Elinor Downey, First year, Slytherin
Name: Elinor "Lyn" Downey
House: Slytherin, 1st year
Age: 11yrs
Wand: 26,7 cm cherry wood and phoenix feather
Species: human
Background story:
Lyn was born in Philadelphia to a family of British/Irish American wizarding nobility.
Downeys are a long line of politically neutral wizards and witches that accumulated wealth throughout centuries as advocates, judges, diplomats and mediators. Some of them emigrated to USA in 1735 and settled in Pennsylvania, where they continued to offer their services and prosper. In 19th century they founded a small but luxurious magical academy Tarchgaras [tarkh-gahrahs], a private school for talented (and loaded) witches and wizards hidden in the very heard of New York City, so their children would be protected from the influence of a public school (too much good vs evil for their taste and little room for advantages of wealth).
Lyn's grandfather, Liam Downey is the current owner of said school. His oldfashioned views and opinions were softened by a proud and powerful muggle-born Aurelia Moore who enchanted his heart and gave him two sons, who later thanks to their willful mother went to Hogwarts to learn to work with all kinds of people. Elder of the two brothers is Lyn's father Tiarnan.
His sense of tradition is strong, but mitigated by his curious, open-minded nature. Although he belonged to the Slytherin House, he wasn't blinded by their influence and fell in love with a Gryffindor champion, Magdalene Sheehan. "Maya" was a strong and fierce woman always ready to stand for what she believed in. Upon finishing Hogwarts, she enlisted in the Ministry of Magic as an Auror and was true to her duty to the bitter end, when she was defeated and killed by one of the Death Eaters in one of the last confrontations with the most recent Dark Lord.
Lord Downey's already protective tendencies became very intense after that day. His son Cathaír was 13 years old at that time, while Lyn was only 8. While Cathaír was treated like a grown man and kept at arms-length, even though he was just as hurt by the loss of his mother, Lyn was pressured to stay an innocent good girl and gradually feeling more and more suffocated by father's restrictions. This has become a frequent cause of heated arguments as Lyn grew and formed a strong personality.
When Lyn got her letter from Hogwarts, Tiarnan found himself terrified of having to let her go. It took her the whole summer to convince him, promising she would behave like a true Downey and not get into any kind of trouble that might bring her harm. Also, Cathaír would be finishing his last year at the school and she'd have someone to watch over her. Tiarnan didn't bother to tell her that he himself would get in trouble if he just kept her at home and didn't send her to any magical school, but he seriously considered just lying to everybody and moving somewhere far away where no one knew them.
In the end he sobered up, reassuring himself that the school is well protected, and decided to let her study. The excitement he saw on his daughter's face alleviated his fear a little and made him smile, which he does rarely these days. They lived cut off from most of the outside world and she didn't have any friends - this felt like true Christmas to her.
She arrived at Hogwarts together with her brother on September 1st, thrilled and terrified at the same time. At the Sorting ceremony she received many unfriendly gazes after the Hat sorted her into Slytherin, but it wasn't because of her House. They heard the name Downey and remembered some nasty rumors (or perhaps their family's experiences). It was only a few students, though, and Lyn was quite aware of their reputation, so she ignored them. Cathaír sat beside her, body in a protective stance, and no one dared talk to her. She spent the evening chatting only with her brother and went to sleep without meeting anyone new.
House: Slytherin, 1st year
Age: 11yrs
Wand: 26,7 cm cherry wood and phoenix feather
Species: human
Background story:
Lyn was born in Philadelphia to a family of British/Irish American wizarding nobility.
Downeys are a long line of politically neutral wizards and witches that accumulated wealth throughout centuries as advocates, judges, diplomats and mediators. Some of them emigrated to USA in 1735 and settled in Pennsylvania, where they continued to offer their services and prosper. In 19th century they founded a small but luxurious magical academy Tarchgaras [tarkh-gahrahs], a private school for talented (and loaded) witches and wizards hidden in the very heard of New York City, so their children would be protected from the influence of a public school (too much good vs evil for their taste and little room for advantages of wealth).
Lyn's grandfather, Liam Downey is the current owner of said school. His oldfashioned views and opinions were softened by a proud and powerful muggle-born Aurelia Moore who enchanted his heart and gave him two sons, who later thanks to their willful mother went to Hogwarts to learn to work with all kinds of people. Elder of the two brothers is Lyn's father Tiarnan.
His sense of tradition is strong, but mitigated by his curious, open-minded nature. Although he belonged to the Slytherin House, he wasn't blinded by their influence and fell in love with a Gryffindor champion, Magdalene Sheehan. "Maya" was a strong and fierce woman always ready to stand for what she believed in. Upon finishing Hogwarts, she enlisted in the Ministry of Magic as an Auror and was true to her duty to the bitter end, when she was defeated and killed by one of the Death Eaters in one of the last confrontations with the most recent Dark Lord.
Lord Downey's already protective tendencies became very intense after that day. His son Cathaír was 13 years old at that time, while Lyn was only 8. While Cathaír was treated like a grown man and kept at arms-length, even though he was just as hurt by the loss of his mother, Lyn was pressured to stay an innocent good girl and gradually feeling more and more suffocated by father's restrictions. This has become a frequent cause of heated arguments as Lyn grew and formed a strong personality.
When Lyn got her letter from Hogwarts, Tiarnan found himself terrified of having to let her go. It took her the whole summer to convince him, promising she would behave like a true Downey and not get into any kind of trouble that might bring her harm. Also, Cathaír would be finishing his last year at the school and she'd have someone to watch over her. Tiarnan didn't bother to tell her that he himself would get in trouble if he just kept her at home and didn't send her to any magical school, but he seriously considered just lying to everybody and moving somewhere far away where no one knew them.
In the end he sobered up, reassuring himself that the school is well protected, and decided to let her study. The excitement he saw on his daughter's face alleviated his fear a little and made him smile, which he does rarely these days. They lived cut off from most of the outside world and she didn't have any friends - this felt like true Christmas to her.
She arrived at Hogwarts together with her brother on September 1st, thrilled and terrified at the same time. At the Sorting ceremony she received many unfriendly gazes after the Hat sorted her into Slytherin, but it wasn't because of her House. They heard the name Downey and remembered some nasty rumors (or perhaps their family's experiences). It was only a few students, though, and Lyn was quite aware of their reputation, so she ignored them. Cathaír sat beside her, body in a protective stance, and no one dared talk to her. She spent the evening chatting only with her brother and went to sleep without meeting anyone new.
Last edited by Elinor Downey on 29 Nov 2019, 13:31, edited 1 time in total.
Lyn Downey
stamina 6 • evasion 6 • strength 5 • wisdom 6 • arcpower 6 • accuracy 6