Imagine the story you know...if the Sorting Hat had made different choices.
~
Currently open for pre-school year gameplay.
APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED SAME-DAY AS SUBMISSION {so reserve your favorite characters today!}
I have admittedly been very inactive myself lately -- swallowed by real life issues Iâm afraid! -- but the absolutely wonderful and amazing players in this game have kept things going on their own because they are fantastic! So the answer is yes, although at the moment I canât take any credit for that.
Itâs a new year at Hogwarts School and as usual, there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! This one, however, had something to say to her new students at the Welcome Feast...
âThe Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and hones by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching. Hem hem. Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progressâs sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation...â
    Most of the students stopped listening around this point,
    but those who paid attention to the entirety of their new
      Defense Against the Dark Arts professorâs words were
   filled with a sense of trepidation. Something had just gone
  very wrong at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
{During this period we will be making application decisions immediately upon submission so reserve your desired character today so you donât miss out!}
MAIN || PLOT || CHARACTERS || WORLD DETAILS || APPLICATION || OWLERY
Welcome to Hogwarts Aria, you have been accepted as Astoria Greengrass.
Weâre delighted to see an application for Astoria that doesnât fall victim to the fannish tropes of âperfect little princessâ and your feisty Ravenclaw looks liks sheâs going to be a lot of fun to play (and argue!) with. We are especially interested to see how you develop the inevitable culture clash between her pure-blood upbringing and her interest in Muggle things like jeans and space-travel, thatâs a wonderfully unique and very Ravenclaw-appropriate direction to push her astronomical interests toward!
BEHIND THE SCENES:
YOUR NAME & PRONOUNS: Aria, She/Her
YOUR AGE: 23
LANGUAGE: English
EXPERIENCE: Iâve been roleplaying for over five years, all on Tumblr and Iâve been writing ever since I could talk.
BASIC CHARACTER STATS:
CHARACTER NAME: Astoria Marie Greengrass
AGE & YEAR: 13, Third Year, Â April 4, 1982
BLOOD-STATUS: Pureblood.
SEXUALITY & GENDER: Female. Bisexual. Astoria has never really cared about whether or not she should be one way or the other. Sheâs interested in learning everything she can about everyone and this includes wanting to experiment with both boys and girls. However, sheâs only kissed one or two boys, being quite young, she doesnât really think sheâs ready for it. As for her future endeavors, she doesnât really care how a lot of it plays and only hopes that sheâs happy in the end, no matter whom itâs with. As for Draco Malfoy, she knows her family would love for her to marry someone of equal pure blood ideas, however, she doesnât really want to think about all of that yet. It may be because sheâs too young, but sheâs never really enjoyed the idea of marrying someone because her parents wanted her to. If sheâs going to marry, she wants it to be for love and the pure blood ideals would merely be a plus.
WAND: English Oak, Dragon Heartstring, 10 inches
BOGGART: Her boggart is the act of being buried alive. It is the act of seeing hands begging to come out of the dirt while more and more is piled on top. Astoria is afraid of being killed before her time is over. It physically makes her panic and hyperventilate as sheâs afraid that someone will hate her or be annoyed with her that much to do that and not care if sheâs dead or not. One of her attempts while using the Ridikkulus charm is that she imagines being buried with stuffed animals of every kind.
PATRONUS: Her patronus is a rabbit, however, she hasnât even started learning about the charm yet. Sheâs heard rumors about it and how itâs performed. Astoria is interested in how it works and is really looking forward to learning it when she gets old enough.
PET: A black cat with white feet by the name of Trick.
WHO ARE THEY? Astoria hates being compared to her sister in any way. She knows sheâs completely different and knows sheâs not only little and the baby, but that doesnât matter to her, because all she wants to do is become better at everything in the world. This doesnât always work out in her favor because she tends to speak when he shouldnât, comment on things she shouldnât and say things that others would deep highly inappropriate. But she doesnât care. All she wants is for people not only to respect her, but to not treat her like a baby. The world is her oyster and she wants to learn everything she possibly can. Because of this, Astoria is an excellent student and is at the top of her class and is very proud of this fact. She always tries to show everyone just how much she knows and isnât afraid to discuss events that happen in the world or anything thatâs on her mind. These conversations always tend to get intense as she knows this wonât always end well, but how will she ever learn everything about the world if she doesnât try and have fun with asking six million questions? Because of her strong desire to be the best at everything, she refuses to let people in for fear theyâll turn their backs on her or hurt her in some way, so she tends not to trust people very much. According to her, theyâre not worth it if they donât have a high intelligence or something spectacular going for them and sheâll spend most of her time making fun of them, saying things she thinks they wonât understand or asking far too many awkward questions to make them uncomfortable.
