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[26 Jun 2009|01:07pm] |
[Society Ladies minus Claudette and Chloris, plus Iago]
My dears, I feel I must apologise to you that all of you were able to see my harsh words towards Mrs Nott last night. While I do believe that someone had to speak to her and point out how atrociously she was behaving, I do regret that my words to her were in such a public manner, because this was understandably quite embarrassing for all of us.
I do, however, want to say a few words about Mrs Burke's and Mrs Nott's statements. Clearly, I do not know what was going through Mrs Burke's mind any better than Mrs Nott's truly does. Perhaps she did fear for the lives of her children -- I assure you that no harm will come to your children, whether you already have them or are planning to have them in the future near enough that the war will not be over, from the Dark Lord. But as all of us who were so cruelly taken hostage by the vigilantes know, there is no way to way to have complete assurance we have protected ourselves and our families from terrorists.
But Mrs Burke's actions, fuelled by good intentions as they may have been, only put her family in more danger. Our families are the most important things in our lives. Without our family, our ties of blood, we aren't different from the Mudbloods. But this is not the way to protect them. If you are worried for your own safety, I suggest you speak to your husbands, your brothers, and your fathers. Our men have a duty to protect us. Ask your husband, if you are married, or your brother or father if you do not, about the wards on your homes, and whether they will be able to protect you should terrorists wish to harm you or your family. Ask him to teach you a few simple defensive spells so that you can fight back if you ever encounter a vigilante. I know little of fighting in battles, but I do know enough to know that a well-performed Shield Charm may be able to save your life. If you have no one to ask about the wards on your property who is well-versed, speak to me. My husband is gifted with such things, as are his friends, and I can send him to do the work for you.
Fear of these people should not drive us to undermine the Cause, which our loved ones have sacrificed so much for. If we divert our attention from what we know to be right, we cheapen those sacrifices, and the ones made by Miss Gibbon and Leoben Yaxley. Their deaths should not be in vain. Afraid though we may be, we must carry on. When I was a young girl in Greece, smaller than the youngest of you are today, not even ten years old, a war even bloodier and uglier than this one raged in my homeland, not just between those who support the Cause and those who wish to bring Muggles into the fray, but between the Muggles themselves. I saw the streets of my beloved home of Athens decimated and death in the streets. It was much worse there, then, than it is now, and many of us who knew the importance of purity of blood retreated into fear, and the Mudbloods won. fear should not weaken our resolve, but strengthen it.
I know that we all have our doubts sometimes, not about whether or not, of course, we are fighting for what is right, but how long this can continue, and whether or not those in the Dark Lord's ranks always know the best plan of action. These doubts are natural in troubling times, and I would lie if I did not sometimes worry that I made the wrong decision in allowing my son to work for the Dark Lord, and I worry that this bloodshed will go on forever. However, as women, it is not our place to question the Dark Lord's wisdom. We know little of these battles and how to combat vigilantes, and any time that you feel doubts, you must remind yourself that the Dark Lord knows things that we do not. As women, it is our duty to support our husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons in their work, not to tell them how to do it. It is our duty to maintain a proper reputation for our families, no matter the cost, which Mrs Nott fails to understand.
I do not believe that Mrs Nott is a traitor to her nation -- Aeneas Nott is a fine man and I do not believe that he would have chosen a wife with such a deficit of character. However, she is blinded by her love for her friend. As I have said, and will say again, any friend of yours who behaves as Mrs Burke did is not truly your friend. A true friend will remember before speaking and acting that everything she says and does not only reflects upon herself, her husband, and her family, but her close companions as well. Painful as it may be, we must cut these people out of our lives. Every family tree occasionally requires a little pruning -- even the best, as this sad incident shows us. We all know the Lestranges to be among the Dark Lord's most devoted followers, of the finest blood and character of any family I know. I would hardly have allowed my son to choose a Lestrange for his wife otherwise. It is clear that, at some point in time, Mrs Burke was exposed to some unseemly influence outside her parents' control. These influences are the ones that corrupt our society, and they must be weeded out.
I think we all should reflect deeply on this unfortunate situation. Learn from this, that Mrs Burke's way was not the best way to protect your loved ones. Learn that you should not have to defend your friends against accusations of treason. If you do, they are not your friend.
[Demetrius]
Explain why I would receive a blood-soaked letter from someone who claimed that you thrust your pure blood into their veins.
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