Lucius and Arthur (was Lucius' Influence)

[Carol Bainbridge]

No: HPFGUIDX 48668

Carol wrote:
> > And more
> > to the point, who would ever think to raid the Malfoy manor for *Muggle*
> > artifacts?  That is what Arthur's raids are all about, after all.  Or have
> > I missed something?  Could those raids for Muggle things be a cover up for
> > what the MOM is really looking for -- evidence of Dark Arts?

Irene answered:
>AFAIR, it's the misuse of muggle artefacts. That would be stuff like
>Voldemort's diary - ordinary muggle-made thing filled with dark magic.

How do we know the diary was made by Muggles?  Are all diaries made by 
Muggles?  I had always assumed that what witches and wizards owned had also 
been made by witches and wizards.  If they buy Muggle goods, how do they 
buy it all?  I'm sure they could just go to Gringotts and exchange 
currency, but then it seems to me that there wouldn't be so much confusion 
over how to use Muggle money.  Of course, Tom Riddle would know how to use 
Muggle money, but even so, I don't know why the diary *has* to be a 
Muggle-made one.

Irene also wrote:
>I think it would appeal to Lucius very much to put spells on some Muggle
>objects and release them to unsuspecting muggles, and it falls into
>Arthur's department to deal with. Ironically it would require from Lucius
>better understanding of how muggle objects work than Arthur has.

That is, of course, possible, but this kind of Muggle baiting seems rather 
beneath Lucius.  I just can't imagine Lucius tinkering with Muggle 
artifacts to unleash on unsuspecting Muggles.

Kamala wrote:
>I think we have movie contamination here. In the movie Lucius does
>say something to the effect of "see you at the office" (I don't
>remember exactly). In CoS this doesn't occur.

Yes, I know this was never said in the book and I know it was said in the 
movie.  However, there has been previous discussion about whether or not 
Lucius works at all and if so where.  The line in the movie just made me 
think more about whether or not Lucius works and if so, whether it would be 
possible that he would work at the MOM.  Personally, I can't see him 
working anywhere, not even at the ministry.  I also wondered about the kind 
of influence Lucius has over people and places.  What kind of influence 
does he have at the ministry?  If he has as much influence there as he 
seems to have elsewhere, then why wouldn't he be able to steer people away 
from raiding his house?  It strikes me as odd that Lucius would worry about 
being raided.  And I got the distinct impression that he was not worried 
about Muggle artifacts being found in his manor.  I don't think that 
Borgins is not in the business of buying charmed Muggle artifacts.

Kamala again:
>I do not believe Lucius works for the MoM, but being from an old
>wizarding family still has a lot of perceived influence.

I wonder about this.  Is it only being from an old wizarding family?  I 
find it pretty disturbing that a man like Lucius who had been associated 
with Death Eaters could have, in such a short time, regained such a high 
level of influence.  In fact, I find it disturbing that many of the once 
accused DE's reached the positions they have (Lucius, Bagman...)  I've 
always wondered if there was some sort of wizard shortage that made it 
impossible to choose from less tainted wizards and witches.

Carol also said:
> >And if it IS
> > a cover up, does this say something about what Arthur's true job at the MOM
> > is?  I firmly believe that Arthur is far more than what he appears to be
> > (as is Molly).

Responding to my own comment:
I keep wondering about Arthur...and Molly.  Why does Arthur have to work 
late nights and weekends?  Are charmed Muggle artifacts THAT important that 
things can't wait?  I can understand a crisis like the one with Mad Eye 
Moody, but is everything to do with Muggle artifacts a crisis?  Are raids 
for Muggle artifacts that important?  In CoS, Arthur is out almost all 
night on raids.  I find that odd.  Also, I keep asking for ideas as to why 
Arthur had gone -- just the once -- to Azkaban.  For what?  And then I do 
wonder about that trip to Egypt.  As I mentioned in a previous note, some 
people think that magic originated there.  I keep thinking that Arthur was 
sent to Egypt and the vacation was just a ruse.

Carol