Rodolphus Lestrange

My new wife is a truly appalling woman. Happily I seem to have alienated her to the point where I doubt she will spend much time in the manor. This is highly useful to me, especially now that I have my wand back. I believe I will still leave the items I have stored behind the blood wards precisely where they are since she also strikes me as the type of woman who would pry during the times she is here. Though it occurs to me that I can easily retreat behind those same wards when she is here and never have to deal with her.

I find it laughable that she thought I might want to take her to my bed. What an appalling thought. Quite apart from the fact she is Muggleborn, I have little interest in having a woman who seems to find it acceptable to give herself to any man who comes along. Merlin only knows what diseases she has picked up doing so and I find it distasteful that she seems to be proud of such behaviour. If ever there was an example of why we feel the way we do about the Muggleborn, Persephone is it.

I must however consider the future of the Lestrange bloodline. It would not be looked upon askance if I were to take a mistress or even have a child by her. At least not by the proper levels of society. Many a man of my standing with an unacceptable wife has taken the same path. While the child would be a bastard, it would also be a pureblood of the Lestrange bloodline and that would be more than acceptable to the family wards. It has been done in the past. I shall have to consider this. The women here in Britain are unlikely to be acceptable though I will not dismiss them entirely. There may be one with the right spirit to be both my partner and the mother of the Lestrange heir. But I feel I must look to the Continent. It would not be a bad thing to bring a European bloodline into the Lestranges.

I must also obtain one of the new journals, the linked sort. They will make communicating with the others far easier and far more secret.

My, my. And to think I thought the Minister's little self-congratulatory ball was going to be dull. Well, it was except for one bright little spark of interest. The delightful little Seer Nesta. Or should I say Rhianna Selwyn, the Selwyn family's little disappointment.

It wasn't difficult to ascertain her identity. Her sisters knew what she was wearing though they do not know why I was asking nor do they know I was specifically asking about her. Easy enough to couch my question in an inquiry about a number of costumed guests.

So, Rhianna Selwyn is Seer Nesta, our untrained, uncontrolled Seer. And she has had a vision that most likely shows her marrying me. How delightful. I have yet to have an owl request my presence at the Ministry. So I shall add interesting to that description as well and wait and see what happens. If the owl does not come then I have an entertaining little token to use to my benefit. Andif it does, well, things will still be interesting.

At least the Selwyns are purebloods though Rhianna is a mere child. I fail to see how they believe that she could replace Bella. Admittedly one arranged marriage is as good as any other but she is a child, likely a virgin and unpracticed in what I find preferable in the bedroom. It is true that with patience I could train her appropriately but that would interfere with what I have planned for my freedom.

No, best to leave her be. I shall give her the blue suite. It is on the family level though far enough from my own suite that I shall not be disturbed. The solar and private garden have not been touched since Mother died. She may have those places as her own. That should keep her busy and out of my hair.

Assuming, of course, that she does not lie about her vision.

A most intriguing interview. I am more convinced than ever that this 'Seer Nesta' is little more than a child and quite likely untrained. The best of the Seers over the years have never feared to go by their true names but then, they were trained and fully cognisant of the traps and pitfalls in having the gift of Divination. They would never have indulged in this sort of ridiculousness.

I find myself even more curious about Shacklebolt's participation in this. The man had a reputation for being pragmatic and level-headed, not a man one would think would embrace the vagaries of Divination, especially in something that is so ephemeral as love and marriage. What game is he playing? Is he merely trying to prove that 'Death Eaters never change' so that he has an excuse to throw us all into the depths of Azkaban to never see the light of day again?

Perhaps it is time for another little anonymous owl to the delightful miss Crouch

I am sure people are talking about this little incident with Macnair and his bride and with any luck my letter to Miss Crouch will bear some fruit in exposing Shacklebolt's so-called 'Seer' as the fraud that she most assuredly is. Anyone who believed a pitiful creature such as Sybill Trelawney could change someone like Walden is both a fool and severely deluded.

I do wonder about this Seer. She must be young, probably no more than a child, to think that things can be solved by something as ephemeral as marriage. Surely she can't actually believe these visions she is receiving. It is the first and largest trap for those who do receive them. To believe that the visions are showing the future. They show a possible future, not even necessarily the most likely future, just a possible one.

Poor child. Possibly she has a gift she doesn't know how to control or interpret and Trelawney would hardly have given her proper instruction on either of those things. I would consider offering my expertise but I am rather enjoying watching her dig herself, Shacklebolt and the Ministry into a very large hole. That works far more to my advantage than gaining any sort of control of this charlatan Seer.

( Rodolphus Lestrange )