Korra McCool / First Year / Ravenclaw

Korra was born to an Irish mother and a Mexican father in Derry, Northern Ireland. Her life went very normal until age 5. Living in the outskirts of town, Korra loved to play in the garden or walk the woods with her parents. One day as she was doing the former, a squirrel dropped a walnut to her feet and ran off. Delighted, Korra picked it up and ran inside to show her mother what the animal had gifted her. She explained to Korra however, that the squirrel must've been frightened and dropped it by accident and that it probably wanted to bury it somewhere for the winter. Korra felt horrible, having taking the squirrels winter supplies from it. She went into the garden and laid down the walnut by the fence and shouted an apology toward where the squirrel had ran off to. And as she screamed, the large old walnut tree, that stood not far outside the fence, quivered as if passed through by a big gust of wind. And then, like passengers abandoning a sinking ship, the walnuts hailed from the treetop until, only seconds later, the tree was barren. Standing by a carpet of walnuts, Korra was happy again. For now there were more than enough nuts for the squirrel. It wouldn't have to go hungry. She called for her parents, who came running, worried something bad had happened, but sighed in relief at the sight of their beaming daughter, who pointed at the mass of walnuts. Surprised by this find, they asked how they had got there. Upon hearing Korra's explaination, that the tree had shaken them off, Korra's mother stared into the treetop for a while, trying to spot someone or something, who could've shaken it, but found no one. There must be strong winds this year, Korra's father guessed and, though not entirely satisfied, Korra's mother left it at that too.
Dozens of squirrels came by, over the next few days, picking up a walnut and running off to bury it somewhere for the winter. Almost a week went by until the ground by the tree was cleared of nuts by the squirrels, with the help of Korra's mother, who gathered up small packets of them and passed them to a few neighbours and Korra's father, who had made the most delicious walnut cake anyone had ever had. And still, every year, he bakes another one for Korra's birthday, for it's her favourite food in the entire world.

A year later, Korra's mother got gravely ill and died not long after, leaving behind a devastated pair of 6 year old daughter and foreign father. Korra's father often struggled finding work, due to being a foreigner and not flawless with the language. And while those times were hard, they also are the origin of very happy memories that Korra made, spending time with her father. Though she never was upset when he did get work and wasn't home for most of the day, as she was always able to spend time with herself, playing and walking in the forest. However, she always felt the loss of her mother most in these times, when there was no one home to talk to. Her escape from the grief were books. Fantasy, preferably. Diving into otherworldy adventures of Elves or witches and wizards was a blessing as it took her mind of all the bad that was going on in the real world.
All the bad seemed to have come to end though, when one day not too long ago, Korra recently turned 11, there was a knock on the door and a man in wizards robes came in and explained that Korra was a witch and had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Korra and her father both thought it to be a joke that the other was playing on them, but once the man had proved with a few whips of his wand that there was, in fact, such a thing as magic and that it was able to make all furniture in the apartment levitate feet above the ground, they believed him. They believed him and became incredibly gleaful. Korra was so happy at this outlook, she could've broken out in tears and her father was not much short of that either, so happy you'd think, he believed he was going. But he was thinking of Korra's mother. She wasn't a witch of course, but he knew very well, that she had wished she was one. Perhaps she knew that there were some out there.

A few months later, after having gathered her school supplies in the wonderful world that is Diagon Alley, Korra made her way to her new school on the Hogwarts Express. Spending the ride sitting in a compartment with animated second years, she spend the ride reading "Hogwarts: A History".
Upon arrival in the castle she heard about the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The murmer around her, that a few of her peers had a bit of knowledge about them, while some didn't. Neither had she until a few hours ago, before reading about them in "Hogwarts: A History". She desperately wished not to be in Slytherin and considered herself to be too much of a loner to land in Hufflepuff. Gryffindor or Ravenclaw! She didn't miss the mark, after only a minute or two of questioning by the Sorting Hat, she landed in Ravenclaw! Is this real? "Wit beyond measure?" Her? Hardly believable, but still she felt so happy and so proud to be placed with the wisest witches and wizards in history!

Being of mixed heritage, Korra has a deeper complexion than most people in her hometown. Despite having to endure a few snarky comments because of it, Korra always enjoyed resembling her father, whose brown eyes she also got. Other than that though, Korra greatly resembles her mother, having the same round face, same nose and the same mole under her left eye. As a tribute to her late mother, Korra also likes to wear her hair deep red and in long braided pigtails.
She is relatively short for her age, taking more after her father than her mother there, but sturdy as she had to survive a handful of brawls in primary school, due to not staying calm once provoked.

Korra likes calm and quiet and will happily keep to herself, if not able to achieve it otherwise. She is also very stubborn though, and will not let mean comments or other kinds of provocation fly. Nor will she miss an opportunity to challenge an opinion or decision she disagrees with, both passionately and loudly. This has landed her in a fight more than once and, although she'd rather keep things civil and verbal, she will not shy away from a physical altercation or a duel, both to defend herself or a friend. She does struggle to find friends though, as she does not like to approach people and sometimes comes across aloof. Thus Korra will do whatever it takes to keep the people who have gotten close to her safe and happy, for if Korra gets along well with someone, she is extremely kind, affectionate and caring.

In school Korra cares more about learning than grades. While she does spend a great deal of her time reading and studying, she doesn't always care to put a lot of effort into homework or answer questions in class. The latter not only due to a slight fear of possibly remembering something wrong. She will absolutely refuse to miss a class, not pay attention or, in some shape or form, not learn whatever there is to learn in the respective lesson, often even doing thorough preperation and repetition.