What were the Malfoys DOING there?

[Hannah]

No: HPFGUIDX 113646

> Carolyn wrote:
<snip>
> if Diary!Tom had had this conversation with Lucius, surely 
> > he would have discovered the key facts about Harry that way, and 
> > would not have had to extract most of the story from Ginny? 
> <snip>
> > I agree that Lucius must have had some inkling about the powers 
of the diary, or there would have been no point in the plot, and 
part of what he must have been told by Diary!Tom is that giving it 
to a student would enable a monster to be unleashed once again to 
kill mudbloods. DD makes it clear that he assumes this was Malfoy's 
>intent, and Malfoy's reaction confirms it.
> >
> Mac replied:
> Very nice post Carolyn. We must all recall that Ginny spends 
months with the diary and almost certainly, as Harry did, was taken 
in, quite literally. Malfoy, on the other hand knew its darkly 
magical nature and so would handle it with kid (or dragon hide) 
gloves and, if he wrote in it, would do so as his ONLY means of 
communication, not allow himself to be taken into its pages as both 
Harry and Ginny did. 
> 
> In such a 'writing only' conversation (as we each have with one 
> another here in the medium of HPfGU) one can still impart and 
learn much, exchange ideas, make suggestions, influence etc. 
> 
> So, Malfoy tells Diary!Tom about HP and that he has the power to 
> thwart his future plans/self. Thus Harry should be THE target in 
the hope that Diary!Tom can succeed where 'physical' LV didn't (at 
GH). 
> Lucius knows, hopes or suspects that LV might be back and that 
> either way Harry is a threat, so let's use DIARY!Tom to see if he 
> does any better. Nothing lost and many things to be gained, 
> including all the things people have listed. 
<snip> 

Hannah now: I still don't think that Malfoy was trying to get LV 
reinstated, and that he probably had no idea this could be a 
consequence.  I don't believe that Malfoy would ever have taken the 
risk of writing in the diary - he knew it was potentially dangerous 
and wouldn't have taken a risk.  So here's my version of events.

I believe that the diary was given to him along with instructions, 
written or verbal.  It may have come from LV himself, from an elder 
Malfoy, or from another DE.  The instructions state that the diary 
holds the power to possess someone who writes in it, and through 
them open the chamber of secrets.  

Malfoy being a wiley type, keeps hold of the diary until a time when 
it is useful to him.  During PS/SS, for whatever reason, Malfoy 
decides the time is ripe to use it.  Maybe it's because he wants 
Harry Potter killed/ sent back to muggledom when the school closes 
(and this isn't necessarily because he's planning the return of LV.  
He may feel this boy, already an enemy of his son, will be a threat 
to Malfoy's power).  It could also be because he feels it's time to 
oust DD and consilidate his own power at Hogwarts.  Or because of 
the need to discredit Arthur Weasley and prevent the muggle 
protection act.

Malfoy then hands out the diary, either deliberately to Ginny 
because of her father (depending on his motive) or just because she 
is the first young girl about to start at Hogwarts that he comes 
across.  Tom finds out all about Harry from Ginny (and she's got a 
huge crush on him, so she's going to be only too pleased to tell Tom 
his life story, even without prompting).  He then makes Harry his 
new target.

Hannah