GENERAL

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❝ I cannot go to school today, ❞ Said little Peggy Ann McKay. ❝ I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye.

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Basics

Full Name: Matthew Reynard Gray
House: Slytherin
Age: 11
Gender: Male
Birthday: May 5, 2010
Wand: 26.0 cm aspen wood and dragon heartstring
School Year: One
Patronus: N/A
Species: Human
Blood Status: Half-Blood
Function: N/A
Club(s): Theatre (Concession Stand)

Appearance

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Height: 4'8"
Weight: 85 lbs
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown
Faceclaim: Timothée Chalamet

Average height for his age, hooded hazel eyes, a little on the scrawny side. Brunette with a small spattering of freckles across his nose that are more pronounced in the summer days. He’s the type of kid you’d see anywhere, made up of a terrible haircut he did himself and clothes picked out with thoughtless abandon. No one would like twice at someone so average. It’d be lucky if they looked even once.

Through the Years

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Personality

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Personality Type: ENTP
The Good: Clever | Perceptive | Creative | Adaptable | Charismatic
The Neutral: Individualistic | Noncommittal | Sarcastic | Stubborn | Pragmatic
The Ugly: Manipulative | Dishonest | Lackadaisical | Hedonistic | Uncharitable

Reducio

The sum of Matt’s entire character could be his loathing of responsibility. He’s an okay kid, sometimes on the rude side more out of bluntness than cruelty, but when it comes to any sort of schoolwork, homework, or commitment, he’d do anything to avoid it. Before Hogwarts he was passing school with the bare minimum, and he was a constant headache for his father every time he blew off class to go practice his card tricks in the boys' bathroom.

When he learned his mother was a witch and he inherited her powers, he wasn’t particularly thrilled. Magic, ‘chosen ones’, people with great destinies… Matthew is fine with them as long as they don’t include him. He doesn’t want some ‘wonderful’ life filled with the responsibility of keeping secret a whole different world underneath the one Muggles know.

Still, there is a cleverness to him. He’s much brighter than his grades would suggest - which might be a good thing if he didn’t put all that cleverness to blowing off school and coming up with creative lies to dodge things he really ought to be doing. He's thoughtful and observant with a good eye for the arts but he's uninspired.

He’s also fearless of most things, not because he’s brave but because of a lackadaisical attitude. Money? Who cares as long as you have enough to eat. Power? The kid doesn’t have an ambitious bone in his body. Expulsion? Oh well, normal people school is less… Well. It’s just less. The consequences most people would dread are fine to him.

View on Blood Purity: Neutral - he'd prefer not to talk about it. If a gun was held to his head for an opinion, he'd defend Muggles but agree that they should never learn about the Wizarding World.

Wand

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❝ Very efficient for spending spells, ideal for perceptive wizards who follow their instincts. ❞

Aspen Wood

Reducio

Wand-quality aspen wood is white and fine-grained, and highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outstanding charmwork. The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. An infamous and secretive eighteenth-century duelling club, which called itself The Silver Spears, was reputed to admit only those who owned aspen wands. In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.

Dragon Heartstring Core

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As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner.

The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.

Bendy

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Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair – although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique.

10.2 Inches

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Most wands will be in the range of between nine and fourteen inches. While I have sold extremely short wands (eight inches and under) and very long wands (over fifteen inches), these are exceptionally rare. In the latter case, a physical peculiarity demanded the excessive wand length. However, abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized (many small witches and wizards are chosen by longer wands).

Broom

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Comet 260 ➪ A popular model in the late 80's, still efficient today.

Stats: +1 accuracy
Speed: Top Speed is 5.
Effect: You take 10% less damage from all attacks that successfully hit you.

History

Pre-Hogwarts | May 5, 2010 - August 31, 2021

Reducio

Though Matthew’s birth started with tragedy, the rest of his youth has gone well enough so far. After a risky pregnancy, Matthew’s mother died in childbirth and left him son to a single father who tried his best to make his son a good man. The boy doesn’t really remember his mother and so was never overly bothered by the circumstances of his birth, but he loves his father dearly.

