Mikołaj Vogel

## Mikoɫaj Vogel

"*Now that you know what I'm capable of, know that you've been here long enough for me to examine your build, appearance... the way you talk... all it takes is one scandalous Daily Diviner article...*"
— Miko to Max Fireheart
**Mikoɫaj "Miko" Vogel** is the current Secretary to the British Minister of Magic and the only child of Anastasia and Ivan Vogel. Born in 1998, he was brought up in the cryptic Castle Vogel, celebrated from birth for his Metamorphmagus ability. Known in the 'family' as the "babe of many faces" for his Metamorphmagus gift, he was cherished yet isolated from the outside world for the majority of his childhood and was homeschooled by the Castle Elders.

During his homeschooling at Castle Vogel he not only perfected his Metamorphmagus ability to transform into anyone he wished, he also studied the ancient histories of the Magical Slavic World and a large majority of modern and historical languages, borderline perfecting his knowledge. Throughout his childhood, he was held constantly to a high standard by the prophecy surrounding his birth that followed their ancient ancestor Katarzyna Weiglowa fortelling her resurrection in the form of a "babe of many faces", that "her legacy shall prevail, conquer, devour". These standards raised him to be a perfectionist, aiming only for the best in life.

Following his 18th birthday, with the help of his family's connections, he was administered into the Latvian Ministry of Magic as an assistant to the Latvian Delegate in the Department of International Magical Co-operation. There, he also traineed in the Auror programme, gaining suitable training and top scores in the 'Auror Training Concealment and Disguise' course.

In 2019, on a celebratory skiing trip to the alps with his family, Mikoɫaj Vogel met Bridget Sondergaard, a squib who he had fallen in love with. After helping with her transition, the two married in 2021 and in 2022 moved to live together in Scotland after he recieved a job offer to become the newly-appointed British Minister of Magic's, Jasmine Quinn's, Secretary. With his new position, he helped secure Bridget a job at the Ministry of Magic as the first-ever Magi-Engineer.

In 2023, he offered to join the Auror forces alongside his Secretary position. He continues to work as Jasmine's Secretary, often seen organizing the various offices.

## Biography

### Early Life (1998-2016)

"*My child, my pretty child! Gaze upon him - the babe of prophecy. Half a millennium of preparation: the babe shall prevail, shall conquer, shall DEVOUR!*"
— Anastasia Vogel after giving birth to Mikoɫaj
Mikoɫaj Vogel was born on August 9th, 1998 in Castle Vogel to Anastasia and Ivan Vogel, the two current leaders of Castle Vogel. His birth ceremony was celebrated like almost all ceremonies in his family's tradition; all the members of Castle Vogel surrounded and sung and hummed and feasted as Anastasia gived birth. As Mikoɫaj was born, his Metamorphmagus ability was shown in the constant changing of his face. One dissident in the feast crowd called him a 'devil-spawn' and was quickly shut down with a club to the head, killed and cannibalised.

Mikoɫaj's birth was followed with days of celebration and feast as Anastasia recited the ancient prophecy of Katarzyna Weiglowa, commending Mikoɫaj as the carrier of her 500 year-old blessing. As he grew older, he was educated on the family's history and origins, tought to practise and perfect his Metamorphmagus ability and expand his knowledge on Magical Slavic history and most modern languages.

A secretive rift was caused between his parents when he reached the age of 6. His mother was adamant on keeping him isolated and protected within the halls of Castle Vogel, taught all he needed to know by the Castle elders. However, his father secretly disdained the quarantining of his only son and began to teach him about the outside world, especially those of other countries, cultures and politics. Ivan would often take Mikoɫaj outside of the Castle to travel around the nearby villages and forests, preparing him for his inevitably successful future.