THE BACKGROUND:
FAMILY: Her family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pureblood families and she was raised to follow and completely understand the ideals of pure-blood supremacy. She whole heartedly believed she was worthy of something fantastic and great, per her parents upbringing. Her parents, Helen and Gordon Greengrass were always very kind to her, however, they wanted her to be more like her sister, Daphne. Daphne was everything Astoria wasnât and she wished that for once, theyâd see her for who he was, rather than who her sister was. Because of how protective her sister seems to be, mostly out of an intention to make her be something she doesnât want to be, Astoria tries to stay as far away from her as possible. She appreciates all her sister is doing, but she wants to live her life according to her rules and not to anyone elseâs, no matter how much they think itâs better for her that way. She wants to see the stars and know her parents wouldnât approve of that, no matter what it might do for her reputation. Itâs not good enough and a lot of the time, she gets really angry with them because of it. As she was growing up, Astoria never really wanted to follow the rules. She much preferred not listening to her parents and telling them she did. After all, life was more fun that way, so why should she follow the rules? She hopes that soon, her parents will see how well sheâs doing in school and stop comparing her to her sister. After all, sheâs her own person and perhaps even believes sheâs better than her sister.
APPEARANCE: Astoria is a very small person and she knows it. Her long brown hair cascades past her shoulders and she tends to leave it down a lot of the time. This way, she can whip it in peopleâs faces if she wants to. Because of her small stature, she tends to hate wearing dresses as she feels like they drown her, so when sheâs not wearing her uniform, sheâs wearing muggle-style jeans and t-shirts, trying to blend in with the non-pure-blood crowd. When sheâd heard of muggle clothes, sheâd asked her mother and sister about them, which resulted in them taking a trip to one of the muggle shopping malls. Her mother didnât really understand why Astoria wanted them, but she figured if it would make her daughter happy and perhaps someday follow in her sisterâs footsteps if she was given the chance to be what she wanted. These clothes are a whole lot more comfortable than what her parents want her to be wearing. Astoria prefers to be comfortable rather than pretty. When in uniform, itâs really simple, however, she does enjoy the use of a tie, because it makes her feel important. Generally, itâs loose and rests gently on her chest.
TALENTS: Astoria has found herself very good at Transfiguration and Astronomy, however, there isnât very much she isnât good at and sheâs very proud of that fact. Astronomy makes perfect sense to her and she loves the way the stars make her feel. Thereâs so much to learn and so many constellations and information about the gas in the sky. Itâs become one of her passions and she dreams of going up to see them, somehow. When sheâs not doing homework, she can be found sitting out in the courtyard, drawing and trying to capture the beauty of the school. She also enjoys having lively debates with anyone who will join her, mostly filled with a ton of questions about absolutely everything. There are so many things to learn, so many things to know and draw.
HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED:
RESORTING: Surprisingly, being sorted into Ravenclaw was perfect for her. It kept her away from her own sister who couldnât force her into doing anything she didnât want to do. Her intelligence could help her fly and be exactly the student she wanted to be. Astoria loves it. There are so many people that understand her need for knowledge, understand her need to know everything and it only makes her want to be even better. Her world is more than she could have asked for and she wouldnât trade it for anything. While she is a little more pompous than others sheâs met, she knows her love of knowledge will help her triumph over everyone else. The Ravenclaw in her is more pulled and driven toward the knowledge, rather than the cunning desire she may have possessed if she was sorted into Slytherin. While she still has that, her actions now seem to make her more aware of the logic and knowledge behind each decision and she always makes sure she has a comeback, or a plan of some kind. Her words may spout out without hesitation, but a lot of the time, she doesnât regret it, as itâs whom she is and she knows that.
RELATIONSHIPS: Astoria is generally not overlooked because of how fiery she can be. She is known as being the feisty little third year and she quite likes it that way. Making friends is a little difficult for her because sheâs so picky, but sheâs really very friendly when she wants to be, until she learns something about someone that she doesnât like, then she can get very irritating. However, when she does like someone, sheâs a very good friend.
Hermione Granger: She loves talking to Hermione about absolutely everything she can, however, she isnât quite sure if she considers the girl a friend just yet. Astoria isnât afraid to get into a debate with the girl and isnât afraid to tell her sheâs wrong, as she finds it quite fun. Sheâs very glad that Hermioneâs not in her year because sheâd probably fight for the top academic spot.
Draco Malfoy: Sheâs never really thought too much of him and isnât really sure what she really feels about him. Astoria enjoys watching him play Quidditch, as she knows heâs a good player. She knows that it would probably be in her best interest to be friends with him, but she doesnât really care to.
Ernie Macmillan: Heâs one of the only people she will actually openly admit that she likes. Theyâve always been very good friends and she knows sheâs very lucky to have him around. Heâs very much like an older brother to her and she knows she can go to him for anything she may need.
