Lucius at the Quidditch World Cup
Oct. 3rd, 2020 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
deathtocapslockWhat was Lucius doing when masked, hooded figures were torturing the Roberts family? Harry asks Draco if his parents are out there in masks, and Draco smirks and says he wouldn’t say if they were. He could be winding Harry up, but we get confirmation from Voldemort, who announces that Lucius is “always ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture” and refers to the riot as “your exploits.” So Lucius was definitely one of the rioters.
Or was he?
There are different ways to “take the lead,” after all, and one is from a safe distance. Voldemort just called Lucius “slippery,” remember. Maybe that isn’t a separate thought from the following comment about the Muggle-torture. He might actually be mocking Lucius here by saying he instigated the riot but did not himself participate. Or at the very least, slipped out the back of the crowd immediately after stirring it up so that he, personally, wouldn’t face any risk.
What about Voldemort’s claim that Lucius ran when he saw the Dark Mark in the sky? Wasn't that a comment about his hypocrisy, that he'd happily march around torturing Muggles in his old Death Eater getup but fled from a summons to return to the real deal?
Well, we might ask how Voldemort knows this. It doesn’t sound like he only just discovered it that moment via Legilimency and is faux-shocked and disappointed. How, then? From another Death Eater or fellow-traveler in the crowd? Voldemort hasn’t been having them over for tea and chats; this is their first reunion. From Peter? He was babysitting Babymort at the time, and he hasn’t been out chatting with Death Eaters either. From Barty Jr.? He was Stunned pretty quickly, so unless Lucius Apparated right into the clearing under the Dark Mark—which hardly counts as running away from it—and then away again when he saw no one or maybe because he heard non-Death Eaters coming, Barty Jr. wouldn’t know either. From Crouch after he was Imperiused? He might have known whatever the Ministry learned. But it would take someone they interviewed saying, “Yeah, he was hooded and masked, but I definitely recognized Lucius Malfoy’s hair. Blonds, amirite? He fled as soon as the Mark went up,” or similar to know what Lucius did or didn’t do.
In fact, the easiest way to know would be if Lucius was not masked, and was in fact somewhere very public. Like next to Fudge, turning pale and insisting that the Minister flee to a safe place right now. That might be something Peter could pick up by eavesdropping as a rat after the fact. Or maybe it was reported in the Prophet. (“Philanthropist rescues Minister from rampaging rioters, writes Rita Skeeter, special correspondent…”)
(At this point I should probably insert a disclaimer that I don't think not directly participating would make Lucius less culpable. It would just make him "CEO evil," as I think Terri once described him, rather than the hands-on kind.)
Why would Lucius instigate Muggle-torture but not participate for very long or at all? We see that he’s buttering up the Minister for Magic, trying to cement his reputation as a Good Upstanding Wizarding Citizen and gain influence at the highest levels. Getting caught torturing Muggles would not help that campaign. Immediately rushing to Fudge’s tent to “protect” him, full of concern and promises that he would find out who started this wicked riot and stop them, might. But first he’d need something to rescue the Minister from. So call up the old crowd…
It could have been as simple as telling Avery and Macnair to shake the mothballs off their hoods, call up all their pals still at large, and start some trouble. He’d tell Draco when to hide out in the woods, and then he and Narcissa could make a show of panicking over not knowing where their precious baby was, further cementing that they are absolutely not involved, no, sir.
But if you like your conspiracy theories more elaborate, why not add Bagman to the mix? You know, the guy who does favors for friends like Rookwood? Lucius probably remembers that… Years ago, Pharnabazus speculated that Bagman borrowed all that money from the goblins so Lucius wouldn’t have to put his own name (and neck) on the line to do it. So imagine Lucius, who is rich but perhaps not rich enough to make the kind of massive donation to St. Mungo’s that would earn his family seats in the Minister’s top box, asks Bagman to borrow some money for him as a favor. He’ll gain influence with Fudge, restore some privileges to the old families, and Bagman will benefit with interest. (Bagman might or might not know about the planned riot, depending on whether you prefer your Bagman as a dupe or a knowing collaborator.) If you want to get even more elaborate, maybe it wasn’t ordinary wizarding arrogance that had the Roberts family present during the game. Maybe they would have been sent off on cruises and the campground management left to “temporary assistants,” if someone hadn’t made sure there would be helpless Muggles on-site. Who better to arrange that than the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports? The guy in charge of a lot of the arrangements surrounding the game? Maybe he was in on the plan, or maybe Lucius whapped him with a good Confundus or Imperius, again depending on your preference.
