Forum:Aretha Harkness

23:52, July 9, 2017 (UTC)

The Open-Ended Questions

A. Please answer the following questions as elaborately as possible. (Remember, this part doesn't have to be filled out if it's an expansion character!)

1) What would you consider to be your character's strengths, and your character's weaknesses? Elaborate on your answer.

Her greatest strength is easily arguing and discourse. Her greatest weakness is her husband - she'd do anything for him.

2) Has your character's life played out the way they wanted? Have they achieved the goals they set out for their life? Why, or why not?

She didn't expect to fall in love with someone, but otherwise it's pretty much gone to plan so far.

3) What's their ideal way of spending a free day? Why so?

Aretha doesn't have free days and she doesn't believe in them either. If she's free - she's not working hard enough.

4) If your character could only keep 5 possessions, what would they be? Why?

Besides her wedding ring, nothing else really.

5) What one thing would your character change about the wizarding society? Why?

The subjugation of marginalised groups in wizarding society.

The Character's Background

1) Give a history of your character. History must be at least two paragraphs long. How did they grow up? Is there an incident that made them the way they are? etc. (Remember, history must at least be two paragraphs long for the first two characters, three paragraphs long for the third to eighth character, and four paragraphs long for the ninth to fifteenth character!)

''Aretha was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her parents, Jean-Claude and Ophelia Leveau, were both muggles, who owned a bistro which specialised in French-Creole cuisine. Her parents were not wealthy or very well educated, but were both self-made, and understood the importance of hard work, elbow grease and determination in order to achieve one's goals. When Aretha was born, they began instilling these values in her, to remember for whatever she did.

Aretha was a difficult child. She was curious, argumentative and hot-headed. She'd argue with other kids in kindergarten about small things that they did, and would end up getting into quite a bit of trouble. Ophelia and Jean-Claude were both bemused by this behaviour, joking that it was her nature to argue. So they became used to it. However, when an argument during a school trip to the backwaters resulted in a boy being 'pushed' into the swamp, Aretha's parents became worried. She'd never been violent, and she wasn't a strong girl. That, and she claimed to have never touched the boy. Her parents were shocked, as Aretha wouldn't lie, but the evidence seemed to be too convincing to ignore. They were worried. What they didn't know was that Aretha had just performed her first act of magic.

Aretha's parents found out that she had magic when the family puppy was found levitating, upside down in mid air, with a nine year old Aretha clapping excitedly and running around in circles with joy. They vowed to never speak of it again, with Jean-Claude, whose father had been a pastor, thinking there was something devilish going on. It was not until they received the acceptance letter into Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that they realised magic was the cause of her strangeness. At first they were shellshocked, and Ophelia was able to trace back her family lineage and realised that her great grandmother on her maternal side had been a voodoo witch, and that it was not a scary story, but in fact, it was truth. Ophelia and Jean Claude looked past their fears, realising how great an opportunity this was, so they sent her to Massechusetts, where she could learn how to cultivate her magic.

Aretha was afraid of moving away from Louisiana at first. She loved home, she loved the bayou, her parents, the easy lifestyle. The thought of moving to a cold stone castle surrounded by mist, mountains and perpetual coldness and people she didn't know was frightful. But, she had to do it. So she packed her stuff up and moved North-West to Mount Greylock. When she was being sorted, she stepped onto the Gordian Knot and waited. She thought she was going to be laughed at - with her prominent southern accent and her shabby looking robes (her parents couldn't really afford anything new). She thought the four houses would all remain silent, and no house would choose her. She imagined the horror, the shame and the disappointment. She imagined being escorted out of the school, and being flown back to Louisiana. Until it all changed. She stepped on, and there was a pause, before the jewel on the head of the Horned Serpent glowed. This was followed by the beating of the Thunderbird's wings and the Wampus Cat's roar. The Pukwudgie did not raise it's arrow, rightly so, but Aretha found herself being asked by the headteacher to choose, at her own liberty, which out of the three houses, she wanted to be a part of. Aretha knew that Wampus favoured warriors and represented the body. She knew that Thunderbird favoured the adventurers and represented the soul, and the Serpent favoured the scholar, and represented the mind. She wanted to be in all three, but it eventually came down to a choice between Thunderbird and Horned Serpent. Eventually, she chose the Horned Serpent, deciding that all the adventures in the world would be fruitless without proper understanding and knowledge of the world.

Aretha surpassed all expectations, coming out of school with top marks, a keen mind and a desire to pursue law. She went and studied in law at Princeton University, before moving to London, to work as a criminal lawyer there, and get a conversion course for British Law at University College of London (UCL). It was there, when Aretha met her to be husband, Joaquin Harkness, another wizarding Lawyer. Joaquin was smart, charismatic and funny - too good for the cutthroat world of Law. He brought out a softer and more vulnerable side to her, and she hasn't stopped loving him ever since.

Today, Aretha can mainly be found in courtrooms. Her speciality is murder and homicide, but she does also excel in family law.''

2) Give a description of your character's personality. Personality must be at least one paragraph long. Are you noble or sneaky? Arrogant or humble? (Remember, personality must be at least one paragraph long for the first two characters, two paragraphs long for the third to eighth characters, and three paragraphs long for the ninth to fifteenth!)

''When she was younger, Aretha was always curious. Inherently, she wanted to know the difference between right and wrong, and promote the right. She was curious about the way the world worked, social norms and the way society operated.

As she grew older, she cultivated the way she looked at the world even further and discovered how unfair life actually was. For women, for black people, for LGBT+ people. In the magical community, learning about intolerance to half breeds and non pureblood, she realised that amongst all these injustices, she alone could be the change she wanted to see. This resulted in a great sense of purpose and determination, but also a tinge of bitterness, too. It wasn't fair.

Aretha is headstrong, argumentative and almost always right. She's calculating and cold, very cunning and has a face that looks like she's over everything. Because she's so analytical, she comes across as a horrible person, despite her heart being in the right place. Mainly, she's just tired of people's stupidity. She can usually be seen leaving the room in an exhausted manner.''

3) Are you Pure-Blood, Half-Blood or Muggle-Born? Do you have any notable magical relations? (Remember, you cannot be related to important Harry Potter characters!)

Muggleborn

4) Does your character have any special magical abilities? Or special abilities in general (photographic memory, etc.)? Is he or she of a different magical race, such as Veela, Vampire, Werewolf or the like? Part or half of that magical race counts! (Remember, you cannot have one as your first two characters!)

Nope

5) What is your character's profession? Does your character plan to enroll your character into the Ministry of Magic? Does your character not work? Is your character a teacher?

She's a lawyer.

6) Describe your character's marital status. Is your character single or married? What is the spouse's name? Any kids?

Married to Joaquin Harkness (Ellie)

7) What about your character's appearance? What do they look like? Feel free to write down what they look like! If you're using any FC, you can put a picture here! Please state the character's faceclaim!



OOC Questions

C. These do not affect what house you're sorted to, but everybody must answer them!

1) Is this your first character?


 * A. This is my first character.

''':B. No, this is not my first character.'''

2) If your answer to the previous question is B, how many characters do you have? How many of them are "exotic" (of a different magical race/have a special ability)?

8 chars, 1 of which is exotic.