[ louis tomlinson / 26 / queer / genderfluid / he/they/any / suspected halfblood ] ⸻ harper mercier, is a postgraduate student of college of magical medicine & healing arts, majoring in experimental healing magic. they were born in antibes, france, but currently reside levis, quebec when not at wickerby. they’re known to be helpful & curious, but those that cross them have experienced their distractibility & guardedness. when they graduate they hope to become a professor or researcher, and the world knows the expectations and reputation of wickerby students. greatness will come of them, one way or another.
Full name: Harper Mercier
Nicknames: Harp, H, Mer
Gender: fluid
Pronouns: he / they / any
Abilities: legilimency, nonverbal magic
Patronus: polecat
Wand: 10”, pine, quite bendy, Snallygaster Heartstring
Physical description:
Slight build / small frame
Brunette hair that usually gets cut short at the start of the school year and then ignored for the rest of the year
Bright blue eyes
5’ 7” but he’ll tell you 5’ 9”
Fairly pale as the only time they’re ever really outside is if he needs to collect ingredients
Interests:
Professional: experimental healing magic, trauma & crisis response, pushing limits of what might be possible, and teaching/mentoring
Personal: reading, trying new things, learning, listening to music, creative writing
Pet Peeves: ghosts, loud chewing, people who fail to hold a door open
Personality:
Harper’s quick to smile, ask follow-up questions, or lend a guiding hand but feels, for him, that anything beyond courteous and professional is best kept behind reinforced locked doors. He’s working on it.
See bio for history bc tumblr yelled at me for being too wordy.
"i have the fundamentals of spell theory down obviously, so minor changes can be made, but to create something new would be gravely out of my depth. though finding similar spells and rituals does give me the chance to compare. sometimes test subjects grow more limbs...a lot of dark magic makes people grow extra limbs." now that he was thinking about he wondered how many people he had sent to the other on accident while researching. he almost felt the need to apologize but he would keep that to him self until the other called him out on the more dangeorus parts of his work.
"i'd like to do something new. new things every year keep it interesting you know? might do something with some hands of glory. who knows." he said with a little shrug. human tallow candles were not uncommon in dark magic and he had a few in his collection that were from medieval germany he wanted to experiment with.
"what do you think of the freshman have you met any of them this year yet?"
Harper listened as the other mused about spell theory and what could be possible before shooting a slightly bemused glance his way for the quip about extra limbs. He was well aware of that fact since starting to move up through his college. "That's fair. Have you had any interesting side effects happen from your explorations?"
"Yeah, it does." Harper agreed before raising an eyebrow at the hands of glory mention. It wasn't their area of expertise though, so they let it go and follow the swerve the conversation took, though not quite sure how or why they'd gone there.
"Uh, I've met one so far. Seemed alright. Appropriately enchanted by all this which is always a good sign to me." Harper liked seeing awe in the young ones as it gave him hope they'd respect what this place meant for so many and would join in keeping its traditions and reputation alive. "Have you met anyone interesting yet?"
"Working on some big stuff like always but planning on making time for some fun," he hummed as he settled into the spot next to the other. "There is nothing wrong with a clumsy dance; we will just wait till it's less of a formal song and more of a wild and free one." Cassian didn't have a formal dance; he wanted to make sure everyone had fun. Cass had a habit of making sure everyone was having a good time. It was part of his charm as a budding social engineer.
"Oh, chocolate is a good bribe to just stand and talk" He smiled as one of the trays floated to them as they spoke about the treats in question. "So how is your love life? Anything new happening?" The question was just his side of invasive but the man was a nosy one.
Well, that was an interestingly vague answer. Harper considered taking the bait on either side but got derailed as his attempt to avoid dancing utterly failed. That'd never happened before. And worse, he couldn't seem to scramble a defense for that. It made complete sense. Ugh. "Fair enough." Harper allowed, resigning himself to at least one song. "What is it that you like to do for fun, besides being a dancing matchmaker?"
Harper let themselves take one of the treats just for something else to do with their hands and thankfully hadn't taken a bite of it when the question about their love life came and pulled the floor out from under them. Both eyebrows flew up as their body flooded with surprise, slight amusement, and maybe a tiny bit of shame. "Uh? Pretty non-existent at the moment. Thanks for asking?" Figuring fair was fair, they shrugged and went for it. "What about yours? Anything interesting going on?"
