"The Malfoys. The family you can always rely on to make the world a murkier place."
-- Scorpius Malfoy (CC3.3)
The Malfoy family is an old, aristocratic pure-blood wizarding family. They are one of the “Sacred Twenty-eight” pre-eminent pure-blood families listed in the Pure-Blood Directory published in the 1930s. Despite their promotion of pure-blood ideologies, the Malfoy family have been known to ingratiate themselves with non-magical society when it suits their interests. The Malfoys are one of the wealthiest wizarding families in Britain, but they have a reputation for being “slippery” (PM). Over the centuries, members of the Malfoy family have been suspected of holding undue influence over the magical government.
Armand Malfoy was the first Malfoy in Britain, arriving with William the Conqueror in 1066. Armand was given land in Wiltshire by King William I where a large, ornate house called Malfoy Manor was built; this is where all of his descendants have resided (PM).
All members of the Malfoys have been sorted into Slytherin House at Hogwarts.
Family
Members of the Malfoy family, alphabetically by first name:
- Abraxas Malfoy - Draco's grandfather who died of dragon pox (HBP9)
- Armand Malfoy - First Malfoy in Britain, arriving with William the Conqueror (PM)
- Astoria (Greengrass) Malfoy - Wife of Draco Malfoy, and mother of Scorpius Malfoy (YL, CC)
- Brutus Malfoy - (c.1675) The editor of the anti-muggle periodical
- Draco Malfoy (b. June 5, 1980) - Lucius' and Narcissa's only child
- Lucius Malfoy (I) - Unsuccessfully tried for the hand of Elizabeth I
- Lucius Malfoy (b. circa 1954) - A Death Eater once incarcerated in Azkaban. Husband to Narcissa and father to Draco
- Narcissa (Black) Malfoy (b. 1955) - Lucius' wife and Draco's mother
- Nicholas Malfoy - Murdered unruly Muggle tenants, disguising them as Black Death victims (PM)
- Septimus Malfoy - An influential figure in the Ministry of Magic during the late eighteenth century
- Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy - The only child of Draco and Astoria Malfoy (YL, CC)
Other canon notes and references
"The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin, he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants" (CS9).
"'You're related to the Malfoys!' 'The pure-blood families are all interrelated,' said Sirius. 'If you're only going to let your sons and daughters marry pure-bloods your choice is very limited; there are hardly any of us left'" (OP6).
"The yew hedges muffled the sound of the men's footsteps. There was a rustle somewhere to their right: Yaxley drew his wand again, pointing it over his companion's head, but the source of the noise proved to be nothing more than pure white peacock, strutting majestically along the top of the hedge. 'He always did himself well, Lucius. Peacocks...' Yaxley thrust his wand back under his cloak with a snort" (DH1).
Commentary
Etymology
JKR has stated that the name is purely made up, but she acknowledged that "mal foi" is French for "bad faith" (RAH).
- Perhaps inspired by the name of Sansfoy ("faithless"), a knight in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
In early drafts of the Philosopher's Stone, Draco's last name was originally 'Spinks' (HPM) and 'Spungen' (JKR). 'Spungen', which was revealed 9 March 2006 in the "Very early draft of Philosophers Stone", almost certainly refers to Nancy Spungen, the girlfriend of punk guitarist Sid Vicious.
Notes
"Slippery" is a good description of the Malfoy family. They fancy themselves leaders and can usually get away with it due to their money, influence and brazenness, but ultimately, self-preservation always seems to trump loyalties or ideology.
From the Web
Writing by J K Rowling on WizardingWorld.com (Pottermore): The Malfoy Family
WizardingWorld.com (Pottermore) features:
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