Following his 11th birthday, Mikoɫaj made it clear to his mother that he wanted to eventually go out into the open world, noting that if the prophecy were true then the 'babe must prevail, conquer, devour'. Reluctant to his pleads for a while and suspicious of his sudden change-of-heart, she agreed that as he grew older he would be permitted temporary leave from the Castle during the week. Together with his father and a couple of his friends, he'd waste little time and go exploring the countryside and villages.

After his 18th birthday, with the help of his father's outside connections and the prestige opulence of Castle Vogel, he was administered into the Latvian Ministry of Magic as an assistant to the Latvian Delegate in the Department of International Magical Co-operation. There, he also traineed in the Auror programme, gaining suitable training and top scores in the 'Auror Training Concealment and Disguise' course.

### Latvian Ministry employee (2016-2021)

During his time as an assistant to the Latvian Delegate, Mikoɫaj was often exploited by his co-workers for his Metamorphmagus ability to skip work or have him handle boring or lengthy conferences. He didn't argue with the extra work and used the experience to get an edge in the field.

Sometime during his employment between 2017 and 2018 he was asked by the Delegate to step in for him for a meeting they couldn't attend. During the meeting, arguments and accusations were being thrown around and a worker present at the meeting from the Estonian Ministry of Magic enacted their assassination plans on the Latvian Delegate, unknowingly slicing Mikoɫaj's throat instead who was in disguise.

"*One day, the delegate couldn't step in for a meeting that day and had me pose as him to make up for his absence. Just my luck though - it was the day someone from the Estonian Ministry of Magicians planned to assassinate the Latvian Delegate.*"
— Mikoɫaj to Matt Campbell during his visit in Hospital
#### Meeting Bridget (2019-2021)

In 2021, Mikoɫaj Vogel and some of his family went on a skiing trip to the Alps to celebrate his recent promotion to Secretary to the Head of the International Magical Co-operation Department. His skiing skills were quite poor but he got ahold of them quick and even extended his help to a stranger he met.

This stranger would go on to become Bridget and his wife. Mikoɫaj helped Bridget realise they were transgender and aided with her transition. Later, Mikoɫaj discovered that Bridget was also a Squib, meaning she lacked in magical abilities, but that changed nothing for the love they shared for one another. The two's shared many similarities in their relationship, the most important thing being their struggle with self-identity. This catalyst pushed their relationship to official quickly and the two married in Castle Vogel in 2021.

Their wedding in 2021 was interrupted by a few members of Castle Vogel who discovered that Bridget wasn't capable of having biological children with Mikoɫaj and tarnished the family legacy moving forward. Mikoɫaj managed to protect them and block the spells, but Bridget sprung into action and incapacitated the three attackers on her own, saving the wedding.

Despite Anastasia's initial complaints with Bridget, including the question of the family's legacy and her Squib status, her relationship with Bridget changed to neutral and they enjoyed their wedding and later Honeymoon in Bora Bora.

### Offer from Jasmine (2022-2023)

In late 2022, Mikoɫaj Vogel recieved a surprise offer from Jasmine Quinn, the newly appointed British Minister of Magic to become her Secretary as she secured office. Accepting the offer, Mikoɫaj parted ways with his family for the time being and purchased a residence in upper-Scotland, a similar castle-like home to Castle Vogel, although smaller.

Arriving home with his two Greyhounds, Morana and Devana, Mikoɫaj's hand was forced as during his first day home he was raided by a gang of three Dark Followers. He managed to quickly dispatch of them with the use of his Metamorphmagus ability, disguising himself amongst them to take them down one by one. He arrested them and had them sent to the Ministry of Magic to be imprisoned.

"*The Ministry is going to be so happy. A new recruit AND three Dark Follower prisoners? Sounds like a dream.*"
— Mikoɫaj to himself after capturing the invaders
On January 31st, 2023, Mikoɫaj Vogel and The Minister, Jasmine Quinn, held their first introductory meeting with the Chief Auror Violette Carstairs, kickstarting their rough relationship with high tensions between them. At a later date, Mikoɫaj decided to visit the recovering Auror Lieutenant, Matt Campbell, in hospital to introduce himself and help the recuperating Inner-Circle member to get back into work, noting of his wife's later joining the ranks.

