bella sees your italic caps and raises you a bold (mostdevoted) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2009-08-04 11:00:00 |
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The funeral was held in the formal meeting hall of Lestrange Manor and began promptly at eleven am. The service was very formal and traditional, in the style of an official state funeral, although obviously non-religious. The dark wood casket was carried by Marius, Walden, Atticus, Aeneas, Iago and Graley. The casket was kept closed for the service, with a simple spray of red roses across the top. Following the casket in the procession were Bellatrix, Corbina, Astra and Thubana, escorted by Rabastan as the now-head of the Lestrange family. They were seated in the first row on one side, with Marius joining them. The other pallbearers took the front row on the other side of the hall. The second and third rows were reserved for other first generation Death Eaters and family of those participating in the service. Aeneas was the officiant and gave the opening welcome. Placeholder Walden took the podium and stood for a moment without saying anything. Finally he flipped open a small volume laying in front of him and he cleared his throat. 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. He then gave a reading from The Book of Virtues: Strength in Tradition. Rabastan gave the first eulogy, looking characteristically blank in the face, betraying none of his emotion. After thanking Walden and clearing his throat, he took a long moment to compose himself while looking at the podium, before speaking slowly and solemnly: 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. Corbina moved silently up to the front of the hall, rehearsing what she had written out the night before in her head and trying to will herself into stoicism. Rodolphus wouldn't want her ranting and raving and throwing herself on his coffin. She refused to embarrass him like that. She refused to look at the casket as she made her way to the front, though. It was just a box. That was all. Just a box that she still didn't want to admit that Rodolphus would never climb out of. Tapping her notecards on the podium, she began her eulogy: 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. Tucking her notecards back into the pocket of her robes, Corbina ended her eulogy before it was finished, realising that if she continued to stand up there attempting to speak, she would have broken down. She quickly returned to her seat and folded her hands in her lap and continued to stare straight ahead for the rest of the service. Marius approached the casket first, placing a hand near the center and whispering something in French to his father that would only pass between the two of them. He stood at the podium next, composed but not without emotion. His voice was solemn, and his pronunciation clear: My father was a man of few words so I will honour him with brevity. Bellatrix, dressed surprisingly appropriately in formal black dress robes and looking more than a little at the edge of sanity with a wild look in her eyes, gave the final eulogy. She did not prepare any remarks in advance and avoided the podium, instead standing directly in front of the casket as she spoke fervently and with her head held high: 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. Atticus went to the podium once Bellatrix had sat back down, looking as serious and composed as ever. He glanced towards the casket and frowned before pulling a worn book out of his robes and looking out towards those in attendance. 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. Atticus then gave a brief reading from an essay entitled, "On the Comportment of a Gentleman," choosing a selection extolling the virtues of a traditional, purist society and the need to conduct oneself with dignity and honour at all times. Aeneas then delivered a brief speech and final words in his role as officiant and Minister for Magic: Placeholder Following the service, the pallbearers carried the casket out and took it to the Lestrange family mausoleum at Thubana's home before departing. The internment itself was private, attended only by the family. The body was transferred into a stone sarcophagus and entombed. Once the internment was complete, the family returned to Lestrange Manor and rejoined the first generation Death Eaters in one of the parlours where Atticus, as Rodolphus's solicitor, read his will. Unlike at the service itself, now Atticus looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable as he stood before the group and unrolled the short scroll of parchment. He waited for everyone to take their seats, shifting his weight between his feet and finally cleared his throat several times before he read: I, Rodolphus Adric Lestrange, do hereby bequeath everything I own to Corbina Avara Lestrange for her to distribute as she sees fit. |