Mae Garland

[Mae Garland]

Application for Hogwarts School

→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.
Name:
Mae Elizabeth Garland

Birthday:
June 4th, 1934

Hometown:
London, England

Bloodline:
Halfblood. Her mother is Pureblood, whereas her father is Muggleborn.

Magical Strength (pick one):
Divination

Magical Weakness (pick one):
Transfiguration

Year (pick two):
First year is preferred, but I can work with second.

Biography:
John Garland and Rose Cygnus-Garland, were quite exemplary muggles for being wizards. A former Hufflepuff and Slytherin, respectively, living the life of expectant parents in a quiet suburb of London.

John was muggleborn, and had never quite found his footing within the wizarding world. Oh he could cast, yes of course, and transfigure with the best of them. But something about the whole – magic thing, really creeped him out. Having been raised as a muggle until the age of eleven, having to step into a foreign world of intrigue, adventure and unpredictability gave John an upset stomach that lasted the next seven years. The loo quickly became an old friend.

John was a highly praised, and completely normal auto mechanic with his own garage. He was popular, trusted, and well-liked for his attention to detail, and seemingly ability to fix anything. Little did the townspeople know that John had a trick, or shall we say, wand up his sleeve for the little mishaps here and there he couldn’t quite solve with a wrench. Some might call John a hypocrite for using magic when he insisted on living in the muggle world, but he only saw it as utilizing the resources he had. It sounded better, anyway.

Rose was a pureblood; the youngest of eight daughters in an aristocratic wizarding family. Naturally, this meant she was often forgotten or overlooked. Her older sisters were always fawned over, always given the best presents and setup for the best futures. Rose – well, Rose was left to her own devices, really. When John showed up and gave her the slightest scrap of attention, she pounced on the opportunity to move to the suburbs with him and become the quintessential muggle housewife. Unairworthy broom and all.

She rather relished being a witch among muggles. The women around here simply thought she was extraordinary. She was able to maintain an immaculate home and garden, feed her family extravagant meals every night, and still managed to keep her hair smooth and her nails manicured. It was as though, the women clucked and fawned, she had a secret weapon! Rose ate it up; muggles were simply wonderful little people, weren’t they?

Within a few short years of their marriage, the two welcomed their first child. A lovely little infant who screamed like a banshee the moment she was born, and didn’t stop screaming until she was three.

John had wanted to name the girl “Bridgette”, as it made him think of a sweet, bubbly, yet strong little girl. A little girl who would want to work around her father’s shop, play with tools, and walk into the house every night covered in grease. He envisioned holding her up over a car engine, the garage warm from the summer sun, smelling of dirt, oil and a hard day’s work. He saw the girl torqueing the last bolt back onto the engine as he beamed down proudly, his strong hands steadying her. “Bridgette…” he would mutter, almost dreamily, and then give a short chuckle.

His wife, Rose, did not share the same sentiments, nor amusements. “Bridgette” reminded her of an improper young lady who frequented dance halls, and accepted glasses of who-knew-what from strange men. A girl without morals, a girl without a good family to steer her in the right direction. Granted, Rose mused, her child would have both, regardless of her name. Even so, why give fate any ammunition?

And so the baby was named Mae. Lovely, classy and lady-like, with a bit of sass to appease her father, for Merlin’s sake.

Mae Elizabeth Garland idolized her mother. Her mother was delicate and feminine, with a sweet manner about her. She always had a smile plastered on her face, though to a few, this was seen as a bit unsettling. She loved the façade her mother was able to display at all times, and she never let her true feelings on a matter showed.

“Appearances are everything,” her mother would remind her, as Mae would brush her long black hair into gentle curls.

“You win more flies with honey than vinegar,” the tut would come when Mae would get angry and want to argue with someone.

“You are living in a man’s world and playing by a man’s rules,” Rose would sing in a sugar-sweet voice, and would rub balm on the little girl’s lips, “Men need to feel important. You must never let them see you don’t need them.” A slight pinch of Mae’s cheeks, “And remember, ladies pinch. Floozies wear rouge.”

By the time she was ten years old, Mae was the perfect little actress. Her voice was soft and sweet, her hair was always in place, her dresses were always ironed and pressed, and she always a pleasant demeanor. She ate small bites of food, and never over-indulged. Her sips of water were dainty, and she never engaged in sports or unladylike activities. She was her mother’s pride and joy.

As her eleventh year approached, Mae readied herself for her owl that was sure to be coming within the next few months. She shopped in Diagon Alley with her mother, and had pleasant tea time with the other little muggle girls in her neighborhood. She paid attention to her mother's demeanor when she spoke with other ladies, and how she ever so slyly was able to get people to do what she wanted them to, with nothing more than a smile and soft giggle. Yes, this was training time.

After all, Hogwarts was a social game, and Mae planned to win.

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

House Request:
The Sorting Hat should decide Mae's fate.

Personality:
Mae is still very much discovering who she is. Throughout her young life, she's been brought up to believe that appearances are everything. Outwardly, she tries to mimic her mother's mannerisms; polite with almost robotic-like sweetness, although how much of it is genuine is unclear. She is not an elitist by any means (outwardly, at least). She's an equal-opportunity friend. As her mother explained, there is a benefit to befriending anyone. Every single person had something to offer - therefore, why not give them the chance to offer it?

