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I can't see Arthur killing Lucius - or at least, I can't see him killing Lucius and being able to live with himself afterwards. From what Arthur says about the first war in GoF, his memories of the time are filled with fear, violence and hatred, and he's fighting for the good side so that his kids don't have to live through that. Why, then, would he intentionally kill someone, knowing what kind of emotional and mental impact violence - especially intentional violence - can have on someone? Why would he as a father wish that knowledge on his kids?

Aha! She agrees. ^^ I win.

I can see him punishing Lucius severely in front of Voldemort, but not killing him quite yet. Perhaps using him to get Draco to come out of hiding. Draco would bring Severus, naturally. (woah, there's an interesting pairing there...) Anyways, then Voldie can kill those two, who are all traitor-y. Then kill Lucius, now that he's served his purpose.

And this all concludes to my theory that Lucius will die. XD

Well, say Lucius... I don't know... killed Percy. I think that in such a case, Arthur might honestly want for him to die. But in most cases, yes, I think you're right.

As for Lucius dying in the first place: I see no reason for it to happen, except in the case of 'Harry wins, Voldemort and all the Death Eaters die.'. And even then, Lucius might be slippery enough to avoid it.

I was just pointing out that, if Voldie were to kill him, that's how it should be done.

But I don't know if I agree with the idea that Voldemort wouldn't kill someone to make a point. The text suggests that he is willing to Crucio his followers to make a point. This is simply... a bigger point. And while Lucius used to be useful, with money and power, how much of that does he still have? He was put into Azkaban, that must have hurt his standing with Ministry officials, and whose to say that some of his wealth was not seized by them at the same time?

Yes, but I also think it can be a Slytherin thing, too. 'Use any means to acheive their ends' and all. But Gryffindors, no offense, aren't generally as sly and charismatic, and thus might have to resort to killing, not being able to make a point through threats or other subtle things.



I agree, but I fail to see ho killing Lucius would help him get closer to Harry.



Dementor's Kiss, more likely.

The Malfoys are an old family, and I'm guessing they haven't survived this long by crumbling when faced with a particularly nasty skeleton in the closet. If the good guys win this war, and especially if Draco turns to the good side and helps out (which might happen), the Malfoy name would be restored.

As for the money - remember, Narcissa was a Black, and they're very rich, and the Malfoys were well-off enough to make all those donations, live in a nice (inherited) manor house with a house elf and so on. I'm sure they've still got plenty of gold left.

Making a point by killing someone isn't the same as making a point by torturing them. When you torture someone, you're demonstrating the fact that their well-being - indeed, their life - is in your hands. It's a violent but still subtle method of bringing a point home because you leave the victim alive, reminding them that you could have ended their life, but chose not to. Once you kill someone, however, you lose that hold over them, and with it you lose the power you gained when you controlled their fate. It's not subtle or complex at all - it's a brute force demonstration, pure and simple, and very different from torture, which is a demonstration of an entirely different kind.

Finally, I think the Dementor's Kiss is pretty unlikely, as the good guys (the Order and the Trio) don't agree with the Ministry's former affiliation with the Death Eaters, and given that they're going to be the ones who eventually defeat Voldemort, they're going to have a pretty big influence over Ministry decisions for a very long time to come, just like Dumbledore, the man who defeated Grindelwald and stood up to Voldemort, use to have. But I still don't see Lucius dying. I see him not being able to get out of punishment this time - the Imperius alibi won't keep him out of jail second time around - but I don't see a death sentence happening at all. Azkaban? Yes. Capital punishment? Highly unlikely.