Rabastan Lestrange

Rabastan Lestrange was a Pure-blood wizard and a devoted Death Eater during both the First Wizarding War and Second Wizarding War. The brother of Rodolphus Lestrange and brother-in-law of Bellatrix Lestrange, he was one of the four Death Eaters responsible for torturing Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom into insanity using the Cruciatus Curse. A loyal servant of Lord Voldemort, Rabastan participated in several key battles, including the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of Hogwarts.

As a follower of Lord Voldemort, Rabastan was an active Death Eater during the First Wizarding War. After Voldemort's first downfall in 1981, Rabastan, along with his brother Rodolphus Lestrange, sister-in-law Bellatrix Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr., captured the Aurors Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom. Believing the Longbottoms had information on Voldemort's whereabouts, the four Death Eaters tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse until they were driven to permanent insanity. The four were subsequently captured and tried before the Wizengamot. During the trial, seen by Harry Potter in Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve, Rabastan was sentenced to a life sentence in Azkaban for his crimes.

In January 1996, Rabastan escaped from Azkaban during a mass breakout engineered by Voldemort, alongside his brother and sister-in-law. Later that year, he was one of twelve Death Eaters sent to the Department of Mysteries to retrieve a prophecy concerning Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. He participated in the ensuing Battle of the Department of Mysteries, where he fought against members of Dumbledore's Army. During the fighting, he was struck by an Impediment Jinx cast by Hermione Granger. Following the arrival of members of the Order of the Phoenix and Albus Dumbledore himself, Rabastan was captured and sent back to Azkaban. Rabastan escaped Azkaban a second time, presumably during the mass breakout of 1997 or after Voldemort seized control of the Ministry of Magic. He fought in the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May 1998. His ultimate fate is not explicitly stated in the novels, but it is presumed he was either killed in the battle or captured and returned to Azkaban for life.

During his trial as seen in Dumbledore's Pensieve, Rabastan was described as a “thin, nervous-looking man.” Rabastan was a cruel and sadistic wizard, demonstrated by his willingness to use an Unforgivable Curse to torture his victims to the point of insanity. Like the other members of his inner circle, he was fanatically loyal to Lord Voldemort, seeking him out after his downfall and fighting for him in major battles.

• Dark Arts: Rabastan was highly proficient in the Dark Arts. His most notable use of Dark Magic was his skill with the Cruciatus Curse, which he used to inflict irreversible mental damage upon the Longbottoms.
• Duelling: As a Death Eater who fought in at least two major wizarding battles (Battle of the Department of Mysteries and Battle of Hogwarts), Rabastan was a capable duellist.

• Wand: Rabastan owned a wand, though its length, wood, and core material are unknown.

• Lestrange Family: Rabastan was the brother of Rodolphus Lestrange and the brother-in-law of the notoriously fanatic Bellatrix Lestrange. He appeared to work closely with both of them as a team of Death Eaters. The Lestrange family was an ancient and wealthy Pure-blood family, considered one of the “Sacred Twenty-Eight” (Pottermore).
• Lord Voldemort: Rabastan was a dedicated and loyal servant of Lord Voldemort, one of the few who actively sought him out after his first defeat. His unwavering loyalty was rewarded with a place in Voldemort's inner circle.

• Rabastan: This is an uncommon name, possibly a variation of Rastan, a character from the Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh. This fits the pattern of aristocratic or unusual names often found in old Pure-blood families.
• Lestrange: A French surname literally meaning “the strange one,” which aptly describes the dark and eccentric nature of the Lestrange family.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Rabastan Lestrange was portrayed by actor Richard Trinder. He has no lines and is primarily seen during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries (film).
• The Lestrange family name is included in the “Sacred Twenty-Eight,” a list of supposedly all-Pure-blood families published in the Pure-Blood Directory in the 1930s (Pottermore).