Author's Note: There really is an idea known as the Balance Theory, as proposed by Fritz Heider. Heider's theory has to deal with maintaining one's feelings and beliefs. The Balance Theory in this story, however, is not to be confused with Heider's theory.
Additional Author's Note: I am not an expert on philosophy, but for some reason I can picture a young Lucius being very interested in that subject. Lucius is almost seven in this story.
Additional Author's Note: In my headcanon, Voldemort and Abraxas have been allies since before Lucius was born, so Voldemort was a common "dinner guest" while Lucius was growing up.
From an early age Lucius was very interested in philosophy. It gave him something to think about whenever his father locked him in his room and later in the dungeons as punishment for not being the perfect Pureblood son and heir.
For Lucius, the most interesting philosophical theory was the Balance Theory, the idea that everything had something to balance it out.
Out of all the theories that Lucius thought about, he definitely gave the most thought to the Balance Theory, and he tried to apply it to everything around him.
One night over dinner Abraxas Malfoy was once again complaining about the Weasleys.
"All of them are disgraces to us proper Purebloods," Abraxas said angrily. "Muggles live better than they do."
Lucius just nodded his head. He knew better than to try to disagree with his father on anything.
However, Lucius had not failed to notice something significant every time his father had taken him to the Weasley house to confront Septimus Weasley over some disgraceful matter.
Arthur Weasley and his two brothers always appeared to be so happy with what little they had. They were always playing out in the front yard and laughing. To put simply, they were always acting like children.
Lucius didn't truly understand what it meant to be a child. He could see how to do it from Arthur Weasley and his brothers, but for some reason he couldn't imitate it.
"Why are you being so silent, Lucius?" Abraxas suddenly asked. "The Weasleys should be making you angry as well."
The Weasleys did make Lucius angry. Arthur Weasley in particular made Lucius angry. Lucius had hated the other boy from the first time they had met, when Arthur had defended one of his brothers even after he had insulted Lucius. True, Lucius had broken that insolent boy's nose when he had hit him in the face with the ball that the three Weasley brothers had been playing with. However, Lucius had done that only after that boy had insulted him.
There was something, though, about Arthur Weasley and his two brothers that could not be denied.
"Yes, the Weasleys do make me angry, Father," Lucius spoke, "but what really makes me angry is how the children always appear to be so happy."
Abraxas gave his young son such a look of outrage that Lucius braced himself for either a curse or a physical blow.
To Lucius's surprise and relief, though, his father did neither of those things.
"The Weasleys are not happy, Lucius," Abraxas snarled. "They are ignorant. They are so poor and so pathetic that they aren't able to realize what they are missing in life. If they actually had some ambition and motivation, they would realize that their lives are all so meaningless. Happiness, as you call it, is nothing more than an illusion. Power and influence is all that matters."
Lucius thought about his father's words. Then, he thought about the Balance Theory.
"So," the young boy drawled, "if you want to be successful in life, you have to be miserable."
If Lucius had not been so worried about being punished, he would have laughed at the expression on his father's face.
"Look around you, Lucius," Abraxas breathed dangerously. "You are surrounded by wealth and privilege. This grand table. The food on this table. Your huge, comfortable bed with all its nice pillows. House-elves at your instant command. You are surrounded by endless opportunities. You have access to books that the Weasleys could not even dream about. How dare you say straight to my face that you are miserable."
Lucius decided that it would not be wise to comment on the bruises that covered his arms. His father would probably just make a comment about the fine quality of the expensive robes covering those bruised arms.
It was clear to the young boy that pain balanced out success, but as was the case with his bruised arms, he knew better than to say that out loud. It was never wise to push his luck too much.
It was not uncommon for the Dark Lord to join the two Malfoys for dinner, and during one dinner the Dark Lord and Abraxas were discussing the importance of going on Muggle raids.
"It's the only way to get rid of the filth before they overpopulate us," the Dark Lord remarked.
"But what if their huger numbers are meant to balance out the power that we have?" Lucius asked before fully thinking about what he was saying.
Both the Dark Lord and Abraxas whipped their heads violently in the young boy's direction.
"Besides," Lucius continued nervously, "if the Muggle population is too huge, wouldn't nature ensure that it's eventually balanced out?"
"Forgive him, my lord," Abraxas spoke. "Lucius has been into the Balance Theory lately. He likes to apply it to everything. It's utter nonsense, of course. I don't know why that theory was included in an otherwise exceptional philosophy book. The Balance Theory is clearly the idea of a Mudblood or a Half-Blood."
Lucius frowned to himself. He had done research on the philosopher behind the Balance Theory, and there was no doubt that the man had been a Pureblood.
The young boy, however, chose to keep this information to himself.
"Any theory can be nonsense based on how you interpret it," the Dark Lord said to Abraxas, much to Lucius's surprise. The young boy had been expecting the Dark Lord to be angry at him as well.
Lucius had always thought of the Dark Lord and his father as being the same, but maybe they weren't. Maybe they balanced each other out in their own unique way.
The Dark Lord then turned to Lucius. "That is one way to look at it, Lucius, but it's not the correct way. Sometimes nature needs to be balanced out as well."
Lucius thought about the Dark Lord's words for a moment before saying, "So, sometimes we need to take action to balance out inaction. Sometimes when nature isn't doing its job fast enough, we need to take action to help it out."
"Exactly," the Dark Lord smiled. It was not a pleasant sight. The Dark Lord's smile never was.
A smile was supposed to be a pleasant thing. However, even pleasure and good things in life needed to be balanced out sometimes, and the Dark Lord was clearly up to doing that task.
"But doesn't action sometimes need to be balanced with inaction as well?" Lucius couldn't help but ask. "How do we make sure we don't put the world out of balance by acting when we should actually be allowing nature to do its part?"
The young boy knew that he was pushing his luck, but he had always been too curious for his own good (at least according to his father). Besides, the Dark Lord appeared to be in a good mood tonight; and if the Balance Theory was taken into consideration, the Dark Lord's anger needed to sometimes be balanced out by patience and understanding.
"Lucius," Abraxas breathed in a soft but deadly voice.
"It's all right, Abraxas," the Dark Lord spoke. "I spend most of my time around idiots, so I always appreciate it when I get to be around someone who actually wants to use their brain."
The Dark Lord then directed his attention back to Lucius. "But beware, Lucius, sometimes your brain needs to be balanced out as well. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
"Yes, my lord," Lucius answered.
Sometimes thinking needed to be balanced out with not thinking.
Everything in life, both the good and the bad, needed to be balanced out from time to time; because the opposite to balance was chaos, and Lucius didn't want to live in a world full of chaos. No, he preferred control or at the very least controlled chaos.
Yes, controlled chaos. Now that was a perfect example of the Balance Theory in action.
Author's Note: Lucius's and Arthur's first meeting in my headcanon is told in more detail in one of my other stories, "Ghost Boy."