[HPforGrownups] Lucius betrayed? (WAS Re: JKR's cryptic answer: Who sent the Lestranges...)

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 119987

--- chrusotoxos <heos at virgilio.it> wrote:
> And Lucius is mystery in himself...I'm thinking that he could be an
> anti-Snape, and this 
> could explain why Voldemort didn't punish him and why Karkaroff
> didn't mention him as a very important supporter of LV.


My personal theory about Lucius is that he is someone that Voldemort
needs right now, but that Voldemort really hates the idea that he
NEEDS anyone at any time.  And Lucius knows this as well as Voldemort
does.

That means Lucius is important now: he has the financial resources to
bribe MoM officials, to make donations that enhance his personal
prestige so that his views are held in high regard, to provide funds
and help to any number of DE's and potential DE's and he possesses
one of the few places in the UK that can be assured of safety from
MoM/Auror invasion.  In short, Lucius is someone who Voldemort needs.

On the other hand, Lucius is a cut above the average DE recruit, and
while he sincerely hates non-purebloods, he doesn't let it get in the
way.  During the first war, Lucius was in his mid-20's, say 25-28ish,
and he was probably not in the inner circle, but in its shadow,
perhaps because an older relative was there.  But my guess is that he
was the DE who thought the fastest after Voldemort went to GH in
1981, and he's the own who stepped into the void and took such
control as was possible.

I'm betting that he worked hard to make sure his own contemporaries
and friends got cleared by claiming imperius curse, etc. while older
DE's less likely to be led by him got sent up the river to Azkaban. 
So that within a few months of Voldemort's fall, Lucius was the head
of a smaller group of DE's recognizing his authority.

And then Voldemort comes back and don't tell me Lucius is the
happiest puppy in the graveyard.  This is NOT according to plan. 
Yes, Lucius is still a bigot and all that, but - darn it - he kind of
liked being in charge and grovelling on the ground is so hard on a
man's robes, just grinds the dirt right into the fabric....

So I'm thinking that Lucius is along for the VOldemort ride as far as
it can take him, but that Voldemortian immortality is not his choice
for a happy ending.  And Voldemort knows it but he needs Lucius' and
his wealth right now so he has to suck it up.

But when Lucius doesn't return in good time from the MoM, Voldemort
goes in person because while it's possible things went wrong, it's
also possible things went right and that Lucius is listening to the
prophecy for himself before handing it on or accidently destroying
it.  Is Bellatrix there to keep an eye on Lucius?  Hard to imagine
she's there for any stragetic value.

How does this impact Snape and his task?  Whatever else Snape is
doing for the Order, I believe that one of his functions is to hold
open an escape hatch for Lucius.  At the proper time, he can say:
"Cards on the table, Lucius: do you really want to leave the Malfoy
family name in Draco's hands with an increasingly cranky and immortal
Voldemort in charge?  Was it really so hard having the Minister of
Magic on a short leash while you swanked around the UK like a god? 
Okay, so you don't like muggleborns, everyone has their quirks, but
do you hate them so much that you'd be willing to sacrifice
everything to get rid of them?  Is that a price you're willing to
pay?"

Because if Lucius looks the other way at a crucial time, it might
make all the difference for the Order.  And to make the approach, the
Order doesn't have anyone else but Snape.

Magda


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more.
http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250