Mordecai Hollingbury

Mordecai Linus Hollingbury
Biographical Information
Born	13 April 1950, 68
City of Birth	York, England
Current City	London, England
Residence	25 Stuart Road, Acton, London, England, United Kingdom
Blood status	Half-blood
Also known as	Mord
Physical Information
Gender	Male
Height	5'11"
Hair Colour	Black, brown in the sun
Eye Colour	Light brown
Skin Colour	Slightly dark
Relationships
Father	Linus C. Hollingbury
Mother	Emily Hollingbury
Siblings	Morgana Hollingbury
Married: Lydia Hollingbury 1973 -
Children	Arcturus Hollingbury Alethea Hollingbury
Family Tree
Magical Characteristics
Wand(s)
11.5 inch rigid Alder with knobby surface and Phoenix Feather core (Made by Ollivander)
Patronus	Peregrine falcon
Special Abilities	Occlumens
Education
School	Hogwarts
House	Ravenclaw
Class of	1968
Classes Included
Occupation
Title: Member 2009 - Office: Wizengamot Department: Magical Law Enforcement Ministry of Magic Title: Head 2000 - Office: Improper Use of Magic Office Department: Magical Law Enforcement Ministry of Magic Title: School Governor 2012 - Hogwarts
Character Information
Biography Network Threads
Neon

The Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, Mordecai has been working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement since he graduated from Hogwarts. Armed with an encyclopedic, intimidating amount of knowledge of wizarding law, he is prepared to maintain and defend the wizarding world via the Statute of Secrecy. He is also a member of the Wizengamot and a Hogwarts School Governor.

He largely considers himself an unremarkable man with incredible support in the form of his family and coworkers, especially his deputy Sameera Taylor and Dieter Morgenstern, and he would not be incorrect. The people he knows constantly do have to dissuade him from his workaholism, but also keep him persevering with hope and tenacity in his quest to build a better future for all.

Mordecai walks with a distinct limp to his gait due to an injury inflicted during the Futurist attack on Souldern Dragon Sanctuary. He supports himself with an austere wenge wood walking cane and tires easily without it, as the wound will never be fully healed.

Family

Arcturus Hollingbury is his son, and Lydia Hollingbury is his wife. Mordecai is extremely protective of his family and will not hesitate to defend them in any way possible due to the loss of his daughter Alethea in 1997 to Death Eaters and the disowning of his sister.

Morgana Hollingbury is his disowned sister. The relationship with his sister is currently strained, but not because of his failure to prevent her disowning - Morgana has already forgiven him for it. They just can't speak with each other and the blame he puts on himself for failing stops him from truly being unable to open up about it.

He has an even more strained relationship with his father Linus C. Hollingbury, now at the stage of estrangement. Mordecai is currently under a Prohibition Jinx that prevents him from talking directly about his sister.

Appearance/Distinguishing Features

Mordecai, also known by Mord informally, stands at 5’11” or 180cm. He is not a man with a toned or muscular build, but much of his wardrobe emphasises his shoulders and creates that image for him. His face is framed by a thick head of black hair with a central parting, though there is no doubt some white is starting to show. The hair at his sideburns has gone completely white, tucked behind his ears. Like every Hollingbury, he has light brown eyes and his hair is brown in the sun, although it has a sprinkling of white at the roots which is especially visible at his central parting and temples. The back of his hair spills over his shoulders.

While he is not a particularly striking man in appearance, Mordecai carries a natural air of dignity and solemnity that befits a man who is in charge of the British wizarding world's legislation. His thin moustache thickening into a hefty beard certainly lends to this image, bearing a smattering of salt and pepper marking his age. This combination allows him to bear a presence of authority that simultaneously does not impose itself, instead cultivating an image of stability and impartiality.

To most he maintains a neutral if amiable expression the majority of the time. Any gestures of mirth or irritation are quick to appear and vanish just as fast. This makes him hard to read, which is entirely intentional. Among close friends and family the neutrality is dropped for a distinctly obvious expressiveness that would surprise those who have never seen him as such. This was largely in response to his wife and son also having difficulty reading him.

