The month of June was enjoyable. The tall grasses at Valerian Estate in Cotswold were quiet as the moon hung in the sky, waiting for dawn. At one end of the field, there was an acre of land with a few greenhouses and a barn, along with the grand house by the road. A window on the back of the house was open, and a gentle breeze moved the curtains. Suddenly, a small thud broke the silence.

A dim lantern flickered as its holder walked through the mud in rubber boots. The squelching sound filled the air as the figure made its way to the far side of the property. They rounded a hedge and pulled on a tightly fastened latch. The barn door creaked open, revealing a neat interior. Setting the lantern on a hay bale, the figure stood up and looked around the dark space, lit only by the dancing shadows from the flame inside the lantern. Cupping their hands to their mouth, they called softly, "Maybelle..! Where are you?" They listened for a response and heard a familiar tinkle of a bell. The boy sighed with relief as his splotchy cow friend waddled into the barn. He realized they had forgotten to put her back in her stall. His parents were busy with the greenhouses, as usual, since business thrived in the summer.

He wrapped his arms around Maybelle's neck but suddenly froze. His hands and pajama sleeves were covered in a cold, sticky substance. The boy stepped back in shock. Moments later, Maybelle collapsed with a groan. "Maybelle?" His voice rose in worry, and he scooted back quickly. He glanced at the flickering lantern and saw his hands stained red. Blood. His heart raced as he tried to understand what had happened. This wasn't a minor accident; the amount of blood suggested something serious had occurred.

It wasn't new for him to see violence in the barn, given his parents' work with magical plants and animals. Nonetheless, he wondered what had hurt Maybelle. Just then, the barn door slammed shut. Was it the wind? He jumped at the noise and looked back at Maybelle, noticing her breaths were slowing. He gasped, realizing she had died; panic surged through him. As he tried to stand up, his elbow hit the lantern, knocking it over onto the hay. Flames quickly consumed the dry straw, starting a fire. "No, no, no! Crap!" the boy muttered, frustrated at his mistake. The fire spread quickly, threatening the barn's wooden structure.

Shouldn't there be some safety measures on this barn? His parents were more into potions than spells. He shook off the thought and panicked as he watched the fire double in size. He looked again at Maybelle, but a chill ran down his spine. A shadow loomed over her. He squinted through the rising smoke and heard a slurping sound. His heart raced.

A choked noise escaped him as the dark figure moved, blending with the smoke. The figure slowly rose, looking like a nightmare. The boy's heartbeat quickened. The air grew thick and hard to breathe as the flames roared around him. The figure was now just a foot away, and it froze. The boy lost his balance, falling hard, grazing the glass of the lantern. The figure's head tilted, and it inhaled deeply, swirling smoke around it. Their eyes met. A gasp escaped his lips. Its eyes were completely black, and it had fangs; there was no way it was human.

"I- I can get you some food.. or herbs! –if that's what you need-" He choked out. That must be what it was here for, right? It was hungry. How long could it have been lurking around while going unnoticed? Why did it decide to attack now? The boy's gaze shifted from the creature momentarily as the barn creaked with effort under the weight of the flames and smoke. The stability was giving out, and he gulped again. Was he going to be the next victim tonight? For the creature or the barn, he was unsure, but his gut screamed at him to do anything to get away.

Instead, he continued to plead. "Please-" His voice squeaked out. One more step closer, it advanced towards him into the light of the flames and out from the shadows. The boy's spine stiffened as the disconnected pieces finally snapped together. The figure resembled a vampire, much like the one he had seen on a Chocolate Frog Card in his collection. Amarillo Lestotat was his name; he was an author, and the boy was almost sure he had his book in their family library. But this one was different, wild, nearly as if it didn't care about the consequences of its actions.

And then it lunged, its fingers now resembling claws as they sliced through the smokescreen and scraped the boy's back, shredding right through his clothes as it dug into his soft flesh. A suffocated cry escaped him, and smoke began to fill his lungs. The pain was unbearable, a searing burn like the fire that had encased the barn and him with it. Then he was struck again; this time, its fangs pierced the back of his neck, staying attached as the same slurping met his ears. The boy arched his back as he writhed in pain, trying to escape from his confinements. It felt like a lifetime of pain, but realistically, it only lasted a few minutes at most.

The boy's body convulsed against the creature, who held him in a vice grip with its head burrowed into the boy's neck. His own hand clamped on the creature's wrist as his eyes brimmed with tears. His fluttering heart, like that of a startled bird, began to slow. The boy's eyes closed, and his head lulled to the side as his conscience left him. His body had been exhausted, and everything became too much as the thumping of his heart ceased.