His father is a brilliant Muggle attorney who owns his own law firm, which meant he was able to make his own hours through Matthew’s childhood and be there whenever the boy needed him. They lived a happy, quiet life and the man was too focused on raising his son to ever remarry. He taught Matthew everything from simple maintenance to cleaning to cooking to card tricks, not that half of it will be used.

It’s the card tricks that are Matthew’s true passion, and he doesn’t care enough about other kids’ opinions to wonder if it’s not realistic to want to play cards for a living. Even after learning he was a wizard, his dreams to someday use the card skills to make himself a career haven’t left.

A late bloomer to magic since he never wanted much or got overly emotional, Matthew’s first use of ‘real’ (not card trick) magic came at the age of ten.

He’d been putting up with bullying from an older boy for a few months over his father getting the other kid’s father locked in jail, and when the other kid started yelling insults about his own father something inside of him snapped. A rock that had been right beside them suddenly levitated into the air and smacked itself (more or less harmlessly) into the bully’s nose. Since they’d both seen it, he couldn’t even lie to himself and say it was his imagination.

Fortunately, no one believed the bully when he went squealing to the principal. Unfortunately, the incident led to the conversation with his father that revealed his heritage and knocked the course of his life off the path of regular.

Soon after he received his letter, and it felt like the universe itself was making fun of him.

Hogwarts First Year | September 1, 2021 - Present

Reducio

TBD

THREADS

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My tonsils are as big as rocks, I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more—that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green? My leg is cut—my eyes are blue— It might be instamatic flu.

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First Year

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Finished

Sorting Ceremony | September 1, 2021 | Solo ➫ Day one, Matthew's sorted into Slytherin.

The Hall Brawl | September 2, 2021 | ft. Rosie Parker ➫ Matt meets Rosie Parker, a fifth year Hufflepuff for the first time. He tries to taunt her into an argument but she doesn't bite. He decides that she (likely along with the rest of her House) are boring if they don't even try to get into debates.

Keeping up with Assignments | September 11, 2021 | ft. Hui Ming, Avery Chen, Liana Kerr, Hildegard Schneider, Maggie Hawkins, Ophelia Winters, Vale Ashwood ➫ When Matt accidentally walks in on a study group, he ends up joining them for a round of study questions. New people are met, questions are answered, and then he gets the hell out of dodge before more questions can be asked.

A Cold Day in Hell | September 20, 2021 | ft. Liana Kerr ➫ When Matt meets Liana in the library, they get into a discussion about grades that leaves him with the shocking revelation that the 'zeroes' he thought he was getting are actually 'Outstandings.' Never one to enjoy high expectations, he tries to play it off like he gets low grades but Liana is onto him. The birth of rivalry, made worse by the fact that he thoughtlessly asks Liana to dance with him at the Ball and she takes it to mean as his date (unbeknownst to him).

The Eyeglasses Repair Charm, First Year | September 2021 | Solo ➫ Matt learns the eyeglasses repair charm.

The Sneezing Hex, First Year | September 2021 | Solo ➫ Matt learns the sneezing hex.

The Bubble-Producing Charm, First Year | September 2021 | Solo ➫ Matt learns the bubble-producing charm.

Ongoing

2021 Talent Show Spectators | September 11, 2021 | ft. Noah Jupe, Grace Swan, Scarlet Salvatore, Hildegard Schneider, Samantha Salwis, Vivian Fletcher, Cody Stevenson ➫ TBD

Third Time's A Charm, They Say | September 21, 2021 | ft. Hjørdis Jensen, Santario Martin, Hui Ming, Avery Chen, Henry Knight, Selim Faust, Vale Ashwood ➫ TBD

King of the Hill | October 1, 2021 | ft. Orion Lécuyer, Kelsey Brumby, Hui Ming, Evelynn Decipio, Liana Kerr, Avery Chen, Geoffrey Donovan, Maggie Hawkins, Hildegard Schneider, Della Barfield ➫ TBD

Wild Pumpkin Chase | October 5, 2021 | ft. Avery Chen, Samantha Salwis, Rachel Davis ➫ TBD

Abandoned

The Beginning | September 1, 2021 | ft. Lucas Hunter ➫ The train ride over to Hogwarts, where Matthew meets Lucas for the first time.