When at work, Mordecai wears single- and double-breasted waistcoats with ties, giving off a very proper appearance on first impressions. He keeps his appearance well because he prefers an authoritative look to go with his job. While he favours neutral colours, he can and has been seen wearing more unconventional colour combinations of blazers, shirts and ties that somehow still complement each other.

When off work, he is more inclined to wear plain v-neck pullovers or sleeveless jumpers with a white t-shirt or dress shirt underneath. He usually doesn't tuck in the hem if he's dressed as such, but with a collared shirt alone he tucks it in. He is more likely to leave the top button of the collar free. About the most casual he'll go is wearing a jumper with a scarf and jeans.

Personality

Mordecai is famously difficult to anger. Any sort of matter that leads others to assume wrath is met instead with quiet disappointment or a steadfast resolution to immediately fix the issue. Attempts to get him to show anger gets some irritation from him as he never appreciates being played with for that reason. He himself has admitted to anger before but will not elaborate.

His wife Lydia is the only person who has ever seen him angry once. She will always state that seeing Mordecai angry is not advisable at all.

Most then assume that he is wont to express that anger in private towards the perpetrator, to which Arcturus has disabused the notion. Mordecai's countenance gives the impression of being a reasonable, deliberate man who eases himself into communication rather than force people to take his way or the high way - and that impression would be right. His career in legislation and his experiences during the Wizarding Wars lend to his impartiality and cool, logical approach to everything.

Some in the past have taken his reserved body language to mean that he has no bite. This is a dangerous assumption to make as they have found. Mordecai's quiet temperament belies his keen observation and intuition of body language, able to catch subtle body language cues. He tracks everything as much as he can, and he is known to bring all of those little things back into the fold as evidence. He is not, by default, a trusting man. While he himself is undoubtedly altruistic, courteous and well-meaning, he holds himself at arm's length from anyone outside of his loved ones to keep himself emotionally detached from difficult matters.

His lack of expression makes it difficult for people to know when he's joking or not, as well as if he is pleased or upset. While this is entirely intentional, Mordecai is well aware of this and is making an active effort to prevent accidental antagonisation of others due to this.

Some have taken his neutrality to mean he is a man of little emotion; this is false as Arc and Lydia will attest to his immense grief over being unable to prevent his sister Morgana from being disowned and his daughter's death in 1997. Much of his motivation to see the British wizarding world into a fairer world where injustices are brought to light and given due trial is driven by this grief and an equal amount of love of seeing the world a safer place for his family and everyone else.

He used to be quite defeatist about the amount of power he truly did have until Sameera Taylor joined his office, wherein her refusal to accept the status quo has been helping him be more defiant of traditional values and the Ministry's overall level of competence.

Timeline

• 1968 - Graduated from Hogwarts, Summer internship with the Wizengamot Administration Services
• 1969-1971 - Wizengamot Administration Services
• 1972 - Administrative Registration Department
• 1981 - Wizengamot Administration Services
• 1991 - Administrative Registration Department
• 1997-1998 - Had to work under the Muggle-Born Registration Commission
• 1998-current - Improper Use of Magic Office

History

Childhood

Mordecai led a quiet, if strict, life with his halfblood parents, being homeschooled and bright. As the oldest, he was immediately taught to be responsible and authoritative, to be accountable and always being an upright role model who should not bend to worse forces. Academics was very much strongly emphasised with him and his sister, although she had more leeway than he did as he was the eldest and therefore shouldered with the burden of making sure he was in charge. This upbringing he carries into his work and life as an adult even after this long.

Hogwarts

In Hogwarts, he was immediately Sorted to Ravenclaw – not a surprise for a Hollingbury. For his OWLs, Mordecai took Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, Potions, History of Magic, Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes. For NEWTs, he dropped History of Magic and Astronomy, and achieved Os in all subjects. He was a Keeper on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team during his third and fourth years, and an avid member of the Duelling Club that later gave him his skills and reputation as a duellist. This gave him quick reflexes that he has not lost today by occasionally duelling non-lethally with his friends.

