Age/Year: 22; Slytherin 1975
Affiliation: Order of the Phoenix
Blood Status: Half-blood
Occupation: Curse-Breaker
FC: William Moseley
+ ambitious; resilient; resourceful
– inhibited; methodical; self-centered
As an only child, Sturgis grew up under the watchful eyes of his half-blood mother and father. Since his birth, Lavinia and Patrick Podmore fostered a sense of self-awareness and responsibility in their son. They taught him to take charge of his life, and push his potential to the furthest point, but remain cognizant of his surroundings—what they were and who they were. Raising a child during the Knights of Walpurgis’ rise to power meant a natural worry. Despite Sturgis’s half-blood status, he was not safe; his safety was never guaranteed so long as these threats gained more fire. Thus, the Podmores encouraged their son to play the field, realize the cards dealt to him, and always think before he acts. As Sturgis aged, these qualities refined into cleverness, determination, and resiliency.
His sorting into Slytherin, and sharing a dorm with the likes of Walden Macnair and Rabastan Lestrange, tested Sturgis. Opportunities to join a mindless posse of Death Eater wannabes presented themselves to him frequently, and the potential to fall victim to their manipulative ways would have been easy. But Sturgis resisted. Although he never formally announced he despised these housemates (he considered himself too smart to be that hot-headed), his avoidance of them displayed clearly that he did not share their blood purist values. Despite the constant jabs and mockery that turned to threats, he grew firm in his beliefs. In Sturgis’s mind, he could only be as good as he pushed himself to be, and that had nothing to do with his blood status.
While his time at Hogwarts protected him from the brunt of war tension, the Podmores made efforts not to shield Sturgis from the growing terrors. They never believed in hiding him from reality; making him aware and mindful was protecting him, because he could then prepare for anything to cross his path. As Sturgis matured, his beliefs turned to anger—exasperation that people could hurt (or worse, kill) others from something as inconsequential as blood status. He felt irritated knowing there was little to nothing he could do to help. Sturgis knew his strengths, and in the unlikely chance the Department of Magic Law Enforcement would actually want him, he would certainly flounder. Moreover, his childhood pipe dream lay with curse-breaking, which surprisingly became his reality.
With an offer to become the mentee of Egypt’s preeminent curse-breaker, Sturgis considered it foolish to decline the offer; however, it also meant leaving behind his parents and friends with a war. While he doesn’t regret seizing the opportunity, Sturgis departed anxiously. His parents kept him informed as best they could, and he consumed the information as he dove head first into trainee curse-breaker work. He learned of ancient spells, old magic, how to unlock treasures riddled deep within spells, and how to break through anything deemed by most as impenetrable. There wasn’t a puzzle he couldn’t solve, nor a web of dark magic he couldn’t reverse. Within a year, he passed all examinations, and the organization qualified Sturgis as a full-fledged curse-breaker.
After a couple of years spent traveling to various locations (such as China, Latin America, and other parts of Africa), and calling home wherever he opened his tent, headquarters finally authorized Sturgis’s transfer back to the U.K. in late 1977, and arranged for his commute to various sites via portkey. Since returning home, he sees a much darker world, more than he ever imagined possible in such a short time span of being away. His surroundings scare him; he isn’t afraid to admit that. However, true to his nature, Sturgis remains constantly aware of his surroundings, which eventually resulted in him catching wind of suspicious activity in early 1978. Along with reporting the information to the DMLE, Sturgis made it his personal mission to uncover any information he could find. His dedication discovered a planned Death Eater attack involving nasty Runespoors, and he potentially saved the lives of many innocent witches and wizards. Not soon after, Alastor Moody offered him a place in Albus Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix. Sturgis accepted without a moment’s hesitation.
