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Archived Applications / Margaret Harkiss - Professor App
« on: 12/04/2019 at 04:35 »


CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character name: Margaret Harkiss

Previous and/or Current Character(s) if applicable: Calvin Sharppe

Character age: 26

Character education:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry - Class of 1949
Ravenclaw Prefect 1948-49

Strength and weaknesses (details please):
Strengths - Margaret Harkiss was one of the most detail oriented and diligent students growing up. With a good work ethnic from working at a young age on a small family farm and being the oldest of four, Margaret knew how to buckle down and get things done. At school it made her a top student at Transfiguration and in her work with the Ministry of Magic and the Social Reconstruction Committee, she was able to mobilize large and small communities into city wide projects with her organization skills. There is no task which seemed too daunting or large for her. A workaholic to a fault in order to please those who she holds in high esteem, Margaret usually pushes beyond her own limits.

Another one of her strengths is her commitment to youth and children. Being the oldest of four, Margaret is a natural caretaker to her younger siblings and being a community liaison, felt a innate connection to helping the younger children, orphans, and society’s most vulnerable populations. This is all true despite her own lack of inclination towards having children of her own. In the past year, it was her one-on-one tutelage of Lysander Stone which first spurred her to consider teaching as another outlet to help a younger audience.

Weaknesses - Because Margaret is such a committed soul, putting everything in the work she does, there are moments where she can take things personally when in fact, a professional demeanor may be more appropriate. The opinion of others, especially those of whom she respects, can easily dictate whether Maggie will have a good or bad day. Because she is always looking to see what kind of impact her work makes, if people aren’t happy or satisfied, neither is she. Harsh criticisms then, hinders her emotionally when it shouldn’t. She also is not a huge risk taker. It usually is up to the people around her to spur her to deviate from the status quo.

Physical description: Margaret is of average height, 5’6” with a thin build. She does not make huge efforts to exercise but has plenty of experience with long walks from her job knocking on doors for solicitations. This is reflected in her long legs and arms which could be called flabby. Her hair is long, brown, and often curled up in a messy bun or a tight ponytail to not bother her when she’s working. Since being recruited as one of the faces for WandS. she can often now be seen wearing the latest brightly hued lipstick of Irma Wolffe’s makeup line. It is the few pieces of makeup she adorns. The rest of her can be quite plainly described: professional blouses and skirts of modest length with shoes that never go beyond kitten heels. She is quite conservative with her appearance with hints of risk and adventure (i.e. pops of color) when she’s feeling especially brave or confident.

Personality (nice, rude, funny etc. Paragraph please.): Maggie, as her close friends call her, can be described as a very nice girl. Never one to speak unless spoken to or with a specific person, Maggie had been described as a wallflower for much of her life. As she grew her circle of friends, she became more outgoing, and she had gone from being relatively shy to being able to speak up for herself and even addressing large crowds. This has given her the confidence to be able to lead larger groups and even now attempt to teach classrooms full of students. Not everyone however, gets to see this nice side of her. Those who choose to be rude to her or anyone else, and Maggie can hold a grudge. She can be stone cold to those who she does not care for and is not afraid to close herself off.

Hopes and dreams. Why are you teaching at Hogwarts?: Maggie holds the belief that people were put on this earth to play a bigger part than their own small goals and achievements. It was why she had joined the Social Reconstruction Committee: to be a part of a greater organization to better society that was broken after the war. But being a part of the committee for a better part of five years had Margaret jaded on just how much she was able to accomplish. The slog of bureaucracy combined with inept superiors had her questioning her role as a cog in the large clock of society. With the recent discovery that a student she had been helping was actually held back a year, Margaret began wondering if there wasn’t a different path she could take to helping more people and assisting the wizarding world differently. She hopes that becoming a professor for the school she had come from where she had learned her first passions could be a good stepping stone towards figuring out this ever-growing mystery that is her career.

Biography (500 words minimum. There is never such a thing as too much.): Margaret Eleanor Harkiss was born on a cold winter’s day at a small 5-acre farm in rural Oxfordshire. She would ultimately be the oldest of four siblings: Herself, Helena Harkiss, Anduin “Andy” Harkiss, and Elizabeth “Betty” Harkiss. Of the four, Maggie’s head was always the one up in the clouds. While Helena was the more serious sister who was concerned with tending to the survival of their family’s livelihood, Maggie was looking toward the outside wizarding world and wondered whether she would be able to play a meaningful part in it.

