Blazing Sun Overhead

Wizards drinking in The Leaky Cauldron often said, "You'll never see a member of the Malfoy family at a crime scene, even if the murder weapon is covered in their fingerprints."

Lucius Malfoy thought that saying was utterly illogical. They would never leave behind a wand covered in fingerprints. If the Aurors handling the case were clever enough, perhaps they could find Galleons covered in fingerprints on the murderer or in his home.

But what would that prove?

Most of the Galleons in England had passed through the Malfoy family vaults, and most Ministry of Magic officials possessed Galleons covered in Malfoy fingerprints.

Ever since their ancestor Armand Malfoy came to England, gained the trust of King William I, and used the land granted by the King to establish the Wiltshire manor, Malfoy descendants had lived there for a full ten centuries. Malfoy wealth had always influenced the wizards of this land.

For a long time, the Malfoy family straddled both Muggles and wizards. They sold the idea of pure-blood supremacy to pure-blood wizards while displaying the mysteries of magic to Muggles. By exerting influence over the powerful on both sides, they continuously drew in wealth and power, steadily annexed the surrounding Muggle lands, expanded their vast estate, and successfully entered the Muggle currency and asset markets, becoming one of Britain's wealthiest wizarding families. A hereditary title had nearly been within reach, and one Malfoy had once almost married into the family of Elizabeth I, though it ultimately failed.

During the consultation stage for the "Preliminary Proposal for the Statute of Secrecy," the Malfoy family voiced fierce opposition. After all, their family tree contained quite a few half-bloods, including a Muggle-born who had achieved what could only be called brilliant success in Muggle society.

But when the International Confederation of