Neither option was a guarantee of complete safety and security. Outliers and associates of the Death Eaters were punished just as frequently as members of the Inner Circle. It was long whispered amongst the higher level of Death Eaters that the Malfoys would never again retain the same level of influence they enjoyed before their betrayal in the last war. Narcissa was left alive by the Dark Lord even after she lied about Harry Potter being dead in the Forbidden Forest, but only for an example of how far a respected family could fall. Lucius was still a member of the Inner Circle. His ranking, however, was quite low. Even cowardly Peter Pettigrew would have outranked him if he had managed to survive.