The wizarding world of Harry Potter is jam-packed with dark witches and wizards. But was Narcissa Malfoy one of them?
When you think of the Malfoys, you likely immediately conjure up an image of Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin student who attended Hogwarts alongside Harry Potter and plotted to kill Professor Albus Dumbledore at the request of Lord Voldemort. You may even turn your mind towards Lucius Malfoy, Draco’s power-hungry father.
However, you likely don’t think of Narcissa Malfoy. A much more secondary character, Narcissa wasn’t present in each and every instalment of the series. But when she did show up, she was pretty nasty.
And yet, some of her choices weren’t all that bad. In fact, it was Narcissa that lied to Voldemort about Harry being alive in the Forbidden Forest, which ultimately led to his triumph over the Dark Lord.
So, what do we really know about Narcissa Malfoy? Who was she? And was she EVIL? Read on to find out!
Everything We Know About Narcissa Malfoy
Who was Narcissa Malfoy?
Narcissa Malfoy was born Narcissa Black, making her a descendent of the proud wizarding family, the House of Black. She took the surname Malfoy when she married Lucius Malfoy. Together they had one son, Draco.
Was the House of Black evil?
Known for their pureblood supremacist views and radical prejudice towards Muggles and mix-blood witches and wizards, many members of the Black family certainly had a reputation for being—well, ya, evil.
Most notably would be Narcissa’s sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, loyal follower of Lord Voldemort and, without a doubt, the MOST evil witch of her time. In a word, Bellatrix was a psychopath.
In addition to Bellatrix, the family raised many other dark witches and wizards throughout the centuries. However, not all members of the House of Black were evil. Sirius Black and his cousin, Andromeda—Narcissa’s sister—were both very tolerant and good people.
Was Lucius Malfoy evil?
A wizard from another pureblood family that highly valued blood lines, Lucius was one of Voldemort’s most loyal Death Eaters. This in itself supports that he was likely evil.
He also did some wicked and terrible things throughout the series. Like trying to frame an 11-year-old Ginny Weasley for reopening the Chamber of Secrets. And beating his house elf, Dobby. Sweet, thoughtful Dobby!
So, yes, Lucius Malfoy was an evil monster.
Does any of this make Narcissa Malfoy evil?
Simply being an immediate relation to someone like Bellatrix Lestrange obviously doesn’t make you evil. Nor does marrying a dark wizard like Lucius. Of course, it doesn’t look good. But it also doesn’t mean that Narcissa was evil herself.
It’s unknown if Narcissa ever took the Dark Mark and became a Death Eater, making the question of whether she was a devoutly dark witch a little more difficult to answer. She was always there supporting Voldemort and his followers, but she never seemed to be the one taking on any missions for him.
And so, was Narcissa Malfoy evil?
Maybe not. Here’s why:
Her actions never seemed to be motivated by evil intent.
Everything Narcissa did was almost always motivated by love for her family, especially her son.
For example, when she called Harry “scum” and threatened to kill him, it was because she blamed him for her husband’s arrest, subsequent imprisonment, and failures. Obviously, this was not the most sane reaction. But at least we can account for why she would’ve said something like that.
Compare that to her sister, Bellatrix, who would say and do cruel and unusual things just because she enjoyed doing so. Again, Bellatrix was a real psychopath.
She chose love for her son over Voldemort.
There’s also the fact that Narcissa was willing to defy Voldemort to protect Draco—this is why she lies to the Dark Lord about Harry’s condition in the Forbidden Forest. She was also willing to share Voldemort’s secret plan to kill Dumbledore with Severus Snape in order to protect her son.
By contrast, most other Death Eaters would have done almost anything Voldemort told them to. Even if it meant putting their family members in danger.
Narcissa Malfoy wasn’t evil, she was just a bitch.
Narcissa was a prejudiced witch with narrow views of the world. BUT she was also a fiercely protective mother and wife.
In this way, her actions to protect her family don’t seem all that different from those of Molly Weasley or Lily Potter. Both of these women were also willing to go to insane lengths to protect their children. Like duel Bellatrix Lestrange or throw themelves in front of the Killing Curse. Narcissa simply expressed herself with a little—okay, a lot—less tolerance for others.