At Hogwarts she was a relatively decent student. She completed all her assignments on time and even managed to get Prefect in her final year for the House of Ravenclaw. She fell in love, out of love, and back in love again. When she graduated, she chose to forgo returning to her family on their farm and instead immediately went into the Ministry’s Department of International Magical Cooperation Unit. With her meager earnings and little savings, Maggie managed a flat in Knockturn Alley with Addie Ross. She worked a year under the harrowing supervision of Salazar Ricardus before transferring out when the opportunity presented itself to become the Head Community Liaison for the Social Reconstruction Committee.

Being young and rather inexperienced, it wasn’t long before Maggie realized the job requirements were beyond what her qualifications allowed for. She had been in over her head and was demoted to field work, delegated instead to soliciting rich wizarding families and various businesses and shops to donate to the cause. Interacting with the various families and people from different walks of life opened up her eyes to inequality and the work that had yet to be done. It had led to many late nights at the office, baggy eyes in the mornings, and a whirlwind that lasted over five years. It left little room for her family, even less to her romantic life. But it gave her the ability to speak to strangers, it got her used to repeated closed doors, and the constant practice of failing but picking herself up and starting over again in the face of obstacles.

Sometime between juggling her job at the Ministry of Magic and caring her for many, many house plants in her tiny flat, Margaret also became the model and "lip" of WandS, Irma Wolffe's cosmetic line. It enabled Maggie to be more financially independent, and also was a huge step outside her comfort zone. Coming from a rather conservative and quiet family, the label of "model" was a new one. However, no one aside from her close friends know about this, as her face is relatively masked aside from her lips and she plans to keep it that way, as shining in the spotlight is not in Maggie's interest.

In the fall of 1955 Maggie decided to participate in the Hogwarts Outreach Programme and began to tutor a young Hufflepuff via owl. While it gave Maggie something to look forward to every few weeks, it never felt like she was giving enough of herself to provide substantial help to those who needed it. After garnering some opinions from her friends, Maggie then ultimately decided to take her career in the next step and apply to be a professor at Hogwarts.

SAMPLE ROLEPLAY
(Please respond to to this in third person past tense. Do not write the other characters' reactions. Only your own.)

It was the largest office in Hogwarts and, perhaps to students and newcomers, the most intimidating. The shelves were filled with various odds and ends, with a place of honor for the Sorting Hat, and the walls held all the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses.

In the middle of the room sat a large desk. Everything was in order, for the current occupant had always despised a messy desk. It was the sign of a messy mind, and she had always favored neatness.

A clock sat on the desk, which currently showed the time to be 2:05. The meeting was supposed to begin at 2:00 precisely.

Along with order, Anneka valued punctuality. She was a very busy woman these days. Even during the summer, she had a number of matters to attend to. Interviewing and hiring staff was only of those matters. The newest potential member of her staff wasn't making a good impression.

She paced the room, black heels clicking against the stone floor. When the door finally opened, Anneka turned, her expression reminiscent of a Russian winter. "You are late."

Explain yourself was what her face said.

Roleplay Response:
Margaret Harkiss knew that the meeting was at two o'clock. On. The. Dot. She knew! For nearly a week she had been preparing, prepping, and setting up for this interview. When the moment came, Maggie had a whole thirty minutes of time to get from point A to point B, when she saw that she had run out of Floo Powder. Floo Powder. It wasn't the type of household item that was often missing from a regular wizarding family- so seldom did the need occur to go out and buy more. But today, of all days, was the day. The pot was empty.

In a fury, Maggie flew out the door (had she been a flyer, perhaps she would have been able to get to the shops faster but her feet had always liked being firmly planted on the ground) and headed for the nearest utility shop. Heads turned as she ransacked through the store, her feet shuffling through the aisles as quick as they would take her, grabbing the largest bag she could find, and throwing down the sickles harder than she intended. With a quick “Sorry! I’m late!” to the cashier, she then ran off with a large lumpy sack of the thing.

