Author's Note: A drabble on the type of role I think Lucius played during the First Wizarding War because it's time I wrote a little something on just how evil and twisted Lucius can be.
Contrary to popular belief, not all Death Eaters are the same. They are not just many bodies sharing one mind. They all believe in blood purity, of course, but there are differences in their personalities. They are individuals.
Bellatrix, for instance, would not understand the meaning of words such as "subtlety" and "planning" if they were to hit her upside down on the head.
Lucius, on the other hand, took great value in such words. They were some of the top words in his personal dictionary.
While Bellatrix was known to be reckless and to rush into things without thinking, Lucius was of a more calculated mind. Not that he didn't sometimes allow his anger to control him, because he was not immune to anger. Sometimes, Lucius would just snap and do something that he would not have normally done if he had been thinking straight.
But overall, Lucius was very calculated and cautious in his actions. He liked to map things out in his mind before he acted.
And despite the fact that Lucius could sometimes be short-tempered, he did understand the meaning of the word "patience." He could wait for hours to attack an enemy.
Lucius was like a shadow. You didn't see him until it was too late. And for some of his victims, they didn't even have enough time to know that they were dying before they were dead. Lucius could be completely motionless for hours. But as soon as it was the right time for him to make his move, there were few quicker. Lucius was a true serpent, subtle and poisonous to his very core, ready to strike without any warning from the shadows.
Many of the Death Eaters, such as the Lestranges, enjoyed using the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse on a regular basis. Lucius used those curses as well, of course. He was, after all, a part of Voldemort's inner-circle; and everyone who was in the inner-circle were expected to use all of the Unforgivable Curses. Lucius, however, preferred to use the Imperius Curse whenever he could.
Not that Lucius minded getting his hands dirty if absolutely necessary, because blood was not an unappealing sight or smell to him, but there was just something intoxicating about taking total control of someone else's mind and forcing them to do your dirty work. Along with subtlety, planning, and patience, Lucius also greatly valued control. He had never had much control over his life, so it was always nice when he was in charge for once.
Lucius also valued words. He didn't like to play games when it came to killing an enemy or hexing them in warning as he preferred to get straight to the point in such matters, but he did like to play political games. The people around him were so simple-minded and completely idiotic. They were fools. It was so easy to manipulate them. Manipulation, of course, was another form of control; and control (as mentioned above) was everything to Lucius.
Well-placed curses and well-spoken words weren't Lucius's only tools. He was also a Potioneer in his own right. He would never be a professor, of course. Teaching was beneath an aristocrat like himself. But Lucius still enjoyed brewing potions, and he definitely did his share of experimenting.
Lucius's specialty in potions, though, were poisons. And what truly made his poisons dangerous was the fact that they were rarely seen as poisonous. Lucius's poisons could make it appear as if a person had died by accident or by natural causes. No one had any reason to suspect that the person may have been poisoned because they just didn't have the typical symptoms of a poison victim.
Subtlety, as mentioned before, was greatly valued by Lucius; and there were few as subtle as him. And it certainly didn't hurt that he could cast a very marvelous Disillusionment Charm. Lucius was a master at operating from the shadows, hidden and unseen until it was far too late.
Lucius was a true serpent, subtle and poisonous to his very core, ready to strike without any warning from the shadows.