InsaneJournal

2 August 1980
The letter is written in French on paper that was pre-charmed to translate the writing into English as it is read.

My beloved niece,

How unfortunate the turns of life that any of us should feel the need to write letters in the event of our passage from this world into the next. I was loathe to begin writing such letters myself, but following the destruction of our manor by fire and with my increasing ill health, I know that they are a grim necessity in times such as these. I hope that you will never have a need for such letters yourself and that this letter finds you safe and happy, not fearing for your life or the life of your daughter.

One of the greatest gifts I could ever have received from my husband was the gift of having you for a niece. In a society that prizes vanity, gossip and cattiness, you are an example of the grace and beauty that should be inherent in all of us. If ever a woman in our society, old or young, should ask herself, "How shall I behave, as a woman of my station?" she should be answered, "Simply look to Lucinda Greengrass and observe her behavior. See how she carries herself with dignity and elegance, and try to imitate her in demeanor and decorum." Your daughter will be a credit to you and to us all; you are truly an example of the best that can come of pure marriages and the society we work so hard to preserve and protect. You should be proud of yourself.

Many women have the good fortune of having amenable nieces, but I believe that I am unique in that I have such a wonderful niece whom I can also call my friend. In a time when it is increasingly difficult to find one who is trustworthy, I have discovered that I can trust you entirely. You are wise beyond your years and understand things that evade even the most experienced in our ranks. Truly, I am proud not only to call you my friend, but to claim you as kin. It is a better thing than all the wealth and beauty in the world to claim relation to you.

I have named you executor of my will and guardian of my children, if something should happen to Aeneas. All of the necessary documents are enclosed in this letter, as is the contact information for my legal counsel, as they can be quite confusing, even to someone of your excellent intelligence (!).

And now, my beloved niece, I must bid you good-bye. Mourn for me, but do not mourn long; instead, live your life and be happy, as that is all I could wish for you.

All my love,
Claudette

Dearest Narcissa,

It gives me pain like no other that we live in a world in which letters such as these must be written. I know that sentimentalities like this would typically seem pedestrian, but in the light of our current world, I cannot help that writing such letters holds some deep importance and, either way, there are things I have long wished you to know but could not bring myself to say, both due to vanity and due to my own insecurities.

From the time I arrived in England, I have both greatly admired and envied you. From the start, your beauty and grace reminded me so greatly of the girls with whom I shared a room at Beauxbatons, who saw me as nothing but a plain and dour piece of scenery in their otherwise quite glamorous dormitory and, I confess, I did nothing to change the image of myself they painted. How I longed to be like them and to be liked by them, and such was my longing when I met you. I feel fortuante that English society differs so from French society, and that here, friendships--even difficult ones--can be forged despite the great obstacles that may stand in their way.

I have always wished that we could have had a deeper and more meaningful friendship, and truly, it did make me entirely happy when we were at our best with each other, instead of snapping and swiping at each other like a pair of ornery cats. You certainly are a credit to our society, and no matter what happens in the coming months or years, I know that you will continue to exemplify the very best of what the magical world can produce with proper lineage. You should be proud of yourself, of your husband, and of your beautiful son.

I hope that life brings you happiness and bliss, no matter how the world changes, and that you and your child will see a bright future, no matter how dark the darkest night. I wish you well, my friend.

Best,
Claudette

My dearest friend, my wonderful Chloris,

It was my highest hope that we would be reunited soon in life, that the injustice done against you would be undone and that we would see each other again freely, but if you are reading this letter, it has not come to pass, and I am sorry to bear the wretched news that I have passed from this world into the next. The thought of passing on without saying good-bye to you properly breaks my heart, but some things cannot be helped, I know. Understand this: that I wish with all of my heart that we had seen each other one last time, for outside of my family, you are the dearest person to me in this entire world.

When we met, I had not known it was possible to have such a close friend in another woman, for all of the girls and women I knew looked upon me with either scorn or pity, never with a genuine desire to be my friend. I was horribly lonely, but then you came into my life with the vivacity and charm that I came to associate with England and summertime, and you became my friend, my dearest friend, my only friend. Even though we lived far apart when the summertime ended, I knew that yours was a friendship that I would cherish as long as I lived, and so I have. We have so many memories together, and it has always been a comfort to me to know that despite the wretchedness of some of the company we keep, I could always call you my ally, and more than my ally, my friend.