“Alright now, slow down now Maggie,” she told herself when she got back home, slowing down her pace and placed a hand against the wall of her small flat. Addie was at work and the midday lull had the streets of Knockturn Alley slow to a standstill. She took the time to grab up the rest of the pages of her lesson plans on the table and with her other hand, she grabbed a hefty fistful of magical transportation dust and transported herself to Hogwarts.

Tenderly, Maggie opened the door to the Headmistress’s office. She was proud to tout the fact that she never had to find herself within these four walls in all seven years of her time at Hogwarts. She hated getting into trouble but judging by the look on Ivanova’s face, she was deep in it now. “I’m so-” she started to say when at the same time the Headmistress began to speak. Her dusty hand shot to her mouth, Maggie coughing slightly at the residual particles accidentally entering her mouth. Great, now her mouth was covered with soot.

"You are late."

“I’m so sorry,” she said, starting over and apologizing again. She got out her materials and with her clean hand tried her best to smooth out the edges of her skirt. "I have all my materials prepared and I really do take this opportunity seriously but then-" Maggie took a breath, "-I ran out of Floo Powder." She realized her words were starting to jumble and it was going to turn into a ramble if she didn't stop soon. So she just stuck out her lesson plans and let her work speak for her.

2
Hi Ava!

When you post your levels you should indicate that you are going to elsewhere (you can also say in the House Check-in) and that should be sufficient! Then, depending on what you plan on having Ava do after, sign up to the appropriate institution (Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's, etc)

3
Archived Applications / Re: Margaret Harkiss
« on: 23/04/2016 at 12:45 »

Application for Hogwarts School




→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.

Name: Margaret (Maggie) Harkiss

Birthday: December 23rd, 1930

Hometown: Oxfordshire, England

Bloodline:
Halfblood

Magical Strength (pick one):
Transfiguration

Magical Weakness (pick one):
Divination

Year (pick two): Sixth or Fifth Year

Biography:
Margaret Harkiss was born to Petra and Howard Harkiss in a quaint magical village in Oxfordshire. The Harkiss family came from a long line of farmers stretching back at least a hundred years and have grown to up keep a 5 acre space in their small village. The family, despite its conservative setting, was very open to engaging and interacting with local folk, both magical and non-magical. Her grandmother was a Muggle for this reason and despite 75% of the rest of her immediate family being witches and wizards, still upheld some traditional muggle values and customs. Margaret was the first of four children who would be raised on the farm for her first eleven years of her life. Sadly, due to the time warp and changing circumstances, the economy that sustained the farm had collapsed, plummeting the prices of their crops and sending the Harkiss family to the brink of bankruptcy. Half of their five acre farm had to be sold in order to make ends meet and being frugal became the children's most frequently occurring pastime. Growing up, even drinking straws were washed and reused, not wanting to waste a single resource or knut. As a child, Maggie would find herself wandering the fields after a chore in search of a rare stone or jewel to bring back to her parents or share with her siblings. It is there that she picked up the habit of holding rather strange and seemingly useless items in her pockets at all times. After getting her wand, Maggie (as most people close to her called her by) had a natural knack for transfiguring pebbles and objects into something else entirely, simply for play. To her siblings it would be one of the most annoying aspects of being around Maggie, equivalent to a person tapping their foot on the floor repeatedly. To some of her peers, it was an indication that she was close by and present.

When she received her letter to Hogwarts, Maggie was more than thrilled. After years of spending life in a small community farm, where all the neighbors and family members knew each other and their business, it was a dream for Maggie to be more independent and go to school to finish off what little education she had. She loved her family, and when push came to shove, she could be swayed to return to her quiet home to spend the rest of her days, but being young and intensely curious, Maggie couldn't help wonder what it was like outside the borders of Oxfordshire. Her parents were students but they reminisced on their time at Hogwarts as more of a stepping stone to their true passion of starting a family and raising their farm happily. They were Hufflepuffs content with their life of singularity, rather than her grandmother who was as fierce as a firecracker, not letting anyone stand in her way. Conversely, Maggie was curious and probing, always wondering about her surroundings in the bounds of her comfort zone. Going to Diagon Alley and to experience the full scope of the magical world was enchanting. Her wand, a flexible 10" willow with the core of hippogriff, seemed large and as daunting as the school year in front of her. However, as the years went on she grew (physically and mentally) into her powers and skill. She has quick wit and fierce devotion to her family and transfiguration became one of her favorite subjects to tackle in school. The silly objects that she once toyed with in her hands for fun now became her test subjects for the latest Transfiguration spells taught in class. She enjoyed learning and becoming immersed in the world of Hogwarts, just as she predicted.