Early Adulthood

After graduating from Hogwarts in 1968, he took a summer internship at the Ministry of Magic, working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He found himself usually somewhere with the Wizengamot Administration Services. Whilst there, he worked as a lowly clerk assigned to one of the more strict staffpersons, but learned a great deal on wizarding law. The training he was given taught him responsibility and reliability as well as introduced him to the hardships of the real world. After his internship ended in 1969, he applied for a job within the Wizengamot Administration Services as he enjoyed his term there.

Mordecai worked in that area from 1969 to 1971, wherein he transferred to the Administrative Registration Department due to a lack of staff. This was also during the time of the First Wizarding War, where he became jaded over time due to the events.

First Wizarding War

In 1972, due to the First Wizarding War, the strict regulation of the Floo Network gave him several problems, culminating in his fireplace losing connections with the Ministry. The Floo Network Authority sent Lydia Kontzoglou, a Muggleborn Greek-British witch from Brighton, to fix the connection. Mordecai found himself smitten with Lydia and eventually found time to visit her on Level Six. Lydia, charmed by his advances and personality, spent time with him in the Ministry whenever they could since they couldn’t even have a proper date; both of them were essential during the War as Lydia allowed Mordecai to keep track of casualties as well as births through the Floo Network. In 1973, Lydia joined the Hollingbury family in matrimony to Mordecai with a hasty and very quick wedding only attended by their parents.

The First Wizarding War, however, put pressure on Lydia because of her blood status. Mordecai never made any mention of their wedding to any of his colleagues, and Lydia hid with the Hollingburys as she could not leave the country on pain of death. Mordecai started becoming paranoid around this time, and as such began to delve into Occlumency, desperate to find a way to prevent people from finding out his secrets. Despite the hassle that they endured, Lydia became pregnant and gave birth to Alethea in 1974.

Now with the added burden of a family on his hands, Mordecai persevered in working harder than ever. He became distrustful of a few of his colleagues within the Administrative Registration Department, as some of them ratted out their Muggleborn colleagues and joined the side of the Death Eaters. The Ministry’s persistence and strength during this time compelled him to continue working at his job, overall. Mordecai continued his studies, his resolve to master Occlumency holding out throughout this time. It was not easy for him as around this time he still was not partial to supressing his emotions, although his paranoia gave him some help going from novice to intermediate level.

In 1980, Arcturus was born. At this time, Mordecai finally caved and bought the house at 25 Acton Road, London; he could no longer hide his family with his parents. The house was very heavily guarded and neither Alethea nor Arcturus ever experienced the hardships of the war. Lydia and Mordecai did not ever tell them anything about the war, but kept them in the house with Mordecai’s mother visiting to take care of the children.

Around this time, the Death Eaters began to decline. When the war ended in 1981, Mordecai and Lydia finally had a proper wedding service and let their colleagues know. Mordecai found himself hoping, deep down inside, that he would never have to deal with such a tumultuous time ever again. He relaxed his studies in Occlumency to spend time with his family.

He was wrong.

Second Wizarding War

He went back to the Wizengamot Administration Services, but this time as senior personnel. He was also usually present at court hearings to record down the details, and also determined legal proceedings according to different cases and scheduling court dates and availability of judges. Lydia continued her job at the Floo Network Authority, as a senior Regulator. Their lives continued in peace, with Mordecai regularly visiting Lydia’s family in Greece, where they had fled to during the early years of the First Wizarding War and were now permanently residing. Both Mordecai and Lydia watched their children grow up and start their education in Hogwarts; while they were away in Hogwarts, Mordecai resumed his Occlumency work and began moving towards mastery of the ability.

In 1991, Mordecai went back to his Administrative Registration Department position, having had his fair share of time on the Wizengamot Administration Services.

In 1995 Mordecai was one of those who saw through the Ministry of Magic's denial of the return of Lord Voldemort, especially once the campaign to discredit Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore began. He did not voice his concerns, knowing he would be an immediate target due to his dissent - which made him all the more frustrated when he finally admitted it when no one could ignore the Dark Lord's return and was immediately branded a coward. He returned to his studies in Occlumency in silence, his trust in the Ministry lost.