Second Year

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Third Year

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Fourth Year

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Fifth Year

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Sixth Year

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Seventh Year

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RELATIONSHIPS

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I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I'm sure that my left leg is broke— My hip hurts when I move my chin, My belly button's caving in, My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained, My 'pendix pains each time it rains!

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Gryffindor

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Lucas Hunter ♣ First Year ♣ Acquaintance - Met this kid on the train. I reckon he's alright but I haven't seen him around since, maybe he got himself eaten by a lake monster or something. Ah well, sucks to suck.

Hufflepuff

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Rosie Parker ♣ Fifth Year ♣ Boring - What a snooze of a human being. Can't rightly remember what we even discussed, I was too busy trying not to fall asleep.

Ravenclaw

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Slytherin

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Avery Chen ♣ First Year ♣ Acquaintance - He's a dormmate, but we weren't properly introduced until that awful study group. I like this guy, he's got a good heart and a little mischief in him. Gets into hilarious situations, too - that catching pumpkins thing had me in stitches. Still, he isn't to be underestimated, as I'm sure Hildegard learned when me, Liana, and him allied up against her in that spell game.

Hildegard Schneider ♣ First Year ♣ Acquaintance - Met her at the study group. Never really got to talking to her, but I think she's a bit of a strange lass. I may have participated in knocking her right out of the spell game, but it wasn't anything personal. If she ends up developing a grudge against me... ah, shit happens. Wouldn't be the first person to.

Hui Ming ♣ First Year ♣ Acquaintance - He was at the study group too. Kid's got a stick up his ass and is one of those judgmental types, but when the girls talked about kissing it threw him for a right loop. I'm pretty sure he'd be hilarious to tease.

Liana Kerr ♣ First Year ♣ Rival - We've come quite a bit further than expected after our rocky first meeting - from a one-side dislike (personally I found it funny), to mutual understanding, to training partners in mind games. When she found out I got decent grades (and didn't believe me when I claimed otherwise), I think my estimation rose in her eyes. Started a bit of rivalry, we did, but it's the peak of fun to play against such an entertaining opponent.

Maggie Hawkins ♣ First Year ♣ Acquaintance - Didn't get to talking to this girl much, but I definitely like her style. She isn't a stuck-up lass and gal's friendly enough to the likes of me. I've asked her to the Ball because I think it'd be fun to hang out with her.

Vale Ashwood ♣ First Year ♣ Acquaintance - Whew, this one is a bit barmy. Not sure what she's really on about with 'enemies' and lots of talk of burning, but I reckon staying on her good side would be prudent. Could do without the academic lectures, though.

Ophelia Winters ♣ Third Year ♣ Acquaintance - An older year from the study club. I never got round to speaking with her but she at least didn't seem like the judgmental type - and by that I mean she greeted me with a 'hi' instead of a dirty look.

FAMILY

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My nose is cold, my toes are numb. I have a sliver in my thumb. My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak. My tongue is fillin' up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out.

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Paternal

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Jacob Gray | Father | Muggle

A successful prosecutor who owns his own law firm. He's raised Matthew by himself and he's a good father, though some might say he's not quite the good man his son believes he is. He's willing to do anything to take down the opposition, even if it seems glaringly obvious they're innocent. Still, he's tried to impart good morals on his son, though Matthew did end up picking up some of Jacob's less savory traits. He loves his son dearly and would do anything to protect him, up to and including keeping secrets from the boy and everyone around him.