As with any child in a school setting, Maggie endured her fair share of bullying, and her charms and courage did not catch up with her enough to defend against the waves of students who found her upbringing curious and strange. They made fun of her rural attitudes, her frugality, her ignorant views. The way she dressed was looked at strangely, even scoffed at. As a First Year she came to think of herself as an ugly and tried to push herself further away from her rural upbringing. Peer pressure shaped Maggie more than she would like to admit. When Fifth Year rolled around and her full height and beauty came to realization, it was a bit too late. Her surroundings had hardened her to be closed off, quiet, and darker. Maggie had a tight knit of friends and although would be kind and poised to anyone who spoke with her, her preference was to stick to her close knit group of friends. Although she still loves her family and her farm, she now prefers to spend summers at the Summer Campus, expanding her vast knowledge and experience that she didn't get in her little village. Her mother finds it inappropriate, Maggie finds it practical if she is to fit in with the other students. A product of her times, Margaret Harkiss simply longs to belong, be tied to something meaningful in the world, and do something worthwhile. Currently, with war amongst  the country, Maggie is trying to figure out where she fits in the spectrum- Where her friends lie, and of course, her family.

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
Note: This section is optional, and is up to you to complete.

House Request: Ravenclaw or Slytherin

Personality:
When Maggie is with her family and close knit group of friends, that is when her true personality shines through. She is laid back, silly even, to the point where she can be funny and clever. Maggie finds anything funny if it comes from the right person. She is loyal and devoted to people through thick and thin, putting no judgement forth if they have known each other long enough. Maggie is loud, fun, and most importantly, herself. Beyond the circle of close friends and family, is a completely different person. Outside and in more formal classroom settings (like Divination or Potions, two of her worst subjects), Maggie is quiet reserved, even stoic. Furthermore, to people Maggie dislikes or has a bad first impression of, it is hard to get back on her good side. Too many people have given her judgmental looks and side comments for her not to do the same. Those who are indecisive, ditsy, clueless about mundane aspects of life especially infuriate her. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Maggie always wants to know more and learn more, and finds it inexplicable that people are content to be in the dark about a certain subject. The reason she is so weak in Divination is became there is no logical explanation to the skill- It is an innate feeling one has to grasp and hone rather that learn and develop. 

It is this kind of frustration over a subject, a person, or a situation that can cause Maggie to become quiet, cold, and unappealing to the stranger. Her physical stance becomes closed off and unwelcoming, giving off a sense that she would rather be anywhere but there. The only people who she does not have this attitude for, are kids. This is because she has 3 younger siblings below her, all at various stages of their lives, all adorable. Maggie is a sucker for children and their naturally curious tendencies, unsure of the world because it is so vast and big. Another part of her own motherly sense of wanting to having children in the future makes her nurture rather than judge and yell at those who are younger than herself. Those of the same age of older students, especially ones in her own house, should know better. And an even smaller part of her likes to think that she could mold and shape the younger minds of those below her. Not as manipulation, but as a good influence. She never liked the idea of tagging muggleborn children, as they had no choice or say in their upbringing or care and finds it barbarous that any tagging had to be done at all. This was another influence of being raised with parents in a village that contained both muggleborn and magically-descended families prior to the warp.

Maggie also, although she denies this, also changes when she is around others. Whether for good or bad, her peers have changed Maggie's behavior and personality immensely. As someone who was called out for being an outsider due to her rather closed off upbringing, she did the opposite and tried to participate in more activities, extracurriculars, clubs, and visit the city as often as possible. Maggie more often than not, tries to be independent but often finds herself following trends and the interest that her friends partake. Whether it be the clothes and fashion styles that her friends get her into, or the way her professors encouraged her to embrace her love of Transfiguration into other areas of her life. She is, if anything, adaptable and flexible. Part of it also stems from her meager upbringing. Frugality was a game Maggie played over and over in her head and carried over to her regular life, even when her family didn't have to struggle to put food on the table. Although not present anymore, her muggle grandmother had a heavy influence in their family's life before they were swept away to another time. She wears her clothes until they're worn through, only takes and eats what she can to avoid leftovers, and dislikes waste in general.

