Hogwarts School: A Harry Potter RPG

THE BASICS
Name: Wayne Ballard Clausewitz

Former Character's Name: Juniper Kedding, Angel Dumont

CHARACTER DETAILS
House Request:
Ravenclaw. Esme already laid claim to Wayne. Besides, Ravenclaw needs some brawn as well as brains to make their common room more interesting. Wayne's so smart that he finds creative ways to use books other than reading them. They make fantastic weights for personal training purposes. Also, Gordon's a Ravenclaw and brotherhood takes precedence over everything else. Esme's pretty.

Year: 
Preferably 6th year, 7th year as a second choice.

Bloodline:
Halfblood

Magical Strength:
Charms

Magical Weakness:
Conjuring and Summoning

Biography:

“Why can’t you be more like your cousin Nicolaus?”

Wayne heard that line so much that it was a wonder his parents hadn’t shipped him off to Taiwan and adopted Nicolaus for themselves.

“Well, I’m not blonde.”

His mother cracked him across the face with her open hand. Wayne wondered if part of his problem, part of what set him apart from his German cousin, was that he had a loose tongue and a bad memory. He knew he shouldn’t have talked back, and he rarely did, but he had been pushed too far today.

From the corner of his eye, he could see his younger brother peering through the doorway into the parlor where their mother was shouting. The mid afternoon sun shone through the tall windows, cascading across the marble floors, stopping just before Wayne’s feet. His mother went on and on about his grades, about his reputation, about things she must have had to make up, because Wayne certainly didn’t recall getting a detention for that. If he concentrated hard enough, he could focus on the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, where the cooks dutifully prepared dinner. Wayne hoped it was steak.

“I’m going to get you a tutor. Yes. That is what I will have to do.”

Wayne perked up at this. He knew a guy who got a tutor once. The tutor’s name was Stephanie, and she had blonde hair and tight sweaters.

“Mrs. Meriwether will get an owl first thing tomorrow morning.”

Wayne almost opened his mouth to protest that Mrs. Meriwether was about four hundred years old, but the welt on his face still smarted.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” said Wayne.

This only prompted her to shout more.

It was not that Wayne was a bad student. Wayne did not think of himself as a student who didn’t study. Really, he enjoyed class discussions, and he prided himself in being that one student who had to disagree with everything until the discussion deteriorated into him arguing with the professor. But professors loved things like that. It showed that he was really thinking. Wayne liked to write lengthy papers, challenge paradigms, doubt research findings and wonder constantly if there isn’t something more to everything.

His strong suit was not homework or studying. He abhorred busywork like copying notes, reading from textbooks (what filtered filth!), and coming prepared to tests. Perhaps Wayne expected his highly functioning brain to perform flawlessly on examinations. That usually was not the case. He forgot incantations easily, wand movements, everything.

That was why he was repeating his 4th year at the Salem Institute for Wizards and Witches.

They were the only Clausewitzes to move to America. Wayne’s grandfather wanted to start a bakery in the States, which Wayne’s father Frank now owned. The bakery was always busy, with fluctuating staff and expenses, and it was rare that the head of the Clausewitz household was home. This left his wife to run things, which she did with an iron fist. Wayne and his little brother Gordon were not displeased when they were sent to Enrichment School instead of primary school, where they were boarded and educated to be gifted wizard gentlemen.

The summers home from school, however, were brutal. Ingrid Clausewitz was a busy body who needed chores done all day every day until dinner time. If Wayne and Gordon tried to escape the house to find friends, they would be told to read or study, or go to bed. Naturally, the boys developed rebellious streaks that had no discretion.

All of the control they exerted while around their parents seemed to be let loose once they were away at school. Wayne, in particular, had a rather hot temper. Sometimes even class discussions were enough to get him riled and sometimes sent out of class. The idea that his temper could greatly alter the future course of his education had never occurred to him.

Frank’s brother’s son was a Hogwarts graduate. Born and raised a muggle, he managed in 2 years at Hogwarts what some wizards couldn’t accomplish their entire lives. His grades won him a spot as an Auror in the Ministry, then he became a Hit Wizard. Next came Wayne’s favorite part—Nicolaus acquired a permanent knee injury that led him to quit the Ministry and become a boring history professor.

