Lucius Malfoy's Ambition

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 126498


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Richard Jones" 
<jones.r.h.j at w...> wrote:
> 
> I want to argue that Malfoy, LV's "slippery friend" (OOTP 33/650), 
is 
> trying to play both sides of the fence at the same time: he wants 
to 
> come out on top no matter who wins.  He wants to become Minister 
of 
> Magic if the good guys win and have LV killed by Harry and take 
over 
> the dark side if the good guys lose.  Maybe he'll exploit the 
> knowledge that Bellatrix gained that LV is not a pureblood to get 
a 
> rift started among the DE's with him leading those who want a 
> pureblood in charge.
> 
> On the one side, he has his flunky Bagman installed at the 
Ministry 
> and was on the Board of Directors of Hogwarts before he messed 
things 
> up in COS.  He also is a generous donator to St. Mungo's.  All of 
> these are attempts to position himself powerfully in the wizarding 
> world.
> 
> On the other side, he wants to have keep Harry alive because only 
> Harry holds the key to having LV killed.  Two things point to 
this.  
> First, notice that he saved Harry from being killed in the DoM.  
> Second (and this is more speculative), I think he might have sent 
> Dobby to Harry in COS to try to prevent him from going back to 
> Hogwarts to protect him so that he would be alive later if LV came 
> back to finish LV off for him.  Malfoy was trying to get the 
monster 
> in the Chamber of Secrets released to rid the school of mudbloods 
and 
> to discredit DD, and he would not want a non-pureblood like Harry 
in 
> danger if he needed him later.  (I still don't know why Malfoy was 
> trying to get Tom Riddle reborn.  Maybe he didn't know that that 
> would be a consequence of his plan or that the monster was a 
> Basilisk.  Did he know it was Riddle or just the "Heir of 
> Slytherin"?  There is no evidence in COS or GOF that LV knew of 
> Malfoy's actions in COS.)  How else could a House Elf go to help 
> someone else except on orders from their masters?  They are bound 
to 
> serve "one house, one family" — how else would Dobby go to help 
> another even if Harry was responsible for the downfall of LV the 
> first time and helped to improve the House Elves' treatment.  (But 
> this does not explain why Dobby keeps hurting himself when he is 
> helping Harry.)  Also, wouldn't Malfoy have noticed all the time 
his 
> House Elf wasn't around?
> 
> Also consider the fact that Snape apparently hangs out with 
Malfos — 
> Malfoy's "laddog" as Sirius called him — and his loyalties are not 
> exactly clear.  It may be Malfoy who is the Order's spy, passing 
> information through Snape.  Is it another instance of playing both 
> until a winner is clear?
> 
> Of course, Malfoy now has a lot of explaining to do now that he 
has 
> been caught in the DoM.  But his silver tongue may get him out of 
it 
> again, just as he did after the first war.  But if LV helps him 
> escape from Azkaban, then it will very hard for him to try to 
> convince anyone that he really was on the side of the Ministry all 
> along.
> 
> In short, Lucius is just a power hungry opportunist with no 
> convictions on either side.  He can be sure to be on the winning 
side 
> by being on both sides and becoming number one on whichever sides 
> wins.  Thus, he doesn't care who wins as long as he comes out on 
> top.  He's the paradigm of Slytherin ambition and sliminess.
> 
> Richard Jones

a_svirn:

It's kind of obvious that Lucius is a power-hungry opportunist. In 
fact, one can state the same about a virtually every DE (at least, 
the opportunist part), with the exception of Bellatrix. It does not 
however explain his association with LV. If anything, his being a DE 
considerably diminished his chances to "come out on the top".

Lucius was born to assume a position of power and influence. He was 
a part of the elite from the very beginning. The fact that even 
after having thoroughly damaged his reputation he managed to regain 
his position of a "pillar of the society" and exercise a certain 
influence on the WW's legislation, law enforcement and public 
opinion demonstrates how much weight his social standing carries. If 
he had not got involved with LV in the first place he would have 
probably made a minister by now. There was no point in risking all 
that and throwing his lot with a low-born, Muggle-bred adventurer. 
Especially, since it must have been glaringly obvious that the said 
adventurer wasn't interested in sharing HIS power and even less so 
his immortality. 

As for the possibility of turning his incarceration in Azkaban to 
his advantage, I agree. The battle in the DoM although it had 
effectively brought the "phoney war" to its end, did not result into 
any serious bloodshed. (As far as the Ministry concerned, Sirius 
Black is no great loss anyway). Which means that although Lucius's 
reputation is now tarnished probably beyond repair, he is not in 
fact guilty of any serious crime. At least, comparing to the "crimes 
against humanity" that are certainly to come and very soon. And 
while those DE who are still at large are going to be engaged into 
real fighting and get killed or convicted for murder charges he is 
going to be safely tacked in Azkaban (not pleasant, but bearable, 
now that there are no Dementors around). Moreover, if Fudge sent him 
in Azkzban without a trial (and it looks like he did exactly that) 
Lucius is technically not a convict, but a detainee. At the moment 
the difference is not significant, but I imagine that when time is 
right he will know how to play this card. 


a_svirn