Harry Potter: 10 Things You Never Knew About Narcissa Malfoy
As wife to Lucius and mother to Draco, the complex character of Narcissa Malfoy plays a modest yet invaluable role in the Harry Potter series. Narcissa is a fair-haired beautiful woman with a cold voice and a strong attitude, often driven by reason and love. As such, she represents a stark contrast to her older sister Bellatrix, dark of hair and twisted of nature. In fact, she considers her sister's behavior revolting and only tolerates her for the sake of her family. Meaning, anyone too quick to judge this seemingly negative character will be surprised to discover how much lies beneath the surface of Narcissa Malfoy.
And although her screen time in the movies is limited, it's irrefutable to the unfoldings of the events in the last book. So for all of you who have been itching to learn more about this character, here are the top 10 things you didn't know about Narcissa Malfoy.
10 She Is Not A Death Eater
Though her husband was a loyal Death Eater held in high regard by the Dark Lord himself, his wife Narcissa never officially became one. She did, however, share his elitist views of wizarding supremacy and the importance of blood purity. We see her supporting her husband and playing host to the Death Eater meetings that take place in Malfoy Manor in the final book, yet you can rest assured that Narcissa was never beneath one of those dark hoods. This much has been confirmed by J.K. Rowling herself.
9 She Is Nymphadora Tonks' Aunt
Many of you already know that Narcissa is the sister to Bellatrix Lestrange, even those of us who've only seen the movies. However, she's also the sister of Andromeda Tonks, who is the mother of a prominent side character in the seventh book - Nymphadora Tonks. However, Narcissa being a strong supporter of pure blood wizards, disowned her cousin and looks down upon her because of her affiliation with Remus Lupin, who's a Werewolf.
8 She's A Loving Mother
Narcissa is a deeply flawed and prejudiced character who's been on the side of You-Know-Who all the way until the very last book. Be that as it may, she's an incredibly caring and loving mother to her son Draco. In fact, her love for Draco far exceeds her loyalty to both her husband and Lord Voldemort, as showcased by her actions in the Battle for Hogwarts where she betrayed the Dark Lord by lying about Harry being dead - something only one other person would dare to do. She did this because she knew her family would not find peace and safety in the grasp of Voldemort. Essentially, Harry's life was saved by the love of two mothers: his own, and Narcissa's love for Draco.
Apart from that iconic scene, Narcissa has been a caring and protective mother since before Draco received his Hogwarts letter. Initially, he was to attend the Durmstrang academy for purebloods, but being a worried and loving mother, Narcissa begged Lucius to let Draco attend Hogwarts so he would be closer to her. Also, she would not tolerate anyone attacking or insulting her son, not even her husband.
"If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do."
7 She Gave Draco Her Wand
After Harry disarmed Draco in Malfoy Manor, Draco was left wandless, prompting his mother Narcissa to gave him her own. This meant that now both she and her husband Lucius, who had given his wand to Voldemort, were without wands. However, in the Deathly Hallows sequel, during the final battle, we see Narcissa holding another wand of unknown origin. This is because Narcissa was originally to retrieve her son's wand from Harry after he was "killed" by Voldemort. However, in the movies, we see that Harry has kept the wand after he reveals he is alive. And given that the wand Narcissa gave to Draco burned up in Crabbe's Fiendfyre accident in the Room of Requirement, he should have no wand either. So the wand Draco visibly has at the end of the movie should have been retrieved by Narcissa from Harry while he was pretending to be dead and given to Draco. Yet, this scene was cut out of the final movie. So in the final battle, both Narcissa, Harry, and Draco are shown carrying what is essentially the same wand.
6 She Earned Her Family A Reprieve From Azkaban
Betraying Voldemort and later leaving him, together with her husband Lucius and son Draco in the midst of the movies' final battle, Narcissa was able to earn her family a reprieve, evading Azkaban imprisonment. Furthermore, following the events of the Second Wizarding War, her husband Lucius turned against his fellow Death Eaters by providing evidence that would lead to their incarceration.
So, after the events of the movies, the family continued a relatively normal life. Though, Narcissa and her Husband were still intolerant of muggle-borns and "blood traitors," unlike their son Draco who had experienced a significant transformation of character.
5 She Was Highly Prejudiced
Raised in the Black family, Narcissa has grown up with the notion (which was instilled deep inside her) that all non-magical people, muggle-borns, and other beings that are not of pure blood like Werewolves are beneath wizards and those who associate with them are "blood traitors." Because of this, she frequently scoffed and grimaced at the sight of anyone who she would see close to these characters... even her own family. In fact, her beauty was often tainted by her uncomfortable and condescending expression described as looking like "she's got dung under her nose."
4 Narcissa Actress Almost Played Bellatrix
Actresses considered for the role of Narcissa Malfoy included Natasha Richardson and Allison Doody. On the other hand, Helen McCrory, the actress we now know as Narcissa, was originally cast as Bellatrix Lestrange for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Though, from the current point of view, no other actress would have been a better fit for Bellatrix than the great Helena Bonham Carter, and the same goes for Helen McCrory's brilliant portrayal of Narcissa Malfoy.
3 Her Name Is The Only Unusual One In House Black
This one's quite obvious for a hardened Harry Potter fan, yet many didn't notice Narcissa's uniqueness when it comes to her name. Of all the Black children since Phineas Nigellus Black, Narcissa is the only one who hasn't been named after a star or a constellation. In fact, her name presumably comes from the mythological Narcissus, which pairs well with both her appearance and her elitist behavior. But, that's not the only thing that makes her special; she's also the only Black born with completely blond hair. In the movies, however, the stylists decided she would have a partly black hair to represent her connection to the Black family and her older sister Bellatrix, while her blond locks would clearly mark her as a Malfoy.
2 She Was Partly Responsible For The Death Of Sirius Black
Though she grew up in an elitist pure-blood family and later married into one as well (both of which belonged to the Sacred Twenty-Eight) Narcissa treated her house elf Kreacher more kindly than Sirius. This is why Kreacher didn't hesitate to snitch on Sirius and his relationship with Harry to Narcissa, who passed the information along to Voldemort. With the help of Narcissa, Voldemort was now able to conjure a vision of Sirius' torture to attract Harry to the Department of Mysteries, leading to the battle in the Order of the Phoenix and Sirius' death.
1 Narcissa Is A Highly Skilled Witch
House-elf Kreacher describes Narcissa as a Dark Witch, suggesting her prowess in the dark arts. As we learn in the books, Narcissa is more than a capable witch and a great duelist. In fact, she was able to hold her own against both Harry and Ron, and was even not afraid to stand up to her insanely powerful and twisted sister Bellatrix. She was also likely a skilled occulumens, given she was able to lie to Voldemort about Harry's death without being detected - something only Severus Snape was capable of. Finally, Narcissa was great at apparition - a very difficult magic that allows the caster to instantly change location.