Professor Penrose

Backstory

Born in 1972 to Dimitri and Susan Penrose, Jericho knew from a young age that he was not normal. Perhaps it was the odd occurrences that he experienced whenever he became angry at his two brothers, but Jericho knew something was not right. He attended Muggle school in his hometown of London, England; he spent most of his primary years hoping his weirdness would not show and trying to prevent it at any cost.

However, his brothers would not let it go. Being the youngest, Jericho was frequently the target of bullying from his older brothers. They called it “toughening him up.” By day, in school, Jericho was the ideal student. He did his best to avoid his brothers and his teachers loved him. However, at the age of nine, his brothers caught up with him on the playground. They pushed him around, knocked him to the ground, and made fun of him. Finally, when Jericho could take no more, a sudden burst of energy emanated from him which pushed his brothers as far away as he could; in the process, he ripped the swing set out of the ground and pushed it into the school building, breaking the set and taking a chunk out of the wall.

When he was sent home, he found his father waiting. While his father was a patient man, he never appreciated anything that tarnished the family name. Anything that affected his reputation in the government was frowned upon. It was clear that his father had already heard about the incident. This was the day his father explained that he was a wizard. His mother had no magical abilities, nor did his two brothers, but Jericho had inherited his father’s powers. After that day, Dimitri Penrose decided that Jericho needed to be homeschooled. Now that his powers were getting out of control, it was time that Dimitri stepped in personally. He would not train his son in actual magic, but would teach Jericho how to control the magic until such time that he would get to school to learn.

The next two years were boring to Jericho – he wanted to learn magic. It was a blessing when his Hogwarts letter came. His parents sent him to school and he swore he would make them proud. He made his way through his years, becoming a Prefect in his Fifth Year and going on to become Head Boy. He graduated Hogwarts achieving Os in all of the N.E.W.T.s he sat, which included Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies to name a few.

After graduation, he was offered an immediate placement in the Auror Training Program at the Ministry of Magic. The next years were spent honing the survival and combat skills that he would need to make it as an Auror. He struggled for the first several months, too used to ducking away from his brothers. However, he rose above his fear and was brought on as a full-time Auror.

He spent many years travelling the world, hunting down some of the Darkest wizards known to man. Much time was also spent after the Second Wizarding War helping hunt down the wizards who called themselves Death Eaters who had fled the country. Many of the cells in Azkaban were filled due to the efforts of Jericho and many believed he was on track to be the next Head Auror if the position ever opened. In his heart, Jericho had wanted the position more than anything. However, his goals changed. He found that he wasn’t just content sitting behind a desk and filling out the paperwork after each mission; the missions themselves had become too repetitive. He wanted something more, but could not figure out what that something was. It wouldn’t be until 2015 when he would realize what that something was.

He had just returned from a mission in the United States and collapsed in his chair, exhausted and wanting nothing more than a few days of sleep when he noticed a letter on his desk. Thinking it was another mission, he opened it with a heavy heart. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the missive was from Professor Melanie Silvers, a friend of his whom he had not spoken to in many years. The letter was a request that he come back to Hogwarts to help her teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. He debated for a few days, a debate which involved a lengthy discussion with the Head Auror, before finally deciding that he would join Professor Silvers.

They worked together a short time before other business unfortunately called Melanie away from the school. The course was left in Jericho’s hands and he wondered whether he truly was ready to teach a class on his own. However, he hadn’t become a warrior in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for nothing. He buckled down and tackled the job head first. With the support of his coworkers, he began his job with a renewed vitality – he had found where he belonged.