Year 1 ❖ Perfectionist

Reducio

It all started with upbringing, and perhaps ran a little in the genes as well. Nature or nurture, Jayden had been imprinted with ideals of perfectionism since she was a toddler. Not so much by her own parents, but from relatives and extended members of the Holt and Speirs clans - particularly those of elite and upper-class circles - who saw it best to educate Jayden in all refined, classy, and “respectable” aspects of pure-blood wizarding society. Table etiquette, ballroom dancing, attire, and tactfulness of speech… Not a step, frill, or hair out of place. With these rigorous lessons came the instillation of self-discipline, as well as the more inspiring notion that one could become anything so long as they set their mind to it. Practice did make perfect, after all.

Her parents, while more lenient and less demanding of what their daughter ought to pursue for her future, never failed to stress the importance a clean room (for “A clear space is a clear mind”, and the road to perfectionism first began with tidying up one’s quarters), along with high grades - once Jayden arrived at Ilvermorny - for nothing short of excellence would guarantee to unlock as many doors as possible for Jayden’s future, even if she never opened any of them, at least the opportunities would always be there for her to consider later on.

Unfortunately, the boring and monotonous task of reading and writing - the basis upon which academic success was hinged - did not come so easily enticing. Jayden was a stubborn physical learner, to no fault of her own genetics. Yet she was determined to succeed, and to make her parents proud. Through many tutors (some begged for, others bribed for), and though it often took twice as long for her to absorb words on paper, Jayden forced herself to “enjoy” studying and achieve high marks. Being a perfectionist in the academic sense did not come natural at first, but through hard work and self-discipline, Jayden adopted the mentality and accomplished that which she set her goals on. And with her newfound reputation to keep as being a “smart” student, all the more pushed Jayden to reach the top of her class.

Hands-on activity, however, was a different story. Books could only achieve so much, and luckily were not so important in the long run, compared to one’s skill with a wand.

That was where Jayden’s perfectionism really came into play.

Word Count: 408

Year 2 ❖ Perfectionist 2

Reducio

Feeling the instant spark of connection flow through her from her wand, was a moment long dreamed of by Jayden, the day she arrived at Ilvermorny at the start of her first year. All Jayden wanted to do at school was practice spells, excelling at Charms and DADA right off the bat, as far as the actual performance of spells was concerned. While Jayden only devoted enough time to books in order to “get by” with acing the next assignment, pop-quiz or test, words on paper hardly registered in her mind long-term, not without some physical accompaniment to sear it into memory. She was a true tactile learner, enrapt by the grandeur of spellcasting. Books were all fluff. Spells were real substance, not only in which all the fun was to be had, but the only thing one could depend on to save their life when facing an enemy. Nothing excited Jayden more than to put her spell work to the test, to hone her skill with the wand and build up practical experience. Books, she could force herself to endure, but spellcasting was where Jayden’s zeal for learning truly lied.

Dueling was to prepare her for those worst case scenarios, an activity that her parents strongly encouraged, and which Jayden felt immediately drawn to participate in. No surprise, considering both of her parents and a majority of the Holt and Speirs clans were also Wampuses, many of them pursuing Auror careers in light of their potential. Living up to the “warrior” stereotype of her House, Jayden found thrill in the Dueling arena and dedicated herself to the sport. Whenever she wasn’t occupied with schoolwork, Jayden would train in the Dueling ring every chance she got. Winning was always the goal. Still, it was only practice, no matter how heated and competitive the matches got. Jayden wasn’t a sore loser, nor did she boast about her victories. Rather, she viewed Dueling as a chance to teach and to learn from others. If she failed a match, Jayden bore no shame in asking the winner for lessons on their strategy. Regardless of House or blood status, wizardkind was a team (according to the “traitorous” beliefs of her parents). In fairness of teamwork, Jayden wouldn’t withhold from sharing her own Dueling techniques with her competitors as well, despite being aware of every Duelist’s underlying motive to one day use an opponents’ techniques against them. All the more, this prompted Jayden to stay on top of her game, to perfect every spell and constantly strive for better, keeping one step ahead of her opponents.

Word Count: 431

Year 3 ❖ Fearless

Reducio

Fear of heights was never an obstacle for Jayden, growing up in the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. Part of her family’s house was built along the side of a steep mountain cliff. Poking her head perilously out of a window or over a balcony, Jayden could stare down from the miles-long sheer drop, admiring the beauty of the valley below, without feeling a heart drop in her chest. Not as dangerous as riding a creature with a mind of its own, from the same height in mid-air. Jayden was on the back of a hippogriff before she could walk, wrapped in the protective arm of her father for her first joyride through the sky. Freedom and bliss. The caress of wind brought smiles and giggles to the infant’s face, unfazed by the reality of falling distance below her. Riding hippogriffs and winged horses proved to be Jayden’s introductory course in mounting a broom for the first time at Ilvermorny, which she adjusted fairly quickly to. At least brooms didn’t have half so much a mind of their own. Aside from Charms and DADA, Flying became second nature to her, though Quidditch didn’t call so much to her competitive interests than Dueling.