Bagman or no Bagman, the Dark Mark going up was an unexpected and probably terrifying wrinkle for Lucius. But he could work it into the plan. He would stir up a few more incidents, as originally planned, then “uncover” a few patsies he could pin everything on and turn them over to Fudge, who would be ever so grateful. If he could figure out which foolish Death Eater cast the Dark Mark, well, getting rid of a fanatic who might upset his plans would be a bonus. And all of this would do a lot to convince Fudge that Lucius is definitely not a Death Eater himself.
After that, Fudge would probably reliably turn to Lucius for advice and help with other problems. Meanwhile, Rita Skeeter would have been pointing out how incompetent the Ministry was at handling the problem and how lucky they were to have someone like that noted philanthropist and pillar of society Lucius Malfoy to help, and the public might be starting to agree with her. What could Lucius do with that kind of influence?
And it might have worked, if his Dark Mark hadn’t started darkening to signal Voldemort’s return. Now instead of gaining power for himself, Lucius had to factor in what his master would want—and to worry that his master would be just as, erm, suboptimal a boss as he had been in 1981. With so few veteran Death Eaters who were stable and competent, there was every risk that Voldemort would order Lucius into the field. Which he did, for the Ministry raid.
Lucius’s performance there suggests that he was trying to fail, that he is reluctant to hurt kids, that he isn’t experienced in fieldwork requiring combat, that he is badly out of practice, or some combination of the above. (Why bargain with Harry for the prophecy instead of Summoning it once it was safely off the shelf and killing the kids?) If he actively participated in Muggle-torture expeditions during Vold War I, he probably did always leave early, and so was safely elsewhere when (if?) Aurors or anyone else who could fight back showed up. Or perhaps he “took the lead” by giving the marching orders from a safe location and then Apparating back to his library to sip brandy and plot some bribery and blackmail while others performed the actual Muggle-torture.
Our slippery friend, indeed.
Or was he?
There are different ways to “take the lead,” after all, and one is from a safe distance. Voldemort just called Lucius “slippery,” remember. Maybe that isn’t a separate thought from the following comment about the Muggle-torture. He might actually be mocking Lucius here by saying he instigated the riot but did not himself participate. Or at the very least, slipped out the back of the crowd immediately after stirring it up so that he, personally, wouldn’t face any risk.
What about Voldemort’s claim that Lucius ran when he saw the Dark Mark in the sky? Wasn't that a comment about his hypocrisy, that he'd happily march around torturing Muggles in his old Death Eater getup but fled from a summons to return to the real deal?
Well, we might ask how Voldemort knows this. It doesn’t sound like he only just discovered it that moment via Legilimency and is faux-shocked and disappointed. How, then? From another Death Eater or fellow-traveler in the crowd? Voldemort hasn’t been having them over for tea and chats; this is their first reunion. From Peter? He was babysitting Babymort at the time, and he hasn’t been out chatting with Death Eaters either. From Barty Jr.? He was Stunned pretty quickly, so unless Lucius Apparated right into the clearing under the Dark Mark—which hardly counts as running away from it—and then away again when he saw no one or maybe because he heard non-Death Eaters coming, Barty Jr. wouldn’t know either. From Crouch after he was Imperiused? He might have known whatever the Ministry learned. But it would take someone they interviewed saying, “Yeah, he was hooded and masked, but I definitely recognized Lucius Malfoy’s hair. Blonds, amirite? He fled as soon as the Mark went up,” or similar to know what Lucius did or didn’t do.
