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The Malfoy family is a powerful wizard family in the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling.

Family Tree

Fictional Family Background

The Malfoys are one of the last pure-blood and most wealthy wizarding families in the Harry Potter story. Abraxas Malfoy died before the series begins and was a friend of Professor Slughorn. The name of Abraxas' wife is unknown. Their son Lucius was a Death Eater during the first and the second wizarding wars. His wife Narcissa was born into the Black family and was the cousin of Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather. Narcissa likely married Malfoy because of both his blood and economic status, the same way her sister Bellatrix did when she married Rodolphus Lestrange. Their son Draco was the first member of the family to be introduced in the series, he is Harry's nemesis at Hogwarts, and was suspected of being a Death Eater too.

Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and later Bellatrix, resided in a manor house in the southern English county of Wiltshire. The manor seems quite extravagant, with fountains and "a pure white peacock strutting majestically". They were previously served by a house-elf, Dobby, before Lucius was tricked into freeing him by Harry Potter. The Malfoy manor was used as headquarters by series' main antagonist Lord Voldemort at least in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The three Malfoys seemed quite displeased by this use of their manor as Voldemort himself stated, only Bellatrix appeared to be honest enough when she said "it is an honor to have you (Voldemort) here, in our family's house". A scene featuring Draco and Theodore Nott talking in the manor's garden was cut from two of the first six books.

Lucius Malfoy was respected because of his influence on both Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic because of his monetary donations to the Ministry and St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, until he was first removed from his post of governor of the school at the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and later imprisoned after the break in at the Department of Mysteries at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

At the end of both wizarding wars, the Malfoys managed to avoid being imprisoned. The first time, Lucius claimed himself being under the Imperius Curse. After the second and final battle, the three Malfoys were reformed and succeed in getting themselves out of trouble again. In the epilogue of the final book, it is revealed that Draco has a son named Scorpius; however, his wife is unknown.

Name

"Malfoy" is derived from Old French "mal foi" or "mal foy", meaning "bad faith", or "bad trust". The Old French mal foy itself is derived from Latin mala fide, which as a judicial term means intentional mischief, ill will or evil intentions.

References

1. "J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Template:HP7, chapter 1
3. "J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

• Blood purity (Harry Potter)
• Black family

• Harry Potter families