DIFFERENT HISTORY: Before Hogwarts, Astoria had dreamed of going, wanting to learn everything she possibly could about everything, in order to prepare herself. She knew that once she got accepted, her parents wanted her to be in the same house as her sister and when that didnât happen, both her sister and her parents were disappointed. They knew that now, their little baby wouldnât be watched over and shown how to properly get the best Hogwarts experience. Going to the Quidditch World Cup when she was still young was one of her favorite memories. Because of how much fun she had, she now goes to every Ravenclaw game she can. Astoria didnât want to admit to anyone that she was afraid of the dementors or the sadness they brought. She understood why they needed to protect the school, but the whole time they were there, she refused to go anywhere near them, or anywhere outside and pretended like she was strong, she pretended like she was stronger than she was. It was a little difficult to deal with all of that as a first year, but she knew if she didnât, she wouldnât be allowed to stay. When she was in her second year, she made sure she was sitting in the front row or as close as she possibly could be to any of the Triwizard Tournament trials. They were the most spectacular thing sheâd ever seen and she wished that sheâd been old enough to try and join. Sitting and watching them taught her so much about magic and charms she hadnât learned yet. Astoria knew that the experience sheâd had at such a young age wasnât one typical of Hogwarts students, but that was particularly why she loved it and didnât care that she was young. In fact, a lot of the time, she used that to her advantage to get what she wanted and to take advantage of people.
STYLE OF PLAY:
DEVELOPMENT: Astoria wants to learn everything she possibly can, to the point where there probably isnât enough knowledge left in the world for her to know. Sheâll want to know enough about astronomy to be able to go up into space and explore everything the galaxy and beyond have to offer. Because she adores everything about magical astronomy, sheâs taken to trying her best to learn about muggle astronomy as well and when given the chance to head to muggle shopping areas, sheâs picked up other books. She wants to know absolutely everything about it in every part of the world, both wizard and muggle. Then, from reading about muggle astronomy, she learned of space flight and now wants to do that, even if it isnât completely in the Wizarding World. The thought of physically seeing everything in front of her and stepping on other planets sounds like the most fascinating thing ever, but sheâs afraid sheâll never get the chance to do that.
I would love for her to grow with the other characters to try and decide which side she will be on. For a fair amount of time, sheâll be confused, as she knows that she should be on the dark side, as it is probably what her parents will want, but sheâs afraid of hurting anyone she may become close to. Her struggle between choosing what side she will be on will help her both make and lose friends. Sheâll learn who she really is and what she really believes in. Iâm really looking forward to seeing where she finds friends and where she believes her loyalties lie and how exactly she gets there, hoping she befriends some people she never thought she would.Â
INTERACTIONS: I love both gif chats and paras and am one of those people that tend to let my paras get really long. I love any type of interaction, honestly. As for Astoria, I donât have any ships and am completely open to almost anything and everything.
PROPOSED ALTERATIONS: (leave blank if you have none to suggest)
CANON CHANGES: Astoria may or may not actually wind up marrying Draco Malfoy. This all depends on how she grows and how everyone else around her grows. She doesnât want to at this point and doesnât know enough about him to make a decision just yet. [accepted of course, since itâs hardly a âchangeâ as we are 100% end-game free and nobodyâs future or future relationships are pre-determined by canon!]
Welcome to Hogwarts Megan, you have been accepted as Ernie Macmillan.
We love your thoughts about how Ernieâs personality was affected by his placement in Hufflepuff in canon, and how that contrasts to how his being sorted into Ravenclaw will have made him different in this world. Iâm also very excited that youâve chosen to incorporate the prejudices and entitlement inherent in pure-blood society; itâs so rare to see that dealt with in regards to one of the âgoodâ pure-blood characters in this world, thank you!
BEHIND THE SCENES:
YOUR NAME & PRONOUNS: Megan (she/her)
YOUR AGE: 25
LANGUAGE: English is my first and, for now, only language.
EXPERIENCE: I have been roleplaying for about four years now. I started on tumblr, and I have only ventured off of it to twitter on a few occasions. Therefore, it is by far my most comfortable platform. I have done a bit of it all from independent rp blogs to many groups. Iâve been an admin on several occasions, and I also have a tendency to have as many as ten blogs at any given time.
BASIC CHARACTER STATS:
CHARACTER NAME: Ernest âErnieâ Hemming Macmillan
AGE & YEAR: Ernie is 15 years old, making him a fifth-year at Hogwarts. His birthday is April 22.
BLOOD-STATUS: Pure-blood
SEXUALITY & GENDER: Ernie identifies as a straight male.
WAND: 10â hornbeam wood with dragon heartstring core
BOGGART: As a pure-blood, Ernie was raised with a sense of superiority. While he does his best to not let that influence his opinion of those he meets, his bloodline is still a foundation of his very essence. Ironically, when Ernie first saw that his boggart was his own mother, he shrugged it off. It wasnât until she began to speak, telling him that his true father was a muggle, that Ernie felt the chill run down his spine. He can successfully dress his mother in funny clothes or give her a balloon hat or some other addition that will help him laugh at the matter, but truthfully, the experience, especially his first, always leaves him with an uneasy mental state. For this reason, he hates boggarts more than most other things in the wizard world.
PATRONUS: Although Ernie is not yet skilled enough to produce a patronus charm, he would most likely have one that resembled a boar. While this is his canonical patronus, it still seems to suit him well considering, much like Ernie, male boars can be very solitary creatures.