As much as Darcy seemed to crave human connection and be the center of attention, it certainly came with his job before he was a professor at the school, there were those moments when he needed to step away from the noise to hear his own thoughts. People were mesmerized by him, something that came naturally with being half veela of course, and always surrounded the wizard… normally that made his blood sing but it could be exhausting.
As he stepped into the woods, the smile slowly melted and he could process his thoughts for tonight. His students had done a phenomenal job of a performance, plenty of suitors seemed drawn to the blonde and he could go through them one at a time another night.
Then another person seemed to arrive through the thick mist of the shrubs. “Yeah, I'm fine.” he said, cocking a brow. What were they doing? Most likely they must have gotten lost. Holding their wand forward, Darcy got a better look at the younger individual. “No, it's for tonight's event. I suppose you stumbled in it and got lost?”
Fine was good. He'd take fine. Ghosts usually were not and eager to share why, which boosted his confidence this was an actual living being to a solid 90%. His eyes squinted as the light intensified and managed to stand it for about five seconds before taking a step back with a sigh at the new information. Of course there was a random garden, bush, hazard thing created unexpectedly for tonight.
"Lost is a strong word."> Harper defended. "I'm pretty sure I was on the right track home and if you came in recently, then following the track behind you should bring me back to the entrance. Provided that these are just bushes and not enchanted in a way to make everyone's life harder."
Even as he said it, he could almost sense the darkly gleeful energy around them that promised just that.
Great.
"Well. Any chance you'd wanna team up and try to find a way out?" Harper'd long given up trying to decipher identities tonight and just defaulted to everyone was likely some kind of ally. Probably. "Wait...you didn't have a hand in creating it, did you?" There was probably no way they'd gotten that lucky, but worth an ask.
this was percy's attempt at being social, something he tended to struggle with, and easily felt overwhelmed when he was in big crowds like this one. his father had mentioned that this was the perfect opportunity for him to make friends and get out of his own little bubble. maybe he'd have more fun somewhere more quiet, but then again it'd be a long four years at wickerby if he didn't try and make friends. right?
“oh, it's been okay for the most part i guess.” he was a little surprised that the guy was talking to him like a staff member, then again he heard there was a twenty something year old teaching a class somewhere in the castle. so it shouldn't have been so surprising. “first year, so i don't really know what to expect. it's a little overwhelming.”
“are you a staff member? i didn't mean for that to come off disrespectful, or anything.”
Okay for the most part, I guess. Harper couldn't remember much of his first convocation but he figured if someone'd checked on him that night, he'd have muttered something similar. So, it wasn't a surprise when the other introduced himself as a first-year and his mouth opened to reply before he sputtered slightly.
"Uh, wha- no. I'm-uh, I'm not. No." Maybe one day. But not today. "I'm just a post-grad student. No need to be formal or anything with me. I just, uh, felt like I should probably do something to help ease in the next generation, but between you and me...I still find all this to be overwhelming too. S'not exactly my kinda scene."
Case in point. He'd jumped right in and done none of the social niceties things. "I'm Harper, by the way. Welcome to Wickerby and all that. Do you have an idea of what you might want to study one day or keeping your options open?"
"no need to be a smart ass about it. and i like a magical puzzle but it's more about picking and altering magic that won't hurt other people. dark magic tends to be dangerous. hence why it is forbidden." he said with a little hum as he took a drink downing the rest of the cocktail. he eyed the other man up down before he took out his wand from his pocket, using it to conjure up another two drinks from the table behind them.
"do you plan out what you are going to do beforehand or do you just wing it. i was working on the lanterns for about 6 months. i was going to make them change shape but it proved to complicated to do safely. the spell wants to make dragons and dragons likes to devour things."
Smartass was his native language. It wasn't a need, just a default. But he'd try to keep an eye on it. ...even if it took every bit of self-control he possessed to not roll his eyes at the oh-so-helpful information about dark magic being dangerous. There was a lot he'd do to have a drink in his hands right now to be able to sip and swallow down all the quips on the tip of his tongue.
And like the thought was read, a drink appeared.
The fuck?
Alright.