This caused the vampire to withdraw its fangs from his neck, blinking down at the boy whose head felt stiff and body limp. Taking a life was easy, but giving it back was nearly impossible. Even in the pitless eyes of the vampire, it recognized potential. The boy never ran. Instead, he spoke to him and tried to show him a shroud of kindness even amidst his fear. A decision was made for the vampire. As the flames licked around the vampire and the boy, he quickly got to work to part the boy's mouth open with one hand. The vampire brought its own wrist to its fangs and bit down, pressing the blood to the boy's lips. It trickled down the side of his mouth at first, the boy staying lifeless as the vampire applied pressure to the boy's throat with his other hand. Soon, he felt the boy's throat bob and constrict once, then twice. The color never returned to him, but his eyelashes began to flutter, his lips wrapped around the vampire's flesh. The boy gagged at first, but the vampire pulled his hair, causing his mouth to expand as the bitterness filled his mouth, encouraging the feeding. Avoiding suffocation from the blood, he'd gulp reluctantly, his mouth mechanically working while his brain remained foggy. In only a few moments, the boy's consciousness had improved tenfold; his eyes opened, and he became alert to his surroundings. He paid no mind to the taste or the action now, as if suckling the blood brought him back from the brink of death. Little did he know.

Suddenly, shouts and footsteps echoed outside, and the beast would twitch at the noise before they revoked their wrist, making the boy fall forward, gasping as blood dribbled down his chin. The door, instead of being slid open, was split down the middle, splinters flying everywhere. Two figures now stood in the doorway, an ax in the hand of one. The other withdrew their wand, casting a Lumos around the smoldering barn frame. A feminine shriek left the wand-producing figure's lips. "Blaize!" The boy wouldn't hear the scream as he was too focused on his own heartbeat and the heat that captured his body. Not from the fire but a sort of strength that coursed through him. What the hell happened? His brain was too woozy to put the pieces together. The figure to which the feminine voice belonged scooped up the frozen boy. He turned his gaze to her; his previously brown-eyed, fearful expression was now a dull, storm-cloud grey. The scene that lay behind them was that of a burning barn, smoke still gathering higher into the air, a shattered glass lantern case, and a dead cow. Unbeknownst to the boy, that wasn't the only thing that died in the barn that day. The event that had occurred that night was one the family would never forget.

(WC: 1478)

Blaize Valerian, eldest child of two and the heir of the Valerian family, a well-known generational potion making family was born into the family on October 9th, 2015 at 6:50am in the Valerian’s work estate located in Covent Garden, located outside of London. He was swiftly greeted by his younger arrival, a sister named Kahira a year later in the same residence.

The family had two homes, their older cobbled and more home-y house near the business centered Covent Garden where their parents sold the mundane portion of their ingredients to the muggles and tourists that frequented. They had another estate, located in Cotswold, located southwest of England where the people were sparser and the land was acres of greenery, perfect away from the eyes of the muggles to raise their two children. There, the magical ingredients were grown in rows of greenhouses where a barn and animals also were kept. As they two grew, they both had the signature red-hair and freckles of the Valerian family, but Blaize detested the title that looming grew closer to his claim with each year passing. His sister on the other hand did everything in her power to gain their parents’ favor, to no success. So, he merely kept his mouth shut and did as he was told, avoiding conflict between his sister or his parents.

That was, until his letter for Hogwarts came. They all expected it, but he was thrilled and nervous to receive it. His first year without his parents’ breathing down his neck all the time, and one year without Kahira sending him death glares. It was a chance to start a-new; he better make it count.

Ting. Ting..! TONG! The attempt to get his mother’s attention failed, as more acorns littered the ground where she stood, hunched over the cauldron. Finally, she stood up and pinched her temple, ushering the boy to take his younger sister out to play. Kids were of no use in the greenhouse, she always said. The boy would grumble, it wasn’t like he wanted to be there anyways, but now he was on babysitting duty. Begrudgingly he yanked his sisters hand to the far side of the property where a few stumps lay under a large oak. Harvesting a few acorns on the ground, he ducked behind the trunk of the tree, getting ready for more target practice, this time on a moving target. While his younger sister was more concerned with getting herself and her clothes dirty, he lined up his first shot, hitting her square in the back. She whirled around and glared at him, which only encouraged his onslaught. Both hands loaded full this time he’d chuck them into the air, a dozen or so at different heights and speeds before a wail left her mouth. That wail could land him a serious talking to. “Wait! Don’t tell mom!” He waved his arms frantically, the acorns halting in their approach, a few inches above her head. The two stared stunned at the scene before they rained down just as quickly as they had frozen, his sister getting pelted nonetheless. And then the waterworks started. But he was too amazed to care. “HEY MOM GUESS WHAT!”