Being adaptable, and constantly exposing herself to new things, there aren't many things Maggie is afraid of. One thing though is mistrust and dishonesty in people. While she can be cordial and polite to everyone, making small chat isn't her favorite pastime but she is good at it, no one would really know the true Maggie unless she felt she had someone's trust. Maybe because her family had put trust in the government and a higher power to take care of them and they failed, maybe it was just the pessimism that comes in a time of war. Either way, Maggie places trust in her family, herself, and her knowledge very highly. It is only because she is solidified in her values and who she surrounds herself with that she is able to bend to the changing times.

Appearance:
A good adjective to describe Margaret would be comely. Having come from a family of farmers, Margaret's skin is known to be a tanned color almost throughout the year, maybe through the various years of being exposed to sunlight or a far but deep descendant from Italy. Since she was young Margaret has always been thin and but defined with muscles that come from running errands, doing tasks, and not being able to keep her hands still. Like everyone else she had an awkward stage of being too tall and too thin in the wrong places to fit her clothes right, creating a rather insecure feeling within herself since the age of thirteen, when she had never believed herself to be anything but regular before that. Standing now at almost 5'9" Margaret suffers at times from slouching her back or shoulders, without even noticing. She recognizes it has a bad habit but has yet put the discipline or time in to stop herself (nor is there anyone else who bothers to say anything).

Her best feature, in her mind, would have to be her hair. From the time she was young she remembers having long flowing black year that seemed to go on for miles. She loves the feeling of running her hands through it, feeling the wind rustle through on a breezy day, or even merely done up in a bun or ponytail when it comes time to buckle down for finals. Coming from a long line of thick bushed men and women, it is the one aspect of herself that Maggie truly feels confident about. Everything else is up for debate.

As for her sense of style, Maggie, as with many girls her age, liked simple yet elegant pieces. Having been through a more frugal time in history, she takes what little items of clothing she has, and takes gentle care of it, or at least, she tries. During classes and formal education hours, Maggie does try her best to look her cleanest but anything off hours is another story. Being caught up in events, her friends, or even in her own mind, Maggie can become rather careless with her belongings without meaning to. She has gotten rather good at mending charms, if nothing else, and uses it to her advantage to mend her knits and tops which are most susceptible to clinging onto branches and stray hooks around the castle.   

→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.
Maggie found herself doing a Potions assignment. Again. It was so strange no matter how many Transfiguration and Charms essays were assigned, it never seemed like enough but one measly Potion's assignment and she had to spend all Saturday at task, completing it. It was a glorious day and she had wasted it the time on one of her least favorite subjects.  And it wasn't entirely successful, much to her disappointment. She had followed the steps to the T and yet the end result still did not produce the warm deep purple glow that showed on the textbook's illustration. Halfway through the day she had decided to bugger it and try it her own way, mixing in measurements not written anywhere in the booklet. That had produced a big puff! Which not only messed up her hair and robes but also produced a smell of something slightly burning and pungent. It was not pleasant. She did not like it. But what was a girl to do?

Finally, after straining her back and her brain trying to figure a simple recipe out (she would clearly never be a decent cook either), Maggie gave up and decided to take a walk down the halls of the dungeon to stretch her legs. It was no use doing the same thing and expecting a different result; that was the definition of insanity. She ran her hands through her hair, feeling the stone walls of the dungeon with the other, letting out a small sigh. Despite hating Potions with all her might and have rather negative associations with the place, the dungeons were comforting and a good place of solitude for anyone wanting some peace and quiet. She remembered being intimidated by the very sight of the entire castle when she had first walked in through the front entrance. Although her farm back home had over 2 acres spread far and wide, it was a different vast that she had to get used to. With other big groups of students, she had circled as much of the castle as she could in her spare time and even after six years of attending Hogwarts, she still wasn't sure if she had seen it all. There was yet more to see and learn.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small cry of an unsure female voice. Her ears perked up at the words, her lips lifting up in a slight smirk. Although ghosts were present and lingered around at the castle at times, the infamous Emma Birch was nowhere to be found. Maggie emerged from the shadows as slowly as she could without any sudden movements, hoping she wouldn't scare the girl. She was as easily startled when things came out of nowhere. She wasn't sure how the little one's heart would take it. "Nope, no Emma Birch. Just a frustrated girl that stinks of ash." She used the walls as a crutch and leaned on it, folding her arms in a cross, tilting her head back slightly. "You need some help little lady?" Truth was, Maggie was the one that needed help. But what could a little First Year do for an upperclassman with N.E.W.T.S. level assignments? Or worse yet, what would she tell people if a First Year were able to complete the potion in five minutes when she hadn't even figured it out yet?