Inwardly shrugging, they reached out to claim a glass and sip it as the other thankfully offered them a conversational detour that had them pausing to consider for a moment. "A bit of both?" Harper settled on. "Most of my field consists of just following a series of 'what if...' thoughts and that feels like it falls under the winging it umbrella. What if parts of this spell mixed with parts of that one with a dash of this plant were able to target and destroy virus cells before they could multiply. Who knows? Let's see." It hadn't gotten any less thrilling over the years and that was reflected on the smile on their face. "We do try and settle on something we've seen work at least twice for this but...sometimes you gotta improv."
Taking another sip of whatever delightfully sweet liquid was in the glass, he aimed a considering look at the other. "Well, sounds like changing shape could be the challenge for next year? But this year was impressive. I think it was six months well spent, for what it counts."
finn always loved the convocation and the merriment that surrounded it, he didn't love being in the center of attention in a crowd, but he loved walking with all the other students. showing off his own contribution. this year, small lanterns of contained 'protego diabolica' dark magic fire that would burn through his enemies and not harm his allies. only he designated everyone as allies just in case. still he was proud of the black and blue flaming lanterns he added to his college's procession.
he clapped for the other colleges but was sure none of them knew just how impressive his dark magic charm was. grabbing a drink he hung back watching them all as he sipped on the enchanted cocktail trying to place the flavor. deciding it was very close to dark cherry.
"you know the only hard part is i have to try and one up myself next year. and this one wasn't easy for me. i guess i have a year to figure it out though."
Despite the number of times Harper'd witnessed the procession of colleges over the years, it never got less awe-inspiring and surreal. It was still hard to wrap his head around the immense amount of knowledge and possibilities that existed in all their collected fields and the ones they hadn't even discovered yet. The fact it was genuinely impossible to engage with all of it would forever be one of his greatest life frustrations.
But at this served to give him glimpses of magic and knowledge they'd never normally have access to every year and always left them curious and inspired.
He was turning over one of the things he'd witnessed when movement and sound drew him out of his thoughts. Turning slightly, he shot the speaker a slightly amused look at he nodded. "Yeah, that generally is how time works." He quipped. "But good luck. I hope you're able to find something for next time. Do you enjoy a magical challenge?"
"You know you are supposed to dance and be social at these things right" Cassian pulled one of the cups of champagne to his lips. The mask of ever-flowing gold glitter shielded most of his face; the once required black outfit shifted to white. No reason to be dour now that it was time for the party. "The wall can hold itself up without your back," he teased the other as he grabbed them by the arm and led them to the dance floor.
Cass let their bodies twirl around the dance floor to a few songs before spotting another wallflower that seemed to need a little help blooming. "Oh here there is someone I want you to meet" His dance partner handed off someone else with a smile and small conversation. Then Cassian was off once again.
"Are you excited for the next term?" he asked, settling into the spot next to the others. "It's nice to see people actually talking at these things." a small glint in his eyes as he saw the couple he intorduced walk onto the dancefloor, "are you going to make me force you on to the dance floor as well?
Idly, Harper watched the flow of bodies around him -- pauses on the wall, spins on the floor, back to the wall or stumbling off to a secondary location -- but didn't feel any strong pull to join them. This school had been the first to shatter the looking glass between him and "normal" society but there were still moments like this where he still felt every bit the outsider.
For better or worse though, there weren't many who were too shy to approach the wallflowers, and they'd had a number of conversations already and weren't surprised when another student paused and then settled in next to them.
Harper was braced and queuing up answers for the inevitable 'having fun?' and was momentarily caught off-guard by the swerve. "Oh." Harper blinked a few times before flashing the other a genuine grin. "Yeah, I am, actually. Feels good to be back. How are you feeling about this term?" His eyebrow rose at the quip about talking and then laughed as he shook his head, careful to not move too much and send the mask sliding down his face. "I'm happy to talk but I'm a disaster on the dance floor. Safer for your toes if we stay here....and I could offer..." His eyes quickly scanned the floating trays for something appealing. "...something vaguely chocolatey as a bribe?"
