Austin Harris

[Austin Harris]

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Austin Harris
Gender: Male
Age: 37

Education: 
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Ravenclaw ‘53

Residence:
Diagon Alley – In an apartment above his animal clinic/pet shop with his wife, Charlotte, and their two children, Brooke Lynn and Vienna.

Occupation:
Veterinarian/Pet Store Owner

Do you plan to have a connection to a particular existing place (example St Mungo's, the Ministry, Shrieking Shack) or to take over an existing shop in need of new management?
No, creating a new shop.

Requested Magic Levels:

• Charms: 9
• Transfiguration: 11
• Divination: 5
• Summoning: 7

Do you wish to be approved as a group with any other characters? If so who and for what IC reason?
No necessarily as a group, but my daughter Brooke Lynn will be applying to Hogwarts next school year.

Please list any other characters you already have at the site:
Aubrey Rousseau, Irina Drake

Special Phrase: Tibbles beard of power.

Biography: (300 words minimum.)
Austin Harris was born on April 1, 1935 to wizarding parents to Chandler and Chelsea Harris.  He had an older brother (by 8 years), Kent, who died in a broomstick incident while training with the Puddlemere United Quidditch team when Austin was 10.

Austin received his Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1946.  While at the school, he boycotted Quidditch due to the death of his brother.  He did participate in the Dueling Club and was a Clinic Wing Assistant for seven years.  During his third year, he took Care of Magical Creatures and fell in love with taking care of animals.  He earned an O on both his OWLs and NEWTs in the subject (as well as potions), and EE on all of the others (he was a Ravenclaw after all).  He graduated in the spring of 1953.

Austin went on to apprentice with a veterinarian in France for the next 5 years.  During that time, he met the daughter of the veterinarian, Charlotte Davis.  She attended the wizarding school Beauxbatons, and was a member of the class of 1955.  It was love at first site.  With permission from her father (who he was studying under, so it only seemed appropriate), he proposed to her in January 1956 and they wed in December of that same year.  Austin continued to study under Charlotte’s father until January 1958 when he joined the practice.

On April 12, 1958, Austin and Charlotte welcomed their first daughter, Brooke Lynn Harris.  Ten years later, on February 28, 1968, they welcomed a second daughter, Vienna Rae Harris.  Both girls had their mother’s good looks, but their father’s love for creatures of all kinds.  Both girls, being purebloods of course, showed magical promise.  When Brooke turned 11 years old, she began attending Beauxbatons.

In the fall of 1972, Austin and Charlotte had decided it was time for them to move to England and open up their own animal clinic/pet shop.  Diagon Alley was in need of an animal clinic, and although it was home to the Owl Emporium, the two still decided to open up the pet shop anyhow.  For the 1972-73 school year, Austin and Charlotte decided to allow Brooke Lynn to attend Beauxbatons, but under the understanding that she would be transferring to Hogwarts next school year.

ROLEPLAY
Reply as your character to the following:

It was impossible for Dianne to stay out of trouble. It wasn't that she was looking for trouble, it's just that trouble always managed to find her. Today she wished she could find something equally familiar but more comforting.

The five-year old girl hugged her puffskein closer to her and brushed her face in its soft fur for comfort. She had named him herself and he was always her special pet. No she was certain she had never gone down this side street before. Her anxiety increased every second as darkness fell as she walked down the road. A loud noise came to her left and she buried her face in her pet's fur completely. The scared girl bolted the opposite way slamming the both of them into the wall of the nearest building. Tottering back a few steps she found a door a few feet to her right and ran to open it. What light there was inside spilled out into the darkness and she spilled into the room.

Once in, she was caught between the impulse to curl her cloak up more tightly around her and loosen her grip on it. She wasn't alone anymore but she was now among strangers instead, which was nearly as terrifying. Her puffskein had recovered from the shock of the wall and now was purring contentedly as the girl hugged it, causing a mildly calming effect on the girl. Gathering her courage, she marched up to the nearest person, pulled on the nearest clothing hem and blurted out in a loud voice:

"I'm lost and it's dark and I wanted to know where I am but I'm not scared but I am worried that Sambundeakin is scared because he's little and needs something to eat and wants to go home."