→ ABOUT YOU.

Please list any characters you have on the site (current and previous): N/A

How did you find us?: a google search after wanting to get back into roleplaying

4
Archived Applications / Margaret Harkiss
« on: 20/04/2016 at 04:34 »

Application for Hogwarts School




→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.

Name: Margaret (Maggie) Harkiss

Birthday: December 23rd, 1930

Hometown: Oxfordshire, England

Bloodline:
Halfblood

Magical Strength (pick one):
Transfiguration

Magical Weakness (pick one):
Divination

Year (pick two): Sixth (or Fifth) Year

Biography:
Margaret Harkiss was born to Petra and Howard Harkiss in a quaint magical village in Oxfordshire. The Harkiss family came from a long line of farmers stretching back at least a hundred years and have grown to up keep a 5 acre space in their small village. The family, despite its conservative setting, was very open to engaging and interacting with local folk, both magical and non-magical. Her grandmother was a Muggle for this reason and despite 75% of the rest of her immediate family being witches and wizards, still upheld some traditional muggle values and customs. Margaret was the first of four children who would be raised on the farm for her first eleven years of her life. Sadly, due to the time warp and changing circumstances, the economy that sustained the farm had collapsed, plummeting the prices of their crops and sending the Harkiss family to the brink of bankruptcy. Half of their five acre farm had to be sold in order to make ends meet and being frugal became the children's most frequently occurring pastime. Growing up, even drinking straws were washed and reused, not wanting to waste a single resource or knut. As a child, Maggie would find herself wandering the fields after a chore in search of a rare stone or jewel to bring back to her parents or share with her siblings. It is there that she picked up the habit of holding rather strange and seemingly useless items in her pockets at all times. After getting her wand, Maggie (as most people close to her called her by) had a natural knack for transfiguring pebbles and objects into something else entirely, simply for play. To her siblings it would be one of the most annoying aspects of being around Maggie, equivalent to a person tapping their foot on the floor repeatedly. To some of her peers, it was an indication that she was close by and present.

When she received her letter to Hogwarts, Maggie was more than thrilled. After years of spending life in a small community farm, where all the neighbors and family members knew each other and their business, it was a dream for Maggie to be more independent and go to school to finish off what little education she had. She loved her family, and when push came to shove, she could be swayed to return to her quiet home to spend the rest of her days, but being young and intensely curious, Maggie couldn't help wonder what it was like outside the borders of Oxfordshire. Her parents were students but they reminisced on their time at Hogwarts as more of a stepping stone to their true passion of starting a family and raising their farm happily. They were Hufflepuffs content with their life of singularity, rather than her grandmother who was as fierce as a firecracker, not letting anyone stand in her way. Conversely, Maggie was curious and probing, always wondering about her surroundings in the bounds of her comfort zone. Going to Diagon Alley and to experience the full scope of the magical world was enchanting. Her wand, a flexible 10" willow with the core of hippogriff, seemed large and as daunting as the school year in front of her. However, as the years went on she grew (physically and mentally) into her powers and skill. Her quick wit and fierce devotion to her family and background placed her in Slytherin and transfiguration became one of her favorite subjects to tackle in school. The silly objects that she once toyed with in her hands for fun now became her test subjects for the latest Transfiguration spells taught in class. She enjoyed learning and becoming immersed in the world of Hogwarts, just as she predicted.