where: the midnight convocation, sex maze
for: open
quantity: [ 0 / 3 ]
just outside one of the masquerade parties was a hedge maze that one could probably get lost in for days if they didn't pay attention to their surroundings, or know their way with herbology. darcy quickly got bored of the party inside, maybe it was because he'd attended plenty of these back home or the fact that one of the men who danced with him had nearly broken his toe mid dance. grabbing a bottle of enchanted wine, the blonde strolled outside to the maze that waited.
still wearing his mask that had rose petals and pearls decorating it, darcy was showing more cleavage than would probably be appropriate for a teacher but tonight was about pleasure and enjoyment. plus, would the other faculty members really care? his wand in his dominant hand, the wizard whispered “lumos!” as he made his way through the maze.
so far there wasn't anyone in sight, maybe he was the first soul to enter the maze and see what all the fuss was about or people were pinned into dead ends already and darcy would stumble onto that.
even with magical light, it was hard to see through the mist that seemed to fill the night air. he could hear his own footsteps on the ground beneath him… and then someone elses.
Figuring he'd done his due diligence re: social responsibilities for the night, Harper let himself slip out of the atrium and head towards fresh air and quiet. The fading of laughter, music, and muffled chatter behind had his whole body relaxing and drawing a slight smile back onto his face. He wasn't a huge drinker -- it got harder to differentiate people from ghosts when everything was fuzzy -- but right now he just felt slightly boosted and a little giggly. Which was lovely after the social drain of the last few hours.
Well aware that time was working differently tonight (minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days), they chose to dismiss the clock in their brain pointing out that they should probably be home by now. Except that pointing out became more like shouting after they'd walked what surely had to be another 15 minutes.
...and ended up surrounded by bushes?
Harper blinked a few times but the bushes and mist and stars and faint sounds of nature didn't budge, flicker, or disappear. Huh. Curiously, he reached out but the leaves and branches felt cool and damp and very real under his fingertips and the ground certainly felt like ground under his heeled boots.
Shoving their hands into the simple black blazer they had over a semi-sheer maroon shirt and fitted black pants, they turned in a cautious small circle, trying not to brush or touch anything that might set off...something. One could never be too careful at this school.
There really was only two choices -- go left or go right -- so he picked left and started to walk but didn't get very far at all before an unexpected voice had him freezing mid-step. Harper tried really, really hard to not talk out loud to beings others couldn't see but both sounded the same to him which did not make that easy. But the light and the mask and the clothes...what were the chances...actually no. Bad question. Dozens could have died at masquerade parties over the years.
But...it seemed to be them, the bushes, and this figure so...what the hell.
"Hey." Harper greeted cautiously. "You good?" They weren't entirely sure what they'd do if the answer was no, but they were very skilled at thinking on their feet. ....which they should probably lower to the ground again. Human-ing. They got this. "Have these bushes always been here?"
Being a recent graduate from Wickerby, Torren had attended the Midnight Convocation in previous years, wearing the same wooden mask he crafted his first year. Now, as a professor, the experience felt entirely different, especially since some former classmates were now his students. Still, he stepped into his role as chaperone, his height offering a clear vantage over the crowd and making him an unmistakable focal point. Fortunately, he was well-groomed tonight. His dark, warm brown hair was slicked back except for one unruly lock, and his strong, broad frame was accentuated by an impeccably tailored suit. The stylish appearance was only slightly offset by the comical champagne flutes in his hand.
“Hello, sir,” Torren said as someone approached, finishing his drink in a single sip. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself tonight.” Then, catching sight of the floating platter behind him, he added, “Or were you looking for a drink as well?” He shifted to offer more space, his broad frame making the gesture more noticeable, and reached for another glass.
Moving through the chaos of celebration, Harper made a mental note to look into the origins of masquerade balls. What was the point of obscuring identity so everyone looked vaguely familiar but not enough to reach the point of recognition? He'd tried early on in the evening to find an ally but had just set himself on a course of a dozen small-talk conversations and, so far, zero allies.
Having decided to try their luck on a different wall, they'd made it a handful of steps down it when a voice drew him to a pause. "Good evening." They returned, shifting slightly to glance over the figure and try to place it within their, apparently, not-so-great file of their friends build and hair.
