Summary
- The Malfoy family, known for despising Muggles and Muggle-borns, actually gained property and wealth through interactions with Muggle royals.
- Draco Malfoy, influenced by his prejudiced father, eventually grows out of his family's pure-blood mania, which was ingrained in the Malfoys' ethos.
- The International Statute of Secrecy changed the Malfoys' relationship with wealthy Muggles, forcing them to fully assimilate into wizarding culture and embrace their belief in Muggle inferiority.
The Malfoy family is known in Harry Potter to despise Muggles and Muggle-borns, but their history reveals this wasn't always true. As of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Malfoys prided themselves on their pure-blood status and saw interaction with non-magical people as a disgrace. The family had been prominent in the British wizarding world community for centuries, building wealth and renown through their influence within the Ministry of Magic. However, long before the Ministry was established, the Malfoys gained property and wealth through the Muggle royals.
Harry first met Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and it didn't take long before he knew he wasn't interested in being friends. The Boy Who Lived knew very little about the wizarding world at that point, but he recognized that Draco's prejudice against anyone who wasn't "pure" was despicable. Of course, the Malfoy boy had learned this from his father, one of the more nasty Death Eaters of Harry Potter. The Wizarding World website has revealed that Draco eventually grew out of his family's pure-blood mania—something that had been ingrained into the Malfoys' ethos more recently than they were willing to it.
The Malfoy Family Served The Muggle William The Conqueror
Before the International Statute of Secrecy was signed in 1689, wizards interacted with Muggles far more than they did during the time of Harry Potter—including families like the Malfoys. In fact, Draco's ancestor, Armand Malfoy, arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror in the year 1066 and was a valuable member of the invading Norman army. He provided services directly to the king, depending heavily on Dark magic, and was rewarded with a prime bit of land in Wiltshire.
This estate was precisely the place where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were taken in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—still belonging to the Malfoys ten centuries later. They maintained this for so long with their continued relationship with the Muggle royal family over the years, establishing themselves as wealthy aristocrats in both the wizarding and Muggle communities. Even at this time, the Malfoys believed that they were superior to Muggles. However, they found that their relationship with those in power—even if they weren't magical—was an asset to them, just as they believed a relationship with the future Ministers for Magic in Harry Potter would keep them well protected.
A Malfoy Ancestor Cursed Queen Elizabeth I For Not Marrying Him
The Malfoy family continued to provide magical to the British royal family for centuries and reaped the rewards in land and riches. Much of what they did for the Muggles was covered up, but it was undoubtedly nefarious. Just as their magic helped King William I take control, it also helped them keep it, as well as add more territories to the royal family's rule. Still, the Malfoy family's ambition never ceased, and they consistently pushed to climb higher.
The first Lucius Malfoy (the one Harry Potter's Lucius was named for), who lived between the 16th and 17th centuries, worked closely with Queen Elizabeth I and, like many of the men in her court, saw her reign as an opportunity to become king. As a wizard, this could have meant something significant for Lucius I since he would have been setting himself up to run both the British wizarding and Muggle communities. However, Elizabeth turned him down. Spurned and enraged, the Malfoy lord jinxed the queen, causing her to turn down any proposition of marriage from that point onward.
The Statute Of Secrecy Changed The Malfoys Relationship With Wealthy Muggles
The Malfoy family's willingness to not only interact with the Muggle royal family but attempt to marry them proves that their prejudice and disgust with non-magical people hadn't always been so fervent as in the days of Harry Potter. However, this all changed with the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy. When the statute was first signed, the Malfoys were public in their opposition, but when the Ministry of Magic was established as the new governing body of the wizarding world, they recognized a need to get with the times.
Had the Malfoys continued to fight the Statute of Secrecy, they would have set themselves up against those in power. They essentially were left to choose between magical power and non-magical power, and since they had always believed the wizarding community superior, the choice was clear. At this point, the anti-Muggle movement, as well as the belief that they were unclean and shouldn't be bred with, grew in popularity. Despite their centuries of benefitting from Muggles, the Malfoys dived all in. They stopped using luxurious Muggle technology and fully assimilated into wizarding culture.
By the time of Harry Potter, the Malfoys were still living off the wealth their family had acquired with the help of Muggles, but they refused to acknowledge this as truth. When wizarding historians published their belief in facts such as Lucius Malfoy I's interest in marrying Queen Elizabeth I, they would publically deny the claims. Come the rise of Lord Voldemort, the Malfoys were among the first in line to attempt to share in his power. Thankfully, Draco Malfoy would go on to break this trend of prejudice—perhaps ing that it was off the backs of Muggles that his family became the success they were.
