fresh faced and recently graduated, reginald cattermole was ready for the ministry of magic. ever since he was a child, he knew that he wanted to be involved in government. his family always expected him to be a member of the magical law department, notably as a lawyer of some sorts but reggie had higher plans. he was going to work directly alongside the minister of magic, and hopefully one day, take the seat himself. sure, these are quite ambitious plans for someone at the meek age of twelve, but reginald knew what he wanted a higher up position. why would he settle for less? he was bright, came from a respectable pureblood family, and knew that he would be good for the position. when he was twelve years old, he made the goal to work within the highest department of the ministry of magic, knowing that the position of junior undersecretary to the minister would go to someone who managed to graduate with top marks, have respectable activities outside of classes, and a few damn good letters of recommendation.
years later as he sat at his desk, in his own spacious office directly beside the minister of magic, reginald knew that he was reaching his goals. he had received the letter of the position being offered to him the day before his nineteenth birthday, which was probably the best birthday gift he had ever received. he was here. he was the junior undersecretary to the minister of magic. but the position itself was up in the air at this point in time. with the death of the minister and an interim replacement until a true election could be held. reginald already had his eyes set on a potential replacement, feeling as though millicent bagnold was the clearest replacement. she was respected within the ministry, and had a clear plan for reform within the wizarding world. add in the fact that she was devilishly attractive and could control a room full of elderly men who felt women had no place in the office, reggie was almost certain that she would be a shoe-in for minister of magic.
and there he would be. anxiously waiting the results of the elections, but ready to dutifully serve whoever earned the position.
LEVEL TWO - DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT (PAST)
it was a symbol of power. a lot of people thought that he was being over the top with it, but the fact that he was given the title of prefect was something that reggie was extremely proud of. for someone that had as high goals and ambitions, he knew that he needed to be under the good graces of the school and what better way to prove that he was under their radar than by earning the position of prefect? of course, it this position wasn't without the negative sides. being a prefect was respected on paper, but you had to earn the respect from your peers. and that meant that you couldn't always been the most popular student around.
reginald wasn't exactly the 'big man on campus' regardless, but it seemed that when he earned his prefect badge, his popularity started to spiral downward a little further. reggie took his position very seriously, and he wasn't above docking his friends house points if he caught them doing something wrong. even people in his own house. of course, this made him a little bit of a target for people who were angry at him whenever he docked them the house points, but he wasn't going to make exceptions. those are the kinds of things that are going to come back and haunt you. people will remember you as the kind of person who 'makes exceptions'. no one is going to vote for you if you are someone who 'makes exceptions'.
LEVEL THREE - DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES (PAST)
it was an accident, but that still didn't stop him from being punished. as the son of a highly esteemed pureblood family, accidents like this couldn't happen. most families would be overjoyed at the fact that their child had displayed signs of magic at such a young age, but reggie was punished. it all started when he was in the backyard, playing in his sandbox while his parents sat on the patio deck. for reasons known only to them, the cattermole family had decided to live in an all muggle community. very similar to the white picket fence stereotype that one would imagine. it was a small housing area, with cookie cutter homes that all looked the exact same and were built a bit too closely to one another.
it was that very reason the entire accident happened. his father had been complaining again about how the neighbors weren't keeping up with their shrubbery, causing the large trees and bushes to grow and spread into their lawn. his father was quite adamant about the state of their lawn. the grass had to be at a perfect level, the color a perfect shade of green. it was almost as if his obsession with the nature of his lawn was a means to distract himself from the monotony of his 'perfect union' that his parents had set up between he and his wife. but regardless, there he was, sipping his iced tea and complaining about the large branches that were over the distinct line of the fence he built in order to ensure their privacy.
"daddy?"Ā reginald asked, looking over at his parents. he was quickly dismissed by his mother however as she snipped at himĀ "don't interrupt your father, reginald."Ā before continuing their discussion about their obscene neighbors who had no respect for their common man. growing a little huffy, reggie turned away from his parents, staring at the branches that were looming over their yard. closing his eyes, he let out a small sigh and sat in silence. the silence was short lived, however, as his parents started screaming. he opened his eyes, surprised etched on his features when he saw that the tree branches he was just thinking about and growing frustrated with were on fire.
LEVEL FOUR - DEPARTMENT FOR THE REGULATION AND CONTROL OF MAGICAL CREATURES (PRESENT)
"alright, so i wouldn't necessarily say that i have zoophobia, but i don't like animals. well, furthermore, i am afraid of a lot of them. animals are kind of the bane of my existence, to be honest. you know how a lot of males have an aversion to babies? well i have that aversion to animals. they're smelly, they make messes, they are loud, and most of the time they are dangerous."