No matter what is said of you in the circles of society, know that you are quite possibly the wisest in that pit of vipers and the shrewdest of them all. You understand the workings of life better than most of them combined, and that is saying a great deal. Even if this war has gone badly for us, your contributions to wizarding heritage and culture will be remembered long after the last of us are gone and dead, and they are an absolute credit to your name.

I wish that I was braver, stronger, more influential, that I could have freed you when I had the chance. Now I can only hope that you will find a way to free yourself and live your life as it should be lived, to raise your children and see them grow up to make you proud, as I know that they will. Your sons and your daughters will all grow up to do the Burke name, and the wizarding world at large, proud and bring you great joy.

I have enclosed for you my journal, for you are the only one I would wish to read everything in it, and I hope that it can serve as an acceptable substitute for me, as I have gone. I have changed the privacy wards so that you may read everything I have written in here that was warded private previously, and I hope that you will take comfort in my words.

Now, my dearest, my beloved friend, we must say good-bye, but do not miss me too much. You know that I am always with you...always in your heart.

Love always,
Claudette

My beloved Husband, my dear friend,

It is strange for me to think that I have known you less than half of my life. Imagine! These golden years we have enjoyed are less than half of the years I have known, and yet they were rich enough that they wholly encompassed the time that came before them. Still, I believe firmly that a thousand years as your wife would not have been enough, and I wish that we could have an eternity together. Perhaps we can, someday, but for now, I am sad to say that I must leave you and say good-bye. I do not claim to know what, if anything, follows this life, but you must know that if there is anything, I am waiting there for you, and if I can, I am watching you until you join me.

I hope that I have been as good a wife to you as you have been a husband to me. I never would have (or could have) dreamed of the good fortune I would find in having you for a husband; it didn't seem to be something I would have deserved or a wish that could have been granted. Before I met you, I honestly expected to become an old spinster, living away my life in seclusion with the company of naught but books and cats. I know that you think such tales are frivolous and childish, but to me, you were like the hero of a fairy tale, sweeping in to rescue me from that life. I did not know then, and do not know now, why you chose me, when other women seemed so much more beautiful, so much cleverer or more refined or even richer, but the knowledge that you wanted me, when you honestly could have had any woman...it has transformed me. The knowledge that you love me and that there is nothing I can do to change that fact has made me a better person in every way, and I love you for it.

Every moment with you has been a moment I treasure, every tender moment, every kiss, every disagreement, every sip of tea, every time your hand found mine, every time I fell asleep beside you, every time you refused to listen to the Healers and barged into the room when I was still covered in the mess of childbirth, every sweet moment you had with our children when I could see (and even when I could not!), every time you defended me, every time you stood against the shrews of our society in the name of my honor, every time we made love and you showed me it was a joy and not a task. Every last moment, I have loved you with everything I have and everything I am, and I will continue to love me though death has stilled my heart.

Nothing in this world could have given me more pleasure than the act of being your wife and the mother of your children. I hope that your memories of me are as wonderful as my memories of you, and that they are of some comfort to you when I am gone.

Take care of the children and love them as you do now; remember that they adore their Papa, not the Minister or the Dark Lord's servant, and that is what you must always be to them: their protector, their favorite friend, their beloved father. Be kind to Theodore especially, and help him to become the man we both know he can be, a strong and wise man like yourself. Do not be afraid to feel happiness, to enjoy the world around you, the color of the sky, the feel of the breeze, the taste of the rain. When you see the sky, you are seeing my eyes smiling at you. When you feel the breeze, it is my fondest caress. When you taste the rain, it is my kiss.

I love you, my husband, and I am more proud of you than words can express. You have done wonderful things for this family and this country, and I hope that, even without me, you can live a long, fulfilling life.

With all my love,
Claudette

P.S. I do not know the circumstances that are forthcoming, but enclosed is a precaution I have taken in case the worst has happened. Do not be too proud or too concerned with my reputation to use it, should the need arise. I doubt, however, that the need will arise. - C