I spend a lot of time sitting in this chair. It gives the best view of the estate; the small part they left us after we had paid our reparations. My family have been looking on this property for over one thousand years, and the greater landscape in which it is set for even longer.

The histories will tell you we arrived with William when he came to claim the throne that was his by right, but that is not strictly true. We came back with William, returning to an island Seutonius had driven us from a millennium previously, almost to the year. Then the name was Maolfawr - Great Servant. It is only coincidence that adapting it to something vaguely Gallo-Romance gave us a name that means "Bad faith" - Malfoy .

We have always been servants; that is why we have survived for so long. None of my ancestors have ever been Minister for Magic, nor did they ever seek the role. With power comes responsibility, and the ability to fail. The Gaunts and the Peverils all sought power and their names are now only found in the histories. The Malfoys are still here. We do not covet leadership but build our fortunes - and fortune - by supporting those who will rise to the top. That support must, by necessity, be based on expediency. Royal houses come and go, politics changes, even religion is not immune.

Today we use "putting ones head on the block" to mean doing something that may involve an element of risk to one's reputation. For many of my ancestors, making a wrong choice in whom to follow would have led to a real block with an executioner standing beside it. We have always served those who look most likely to win, at any given point in time but have also made deals, bent with the wind and swapped horses on many occasions. We have survived.

Whilst our fortunes may rise and fall with time the essence of our being remains; our roots fixed deep in the ground. We, and the people like us, are the bedrock on which this society is based. That is what the Weasleys and their ilk cannot understand. They believe that a society is simply a group of people making up the rules as they go along, and changing those rules to suit whatever is fashionable at the moment. They do not understand the nature of the bloodline. To them there is no difference between the thoroughbred and the nag, the pedigree and the mongrel.

The thoroughbred will win a race because it has been bred with care, to best fit the place it will have in life. The nag is also bred to fit its place, of course, but nobody of any intelligence would attempt to make them swap roles. We hold the traditions in place. We maintain the purity of our stock against the invaders who would weaken us. Yes, I am talking about the muggles and half-bloods, although I have no doubt those words will soon be banned in our bright new future where everybody is equal and the parvenu has the same status as the pureblood.

I do not hate muggles, particularly, any more than I hate a fox. However, if a fox were threatening the livestock then I would not stand idly by. We, as wizards, are powerful people but few in number. In a war of attrition against muggles they could lose thousands to our one and still triumph. Our only hope for survival is isolation. The Statute of Secrecy, though initially opposed by my family, has been the saving of us all and yet every year we allow the very people it was designed to protect us from to enter our homes and schools. They have no knowledge of our history; our real history. They have no loyalty to our society. They have been fed stories of wise women or evil doers which they confuse with their religions, and they would have us burnt at the stake. The muggle-born witch or wizard is the greatest threat to our existence. Just a few renegades abusing the education we give them and the secrets we reveal to them could destroy us and that was why I, and others like me, supported the Dark Lord.

He was the best hope we had to preserve both society and ourselves. We knew his history was long, on one side, and largely chose to ignore the other. In some ways it was even seen as an advantage to us because he knew the sort of people we were dealing with. Even though his wish was to dominate both worlds that was not important to most of his followers. We required no more than the preservation of our purity, our society. That was the first aim and the means justified the end. We stood and watched as he brought in the werewolves and giants because they were useful to us in the primary objective of cleansing our world.

Once that had been achieved I believe that he would not have lasted for too long, and his mercenaries would have been removed along with him. The Dark Lord was the best hope to win the war but others, of purer blood than he, would have been needed to rule the peace and plans were in hand to achieve that. The Malfoys, obviously, would have been on hand to serve, as we have always done.

I often wonder what my happily missed sister-in law Bellatrix would have made of a post-war world if we had prevailed. I suspect she would have died defending her Master, as she always did have a rather Saxon view of loyalty. Unlike her I chose not to fight battles that had already been lost. When the Dark Lord was originally overcome, dead for all we knew, she chose to go out in a pointless blaze of glory and spent fifteen years in Azkaban for her troubles. A martyr in her own mind, yet stupid in her actions. Had he not returned she would have died in that prison and achieved nothing.

