“ Make me feel like the only one. ”
FULL NAME: MANI SARVANKAR
AGE: TWENTY THREE YEARS OLD
OCCUPATION: ASSISTANT AT BORGIN AND BURKE’S IN KNOCKTURN ALLEY
Mani Sarvankar was long overdue, according to his mother. He was born following his two older sisters, who proved handfuls in their own right; Kala was born a middle-aged woman in a child’s body, while Priya managed to keep all eyes on her at all times. Mani, his mother would croon, was perfect. Quiet, charming and with a smile that was so sincere it made her heart hurt, he was always his mother’s secret favourite. With his father, he was the son he had so desperately wanted to continue on the bloodline, and told him so; You will be the one to keep the Sarvankars alive, Mani. You will be the head of the family when I’m gone, my little king. It wasn’t until his younger sister Lavanya’s birth that his relatively peaceful life came to a shuttering stop; their mother died just hours after the child was born. Mani, only three years old, didn’t understand why his mother didn’t return home, or why his father had locked the door to his bedroom with a bottle of alcohol, his sobs heard throughout the small council flat. He spent hours knocking on the door, begging him to come out. Kala was too busy nursing a newborn Lavanya, Priya too busy sniffling into the corner, and so it was left to Mani to console his big sister when he himself didn’t understand the ruins of their life.. As a result, a divide formed; Kala became a mother to them all, of course, but it was clear who her favourite was. So Priya and Mani banded together, holding hands as they dodged cracks in the pavement and sleeping in the same bed when there were thunderstorms, his older sister’s arms around him. When he closed his eyes, he could pretend it was their mother.
Hogwarts was a welcome change to his home life, with his father leaving them to look after themselves; when he did make an appearance, he had seemed to shift his preferences to Lavanya, once she’d revealed she was a Seer, continuing on the Gift that had blessed their family since their origins in the 15th century. Mani was ignored, and so Hogwarts became a solace for him; he was sorted into Slytherin House to Kala’s horror, and found himself being appreciated for his family name. He had been ignorant to it all before, but soon learned that his family had terrorised Muggles in Mumbai for centuries, their passion for the Dark Arts unimaginable. It began to fascinate him, particularly when he learned about the grandfather he was in fact named after, and his unspeakable acts; he spent hours in the school library, reading up on their family history, his eyes growing wide as he almost felt the power flowing through him like electricity. The power that belonged to him now. During holidays, he would dutifully return home to his father and sisters, but the relationship was strained. Usually, he would simply speak to Priya; she was the only one who understood his desire to make their family great again. During his fourth year, the final blow in the tragedy of their family was delivered. He heard Lavanya’s sobs from across the Hall before he even read the Owl that was delivered, informing him that his father had committed suicide. It was almost funny, how numb he felt, how he couldn’t even make himself speak. All he could think about was his father’s words, You will be the head of the family when I’m gone.
From then on, Mani fell deeper and deeper into the Dark Arts. He still maintained a restrained but sincere relationship with his sisters, still felt a love and loyalty to them above all, but there was no sense of true loyalty there. They were traitors, really, in that they seemed to feel that Muggles and Muggleborns were people to fraternise with. That went directly against what their family had believed in, what their own father had believed in. By his sixth and seventh year, Mani had developed a close friendship with a group of Slytherins who were obsessed with the Dark Art and becoming great wizards of the profession, delving deeper and deeper into the darkest areas of magic, enough to give him nightmares for days. He loved it, though, and in his seventh year finally made contact with the family left behind in India. They welcomed him with open arms, ecstatic to have their boy back, the boy that would lead them back to greatness. He felt truly appreciated for the first time, as if he was actually being seen and not just counted as yet another Sarvankar child who hadn’t amounted to anything. Upon leaving Hogwarts, he felt the word at his feet and a restlessness in his bones, leaving him with a taste of freedom. Kala tried to reach out, tried to convince him to live with her and apply for an internship with the Ministry, but he couldn’t imagine living his life to serve them. He wasn’t her. He couldn’t live for other people, couldn’t serve them when he knew he had power inside him waiting to be accessed. And so he set out on his own, finding himself in Knockturn Alley, the dark alleyways welcoming him home.
