Lucius and Arthur (was Lucius' Influence)

[corinthum <kkearney@students.miami.edu>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48671

Irene 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.

And Carol responded:

> 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.

Me:

I agree with Irene; I think this is exactly the sort of thing he 
would enjoy.  After all, he was a part of the mob at the World Cup 
that decided to levitate Muggles just for the heck of it (or so it's 
implied).  Causing random mischief for Muggles may not be his primary 
concern, but I definitely think he would enjoy it should he get the 
chance.


Carol again:

> 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...)  

Me:

>From Sirius' description in "Padfoot Returns", it seems like it was 
nearly impossible to determine exactly who was acting under Imperius 
and who was acting by free will.  But we also have evidence that 
people were brought to trial (Bagman) or even immediately imprisoned 
(Sirius) based on little evidence or complete hearsay.  As far as we 
know, Lucius was never formally accused (no evidence of a trial thus 
far).  I take this to mean there was no evidence that he WASN'T 
acting under Imperius.  He must have been pretty convincing to 
completely avoid people like Crouch.  Because the Malfoy's are 
repeatedly described as a powerful, old family, I've always assumed 
that Lucius held quite a bit of power before the rise of Voldemort.  
I'm sure the Ministry of Magic, especially people like Fudge who were 
determined to get everything back to normal, were desperate to 
believe a powerful man like Lucius Malfoy when he said he was being 
controlled by Imperio.  The Weasleys believe that Lucius was truly a 
Death Eater, but this doesn't seem to be the majority opinion.  Most 
Ministry members truly believe that Lucius was innocent.  

As far as Bagman is concerned, I don't believe he was evil.  He was a 
foolish idiot in the wrong place at the wrong time, and this is what 
most people in the Wizarding World seem to believe as well.  I 
believe he was a popular sports icon who, in his retirement, managed 
to gain a government position based soley on his popularity.  This 
phenomenon is all too common in our society; I don't see why it's 
difficult to accept it in the Wizarding World.


Carol once more:

> 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).
...
> 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?  

Me:

Yes, they are.  The number one concern of the Wizarding World 
(besides stopping an insane evil overlord from regaining power) is to 
keep their society a secret from Muggles.  This is not a nine to five 
job; even tiny things like shrinking keys could prove disastrous if a 
Muggle discovered the truth.  I believe that Arthur is, at the 
moment, exactly what he seems: a low level ministry employee with 
connections in high places.  This puts him in an ideal position to be 
important in the upcoming fight against Voldemort.

My theory on Molly and Arthur's normalcy can be found in a previous 
post; I'm operating on two hours sleep right now and don't feel like 
searching for it, but it's there somewhere.  :)

- Corinth, the anti-conspiracy theorist