PET: None
WHO ARE THEY?
There are a few major elements that define Ernie: academia, blood status, and loyalty.
Even before he could read, Ernie wanted to know everything. He was above and beyond most children who continuously ask âwhyâ to their parents. He also needed to know the how, and he mostly would just watch. Once he could read, he did exactly that. Ernie would read and observe no matter the occasion. He just wanted to learn. Naturally, his parents were not in the slightest surprised when Ernie was placed into Ravenclaw, and this placement has only strengthened his desire to know everything. It doesnât particularly help that Ernie has a consistent need to always be right either. He will argue with those that tell him otherwise, and he will use past observations or knowledge from literature to do so.
As a pure-blood, Ernie has never been outside of the wizarding world. He has only read about it in his books, but with that in mind, all of his interactions have been with other wizards or witches. His closest friends before Hogwarts were other pure-bloods, naturally. While he has made a few friends in school that do not belong in the same category, Ernie still has a natural tendency to cling to older traditions and those who were also raised with the same mindset. If he were to ever discover that he was potentially not a pure-blood, Ernie would feel as if he was being stripped of a membership to an extremely elite club, not to mention exiled from his own family.
While it is difficult for Ernie to make new friends, as he is very specific to the criteria one must meet to be considered of having such an honor, a friend of Ernieâs is a friend for life. He becomes so loyal that some people consider it overbearing and potentially possessive. Of course, he would never believe that he was capable of those emotions and argues with whomever may try to confront him about it. It is certainly a blessing and a curse for both Ernie and those he befriends.
THE BACKGROUND:
FAMILY: Ernie is the youngest of two to Ernest and Rebecca Macmillan. His older sister Leda proceeds him by five years, and thus, she is no longer at Hogwarts. The family was always fairly close. They made a point every summer to take a holiday to somewhere nice and warm and surrounded by nature. It was always filled with memories of great times. Ernie couldnât have asked for a better family. There is, however, one tiny detail that comes up from time to time that bothers him more than he feels it should. Leda has always looked very much like both of their parents, and being more of his motherâs son, Ernie never wouldnât have paid much attention if people hadnât said anything. Ernie, though, looked only like his mother. From time to time, he would try to find things that he and his father had in common, but he always felt like he was grasping at straws. Slowly over time, the fear of being some other manâs son began to eat away at him, and it is now a part of him that he keeps locked away from everyone he knows.
APPEARANCE: Ernie looks almost identical to Sterling Knight; although, he has no knowledge of such muggle celebrities. From looks alone, though, there is no difference. Ernie is approximately 5â6â, and he has a slight muscular build. As his bloodline is important to him, Ernie will always be found wearing his robe. Only the attire beneath it changes. When he is in class or simply around his friends, he can be found in comfortable slacks with a simple dress shirt. However, if he is ever at a formal or more business-like event, he will wear something dressier under his robe, or if the situation calls, he will go all out in his best dress robes.
TALENTS: Ernieâs favorite classes are Charms and Potions. He finds that they come easily to him, and that can be extremely relaxing from time to time. If it were only for the text, he would greatly enjoy History of Magic, but the professor bores him greatly. His hardest class is Defense Against the Dark Arts, but that is mostly because, up until last year, he didnât find it to be a very practical use of his time. As a member of the quidditch team, Ernie loves to fly, but heâs the only one to believe himself to be great at it. If heâs not in class or on the pitch, one can usually find Ernie reading whatever book he has borrowed from the library for the day.
HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED:
RESORTING: Outside of blood, Ernie has always had two main qualities: intelligence and loyalty. As many know, intelligence is most often linked to Ravenclaw while loyalty is most often linked to Hufflepuff. I believe that resorting Ernie into Ravenclaw has simply strengthened his desire to grow and learn while his priorities of others and making friends of all kinds have lowered significantly to that of his studies. The biggest difference of all is that Hufflepuff most likely helped Ernie become less selfish in canon, yet Ravenclaw is pushing his intellectual boundaries and the people around him are only encouraging his pure-blood status.
RELATIONSHIPS: The people who get along with Ernie the least are those who feel that he has belittled them in any way at any time. He has a bad habit of arguing past the point of no return, so many times, those who do not understand his way of learning, tend to put up boundaries and consider him arrogant. He has a selective group of friends anyway, but he is familiar with all pure-bloods at the school, if only by name, as well as the other Ravenclaws either in his class or one removed. He considers Draco to be a close friend, while he considers Astoria to be his unofficial little sister. Heâs known the two of them since childhood, and he can get a bit overprotective of Astoria from time to time. Hermione is someone that he has not yet classified as anyone other than competition. He greatly enjoys bouncing ideas and thoughts off of her, but she annoys him more than anyone with her strong difference of opinion.
