Childhood/School/Post Graduation[]
Alec was born on a snowy December night, as was typical of Perm, 7 minutes before his brother Grigory. They are fraternal twins, though they are as close as you would expect twins to be. This bond between brothers is how Alec survived his childhood. While their mother was caring and nurturing, their father was a brutal dictator of the household.
Even before Durmstrang, if their room was not clean to a military standard, they would not eat that night. Physical discipline was just as paramount. The brothers would be made to run a mile every morning, and 3 feet of snow on the ground was no excuse.
Mischief was something that did not happen in the Metel household. One year at Durmstrang the brothers were caught scamming other students out of their allowance money. A letter was sent home, but no howler was sent back to them. When they returned home, there was no yelling, no lecture, they simply found that all of their possessions had been donated to charity. They didn’t step out of line again after that.
Both brothers graduated from Durmstrang with top marks, though ultimately took separate career paths. Grigory loved sports and took a job as a broom maker, working as part of the broommaking shop that would supply the Russian Quidditch team.
Alec had always shown talent at dueling, and decided to become a hit-wizard for the Ministry. While on an assignment, he met a beautiful cellist named Larisa, and within a year they were married. Perhaps surprisingly, despite being a muggle, the Metel family quickly accepted her as one of their own.
Unfortunately, the nature of Alec’s career began to take its toll on his marriage. The anxiety of him being away and wondering if he would even return was too much for Larisa to bear, and she convinced him to leave his job for something less dangerous. He decided that he had put in his service to the Ministry and it was time to pass the torch.
Alec returned to Durmstrang as the Dark Arts professor. His class was mostly practical, students would research hexes and curses and practice casting them at target dummies. Dueling was of course a focus at Durmstrang.There was no better teacher than having to feel the full effects of your failure to block an attack.
Alec’s tenure at Durmstrang was cut short however, by Larisa’s acceptance into the London Symphony Orchestra. The couple moved to London, and Alec looked into finding employment as a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Death of Larisa Metel
At the end his second year as Professor of Charms at Hogwarts, Alec received the unfortunate news that his wife had been murdered. After swallowing his rage, he made the decision to leave Hogwarts to return to a career in law enforcement so that he could be as close to the investigation into her death as possible.
First Showing of Magic[]
Alec’s first showing of magic was of course under duress. During the Global Wizarding War, Grindelwald’s followers had set up an unplottable prison camp to temporarily hold his enemies and muggle sympathizers near Perm, a sister camp to the muggle-run prison camp of Perm-36. By the time Alec, Grigory, and two older wizard boys had found it, the spells had worn off and the main building was in a state of deep decay. While exploring, part of the floor gave way and Grigory was trapped underneath a heavy beam. Ten-year-old Alec panicked and attempted to lift the beam, which was obviously far too heavy to pick up under his own strength. To Alec’s surprise though, the beam disappeared when he touched it, and Grigory was freed.
Appearance[]
Alec is a relatively tall man with hard facial features. He usually dresses in black. His demeanor is firm but he truly cares about his students’ success. He has been put through many trials in his life and has seen how surviving them has made him stronger, so he applies the same philosophy to his teaching. Only through the most difficult challenges and failures can we learn.