FAMILY MEMBERS. | Father – Phronesis Dunamis – Unknown Mother – Jane Marino (deceased) Grandmother – Luisa Marino Grandfather – Elio Marino |
CHILDHOOD. | His mother had been dating someone (Phronesis Dunamis) some twenty four years ago and her parents -who were very controlling people – felt he was not an appropriate lover for her to engage in a future with. Little did they know he would one day become Headmaster of one of the best schools for witches and wizards and could have helped Mackenzie be a better man. So, with reluctance, Jane had to call off her relationship, and this happened before she learned of her pregnancy.
Mackenzie was born on a rather cold day in November. His grandparents were displeased by their half-blood grandchild born out of wedlock that they allowed Jane to give him his father’s last name as they tried desperately to displace him from the family. This disdain only grew. Jane, who loved Mackenzie dearly, could not understand how her parents could hold so much dislike for an innocent child and blame him for the mistakes of his parents. Jane did not think she had made any mistakes except for letting Phronesis walk away.
His youth was a struggle. Having grandparents who disliked him but had to put up a front for the pureblood world. There was never any premise as to why they disliked their grandson and the man who had helped create him. Perhaps because he was not Italian? Who knew. It didn’t matter.
When Mackenzie was around five years old, his mother got sick. She passed away shortly after that. Cancer. There was no one left who cared about Mackenzie well enough to show him love and affection. His grandmother took charge of him and did her best. She provided him with tutors, an education, and no time to dally on anything that was deemed a useless hobby. He spent his pre-school years living in a very small world where the only escape were the books he loved so dearly and the adventures they took him on.
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YEAR 01. | When he came of age, Mackenzie was thrilled to finally attend Beauxbatons – it was the closest school to his home in Italy. He would travel there by carriage and home again until he could live within the school when he turned eleven. He was astounded bu the Chateau. The gardens were beautiful and he was especially drawn to the bright yellow flowers in them that reminded him of the sunshine – something he saw little of during his time at home while being kept hidden away from the world as a disgrace.
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YEAR 02. | While he loved Beauxbatons, after his first year, his grandparents kept him home until he was old enough to remain during the school terms. He was homeschooled and miserable this year. It was just far too much effort to get him ready for the carriage every day and such a long trek for such a young child. Tutors were brought in to help him achieve the highest level of education he could. He was a bright young lad, they claimed that every time he took a test and did famously.
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YEAR 03. | He spent another, miserable year at home while all the other magical kids he had met his first year seemed to forget he had existed. Letters stopped coming and he slowly gave up caring about his studies. What was the point if he didn’t get to do it at such a fine establishment? It was about this year when Grandpa Elio became more aggressive with his punishments. If they were going to have a wretched grandchild he better at least perform well so they could marry him off to a decent family and be rid of him. Mackenzie had to pull up his grades real fast otherwise he got the belt. He got it more times than he could count during this year.
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YEAR 04. | He only had to survive one more year at home with his grandparents but by this point they were already discussing what they would do with him once he was old enough and a man. Mackenzie didn’t like these discussions. He wanted out. He attempted to run away from his grandparents and find his biological father. The man had to exist, right? He had no luck. He made his escape for two days before the police found him and returned him to the Marino estate. His grandfather locked him in his room like a prisoner after that.
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YEAR 05. | Finally, Mackenzie got to return to Beauxbatons. Unfortunately, the damage was already done and could not be undone. While he was free of the verbal and physical abuse at home, he had to face up to the reality of having no social skills and thus struggled hard to make friends in these early years. He would spend his free time in the garden talking to the sunflowers – he loved them the best. And despite having a rough second go at a first year at Beauxbatons it was still better than home.
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YEAR 06.
| Mackenzie found a small group of students – the book club – who were a lot like him and preferred the quiet of libraries and spending time between the pages. He found his niche, some friends, it was nice. He did well in his studies, theoretically. His practical work was abysmal. His grandfather was not happy when his grades were reported and sent Howlers to embarrass him in hopes he did better.
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YEAR 07.
| He actually went on his first date this year – with a girl from the book club. It was a disaster. Neither one of them knew what they were doing and when it came time to kiss her good night, they clocked heads so hard he was seeing stars and had to hang onto the wall to get back to his dorm. Man, her head was hard! Needless to say, there was not a second date and he earned a new round of insults. People called him helmet head and offered him protective spells so he didn’t harm anyone else when he tried to kiss them. It was embarrassing.
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YEAR 08. | Dating was out of the question. No one wanted him as their boyfriend anyway. He couldn’t even carry a cup of tea without spilling it on his pants. The more they laughed, the worse he got at being able to perform. Performance anxiety was becoming a real crutch in his life. He stumbled over his spells and messed them up all the time that he barely passed practical exams with anything but an acceptable. Grandpa Elio was not impressed. How was he supposed to become part of the magical research team if he couldn’t perform? It was not a good year, or summer.
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YEAR 09. | He just didn’t bother with people this year. He had to find his place in life. He had to be good at something. Nothing seemed to be falling into place for him. He even tried things such as helping in the hospital wing but he spilled he potions all the time and couldn’t keep wounds dressed – the tape always stuck to him instead! It was awful. That summer though, his grandmother got sick with dementia. He finally found something he could do. He looked after her. Despite dropping things and causing messes everywhere he went, he was somehow a comforting companion for her and ensured she had everything she needed. It seemed her dementia had allowed her to forget her disdain for him and they managed to enjoy each other’s company that summer. He hated to leave her for his final year. |
YEAR 10. | It was this year that Elio had to place Luisa into a nursing home. He could not care for her advanced dementia and when Mackenzie got the letter he was rather sad, but happy for her to go somewhere that special people could look after her properly. He didn’t know what he would do after he graduated though. Seemed his grandfather had it all figured out. Mackenzie would work for the research group. He would be their errand boy until he could prove himself and advance up the ladder. Great. At least he would be useful, and miserable.
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ADULTHOOD. | After graduation, Mackenzie was indoctrinated into the research group his grandfather founded and ran. He wasn’t given many specific roles but things like getting coffee, preparing meals, such things like he had done for his failing grandmother – things he could handle that were deemed womanly. Really, it was better than he expected. He could read and not be a bother unless someone needed him and that was what he did. His life had very little meaning for the most part. He existed.
Then things started happening in the Europe. They heard about it in Italy. Whispers of a group rising to power. A man who had been foolish enough to try and wipe away prejudices. It all felt like before according to the older members of the research group. Except something was different and some of them went to England to investigate. They never returned. Had they died? One letter came that explained what was going on in detail. Research. This interested Mac’s grandfather and he began paying more and more attention. He even used Mac to help him gain more information. Mac was good at that. No one noticed him.
They did not get involved in the Cremation. That was stupid. Once it crumbled, Elio struck. He heard rumors of the artificial werewolf and he wanted him. What Elio wanted, Elio got and thus the werewolf was in their grasps. Mac was charged with tending to him. Ensuring he was fed, watered, and escorting him to the transformation room and research rooms as needed. He was good at this. And he didn’t mind the werewolf. Sometimes he would even sit outside the cell and read to him when there was nothing else to do.
On one particular evening, Mac accidentally fumbled the key to the werewolf’s cell and lost it. By the time he returned with the replacement, the werewolf was gone. Everyone knew it was his fault but you see, he had feelings for this man. He was not a monster. Unfortunately, the werewolf was recaptured and Mac was punished. A man was brought in who cast some dark, evil spell upon Mac and the werewolf, unknowingly binding their souls together.
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