InsaneJournal

NAME: Cesare Apollinare Zabini
AGE/BIRTHDAY: 28. April 26, 1952.
BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood.
FORMER HOUSE: Slytherin, class of 1971.
OCCUPATION: Solicitor within the International Magical Office of Law, which is itself a part of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

FAMILY:

Apollinare Vespasiano Zabini - Father. Wizard. For most of Cesare's early years, his relationship with his father was a case of hero worship and blind terror. Cesare played the part of dutiful son straight up until his teenage years when he developed a reputation for dating just about the entire female population of Hogwarts - muggleborns and halfbloods included. This drove a wedge between father and son, although not for reasons of blood purity, but for reasons of independence. Apollinare didn't want Cesare mingling with the less than pure. Cesare didn't appreciate being told what to do and Apollinare didn't appreciate his son disobeying him. Currently, father/son relations are a little frosty.

Scilla Floriana Zabini née Montague - Mother. Witch. Like all good pureblood boys, Cesare loves his mother, but she can be a handful. When he was a child, she was strict with him, but it was always understood that what she did, she did for the betterment of the family. Scilla is forceful, to say the least, in her attempts to set Cesare up with a nice pureblood girl and it gets frustrating. There is a part of Cesare that strives to disobey her at every turn because he can, but the more dominant part of him tends to cave to her demands, purely because she's his mother.

Calypso Serafina Zabini des Rosiers - Sister. Witch. The earliest memory Cesare has is being told by his parents to take care of Calypso, no matter what. He has never really been able to kick the habit. When she came to him, confessing to the murder of her first husband, he helped her avoid a prison sentence by preparing her for a Ministry interrogation. Cesare loves his sister and has spent quite some time telling himself that he needs to play the part of the dutiful older brother, but as husbands' bodies continue to pile up, Cesare finds himself unable to turn the other way, as he once did.

Jane Lavinia Thomas - Wife. Muggle. Jane has absolutely no knowledge of Cesare's background or his abilities. She doesn't even know that his surname is Zabini. Cesare goes out of his way to keep her separate from his magical life. He lives with her in a flat in London, although he maintains another residence in Diagon Alley for appearance's sake. Jane is a university professor of Mathematics.

Dean William Viteri - Son. Halfblood. Due to Cesare's attempt to live in both the muggle and magical world, he doesn't always see Dean. Cesare is not a very present father. That doesn't mean that he cares about Dean any less. If anything, fatherhood has helped Cesare take a hard look at his life and realize the changes that he needs to make. Especially if he wants his halfblood son to grow up treated like an equal.

Anaïs Solange Chassériau Zabini - Niece. Pureblood. Witch. Technically Cesare's step-niece, but he likes her well enough all the same. He tries to be a grounded figure in her life, given Calypso's tendency to spoil her, but usually ends up giving her presents.

Beauregard des Rosiers - Brother-in-Law. Pureblood. Wizard. Cesare hasn't really bothered to get to know him. He expects Beau will be conveniently dead soon.

SEXUALITY: Heterosexual.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Jane Thomas, a muggle. Cesare married her in a private ceremony in London just over a year ago and has, so far, managed to keep the relationship a secret from his family and friends.
CHILDREN:: Dean [7 months]

LOYALTY/ALLIANCE: Technically, Cesare is a neutral Ministry employee. Still, his family carries a lot of clout within the pureblood community and Cesare has been on the top of the list for Death Eater recruitment for the past several years. I imagine him as someone who is, because of his family ties, sometimes reluctantly pulled into aiding the Death Eater cause (not intensely since he's not a full member, but more along the lines of "We need a place to stay!" type things) and with his recent marriage and the birth of Dean, it's something that's becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Given the pressure from his family and his desire to see his son grow up in a world that treats him as an equal, I could see Cesare's alliances shifting over to the Order given the right opportunity.