"i think it all started when i took care of magical creatures because one of my friends didn't want to take it alone. i knew it was a bad idea, since i've always hated animals, but i didn't want to just up and abandon him. so i take the class, and of course the first day we are working with flobberworms. i don't know why professor kettleburn thought that they were a good idea, but regardless, if you haven't ever dealt with a flobberworm, consider yourself lucky. they're disgusting, and it just further strengthened the fact that i hate animals."
"what was funny was that one of my professors suggested i go into the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures. right. as if. the only reasons i would go into that department was if i was able to make sure that all creatures had to face stronger legislation and were forced outside of the confines of wizarding kind. sure, people can have small pets like mice or even an owl, but anything larger than that? no thanks. i don't want anything that drools or makes messes all over the place."
LEVEL FIVE - DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL MAGICAL COOPERATION (PAST)
the cattermole family is your standard, traditional wizarding family that was brought together by pureblood betrothals. edith archambault is from a wealthy french wizarding family, having grown up and attended beauxbatons academy of magic. her father owned a very successful chain of wizarding hotels and inns, providing the family with a large amount of money. she was the youngest of four girls, all of whom were married off to various individuals in the wizarding world in order to continue to strengthen the power and success of the archambault family. when she was fifteen years old, she was informed that she would be wedding an english gentleman by the name of richard cattermole.
she didn't know anything about this richard cattermole, so she tried to make sure that she lived her last few years of freedom to their greatest. the young blonde knew that the relationship would be difficult, but she had no choice in the matter. what was done was done. the two met for the first time when they were eighteen years old, and four months later they were married. shortly after that, she found that she was pregnant with their first and only child. reginald was born, and he was a male, therefore the cattermole line would continue and there were no real reasons to delude themselves into thinking that 'making love' was needed anymore. reginald was born, and the cattermoles moved into their small neighborhood home.
the culture between french and english in regards to raising children is not that different, though reginald was born into quite a cold home. his father was involved with the ministry of magic, working as a member of the accidental magic reversal squad. his mother stayed at home, though his nanny did most of the child raising duties. both richard and edith had their respective affairs, nothing surprising or new for people who have been forced into marriages at such a young age. the cattermole household was a simple one, though they never had to worry about money. politics were beyond them, as they opted to remain neutral and only do as the ministry and government told them to do.
LEVEL SIX - DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL TRANSPORTATION (PAST)
his journey on the hogwarts express was a simple one. he sat with a few other pureblood children that he had met at various gatherings, sharing the candies from the little old woman who sold treats to the students. they all discussed the various houses and where they thought that they would be best suited for. many of them said slytherin, though reginald thought that he should end up ravenclaw. he was overly ambitious, of course, and knew that he wanted to go far in life, but ravenclaw would allow him to be in an environment where he would be able to focus on his education. and besides, ravenclaws have quite the reputation of working within the ministry, so it seemed like it was a perfect fit.
reggie sat on the train, listening to the conversation but staying a bit quiet. he didn't want to tell his new friends that he didn't want to end up in the same house as them. sitting with his pet rat on his lap (he didn't even want it, but his parents said he had to get a pet animal), reginald nodded and quietly ate his pumpkin pasties, hoping that the question didn't end up being tuned towards him. thankfully he didn't have to deal with the awkward conversation that he was dreading, since his father was a slytherin and he felt that it was his responsibility to try and fill his shoes. the people he shared the compartment with would go on to be sorted into slytherin, and he would be left in ravenclaw. maybe it was true what they said; the hat really did take into consideration what you wanted.
LEVEL SEVEN - DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL GAMES AND SPORTS (PAST)
"alright cattermole, you're up."Ā the captain said lazily, figuring that reginald would be just another waste of time. reginald, unbeknownst to many individuals, was actually quite good at quidditch. he had never thought about trying out for the team, since he was so focused on his prefect duties, but it was his last year at hogwarts and he felt that he should try and see what happened. he had skills, right? why not put them to use? walking up to the pitch, he took the beater mallet and mounted his broom, flying up into the air and taking a few breaths, readying himself for the captain to release the bludgers.
