The following is the build up to the retirement of the character Jinx Sinclair. This will be a series of short stories. Upon the completion of the series, the character will be officially retired.

I am mostly thinking this out and writing it bit by bit. For those that wish to be included in this story, please let me know via forum PM as I am not in game much anymore.

Coup de Grâce

Into the Unknown


Jinx entered the Ministry of Magic through the side entrance for delegates and members of the Wizengamot. Today was the big day. He was dressed in all black. Black pants, black shirt, black suit jacket, black leather pants, black vest, and black leather gloves. His hair was pulled back and bound and his face cleanly shaven. He was dressed exactly how he was told to dress for this occasion.

Jinx walked with determination past the chambers of the Wizengamot and to a not often traveled corridor. He raised his hand and knocked three times against the wall at the end of the hallway. One slow, two fast. The wall quivered. Jinx leaned forward and whispered to the wall. Almost instantaneously, Jinx fell forward through what had been a wall into an empty room with a door emitting light.

A blinding bright white light shone from the doorway. Jinx squinted as he struggled to see into the room.

"Enter," the voice said ominously.

Jinx followed the command and carefully stepped into the room located deep in the heart of the Ministry of Magic. His steps created loud echos inside of the room. And, once he passed the thresh-hold of the door, the door instantly closed with a loud crash.

Jinx paused and remained his composure at the loud sound. Jinx stopped walking and placed both of his hands behind his back, straightening his spine. The light was still extremely bright and his pupils constricted the light entering his eye to just barely see the outline of several chairs in the room. Jinx presumed each chair was filled with a seated person. Then again, his presumptions have been wrong in the past. Anything was possible at the Ministry of Magic.

"Name," demanded the voice.

"Sinclair, Jinx."

"Wizarding education."

"Hogwarts."

"Graduation date."

"Shortly."

There was a silence. Jinx squinted to try to make out the room better. While squinting, Jinx was able to tell there were five chairs. Each chair was angled to look toward the door and anyone who entered. Jinx attempted to fix his eyes past the chairs and see beyond. He couldn't. His eyes went back toward the direction where he thought he previously heard the voice speak.

The sound of a throat clearing broke the silence. The next person that spoke had a low rumble in his voice consisting of phlegm and vocal cord distress. The kind of rumble that only came with many years of smoking cigarettes, "Will you try to deceive this panel?"

Jinx' eyes closed. He affirmatively and boldly spoke, "I would never."

"We shall see," responded the rumbling voice....

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Problem?

A pink suitcase on a train platform. A blonde 11 year old girl eating chocolate and laughing. These were the first memories of Hogwarts for Jinx Sinclair.

He was back at the train station, his small 11 year old hands tugging along the over sized pink suitcase his mother had given him. The plastic made an extremely annoying scratching sound against the concrete almost like nails on a chalk board. He pulled on.

"Manly," that rumble of a voice grumbled.

The train ride to Hogwarts was like any other train ride, the ominous sound of clicks and clacks. The jostling from time to time as bumps in the track were discovered by the rail cars. Nothing special. And, once again nothing special upon his entrance to the school. His recollection and memories would be equally as dull until his thirteenth birthday. Occasional flashes of a pale blue eyed girl with teeth sharpened to points and a black guy with dreadlocks would flash into his memory - for whatever reason and fade just as quickly almost as if being pushed out or as if he was resisting.

"Full disclosure, Mister Sinclair."

His memories flushed out. A big black dog, the same girl with the pale blue eyes and a bedroom in the Slytherin girl's dormitory. There Jinx was with blankets and sheets thrown on top of him. The black man with dreads standing at the door talking about illicit activities.

A smile crossed Jinx' face as he recollected the memory.

"Something funny, Mister Sinclair?"

"It was all part of a larger work," Jinx replied coolly.

"A larger work?"

Jinx spoke confidently, "What starts so mundane and trvial always can be turned into a great piece of art. Proceed."

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