Paschal Parkinson

**Paschal Parkinson** (17 April, 1881 - 10 November, 1964) was a pure-blood wizard and politician. He was a member of the House of Parkinson, an old wizarding family apart of the "Sacred Twenty-Eight" that was best known for their espousing of pure-blood supremacy. Parkinson was a member of the Wizenagmot as the Head of his House, and some of his policies (including Law Fifteen "B", passed in 1930), were notorious for their cruelty.

He married four times over his lifetime, and was the father to six children. His first wife was Fionnuala Selwyn (1888-1914), who bore him two children, Fritz and Adolphus, both of whom died young. He married secondly Serafina Yaxley (1906-1929), who was the mother to his son and heir, Antonius Parkinson. His third wife was Phyllis Macmillan (1926-1954), who bore him two sons. His fourth and final wife was Miriam Aubrey, and they had one daughter together, Violetta. Parkinson was once scrutinised for continuing to marry younger witches, even after he became a twice widower, and there have been many claims from other witches and wizards that he may have fathered several illegitimate children.

## Biography

### Early life

Paschal Parkinson was born on 17 April, 1881, in North Yorkshire, as the son of Quintus Parkinson and his wife Salome Parkinson (née Nott), on Easter Sunday. He was born into the traditionalist House of Parkinson, who looked down on any except other "respectable" pure-blood wizards and believed in pure-blood supremacy. He had no siblings, and was his father's only son and heir from the moment that he was born.

From the very beginning, Parkinson lived a spoiled life. The Parkinsons, much like the Blacks, the Averys, the Notts, and the Malfoys, were very proud of their Pure-blood and social status. Paschal must have been very conscious of his status as a member of the Pure-blood elite from an early age.

#### Hogwarts years

He received his Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1892. Sometime before he began attending, he most likely either purchased or inherited his wand, which was made out of chestnut and dragon heartstring, from Ollivander's Wand Shop in London, or perhaps the Parkinson family vaults at Gringotts.

He boarded the Hogwarts Express on 1 September, 1892, and later that night was sorted into Slytherin House, the house of his forefathers. No Parkinson has ever been sorted into a house other than Slytherin. Paschal would have shared a dormitory with Alector Carrow and Cornelius Moon.

He left the school upon completing his seventh year in 1899. That same June, his father, Quintus Parkinson, passed away, and he inherited his position as both Head of his House and his position on the Wizenagmot.

### Mid-life

#### Claims of first illegitimate child emerge

It was published in Witch Weekly on 16 July, 1904, that Parkinson had fathered a child with Nellie Goshawk, of the relatively-impoverished Goshawk family. The baby's name was Dorothea Goshawk, and the article urged for Parkinson to support the family via means of financial compensation. However, Parkinson, then aged 24, refuted the claims and declared the news article "outlandish, and untrue."

#### First Marriage

Two years after he forced Witch Weekly to print a retraction, Parkinson married Fionnuala Selwyn, daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Selwyn, on 12 August, 1906. She was the daughter of Donalbain Selwyn and the union would have secured a political alliance.

In 1907, his wife, Fionnuala, bore him a son, Fritz. The baby's birth was announced in the Daily Prophet as the Heir to the House of Parkinson, and a portrait of the child was published in Witch Weekly alongside a portrait of the then-three-year-old Dorothea Goshawk, and Parkinson was forced to sue.

In 1908, his wife, Fionnuala gave birth to a second son, Adolphus. However, in 1909, Fritz Parkinson, Heir to the House of Parkinson, died from a fall down the stairs at the age of two, and Adolphus became the family's only heir, aged just fourteen months.

Tragedy struck again when Adolphus Parkinson, then aged five, and Fionnuala Parkinson (née Selwyn), aged 25, came down with dragon pox. They died within a few days of each other at the family estate in 1913 and 1914. Parkinson avoided the family manor until a thorough cleaning and decontamination had taken place.

#### Lead-up to Second Marriage

Parkinson remained unmarried until 1923, during a period of which he reportedly fathered two children to which he acknowledged, with Earlene Flint, the youngest daughter of Ulric Flint and Tuilla Flint (née Bobbin). The first was Viola, born in 1916, and the second was Corban, born in 1918. The children bore their mother's name, but Parkinson sent them money until they both turned eighteen.