It was only two weeks of working in Borgin and Burke’s when he met her. It was another quiet afternoon, trying not to trip over the many pieces of antiques that cluttered the ground as he hummed under his breath when he heard someone harmonise ever so beautifully with him. Turning, he saw an angel, clad in a pristine dress and her hair in white-blonde victory rolls. Her name was Adaline Ulrith, and she was smiling at him as if he were the funniest thing she’d ever seen with her own two eyes. Mani couldn’t quite believe that someone so perfect could be created and brought in front of him, and he had ran away before he could even speak to her. It had taken another week before he plucked up the courage to make conversation, another month before he escorted her to the newly opened Ice Cream Parlour. She seemed to actually care about his attempts at conversation, giggling at his jokes and looking at him as if he were the only person in the world. He could barely breathe around her. Finally, Mani took the long journey to the Ulrith mansion, his knees shaking as he made his way to her father, asking for Adaline’s hand in marriage and offering his heart on a silver platter. The man eyeballed him for a moment, making his stomach drop, before clapping him on the back and accepting the offer for his daughter. It was completely unexpected to him, considering the fact that his family, while being infamous for their association with the Dark Arts in the past, had lost their fortune and had nothing much to offer outside of a surname full of history.
Mani has never felt happier than he has as a part of the Ulrith family. He was immediately accepted, attending their functions and weekly dinners, sitting beside Adaline and feeling her fingers caress his in the most pure of touches. At her encouragement, he was even able to try and repair relations with his sisters, upon hearing of his sister’s arranged marriage; when Lavanya tearfully asked him to walk her down the aisle, he felt his heart surge. Despite it all, he still loved the three of them. Despite this, his sisters disapprove of the union, although he has ignored their comments. What did they know about love, about them? They didn’t know Adaline like he did, didn’t hear her laugh when he called her name or see the way her eyes shined with adoration. So he ignores them, even Priya and the worry in her eyes. As part of the Ulriths, he has fraternised even further with other pureblood families, his family’s status making him a popular figure. There has even been mentions of Tom Riddle himself, the enigmatic young man who seems to capture the respect and awe of so many, including Mani himself, attending their wedding if they play their cards right. Although his new family support Grindelwald whole-heartedly, he himself is not as passionate; he is not a fan of Muggles, of course, but does not feel the need to harm them. No, Mani wants nothing more than to continue his family name and bring the Sarvankars to greatness once more, Adaline at his side and his sisters following in his lead. If that leads to getting rid of Muggles and the threat they bring to the Wizarding World, he will support it.
KALA, PRIYA & LAVANYA SARVANKAR ≡ Siblings. Mani has always been a silent force with his sisters, comforting them and humouring them when they needed him to; however, he’s never truly felt respected or appreciated by them, even Kala, who always tried to mother him. Now, he maintains a distant relationship with them all, something that doesn’t quite feel sincere to him at times. Priya is the only one he seems to actually get along with, but even that has become strained due to her raised eyebrows and sneer when he announced his engagement. None of them approve, but they don’t realise he’s doing it for them. To protect them, to make them great again. To bring them glory and honour. Mani only wants what is best for them all.
ADALINE ULRITH ≡ Fiancée. From the first moment he met her, Mani has been entranced and possessed by her beauty and innocence. Truly, he could wax poetic about her eyelashes and the graceful way she moves under the lights. Adaline is everything he could have dreamed of and more, almost as if she was made specifically for him. Their relationship is pure, almost child-like in their purity and hesitation, the future still a glittering dream to him. He envisions so much for them, so much more than they have now ( and that already is more than he could have dreamt of. ) Of course, there is more that he isn’t aware of, the little glances he sees between the Ulrith sisters when they believe he isn’t watching. Yet for now, he’s far too happy to question it all. Not when he has Adaline.
ABRAXAS MALFOY, HYUN NOTT & GABRIEL ULRITH ≡ Friends. Upon entering Adaline’s world, Mani was immediately welcomed by the men who he had been ignored by for so long. As supporters of Grindelwald’s message and believing in the sacred lineage of Pureblood families, they had always seemed to steer clear of someone who’s family had a tainted past, with his sister being an Auror. However, becoming engaged to Adaline made Mani the most popular wizard in Pureblood society, and he now spends every week practising spells with his new friends and boasting about their lifestyles. As vapid as he feels it can be, it’s the first time he’s felt respected and felt like he has real friends, and therefore he has no need to give it up.
this character is currently TAKEN.
