InsaneJournal

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Rodolphus Lestrange was a good and honourable man and was driven by his loyalty and the values of family and duty. This following passage will tell you much about those values but will not begin to scratch the surface of the man we are honouring today.

Expressing what we feel about someone who stands as the pillar of wisdom and strength in a family and a cause is difficult to do. We admired Rodophus as a brother, as a father, and as a son. For his family, friends and those around him, we received inspiration and education. Rodolphus gave us strength in the time of trouble, wisdom in a time of uncertainty and support whenever we needed it, even if we were hesitant to ask for it. His belief and hope in life for the world transcends his body and death. He will always be by our side.

Care is not an easy feeling to put into words. Neither is loyalty or trust or pride and he was all of them. He lived his life faithfully and intensely. Rodolphus was my brother, although born in a different generation, and recently it was more difficult to separate him from his position as a leader and a mentor, but he never confused the two and managed to make the distinction between his family time and his work. He was staunch in his family values, and if you spent any time around him you couldn't help but know how much his family meant to him. He wasn't afraid of telling you how it was supposed to be and how he wanted them.

He lived his life by those values and for a cause he rightly believed in. Loyalty and pride were among his most prized attributes. He disliked those who wavered and would not tolerate those who were unworthy, expecting only the best from those he affiliated with.

That is the way he lived. That is what he leaves us.

My brother does not need to be idealised or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life - I don't know how anyone could not remember his size - to be remembered as decent man and strong leader, who saw wrong and tried to right it, fought for his cause and was shamed for it, saw war and tried to contain it.

Those of us who were counted among his favoured, and who take him to rest today, hope and believe that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass in the world.

It's difficult to know where to begin when trying to sum up the man that was Rodolphus Lestrange, and what he meant to all of us. He saw both our family and our cause through some of the darkest moments imaginable. Rodolphus was the most deeply devoted person I have ever had the pleasure to meet, and even more blessed to have been his little sister.

Of course, we were all little compared to Rodolphus, weren't we? He was even taller than our father. But... But for all that we talk about how great he was, in height and ability and as a wizard, he never made me feel as though I was less than him. He never talked down to me. Rodolphus could see potential in those who never would have seen it in themselves without his guidance. I feel like-

I feel like it's because of Rodolphus that I am the person I am today. We have been tried as a society, time and time again, and there have been events that I do not believe I would have made it through without my brother- my brother and one of my best friends by my side. And now with him gone, it's hard to figure out how exactly to keep going. Where are we supposed to go from here?

I don't know the answer to that question. I do know, however, that he would not want his death to be in vain, or for us to stray from the cause because he is not here anymore to guide us. Through his leadership he has helped create new leaders, and through his legacy and faith we will make it through this. I can think of nothing that would honour him more.

If I could -- if... Thank you.

My father was a man of few words so I will honour him with brevity.

For much of my life I knew him only through correspondence, but I do not think that hindered the impact he had on my character. It is the same for many of you. You may not have known him well, but you learned from his example that there is knowledge to be found in books, honour to be found in loyalty, and peace to be found in a glass of wine.

I know no other man who will be so greatly missed. Remember him, and his lessons, and his legacy will live on.

Thank you.

My husband was a great man. A pillar of our great society whose legacy will live on long past each of us. But I will not stand before you and list his many accomplishments. I will not stand here and bewail his death. Out of all that he was, there was only one thing that truly mattered. Above all else, Rodolphus Lestrange was a faithful and loyal servant of the Dark Lord. He devoted his life, he gave his life to the cause which we all serve. To the values that we have all pledged to uphold. There was nothing he valued more in his life. And he would not wish for his death to be the reason for any one of us to falter.

Already it is being asked how this could have been allowed to happen. Those who are responsible for his death would have you question why the Dark Lord would allow one of his greatest servants to be struck down. They would dare to use his death to shake at your faith. Your convictions.

It is not our place to question the will of our Lord.

Rodolphus's death is a great loss. His guidance, his leadership, his very presence will be missed. But his death must not be allowed to become a senseless one. The void that he has left behind must be filled. The fight for which he gave his life must be continued to its very end. Those that oppose us, that would destroy all that we stand for must be crushed. They would have us weakened by this blow, but we must rise from this stronger than ever before. It is nothing less than Rodolphus would have demanded of all of us. To remain strong. Unyielding in our faith and determination. For the absolute conviction that he held to be our own. For his strength and unwavering sense of purpose to continue on through us.

Rodolphus's death will be the very thing that leads us to victory. His sacrifice will not be in vain. Vengeance will be had, not just upon the heads of his killers, but upon every last one who dares to stand against us.

We have had our time to mourn. Now it is time to turn our grief into resolve. It is time to end this.

I do not believe that there is one among us who can say we did not learn from Rodolphus Lestrange, whether by his words - however few they may have been - or by his actions. His was a keen intellect and I believe it is only fitting to honour his mind with a reading from one of the many books that he so prized.

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I, Rodolphus Adric Lestrange, do hereby bequeath everything I own to Corbina Avara Lestrange for her to distribute as she sees fit.

Signed and dated, February 24, 1969.

Addendum to the last will and testament of Rodolphus Lestrange. Aeneas Nott gets the wine. Graley Rosier is not allowed to touch it.

Signed and dated, September 2, 1970.