"ready...set...go!"Ā the captain yelled, releasing the bludgers out into the air. a small bead of sweat from nerves fell down his brow as he whipped his body around, wailing onto the oncoming bludger with his beater mallet with impressive force, causing it to sail over to the scoring posts and zooming through like a quaffle would. he could hear the surprise from those beneath him, meaning only one thing: he had proven them wrong. while he was quite a small and stringy individual, he had a surprising amount of upper body strength that could be coordinated into pretty decent enough aim.
for his final year at hogwarts, he served as one of two beaters on the ravenclaw quidditch team. the team wasn't the winners of the house cup, as that went to gryffindor and truth be told they deserved it. their team was phenomenal. but this last year at hogwarts was one of his favorites. he had a real feeling of comradeship within his house team, and for the first time, he actually felt very included. people ignored the fact that he was a stickler for the rules, always wanting to do what was by the book. he had teammates, he had comrades, and above all else, he had friends.
LEVEL EIGHT - THE ATRIUM (PRESENT)
the first time reggie walked into the ministry of magic as the official junior undersecretary to the minister of magic, he was overwhelmed. the newly turned nineteen year old couldn't believe his luck. out of all the applicants for the position, he had been chosen. he was selected above all others, and he was finally going to prove to his parents that he wasn't just the average son that they always thought he was become. anyone would be intimidated walking into the ministry of magic for the first time, but he was hoping to turn his nerves energy into positive energy. he stood in front of the large monumental fountain, taking in the sight and pulling in a huge breath of air.
this was it. this was his first day on the job
of course, his job was going to be quite interesting for the first section of it. recently the minister of magic had died, and in his place was an interim replacement. with an election coming up, reginald was mainly the errand boy for this interim minister. he had yet to meet said interim minister, as he had interviewed with the aforementioned deceased minister of magic. but no matter. he had won over the last one, hadn't he? he would be able to do the same. he had to do the same. straightening his bow tie, he clasped his satchel, an eager smile on his face as he headed forward.
LEVEL NINE - DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES (PRESENT)
"the world is a strange place, i'll give you that. i don't know, ever since i started working at the ministry, things are much different than i thought that they would be. when you live on the 'inside', you see a lot of things. there have been a lot of questionable letters that have come across my desk. some that unless you had a keen eye, you wouldn't read more into. but i feel like i've picked up on the lingo, if you will. and it concerns me."
"i would be lying if i said that i didn't think that this interim minister isn't as clean as the ministry is trying to put across. and i'm concerned. i'm worried about the future. my future. i want to get married, i want to have kids. i want a loving family, unlike the cold family that i grew up with. i want to be able to trust that our ministry is looking out for our well-being. our safety. not just my family, but all families, regardless of blood quantity."
"i don't know. i feel like right now i just need to keep my mouth shut and my head down. i'm crossing my fingers that ms. bagnold ends up getting elected, because i truly feel that she could be a beacon of hope in these dark times. i don't know. i just don't know."
LEVEL TEN - WIZENGAMOT COURTROOMS (FUTURE)
"cattermole, reginald cameron. accused crimes: aiding the dark lord in the wizarding role, responsible for the leaking of ministry information, and the attempted murder of millicent bagnold. how do you please?"
"not--not guilty, sir."Ā reggie exclaimed, now twenty one years old and completely terrified out of his mind. wearing the same bowtie and suit that he wore on his first day of work, he looked extremely minuscule with watery eyes and his legs shaking with nervous energy. he knew he was innocent, but the evidence against him were almost unbearably hefty. he had to convince them. he had to make them see.
"and how, dare we ask, do you think that you can plead guilty with all of the evidence presented against you? not only do we have personal testimony from minister bagnold herself of your attempted murder--"
"it wasn't me! i mean, it was but it --"Ā "do not interrupt me, reginald."the judge said, eerily similar to the tone that his mother used to take with him as a child.
"but sir, please listen...i was under the imperius curse and --"
at that, the wizengamot court all began to murmur under the breath, many saying things along the lines of 'a likely story' and 'i'm sure you were'.
"i know, a lot of people have used that excuse but i promise it is the truth! the death eaters knew i was close to the minister and used it to their advantage!"
"mr. cattermole, do you really think we are as incompetent as to not know when a person has been a target of the imper --"
"yes! yes i do! if you weren't, you would realize that half the people you have condemned to the death eater's kiss were innocent as i am!"
this was greeted with many loud murmurs and statements made by the court, causing the head judge to bang his gavel down,Ā "mr. cattermole, you have been charged with these crimes and will face ten years in azkaban prison for them. there is no further discussion. please take him away."
"no!! dad, do something!"Ā reginald yelled at his father, sitting in the stands with the rest of the wizengamot, refusing to look his son in the eye as he was carted away by the guards to face punishment for his 'crimes'.