Total: 35
Stamina: 5
Evasion: 5
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 8
Arcane Power: 7
Accuracy: 6

Rea is an 11 year old witch and she was born to muggle parents. She has dirty blonde hair. She has blue eyes and rosy cheeks. She is pretty short. About 4'6. She is really pretty with long eyelashes. Rea is quirky and sarcastic. She sometimes is mean but only to people who are mean to her or her friends. She's loyal and sweet. Rea always defends her friends. She is really smart and bookish. Rea LOVES books.When Rea had to go to Diagon Alley for her supplies, she had bought some books about the History of Wizarding. Since Rea started reading the Wizarding books, she has read more about Hogwarts. She isn't really into Quidditch, she would rather watch from the stands. Rea is really fascinated by Harry Potter's story. She would love to be sorted into Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff doesn't sound that bad either. Rea did NOT want to be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. Rea barely had any friends before Hogwarts. In fact, her only friend was her little sister, Sophi. Her parents were the best. She loved them all so much. The only person at school that she hung out with, was a girl named Ivy. One day, Ivy just disappeared. She was a year older than Rea. When Rea got her owl from Hogwarts, she got two letters. One from Hogwarts and one from... Ivy! Ivy had written and apologized for ghosting her. She explained that she was a witch and she had gone to Hogwarts.

When Rea was 7, she was running from some bullies and somehow she ended up back at her house.

Aislin is the only child of a single mother. Her father left the picture early. As a Muggle-born, his relationship with his family was already tense as he dodged questions about whether he would move back home, away from all that magic they found childish at best and associated with demons at worst. He had yet to tell them he was in love with a witch, much less that he was having a child with one, and he was unprepared to fully sever ties with his parents so he bailed. He’s a professor of astronomy at a wizarding university in Glasgow, now, but even after he staked claim to his own life he never tried to reenter Aislin’s.

In his absence he left an infant and a young witch, Sylvia just starting her career in Potions, who had not been planning on raising a child alone. Luckily, Sylvia had her family close and closer still with the convenience of magical transportation, willing to lighten the load. A wand wood farm had long been in the Darragh family and was where both of Sylvia’s parents and her older sister’s family lived, so Aislin spent many of her pre-tutoring days following her older cousins around, watching her grandfather when he carved a new wand, and searching for bugs in the dirt. And when the farm was too busy for a tiny child, Sylvia’s best friend Christine worked magic to clear her schedule and take over, just as she had worked some kind of magic to land herself in a house just down the street from them. Aislin’s father may have bailed, but Christine was always around right when Sylvia needed her.

Eventually Sylvia took a job that allowed her to fill most potion orders from home so she could be around her kid more, except for when Aislin went to tutoring with the neighboring wizard kids. She let Aislin watch her brew and hand her certain ingredients; the little girl was always quite pleased with herself when she could identify the different plants and animal parts. They have two cats and have Christine over for dinner at least once a week, since she lives alone.

Sylvia and Aislin live in a small town with a predominantly magical community in Longford County, Ireland, in a tiny house surrounded by a lot of nature. Most of Aislin's childhood was spent outside, exploring and making up stories in her head. She gifts little things she finds--rocks, leaves, worms--to the people she cares about, and has been lucky enough to have cousins who don't freak out when she picks up bugs.

The maternal side of Aislin's family is witches and wizards, the occasional Muggle who married in, and a generations-old wand wood farm. Her grandfather is the current torchbearer of the Darragh family wand-making business, which has always been quite a bit slower than the business of selling the wood to bigger wand-making names but is a sacred tradition nonetheless. He is preparing to pass the business on to his eldest daughter. She lives on the farm with her husband, one of the farm hands, and their three children. His wife is a shrewd witch who organizes much of the running of the farm and the coordination with core suppliers.

Aislin's mother is the middle child. Sylvia strayed from the family business of woods and plants, instead pursuing a talent for potions. Her potential was very nearly cut short by a pregnancy she was left to deal with alone, and it still was, to a degree. She rarely mentions Aislin’s father, his non-presence existing only in the gloominess that hangs around her when she is not careful enough to keep it tucked away. Sylvia is happy with what she has, mostly. She just didn’t see herself raising a kid alone, never advancing to a level of potion-making with any real experimentation.

