CLARABELLE GENOVESE // HUFFLEPUFF // 6TH YEAR // FC: SEYCHELLE GABRIEL
AGE/DOB: 17, 8th November 1997
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female, She/Her/Hers
WAND: Hawthorn, Phoenix Feather, 11′’
PATRONUS: Eagle (incorporeal)
BOGGART: Her father rejecting her
CLASSES: Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Divination, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Potions
CLUBS: Muggle Arts, Potions
The Genovese family was a complex one to grow up in, one with a lot of secrets for a family of just three. For a long time magic had been dormant in the Genovese line, it had turned more into a rumour than an actual piece of the family’s history, but then Clarabelle’s father was born and despite the odds he was a magical child. He was very proud to bring magic back into the family, he attended Durmstrang for his magical education and then went on to work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It was his work that took him to America and it was there he met his muggle wife. Clarabelle’s mother was a complicated woman, she was always a little distant and highly superstitious, fearing almost everything she didn’t understand. Her parents loved each other though, there was no doubt of that, and in order to make his marriage work Clarabelle’s father hid his magic from his wife, quit his job and settled into a muggle life. When Clarabelle was born her parents were thrilled, any doubt her father had about leaving the magical world disappeared when he saw how his wife loved their daughter, how wonderful their life could be as a family without magic. Those early years of her life were as perfect as one could ask for. The Genovese family was a happy one, she had two doting parents who dedicated a lot of their time to her, she went to a small local school where she had good friends and enjoyed her lessons, it was the sort of easy life that any child deserved and if she had been born different perhaps things could’ve stayed that way. Clarabelle was young when she began to show signs of magic, at first they were barely noticeable things, things anyone would have missed- including Clara herself- but her gifts were something her father had long been keeping an eye out for. He was a good man, he loved his wife and all her quirks, but he also knew this wasn’t a secret she would take well, it could destroy everything they had and he didn’t want that, not for him and not for Clarabelle. He wasn’t sure how to handle it, he tried to talk to Clarabelle about the secret he’d kept for so long but it wasn’t easy with his wife always in the house, he hoped he could explain things to her and get her into a magical school before everything came out into the open but that wasn’t meant to be. Whether Clarabelle’s mother truly understood or just grew suspicious was never made clear, perhaps she just sensed there was an increasing divide between her and her family forming and she didn’t understand why. Everything fell apart rather quickly after that, when he was confronted her father did his best to explain the situation, he tried to explain that the magical world was not something to be feared, that him and their daughter were gifted and that was nothing to worry about or be scared of. Clarabelle’s mother would hear none of it, she was betrayed and hurt, she no longer wanted her husband in the house and she made it rather clear she didn’t want Clarabelle there either.
It was bittersweet for Clarabelle’s father to return to Italy, to stay with his parents for a while, with his young daughter at his side. Clarabelle didn’t really understand what was going on, the signs of magic that had been slowly increasing over the years still felt foreign to her, she didn’t know what she was capable of or how to handle them, the only thing that seemed to register was whatever power she possessed had scared her mother enough to send her away. Life in Italy was a big change for Clara, while things settled her father decided to teach her from home and, for the first time, he properly sat her down and told her everything about his life and the magical world. It was a conversation they should have had a long time ago, one that her father had been afraid to have, and it answered a lot of questions for Clarabelle but also brought up mixed feelings of guilt. She felt awful that her father had had to hide for so long, that he’d hid in order to keep the family together and keep her happy, but she also felt incredibly guilty about her mother. They’d lied to her, even if it was meant to be for the best, her father had married her under false pretences, they’d set up a life together and now all of that had fallen apart because of one secret. Perhaps her mother had no right to fear magic so much, she didn’t even give her father a chance to explain, but Clarabelle loved her mother and she couldn’t help but feel as though they’d taken up a large chunk of the woman’s life only to betray her. She wasn’t sure what to feel about it, while magic was an exciting addition to her life it was also terrifying, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something had to be wrong for her mother to have felt to strongly about it. A letter from Hogwarts arrived alongside a letter from Beauxbatons on her eleventh birthday and Clarabelle wasn’t sure she wanted either of them, she debated staying at home and being schooled from there or giving up the magical life she wasn’t sure she needed, but her father was encouraging of the idea. He assured her the magical world was a wonderful one to be a part of, he assured her that this would be a good chance for them to start a new life and start over, and so she accepted her place at Hogwarts despite her doubts. Hogwarts was, of course, a daunting idea and when she arrived at the castle she wasn’t completely sure about her home situation either, with her father trying to find work in England to make the whole situation easier for her. It was a slow process, for a while she was nervous about being at the school and exploring the magic her mother feared so much but being in the castle felt different, she felt as though she belonged. Slowly but surely, by the end of the first year, Clarabelle was starting to have a different outlook on life. At the end of the year she came home to a new house in England, her father had managed to get a job in the Department of International Magical Cooperation once again, everything seemed to be finding it’s place and maybe she didn’t have to feel guilty about that.
Clarabelle, known to most as Clara, is usually quite shy among her peers. She takes a cautious approach to most things, after everything that’s happened with her mother she often still feels uneasy about magic and being at Hogwarts, while the castle has given her a place to feel more understood she likes to do things at her own pace, safely and slowly. That isn’t to say she doesn’t love magic, some areas in particular have grown on her, often the subjects that don’t require her to use any actual magic herself, and it’s through those areas she’s building confidence in her abilities overall. Not the loudest of characters, or the most eager to stand out, when Clara does make friends and finds people she’s comfortable with then there’s an obvious change in her. Behind closed doors Clara is a funny and bright person, she likes to be around other people and doesn’t like her own company much, it just often takes people a little while to see that side of her. She struggles to trust people, perhaps because despite his best intentions her father did lie to her mother for so long, she worries that people will lie to her in attempts to protect her and, even worse, she fears that one day she’ll find someone she’ll love but feel the need to lie to.
She was six when she left America and her mother, just old enough to hold memories but they’re those misty water-colour type. Her Italian heritage is much stronger, and she’s very proud of it. In the past couple years, she’s also done more research into her Mexican heritage, hoping that it might ease some of her complicated feelings over her mother. She’s very proud of both, speaking Italian as fluently as she does English, and she’s also gotten very good at Spanish. Because she misses using those languages, she’s taught her friends bits of the languages, and they use them to gossip around others without the fear of being eavesdropped on.
Clara loves to cook, she really does, and she’s brilliant at it (she’s even thinking of a career as a chef). On the first day of every term, she arrives at Hogwarts with a giant box of goodies, which she shares out with her friends and her House. It may seem like a cliche, a Hufflepuff sharing food, but she doesn’t mind being that cliche. When the food is good, it deserves to be shared, and that way she can test out new recipes on her classmates.
Her two best classes are Potions and Herbology. Since she’s not very confident with wand magic, she only took up Charms as it’s a useful subject, but she dropped all other practical magic classes. Her other classes are: History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Astronomy and Muggle Studies.
She’s terrified of heights, to the point she can’t even sit near the windows of the towers. When she was being Sorted, she asked if Hufflepuff was in one of the towers, as she heard that the Ravenclaws were in a tower, and she was scared of the idea.
Clara is not the most outspoken, but she’ll argue that everyone deserves to be treated equally. She’s a huge supporter of magical beings having the same rights as witches and wizards.
CLARABELLE GENOVESE IS TAKEN! [BLOG]
