (The Dark Lord Ascending) The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the wall followed Snape and Yaxley as they strode past.
  8. See here for listed date of when the final chapter took place in-universe.
  9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 27 (The Final Hiding Place)
  10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 12 (The Polyjuice Potion)
  11. J.K. Rowling's Official Website: Extra Stuff
Death Eaters
Dark Mark Pottermore
Leader: Lord Voldemort
Death Eaters

Avery II · Alecto Carrow · Amycus Carrow · Crabbe · Bartemius Crouch Junior † · Antonin Dolohov · Gibbon † · Goyle · Gareth Greengrass's brother · Jugson · Barnaby Lee's father · Barnaby Lee's mother · Bellatrix Lestrange † · Rabastan Lestrange · Rodolphus Lestrange · Walden Macnair · Mulciber I · Mulciber II · Nott · Pyrites (possibly) · Augustus Rookwood · Rosier · Evan Rosier † · Thorfinn Rowle · Selwyn · Merula Snyde's father · Merula Snyde's mother · Travers · Wilkes † · Corban Yaxley · Unidentified Death Eaters

Death Eater defectors

Regulus Black † · Igor Karkaroff † · Draco Malfoy · Lucius Malfoy · Peter Pettigrew † · Severus Snape

Death Eater allies

Borgin · Vincent Crabbe · John Dawlish · Delphini · Golgomath · Gregory Goyle · Fenrir Greyback · Mafalda Hopkirk · Narcissa Malfoy (defected) · Ismelda Murk (unofficially, supposedly) · Nagini · Mr Padgett · Mrs Padgett · Pansy Parkinson · Quirinus Quirrell · Albert Runcorn · Stanley Shunpike (Imperiused) · Scabior · Serpent of Slytherin · Pius Thicknesse (Imperiused) · Dolores Umbridge

Other affiliations

British Ministry of Magic (under Voldemort's control) · Daily Prophet (under Voldemort's control) · Dementors · Draco Malfoy's gang · Kreacher (formerly) · Tom Riddle's gang · Gang of Slytherins · Giants (Golgomath's control) · Inferi · Charmed skeletons · Muggle-Born Registration Commission · Theodore Nott (possibly) · Snatchers · Werewolf army · The Unforgivable

Death Eater establishments

Abandoned nuclear power plant · Borgin and Burkes · British Ministry of Magic Headquarters (under Voldemort's control) · The Cave · Chamber of Secrets · Forbidden Forest · Gaunt Shack · Lee family house · Lestrange Vault · Little Hangleton graveyard · Malfoy Manor · Misty Dell · Riddle House · Snatcher Camp · Spinner's End (Severus Snape's house) · The Abandoned Substation · The Ruins · The Quarry

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