On February 22nd, 2023, Mikoɫaj and Jasmine met again with the displeased Chief Auror and managed to somewhat revive the relationship between them. Mikoɫaj reminded Violette of his wife's soon arrival to the Aurors.

"*Thank you for meeting with us, Chief, and once again congratulations on your promotion. We have faith in you to service the Auralocks just as well as you have once before.*"
— Mikoɫaj to Violette during their second meeting
On March 10th, 2023, Mikoɫaj and Bridget joined Matt Campbell and a command of Aurors to investigate a recent heist held at Gringotts by a terrorist group working under an individual aliased as 'Prometheus'. The three discovered one of the accomplices to be the Werewolf Beta Evan Seymour via his use of enchanted machines.

Following the imprisonment of Robert Vulchanova, on April 11th, 2023, Mikoɫaj ventured out to debrief and collect statements from both the Deputy Auror Rani Lightwood and Werewolf Alpha Abigail Varulv.

#### Chasing Prometheus (2023)

On April 22nd, 2023, Mikoɫaj snuck into St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries following an exposition attack by Prometheus held against the Head of the Hopsital Richard Altman. His espionage helped him discover Altman's involvement with the Dark Followers in the past.

"*Hello- officers. Mr Altman's secretary told me to collect a file from his office.*"
— Mikołaj in disguise trying to sneak into Altman's office
On May 19th, 2023, Mikoɫaj assisted Matt Campbell with discovering his past via the expansive Ministry Archives. This adventure lead to them discovering that Matt Campbell's grandfather adopted his frenemies', Joel Crestello's, grandfather, making them related by law.

Returning to the mission on Prometheus, Operation Beta and Operation Dusk followed. Operation Beta had Mikoɫaj, Matt and Violette interrogate the Werewolf Beta Evan Seymour after capturing him in Diagon Alley for answers about Prometheus. With newfound information that Prometheus was or used to be a Dark Follower, Mikoɫaj and Matt snuck into the dangerous Dark Follower mountain lair and recovered a collection of Evan Seymour's magical machines he had planted at the base for spying purposes.

After decrypting the recordings on the magical machines, Bridget brought forward Mikoɫaj and Violette scripts of what was captured. This led them to believe that the most plausible suspect to be Prometheus was Dark Follower Matthias Calcifer. However, despite not being able to track his location to anywhere in the country, the Prometheus chase was eventually shut down with a lingering bounty on Matthias' head held within the Auror ranks.

"*Who knows, Matthias may work for Prometheus, they may be related... I doubt Matthias to actually be Prometheus considering he's just a simple Dark Follower-*"
— Mikołaj conspiring about the retrieved audio recordings
### Resisting Jasmine (2023-)

Throughout 2023, Jasmine Quinn left the reigns of the British Ministry of Magic in Mikoɫaj Vogel's hands to focus on her global political tour. She claimed her travels are to 're-establish relationships' with various Wizarding communities following the tragedy of the Grux War.

Mikoɫaj's resistance against Jasmine's orders began to slowly creep through when she asked him to venture into parts of the Ministry of Magic untouched and unventured into for years.

"*Then what'd you have me do then, eh? Quit my job? Sorry but money doesn't grow on trees- as much as we could probably make it possible with magic...*"
— Mikołaj confiding with Matt about Jasmine's requests
## Physical Description

Mikoɫaj's usual appearance is tall, fairly light white skin with black hair and dark brown eyes. He started working out after marrying Bridget, giving him quite a muscular build. His appearance, however, he can change at will and often does so for a variety of reasons. Mikoɫaj can grow or shrink himself taller or smaller, change the appearance of his skin and face and all of his features, easily allowing him to transform into different individuals regardless of age, gender or race.

