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General Information
Character Name:
Victor Leonard Carmichael
Type of Character:
Adult
Age:
30
Date of Birth:
17.04.1891
Blood Status:
Muggleborn
Residence:
Personal home in London, parents' home in Cambridge
Family:
Edward Wilson Ashworth (father), born in 1855.
Anna Elizabeth Ashworth (mother), born in 1858 (formerly surnamed Harrington).
Primrose Mabel Ashworth (younger sister), born in 1898.
Occupation:
Businessman (Wizarding & Muggle Casino Owner)
Personality & History
Personality:
Victor enjoys being underestimated. Perhaps not the most common but it is much easier to manipulate people when they aren’t expecting anything in the first place. A self-made businessman, he is extremely determined when he sets his mind to something. His quick wit and adaptability is matched with a penchant for lying and trickery. If he sees something that could be twisted his way, he will take advantage of it, morals not accounted for.
What is the best kind of threat? The one you make without losing your smile. The kind that makes them stop in their tracks. The kind that has them wondering if you even knew you made one. For Victor, a smile is a constant and a laugh is never far away.
His greatest fear is for people to find out he is Muggleborn. Because of this, although he genuinely does enjoy most people he interacts with, he doesn’t trust them. So he uses them. Always politely. Always with a grin. Never raising his voice. But always for his gain.
History:
Victor Leonard Ashworth was born on 17. April, 1891 to an upper-middle class home in the growing university town of Cambridge, England. Born to a professor at Cambridge University and a seamstress, Victor was a bright young lad with a promising future. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, things such as sleight of hand and other tricks drew him like a moth to a flame. Sometimes he even surprised himself with his disappearing tricks, never able to find the teapot of his mothers or the book of his fathers that he had made disappear (later he found out it had likely been his magical ability).
Edward Wilson Ashworth (Victor’s father), taught a few classes in mathematics and the developing path of engineering. Edward had previously attended Cambridge with a degree in mathematics.
Anna Elizabeth Ashworth (Victor’s mother), was a seamstress, specializing especially in uniforms for students and professors at Cambridge University. Before her marriage to Edward, her surname was Harrington. When they fell in love, her family was quick to push her to marry him. A financially secure decision, they said. And Anna was more than happy to agree. Despite a few arguments occasionally about this or that, the two families were on good terms with each other.
Victor was born in the year the Elementary Education Act came into practice in Britain, and attended school for free when he reached age five. Attending a grammar school near his home, he excelled. He never had to cheat through school, but he did occasionally experiment with doing so anyway. The concept intrigued him and the lessons taught were rather repetitive. When he was seven, his little sister Primrose was born into the family.
He received his Hogwarts letter in 1902, a few months after turning eleven. It was a huge surprise for him and his family, but his parents were proud of their son for being invited to attend a school that looked to be incredibly prestigious. His father funded his supplies completely and encouraged him to study hard.
Arriving at Hogwarts, Victor was sorted into Ravenclaw, fitting in quite nicely with others who were also quick on their minds. He picked up things fast. However, he quickly went from being incredibly proud of his parents and background to being ashamed. Muggleborns were frequently mocked and shamed, and he was one of them. After an incident where he specifically was humiliated and bullied for mentioning something about living with a muggle family, the poor boy framed a lie that changed his perspective on life.
He decided he was NOT a muggleborn. No, he was the son of a pureblood family from France who immigrated to the UK and unfortunately passed shortly after. This left him alone in the world and the muggles were quick to put him under the care of a muggle family. Victor stuck closely to this story, sharing how utterly disgusted he was of being put with muggles of all people. He looked down on other muggleborns (including himself internally) and gained pity from other wizards. It was the perfect lie. As soon as he was of the age allowed, he legally changed his surname to Carmichael, putting him even further apart from his family.
Graduating from Hogwarts in 1909, he began to work as a junior reporter for the Daily Prophet. Because of the skills with words he had developed, he did well in the position. After two years, he was promoted to a reporter, causing him to gain increased opportunities. He gained contacts throughout the muggle and wizarding worlds, travelling to different countries and gaining experience. Through this, he discovered that if he did a little conning, that helped him get stories and money quicker and receive them more willingly. The man was a bit too confident in these tricks, however, and eventually did end up losing his job.
When World War 1 began in 1914, even the wizarding world was affected. As he had been born to a muggle family and registered in the muggle government system, Victor received call-up papers to report to a recruiting office. Rather than be conscripted, however, Victor used his ever increasing habit of lying. He faked an injury that disqualified him from being sent to war. And because of the added fact that it was against the law for wizards to affiliate in the war anyways, things worked out perfectly for him.
As the world around him descended into chaos, Victor realised something significant. People were desperate. And desperate people do desperate things. So he turned chaos into profit. He started a small gambling business. At first, he welcomed muggles and wizards alike, aware that muggles were more desperate than wizards. However, even though there was a separate room for wizards that wasn’t accessible for muggles, it was rather strongly recommended to him that he either have one group or the other and not both. It was too close to breaking the secrecy laws.
Victor pivoted. He used the funds he had gained and built two casinos - one for muggles and one for wizards. In muggle and wizarding worlds alike, he was a charming businessman with an ever-present smile and frequent laughter. Friendly and welcoming to his establishments, he was generally well-liked. Those who saw the less legal parts of him, however, were less impressed.
Prompt Response:
Prompt: You are being accused of stealing on the way out of a shop of your choice in Diagon Alley.
“Stop right where you are!”
Oh, drat. Victor paused his exit momentarily and turned around at the sound of the voice. A look of mild startlement rested on his face, as if he was half expecting the owner of the voice to have been talking to a different person. But Victor knew he was the only person in the shop at the moment.
“I beg your pardon, sir?” He asked mildly, taking into account the stern features of the balding shop owner in front of him.
“Filthy, thieving…” the man muttered under his breath, clearly not happy about something. The man pointed accusingly to a barrel in the store that, admittedly, looked rather untouched. “I just saw you! Grabbed a whole lot of sugar straws and stashed them in your robes, you did!”
At the revelation, Victor’s face transformed into a smile, grinning as if he had just heard the most humorous thing in his life. He gave a great bark of laughter, his shoulders shaking with the action.
“Me? My good friend, I am offended. What reason would I have to take anything from this fine establishment?” Victor rested one of his hands on the shop owner’s shoulder. The shopkeeper stiffened, clearly not expecting such a friendly gesture at his accusation. Victor continued, keeping his voice smooth and light. “Surely I have more than enough coin to compensate for the entire stock of… what are the items we are discussing again?”
“Sugar Straws!” The other man spluttered indignantly, though his anger was beginning to give way to confusion.
“Ah. I’m rather fond of those sweets myself. Allow me to do you a favour that will wipe this small misunderstanding from your mind.” Victor continued smoothly. He reached into one of the pockets in his robes and drew out a few galleons, the golden coins shining merrily. His grin never faltered. “Take this as a donation from me to you and your excellent business.”
The coins tumbled into the palm of the stunned shopkeeper. Victor closed the man’s fingers around the money and shook it as if he had just completed a deal.
“Good day, sir!” He tipped his hat and strolled out of the shop, the smile never leaving his face. On his way out, he popped a few of the colourful sweets into his mouth. Sugar sparked on his tongue, wonderful as always. The only thing he left behind was a confused man and a slightly emptier barrel of sweets.
Miscellaneous
Other Characters
Frederick Richter
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