DIFFERENT HISTORY: In his first year at Hogwarts, Ernie dove into his books. He took the time to read everything and ask his professors about any question he had. He was so caught up in learning that he barely noticed the year go by. In his second year, he never quite made a decision about Harry Potter. He was very quick to jump on the bandwagon that he was responsible for the petrifications, but that was mostly because his friends were saying it and Harry was in Slytherin. He had his doubts, though, knowing that Harry grew up with muggles. However, he mostly remembers the year as the one when finals were cancelled, and he was unable to prove to anyone how much he had learned. In his third year, he chose to finally try his hand at quidditch, and he loved it. It wasnât so hard for him to ignore the dementors, as once again, he was studying whenever he had free time. Last year was most likely the hardest for him, until this one, because he was certain that Harry had cheated his way into the Tournament. He went out of his way to cheer against him, yet when Dumbledore announced the death of Cedric, and the reason behind it, Ernie began to feel a sense of urgency that he had never felt in his life. He is at a point now where he knows if the Dark Lord is back, then he cannot hide in his books forever, but he tries to hide his fear of reality in every way that he knows how.
STYLE OF PLAY:
DEVELOPMENT: Ernie is going to be interesting to see grow. When the going gets tough, he is very likely to hide in the library. He is going to be torn more than he ever thought possible if any of the people he considers friends begin to take opposite sides, as he will not wish to upset anyone. Over time, I hope that he becomes more self-aware of how he treats others and thinks of himself, but that may not happen if he doesnât allow it.
INTERACTIONS: My favorite style of interaction honestly depends on the day. Some days I prefer to do a whole slew of gif chats, and others, I would prefer to sit down and write some really in-depth paras (including self-paras). I donât really have any ships I despise, and Iâm open to any ship. Although at the current moment, Iâd be interested in Ernie having some sort of ship with Daphne Greengrass whenever someone decides to apply for her. Honestly, Iâm very much looking forward to his interactions with everyone. I do think itâll be easier for him to click with other Ravenclaws and Pure-bloods first, though.
We accept daily, so our next acceptance will be a few hours after we get our next application in! Donât get me wrong I understand the point of having specific acceptance dates and doing them in batches, but personally I feel badly making people wait to find out if their app will be accepted and since I donât have a co-admin whom I need to coordinate schedules with, I figure why delay?
To that end I strongly recommend that people reserve their desired character as soon as they decide they want to play someone here, because it would be terrible to be halfway through writing your app only to see someone else get accepted for the character you want without you even having a chance!
Just about to get active again, now that the holidays have ended! Weâll be swinging into gear properly very shortly and starting the school year at last!
Welcome to Hogwarts Becky, you have been accepted as Draco Malfoy.
We were excited to see how much thought you put into not just how being in Ravenclaw would have affected Draco, but how much it will continue to affect him as the more dramatic and polarizing events of the future unfold, and we canât wait to see how he develops -- and who he develops into!
BEHIND THE SCENES:
YOUR NAME & PRONOUNS: Becky, She/Her!
YOUR AGE: 19
LANGUAGE: English
EXPERIENCE: Iâve been roleplaying for about five years with the majority being on tumblr and a large portion of that in the Harry Potter universe.
BASIC CHARACTER STATS:
CHARACTER NAME: Draco Lucius Malfoy.
AGE & YEAR: fifteen / 5th year /5 June, 1980.
BLOOD-STATUS: Pureblood.
SEXUALITY & GENDER: Cis male, homosexual. Though canon depicts repeated instances of flirting between Draco and Pansy I have, personally, always viewed this as the result of a comfortable friendship and a simple way to slot into the roles of âKing and Queen of Slytherin.â Itâs what his family, primarily his father, would want: a relationship based on power and superiority, a callous and cunning Slytherin girl who will further the contacts and respect of the Malfoy name. Regarding his marriage to Astoria, with the Greengrass family being one of the âSacred Twenty-eight,â their union would work to restore the Malfoy name in the eyes of the wizarding aristocracy who lost faith in them after Luciusâ imprisonment, Draco and Narcissaâs dependency on Harryâs forgiveness at the trial, and ultimately Dracoâs hesitance in the Death Eater lifestyle in his later years at school. (If this is too inconsiderate of canon, though, Iâd be happy to say bisexual!) [given what weâve decided about pure-blooded society and its views on marriage and sexuality, especially combined with the fact that Draco never really seemed interested in Pansy so much as he was interested in the fact that she flattered him, I donât think thereâs anything canonical violated by making Draco homosexual especially with your explanations of his motivation for his actions in canon, so letâs go with your first choice!]
BOGGART: Complete Abandonment - Draco sees his father step forward and burn Dracoâs signet ring, engraved with the Malfoy crest. Without his fatherâs guidance and wealth, Draco would be nothing: he would have no one to follow and would be forced to understand the world by his own means. With so many surrounding ideologies in Ravenclaw that conflict those of his family, Draco would be left confused, alone and with no leverage over his peers. To battle the boggart, Draco thinks of his father turning that malice to one of his peers instead: setting fire to Weasley or Potterâs ridiculous hair for example, as he laughs along with Draco. Â
PATRONUS: Draco cannot form even a weak, silvery wisp of a patronus. If he could, it would be a horse. This horse reflects Dracoâs nobility, his companionship with man (and the control man has over him), and the grace with which Draco carries himself.