I chose survival. It was easy enough to feign compulsion in my actions and my vault was deep enough for me to show the sincerity of my atonement. Crucially, it ensured my liberty in order that I could raise my son properly, as a Malfoy should be raised. Of course, if things had gone badly the job could have been entrusted to Narcissa. She has proved herself to be a true and loyal wife, worthy of my name. She realises that we are custodians, not owners, and that our role is to preserve the line and in that she has performed her duty faithfully. Indeed, were we to indulge in such fancies I might even admit to loving her. Suffice to say I realise my parents made an excellent choice for me.

It made little difference to me that the Dark Lord had gone. It is true I felt some regret that I had not been able to witness pureblood triumph but what is now referred to as the first Voldemort war energised our people. It would only be a matter of time before a new leader arose, and time is something my family has plenty of. I look at my family tree stretching in to the past and know that we shall have a future as long or even longer. I at that stage had secured the line and we could wait, for generations if necessary, for a new leader to arrive.

His eventual return came as a surprise to me, albeit a pleasant one; perhaps I would see ultimate victory in my lifetime after all. It was no more difficult to persuade him of my loyalty that than it had been Cornelius Fudge. All leaders are essentially the same in that they seek fidelity but do not question it too deeply; a simple act of obedience normally suffices.

I returned to serving my original master, and performed his will. There are times when even the most careful person has to take risks, and I did so. It almost went wrong on several occasions, but that was of no particular importance providing my son was kept safe as he approached manhood. If my death had secured his place amongst the elite then it would not have been in vain.

So another battle loomed and it must be said that I had allowed my position of influence to wane. My capture at the Ministry of Magic several years earlier had not been taken well and then Draco's failure to complete the task he had been set further lowered our standing.

By the time we assembled at Hogwarts I had lost all credibility with the Dark Lord. It might have destroyed a lesser man, but I could draw strength once more on the antiquity of my family. It has happened in the past and will no doubt happen again as the wheel of fortune turns. In history the individual is nothing. I am but a link in a chain that must remain unbroken. My real role has always been to produce an heir and maintain the family assets as intact as possible. Therefore it was paramount that one of us had to survive or else all would have been ruined. However, as the situation developed Draco became more involved than I had planned. That was unfortunate for it exposed us both and I had not allowed for my son's demise rather than my own.

Even that situation, had it occurred, would not have been irrecoverable; although it would have led to a certain amount of inconvenience. Narcissa is no longer capable of bearing a child and so it would have necessitated replacing her in order that a new heir could be produced; the Malfoys have always believed in moral rectitude and legitimised their births. I would have regretted that. As I have said she is an exemplary spouse, but she would have understood and stepped aside and I would have made a suitable settlement on her, obviously.

I expected to die, more likely at the Dark Lord's hand as he had become completely unstable by that stage; his father's genes no doubt. Narcissa and I therefore concentrated on finding Draco and keeping him safe. I have to say her subterfuge in getting us to the castle filled me with admiration. My own mother had never been faced with such a situation but I have no doubt she would have reacted in the same way to save me. The capacity of a woman to do her duty should not be underestimated and Draco did survive to continue the line.

I spend a lot of time sitting in this chair looking on the land that has belonged to us for over one thousand years. Through the window I can see my son walking in the garden with my grandson. Draco has fulfilled his role and provided a new generation.

Scorpius is young yet and so has much to learn. That will be my role as his grandfather. I will teach him that we have a long history, and he is required to secure our future. I will teach him that our fortunes are low at the moment but they have been low in the past and we have prevailed and will prevail again. I will teach him the true meaning of carrying the surname Malfoy.

I will teach him that, one day, during some future generation, a new leader will arise to lead purebloods to their true destiny. I will teach him that the Great Servants must be ready to do their duty.

AN

"William" is William the Conqueror - or Guillaume de Normandie, or William the bastard; take your pick. You can also choose if he invaded and conquered England in AD 1066, or came to claim the throne he had been promised.

"Seutonius" is Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, Roman governor of Britain who defeated the Druids in AD 61.