Anneka Ivanova

Anneka Ivanova
Biographical Information
Full name	Anneka Vladimirovna Ivanova
Born	12 January 1906
Birthplace	St. Petersburg, Russia
Residence	Hogsmeade / Hogwarts Castle
Nationality	Russian
Blood Status	Pureblood
Education	Durmstrang (1917-19), Hogwarts, Slytherin (1919-24)
Class	1924
Title(s)	Prefect 1922-23, Head Girl 1923-24
Physical Information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Hair colour	Brown
Eye colour	Brown
Skin colour	Light
Family Information
Spouse	Arlo Mason (divorced)
Children	Wilhelmina Mason
Parents	Vladimir Ivanov, Nadiya Patkovsky
Siblings	Nikolai Ivanov
Magical Characteristics
Wand	Hawthorn, dragon heartstring, 10", rigid
Patronus	Siberian Tiger
Affiliation
Occupation	Headmistress
Former Occupation(s)	Slytherin Head of House, Quidditch Referee, Gryffindor Head of House, Keeper of the Keys
House	Slytherin

Biography

Pre-Hogwarts

Anneka Ivanova was born on January 12, 1944 to Vladimir and Nadiya Ivanov. Her twin brother, Nikolai, was born a few minutes before her. Her maternal grandparents were Martin and Raina Patkovsky; her paternal grandparents were Viktor and Aleksandra Ivanov. They lived in a small wizarding community near St. Petersburg, Russia.

Anneka and Nikolai shared similar looks with their brown eyes, brown hair, and fair skin. Their personalities were not as similar as their looks, but they still shared many traits. They were both determined, ambitious, and protective of those they cared about. However, while Nikolai was more laid back and outgoing, Anneka tended to be uptight and more private. The twins were often competitive with one another; they were constantly teasing and picking on one another. Maybe it was because they twins, or maybe it was because they were all they had during about the first five years of their lives, but for what ever the reason they formed a strong and unbreakable bond.

Her brother was fiercely protective over Anneka, and she felt the same towards him. They were best friends, twins, two sides of the same coin. Anneka and Nikolai were almost always together. They could communicate better with looks and body language than words. Nikolai could tell when she was being defiant by the certain tilt of her chin; Anneka could tell when he was upset by the tension in his shoulders.

During their childhood, they spent much of their time with the children of their neighbors. Anyone they became friends with had to come from a pure family, or one that could hide their tainted blood extremely well. The Ivanov family believed strongly in the superiority of pure-blood wizards. Nikolai and Anneka grew up with this belief and never questioned it. They didn't know any differently, having been kept from the Muggle world. Nikolai was always better at making friends than Anneka. He had the more engaging personality of the two. And because he was so concerned about his sister, Anneka was usually invited along with his friends. This continued throughout their childhood and beyond. The ultimate consequence of this was that Anneka grew up surrounded by boys and it rubbed off on her. She always felt more comfortable with a group of boys than girls. Anneka picked up many traits of those boys, making her behave less like a girl until she was well into her teenage years.

When they were eleven, Anneka and Nikolai were sent to Durmstrang. No other school would do. Durmstrang didn't accept those with inferior blood and they taught the dark arts. That was also important, because Anneka's family practiced dark magic. They had to keep it a secret, because even in Russia, they could get in serious trouble for it.

Nikolai felt the allure of learning the dark arts; he enjoyed it. Anneka was ambivalent on the subject. She had always felt that there should be freedom to practice any kind of magic, but having it constantly shoved in her face didn't suit Anneka well. She could use it if she needed it, but being forced to do dark magic didn't sit well. She had a rebellious streak that was at it's strongest during the beginning of her teenage years.

Durmstrang and Anneka didn't have a good relationship. She didn't fit in well and wanted something different, somewhere she could be away from what her family wanted. Nikolai didn't want her to leave, but he wouldn't leave Durmstrang either. Not that their parents would have let him; he was the heir to the business. He begged her to stay, but Anneka couldn't. She spent her free time practicing English to become fluent in it. After two years at Durmstrang, Anneka transferred to Hogwarts.

Hogwarts - The Student Years

Anneka was thirteen years old when she crossed the 'Iron Curtain' and started at Hogwarts. It was like entering a completely different world. As if the teenage years weren't awkward enough, Anneka had to deal with the language barrier (she could speak proper English well enough, the slang was another story) and learning a new culture. She was placed in Slytherin, which was perfect for her.

Nikolai hadn't taken well to her decision and he'd been very upset with her. Their relationship was strained during her entire first year at Hogwarts. Having her twin angry with her had put a damper on the enjoyment she could have experienced at Hogwarts. Their problems only lasted that first year. Once she had returned to Russia for the summer holidays, the had worked out their issues.

When Anneka had gotten to Hogwarts, she'd discovered that Irene O'Conners had also transferred from Durmstrang the same year. They had known each other, because they were the same age. Eventually, they became closer and closer until Irene was Anneka's best and closest friend at Hogwarts.

She was never a top student. Just average in most aspects. The classes she excelled in most were Politics of Magic, Conjuring/Summoning, and Charms. Anneka found Divination to be a waste of time, and who really needs History of Magic in the long run? Out of all the variety of classes she took during her five years, Politics had been the most influential. It helped her curb some of her more extreme, prejudicial views of the world. Sergei Vasilijev, as a fellow Russian, quickly became her favorite, most respected professor. More than that, he was a mentor to her. Professor Vasilijev's influence made a major difference in Anneka's life.