Johnny Gray | Uncle | Muggle

Murder detective Johnny Gray is Jacob's brother and Matthew's only uncle. He's hilarious, if inappropriate around children - he often forgets to tone down his language and goes on long, rambling stories about crimes he saw where he doesn't hold anything back. Matthew's been reminded time and time again to ignore his bad language (with varying degrees of success) but if there's one main thing he picked up from his uncle it's how to study people. Descriptions of how to tell if someone's lying and how to read a room come from Johnny's tales of interviewing suspects and witnesses.

Francis Gray | Grandmother | Muggle

The only living parent of Jacob and Johnny, Norma is a now-retired chartered accountant. Her husband passed away when the boys were young and she raised them with a toughness and resourcefulness one wouldn't expect when meeting the tiny, sweet old lady. There were always whispers that she was skimming funds from many of her clients, but these claims were never proven and she was well-liked by everyone nonetheless. Matthew spent a lot of time with her as a child whenever his father was called in to work or had something pressing going on.

Maternal

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Marianne Engelhardt | Mother | Pureblood

Enigmatic and crafty, Marianne was from a long line of Russian purebloods who attended Durmstrang. From a young age she showed the intelligence and ruthlessness needed to preside over her family, but once accepting the headship she vanished off with a Muggle lover in an unprecedented move that shook the family to its core. She died in childbirth with neither the name of her lover or her location coming to light. The Engelhardt's have no idea of Matthew's existence or his mother's death, but the legacy Marianne left him may come to be something he resents if he's ever discovered.

Ekaterina Engelhardt | Aunt | Pureblood

The eldest child and currently next in line for the headship, Ekaterina is similar to Marianne in many ways. Tough and clever, but more ambitious than her younger sister ever was. The only issue is that Marianne was always just that one bit cleverer, that one bit tougher, and forever the family favourite. Currently, even though Ekaterina is poised to take over everything, she isn't satisfied with the fact that her sister ran off before she could prove that she was just as good. She feels she has a lot to prove and has been searching for Marianne to out her as incompetent for years.

Mikhail Engelhardt | Uncle | Pureblood

The youngest child and only son, Mikhail is something of a black sheep in the family. He's frequently involved in bar fights and doesn't show up for half the family dinners he's supposed to. He was quite close with Marianne and has resented his family's prejudice against Muggles for the fact that she had to run away to be with the man she loved. He isn't as clever or manipulative as either of his sisters, but he does have a good heart and tends to be the most emotional one in the family.

Sofia Engelhardt | Grandmother | Pureblood

Sharing the responsibilities of the head of house with her husband, Sofia has been married into the Engelhardt family for over fifty years. She's a sharp woman prejudiced against Muggles and doesn't tolerate stupidity or failure. Passed down from her side of the family, she owns a security business that provides security to witches and wizards who need magical objects guarded. As such, she is highly secretive (and exceptionally well connected) due to the confidential nature of her business.

Stanislav Engelhardt | Grandfather | Pureblood

Family head and owner of a worldwide import/export business (with a strict no-questions-asked policy so he can't be blamed if someone tries to ship contraband through his company), Stanislav is a man of few words. He's well respected for coming up with elaborate plans and being one of the most efficient men in the country, but beyond that most people don't know much about him. He often lets his wife do the talking while he sits back and observes, leading many to believe he shares in her views of the non-magical. Whether he does or not truly is a mystery, like most things about him.

Matias Estrada | Uncle-in-Law | Pureblood

The husband of Ekaterina, Matias heads a group of wizards who try to invent medical Muggle machines that use nanotechnology and stem cells to mimic effects of healing spells. He originally comes from Spain, where he earned a Nanotechnology Engineering degree, then moved to Russia to stay with his wife and get a degree then PhD in Molecular Biology once he learned she was to inherit her family businesses. While his end result appears philanthropic since he's funding more than half of it himself, his intentions are less so. This is an impossible endeavour which will never come to fruition due to the impossibility of mixing magic and machine, but Matias enjoys stringing his Muggle investors along nonetheless.