There was no shortage of adventures and dangers to be found in the remote wilderness surrounding the Holts’ homestead. Both magical and non-magical alike lurked in the woods, requiring no small amount of bravery for Jayden to step in and protect her loved ones from an attacker. From an early age, Jayden learned to mask her fear in tending to the family’s menagerie of magical creatures. Animals often reflected a person’s emotions, and a calm and quiet mind was necessary to be able to tame and handle most of them. Hippogriffs and winged horses of note.

It wasn’t until she stepped foot in the Dueling ring that Jayden really learned how to control her fear. Where fortitude and mental strength was put to the test, in a battle of wands. Stage fright was easier to overcome than her opponents, who came in all walks of life (some more naturally intimidating than others). Over time, Jayden learned to hone her focus and sharpen her concentration to a spear, in order to pierce the veil of illusion of fear intended to distract her. Even if it was “only a game”, Dueling was preparation for the real-world thing. Jayden wouldn’t allow any fear to get the best of her, in learning to stand strong on her own.

Word Count: 415

Year 4 ❖ Blindvision

Reducio

"Yeah, right," Jayden scoffed, stuffing her precious few belongings in the leather drawstring bag to be slung over her shoulder in the morning when she left her grandparents' New York apartment for the summer in Wyoming. At the end of her first year, she had already made a friend and house guest of Hadrian Zuheir, whose ego had bluffed the skills and moxie to "vacation" with her, to which she sneered. "You wouldn't last a day without a toilet and a mirror. And a wand."

It was a challenge she led by example, wand forgotten within the folds of her deerskin dress as she stood at the threshold of the secret entryway, the dim interior light of the cabin against her back, lapping at the wall of abyss before her.

"Scared of a little dark?" Pearly whites flashed, detecting a twinge of apprehension from Hadrian beside her. Moccasins padded their way silently as she stepped forward, enveloping her in shadow. "Need me to hold your hand?" Her chuckle echoed, transitioning from wood to stone. "Relax." She teased, body disconnected, separated by a veil of pitch black. "It's only one way, you know."

If Hadrian thought it couldn't get any worse, being in a dingy old cabin, boy had he been in for a shock when he realized that wasn't where he'd be sleeping tonight.

"Don't be a wimp," Mr. Zuheir stated flatly, before taking the portkey himself to the end destination. Thus marked the start of "boot camp" for his eldest son.

Twenty miles was a hop, skip, and a jump away – provided Hadrian's whining and heavy feet didn't give her a migraine and slow them down.

"Shut up, keep up, or I'll leave you!" She growled irritably.

Stripped of his own wand, at the dictation of his father, Hadrian didn't really have a choice but to follow, unless if he wanted to permanently stay entombed in here.

She knew the main highways like the back of her hand, those tunnels that made up the Village labyrinth. Calling the whole thing a "house" was an understatement, though the complex of caves and cabins was communally inhabited and Jayden referred to it all ambiguously as such. Since toddlerhood, her hands and feet had felt over every pebble and crevice in the tunnel that connected her family's cabin to the Village proper, until she no longer relied on torchlight to navigate each bend, legs measuring out each pace with a preprogrammed sense of direction, and fingertips brushing the air and stone where instinct wavered, after a whole school year since she last trod this path.

Her eyes adjusted swiftly to the familiar dark she had been accustomed to since her youth, imprinted by the Village. Owing to her Fearless nature, she and other children had made a perilous game of who could venture the farthest from the beaten paths, deeper into the belly of the mountain, where ghost stories abounded of those who had wandered off and disappeared, never to be seen again. Magic was not a crutch for the Villagers to lean on at the slightest discomfort. Neither was fire, for sight. Mother Nature knew best, as it had taught her ancestors to embrace the elements around them. Darkness included. Whether it be under a moonlit sky or in the shadowy depths of a cavern, Darkness was not something Jayden craved, but a force she learned to work with, to respect, to accept, and to be prepared for.

Darkness taught her to be calm, first of all. To be stripped of sight, panic and irrational fear of the unknown lurking within the shadows were the first to sink in, paralyze and disorient a victim, and the first she learned to gain control of. Once fear of the dark was conquered, a clear mind could focus on honing the other senses. Not just the immediate hearing, smell and touch, for even those could be deceiving. Whether she be blinded by rain, fog, snow, mud, or underwater depths, trust your instincts was the most difficult to master, bolstered by a heightened awareness to her surroundings, sharpening a photographic memory to her terrain and whereabouts, so in the blink of an eye, whenever the light switched off or weather shifted, she would be able to map her way forward or retrace her steps. Or at least not have a mental breakdown in the middle of wherever she was.

A skill which followed her to the New York City nightlife, and the Dueling arena beyond…

Darkness. The great even playing field. For the world would not be so full of greed in lust for the visual, if everyone were blind. She and Hadrian were simply two lonely souls in the void as she kept up a steady pace, Hadrian calling out every minute or so to complain, if not to keep track of where she was in front of him.

Until the faint orange glow of torchlight appeared over the slope; the ache in her feet nothing compared to her relief that they had made it to the Village just in time for supper.

"We're here," she breathed.

She couldn't wait to show Hadrian the sunrise view from the summits in the morning. If she could drag him out of bed, that was.

Word Count: 878