Sebastian: The Ascension

Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

"If I can not bend the will of Heaven, I shall move Hell."

The death of his parents came right after he had adopted his first child, Darcia. The happiness he should have felt as such an event was suppressed and more often than not just non-existant. He was the only true Bryant left. His aunt and grandmother had been missing for decades, and his daughter would take on the hardship of his name in due time. 

The despair that Sebastian felt was so profound that even the students began worrying for him. McGonagall was flooded with the concerned letters of both student's and now graduates of his that heard about what had happened. Almost a month to the very day the murder happened, Sebastian resigned from his post as Potions Professor of Hogwarts.

The ex-professor secluded himself in Bryant manor for nearly a year, only seeing his daughter, house elf, and the occasional guest (though those almost never came). Two months after he had left his job, Mr. Bryant stumbled upon a secret compartment in his grandfather's study. It was a false bottomed drawer that was used for various quills and ink bottles. Strangely enough, he found an envelope that was addressed to him.

Eleven months after his self-imposed exclusion of the world and nine months after finding the addressed folder, Sebastian stepped outside his estate for the first time. He was a changed man.. No longer fearful of what can and might happen, but instead he was dedicated to a task set before him by none other than Zachary Bryant, his grandfather. The first place he apparated to was Gringott's bank to withdraw a considerable sum of Galleons. The second and third are undisclosed places that not even the greatest auror of their time could track, but when he returned to his estate the gold was gone.

A few short weeks later, the Minister stepped down from his position and Sebastian stepped into it almost without any opposition. There were a few people who spoke about his lack of political experience, his questionable lineage, and most often about his disappearance from the public eye. They asked: "What happened in eleven months of isolation that changed a cheery educational professor into an ambitious politico?" and each and every time he would respond with the same curt answer. "My daughter."

Not even hardly a month into his new role as Minister of Magic, and Sebastian proclaimed himself King of Magical England. There was a much higher number of resistance and a fair amount of hostility. Somehow though, the number began minimizing until there simply wasn't anyone willing to question it. Whether they just accepted his authority or disappeared wasn't really any concern of Sebastian's, because their opinion on what was going on in the greater world didn't really matter anyway. 

He was amassing power for the sake of his daughter. If he couldn't wield magic himself, he'd make damn sure people who could were around. 

Title page found within a folder labeled "Sebastian Bryant, My grandson":

 

"Dearest Sebastian, 

 

          I hope you can find it within your heart to accept my apology for all the horrible things I'm sure your mother has told you about me. While most, if not all, are true, there is always a second side to the story. I did it for you. Your grandmother, mum, aunt, you, and your children's children. I did it to make sure  my family was safe. During my time at the Ministry and even afterwards, I came into contact with some very powerful individuals. Individuals whom I came very well antiquated to upon my return from South America. I wish to leave these instructions to you in case you need to contact them. If you ever need anything, my boy, these are the men to ask for help. There is a vault in Gringott's that is deeded to you already, aside from the one you shall gain when you're 17. It's for uses in emergencies regarding familial matters. Keep it hidden and keep it locked.

Remember, Sebastian.. You're the only male of the Bryant Legacy now. Keep the family safe, and keep yourself safe. 

I'm proud of you and what you shall one day day be,

Zachary T. Bryant"

Sebastian: A Backstory

Alea iacta est

"The die has been cast"

27 years have passed since the death of Professor Zachary Thomas Bryant. His grandson has claimed his rightful inheritance of the Bryant manor and followed somewhat in his footsteps. As a Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he has come to be known and loved by very many. Always a man of kindness and quick to laugh, his earlier years attending Hogwarts bespoke of a different man.

Excerpt of Sebastian Bryant's childhood journal. 

"They did it again, Maximo.. Those bullies... They pulled me into the bathroom Moaning Murtle lives in and took turns cursing me. OF COURSE I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! I'M NOT ABLE TO BECAUSE OF MY DAMN ISSUE WITH CHARMS! Ugh.. I can't wait to leave here. Just one more year then I can get out and no-one will know about my problems and disabilities! 

On another note, I aced the Advanced Potions exam today! (Probably why they heckled me later) Well, onward to another day..

Sleep well, Maximo. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
- Sebastian Orion Christopher Bryant - 16 years old"

He was teased and ridiculed while being taught how to perform various forms of magic. They mocked him for his proper inability to perform even the most basic charms, and often quizzed him about how he was going to properly save his family when he was older. Someone had once stolen his journal and began spreading the rumors that his darkest fear was his family getting hurt while he couldn't help. They weren't wrong, either. 

 His grades suffered for it until McGonagall had a talk with Flitwick and they had the class dropped from his curriculum entirely. Other than his bullying problems, Sebastian was a bright student and made top grades throughout the entirety of his schooling. Focusing almost entirely in Potions during his N.E.W.T.s, everyone thought he would go on out in to the field discovering other uses for some potions, or even coming up with a few of his own, though only he knew his real desire.  

After taking the customary trip around the world and seeing how other Wizarding communities lived, Sebastian returned home to England to begin his career in teaching. He applied at Hogwarts for the Potions Professor at the age of 20 and began mentoring the young students on how to properly prepare potions. After being so bullied at a young and impressionable age, Professor Bryant was hell bent on squaring away anyone who thought it was okay to pass that form of judgement on others. While he was indeed quick to laugh, Bastian was also quick to punish those who he thought were being over zealous in expression their negative opinion. 