ROLE IN THE WAR: Cesare is a glorified diplomat with legal skills. He advises politicians on how best not to offend foreign countries and/or violate international laws. He spends a great deal of his time following Ministry employees around abroad, smoothing over faux pas and explaining local culture. He grew up in a multi-lingual household and consequently speaks English, Italian, and Greek fluently. As part of his career choice, he can speak a few basic sentences in six other languages, but most of those sentences are related to dinner choices and the legal consequences of trying to smuggle forbidden plant life in Australia. His family ties grant him access to a virtually unlimited supply of money and resources, but also compel him to occasionally give aid to the Death Eaters (places to stay, supplies, food, etc). He has been invited to take up the Dark Mark once already, which he carefully avoided by giving the excuse that his career within the Ministry was just taking off and that he would be more useful after he had gained more political power. Cesare has many connections to various political figures, both pureblood and non-pureblood alike. He spends a lot of time hobnobbing and finds it easy to be held in good esteem by those in power. On a more practical level, Cesare has always been drawn to Transfiguration and healing magic.

POLITICAL VIEWS: Cesare has not agreed with his family's blood purity viewpoints for quite a while, but it took the birth of Dean for him to sit down and really admit it to himself. Cesare grew up thinking that he was somehow better than others because his blood was pure, but his experiences at Hogwarts taught him otherwise. When it came to performing magic, he could find no discernible difference between halfbloods, muggleborns, and purebloods. Muggleborns appeared to perform just as well as any pureblood and whether a witch or wizard was talented seemed to be reliant on the witch or wizard in question, not their blood. Getting to know Jane and consequently marrying her taught him that muggles may not have magic, but they have skills in other areas. Having grown up in a completely magical environment, he generally lives his life on a learning curve. Despite having a muggle wife, there are still a number of things that surprise him or are simply beyond his experience. He grew up in a family that was riddled with pureblood entitlement and Cesare inadvertently sometimes make social flubs purely because he's ignorant. For example, part of him still thinks that squibs are wizards who have had their magic stolen, even if he keeps telling himself to stop.

Regardless of his change in heart, Cesare has always been fairly vocal about his support of both his family and the blood purist agenda. He isn't quite yet ready to announce to the world that he supports equal rights for blood purity, best illustrated by the fact that he keeps his muggle wife a secret. For those that pay attention, they'll notice that he's a lot of talk, but not a lot of action. Cesare may say that he thinks purebloods are a superior breed, but he hasn't joined the Death Eaters and he's never been seen committing any acts that would actively support their agenda. More recently, however, he has become less and less comfortable flouting the pureblood agenda since he is now the father of a halfblood son. He doesn't think that werewolves and vampires should be put down, as his parents would, but he still feels a little uncomfortable around them. Like his attitude regarding squibs, that is something that he is trying to work on.

APPEARANCE: Dark-skinned and tall, Cesare takes more after his father than his mother, a departure from his sister who is a healthy mixture of both parents. He has a wide, charming smile and a strong, athletic build that is a testament to how seriously he takes physical appearance. His clothing is expensive and tastefully designed, although if he's honest with himself, he prefers the cheap muggle clothing that he wears around his wife. He moves with confidence, maintaing a straight-backed posture and eye contact with those that he is speaking with. He isn't really interested in dealing with hair styles, so he typically keeps his own hair as close cropped as physically possible. To the average bystander, Cesare appears friendly enough, if not a little too charming to the point where one wonders what he's after.

CHILDHOOD: Every Italian witch and wizard knows the name Zabini, but not always for the same reason. Within pureblood circles, the name is something positive, an example of good breeding and wealth. In the more liberal social circles, stories of abuse of muggle employees on the Zabini vineyards circulate. Of course, nobody could prove anything and so, Cesare Zabini was born into a family that was respected, feared, and consistently under investigation by the Italian Ministry of Magic. The first child of Apollinare and Scilla, Cesare was welcomed into the world as not only an eldest child, but a male heir. He wasn't an only child for long. His younger sister, Calypso, was born when he was three. The two Zabini children were raised in Verona, on the family villa, amongst the company of house elves, servants, and nannies. While Calypso was destined for lessons in music and dance, Cesare was primed for lessons in government and politics. The Zabini family had always had a certain level of influence within the Italian Ministry, thanks to healthy donations each year, and it was expected that Cesare would grow up and continue that tradition. If there was one thing that Cesare's parents hammered into him more than the importance of blood purity, it was the knowledge that nothing is more important than family, especially his relationship with Calypso. It was Cesare's responsibility to take care of her, to watch out for her, and to protect her.

