The Harry Potter movies made various changes to the books to better fit this format, and while some of them made sense and even benefited the characters, others, like Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs) possibly trying to kill Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), don’t make sense. The Harry Potter movies mostly stayed loyal to the books, which further helped them succeed with fans of the novels, but it was expected that some characters, scenes, and storylines would be either changed or entirely omitted. Even after all these years since the saga ended, there are some changes that fans haven’t forgiven or forgotten.

Changes like Dumbledore yelling at Harry in Goblet of Fire and the total absence of Hogwarts’ poltergeist, Peeves, are some of the changes fans have been very critical of, but most of them were ultimately harmless. Other changes, however, fall more into “nonsensical” territory and don’t serve any purpose in the movie. Such is the case of one seemingly unimportant change in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets involving the young wizard and Draco’s father, Lucius, who apparently, was going to try to kill Harry despite all the risks and chaos that would have brought.

Lucius Malfoy Begins To Use The Killing Curse On Harry Potter In Chamber Of Secrets

Yes, He Said The First Part Of The Spell

Lucius Malfoy made his first appearance in the Harry Potter movies in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second installment of the saga. Lucius is the wealthy pure-blood head of the Malfoy family and who has close connections at the Ministry of Magic. Lucius despises those he calls “mudbloods” and families below his on the financial pyramid, such as the Weasleys. Lucius was also a Death Eater, and as such, he also had a strong dislike for Harry, who he finally met in Chamber of Secrets.

At the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry tricks Lucius into unintentionally freeing Dobby, which obviously angers the Malfoy patriarch. As Dobby stands between them, ready to defend Harry, Lucius angrily approaches the young wizard, with his wand in hand. Lucius says “Avada…” before Dobby attacks him to protect Harry, after which Lucius leaves after threatening Harry again. This, however, doesn’t come from the book, which makes it a very questionable addition to the movie, given the consequences of not just using the Killing Curse but killing Harry Potter.

Was Lucius Malfoy Really Going To Try Killing Harry Potter?

Lucius Malfoy Wasn’t Really Thinking Straight At That Moment

As this isn’t a scene from the Chamber of Secrets novel, Lucius Malfoy definitely wasn’t going to try to kill Harry Potter – and even within the context of the movie, he surely wasn’t going to, either. It’s rumored (though without a trustworthy source to back it up) that Jason Isaacs improvised the “Avada…” line as the script only called for Lucius to begin to say a spell or curse, without specifying one. Isaacs, perhaps too into his villainous character, went for the Killing Curse, even if it didn’t make sense.

First off, the Killing Curse is one of the three Unforgivable Curses outlawed in the wizarding world. As the name says, the Killing Curse, when successfully cast on a living person or creature, causes instant death without injury. As such, the penalty for using the Killing Curse is life imprisonment in Azkaban, and that’s something Lucius surely wasn’t going to risk. In addition to that, Lucius would have been killing a 12-year-old kid on school grounds and right outside Dumbledore’s office, which would have had even bigger consequences.

Lucius was also a loyal follower of Voldemort at the time, so killing his master’s biggest enemy might not have been the best idea back then, despite not knowing that the Dark Lord was already looking for a way to return. If Lucius’ “Avada…” moment in Chamber of Secrets was an improv moment by Jason Isaacs, it raises the question of why no one told him to change it, as it made no sense to try to kill Harry Potter, and if it wasn’t, it raises even more questions about what the writers were thinking.