His tenure at Hogwarts was short lived, as he left quietly after tragedy struck. 

Through Death, Life is borne.

Media vita in morte sumus

"In the midst of life, we are in death." 
 

Through the death of a family member, another one shall be born. Zachary Thomas Bryant passed away only hours before his grandson graced the world with his presence. With his wife away on another business trip, and his daughter in childbirth, Zack died alone wishing his family could be beside him. Throughout life he held his chin high and treated everyone the way that he thought they deserved to be treated. Whether they actually deserved it or not was irrelevant. There was only a handful of people that the veil of confidence receded for, and that was family. His lovely daughter Skye, his wife Luna Shadow Bryant, and those close enough to him that he spoke of them as family. He was a family man at heart, though most only knew him as a condescending, judgemental asshole who pushed his beliefs and values onto others. 

Sebastian Orion Christopher Bryant was pushed into this world prematurely. His lungs weren't quite developed yet, and the medical witches and wizards at St. Mungo's spent nearly a week making sure that he continued receiving the nutrients that were required for a healthy development. After he had been taken away from his mother, Skye and the rest of the family were given the news that their father, husband, and friend had finally faded away. All of his belongings were bequeathed to his, at the time, unborn grandson. With the boy not of age yet, the items resided in the ownership of the mother until such time that the child reached maturity at the age of Seventeen.

Under Construction, more will be added.

Zachary Bryant: The Backstory

Zack Bryant: An aged man with an even more aged idea of how the world should work.

Hands, cheeks, eyes, neck... Everything seemed to broadcast his fading life, yet the spark still fizzled within his bosom. 60 years. 60 years it had taken him to believe in someone enough to take over the family. And that trust came in the form of a 17 year old woman who's ambition reminded him of himself. Which was typical of a daughter, he assumed.


~~~~~~~~~~

His Hogwarts career had been one to be remembered. Star Chaser of the Slytherin Team, Best Duelist in his Advanced Charms classes, and Head Boy his seventh year. He'd been somewhat a jock, should the muggle word ever have a place in Hogwarts terms. Though a jock he was, he had met some of the most fantastic friends a newly graduated boy could ever ask for. Nikeia had been his friend, and lover if you would care to know, but more importantly she had been his adversary. Where he was weak, she was strong, and it never bemused her to let him know it. She was his greatest competitor on the Quidditch field. Whereas he was a 'do it yourself' man, she led a team of well organized Gryffindors against him and his mates. It was hard losing to them. Especially since she was a girl.. Their love had sparked in secret among the cushions of the Room of Requirement. Apparently they both had a mind for studying in a well-comforted room.

It was a fierce and swift love, however, and over the course of a summer the life had sizzled and faded away into mist. Zack moved on, and Nikeia... Well he never saw her again.

Some years later, after he had traveled the world as many teenagers do and put down the life of Vampire chasing, he found that teaching was what he was good at. So back to Hogwarts he went, though this time he was there to teach the next group of leaders
and stalwart defenders of Wizarding kind. It was there that he met his future wife, Luna. She had the looks, the attitude, and definitely the mindset that he was so desperately looking for. You see, his parents had drilled into his pre-pubescent mind that men should look for a woman as ambitious as he.

And ambitious she was. Slowly but surely his decent into dabbling with the dark arts led him to Voldemort. Where he wouldn't fall far enough into becoming a death Eater, but far enough that he was among one of the trusted members of his intelligence group.  She helped, guided, and supported Zack until that point.

"There had always been a doubt in my mind.", she had told him one night, "That you wouldn't know how to get out of this situation you've put yourself into." She had left the next day with his teenage daughter Skye.

It was then that Zack had lost all his hope for the world. He left Hogwarts and sat on his favorite bench on the lawn of his mansion in Ottery. It was many moments before he summoned what he called courage to cast the killing curse. His handsome and fit body was boarded up and placed in the ground with a prayer and eulogy, but his spirit remained tied to the material plane. Clearly something within his unsatisfied conscious had bound him to remain here on Earth as a Ghost before he could die in peace. There had been nothing left in England for him when he killed himself. No family, no friends, no anything really.

With left keeping him there, he determined that he was going to travel the world again in search of his meaning to life.

Columbia, South America, 4 years after his death.

Zack's Ghost, who had become known as the 'wandering traveler' throughout the world, had stumbled (or floated, rather) across an ancient voodoo woman living in a putrid swamp. It was said that the old, hunchbacked woman knew the secrets of a forgotten spell that could bind ghosts to a human body. He studied with her, and assisted her whenever possible, until it was known to him those secrets. Most people wanted their old, decrepit bodies again. Muggles called these resurrected souls "zombies" and apparently movies had been made about them. But Zack had an entirely different idea on the matter. He wanted a new face and a new body. It had been hard for him to spook an older gentleman into the midst of the voodoo woman. There wasn't much else besides older people around the swamp. Who other than the dying
would want to live near here anyway?

Zack's return to England wasn't well met. The headmaster at Hogwarts nearly refused him on the grounds that returned ghosts had no place in Hogwarts, but Zack won him over by telling them that if ghosts could teach and live in Hogwarts, why couldn't a ghost with a body?

His mansion was just the way it was when he left it, though a fine layer of dust settled on each and every ornate thing that was spread throughout the house.

The only thing left missing from his life was his daughter, and his wife....