Nicolás Engelhardt | First Cousin | Pureblood

Son of Ekaterina and Matias, Nicolás is an only child and expected by all to one day take over the Engelhardt family headship from his mother. He currently attends Durmstrang and it appears he got the worst of all family traits - he's a cold, heartless tactician with a sadistic streak that he likes to exercise on anyone weak or unintelligent. While he's a brilliant wizard and talented in many ways, his absolute lack of empathy and disregard for even people who can be useful to him has the entire family worried for the future.

MISCELLANEOUS

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My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight, My temperature is one-o-eight. My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. I have a hangnail, and my heart is—what? What's that? What is that you say? You say today isn't a weekday? G'bye, I'm going out to play. ❞

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Pet: N/A

Religion: Atheist
Hobbies: Card Tricks, Card Games, Painting
Language(s): English
Likes: Cardistry, Paintings, People Watching
Dislikes: Schoolwork, Rigidity, Schedules
Phobias: None

Boggart: A businessman telling him his work report is due by the end of the day
Amortentia: Paint, Expensive Perfume, Wood Polish
Mirror of Erised: Working as a card shark at a top casino, surrounded by paintings
Polyjuice Potion: Swirls of earthy neutral colours, initially tastes faintly of cinnamon but ends with a sharp bite of unidentifiable spice
Thestral Sight?: No

Scars: None
Birthmarks: None
Tattoos: None
Physical Ailments: None
Mental Ailments: None
Allergies: None

Handedness: Left
Style: Casual
Glasses: No

Relationship Status: Single
Crush: N/A
Sexuality: N/A

Signature

Graphics

Main Story Year One

First Year Slytherin Gang

Banner created by the hallowed Hui Ming

Theatre Club
Banner created by the superb Scarlet Salvatore

OOC INFO


❛ I guess I’m a little weird. I like to talk to trees and animals. That’s okay though; I have more fun than most people. ❜
― Bob Ross

DISCORD: muad'dib#1835

THREAD STATUS: Closed (temporarily while I do October activities)

TIME ZONE: Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4)

SPEECH COLOUR: 4d8454

CHARACTER INSPIRATION

Marius Josipovic	Frank Abagnale
« I'm a confidence man. I give people confidence, they give me their money. »	« Why do the Yankees always win? The other team can't stop looking at the pinstripes. »

John Constantine	Matrim Cauthon
« My talent's for lying. For sticking the knife in when people least expect it. Then walking away with a smile and a wave before they even realize they're bleeding. »	« I'm no lord. I've more respect for myself than that. I may be a fool, but I intend to be a live fool. I didn’t do half of what they say, and the other half wasn’t my bloody fault. »

MATT'S PLAYLIST

‣ Flaggin' A Ride - Divine Fits
‣ Play With Fire - Sam Tinnesz
‣ The Wondersmith and His Sons - Astronautalis
‣ A Mask of My Own Face - Lemon Demon
‣ The Devil is a Gentleman - Merci Raines
‣ I Take What I Want - Unions
‣ Creature - Bones UK
‣ Hot Damn - Ivy Levan
‣ Greenback Boogie - Ima Robot
‣ Ain't No Rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant
‣ Thank God I'm Not You - Himalayas
‣ Piece of Sh*t - Cemetery Sun
‣ 6:00 - grandson
‣ Tatler Magazine - The Struts
‣ This is My World - Esterly
‣ Kiss That Wealth Goodbye - exmagician
‣ I'm Gonna Do My Thing - Royal Deluxe
‣ Left Hand Free - alt-J
‣ The Devil You Know - X Ambassadors
‣ Novocaine - The Unlikely Candidates
‣ Terrible Things - Brick + Mortar
‣ Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic
‣ Do It All The Time - I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
‣ Puttin’ On the Ritz - Taco
‣ Thief - The Fratellis
‣ A Good Song Never Dies - Saint Motel
‣ JEKYLL & HIDE - Bishop Briggs