Sylvia's younger brother is a ranger these days, working shifts in parks. He fell for a Muggle with a knack for gardening and in recent years has secured a job that allows him to be in one place enough to raise a kid; now they have a five-year-old and three-year-old. Aislin has five cousins in total, two of which are already at Hogwarts.

The summer she was five years old was the first time Aislin could remember really noticing the sounds at night, croaks and chirps that she pestered her mom to tell her the sources of. All summer they were her companions, but eventually their noises slipped away with the changing seasons and she hated the quiet. After a while of turning over in her bed, the sounds of life returned all at once and she was able to drift off to sleep. Her mother discovered the change in noise specifically in her room when she checked on her before going to sleep herself and realized it for what it was. They celebrated it with a little cake the next day. Of course, Aislin was never able to recreate it, much to her disappointment.

Stamina : 5
Evasion : 6
Strength : 3
Wisdom : 7
ArcPower : 7
Accuracy : 7

Stephen is a tall and thin lad with a pale complexion, he has shaggy light brown hair, blue eyes and glasses. He is a half-blood wizard born to a witch mother Margret Ross (née Wormwood) and a muggle father Angus Ross. They live in a small cottage together on the outskirts of Bristol, England where his dad works as a Mechanic. Stephen’s mum works as a clerk at a small apothecary in Diagon Alley.

Stephen always hoped that he would be magical like his mum as he has always been interested in stories of fantasy and adventure, most of which were fueled by his father, who would tell him all sorts of stories. Some of Stephen's favorite stories were the ones his dad would tell him while they stargazed on summer nights, the stories of heroes and the great monsters that they overcame.

Stephen is a young lad overcome with curiosity and eagerness to learn which was only heightened when he received his Hogwarts letter. Finally he had confirmation that he was magical just like his mum. His first trip to Diagon Alley proper was a blur, but what wasn't a blur was the nights following that led to his start of term. He spent many long hours holed up in his room reading eagerly at his new textbooks, not allowed to practice magic yet he didn't try any spells, but he and his dad did make great use of his new telescope.

Once he finally arrived at Hogwarts, after the agonizing wait since he got his letter, Stephen was swiftly sorted into Ravenclaw house, the same house that his mother had belonged. The house of Knowledge and Wisdom, This seemed like the perfect place for Stephen to begin his academic adventure.

Stephen's first instance of magic was when he was about 6, it was his birthday and he was about to blow out his candles when one of his friends from school ran up behind him and scared him, Stephen let out a shreak and as he did his birthday cake exploded, his parents had quite the time explaining, to the parents of his friends, what had happened. They attributed it to a faulty sparkler cake topper, but none of the parents could seem to remember a topper on the cake.

Taliesin Annwyn is currently the only daughter of the Pureblood Annwyn family; a fact that her parents and guardians never allow her to forget. Taliesin spent the majority of her life at the estate of her family's ancestorial home in Beaumaris, Wales; with the occasional trip to London, Cardiff, or France if her presence was required by her parents. Overall, she was raised in the ideal place for a child's imagination to run wild, surrounded by the sea and woods which supplied her with plenty of inspiration for the stories she created in her mind.

However, despite that, Taliesin was relatively isolated from other children her own age. Her only constant company was her home's House Elves, her Nanny, and her Governess; all of whom held their own role of trying to ensure that the young mistress learned all the rules and expectations of tradition and decorum and other such nonsense befitting her place in Wizarding Society. All of which Taliesin did do her best to meet, but even still managed to fall short of such high expectations more often than not.

Taliesin, through all her attempts to be the perfect Pureblood daughter, often found herself the subject of her parents' disappointed looks. When they were around to offer them, that is. All through her life, her parents would be gone on and off for weeks at a time traveling about for business or for other reasons deemed none of a child's business. As a result, the majority of Taliesin's raising was done by her Nanny and her Governess.

Ms. Morgan (affectionally known as Nanny) for all her sweetness, was a mother figure of sorts and provided Taliesin's main care and comfort, as well as sharing the work load of running the household when Mr. and Mrs. Annwyn were away. Such tasks were shared with Madam Daaé, Taliesin's Governess, who handled all of the girl's studies and deportment, and was far more shrewd, strict and fearsome compared to Nanny. She was a very difficult woman to please. Whatever Madam Daaé said was law, and more often than not even Ms. Morgan was shy to go against her.