"I always enjoy the displays, and of course, the return of the school year." Harper answered with a slight shrug. "How's your evening going?" His eyes followed the man's to the tray of drinks and well, why not. "Honestly, was looking for anyone I know but I'll take this too." He reached out to take one of the fragile glasses and then shift to lean against the wall and scan over the party before looking over at his companion-for-the-moment. "Is this your kind of scene?"
where: the midnight convocation, masquerade
for: open
quantity: [ 0 / 2 ]
luckily for percy, he was given a heads up of what to expect by a few of the older students. he had heard rumors of extravagant events being thrown and secret societies, but how much of that was exaggeration? the freshman was given an ornate mask with pearls and intricate designs as he entered the masquerade. classical music was being played by magical instruments and couplings already started on the dance floor.
the wallflower stood against one of the walls of the ballroom, still feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that was going on and studying the older students who seemed to know what they were doing at this point. he idly played with the wand in his hand, fingers brushing along the wood. something he tended to do when he was nervous or anxious.
“oh, hi.” he said when someone approached him, it was hard to see who was hiding under the mask. “are you having fun?”
Officially, Harper had no duty or requirement tonight now that the displays were over. Unofficially, he was more aware than he'd like of the other people sharing wall space with him for as long or longer than he'd been parked here. There probably was some responsibility he had to be welcoming and soothing to those pinned here by anxiety -- especially any first years.
So taking a final draw of their current drink and setting it on a tray to be taken back, they began the slow and painful process of making themselves talk to what felt like strangers with everyone dressed up and masked. Luckily, the first wasn't so far away and seemed open to Harper's approach.
"Oh, hi." Harper repeated as he offered a friendly smile. "I've had worst nights. How are you finding it? Is there, uh, anything I can do to make tonight a little more comfortable for you?"
WHERE : the midnight convocation : a masquerade gala.
FOR : open starter.
QUANTITY : [ 0 / 2 ]
ROMEO ADJUSTS THE THIN BLACK RIBBON AROUND HIS NECK BEFORE HE grabs a glass from one of the floating trays that twist and turn like trails of smoke. the air around him is filled with the buzz of conversation, excited chatter from first year students over the brilliance of the college processions, to how excited they are to be at such a prestigious academy. he doesn't blame them for their excitement, he remembers his own as if it was only yesterday. wickerby is a place that many aspire to be and only a few hundred wizards in all the world can call wickerby their own.
after a few moments of walking around the edges, taking in those in this gala, and listening to the conversations of where the next party might be, he decides to engage with some of the other students. it's the least he could do, after all.
“ enjoying yourself? ” the words come out with the a lilt of a smile. the glass is held loosely between his fingers, practiced like he's done this too many times to count. “ the convocation is always a high note. can't wait for the middle of the year when one of the frat houses attempts to throw their own version. ”
CAREFULLY MANEUVERING AROUND BODIES, FLOATING TRAYS, AND OTHER obstacles. Harper finally glimpsed a free spot along the near wall that seemed to have at least 3 feet of an air bubble around it. Finally. . A soft sigh escaped as he slipped around another too-awed-to-pay-attention-to-their-surroundings first year before hurrying the ten more steps to reach the wall. Quickly, he turned, bracing his back against it before someone else could and finally allowing his shoulders to inch down.
Harper had a love-hate relationship with the midnight convocation as the displays from each college filled them with as much excitement, awe, and curiosity as it had their very first year...but first-year Harper and post-grad Harper both agreed the experience ending there would be ideal. There were few things they despised like small talk, networking, and sensory overstimulation.
But, as it'd been stressed to him many a time, it was important to the college and its future to be a successful presence here tonight. Even if the mask obscuring his face seemed to cast a little doubt on that assertion. The mask was a beautiful creation with a touch of whimsy that made him smile every time he caught a glint of its reflection. The base was a soft satin-y pink with gold detailing laying atop and all of it accented the rounded nose and two triangles atop morphing him into a very sophisticated cat.
Unfortunately, just as they decided to give in to the very insistent tray next to them -- the universe seemed to think fingers on glass meant time to socialize. Yipee. Harper carefully returned the light smile as they listened before offering a slight lift of a shoulder and a careful sip of whatever liquid they'd just procured. "Hello. It was delightful to see how the displays changed this year. Are you having a good time?" Despite themselves, they couldn't help but smirk a little and raised a concealed eyebrow. "Do you find yourself attending a lot of fraternity events?"