On 1st August 1997 the Ministry underwent the Death Eater coup and Mordecai had no choice but to go along with it to keep himself safe. He would later learn of Alethea's death, but it went unheard of by most and he suffered in silence until he could go home. Despite the couple's grief he convinced Lydia to stay with her parents who had moved to Greece, to keep her safe from the Ministry. Arcturus was stuck at Hogwarts with no way to return home, filling Mordecai with worry and fear for him, and his mother passed after a Death Eater-related incident as well. Devastated and alone, Mordecai did not inform his father of Alethea's death until after the war.

The Muggle-Born Registration Commission was set up under the Administrative Registration Department, much to Mordecai’s horror. Mordecai lost several friends of his during this time, along with being ridiculed about his blood status and his heavily halfblood family. Thankfully at this point his skill in Occlumency was advanced enough to the point he felt guarded even to his son, and could detect if Legilimency was being used on him whenever he was interrogated.

To this day he and his family attribute his lack of build to this amount of stress he experienced. His wife and son have been quick to note that Mordecai has never really eaten very well since due to a distinct lack of appetite not typical for a man, ever since the Second War.

Improper Use of Magic Office

After the Second Wizarding War ended in 1998, Mordecai transferred to the Improper Use of Magic Office. His official reason was to escape his memories in the Administrative Registration Department. His unofficial reason is his deep dislike of its former Head Travers and to set it right again.

Mordecai continued to work in the Improper Use of Magic Office, his prior knowledge of wizarding law helping him eventually rise to the position of Head at 50 years of age.

As far as is known, he has mastered Occlumency enough to be able to suppressing thoughts, emotions and memories in order to make anyone believe he is completely confident in what he’s saying.

2013-2017

Mordecai remained the Head of the Improper Use of Magic, desiring no upwards climb or career change. He has found his niche and excels well at it, and these days though he's still relatively young as a wizard he found the pace suited to his lifestyle and prefers this way of contributing to his government's politics.

As a result he has become something of a pillar of security for many, a constant in a changing landscape. This is not to say that he remained firmly with old mindsets; with the help of his deputy Sameera Taylor he kept up to date with law as she often referred back to Canada and discussed law with him.

Edwin Glass no longer being Minister gave him space to breathe. He never liked the man, always being incredibly suspicious of him solely due to gut instinct, and was relieved that his instinct was right and he was no longer having to uphold a Minister he didn't believe in. Solomon Carstairs' appointment added to the relief: while Carstairs and he did not necessarily see eye to eye all the time, Mordecai respected Carstairs far more and found his justifications well-founded. They maintained a professional working relationship that didn't change much even with the elevation of Carstairs' position, Mordecai remaining candid if the occasion was appropriate.

Despite the unexpected appointment as a School Governor Mordecai accepted the role nonetheless (much to Lydia's protests as she felt he had too much on his plate already). He enjoyed the challenge of something new and brought his impartiality to the table, encouraging listening to both sides before coming to a solution and displaying an incredible amount of patience akin to that of a teacher (if he was aware of it, he never said). While he was usually seen as representing the DMLE at the table he never acted as spokesman, knowing that what he believed was justice wasn't necessarily what the DMLE as a whole would do and kept that out of school matters unless the situation called for advice.

Over the five years Mordecai came to be familiar with the Futurist movement as its members tended to be involved directly with his office's jurisdiction, the Statute of Secrecy. The Futurists did believe they had an ally in him for many reasons: Mordecai being halfblood, living on a Muggle street in Muggle London, married to a Muggleborn wife and general interest and kindness towards Muggles. What they did not anticipate was Mordecai's war background, compounding with his general level of paranoia and distrust, which cost them an ally when extremists caused collateral damage to Muggles and wixes alike trying to break down the barriers between the two worlds. While Mordecai does not mind Muggle lifestyles, he tends to see his work as protecting the wizarding world not just from outside threats but also from itself and preventing it from going after the Muggle world, and the Futurists did not provide an adequate reason that could convince him that the Statute needed changing.