This was the tone set for Taliesin's life; a life that was meticulously crafted and planned out to the letter, so long as Taliesin did her part not to ruin it.

Taliesin's first instance of magic occurred when she was just barely four years old, still quite small. The family had just come back home to Wales after finishing the Social Season in London. However, the child's parents already had plans to set off abroad once more after Nanny and their young daughter had settled back down at the estate. This is the time, as Taliesin likes to imagine, before she had come to be a true disappointment to them. The first instance having been born a girl.

When it came time for her parents to leave, Taliesin had clung her her mother's dress, crying pleading and working herself into a full tantrum in an attempt to keep her parents with her. As a result, several old portraits required rehanging, along with the repair of multiple porcelain vases around the foyer. The scene had rewarded the child with an extra few minutes with her parents, and some rarely earned praise for it having been her first display of magic; but ultimately, her parents still went on their way; leaving being an inconsolable toddler in the care of her Nanny.

Aaron Dresden met Síofra Sheehan in university. Aaron was an art student at the time, studying in order to teach the arts to the next generation of amazing children in Kinsale, Ireland. After all, it had been his very own primary school art teacher who had instilled such passion in him all those years ago. He had it all planned out: get his degree, apply for the local primary school, teach every child he possibly could, meet a nice lady, retire, and live a nice quiet lifestyle never leaving his hometown. To him, it was perfect.

Síofra was completely different. While the tall redhead was a very dedicated student, she was much more loose in her life goals. She enjoyed school, of course. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been there. But she believed that life held much more than simply getting a degree and settling down with a comfortable job. She had a spark in her heart for adventure and was always willing to push things a little farther, just for the love of life.

For Aaron, that spark is exactly what made him fall in love. Of course, it was also what gave him the most trouble. Síofra rejected the young man’s advances at first, hesitant to play around with love when all she really looked forward to was travel and change. But after only a week of Aaron making his feelings known, her worldview was turned on its head.

The two quickly became the strongest power couple their friends had ever known, simultaneously dominating their studies while being equally infatuated with each other. For some of their friends, the relationship was a point of jealousy, but for Aaron and Síofra, it was simply their lives now.

Unfortunately, the fantasy soon crumbled, when in their third year of university, Síofra revealed an unexpected pregnancy to her loving boyfriend. It was a shock, to say the least, but the couple felt well equipped to handle it. Aaron dropped his studies almost immediately to get a stable office job and provide for Síofra and his loving parents devoted almost as much to the pregnant young woman.

Sometimes the most one can give is never enough, however, and shortly after Síofra gave birth, she passed away due to a blood infection, leaving her young boyfriend with their child.

Aaron was an exceptional father, by all accounts. He asked for help when he needed, he provided and cared for the baby, and he gave them all the love he had in his heart. After all, he felt as though his child was the only remnant of Síofra that he would ever have again. Aaron raised little Kaito just as he imagined Síofra would have, providing all opportunities for adventure and fun that he could given his tight schedules.

Tragedy struck the young father once again when Kaito was barely two, as the infant’s grandparents were killed in a car accident while going on vacation. Aaron’s only instinct was to love his child even more in hopes that he would make his parents proud.

Kaito grew up with the remnants of their father’s grief in every aspect of their life. While he would never tell the child outright, Kaito always picked up on the somewhat manic idea of love that their father thrust upon them. They always found it a bit weird, but as they got older, it only felt more and more suffocating. This resulted in an awkward amount of tension and space in the little family, as Kaito distanced themself as soon as they were old enough to go to school.

This trend has continued well into Kaito’s time as a pre-teen and, shockingly enough, into their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Christmas time was always somewhat of a nightmare for Kaito. Their father was a big believer in going all out for the holidays, and thus always insisted upon dressing up for family pictures, decorating as much as possible, and cooking the most beautiful meals. Kaito never quite appreciated this about Aaron, but tolerated a good bit of the festivities in order to see their father truly happy. As far as they were aware, the holidays reminded him of their mother, and so they took the idea and ran with it, always taking Christmas as a time to honor the woman they never really knew.

