The Lestrange Family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight; one of the few truly pureblooded families left in Great Britain. As such, they have a duty to the wizarding world to continue their illustrious line which is why at the age of 26, Marius Lestrange wed a rather homely 22-year-old pureblooded witch; Ceres Rowle, despite having no romantic feelings for her. For years the couple tried to get pregnant and when Ceres was 37 they finally had what close friends and family called their “miracle child.”

Marius was elated when Rodolphus was born, and in fact Rod’s birth quite literally saved the Lestranges’ marriage. After so many years together, Marius and Ceres were quite comfortable with each other and loved one another in their own way, but their marriage was not one of romantic love and Marius had threatened to find a younger wife who could bear him a son and continue the influential Lestrange name. As the “miracle child,” Rodolphus was given everything he ever wanted. When he was four and demanded a dragon, his parents acquired and stabled one in Romania where such creatures were legally available as pets, and the nannies would take little Roddy whenever he wanted to play with the firebreather. At age 9 when a temper tantrum resulted in the death of one of his nannies, the Lestranges disposed of the body quietly, bought Rodolphus an ice cream, and confirmed to their son that the nanny had been in the wrong. He was permitted to get away with much more than his younger brother, Rabastan, though Rabastan was given plenty of leeway as well, and the two boys became a fearsome duo around the Lestrange properties.

Rabastan was born two years after Rodolphus, and Marius was not keen on having a second son, knowing what brothers were capable of. Marius himself had, at one time, two brothers. The eldest died at the young age of 2 to a disease that required him to be quarantined for nearly 4 months before his passing. Fearing he would one day be forced to share his family's wealth with his little brother, Marius at the tender age of 13, murdered his younger brother after sneaking out during a Hogsmeade weekend, paying a drifter to side-along apparate him to his family's home to commit the crime, then returned to Hogsmeade where he then killed the drifter and reclaimed his money. As Marius had an alibi for his whereabouts while being away at school no one ever discovered the truth about his brother's death, but Marius always kept an eye on his sons, just in case.

The Lestrange brothers were raised primarily by their mother, along with a slew of nannies who did all the real “dirty work.” Their father appeared as the traditional patriarch of the family and instructed them on the proper way to present one’s self. Rodolphus took this lesson and excelled; becoming the prime example of what a Slytherin pureblood should be while in school. While at Hogwarts, Rodolphus was an excellent student, hardly needing to open a book to receive top marks in all his classes. He is naturally intelligent and utterly insightful. Roddy joined the Quidditch team in his third year and was an accomplished beater; his lean strength allowed him to easily bat bludgers into the opposing teams as if he were flicking a wad of paper with his finger. He became the Slytherin quidditch captain in his fifth year, a title he held until graduation. In addition to his formal education, Rodolphus trained with a private tutor acquired by his father in the art of Black Magic and dueling. Rodolphus is a skilled duelist, both in formal affairs as well as actual street duels. He was dueling champion four years in a row while in school.

Marius wanted his sons to one day take over the family's international company; Lestrange Industries, which had been the life blood of the Lestrange family's fortune for generations. Rodolphus, however, had other plans. He wanted to be Minister one day and while his father was not keen on the idea at first, with a little nagging from Ceres, Marius managed to pull some strings to get Rodolphus a position in the Ministry that far exceeded the typical entry-level post of a newly graduated teenager. An 18-year-old Rodolphus had no clue how to get ahead in real-world politics but again his father hired the best wizards to tutor his son and Rodolphus quickly caught on and surpassed his parents’ and his boss' expectations of him. It was a year later when Rodolphus learned of a Dark Wizard with aims to rid Britain of the muggle infestation. He pledged his allegiance as a devoted follower of Lord Voldemort and encouraged his friends to do the same.

At 20, Rodolphus married his long-time friend Bellatrix Black, a regal witch who had been promised to him since they were children. The Black family line was the most ancient pure wizarding family in all of Britain and by merging the wealthiest family with the oldest, Rodolphus and Bellatrix would form a union that would ignite the wizarding world’s passion for purity. The wedding was a lavish event and the couple were compared to royalty. While on their honeymoon, the couple engaged in amorous activities, followed by a little murder and mayhem on a small village in the south pacific. The day after returning home with his bride, Rodolphus was marked by the Dark Lord and welcomed into Voldemort’s inner circle. Using his superior dueling skills, Rodolphus quickly became the go-to hit wizard for Lord Voldemort, often bringing his wife Bella along on his missions as the two found murder to be excellent foreplay.

Rodolphus easily rose through the ranks in the Ministry, finding himself appointed as the adviser to the Minister. He now plays the role of spy for the Dark Lord, in addition to murderer-for-hire, bringing important details of Ministry plans to Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. The only thing that would make his life more perfect was for his wife to finally give him an heir.