She paused to draw a breath in her nearly never-ending sentence, "He misses my and his mommy."

To explain the scared girl held up the custard-colored puffskein. Sambundeakin the puffskein, however simply purred as if nothing on earth was wrong in the world.

Roleplay Response:
Austin had just sat down in a booth at the Warbling Rogue and given the waiter his order.  He had been putting long hours in at the shop the last few days trying to get it in perfect shape for their grand opening.  Unfortunately, he and Charlotte could have picked a better time to open shop and opened prior to the start of term at Hogwarts, but it would be Christmas soon and they would be busy enough.

Just then, Austin heard the sound of a little girl’s voice:

"I'm lost and it's dark and I wanted to know where I am but I'm not scared but I am worried that Sambundeakin is scared because he's little and needs something to eat and wants to go home."

At first Austin thought it was the cry of his little girl, Vienna.  As he turned to face her, he realized it was not.  But the girl looked frightened. Just as he turned, the girl shoved a puffskein in his face.

Austin gave a little chuckle before he spoke to the girl.  “My little one, Sambundeakin does look hungry.  I’ll make you a deal.  How about you join me for dinner, you can choose anything off the menu that you would like, my treat.  I happen to have something here in my bag for your little pet all well.” 

Austin reached into his bag and pull out some pet food for the puffskein.  He didn’t normally just carry puffskein food around, but he had put it in his bag for Vienna’s pet puffskein so he had some with him today.

Austin continued to say to the girl, “After we eat, we’ll try and go find your mommy then.  Sound good?”  Just then the waiter came over to take the little girl’s order.  After she ordered, Austin asked her, “So where was the last place you saw your mom?”

SHOPKEEPER QUESTIONS
Answer these questions only if you are applying to be a shopkeeper as well.

Shop name: Diagon Alley Unleashed
Shop Description (200 words minimum): A big wooden sign welcomes witches and wizards of all ages to ‘Diagon Alley Unlimited,’ the pet store and animal clinic in Diagon Alley.  There are two separate entrances.

The door on the left leads you into the pet store.  Austin Harris’ wife, Charlotte, usually runs the shop though it is not uncommon for Brooke Lynn to be helping as well.  Along one wall you will find cages that temporarily provide a home to owls of all sorts: barn owls, brown owls, screech owls, and tawny owls just to name a few.  Along the back wall one would find big glass cases containing cats of many breeds: black cats, ginger cats, Siamese cats, tabby cats, white cat, and more.  The third wall is home to small aquariums that house toads and rats.  Occasionally, the pet store carries other magical creatures as well.  The center floor of the pet store has six cubicles where animals can be removed from their cages and played with.  The only way to properly match a pet to an owner is to put them together and see if they make a match.  There are also several shelves of pet food, treats, toys and other needs.

The door on the right leads you into the animal clinic.  Upon entering the clinic, a receptionist greets you as you check-in.  Behind the receptionist is a door that leads to the housing quarters.  This room is bewitched to provide as little or as much housing as is necessary, with plenty of room for all of the animals to feel comfortable.  There is two doors to the right of the waiting area that serve as examination rooms.  There is a third door along the back wall that leads to an operating room, a door to the left of the operating room that serves as an office for Mr. Austin Harris, and a fifth door to the left of the office that serves as a storage room.  Occasionally Brooke Lynn or Vienna will help out in the clinic as well, even if it just visiting with the animals.

What purpose will this shop serve other than selling things and being the home of your character? Why would people want to RP there just for fun?
The pet store will be a fun place for characters to come and shop for their first pet to take to school.  It will also be a place for students/people to bring their sick or injured animals so that they can be healed and recover.  Seriously, what person has never gone into a pet store just to look at the animals and browse around, even if they had no intent on buying?!

[Austin Harris]

The name of the shop should be "Diagon Alley Unleashed," since I used two different names in the application! 

[Professor Tibble]

Accepted as a character. Approval for the new shop pending.