Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.Today we’re going to be discussing
Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, and powerful mother to Draco- Narcissa Malfoy.
Specifically, we’re going to be taking a look at her actions following the alleged
‘death’ of Harry in the Deathly Hallows, and how one lie may have changed the future
of the wizarding world.
Let’s get in to it.
One of the most emotional and pivotal moments in the Harry Potter series is the death of
the titular character himself- Harry.
After cheating death time after time (in large part due to his mother’s loving sacrifice),
Harry finally faces the afterlife head on after meeting Voldemort in the forbidden forest
and sacrificing himself.
“He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone.”
Unlike Harry’s previous confrontations with Voldemort, from his meeting with a fragmented
Voldemort possessing Professor Quirrell, to their duel in the graveyard of Little Hangleton
– this time Harry did not intend to defend himself or fight back.
He came to die.
And with Harry’s death came a lot of questions- for the reader, sure, but ESPECIALLY for the
characters in the story.
After being hit with Voldemort’s killing curse, Harry wakes up in a sort of ‘limbo’
where he is met by Dumbledore.
In this new environment, Harry learns that yes he has died…BUT he has an opportunity
to come back.
Harry is given an option to return to the land of the living because his mother's sacrifice
- the same magic that has protected him for all his life - is still alive in Lord Voldemort's
veins.
This happens because Voldemort used Harry’s blood when producing his ‘regeneration potion’
- a potion which restores a maimed wizard to their ‘true’ bodily form.
Further tying Harry to the land of the living is the fact that Voldemort’s killing curse
destroyed the piece of VOLDEMORT’S SOUL attached to Harry, and not Harry’s soul.
Dumbledore confirms this by saying “Your soul is whole, and completely your own, Harry.”
But while the short period that Harry was ‘dead’ may have gone by quickly for Harry,
it likely felt like an eternity for the loved ones that witnessed his dead body.
While Harry was discussing life and death with Dumbledore, everyone else thought that
it was the end for our protagonist.
This brings us to the moment in question- the scene in which Narcissa Malfoy inspects
Harry’s ‘dead’ body.
“Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry’s face, pulled back an eyelid,
crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest and felt his heart.
He could hear the woman’s fast breathing, her long hair tickled his face.
He knew that she could feel the steady pounding of life against his ribs.
‘Is Draco alive?
Is he in the castle?’
The whisper was barely audible; her lips were an inch from his ear, her head bent so low
that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.
‘Yes,’ he breathed back.
He felt the hand on his chest contract; her nails pierced him.
Then it was withdrawn.
She had sat up.
‘He is dead!’
Narcissa Malfoy called to the watchers.
And now they shouted, now they yelled in triumph and stamped their feet, and through his eyelids
Harry saw bursts of red and silver light shoot into the air in celebration.
Still feigning death on the ground, he understood.
Narcissa knew that the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts, and find her
son, was as part of the conquering army.
She no longer cared whether Voldemort won.”
In this moment we witness Narcissa LIE to Voldemort and her fellow Death Eaters- a decision
which leads to a crucial turning point in the series.
Throughout Harry Potter Narcissa had been portrayed as a devoted follower of Voldemort,
and her husband, Lucius, was a high-ranking Death Eater.
But despite all of this, she decided to turn her back on her allies and lie.
Next I want to answer two things - WHY and HOW.
The much EASIER question to answer, and the one I’m going to tackle first, is the why.
Why would she risk lying to one of the darkest wizards of all time?
Put succinctly- it comes down to her maternal instincts and her desire to protect her son
Draco.
She knew that lying to Voldemort would be the only way she would be able to return to
the castle to search for Draco.
She lied in order to urge Voldemort back to the castle, fully-knowing that he wouldn't
be able to resist the opportunity to flaunt his success.
Though Narcissa was a devoted servant of the dark lord, her love for her family would always
come first, and lying to Voldemort was a risk that she was willing to take to protect her
son.
Draco had been used and abused by Voldemort- and was given a nearly suicidal role in the
war as a way of mocking the Malfoys, particularly Lucius, who had constantly let him down.