"*I must say I'm impressed, however I've learnt that no two beings are identical. There is always a small detail that allows to tell two people apart.*"
— Matt Campbell commenting on Mikołaj's Metamorphmagus usage
## Personality and Traits

As a result of being held to a high standard throughout his childhood and throughout his work career, Mikoɫaj's core personality traits lie in his strive for quality and obligation to take control. Despite being in mostly subservient positions at work, he finds himself taking lead due to a variety of circumstances. His leadership qualities shine in his ability to micro-manage and multitask, step up in dire situations and risk his life for those around him. This can make him seem quite bossy or comanding, but deep down he cares about people's safety and wishes everyone to be the best versions of themselves.

"*No-no, asking would take too long. It would require you to say 'maybe I'm busy' or 'I'll consider it' or someth- WHATEVER. I- as Jasmine's stand in and her Secretary- REQUIRE both of you to join me!*"
— Mikołaj shouting at Matt and Violette to accompany him to a conference
Through years of his childhood conditioning, he's grown to become quite self-dependant and shut out from others at first, but after meeting his wife Bridget, he's gained a new-found love for sharing thoughts and openness, leading him sometimes to be a bit too blunt or rude in some cases.

"*Perfectly fine. Establishes us well as the fashion-dull country but I digress.*"
— Mikołaj commenting on Violette Carstair's dress
He loves and cherishes his partner Bridget and their two dogs. As much as he would like to spend more time with them, his responsibilities bar him from doing so. However, with an excess of money from his position and family savings, he likes to spoil Bridget and provide the best care for their Greyhounds.

Forced into studying from a very young age, Mikoɫaj's interest in Magical History and languages were fostered to perfection. His perfectionism when it comes to knowledge sometimes clouds his judgement, but his appreciation lies in the mysterious and wonderful complexity of the past of people, objects and the world around him.

"*I like what you've done with the place. It's very you.*"
— Violette commenting on Mikołaj's decorated office
Raised with the possibility of a prophecy held above his head at all times caused him to act irrational and panicked at times, often letting his emotions get in the way of logic. It was an anxiety of performing the best you could to not disappoint the people around you, yet it transformed into something of a hyper-awareness of his surroundings, allowing him to take into account the smallest of details, including people's feelings.

## Magical Abilities and Skills

Mikoɫaj's mastery lies in the various arts of the mystical and wonderous; lacking slightly in combat due to his standardized training but masterful in the world of politics and business.

* **Metamorphmagus:** Mikoɫaj was born a Metamorphmagus, an individual with the ability to transform and shape their appearance and physical qualities at will. From birth, he showed great proficiency in the art, only being improved as his childhood went on and his training with the Castle Elders hardened him to perfection. Now in his prime, he is able to change his entire physical appearance in a matter of seconds. Mikoɫaj often spends his first few interactions with an individual analysing the way they look, act and speak as a way of storing their information to transform later. This ability has proven useful to his field as an Assistant and Secretary, often taking shape as his superiors to take their missing places at meetings and conferences.
	+ **Voice alteration:** As a part of his Metamorphmagus ability, he mastered the art of transforming and changing his voice-box, allowing him to copy individuals voices and even some non-human sounds like inaminate objects and animals.
	+ **Size alteration:** Mikoɫaj can change his physical size at will, but often at a great cost of energy. He can change to become taller, shorter, slimmer or wider for a variety of circumstances. Most notably, he used this ability to slip through a crowd of Dark Followers untouched by shifting smaller and slimmer to avoid contact.
	+ **Camoflague:** Mikoɫaj can camoflague the appearance of his skin to match different surfaces such as brick walls or stone. This does not extend to his clothing, however, requiring him to charm his clothing's appearance to match to perfect his disguise.
	+ **Body-part shifting**: Mikoɫaj can focus his ability to transform different parts of his body. Most notably, he used this ability to transform his hand into an animal's paw to identify a set of prints.
* **Language Proficiency:** Mikoɫaj is proficient with a huge variety of different languages, most stemming from either Europe or Asia. The precise number of how many languages he can fluently speak, read and write is unclear but it is rumoured he knows 'every language', including ancient languages and some Magical Creature languages such as Gobbledegook, Troll and Centaur.
	+ **Translation:** Alongside his proficiency in languages, he can translate almost any language into English. This can at times include ancient texts in hieroglyphs and ancient languages.
* **Ancient History:** Mikoɫaj has an extensive knowledge on ancient Magical history including Slavic Mythology and Old-world societies like Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. His specialization lies in Slavic Europe, being knowledgeable in old cultures, magics and historical events. His education stems from Castle Vogel and passed-down stories from the Castle Elders.
* **Slavic Paganism:** From chants and hymns, to prayers and rituals; Mikoɫaj's skills in Slavic Paganism lay in the actualisation of Slavic magics. Despite not partaking in such practises as much as he used to when he was a child, his knowledge of envoking ancient dieties' wisdom and guiding their strength is still purposeful more in the home rather than out in the field.
* **Politics:** From a young age, his father Ivan Vogel educated Mikoɫaj on all to do with politics. Throughout his working life, he landed a many jobs in important political positions, his most recent one being the Secretary of the British Minister of Magic.