As Cesare aged, he came to learn that the rumors surrounding his parents' recreational activities were not just stories. Apollinare employed muggles in his vineyards and he and his wife thought of it as a game to frighten them with magic and torture them with curses, only to wipe their memories of the incidents afterward. Young Cesare didn't particularly find anything wrong with scaring the muggles. In fact, he thought that it was funny. His mother would levitate objects, apparate from room to room, and other simple tricks just to see the look on their faces. It was the torture that frightened Cesare. He never said anything because, from what he understood, muggles were less. They weren't proper purebloods so it made their treatment okay, but Apollinare's tendency to use unforgivable curses on his employees scared Cesare. Muggles might not have been their equals, but that didn't make their screams any less unsettling.

Cesare lived in simultaneous fear and awe of his father. As a child, he envied his father's strength of character, his iron will, and his drive. He was taught to see his father as the embodiment of a true wizard, pure in blood and pure in character. They were close in the sense of a teacher and his favorite student. Cesare was Apollinare's heir, the would-be successor to the Zabini name. It was Apollinare that taught Cesare to never give up on his goals, that anything was possible if you had enough nerve. Still, a small nagging part of him often worried that Apollinare would one day lose his taste for torturing muggles and look to Cesare for new entertainment.

HOGWARTS: Cesare was offered spots in Beauxbatons, the local Italian and Greek school, and Hogwarts. Initially, Hogwarts was merely an afterthought, its tendency to mix students of all blood types making it unappealing. Yet, in the end, Cesare's parents chose Hogwarts for him because of its connections to other strong pureblood families and assurances from recent graduates that it was easy to avoid the common filth if you really wanted to. Cesare's English wasn't so great and it was nerve-wracking to leave his home country behind, but his parents made their desires known, so he went. Cesare was sorted into Slytherin in under a minute. At first, Cesare didn't have many friends because of the language barrier. He felt uncomfortable and wrote home often, to the point that his father told him to stop acting like a child. Fortunately, there were a few other Slytherins that spoke Italian and as time went on, Cesare's English improved. He made friends and began to feel a little more at home.

Calypso followed Cesare to Hogwarts where she was unsurprisingly sorted into Slytherin too. Cesare was a good student, hardworking and studious, and when he wasn't, he knew exactly what to say to a professor to get them to change a grade. His placement in Slytherin had not been a mistake. Cesare didn't have entirely clear plans of what his goals were, but he knew that he wanted to be successful and powerful. He wanted to be the best of whatever he chose to be and if that thing turned out to be separate from his father, all the better. Cesare's education at Hogwarts included spells and potions, but also lessons in equality. Despite the fact that he generally stayed amongst purebloods, Cesare was still exposed to halfbloods and muggleborns on a regular basis. They were in the halls. They were in his classes. And from what Cesare saw, there didn't seem to be any difference between the company he kept and the supposed mudbloods. In his heart of hearts, he came to believe that blood purity made no difference. Still, Cesare knew what crowd his family ran with, so he laughed when his pureblood friends made jokes at the expense of a halfblood and he sneered in disgust if a muggleborn came close to touching him.

Women were the exception. Cesare did not discriminate on account of blood purity when it came to dating. Puberty hit him hard and to his teenage brain, a girl was a girl was a girl. He certainly wasn't looking to marry any of the girls he met in quiet hallways and abandoned classrooms. If Calypso judged him for it, Cesare didn't care. It wasn't until his father confronted him that it even became an issue. Cesare's reputation for womanizing had spread through the student body and eventually crept up to the parents, who informed Apollinare that Cesare was taking halfblood girls out behind the quidditch pitch. Apollinare was more than displeased. Pureblood girls would have been one thing, but having the Zabini heir debasing himself with mudbloods was another issue entirely. They fought over it, repeatedly. Cesare didn't see what was wrong. He wasn't serious about any of the girls and he didn't appreciate being treated like a child. Apollinare expressly forbade him to see any less than desirable girls anymore and Cesare expressly told him to go fuck himself. Their relationship never quite recovered from that.