Along the way, Anneka became interested in boys as more than just friends. This came with crushes and an interest in more 'girly' things, like make-up. Anneka only had one serious relationship during her time at Hogwarts, but though it seemed serious at the time, it really hadn't been. The relationship had been a childish one, and she had realized that eventually.

During her sixth year, Anneka had been surprised to discover she had been made a prefect. This good news was overshadowed when her grandfather, Viktor Ivanov, was arrested a few months later before the winter holidays. This wasn't completely a shock. He had, after all, been deeply involved in illegal activities. Her family had managed to stay out of trouble until the arrest had happened. The trial had not gone in their favor, and Anneka had to watch her grandfather get a life sentence to Azkaban.

Her last year at Hogwarts saw Anneka being named Head Girl with Arlo Mason as Head Boy, her partner. They had always worked together in Charms, but it was during their patrols that they really became close friends, which would turn out to be majorly important a few years later.

Post-Hogwarts

For awhile, Anneka viewed her last year of Hogwarts as the pinnacle of her life. Things went steadily downhill afterward.

Anneka returned home to Russia with all her dreams of doing something great, going someplace in her life. She wanted a career, her mother wanted her to be married. They fought bitterly. Her mother repeatedly tried to set her up with nice, Russian men (nice being a relative term). The rebellious streak in Anneka that had calmed down since she was thirteen, suddenly flared up again. She began spending more and more time back in Britain, mostly London. She spent many nights in dingy pubs feeding the one vice she had.

The only two friends she had kept in contact with from school were Arlo and Irene. Anneka wrote letters to both of them frequently, but she actually saw Arlo more. Irene was busy doing something with her life, which left Anneka jealous. She never openly showed her jealousy to Irene, though, remaining a loyal friend. The rest of her social life was spent with Nikolai and his collection of friends. This had been almost like their childhood, except they weren't children anymore. Nikolai brought home girlfriends, and she snuck around with some of his friends, providing them with a snogging partner when they got lonely or bored.

Eventually, Anneka decided she'd had enough of running from her mother's wishes. She wasn't about to give in and marry just because it was what was expected of her. The idea of marriage had begun to seem more like a prison sentence than anything else. She managed to negotiate with her mother. She would drop the idea of wanting a career, if Nadiya would stop pressuring her to get married. It seemed fair enough at the time. Anneka began to study potions on her own. It was a subject that had always interested her, something she had wanted a career in. This lasted for a little while.

On one of her many visits to Britain, Anneka had heard there was an opening at Hogwarts. She applied, not really expecting to be hired. If there was any chance of going back to Hogwarts, she would take it.

Hogwarts - The Adult Years

Anneka got the position of Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts. She eagerly returned to Britain and to her old school. It was strange returning as an adult, especially only two years after she had graduated. Anneka still knew many of the students there, especially those from Slytherin. She'd had power over the students before as prefect, and even more so as Head Girl. She had still been a student, though. Now she was a staff member.

Before the 1966-1967 term, Anneka earned a promotion of sorts. She took over the position once held by her favorite professor, Sergei Vasilijev. She became Gryffindor's House Head. It was a strange position for a former Slytherin, but she was determined to make the best of it, and maybe even whip Gryffindor into shape. Her first term was a little rocky. Some of the students didn't seem to like that she had been in Slytherin. Eventually, after a couple of terms, they grew to respect one another - making her job easier.

In February of 1965, her life changed once again. It all started with a letter from Arlo, inviting her over. It ended with kisses in the snow, and a new dog. She'd been friends with Arlo for years, but that was the beginning of a new kind of relationship between them. In May of 1966, he had proposed, and Anneka had gladly accepted. Her family didn't approve, because he wasn't a pureblood or Russian. Nikolai was just being the protective brother. He wouldn't have approved of anyone. Arlo's mother was accepting enough, except for Anneka not being Jewish. They were married on January 1, 1967.

Their daughter, Wilhelmina, was born on September 12, 1967. Unfortunately, not everything was meant to last, and they were divorced by the time Mina turned a year old.

While her love life wasn't doing so well, Anneka was doing quite well in her career. In 1970, she took over as Hogwarts' Quidditch Referee. While feeling incredibly in over her head at first, with Nikolai's help, she survived her first term and started to grow into the position. Then in 1972, Anneka was asked to leave her position as Gryffindor's Head and take over Slytherin. It was a chance to return to the place where she had started - her house.

A couple of years later, the Time Warp happened. With little connection to the Muggle world, Anneka didn't suffer any life changing events from it. She slid seamlessly from the 1970s to the 1930s.

Anneka had dated occasionally, but never became seriously involved with anyone else. She had grown content with her life - running Slytherin and Quidditch, and being (perhaps not the best) mother to Wilhelmina. Things were about to change again, though. In 1939, Elizabeth Birch, the Headmistress, was arrested. This left a position that needed to be filled, and Anneka was chosen. She was never quite sure what had made her the best candidate over every other staff member, but it was an honor.

It was also frightening.

Preceded by Sergei Vasilijev

Gryffindor HoH 1928 - 1934

Succeeded by Timothy Vartan

Preceded by Elizabeth Birch

Slytherin HoH 1934 - 1939

Succeeded by David Leighton

Preceded by Elizabeth Birch

Headmistress of Hogwarts 1939 - 1972

Succeeded by Karina Ivansko