As with any child in a school setting, Maggie endured her fair share of bullying, and her charms and courage did not catch up with her enough to defend against the waves of students who found her upbringing curious and strange. They made fun of her rural attitudes, her frugality, her ignorant views. The way she dressed was looked at strangely, even scoffed at. As a First Year she came to think of herself as an ugly and tried to push herself further away from her rural upbringing. Peer pressure shaped Maggie more than she would like to admit. When Fifth Year rolled around and her full height and beauty came to realization, it was a bit too late. Her surroundings had hardened her to be closed off, quiet, and darker. Maggie had a tight knit of friends and although would be kind and poised to anyone who spoke with her, her preference was to stick to her close knit group of friends. Although she still loves her family and her farm, she now prefers to spend summers at the Summer Campus, expanding her vast knowledge and experience that she didn't get in her little village. Her mother finds it inappropriate, Maggie finds it practical if she is to fit in with the other students. A product of her times, Margaret Harkiss simply longs to belong, be tied to something meaningful in the world, and do something worthwhile. Being in her Sixth Year, with war amongst  the country, Maggie is trying to figure out where she fits in the spectrum- Where her friends lie, and of course, her family.

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
Note: This section is optional, and is up to you to complete.

House Request: Ravenclaw or Slytherin

Personality:
When Maggie is with her family and close knit group of friends, that is when her true personality shines through. She is laid back, silly even, to the point where she can be funny and clever. Maggie finds anything funny if it comes from the right person. She is loyal and devoted to people through thick and thin, putting no judgement forth if they have known each other long enough. Maggie is loud, fun, and most importantly, herself. Beyond the circle of close friends and family, is a completely different person. Outside and in more formal classroom settings (like Divination or Potions, two of her worst subjects), Maggie is quiet reserved, even stoic. Furthermore, to people Maggie dislikes or has a bad first impression of, it is hard to get back on her good side. Too many people have given her judgmental looks and side comments for her not to do the same. Those who are indecisive, ditsy, clueless about mundane aspects of life especially infuriate her. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Maggie always wants to know more and learn more, and finds it inexplicable that people are content to be in the dark about a certain subject. The reason she is so weak in Divination is became there is no logical explanation to the skill- It is an innate feeling one has to grasp and hone rather that learn and develop. 

It is this kind of frustration over a subject, a person, or a situation that can cause Maggie to become quiet, cold, and unappealing to the stranger. Her physical stance becomes closed off and unwelcoming, giving off a sense that she would rather be anywhere but there. The only people who she does not have this attitude for, are kids. This is because she has 3 younger siblings below her, all at various stages of their lives, all adorable. Maggie is a sucker for children and their naturally curious tendencies, unsure of the world because it is so vast and big. Another part of her own motherly sense of wanting to having children in the future makes her nurture rather than judge and yell at those who are younger than herself. Those of the same age of older students, especially ones in her own house, should know better. And an even smaller part of her likes to think that she could mold and shape the younger minds of those below her. Not as manipulation, but as a good influence. She never liked the idea of tagging muggleborn children, as they had no choice or say in their upbringing or care and finds it barbarous that any tagging had to be done at all. This was another influence of being raised with parents in a village that contained both muggleborn and magically-descended families prior to the warp.

Maggie also, although she denies this, also changes when she is around others. Whether for good or bad, her peers have changed Maggie's behavior and personality immensely. As someone who was called out for being an outsider due to her rather closed off upbringing, she did the opposite and tried to participate in more activities, extracurriculars, clubs, and visit the city as often as possible. Maggie more often than not, tries to be independent but often finds herself following trends and the interest that her friends partake. Whether it be the clothes and fashion styles that her friends get her into, or the way her professors encouraged her to embrace her love of Transfiguration into other areas of her life. She is, if anything, adaptable and flexible. Part of it also stems from her meager upbringing. Frugality was a game Maggie played over and over in her head and carried over to her regular life, even when her family didn't have to struggle to put food on the table. Although not present anymore, her muggle grandmother had a heavy influence in their family's life before they were swept away to another time. She wears her clothes until they're worn through, only takes and eats what she can to avoid leftovers, and dislikes waste in general.

Being adaptable, and constantly exposing herself to new things, there aren't many things Maggie is afraid of. One thing though is mistrust and dishonesty in people. While she can be cordial and polite to everyone, making small chat isn't her favorite pastime but she is good at it, no one would really know the true Maggie unless she felt she had someone's trust. Maybe because her family had put trust in the government and a higher power to take care of them and they failed, maybe it was just the pessimism that comes in a time of war. Either way, Maggie places trust in her family, herself, and her knowledge very highly. It is only because she is solidified in her values and who she surrounds herself with that she is able to bend to the changing times.

