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Revision as of 19:41, 2 November 2012

"It is often said of the Malfoy family that you will never find one at the scene of the crime, though their fingerprints might be all over the guilty wand. Independently wealthy, with no need to work for a living, they have generally preferred the role of power behind the throne, happy for others to do the donkey work and to take the responsibility for failure. They have helped finance many of their preferred candidates’ election campaigns, which have (it is alleged) included paying for dirty work such as hexing the opposition."
— Description.[src]

Malfoy is the surname of a wealthy pure-blood wizarding family. They live in Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, England, and are related to many other pure-blood families, including the Blacks, Lestranges, Greengrasses, and Rosiers as well as the Tonks and Lupin families, of mixed wizarding and Muggle heritage, much to the Malfoys' disdain,[2] although they are not against marrying half-bloods[3]

History

Early history

"I know I´ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been."
Draco Malfoy[src]
Malfoys pic2

Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco, in 1994.

The Malfoy family consists of an ancient line of pure-blood wizards, most of whom attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and were traditionally Sorted into Slytherin. The family first arrived in Britain with Armand Malfoy, who founded the family estate Malfoy Manor on land obtained from King William I.

The Malfoy family would soon gain reputation for pure-blood supremacy and courting richness and power from those around them. Until the passing of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, the Malfoys integrated themselves in high class Muggle society. They expanded their already large estate with the lands of their Muggle neighbours, and dabbled successfully into Muggle currency and assets, becoming one of the wealthiest families in wizarding Britian. Though they opposed the Statute of Secrecy at first, they soon embraced it and cut off all ties with Muggle families, denying that they had ever fraternized with such people.

After this period, the Malfoys instead began to seek influence over the newly formed British Ministry of Magic, using their considerable wealth to do so. Though no Malfoy is known to have ever aspired for the position of Minister for Magic, many members of the family financed the elections of their preferred candidates for the post, even going so far as to pay to have the opposition hexed.[3]

Recent history

Lucius Malfoy, the son of Abraxas Malfoy, was one of the few pure-blood wizards left by the late 20th century. He joined the Death Eaters when they came to power in the First Wizarding War. He married Narcissa Black, a fellow pure-blood, and they had one son, Draco, who would later become Harry Potter's main rival in his school years. The Malfoy family was one of the first wizarding families to repent following Lord Voldemort's first defeat, claiming they had been bewitched, in 1981[4].

They allied themselves with him again during the Second Wizarding War, believing strongly in the notion of blood purity.[5] However, Voldemort became displeased with Lucius for his failure to obtain the prophecy involving him and Harry Potter in 1996. While Lucius was in Azkaban, Voldemort ordered his son Draco to kill Albus Dumbledore, a seemingly impossible task, as a way to punish Lucius.[6]

DH1 The Malfoy Family

The Malfoy Family in 1998.

After Dumbledore's death at the hands of Severus Snape and the Death Eaters' escape from Azkaban in 1997, the Malfoys had fallen out of favour with the Dark Lord, and were extremely uncomfortable with having their home used as his base of operations.

HPDH2-04075r-900x600

The Malfoy family nervous at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Before Voldemort's ultimate defeat, the Malfoys switched sides; Narcissa lied to the Dark Lord in assistance of Harry Potter, and neither she nor Lucius participated in any of the fighting during the Battle of Hogwarts.[7] None of the Malfoys were subsequently imprisoned in Azkaban because of this defection.

Malfoys 2017

The Malfoy family in 2017.

Draco then married Astoria Greengrass some time between 1998 - 2005, and had a son called Scorpius circa 2006. In 2017, Draco and Astoria were at King's Cross station to see Scorpius off to Hogwarts when Harry Potter saw him again.[7]

Malfoy family crest

The family crest pays homage to Salazar Slytherin, bearing the colours black, green and silver, as well as images of several serpentine creatures. The Latin words "Sanctimonia Vincet Semper" appear inscribed on a silver banner, meaning "Purity Always Conquers"[8].

Known Members

Malfoy family tree

 
 
 
 
 
 
Malfoy family
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Armand Malfoy
(fl. 1066)
 
 
 
 
 
(many generations)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nicholas Malfoy
(fl. c. 1340s)
 
 
 
 
 
(many generations)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lucius Malfoy I
(fl. 1500s)
 
 
 
 
 
(many generations)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brutus Malfoy
(fl. 1675)
 
 
 
 
 
(many generations)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Septimus Malfoy
(fl. 1700s)
 
House of Black
 
Rosier family
 
 
 
 
 
(many generations)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Abraxas Malfoy
(fl. 1954)
 
Cygnus Black III
(19381992)
 
Druella Rosier
(fl. 1950s)
 
 
 
Tonks family
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greengrass family
 
Lucius Malfoy
(b. 1954)
 
Narcissa Black
(b. 1955)
 
 
 
 
Andromeda Black
(b. 1953)
 
Edward Tonks
(d. 1998)
 
 
Lupin family
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daphne Greengrass
(b. c. 1980)
 
Astoria Greengrass
(c. 19822019)
 
Draco Lucius Malfoy
(b. 1980)
 
 
 
 
 
Lestrange family
 
Nymphadora Tonks
(c. 19731998)
 
Remus John Lupin
(19601998)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy
(b. c. 2006)
 
 
Bellatrix Black
(19511998)
 
Rodolphus Lestrange
(b. c. 1950s)
 
 
 
Edward Remus Lupin
(b. 1998)
 
 
Slytherin

Slytherin, the traditional House of the Malfoy family.

Etymology

Malfoy is derived from the French "mal foi," meaning "badly (or in this case, bad) faith" or "unfaithful". In law, "bad faith" refers to a case in which a malicious motive on the part of a party in a lawsuit undermines their case. This would be relevant to the general cruel natures displayed by Lucius and Draco as well as Narcissa. In existentialism, "bad faith" is a philosophical concept in which people blame their own failures on external factors, thus denying responsibility for their actions. Also, this most likely refers to the Malfoys' tendency to switch their loyalties to avoid danger or punishment, rather than steadfastly supporting their presented views.

Behind the scenes

Notes and references