In fact, the easiest way to know would be if Lucius was not masked, and was in fact somewhere very public. Like next to Fudge, turning pale and insisting that the Minister flee to a safe place right now. That might be something Peter could pick up by eavesdropping as a rat after the fact. Or maybe it was reported in the Prophet. (“Philanthropist rescues Minister from rampaging rioters, writes Rita Skeeter, special correspondent…”)
(At this point I should probably insert a disclaimer that I don't think not directly participating would make Lucius less culpable. It would just make him "CEO evil," as I think Terri once described him, rather than the hands-on kind.)
Why would Lucius instigate Muggle-torture but not participate for very long or at all? We see that he’s buttering up the Minister for Magic, trying to cement his reputation as a Good Upstanding Wizarding Citizen and gain influence at the highest levels. Getting caught torturing Muggles would not help that campaign. Immediately rushing to Fudge’s tent to “protect” him, full of concern and promises that he would find out who started this wicked riot and stop them, might. But first he’d need something to rescue the Minister from. So call up the old crowd…
It could have been as simple as telling Avery and Macnair to shake the mothballs off their hoods, call up all their pals still at large, and start some trouble. He’d tell Draco when to hide out in the woods, and then he and Narcissa could make a show of panicking over not knowing where their precious baby was, further cementing that they are absolutely not involved, no, sir.
But if you like your conspiracy theories more elaborate, why not add Bagman to the mix? You know, the guy who does favors for friends like Rookwood? Lucius probably remembers that… Years ago, Pharnabazus speculated that Bagman borrowed all that money from the goblins so Lucius wouldn’t have to put his own name (and neck) on the line to do it. So imagine Lucius, who is rich but perhaps not rich enough to make the kind of massive donation to St. Mungo’s that would earn his family seats in the Minister’s top box, asks Bagman to borrow some money for him as a favor. He’ll gain influence with Fudge, restore some privileges to the old families, and Bagman will benefit with interest. (Bagman might or might not know about the planned riot, depending on whether you prefer your Bagman as a dupe or a knowing collaborator.) If you want to get even more elaborate, maybe it wasn’t ordinary wizarding arrogance that had the Roberts family present during the game. Maybe they would have been sent off on cruises and the campground management left to “temporary assistants,” if someone hadn’t made sure there would be helpless Muggles on-site. Who better to arrange that than the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports? The guy in charge of a lot of the arrangements surrounding the game? Maybe he was in on the plan, or maybe Lucius whapped him with a good Confundus or Imperius, again depending on your preference.
Bagman or no Bagman, the Dark Mark going up was an unexpected and probably terrifying wrinkle for Lucius. But he could work it into the plan. He would stir up a few more incidents, as originally planned, then “uncover” a few patsies he could pin everything on and turn them over to Fudge, who would be ever so grateful. If he could figure out which foolish Death Eater cast the Dark Mark, well, getting rid of a fanatic who might upset his plans would be a bonus. And all of this would do a lot to convince Fudge that Lucius is definitely not a Death Eater himself.
After that, Fudge would probably reliably turn to Lucius for advice and help with other problems. Meanwhile, Rita Skeeter would have been pointing out how incompetent the Ministry was at handling the problem and how lucky they were to have someone like that noted philanthropist and pillar of society Lucius Malfoy to help, and the public might be starting to agree with her. What could Lucius do with that kind of influence?
And it might have worked, if his Dark Mark hadn’t started darkening to signal Voldemort’s return. Now instead of gaining power for himself, Lucius had to factor in what his master would want—and to worry that his master would be just as, erm, suboptimal a boss as he had been in 1981. With so few veteran Death Eaters who were stable and competent, there was every risk that Voldemort would order Lucius into the field. Which he did, for the Ministry raid.
Lucius’s performance there suggests that he was trying to fail, that he is reluctant to hurt kids, that he isn’t experienced in fieldwork requiring combat, that he is badly out of practice, or some combination of the above. (Why bargain with Harry for the prophecy instead of Summoning it once it was safely off the shelf and killing the kids?) If he actively participated in Muggle-torture expeditions during Vold War I, he probably did always leave early, and so was safely elsewhere when (if?) Aurors or anyone else who could fight back showed up. Or perhaps he “took the lead” by giving the marching orders from a safe location and then Apparating back to his library to sip brandy and plot some bribery and blackmail while others performed the actual Muggle-torture.
Our slippery friend, indeed.
