WIZARDING WORLD VERSE
Zachariah
Wand: Ebony, 15 inches.
Core: Thestral tail hair.
Patronus: Raven.
Within the Ministry of Magic there is one department that stands alone from the rest, carrying out confidential research into love, space, thought, time and death, among other mysteries of the world. The Department of Mysteries doesn't answer to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and not even the Minister for Magic can interfere with their work.
The witches and wizards who work in this department are also known as Unspeakables. Zachariah, hearing about the strange work they do, moved to Britain in order to become one of them, specifically the senior researcher of death. This was a subject he'd already dedicated his spare time to, an avid collector of taxidermy, death rituals and unusual magical objects.
His interest in this subject was always regarded as undesirable by his parents, who both held high positions in the American equivalent of the Wizengamot. Despite significant pressure from them to become a Healer, Zachariah instead trained as an undertaker, allowing him a space to explore his fascination with death. He became well versed in all kinds of magical funeral rites, and the preperation of a body for display or entombment (such as the arrangement made for Albus Dumbledore). The majority of less affluent clients, however, simply buried their dead.
He was also inclined to agree, despite his interest, that Necromancy was a failed branch of magic, and also abhorrent. Death had a place and a purpose in the magical world as well as the muggle world. This belief was one of the reasons that the Ministry of Magic welcomed him into the department, as too many witches and wizards could be enamoured by the idea of 'defeating' death.
His neutral, dedicated approach and familiarity with death made him the perfect candidate, it being one of the areas that witches and wizards were reluctant to study compared to others.
In particular, Zachariah became fascinated by The Veil. He spends a great deal of time researching this strange structure, the manifestation of a gateway between life and death. He's often called upon to examine magicial artifacts associated with the Dark Arts, specifically those which can cause death in all manner of horrible ways. This has led him to become something of an expert on curses and cursed objects.
He's very skilled at casting jinxes and hexes, something he quickly learned at school to defend himself from bullies. He also became excellent at defensive spells and shield charms.