Appearance:
A good adjective to describe Margaret would be comely. Having come from a family of farmers, Margaret's skin is known to be a tanned color almost throughout the year, maybe through the various years of being exposed to sunlight or a far but deep descendant from Italy. Since she was young Margaret has always been thin and but defined with muscles that come from running errands, doing tasks, and not being able to keep her hands still. Like everyone else she had an awkward stage of being too tall and too thin in the wrong places to fit her clothes right, creating a rather insecure feeling within herself since the age of thirteen, when she had never believed herself to be anything but regular before that. Standing now at almost 5'9" Margaret suffers at times from slouching her back or shoulders, without even noticing. She recognizes it has a bad habit but has yet put the discipline or time in to stop herself (nor is there anyone else who bothers to say anything).

Her best feature, in her mind, would have to be her hair. From the time she was young she remembers having long flowing black year that seemed to go on for miles. She loves the feeling of running her hands through it, feeling the wind rustle through on a breezy day, or even merely done up in a bun or ponytail when it comes time to buckle down for finals. Coming from a long line of thick bushed men and women, it is the one aspect of herself that Maggie truly feels confident about. Everything else is up for debate.

As for her sense of style, Maggie, as with many girls her age, liked simple yet elegant pieces. Having been through a more frugal time in history, she takes what little items of clothing she has, and takes gentle care of it, or at least, she tries. During classes and formal education hours, Maggie does try her best to look her cleanest but anything off hours is another story. Being caught up in events, her friends, or even in her own mind, Maggie can become rather careless with her belongings without meaning to. She has gotten rather good at mending charms, if nothing else, and uses it to her advantage to mend her knits and tops which are most susceptible to clinging onto branches and stray hooks around the castle.  

→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.
Maggie found herself doing a Potions assignment. Again. It was so strange no matter how many Transfiguration and Charms essays were assigned, it never seemed like enough but one measly Potion's assignment and she had to spend all Saturday at task, completing it. It was a glorious day and she had wasted it the time on one of her least favorite subjects.  And it wasn't entirely successful, much to her disappointment. She had followed the steps to the T and yet the end result still did not produce the warm deep purple glow that showed on the textbook's illustration. Halfway through the day she had decided to bugger it and try it her own way, mixing in measurements not written anywhere in the booklet. That had produced a big puff! Which not only messed up her hair and robes but also produced a smell of something slightly burning and pungent. It was not pleasant. She did not like it. But what was a girl to do?

Finally, after straining her back and her brain trying to figure a simple recipe out (she would clearly never be a decent cook either), Maggie gave up and decided to take a walk down the halls of the dungeon to stretch her legs. It was no use doing the same thing and expecting a different result; that was the definition of insanity. She ran her hands through her hair, feeling the stone walls of the dungeon with the other, letting out a small sigh. Despite hating Potions with all her might and have rather negative associations with the place, the dungeons were comforting and a good place of solitude for anyone wanting some peace and quiet. She remembered being intimidated by the very sight of the entire castle when she had first walked in through the front entrance. Although her farm back home had over 2 acres spread far and wide, it was a different vast that she had to get used to. With other big groups of students, she had circled as much of the castle as she could in her spare time and even after six years of attending Hogwarts, she still wasn't sure if she had seen it all. There was yet more to see and learn.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small cry of an unsure female voice. Her ears perked up at the words, her lips lifting up in a slight smirk. Although ghosts were present and lingered around at the castle at times, the infamous Emma Birch was nowhere to be found. Maggie emerged from the shadows as slowly as she could without any sudden movements, hoping she wouldn't scare the girl. She was as easily startled when things came out of nowhere. She wasn't sure how the little one's heart would take it. "Nope, no Emma Birch. Just a frustrated girl that stinks of ash." She used the walls as a crutch and leaned on it, folding her arms in a cross, tilting her head back slightly. "You need some help little lady?" Truth was, Maggie was the one that needed help. But what could a little First Year do for a Sixth Year with Potion N.E.W.T.S. level assignments? Or worse yet, what would she tell people if a First Year were able to complete the potion in five minutes when she hadn't even figured it out yet?



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