It’s likely that Narcissa resented Voldemort for that, and when she found out that Harry
was still alive she realized that there was a very good chance that the good guys would
prevail.
Her confidence in good prevailing over evil had increased, and she knew that lying was
the best chance that she would have to see her son before he was potentially killed for
his affiliation with the dark lord.
Narcissa lied to Voldemort about Harry Potter being dead in order to protect her family
and gain favor with the Dark Lord.
However, in doing so, she indirectly helped Harry and his allies to defeat Voldemort in
the final battle.
Next I want to discuss the HOW.
The main reason that I ask ‘HOW’ is because Voldemort is a Legilimens- a wizard that has
mastered the art of accessing people’s minds and reading their thoughts.
Provided that Voldemort is one of the most (if not THE most) impressive Legilimens in
the Wizarding World, it stands to reason that lying to Voldemort would be a futile endeavour.
Voldemort could almost always tell who was lying to him, and even knew what people were
thinking before they uttered a word.
There are only a few ways that Narcissa’s lie could have gotten past Voldemort.
The first possible explanation is that Narcissa is a skilled Occlumens, a witch or wizard
who is able to effectively close their mind off to ‘attacks’ from Legilimens.
There are many skilled Occlumens in the Harry Potter series, with Dumbledore and Snape being
strong examples.
Voldemort wouldn’t dare try to enter the mind of Dumbledore, and Snape was able to
deceive Voldemort for decades- all thanks to this ability.
But the likelihood that Narcissa was skilled ENOUGH in this particular ability seems..unlikely
somehow.
The next possible way that Narcissa would have been able to lie to Voldemort relates
to his sheer arrogance.
Despite being a powerful mastermind and magical prodigy, we see Voldemort make little mistakes
on a consistent basis throughout the series, and more often than not I would wager that
these mistakes relate to his megalomania and his deluded self-belief that he his SO powerful
that no one should ever be able to contest him.
More often than not his ego gets in the way of his success, and in this instance he was
probably so elated with the fact that he had defeated Harry, and so overconfident in his
powers, that he didn’t stop to properly consider whether or not Harry had truly died.
Another perfect example of this is that Voldemort truly believed no one would ever uncover the
truth about or find his Horcruxes.
If Voldemort had dropped his ego a bit, then I think that the Harry Potter ending would
have been a lot different.
The last possibility for HOW Narcissa effectively lied to Voldemort comes back once again to
the power of maternal love.
There seems to be a trend in the Harry Potter books and films with mothers protecting their
chi*ldren, as well as the powerful magic that seems to be generated as a product of this
love.
The first and best example is Lily Potter and her Sacrificial Protection, which we know
saved infant Harry, protected him for most of his life, and (temporarily) defeated Voldemort.
The next best example is Molly Weasley protecting Ginny from Bellatrix Lestrange.
Despite Bellatrix being one of the most powerful witches in the wizarding world, Molly was
able to summon the power to defeat her after her daughter is put in a life or death situation.
And if you’ve played or kept up to date on Hogwarts Legacy, then you’ll know that
these are both forms of ‘ancient magic’.
For a deep dive on Ancient Magic you’re going to have to watch my video ‘History
of Ancient Magic’, but for now- let me briefly summarize:
The term ‘ancient magic’ refers to powerful, complex spells and rituals that have been
passed down through wizarding history for thousands of years.
Obscure but incredibly mighty magic that is shrouded in mystery and has dissipated over
the course of time.
In fact, by the time Harry Potter was born, Ancient Magic was extremely uncommon.
The only known examples of this magic in the wizarding world stem from maternal love, and
I’m of the impression that Narcissa Malfoy may have ALSO exercised some form of Ancient
Magic when Lying to Voldemort.
Ancient Magic would explain HOW a powerful Legilimens like Voldemort would have been
tricked so easily by Narcissa’s lie, and it makes perfect sense if we consider the
context and the role that maternal love plays in Harry Potter.
In fact, JK Rowling herself has commented on this segment, explaining that this moment
was designed to emphasize the power of maternal love.
What do you guys think?
How did Narcissa Lie to Voldemort?
What theory checks out to you?
Please leave a comment down below.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live