Are the Malfoy Parents Really That Bad?

Happy Parents’ Day! To celebrate this day and some parents, I wanted to look at all the Malfoy parents: Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa.

Lucius and Narcissa were flawed humans who, at times, acted despicably. Yet they loved their son and wanted nothing than more to protect him. There were several times during the series when they did something potentially dangerous to accomplish this. The first time we see this is in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Narcissa went behind Voldemort’s back to secure her son’s safety. By having Snape perform the Unbreakable Vow, she did everything she could do to help and protect Draco.

 

 

Both Lucius and Narcissa did what they could to save their family during the Battle of Hogwarts. Even though they had no wands to defend themselves (Lucius gave his to Voldemort at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Narcissa gave hers to Draco), they still tried to find their son. They risked their own lives and safety to get him.

 

 

By the end of the book, Narcissa only cared about protecting her family, no matter the costs and consequences. She knew that lying to Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters was the quickest and easiest way to get to Draco. Had her lie been discovered, she would have been murdered, yet she still risked this to get to her family.

 

 

Lucius and Narcissa aren’t the only Malfoy parents; Draco is a father in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He learned from his parents’ mistakes and raised his son differently. He wanted Scorpius to be whoever he wanted to be. Draco didn’t want to be like his own father and didn’t pressure Scorpius to be or act a certain way.

 

 

Lucius and Narcissa raised Draco to believe that he was better than everyone else. This way of thinking led to Draco’s isolation growing up. Knowing how terrible this was, he didn’t want his son to ever feel the same way. When Scorpius and Albus had a fight, Draco decided to speak to Ginny and Harry rationally to try to work out their issues. Draco did whatever he could to protect his son’s happiness, even if it meant interacting with his childhood enemy. Lucius would never have done that.

 

 

Since Astoria Malfoy died fairly early on in Cursed Child, there aren’t that many interactions between Scorpius and his mother. However, we do know that “Astoria refused to raise their [Lucius and Narcissa’s] grandson Scorpius in the belief that Muggles were scum” (Pottermore). She wanted to raise her son in a loving and accepting atmosphere as opposed to the hate and superiority that she grew up in.

 

 

Both generations of Malfoys clearly loved their children, but they had different ways of showing it. While Lucius and Narcissa tried to physically protect their child, Draco wanted to be there for him emotionally. Ultimately, despite how Draco was raised, he ended up being a pretty great dad.

What do you think of the Malfoy parents? Let us know in the comments!

Minal Daswani

I entered the wizarding world in 2006, and haven’t left. In my Muggle time, I enjoy reading, bingeing TV shows, baking, and travellng.