- "Xavier Rastrick (1750—1836): Flamboyant wizard entertainer who vanished unexpectedly while tapdancing to a crowd of three hundred in Painswick and was never seen again."
- — Chocolate Frog Card[src]
Xavier Rastrick (1750—1836?) was a wizard entertainer who, notably, unexpectedly vanished during one of his performances before the very eyes of his audience, never to be seen again.
Biography
Early life
Mr. Rastrick was born in 1750, somewhere in the British Isles. If he enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he attended the school from around 1761 to 1768, under Headmistress Dilys Derwent.
Adulthood
Rastrick during one of his dance routines.
Rastrick went on to become a performer in, at least, the early nineteenth century. By the 1830s, his shows attracted a relatively large audience.
In 1836, a crowd of three hundred witches and wizards gathered in the village of Painswick to watch one of his performances. The show, however, became famous, as Rastrick unexpectedly vanished halfway through a tap-dance routine and was never seen or heard from again. This event is, apparently, regarded as Rastrick's death.
By the 1990s, Rastrick was featured on a Chocolate Frog Card, which pictured him halfway through the infamous dance routine in which he vanished.
Behind the scenes
- The reason why Rastrick suddenly disappeared is, at the moment, unclear. It might have been a result of a hex or jinx by a member of the audience or a serious (and infamous) case of vanishing sickness. Alternatively, Rastrick might have become un-born due to some time-travelling mishap (as his disappearance was before 1899, when the Ministry stopped conducting time-travelling experiments).
Etymology
The name "Xavier" is derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506—1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in eastern Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries. His surname has since been adopted as a given name in his honour, chiefly among Catholics.
