Vespera Fenmoor
Physical Description
Long dark hair that falls in loose waves past her shoulders, usually slightly mussed and disarrayed from hours spent outside. Pale skin and deep, dark brown eyes that seem to absorb rather than reflect the light they see. Wears dark, muted colours and sturdy shoes, and at eleven, stands at 145cm – though she carries herself with a certain still presence that lends her the air of someone slightly older.
Personality
Vespera isn’t unkind, but she isn’t easily reached. She speaks when she has something to add, and is a better listener than she is a talker, which unnerves some and intrigues others. She has a singular focus and an almost unholy intensity when a topic genuinely piques her interest, like the movement of stars, the etymology of old spells, the forgotten names of plants, etc. She is not bothered by being alone and tends to do her best work when solitude is around. Beneath her quiet reserve is a sharp, understated wit that occasionally emerges among those few with whom she feels comfortable. Unwilling to let go of a puzzle that she has uncovered, Vespera can be stubbornly fixated.
Pre-Hogwarts History
Born to the old pure-blood family of Fenmoor, situated in the rolling countryside on the edge of Lincolnshire, England. While not ostentatiously wealthy, the family is old, and their home is a sprawling, somewhat ramshackle manor that carries the distinct scent of aged parchment and dried herbs, and whose walls are lined with centuries-old texts. Magic is an everyday,mundanething within the Fenmoor household; brooms zip themselves around tidying the study, candles light themselves, and conversations about potions are as common as those about the weather. The idea of not having magic is alien to Vespera, known to her only through the pages of old books.
An only child, Vespera was largely alone during her childhood, given much freedom and many books by her similarly private and scholarly parents. She spent most of her childhood exploring the fields and hedgerows surrounding the Fenmoor manor, mapping the constellations and poring over forgotten texts found within the family library. Since age seven, Vespera has been tutored at home and maintains high grades due to the intense interest that she develops in whatever topic she chooses to study.
First Instance of Magic
When she was nine years old, Vespera was deep within the fields surrounding the manor, enjoying the sharp cold and frost-etched landscape. As light waned, however, she realized she had gotten too far from home and couldn’t find her way back in the looming darkness. Overwhelmed by a sharp, wordless panic, every lamp along the far garden wall of the manor blazed to life instantly, at once shining twice as brightly as they normally did and visible from nearly half a mile away. Guided by their light, Vespera easily found her way home. Her parents were about to come looking for her and said nothing of the lighting but met each other’s gaze above her head with a shared expression that, even then, she knew meant something, though she didn't fully understand what it was until years later.