PET: an Eagle Owl called Henry.
WHO ARE THEY?
Intelligence is, obviously, the reason Draco was sorted into Ravenclaw, and perhaps his quick wit â this is what he tells himself, though heâs honestly not too sure who he is now that heâs spent so long surrounded by students that pride themselves on individuality and acceptance. Behind Dracoâs stoic and unyieldingly spiteful exterior, heâs doubtful. His fatherâs intellect was always put towards scheming and manipulation, something that Draco sought to imitate but, however calculating and resourceful Draco is, his peers are too smart and too involved in their own academic accomplishments to follow blindly in his footsteps. He canât command a room like he always assumed he would and therefore his selfish, ambitious goals are hindered by a lack of power. Despite this, Draco is determined to remain loyal to the family name and continue to rise in status, collect impressionable followers from other houses (if needs be), and demonstrate his value as a cunning, self-preserving individual, whatever the colour of his tie. If only the blatant independent thought and frequent debates in the Ravenclaw common room (of muggle-born rights and the archaic, problematic consequences of a society distinguished by house and blood-status) werenât making him think so much.
THE BACKGROUND:
FAMILY:
Father: Lucius Malfoy has a demanding, authoritative presence and wrongly assumes himself as more player than pawn in the intricate rise of the Dark Lord. With Draco as his only child, sole heir to the Malfoy Mansion and the influence it carries, he knew he had to mould him to be a carbon copy of himself: ruthless, cunning, and able to tell which way the wind is blowing. It was all going well until Draco was sorted into Ravenclaw, the house of snotty know-it-alls with increasingly perverse ideas of dismantling tradition. Nowadays Lucius recognises that he will have to be more severe in his parenting: strict teachings on the right ways of wizarding etiquette and an appreciation of the aristocracy, hands-on practice of dark magic, introducing Draco to the more dangerous of his colleagues. If his son canât be a Slytherin, he will certainly learn to appreciate what it means to be a part of the House.
Away from his role as a parent he is an influential member of the Ministry of Magic, most notably within the Department of Mysteries, and a Governor of Hogwartâs School. Numerous incidents - such as being embarrassed by Albus Dumbledore and getting caught (though not officially) planting Tom Riddleâs diary on Ginny Weasley - and with speculation surrounding his involvement in the humiliation of a muggle family during the Quidditch World Cup, have led to Lucius being very careful about his position. He is on thin ice and Dracoâs success may shape everything.
Mother: Narcissa Malfoy, though just as cunning and elegant in her charm and appearance, is more forgiving of Dracoâs current position. She loves her son regardless of house and her only qualm comes with the danger the situation presents; she is aware that her husband is a difficult man and fears the constant pressure will have a hazardous effect on Draco. Throughout it all she hopes her son will have as  little participation in the Dark Lordâs rise as possible, but she knows this is unlikely â whatever the case, she will protect him. Â
(Aunt Bella: though sheâs yet to appear, Bellatrix is sure to be malicious in her mockery of itty-bitty Draco â âthis is exactly what happened to Sirius,â she would say, âbefore his family disowned him and he went mad.â Narcissa is reluctant for them to ever meet, warning Draco that whatever her sister may say, if such a time arises, he is always welcome home.)
APPEARANCE: Draco is sharp from head to toe; a thin frame, pointed nose and glaring grey eyes. His posture is relentlessly rigid and assured, designer shoes shined to an almost reflective gloss, uniform perfectly fitted and tailored to accentuate the angular structure of his body. Though all of this is crafted to suggest severity and superiority, his childlike nature and insecurity are seen in his white-blonde hair, no longer slicked back with a horrific amount of gel, and the treacherous openness of his expression. Â
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TALENTS: Draco is extremely talented in the art of potion-making; though Professor Snape doesnât hold Draco in as high regard as he would if he were sorted into his own house â often making snide comments about how Draco clearly doesnât boast the ambition necessary for Slytherin and mocking his father more openly than he would otherwise â he is forced to admire his skill with a cauldron. Snape is still friends, more or less, with Lucius and Narcissa, and Draco is aware that he doesnât have the upper hand here â Snape could make or break him with a single letter to his parents. Because of this, he has forced himself to work twice as hard to impress the man he had once hoped would be his mentor.
Draco also has a knack for flying: despite rumours (that may be true) of Draco buying himself into the team in second year, he has blossomed into a graceful and capable seeker, able to slice through the air with elegant ease and accuracy.
Draco struggles, however, with any subject he deems menial and unnecessary for his future career, whatever that may be: Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and History of Magic bore him and their usefulness eludes him, so he disregards their importance in favour of his interest in potions, ancient runes and, eventually, alchemy. Â
HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED:
RESORTING: Ravenclaw is a house of creativity and independent thought, two things that Draco has never personally prided himself on; with the strict regime of Malfoy Manor and habitual idolisation of his parents, individuality appeared a weakness more than anything, something that could leave you ostracised and powerless. His intelligence is undeniable, though; with early tutorage and a love of reading, Draco has knowledge of things that far extend his years and which have earned the begrudging respect of his peers (something that he secretly cherishes, though pretends to disregard).