#### Second Marriage

Parkinson married a second time on 14 August, 1923, and his new bride was the then sixteen-year-old daughter of Bertram Yaxley and Mathilda Yaxley (née Greengrass), Serafina. Serafina Yaxley's mother had been very young when she married herself, at fifteen. However, some scrutinized this decision seeing as Paschal Parkinson was 42 at the time.

In 1924, Serafina bore him a son, Antonius Parkinson, who became the House of Parkinson's newest heir. Antonius Parkinson would keep the position as heir to the house until his death during the First Wizarding War in 1981, while serving the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Serafina Parkinson (née Yaxley) passed away on 18 November, 1929, in childbirth, and the infant did not survive either, leaving Paschal Parkinson a twice-widower.

### Later life and Wizenagmot work

Parkinson was a member of the Wizenagmot as the Head of his House, and some of his policies (including Law Fifteen "B", passed in 1930), were notorious for their cruelty. Law Fifteen “B," passed with the involvement of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, stated in part that “any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions."

The passage of the law led to the execution of an entire herd of Centaurs following its introduction in 1930.

#### Third Marriage

On 16 April, 1945, at the age of 63, Parkinson married a third time. This time he married eighteen-year-old Phyllis Macmillan, daughter of Marvin Macmillan and Cicely Macmillan (née Flint). Phyllis Macmillan was disowned for her decision to marry Parkinson, and Marvin Macmillan reportedly attempted to claim that she was being coerced into marriage.

Rumours began to swirl that Parkinson's suspicious status as a twice-widower was due to the fact that he might have had an involvement in the deaths of Fionnuala Selwyn and Serafina Yaxley, but because Fionnuala had died of dragon pox and Serafina in childbirth, these were dismissed as conspiracy theories.

Phyllis Parkinson bore Paschal two sons: the first was Finneas, born in October 1945, and the second was Augustus, born in September, 1954. She then passed away while giving birth to Augustus, prompting a Ministry investigation which yielded nothing.

#### Fourth Marriage

On 24 October, 1959, Parkinson married a fourth time, at the age of 78. His fourth wife was the widowed Louise Volant (née Aubrey), and the couple had only one child together, Violetta, in 1961.

### Death

Paschal Parkinson passed away on 10 November, 1964, at the age of 83. He was suspected of being poisoned by his son, Antonius Parkinson, after accusations made by Louise Parkinson (née Aubrey) emerged, but it did not hold up in court.

#### Post-mortem

Antonius Parkinson inherited his father's entire estate as well as his position on the Wizenagmot after Parkinson's death. He forcibly ejected his step-mother, Louise, and half-sister, Violetta, from the estate and refused any further financial support of seven-year-old Beatrix Abbott, who was also suspected to have been fathered by Parkinson.

Antonius Parkinson then died himself during the First Wizarding War in August, 1981, as the Ministry led a campaign to depose the remaining Death Eaters.

Coincidentally, all three surviving legitimate sons of Parkinson served the Dark Lord: Antonius died fleeing arrest, Finneas Parkinson was killed during the Battle of McKinnon Manor in July, 1981, and Augustus Parkinson escaped trial by pleading the Imperius Curse.

#### Trial of Augustus Parkinson

During the trial of Augustus Parkinson, many statements were made regarding the character of Paschal Parkinson. Augustus testified that Parkinson physically abused his mother, Phyllis Macmillan, and used the Imperius Curse on him and his full brother, Finneas Parkinson, in order to join the Dark Lord. The allegations made sense to the Wizenagmot, as Phyllis Macmillan married Paschal Parkinson at eighteen, and accusations had been made before but they had been dismissed.

After the trial, Augustus Parkinson allowed his step-mother, Louise Parkinson (née Aubrey), to return to the estate with his half-sister Violetta, who was by then an adult.

## Etymology

The name Paschal is a variant of the name Pascal, which derives from the Latin *paschalis* or *pashalis*, which means "relating to Easter", from the Latin term for "Easter", *pascha*, Greek Πάσχα, from the Aramaic *pasḥā* (Hebrew *pesach*) "Passover" (since the Hebrew holiday Passover coincides closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the Latin word came to be used for both occasions). The Christian given name is in origin from the meaning "one born on Easter day", or "born on Pentecost".

Parkinson is an English surname meaning "son of Parkin", with Parkin itself being a diminutive form of the given name Peter, which comes from the Greek *petros*, meaning "rock" or "stone". The idea behind giving an antagonistic character the name Parkinson may derive from Parkinson's disease, a brain disease that causes degradation of motor skills and speech.