The more Futurists tried to convince him that their extremism was right, the more Mordecai opposed the movement. He agreed with adopting Muggle values and knowledge to repurpose and appropriate to improve quality of life, but that was where it stopped and Mordecai was not necessarily in agreement with all of those values either. He did not trust people on principle to carry things out in moderation and neither wix nor Muggle were exempt from this distrust.

This came to a head in early 2017 when the Office caught wind of a possible Futurist extremist attempt on an animal sanctuary in Souldern, Oxfordshire, and went to intervene. The Futurists succeeded in letting a glimpse of escaped magical creatures reach Muggle eyes, and Mordecai was badly injured by the preceding destruction of the barrier. With the help of dragonologist Lyra Avery he was admitted to St Mungo’s and recovered mostly save for his right leg, which unfortunately took the brunt and was unable to be fully healed. As of January 2018 he uses a walking cane due to the irreversible limp in his gait.

The Souldern Dragon Sanctuary incident has mostly affirmed Mordecai’s concerns about the short- and long-term impacts of Futurism. While he is still open to the idea should it be able to convince him that Muggles and wixes can coexist, he requires more than just promises and words to win him over and that might be a hard sell.

While Mordecai felt justified in his reasoning plenty of others did not. The Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office was bound to attract criticism and he has faced criticism through the years: being traditionalist in the 21st century, conservative about his views on current wizarding law despite his move to keep law updated and taking into account new situations on a case by case basis, and being outdated and naive on his beliefs in the Statute of Secrecy.

A small vocal group criticises him for supporting the Ministry in its policies in between those years. Mordecai to his credit has taken this in his stride and he spends a not insignificant amount of time reviewing old laws and discussing them with his Deputy on updating them.

2018

Despite his heavy workload and growing amount of responsibility, Mordecai continues to work diligently with law, attempting to make his part of the Ministry contribute to a better world amidst criticism and change. Whether his perseverance is out of tenacity or folly remains to be seen.

Interests and Skills

Law

Mordecai's primary responsibilities lie with enforcement, review and creation of legislation on the topic. He will admit that he does not remember every single case in British wizarding history off the top of his head, but if the rows of records behind him are of any significance it goes to show his dedication to the task.

Despite his desire to abide by the law, Mordecai is well aware that the legislation has its flaws, weaknesses and dark points. When he has time he reviews legislation and drafts proposals to rewrite them to being more suitable for current times. He also delegates his assistants to magical forensic investigations for evidence.

Duelist

Don't be fooled by the aged wizard sitting at his desk writing in a crisp calligraphic hand. Mordecai is a formidable opponent, especially as an Occlumens, in terms of his reflexes and wide knowledge of spells. Though he will not resort to Dark Magic to win a fight, he is pragmatic and, thanks to his proximity to the MLE, knows quite a bit on lethal and non-lethal spells. He considers protecting himself his own responsibility and does not wish to rely on the protection of Aurors - he would very much prefer to be self-sufficient in that regard.

Mordecai's duelling level is equal with his Occlumency.

Tea Brewing

Mordecai takes a huge interest in studying different techniques of tea brewing. There is something visceral about tea that he enjoys, something that doesn't even answer to intellect, and tea brewing itself is just one of the many things he's fascinated about. From the history of tea in Britain to Chinese tea ceremonies, he has a treasure trove of knowledge and honestly wishes to one day experience these for himself. He considers his theoretical knowledge not adequate for his liking; practical must follow.

Though at his level he still considers himself very much an amateur, but that would be like how Lydia, passionate herbologist, describes herself as an amateur.

Occlumency

Mordecai is a Master-level Occlumens who is able to erect mental barriers and obfuscate information mentally with relative ease. His reasons for learning it are many: to protect his family during the Wizarding Wars, to keep the matters of Improper Use and court cases confidential, and paranoia. It takes him mere moments for him to set up his defences, after which he operates normally even while protecting his mind.

Because of his experience with both the law and the other side of it, Mordecai is able to create fake data with about the same craft as only a solicitor could possibly come up with.