This is also an opportunity to explore Dracoâs hesitancy towards the Dark Lord; though he utilizes his wisdom, creativity and resourcefulness in his attempts to prove himself worthy of the Malfoy name, regular debates and careful observation of other students in his house (who talk of things he has never dared consider, who boast such pure passion for magic and progress, who arenât afraid to question) has led to a certain acceptance of otherâs views. Though he would never admit it, Draco has developed the ability to cross-examine and internally dispute some of the trite his father forces down his throat â heâs becoming more typically Ravenclaw by the day, but the desperation for acknowledgement continues to drive him more than anything else. Â
RELATIONSHIPS:
Harry Potter: Draco still resents Harry in this universe, perhaps even more so: Harry is everything that Draco desires to be, infamous, powerful, admired and feared among his peers in Slytherin â the house that Draco should not only have been a part of, but should have led. This jealousy manifests itself in a petty rivalry and biting insults in the corridors, anything from dismissing his status as a pureblood when he âdoesnât even have parentsâ to mocking his dishevelled (and certainly not wizarding elite standard) appearance. The only issue is that Lucius sees in the Potter boy everything that he should see in Draco: a true Slytherin and a child with the potential to grow into a powerful and influential man.
Hermione Granger: Though they share a house, Draco refuses to believe that they share anything else. Granger is a mudblood and an irritating one at that: always at the top of the class, answering questions in that pompous, know-it-all voice before the Professors have even finished asking them. And, no, this certainly doesnât have anything to do with the fact that sheâs better than him in just about everything (as his father consistently mentions in his letters) â heâd just about incendio his hair before admitting such a heinous truth. Though he does find himself studying just that little bit harder when he sees her horrific nest of hair scouring twenty books at once in the common room.
Pansy Parkinson: family friends since childhood, thereâs no one Draco would rather spout his long list of woes to, especially when Pansy suffered the same embarrassment of not being sorted into Slytherin herself. Hours outside of the common room are spent complaining and laughing at the sea of stupidity that surrounds them in their own houses; itâs a welcome feeling, to have someone in a similar position who almost understands him.
DIFFERENT HISTORY: Born into the affluent and infamous Malfoy family shaped Draco into the sort of brattish, pompous and selfish eleven-year-old boy that only his parents could love. His childhood was spent being pampered by his Mother and his nanny, Polly, and moulded by his father through evening tutorage in the history of pureblood wizarding families, the importance of an authoritative, unmoving presence when socializing with those of a lower status than you, and the loyalty one must have for their family and for those that wish to make the world better, purer, once more. He met people that scared him, celebrated him and, by the time he was headed to Hogwarts there was no doubt in his mind â or the minds of his parents and their âfriendsâ â that he wouldnât be sorted into Slytherin like the rest of them.
When the sorting hat said âRavenclaw,â Draco remained seated, snorting dismissively. Of course it wasnât being serious, it was joking, playing on the absurdity of Draco not going to sit with his rightful peers. But then Professor McGonagall removed the hat and sent him on his way to the table shrouded in blue and bronze, surrounded by the claps of the oblivious and the stunned silence of those who recognised his name and where he should be placed.
First year was difficult; he was constantly reminded of the life he was cruelly denied by the presence of one Harry Potter, parading through the school with his green and silver tie, a flurry of admirers following his every step. Famous Harry Potter, powerful Harry Potter, Slytherin Harry Potter. It was sickening and he was consumed with envy, acting out more than usual: shouting insults down the corridor and blatantly disrespecting the large majority of his own house that were half-blood or worse. Though his mother assured him that they were still âproud of their darling,â Lucius was not afraid to make clear his disgust: âyou have disrespected a long withstanding Malfoy family tradition, dirtied our reputation with your allegiance to a group of people adamant in discounting the importance of history in their pursuit of an ignorant future. You will prove yourself loyal to us, Draco, or face the consequences.â
From thereon, he became ruthless in his desire to prove himself as a worthy candidate for the clique of elitist friends his father had been introducing him to (though Lucius still kept many things private, however much Draco liked to pretend he knew everything about the Dark Lord). In second year he badgered his father into bribing the Ravenclaw Quidditch team with new âNimbus 2001â brooms under the promise that he would dominate over the other teams and demonstrate himself as someone to fear, even after being sorted into the âden of geeks.â With rumours circulating about the heir of Slytherin, Draco became reclusive and bitter â it should have been him â wishing death upon muggleborns unashamedly, desperately.
