Fidel Castro, in case you're unaware, is a Cuban dictator, or should I say was as he died in 2008. Now, I want to talk about Fidel Castro as the fairly powerful - moderately above average - wizard he was. This of course had to start when he was a child and of course, his schooling.

In 1926 Fidel Castro was born, presumably to a wizarding family, however, he grew up among muggles and that's even where his last name came from. The muggles he grew up with were, like most muggles, ignorant of magic and wizardry. So, he grew up like many muggles, he did his chores, he played with the other children, and learned as best he could. Now, Castro was a special child, a prodigy even. Not a prodigy of magic or music or anything else really commonly noticeable, but instead a prodigy of politics. Yes, Castro from a young age was a strangely capable politician. Obviously he didn't run at the age of 8 against the current Prime Minister, but he understood the politics of the government and discussed them with his elders often, much to the adult's amusement when Castro didn't understand something. Little did they know, he was simply learning.

So, as prodigies go, Castro was fairly unnoticed, but they did know he was smarter than most other children, and certainly more capable. And so it didn't come as much of a surprise when Castro got an invitation from Hogwarts, what his muggle parents assumed as an invitation to a private school. Obviously, they'd be incapable of paying for such a school and so did not send Castro off to the UK immediately despite their want for better schooling for their child. However, every two weeks for three months they got the letters. They weren't as invasive as it is said some great wizard's letters were - Harry Potter for instance reportedly had so many flying in the were pouring in the chimney comically enough - but they were steady and insistent. Eventually, with no reply and no Castro, Hogwarts sent a handler to go and fetch Castro and, if necessary, explain the school to his muggle parents.

Obviously his parents were in shock at learning their son was a wizard and that he in fact was probably not their son. But they let him go all the same and Castro got to go to Hogwarts. Hogwarts, as it has for many, changed Castro's life. Castro went, and he experienced life away from poverty, away from the burdens of simple life. And he liked it. As one may or may not suspect, Castro was placed in Ravenclaw. He was intelligent and witty, and thus it fit. During his first year he made some friends and in fact gained a bit of a following, especially remarkable for a first year, for simple politics. He was elected as a the only first year prefect in history for the second semester and - excepting his fourth year (rebellious streak) was a prefect every semester following.

He enjoyed quite the retinue of students and held quite a bit of power to simply be a student himself. People followed him because they liked him and they thought he was capable of good decisions, not because he did something amazing, something they thought impossible. His following was deserved and that following and reputation continued throughout his life.

So, returning to Cuba after his first year, he found little changed. Disappointing to him. He had come to expect so much more from life, so much more academical enrichment, and so much less poverty. Of course, the world doesn't change, only you do. Or could the world change? This question sprouted in Castro and grew for years. He wanted to change things, his position and his lots. Obviously though, an eleven year old, almost twelve, couldn't exactly do much. And so he boded his time and he studied in Hogwarts and he learned and politicized and developed himself.

Eventually, he graduated. He was now eighteen and heading home. He was on the boat home. But... What for? What was there to return to? The world doesn't change, there's nothing to expect there but poverty, even though I may have my magical skill, I can't use it? Why did I even come home?

But he knew why he came home. He had already made the decision, so many years ago, and he was going to fulfill that mission of his. He would change the world, or at least Cuba.

So, Castro joined a muggle school, as Ravenclaws occasionally do, and studied muggle law. He spent a while there and then decided he must do something. And so he attempted to out the US military. A foolish idea, though he led many in it and certainly had support, he still spent time jailed. He was shamed by this and did not even try to use his magic to escape the feeble muggle prison in the whole year of his imprisonment and instead spent time thinking. And in that time thinking, he came to the conclusion that he needed some help. Some help from some other people.

Castro tracked down his original parents and finally found his siblings. Though none of them were quite as brilliant as himself, they were all capable enough people. So he got his brother and his brother's friend to Cuba after finding them in Mexico and successfully ousted the current government. Obviously this was enough to make both the muggle side of the US, and the wizard council (currently it's third iteration - rather weak) react strongly. So Castro did what he needed to. For the wizard council, he took a risk. He contacted his old ties in the wizarding world and called in some favors. Luckily, some of those at Hogwarts were actually on the council and still respected him enough to keep the council from doing anything. For the US, that was the Cuban Missile Crisis you may have heard of.

So, now Castro has seized power and seems to be holding onto it. What does he do with it? He's promised to change the world, but how? Well, Castro had a fairly small value in his head of the human life. His thinking was, "well, I'm one person. I'm a leader of Cuba and have already brought the wizard council to heel and have caused great panic in America. What have any of you done?" He's not wrong. As such he has sponsored several human rights abuses simply as a way of bettering the world. Not many may have liked it, but he still had plenty of supporters and so didn't much care.

But he did promise to change the world, and he did. He championed public education of a higher quality and is likely one of the better examples of socialist ideals done right. Honestly, all in all, an excellent dictator. His international policy was more on of distrust than one might expect from an island nation. But it worked for over sixty years until he died. He truly is one of the greatest wizards, despite not being known for his magical acts, he died having left a great impact on Cuba, and more widely, the world. Eventually of course he died. It was a day many rejoiced on, but it's also a day of sadness, for a great mind is gone from the world, if a devious and bent one.