The Early Years |
1862 | A young Trojan Valenduris meets Miss Angela Bianchi at a Ball. She is from a noble wizarding family in Florence, and has few preconceived notions about the Valenduris family. The pair have easy conversation, which soon blossoms into courtship, then marriage. The two are wed within the year. |
April 1863 | Cassian, the eldest of his family, is born. |
1865-1867 | Each year, Mrs. Valenduris bears another healthy child. Cassian is joined by brothers Emilian, Leander, Julius. |
1868 | Cassian exhibits his first signs of magic at age five, when he disappears for several hours and is found playing on the rooftop of his parents' London estate. That year, Mrs. Valenduris bears her first daughter, Demetria. |
1869-1874 | The family lives comfortably in a home filled with children, though Cass spends most of his time with the governess and his siblings. Mrs. Valenduris bears three more children during this time - her last son Jethro, and two daughters, Lecia and Sabine. |
The School Years |
1874-75 | Cass is sent to Hogwarts. Given his great-grandfather's status as Slytherin Head of House, most people are surprised when the boy gets sorted into Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat questioned Cass’s sense of ambition to rise above his siblings - a thought that had honestly never occurred to him - then suggested that he is too daring and impulsive to be considered cunning. Besides this, Cass fits easily into school. |
1875-76 | He joins the Quidditch team as a keeper, and a foul play during hist first game gives Cass a concussion that sends him to the Hospital Wing for a few days. Once healed, he seeks out the opposing team member and absolutely wails on him in the corridor. Cass is sent to detention; only the boy's insistence that "I deserved it" (and embarrassment over being beaten up by a 2nd year) spares Cass from suspension. His father sends a curt message -- not reprimanding the boy for fighting, but giving him an earful for using his fists instead of his wand. What is he, an idiot?
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1876-77 | By his third year, Cassian notices he’s not reallygregarious like some of the other Gryffindors. Truthfully, Cass has always been the quiet type. Growing up surrounded by siblings and general commotion, he learned early that he shouldn't add to it. He picks up COMC, History of Magic, and Ancient Runes, and shows extraordinary potential in DADA.
Though the Hogwarts Rumor Mill paints him to be the "silent type with a raging temper”, it wasn't really true...
To that end, Cass wasn't sure why he jumped in to help Vincent (it really wasn't his place). Perhaps because the bully hadn't even bothered to make it a fair fight, what with Vincent's wand on the floor - though more likely, it had something to do with what the bully was saying. Something about crimes that Vincent of course did not himself commit, and yet the boy thought he should punish Vince for it? Ridiculous! Being nearly the same height as the older bully, Cass managed to pull him away from Vincent and warn him off. The boy wasn't interested in talking however, and tried to throw a punch. Cass pushed it off as easily as his little brothers', and returned a major wallop that gave the boy a black eye. It subdued him long enough for Vincent to retrieve his wand. Now outraged, the boy tried to approach the pair again - only to be dually hit by Cassian’s disarming spell, and Vincent's inventive addition of antlers that nearly weighed the boy to the ground. Utterly humiliated, the boy ran off - antlers dragging in front of him - leaving the third years to laugh about it and get lunch together. Their friendship blossomed from this day.
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1877-78 | The Muggle Uprising causes chaos for most wizarding families, and his family flees their London estate to a home in Hogsmeade they’ve kept to this day. That summer, Cassian’s father dies on duty for the ministry, at the hands of a murderer he tried to restrain. Cass is devastated, but as the new young head of house, he ignores his grief to support his mother and younger siblings. As a result, most of his peers think he coped well with his father's loss. The only one who knows the extent of his grief is Vince. The two meet frequently that summer, the boy even stood by his side at his father's funeral services. Vince is the only one who hears Cass vow to avenge his father and follow his footsteps into the law enforcement. |
1878-80 | The next years speed past. He grows even more reserved with his thoughts and feelings, and acts superficially polite to most. As a result, people think of him as a bit of an air-head. They are quite surprised, then, when he does astonishingly well at advanced magics such as non-verbal and advanced DADA spellcasting. |
1880-81 | Cassian finished his seventh year with Outstanding and Extraordinary NEWTs in the courses required to join the Ministry Hit Wizard trainee program. He didn’t ask about it, but was relieved to hear that Vince planned to join him. |
Adulthood & Ministry Career |
1881-1883 | Cass quickly proves his mettle on the Hit Wizard track, and starts to learn more wandless magic. Though he and Vince have slightly different roles, they bond regularly over basic training and often partner with each other in field. |
1884 | That summer, everyone in the Valenduris household falls ill with the Laughing Plague. They are all put on bedrest. Cassian’s teenage siblings Demetria and Jethro succumb to the illness, merely three weeks before a cure is found. |
1887 | Cassian and Vincent continue on with their careers, each rising within the ranks. One evening, Cass, Vincent, and Cass’s senior-level Hit Wizard partner are called to pursue a wizard holding a muggle household hostage. The task was straightforward: restrain and extract the wizard for trial, wipe the memory from the muggles and their nosy neighbors.
Upon arrival, a gristly sight made it clear that all the muggles were already murdered. The criminal wizard easily ambushed their group upon entry. Vince, who brought up the rear, bore the brunt of the wizard's first lash. Something about the sight of his childhood friend’s blood, his body hitting the floor -- and the blood of the deceased -- veritably made Cass black out. In the ensuing chaos, he grabbed hold of the criminal with his bare hands, threw him to the ground, and beat his face in an uncontrollable rage. Cassian’s senior partner, acting on orders to restrain not kill, tried to intervene. Cass, unfortunately, only saw red and didn't realize that his rage had turned from the subdued criminal to his partner. A single blow caused the man to fall and break his neck. He was killed instantly. In a final, sputtering bloody breath, the criminal soon died as well.
Vince was his lone witness. Had Cassian been alone, he would have turned himself into authorities and bore his criminal sentence. Once he voiced his intent, however, Vince would not allow it. He coaxed Cassian to amend the story: The family was dead upon arrival. The criminal took advantage of them, killing their partner. Were it not for Cassian’s decisive action, they would all have died. Vince went so far as to help Cass obfuscate the memory - from both their brains - to contend with the following Auror investigations. After a brief administrative leave, both Vincent and Cassian were returned to their duties, and lauded as heroes for their bravery. |
1888 | A year later, the incident feels like a distant nightmare. Vince introduces him to Timoleon, a senior Ministry colleague as ambitious as they are. The men have similar attitudes on life and duty, which lends itself well to friendship. |
Late 1891 | With the Squad Chief of Law Enforcement role recently vacated, Timoleon becomes an unexpected and fierce advocate for Cassian’s promotion among his connections to various Heads of departments. The idea catches on like wildfire, and several attest to Cassian trustworthy man in high-pressure, dangerous scenarios. They weren’t there for the incident, but everyone remembers his heroism (Vincent is notably absent from those conversations). Cass gets swept up by what feels like the best compliment he’s ever been given, and thanks to Vince’s careful obliviation, only a tiny piece of his soul shudders with worry.
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1892 | Now settling into his new role as Squad Chief, Cassian feels cautious optimism about his future. He is surrounded by friends at work, is satisfied with his duties, and is financially secure. Cass expresses to family and friends that he is interested in starting his search for a wife in earnest. |