## Possessions

* **Wand:** Mikoɫaj's wand is made of blackthorn wood with a unicorn hair core. It was crafted by hand by one of the Castle Elders and gifted to him when he was 9 years old. To this day he still uses the same wand. His wand has a branded 'V' etched into the hilt.
* **Vogel Family Tattoo:** On his left ankle, Mikoɫaj has a family tattoo of a V. It is said to bring him protection and good health, knowing that his family is always by his side.
* **Vogel Brand Ring:** As a product of Castle Vogel's jewellery side business, Mikoɫaj recieved his family's signature ring. Whilst worn and talking to another individual, the white gemstone in the ring becomes either clear or cloudy depending on untrustworthy they are. Miko most notably uses his ring in secret to best handle tense situations in political discussions and business meetings.
* **Wedding Ring:** His wedding ring is a simple silver band with his and Bridget's initials etched on the outside and a single emerald gemstone.
* **Morana and Devana:** His two Greyhounds, Morana and Devana, were a wedding gift from his father. Whenever possible, he takes them hunting in the forest outside his home in Scotland.

## Relationships

### Family

#### Anastasia Vogel

Mikoɫaj's relationship with his mother has always been complicated but a mutual respect still remains between the two. Anastasia was the source of his praise and worship as a child, leading to Mikoɫaj's inflated sense of self during his teenage-rebel years. When he announced his marriage to Bridget, Anastasia was apprehensive at first after hearing all the facts about Bridget's personal life. However, during the wedding, she grew to respect Bridget and Mikoɫaj's decision to marry her after seeing her defend them from the attackers.

#### Ivan Vogel

His father was less involved in Mikoɫaj's life when he was a baby and instead made his impact on him when he started to show Mikoɫaj the outside world. Out of all his family, Mikoɫaj is most close with Ivan and the two keep in contact most frequently. It was Ivan's plan to take Mikoɫaj and his family skiing in 2019 where he met Bridget. Ivan was the first person that Mikoɫaj told about his love for Bridget.

#### Bridget Vogel, née Sondergaard

When the two met during a skiing trip in 2019, they almost immediately fell for each other after Mikoɫaj offered to help teach Bridget how to skii. After talking about their personal problems together, Mikoɫaj helped guide Bridget in the right direction and assisted with her transitioning. Mikoɫaj and Bridget have always been open about their internal struggles with identity and helped each other through tough times. After their wedding in 2021, they moved in together to a new home in Scotland with their two dogs and have been making an effort to make the interior appeal to both of them, despite their clashing aesthetic preferences.