POST-HOGWARTS: Cesare graduated Hogwarts with the knowledge that he wanted to go into politics. He moved out of his parents' house almost immediately and took up residence in London, having developed a liking for England. Technically, he was still financially supported by his parents while he studied to become a lawyer, but they were willing considering that his eventual intention was to work his way up through the English Ministry of Magic. Cesare completed his studies at twenty. His first real job was within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, covering wrongful conviction law suits. He didn't like it. He was one of many and easily expendable. Cesare wanted recognition, so he began to make friends. Connections probably would have been a better word. Cesare learned everything there was to know about the heads of each department in the Ministry so that when he "happened" to run into them, he could speak to them with supposed ease. He got powerful figures to like him, to remember his name, and when a position opened up in the International Magical Office of Law, Cesare was pleased to find himself recommended for the spot.

Roughly around this time, Cesare was approached by the Death Eaters. The Zabini family had made its alliances clear. Apollinare was a financial backer of the organization and Calypso was already a member. Cesare just didn't feel comfortable joining, knowing what the Death Eaters stood for. He just wanted to focus on his career and not get involved in politics that, frankly, meant nothing to him. Blood purity seemed like such a stupid concept and the more Cesare thought about it, the more he realized that the muggle workers on his family vineyard had been magic-free, but they had also been hardworking and honorable people. It didn't seem right to treat them as animals. Of course, such things could not be said to the Death Eaters, so Cesare delayed his joining on the excuse that he was only just beginning his career in the Magical Office of Law and that he would be a better resource once he gained a little more influence. And the matter seemed to drop, for a little while.

Unfortunately, just because Cesare wasn't a Death Eater officially didn't mean that he was free from all family obligations. He was frequently roped into giving aid to the Death Eaters needed it, usually in the form of supplies or places to stay. His parents put the pressure on Cesare, using tactics ranging from guilt to threats and the fact that Calypso was doing so well amongst the group didn't help matters. Cesare's relationship with Calypso began to strain as they aged. The two were still close, but Cesare began to regret it, especially when he helped her get away with murder. Calypso was unlucky in love. Her first husband was abusive and she took her revenge by poisoning him. When she confessed to Cesare, all he could think was how it was his responsibility to take of her, as his parents had always told him. So, he told her what to say, prepared her for the Ministry interrogation and, unsurprisingly, the death was ruled an accident. It left a bad taste in Cesare's mouth and as similar fates began to befall Calypso's subsequent husbands, he started to regret helping her in the first place. He was conflicted, though. When did family loyalty stop being loyalty and become something more sinister?

Cesare met Jane Thomas when he was twenty-six. He was visiting his parents in Verona and while wandering the grounds of the vineyards, stumbled upon a muggle wedding reception. Jane's brother, Charlie, had rented out a neighboring vineyard for his wedding. Jane was drinking alone in the bushes because she hated Charlie and Charlie's new wife, Claire, and most of Charlie's friends. Cesare and Jane got to talking and upon realizing that they both lived in London, they agreed to meet up again once they got back to England. Weeks passed and no contact was made, mostly because Jane had given Cesare her phone number, but Cesare didn't have a phone. There was also the residual guilt that Cesare felt speaking to a muggle in the first. He knew that it wasn't wrong to speak to her, despite what his parents told him, but it wasn't the way he had been raised. Just thinking about Jane made him worry that his mother was going to suddenly pop up behind him. Eventually, he sucked it up and used a phone booth, which was a harrowing experience all on its own, and the two began to see each other on a regular basis.