All this was to no avail; Draco spun himself into a withering mess of stress and expectation â he would spend hours upon hours in the library trying to reach top of the class, to beat that insufferable Granger, only to return to his dormitory and violently ignore his peers. Any time he wasnât studying he was flying and, despite the braver of his teammates attempting to create some camaraderie between them, Draco made it clear that he was only there to win, to excel, not to make friends.
The Triwizard Tournament was the perfect opportunity to raise Draco from isolated Ravenclaw to celebrated wizard â he tried everything, aging potions, transfiguration, bribing older students, but this only lead to more time than he thought necessary stuck in the Hospital Wing. Of course, Harry bloody Potter somehow wheedled his way in, and Draco wouldnât be surprised if it was his Father (so fond of Slytherin Potter) that made it so.
Now, going into his fifth year, Draco is finally being introduced to the reality of his familyâs involvement in the Dark Arts and the rise of the Dark Lord; his mansion, though not yet headquarters, is a strong base for discussion and scheming. Draco, not old enough or âSlytherinâ enough, is not privy to extensive details, but there are whispers that the Dark Lord is not completely dismissive of his worth â Peter Pettigrew, his loyal servant, was not Slytherin after all. He knows that if he does something big, focusses all his energy on putting his Ravenclaw mind towards expanding He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Namedâs power, he may finally find the acceptance he craves, the love he once had.
STYLE OF PLAY:
DEVELOPMENT: Iâm really interested in seeing how Draco is influenced by other Ravenclaws and how this changes his reaction to the Dark Lordâs rise and his familyâs significant involvement. Reclusive throughout his former years at the school, I believe 5th year will give Draco the opportunity to finally step out of the shadows and confront his fears of identity and independence â explore what he wants, be that respect from his Father, a place in Voldermortâs ranks, or academic and intellectual freedom to chase a life he didnât think possible until he began to observe his housemates and learn of their individual aspirations.
Plot wise, he is aware of the Dark Lordâs development and the concern and confidence this has ignited in his parents â Iâd like to see how he uses this information; does he hide away, does he try to slyly seek discussion with the Slytherins, or does he use his intelligence and creativity for the greater good? In his current state of confusion, I think all this will be decided and developed by his interactions with others. With Umbridge around, a stern, imposing figure just like his Father, I imagine heâll be tempted to follow.Â
INTERACTIONS: I love a decent sized interaction, enough for some dialogue and a brief description of action/emotion. Gif-chats are absolutely fab, though I sometimes struggle with a slow-paced, one-line reply sort of thing! I love to plot and I love the fun of two characters interacting who arenât particularly friendly with each other (which shouldnât be hard for Draco) and I really enjoy seeing a begrudging relationship form.
I will admit, I am a pretty big fan of Draco/Harry, though Iâm open to all ships that have a significant build up and lots of lovely chemistry/tension.
PROPOSED ALTERATIONS:
CANON CHANGES:Â [thanks again for so generously sharing those extra background details about his family with me it really helped!]
AU CHANGES: n/a
FACECLAIM: n/a
WRITING SAMPLE:
A muffled shriek of laughter from behind the bookcase Draco was currently scrutinising reminded him of a tale his mother once shared, pissed from two bottles of wine and giggling incessantly like heâd never seen her do before. It was something horrific and obscene that heâd considered, at the time, obliviating from his mind if not for the warmth heâd felt upon seeing her smile so unashamedly, inelegantly, while describing the devious acts she and his Father would get up to in the library.
They were all doing it in those days, apparently. The Slytherins, that is. Ambitious and clever so they were, but also downright heathens in the common room, pranking and mocking and parading the halls like Hogwarts royalty.
Draco cursed while pulling a crusted, incredibly large tome from the shelf and dusting the front cover with his sleeve. He sighed; it was the book he was after, yes, but this was hardly the most exciting way to be spending a Saturday evening. Researching. His housemates were certainly doing the same, or else gathered around the tables in the common room bantering about âthis legislationâ or âthat piece of artâ and Draco could probably offer some very decent insight if he had the nerve to approach them after four years of outright disdain for the lot.
Suddenly he heard a quill snap at the other end of the aisle and stern footsteps storm to other side, no doubt towards the source of the laughter.
âWould you mind being quiet, please?â a familiar voice hissed, the politeness of the words in no way reflected in the rage of her tone, âwe are in the library not some sort of â some sort of party.â
A chorus of sniggers and no apologies followed, but the students retreated and Draco watched as Granger, hair in disarray and face flushed red, returned to her seat. Before he could resent himself enough to stop, Draco was stood opposite, dropping the tome on the table with inconsiderate aloofness and smirking at the way it made her jump.
âGranger,â he greeted, curtly, âthough it pains me to say anything in your favour, that display was almost admirable.â
Hermione glared up at him with suspicion. âWhat do you want, Malfoy? Certainly not to thank me, I assume.â
Draco snorted.
âPlease, I wouldnât dream of it. Nevertheless, Iâm going to sit here, with you, and you going to keep your oversized mouth shut about it if you know whatâs good for you.â
There, he thought, pushing down the rush of fear and exhilaration such a simple act of defiance brought about, one step at a time.