"*In the following days, the Auralock Division will see a new recruit join their ranks. Her name is Bridget and she is one of a kind; not only the fact that she is my wife, but that she is a squib.*"
— Mikołaj informing Matt about Bridget joining the Aurors
### Jasmine Quinn

Mikoɫaj's relationship with his boss, Jasmine, started with a mutual respect for each other's positions. Mikoɫaj understood the pressure of ruling an entire country and wanted to use his abilities and knowledge to assist with that, whilst Jasmine respected Mikoɫaj's strive for quality and gave him the freedom to provide as much help as he sought necessary. At first, Jasmine would exploit Mikoɫaj for more mundane tasks such as bringing Jasmine her morning coffee or carrying something too heavy for her, but her attitude towards him changed after she saw the effort he put into the job.

When Jasmine began her world tour of political resurgance, all the pressure of handling the Ministry of Magic was pushed onto Mikoɫaj, leaving him quite stunned at her sudden disappearance yet filled with a sense of duty to not let her down.

"*I don't think Jasmine will be happy about this, Violette.*"
— Mikołaj warning Violette about her mystery messenger
As of recent, Mikoɫaj has been rebelling against some of Jasmine's invoices and letters to retrieve things for her from around the Ministry.

### Violette Carstairs

Mikoɫaj and Violette share a mutual respect for one another, technically being each other's bosses in different departments. Their relationship started off rocky, with Violette seeing Mikoɫaj as pompous, a show-off and untrustworthy from their first interaction. Following on, Mikoɫaj made en effort to improve himself in her eyes, even going as far as to join the Auror Department to help with the struggling numbers and work directly under Violette to ensure a mutual power dynamic.

"*It's funny isn't it. When we first met, it was clear I hated you. Nowadays, you're much more tolerable.*"
— Violette to Mikołaj after his and Matt's successful mission
After months of working together, the two have grown comfortable around each other and have aided one another in their respective problems.

### Matt Campbell

"*The Wizarding World may just be in a transition period; everything is changing, we just have to be ready for it all and that is why we need everyone prepared to face it, including you, Sir.*"
— Mikołaj to Matt after meeting him in hospital
After joining the British Ministry of Magic, Mikoɫaj had one of his first courses of action be to meet the recovering Auror Lieutenant in hospital. He retrieved Joel Crestello's, Matt's old friend's, belongings still held in the Ministry Archives and gave them to Matt as a gift. Learning from his previous interaction with Violette that didn't go well, he opened up easily to Matt, with him being the first person Mikoɫaj would reveal his Metamorphmagus ability to.

So far, the two have grown close and have assisted each other on a number of missions and investigations such as the Prometheus investigations, becoming regular work partners. Mikoɫaj even dug around the Ministry Archives to recover some old files he had on Matt's ancestry, revealing him to be related by law to his old companion Joel Crestello.

### Max Fireheart

As an order from Jasmine, Mikoɫaj was tasked with re-establishing a good relationship with the Order of the Phoenix by meeting with their Lord of the Phoenixes, Max Fireheart. During their first meeting, Mikoɫaj offered Max a Vogel ring similar to his own as a gesture of good faith.

During another one of their meetings, the two have risen tensions between them after Max discovered his Metamorphmagus ability. In order for Max to not reveal the information he learned about Mikoɫaj, he blackmailed him, threatening to scandalize him in the national Newspaper.

## Trivia

* Mikoɫaj is rumoured to be an ancestor of the ancient heretic witch Katarzyna Weiglowa, who prophecised his forthcoming after being burned at the stake in 1539.
	+ The only influence of Katarzyna's prophecy that has been realised so far is in Mikoɫaj's Boggart, which coincidentally is being burned at the stake
* Mikoɫaj named his dogs after two ancient Slavic dieties, Morana and Devana respectively. Morana, the goddess of winter and Devana, the goddess of the hunt.
* Mikoɫaj is openly Pansexual.
* He is the 14th only-child born in the Vogel dynasty.