She is desperate to be at the top of the social game, and will use people to get there. While she doesn't necessarily like other people, she genuinely wants them to like (or rather, adore) her. Due to being a bit self-absorbed, she doesn't quite understand empathy at this point, and typically doesn't notice if someone gets their feelings hurt. Whether she would care if she did notice, is another story.

Inwardly, she is highly anxious and self-critical, which occasionally shows in the form of Mae talking to herself. As much as she likes to think she's a fantastic actress, the truth is, she is fairly transparent, and doesn't realize people tend to see through her facade more often than not. She is not overly daring or aggressive; she prefers to use her words to get what she wants or needs. If anyone ever tried to hit or hex her, Mae likely wouldn't know what to do.

When it comes to her studies, she's more middle-of-the-road. She's not overly studious, but not really a slacker either. Truth be told, she often just has more important things to do. She's not terribly clever, but she is manipulative and rather cunning when need be. She seems to have a natural inclination towards Divination, perhaps to use against or for others. After all, if someone predicted your horrific young demise, you'd probably want to get on their good side, right?

Appearance:
Mae is of average height with black hair, hazel eyes and freckles dotting her medium skin. Her chin comes down into a rather sharp point, and she has a strong jaw like her father. She has somewhat of a wide mouth, and when she smiles, it tends to come off a bit unsettling. Like her mother, she has a slender build and bow-legged stance. Whether she is pretty or not is left up for debate.

→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.
Please reply to one of the Sample Roleplays below.

Of all the different corridors, rooms and wings of Hogwarts, Mae liked the dungeons the least.

Cold, damp air that reeked of mildew. Stone walls, stone floors, stone ceilings, and Merlin everything echoed. You could never so much as have a private conversation in this area, if others were around. Even whispers traveled the halls. It was nice if you were trying to pick up on any secrets or gossip. It was worse if you were trying to keep any.

Despite that, Mae had also found that the dungeons provided a sort of solitude at times. Most students were afraid of the dungeons, if they weren't sorted into one of the two houses that resided there. Even then, it didn't keep many Hufflepuffs from running as fast as they could through the hallways and up the stairs, just to get out of the cold lair quicker. For that reason, it was typically only Slytherins and those that wanted a few quiet moments of privacy.

Today had been one that Mae would sooner forget. Transfiguration had gone horribly wrong, as it usually did. It wasn't her fault she couldn't transfigure a pill bug into a rubbish bin! The incantation was difficult to pronounce and there was a strange wand flick at the end that seemed to require some sort of acrobatics. She managed to give the pill bug a rubbish lid for a head, but it didn't go much further than that.

A Ravenclaw boy had been quick to point out her ineptness. "Mae-Not have a rubbish bin!" he crowed, awfully proud of his clever little insult. It was stupid, childish. And yet it got the entire class of first years roaring. Before she knew it, at least half were shouting "Mae-Not", over and over. Something she quite did not appreciate. The last thing she needed was to be a laughingstock. It took time to come back from laughingstock status, and seven years, Mae doubted, would hardly be enough. She had ignored the taunting, silently vowing to undo the Ravenclaw boy if he ever rose beyond a simpleton, and actually won himself a friend.

Now the dungeon provided her a safe quiet place to pace, growl, seethe and do all the unbecoming things she normally wouldn't do with an audience. The nerve of that pigeon. Flying little rat he was. She would find a way to make him sorry he ever dared to laugh at her. A throaty shriek escaped her and she kicked the stone wall as hard as she could.

"Hello! Is Emma Birch here?"

Startled by the sudden question, Mae jumped back from the wall, ignoring the throbbing that now permeated her right big toe. Who was that? Had someone heard her - or worse, seen her - lose her temper? It had already been a terrible day; if someone saw that it had gotten to her, Mae might as well have marched right back to her dormitory and packed her things. She'd never get anywhere now.

A small blonde girl about Mae's age walked into view, holding her arms and shivering with cold. A Gryffindor, as evidence by her red tie and badge. Disarmed, Mae stumbled to find something to say, and quickly. She folded her own arms across her chest and ran the toe of her right shoe across the stone floor. The throbbing was getting worse, but maybe she could talk her way through it.

"Who's Emma Birch?" Mae almost snapped. It wasn't a name she had heard before, but granted, the school was large and she was still a first year. Really, Mae didn't care much who Emma was; she was truly more distracted by the girl's sudden appearance. If she wanted to make sure the girl didn't tell anyone about her outburst, she would have to calm herself down. She took a deep breath, and tried to steady her own voice. She took a step towards the girl, a hobbled step, but one nonetheless and held out her hand to her. "I'm Mae. If you're looking for your friend, you're bound to get lost down here if you don't know your way."

She looked the girl up and down quickly, and though she wanted to glare and snarl and tell the girl to buzz off, she smiled through her fury. Likely, it looked a bit deranged, but any smile was better than none. Besides, if she helped the Gryffindor find this Emma, then maybe this girl would help her with issuing a certain flying rat his just desserts someday too.


→ ABOUT YOU.

Please list any characters you have on the site (current and previous):
Nila Arian, Steven Bailer

How did you find us?:
Former member; current elsewhere character

[Cedric Galyn]

Miss Garland,

Congratulations, your application to Hogwarts School has been accepted. Term begins 01 January, 2015. Currently, students have gathered at Camp Loki. Your admission is joint for both the school and Camp Loki, and we encourage you to spend your summer there. Should you choose, you may also visit our Elsewhere board via the Floo Network to visit or purchase school supplies. We look forward to seeing you at the School.

Sincerely,
Pythagorea Proud
Deputy Headmistress