That did not appease Wayne’s parents into expecting mediocrity out of him. They wanted him to be the best, if not better. Ingrid reminded him almost daily of how puny Wayne’s accomplishments were in the face of his cousin’s life work. If Wayne worked like Nicolaus, he could graduate from Salem as a 5th year. Blah, blah, blah.

As it turned out, Wayne would not be graduating Salem as a 5th year, but instead repeat his 4th year. And if that didn’t go well: expulsion.

[/i]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Please include these sections if they are not addressed in your biography.

Personality:

Wayne Ballard Clausewitz is a ladies' man. He's also a man's man. To the ladies, he's the charming rogue they love to swoon over. To the guys, he's the big brother figure they love to idolize. To professors, he's the student they love to hate. Except Esme. Esme loves him. Really.

The problem with Wayne is that his intelligence has bred arrogance. He'd rather spend time disassembling all of the faults of a book than studying it. If he actually bothered to study (he says that he's above that), then he'd likely perform better on his tests.

He adores his younger brother and strives to live up to his expectations. By nature, Wayne is rather hot-tempered and this has often lead to fisticuffs, especially with anyone who made the mistake of antagonizing mild-mannered Gordon. After all, Wayne Clausewitz has brains, but he also has brawn.

Appearance:
Tall, dark and ruggedly handsome. Fond of leather. He's single and ready to mingle, ladies.

SAMPLE ROLEPLAY

“Oh, come now!"

Astrid Bixby’s voice carried down the corridor, the tall blonde girl not far behind. Her interviewee – or victim, depending on perspective – turned a corner and she frowned. They were always soelusive when she needed them. Sure, they would talk as if there was no tomorrow during class, but once she actually needed them to say something, they were nowhere to be found. Gryffindors.

Flustered, Astrid stopped in the middle of the corridor and stared, her parchment hanging limply from her hand. She was a good reporter, really, and she always did her best to make sure that everything she wrote was accurate. She glanced down to the quill, eyeing it with disdain. It wasn’t her fault if her quill misquoted. How was she supposed to know? It made for interesting articles, at least, and if she had misquoted the Head Boy last term as saying he had a love for stuffed animals, then that gave him personality. Astrid sighed.

A pout formed on her lips as she turned away, discouraged. The corridor was mercifully empty, though the doors to The Spellbound – the school newspaper – were ominously closed. Corbridge was a mercifully sweet editor, but Astrid was terrified of disappointing her all the same. She hadto come back with quotes.
Her eyes, blue, trailed her surroundings before choosing a new path, and she turned down a new corridor. A figure was ahead, and her eyes lit up, an impossibly rosy smile blossoming across her lips.

“Hey!” Astrid called, her voice light and singsong. She trotted to catch the person, her shoes clicking on the stone floor. “Wait up! It’s for the paper!” Her legs aided her admittedly poor running, and Astrid gasped as she came closer. “What do you think about serving frog legs at lunch? Some say it’s a delicacy, but others think it’s plain gross.”

Sample Roleplay Response:

Wayne Ballard Clausewitz was a ladies' man. Term had barely started and already he'd been cornered by a cute brunette whose name he couldn't quite remember. It was something French like Baguette...or was it Croissant? Something tasty. It didn't matter. What did matter was that she was pretty and he couldn't help zeroing in on her lips as she talked about French girl problems. He heard her babble something about her books being heavy and he couldn't help the smarmy grin that immediately settled upon his lips as he held up a hand to stop her from continuing to French at him. After all, the only Frenching he was interested in doing had nothing to do with books. "Oh, it's no problem at all. Here. Pass me over those books. I'll carry them for you."

It was only when he heard another feminine voice call out to them that his footfalls came to an abrupt halt. A brow arched high in curiosity as an older, curvier student babbled something about legs. His eyes immediately dropped down to admire the body part in question. Did he mention how much he loved the uniforms at Hogwarts? "Legs. Yes, I like legs." An elbow abruptly found his way to his gut and he grunted, dark eyes darting over to the brunette that he had temporarily forgotten about in the wake of this new development. Girls were so cute when they pouted.

"Actually, this lovely lady is probably better suited to answer your question." A hand lifted to gesture to the disgruntled younger girl as he dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and mouthed something to Astrid. "She's French." Because, seriously, who better to ask about daring culinary options than the French? He dipped his chin in a sage-like nod, then beamed at both girls. "Of course, I'm always up for a little...mmm...cultural enrichment."

He laughed.
They didn't get the joke.
Pity.