Nikolai Doe

Biography & Background

Nikolai was found as a newborn, left on the steps of the police station in Wilmington, Delaware on a freezing winter night. He was wrapped in a blue woolen blanket with a small note that said 'His name is Nikolai'. He was found by a local officer who was clocking out of his shift when he heard the cries of Nikolai. He was quickly taken to a nearby pediatric ward and found to be in good health. Seeing as there was no surname for Nikolai, so he was given a random last name and ended up with Doe, how fitting. He was quickly assigned with a foster family and registered into the government foster system. As a child he was very bright and friendly, but being forced away from the families he grew close to broke his heart every time.

Growing up Nikolai went from foster home to foster home, never staying with one family any longer than a few months before being moved to another 'new home'. He went from Delaware where he supposed he was born, to Pennsylvania, to Maryland, and New Jersey. This constant movement meant he grew detached to the families he lived with even when they did try their best to make him feel welcome as often as possible. Usually he'd say few words and be lost in his own mind rather than talk to other people, causing him to not make friends at the schools he went to but in his mind he never would feel bad about loosing friends when he moved if he didn't make friends in the first place.

At 8 years old he finally choose to run away, back to Wilmington to find out who his parents were. He was already in New Jersey at that point but he didn't let the distance faze him, instead leaving out of the blue one night with a backpack of food and a map. He walked by himself, taking breaks along the way, and after two days of travel was within ten miles of his destination when he was noticed, but not by police. A white van pulled up next to Nikolai and two men jumped out of the side, tackling the boy to the ground and taking him with them in a few seconds. Nikolai tried to fight them, even using magic for the first time to push one of his attackers against the sliding door, denting it and breaking the window. Yet he was put into a choke hold and passed out from lack of oxygen, waking up in a wooden box with only a small air hole and barely enough room to move around. He tried to scream and yell for help, but none came for him, instead he was moved across the country over the course of two days, to San Diego, California.

In San Diego, Nikolai was repeatedly given strong doses of opioids and abused by his captors, as well as by 'customers' who wanted to use him for their own perverse pleasures. By the time the FBI raided the place Nikolai had been imprisoned he'd been there for over three months, was underweight, malnourished, scarred and dehydrated. The strong drugs as well as the abuse had left his mind in an almost unresponsive, broken state. He was sent to receive specialized treatment in a secure facility where over the next three years he slowly was able to recover from the ordeal but now spoke even less than he had previously, preferring to communicate with shrugs, hand gestures and nods.

It was while living at the facility he was met by a wizard from Ilvermorny, who explained to him that he'd been born with the gift of magic. Nikolai was surprised by everything he was told and asked a number of complex questions through pencil and paper, eventually feeling satisfied after a few hours of back and forth. Nikolai agreed to go to Ilvermorny having no ties to the NoMag world, and in fact wanted to leave this world he'd grown up in to find a better world for himself.

Arriving at Ilvermorny he distanced himself from his fellow students, preferring to be on his own and to reduce any social interaction he had to using gestures or writing more complex answers. Actually preforming spells took a lot of effort on his part to clear his mind, focus on the correct gestures, and to say the spell. His first year was filled with struggles and growing pains, but his second year showed improvement as he filled his whole life into the study of magic. Over the next couple of years Nikolai showed a better aptitude for magic than his teachers has supposed, as well as a personal interest in Magical Creatures, yet Nikolai continued to distance himself from students as well as any friendly relationships with teachers. After hearing of he opportunity to be transferred to Hogwarts Nikolai did everything his teachers required of him to be able to go to the fabled school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Personality & Nature

Nikolai is quite close to being a mute, and if words weren't required to preform spells he wouldn't say anything out-loud, preferring to communicate with gestures and writing. He is always the kid who stays in the corner or with his back to the wall and his eyes on an exit. His abuse and subsequent nightmares have left him sensitive to both personal touch and people crowding into his personal space. Being outside and especially by bodies of water helps him to find inner peace away from the chaos that rages in his mind. Animals are always easier for him to understand and bond with than people, and he would rather spend time around magical creatures than people any day of the week. He is strong minded and doesn't hesitate when the situation calls for action, as he sees indecisiveness as a weakness.

Nikolai is very attune to his senses, and does his best to remain as stoic and unflinching on the outside as he wants to be on the inside. He often pretends to read or be listening intently when in reality he is constantly keeping tabs on his surroundings and those within range of his wand. His paranoia of being attacked again has left him with the desire to be ignored and forgotten, to blend in and not be seen or heard rather than the center of attention. The shell he has built around himself leaves him at times lonely but he does entertain himself with mental games and conversations, but in his mind his mistrust of everyone is valid for either they don't have pure intentions or they will eventually leave him like all others he cared for did. Nikolai can come off cold and stoic but it is around animals he truly shines and feels comfortable to express empathy and form connections to beasts that have never shown ill intent or a wish to harm him.

Appearance & Looks

He has tan skin, dark hair and dark eyes. He is short for 15, at 5'5 but still had growing to do. He tends to prefer the long robes that cover his limbs to hide his scars and not to expose himself to the outside world. He has a thin build, is left handed and has large hands.

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