Caesar Selwyn
 | |
| Caesar Salazar Selwyn | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 17 October 1953, 58 |
| City of Birth | River Piddle, Dorset, England |
| Blood status | Pure-blood |
| Physical Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Education | |
| School | Hogwarts |
| House | Slytherin |
| Class of | 1972 |
| Occupation | |
| Character Information | |
| Thea | |
Caesar Selwyn is an arrogant, purist, self-important man. He thinks of himself as the wizarding world's leading expert on potions, potions theory, and potion research/experimentation. He is a braggart, short tempered, and an insufferable know-it-all. A man who spent his entire life doing potions and teaching apprentices, the last 14 to 15 years on the board of governors, he thinks of himself as perfectly qualified candidate for the job. And will probably end up disliked by staff and students alike for his over-inflated self worth and obvious favoritism.
History
River Piddle is the hometown of Puddlemere United- something that Caesar's specific branch of the Selwyns takes great pride in. The quidditch team was founded in 1163 and Caesar (along with many generations back) claim to have founded the team and even now take great pride in funding the quidditch pitch and the team as needed. They have won the League Cup at least twenty-two times and the European Cup twice.
Caesar's home on the River Piddle was large- yet rustic. It was on the river front and cloaked by magic to cause muggles to avoid it. (A common practice among wizards and especially among purebloods.) His childhood was... typical of a pureblood. He was taught the purist views of his parents from a young age, expected to behave in a particular way, and he was always more like a little-adult more so than a child. He was the youngest of four children- all boys. Caesar knew that this meant he would end up having to make his own way in the world. He would not be the heir, but he had nothing to be ashamed of.
1965- Caesar's first year at Hogwarts. The sorting hat hadn't even reached his head before screaming out Slytherin. Caesar, in his perfectly tailored and expensive school robes, smugly took his spot at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall- joining his older brothers and his various extended relations. Caesar was a typical Slytherin. Pureblood- a trait Salazar admired- along with traditionalism, ambition, determination, cleverness, and a strong sense of fraternity with his Slytherin comrades.
His magical prowess quickly showed itself in potions and herbology. He had an amazing capability of brewing potions years ahead of his current curriculum, and enjoyed brewing in his off time. (This was especially fostered by a rather nefarious volume he had found at home which was essentially the same as a book of poisons and how they effect the body except it included dangerous potions.) Of course, Caesar wasn't bad with a wand either. He was a particular fan of Transfiguration and exceptionally skilled at that, as well.
Caesar's years at Hogwarts were relatively uneventful. He focused on his grades and his friendships. He played on the house quidditch team as a chaser. He served as a prefect for his house, enjoying the amount of power that it gave him over his peers. (He was dreadfully disappointed to find that he did not make Head Boy in his seventh year, which made him particularly vicious to cross in that year if he happened to dislike you.) He stayed out of trouble- for the most part. He had the odd detention here and there. He was a staunch purist, touting tradition and purism. Upon graduation he had received his NEWTs in the following classes: O's in Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration. E's in Charms, Anicent Runes, Astronomy, and Arithmancy. It was an impressive showing and he has always considered his high number of NEWTs as one of his greatest achievements.
Upon graduation, Caesar inherited one of the family's many properties along the River Piddle. A spacious home that he quickly made his own- and with a large sum of money given to him by his father he enlarged the house and got it up to snuff- something to be proud of and to be envied. Caesar would apprentice under a very famous potions master. Shortly after his graduation was when Lord Voldemort rose to power. Though he never was an official death eater, he was a supporter of Voldemort. (He had various relatives- distant and close- who were Death Eaters, however, and had no qualms aiding them in ways he could if they happened to ask.) He was twenty-eight when Voldemort was eventually defeated. He was suddenly glad that his support never went so far as to being branded- especially as Death Eaters were rounded up and charged by the Ministry of Magic.
After Caesar's apprenticeship ended, he worked as a partner to the potions master he had studied under. He helped him write a few different volumes on experimental potions, and enjoyed learning more about potions and creating some of his own. Caesar's mentor died when Caesar was only thirty-three and the potions master left all of his research and his property to Caesar. The man never had a male heir, and Caesar had been like a son. He continued on his studies with potions.
From 1986 and onward, Caesar continued to work in potions. He has written many books on experimental potioneering. His favorite that he has written is a catalog/encyclopedia of various potions ingredients. He references how they effect potions, how they interact with other ingredients, possible substitutions, etc. It was released when he was 45 (1998) and has since become a standard potion resource. He has since released two updated versions and intends to update the volume every five years to keep up with current potions brewing and procedures.
Caesar got married at the age of 37 to a pureblood witch named Persephone Flint. Another of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. (He definitely prides himself on having that title to his name.) He has three legitimate children. Two sons and one daughter. (Caesar also has two illegitimate children born of love-affairs- though he does not claim them as his own.) His sons are in their seventh and fifth year at Hogwarts as of the 2010-2011 school year. His daughter is a third year. Caesar was never a very... attentive parent. With governesses and tutors and nannies, he was more or less a hands-off parent unless discipline was called for.
He wasn't necessarily cold or detached, he was just always very busy and his work was always more important. He did, however, show interest in their education- eventually joining the Hogwarts Board of Governors when his eldest son was in his second year at Hogwarts. It was important to Caesar to know that the running of Hogwarts went smoothly and to have an inside eye- just to insure that they were not being "corrupted" by the liberal and progressive views that are sweeping the current wizarding world.
With the second rise of Voldemort in the late 1990s, Caesar was once again a supporter of the cause and had hope that perhaps this second-coming would actually stick. Of course, having small children, he could not afford to get overly involved- but it was a well-known fact that Caesar Selwyn and his family were avid purists who more or less broad casted their purity and their dislike of the muggle world. He was glad he played it safe (again) when the Dark Lord was defeated a second time. He was glad not to find himself shamed like the Malfoy family had been.
Caesar's time on the Board of Governors is what piqued his interest in possibly becoming a professor. Of course, his own potions career was still flourishing and his books were doing well. Plus, his wife was not keen on the idea of her husband spending so much at Hogwarts and away from her. She was always a needy, clingy sort of individual. Though their relationship could definitely not be described as loving, he did his best to respect her and treat her as the dainty little thing that he saw her as.
His wife passed away three years ago. After taking a holiday to a tropical destination, she contracted a rare magical disease that would claim her life. Caesar grieved the appropriate amount of time, and distracted himself with his work. The large riverfront home was particularly lonely with his wife gone and his children at Hogwarts.
At the start of the 2010 school year, the position of Potions Professor came open. Having been on the board of governors for roughly fifteen years, he used his fame as a potions master and his position to interview and gain the position at Hogwarts as a professor. He looks forward to getting to teach his children- and also looks forward to getting to shape the young minds and to help instill a sense of wizarding pride in his students.
