What were the Malfoys DOING there?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 114322

Mac wrote: 
> > No, No, No, not his 'new' target: I'm sorry to KEEP belabouring 
> this 
> > point, BUT why oh why does everone seem to keep ignoring 'Dobby's 
> > warning'? when it is so strongly a cannon point? Dobby *knew* the 
> > plot was about HP from the start. *HOW* we don't know. Even so, 
> > there just doesn't seem to be any other explanation of Dobby's 
> > behaviour in CoS.
> 
> Geoff responded:
> If I might take up Hannah's case and belabour a different point, Tom 
> Riddle himself says 
> 
> "For many months now, my /new target/ has been - you."
> 
> (COS "The Heir of Slytherin"p.230 UK edition) - my emphasis.

Carol adds:
Which seems to indicate that Lucius Malfoy's target (Harry, based on
Dobby's protestations) was different from Tom Riddle's initial target
(Muggleborns). Tom has switched from his original intention of
"carrying on Salazar Slytherin's noble work" to confronting Harry,
whom he has somehow learned was able to defeat his own future self.
Although I originally thought that Lucius had somehow communicated
with Tom through the diary, informing him about Harry, it appears from
the quotation Geoff cites that Tom learned about Harry from Ginny.

That simplifies Tom's motivation but does nothing to clarify Malfoy's.
Mac is right--Malfoy's plot apparently centered around Harry from the
beginning. But how could it? How could he know what the diary would do
if he hadn't written in it, and if he *had* written in it, why would
he think that killing "mudbloods" had anything to do with Harry?

Yes, I know. Others have asked the same questions. All I'm saying is
that we have two sets of motives here and the connection between them
is anything but clear.

Carol, who is beginning to think that CoS has more plotholes than any
other book in the series