I. While Sturgis’s knowledge of magical creatures isn’t incredibly impressive, his ability to uncover anything—be it relics, objects, and so on—is one of his strengths, considering his years of work as a Curse-Breaker. Admittedly, searching through the endless coasts of Britain for Murtlap late last year wasn’t high on Sturgis’s list of desires; however, Dumbledore believed that obtaining these beasts and having Order members, well, pickle and eat them could improve their resistance to jinxes. Now with jars full of captured Murtlap, his partner for the mission, Briar Pritchard, is attempting to safely pickle the creatures and use their tentacles to concoct Murtlap Essence. This could remedy members’ future wounds and avoid suspicious trips to St. Mungo’s. Despite Briar being the one with the potions expertise, and Sturgis’s part in this mission being essentially over, he still finds himself checking in rather regularly. It’s for the sake of the mission, of course, and the fact that he enjoys watching a project from start to finish. (It only has little to do with the company, of course.)
II. Although Sturgis assumed his frequent run-ins with Millicent Bagnold to be a result of similar schedules and dining preferences, he learned quickly that their encounters were quite intentional. As the witch revealed, she has been studying Sturgis for quite some time, evaluating his abilities and capabilities, and strengths and weaknesses. The Ministry bestowed upon Millicent an opportunity to head the DMLE’s new division, the Dark Force Defense League, and over the past few months she has investigated the most qualified witches and wizards to join. In particular, she invited Sturgis to join as the League’s personal curse-breaker, one who would battle and destroy some of the darkest magic created by You-Know-Who and his followers. While Sturgis is flattered and incredibly interested, he has his hesitations. For starters, it would mean leaving the Curse-Breakers—an organization that has treated him very well. Seldom would he travel, too. He also has strong concerns about working for the Ministry. Nevertheless, the opportunity could be incredibly advantageous for Sturgis’s career and involvement in the war.
Algernon Flint: At an Order meeting a couple of months ago, Dumbledore broached the subject of recruiting another Squib, which followed with a suggestion to consider Algernon Flint. Although Sturgis had never met the man before, he had heard of him—quite frequently, actually, from his parents. As regular patrons of Wyvern’s Eye in Holyhead, where Algernon works as a chef, Lavinia and Patrick Podmore had become familiar with the Squib and regularly chatted at some point during their dinner. Naturally, Sturgis volunteered for the task, and has been joining his parents for their regular dining at Wyverns. While Sturgis feels he has a good sense of Algernon, and nothing appears alarming, he doesn’t know enough yet to report back to the Order. Currently, Sturgis is trying to devise a way to have casual “run ins” with Algernon, and hopefully get the information the Dumbledore needs.
Briar Pritchard: Sturgis’s reputation for sharing the company of many, many witches precedes him. His methods hardly fail, and seldom does he endure a lonely night. Despite going through women quickly, he never lies to his conquests, nor tricks them into bed. Rather, Sturgis remains incredibly upfront about his disinterest in monogamy, and makes it clear that he only seeks a good shag, nothing more. Sure, there’s a few disgruntled former flames, but he reminds them of what he said when they first met: he’s a no-strings-attached sort of bloke. Always has been, always will be. At least, that’s what he thinks. The fact that he’s spent the better part of year shagging Briar Pritchard shouldn’t change his belief, and neither should the fact that he feels something for her that’s rather, well, complicated. It’s not love, no (albeit Sturgis has never been in love, so he certainly wouldn’t know the difference). It is, however, a fondness of some kind. It’s a feeling that both terrifies and excites Sturgis to his core.
Dorcas Meadowes: Since joining the Order last year, Sturgis has spent much of his time proving himself. There was a few members with concerns about where Sturgis’s loyalties lie, considering his former house and housemates. Instead of angrily denouncing their fears, he believed actions spoke louder than words, and he spent much of 1978 and 1979 volunteering for any and everything. He feels like his efforts have made a difference, and that fellow members of the Order value his opinion, which is why Sturgis plans to broach the subject of recruitment. Dorcas Meadowes has not only been his closest friend since childhood, but she is also a dignified, talented, and particularly fierce witch—one the Order would be lucky to have. Now his current mission is to relay to the members how recruiting Dorcas would be wildly advantageous.
Sturgis SURVIVES the FIRST WIZARDING WAR.
Sturgis Podmore is TAKEN.
