Mr. Vernon

Dante Vernon is the mentor of the misfits. He is the adoptive father of Leila, along with Other Mr. Vernon.

Early Life
Dante grew up in Mineral Wells, where his father owned the magic shop, which was once a jazz club. His father was the original "Purveyor of the Impossible" and was a magician too. Dante would beg him to teach magic, but his father denied, until Dante did a magic trick. Eventually, Dante and his cousin, Lyle Locke, formed a group called the Emerald Ring, who were a tight group of friends who practiced magic.

They constantly played near the Grand Oaks Resort, in the lodge.

However, over time, Dante and Kilroy Kalagan, another member of the club, started gaining different views on how magic should be used. Before the Mineral Wells Talent Show, they decided to have a competition to decide how to end their act. Dante's performance went perfectly fine, with everyone vanishing and reappearing. However, Kalagan, who had put items into a sack that would reappear on his head under a hat, had set the bag on fire and the fire quickly spread throughout the building. It is later discovered that Dante had caused Kalagan's trick to go a bit haywire so he'd win, accidentally causing the death of Kalagan's parents. Dante, Lyle, and Sandra got out through a secret exit while Kilroy went the main route. Mick Meridian however, was harmed by the fire and B. B. Bosso covered him in a blanket to put the flames out. Afterwards, the group broke up and Dante felt guilt over everything that had happened.

He would later inherit the magic shop, marry The Other Mr. Vernon, and adopt Leila after seeing her during a charity concert.

Book 1
In the first book, Dante speaks to Carter at the carnival, and it is noted that Carter felt a sense of real magic around him. He also attempted to confuse Carter by teaching his pet parrot, Presto, to greet everyone by saying: “Hello Carter! Welcome to Vernon’s Magic Shop!” It is also implied that he left Carter a blanket and some change while he was sleeping on a park bench. He assists the Misfits when B.B. Bosso, another member of the Emerald Ring attempts to steal the Star of Africa, the second largest diamond in the world. He tries to negotiate with Bosso, but ends up getting hit over the head by Bosso's henchmen, and framed for the theft of the Star of Africa. The Misfits manage to free him and send Bosso to jail. And don't forget about the misfits adventures with Kalagan.

Trivia

 * Mr. Vernon is (probably) based on a real American magician called Harry August Jansen (stage name Dante) who toured with a magic show called Sim Sala Bim.
 * Mr. Vernon is gay, and has a husband known as the Other Mr. Vernon.