He told her that his name was Matteo Viteri and sure, he felt bad lying to someone that he was truly trying to connect with, but there wasn't any way around it. His family would disown him if they caught him dating a muggle and Cesare had quite a few detailed suspicions about what his father would do to Jane if he got his hands on her. He was careful never to use magic around her, to be vague about his family, and to absolutely never be seen with her in a place where friends of his family might see them. Still, despite all the stipulations, the relationship became serious. Jane introduced him to her family, which was confusing as it turned out that muggles had their own forms of discrimination that Cesare didn't understand. Jane and her family were white and they didn't like that Cesare was black. Cesare had no idea what his skin color would have to do with whether or not he loved Jane, but it furthered his belief that muggles and magical people weren't as different as they thought. Jane's parents got over it, eventually, and after a year of dating, Cesare and Jane married in a small, muggle ceremony in London.

Their son, Dean, was born on March 4, 1980. Cesare knew that he could never look his son in the eyes if he supported an agenda that would deny him rights purely because of his blood. Cesare had always been a vocal supporter of blood purists, especially in the Ministry, because he feared stepping out of the safety of his family's influence. He couldn't go home at night to Jane and Dean and still spout off discrimination during the day and so, his support of the Death Eaters and their beliefs has dwindled significantly since March. Cesare splits his time between Jane and Dean and his work life. His job requires that he travel often, which really makes living a double life easier. Jane doesn't question it when he's gone for lengths of time and the purebloods don't think it's odd that Cesare returns from abroad and just wants to disappear for a little while.

FIVE THINGS:

• I think I'm most looking forward to culture shocked!Cesare. Jane's family is made up of snobby white people who don't like their precious daughter dating a black guy. Cesare is used to being on the giving end of racism so he probably spends most of his days in offended confusion. There's also all those fancy muggle inventions for him to get used to as well as just trying to adjust his attitude. Cesare can be as well intentioned as he likes, but twenty-something years of reinforced racism don't go away over night.

• Would it be really uppity of me to say that Cesare is going to join the Order eventually? I'd like him to. I think he's slowly moving his way into perfect Order recruitment position. He already agrees with their point of view and he's starting to realize that he needs to take more action if he ever wants to live openly with his family. That's something I'd like to work on with him as the game progresses. Cesare knows how he feels about the world. He knows what the right thing he. He just needs to get the courage to act on his feelings. He needs to learn to stand apart from his parents and sister and say no to them.

• No matter how I rearrange it, I think Cesare is going to leave Jane and Dean. If he joins the Order, it paints a target on him. If he continues on as he is, avoiding the Death Eaters, he's going to piss them off eventually. If he gives in and joins the Death Eaters, it STILL makes his personal life open to investigation. There's just no way that Cesare can both keep Jane in the dark about his background AND stay with her. I'd like for Cesare to have the chance to go back to her or at least remain informed of his family's safety, but I guess it really depends on how the plot of the game pans out. Also, if he could not be murdered, that would be GREAT.

• Ministry shenanigans. Cesare is a man of ambition and despite his own personal issues, he really does want to succeed in his career. He was definitely the little kid that answered "Minister of Magic!" when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. I think he feels a little frustrated with his current career choice because while it sounds impressive on paper, he doesn't exactly have a lot of actual power within the Ministry. He's gotten quite good at making friends with the right people, but ultimately he's not making any of the big decisions that he wants to be making. Assuming that he stays within the Ministry, he'll probably start trying to get himself involved in politics.

• I probably should have said this first. I want to play Cesare because I've thought that Dean Thomas' father has been fascinating ever since I read about him. It's not small thing to turn down the Death Eaters, even if, so far, Cesare's kind of done it in a passive aggressive way. Courage comes in all shapes and sizes. You don't hear about these kind of small acts of bravery because everything tends to get lost in the wave of the Marauders.

Samples from previous games and for different characters are totally fine. Samples also do not have to be submitted again after you've already been accepted to the game.

JOURNAL ENTRY: First person. You can find more information about journals here.

RP SAMPLE: Third person, past tense.