It was Christmas day, and Aaron was busy cooking a feast fit for way more people than just him and his child. A 6 year-old Kaito sat at the table, waiting to help their father if he so requested. They were already quite exhausted, having tolerated their father's smothering for the better part of the day. But as always, they pushed through for the holidays. They watched as their father buzzed around the kitchen, multitasking what Kaito thought to be way too many pots and pans at once. This proved to be a true assumption when Aaron moved to focus on the potatoes. While their father was preoccupied, something caught Kaito's eye. A flame from one of the burners on the stove was getting higher than it normally did. Kaito immediately ran over to the stove to try and put the flame out, but didn't really know how to do so. By this point, the child was more than panicked and couldn't seem to get their father's attention over the egregiously loud Christmas music. They fanned the flame, unsure of what else to do, but the fire only grew higher and higher.

Just as it seemed to lick their hand, the flame disappeared. Kaito stared at the stove before realizing that all four of the burners had somehow been turned off. They glanced at Aaron, wondering if he had somehow managed to do this from across the kitchen. The 6 year-old simply returned to their spot at the table, however decided to watch the stove until dinner was all done. Soon, Aaron saw that the burners had been switched off, however, he simply assumed he had forgotten to turn them on in the first place.

Kaito didn't assume that. They knew better. The instance never really left their mind, and from that Christmas forward, they always insisted on helping and being in the kitchen the entire time. The flame had scared them, but the mystery of its disappearance was almost worse.

Early Childhood
Puck grew up well loved by his mother and father, though his father was growing slightly distant from his family (not that Puck would remember any of this). James was thrilled to have a younger brother and would often take him to the park across the road from their apartment building, play with him, and watch shows and movies with him.
When Puck was three, in late November, his mother left Arthur, and moved back to Perth in Scotland with Puck and James (Again, not that he remembers any of this happening). Their separation occurred in part due to a rift having grown between them as Arthur began to exhibit less-than-nice boyfriend behaviour, but mostly due to the fact that he tried (though obviously failed) to obliviate her upon accidentally performing magic in front of her (not accidental magic, simple dish-washing spell, he simply hadn’t noticed she’d entered the kitchen). After narrowly missing being hit by the spell, Sarah ran and locked herself in James’ room, within which he and Puck were playing.
After half an hour of pacing back and forth, Arthur sighed heavily and sat down, back leaning against the door. He ‘tried’ and failed to apologise, and then gave Sarah a brief explanation of magic and the magical world, telling her that Puck may or may not hold magical talent but that if he did there was a school which would reach out and offer him a place when he was eleven. Then he left.

Being a muggle, Sarah raised Puck in the muggle world, sending him to a muggle school from kindy through to year six, and raising him on muggle customs, culture, and foods. She did not hide the magical world from him, explaining what his occurrences of accidental magic were, and apologising she could not provide him with further information, but ensuring he knew that his father had told her of the existence of a school he would be offered to attend should he demonstrate magical ability and wish to attend.

Pre-Hogwarts (pre-teens/late-childhood)
Growing up, Puck’s magic, mixed with his intense curiosity and hyperactivity meant that he found it hard to fit in, often feeling left out and lonely. He found it hard to make friends, sometimes feeling like he was too much for those around him due to his overly inquisitive, mischievous, and hyperactive nature, or being resented for high performance both academically and athletically. Because of this he often felt lonely, left out, or like he didn’t belong, and endeavoured to entertain himself in order to cheer himself up (this could include reading, climbing, swimming, writing, listening to music, and dancing). When he turned five, his mother enrolled him in parkour and rock climbing classes, and then at Finley’s insistence, Circus as well. He found them to be a reprieve, and would often find himself applying his newfound skills to climbing trees when they’d go camping in national parks. Both he and James attended public schools, rather than the private school his mother went to and taught at. Growing up, Sarah also enrolled Puck in classes to learn Scottish Gaelic and Gaeilge (Irish), because she wanted him to have that knowledge and connection to his nationality.

TRANSITION: Puck was born as Thomas Michael Maudley, and went by ‘Tommy’ and then ‘Tom’ for much of their life. Around the age of eight he started to feel like the name he used didn’t feel right, and the way people referred to him didn’t always fit. Talking to his mother about it, he began to use He/They, before realising he often shifted between them. His brother was the one who recommended changing his name and seeing if that helped, and his mother suggested ‘Puck’ on the grounds that he was ‘A mischievous creature who can’t sit still and takes to wandering the outdoors and 1 in the morning trying to give me a heart attack, just like I’d imagine Shakespeare’s charming creation would,’ and two years later, after his brother was declared legally deceased, he picked Sachin as it was a vaguely-translated, pronounceable version of Spock’s first name, James’ favourite character from a show they both loved.

His gender identity has been one of the reasons he’s felt isolated from his peers over the years, and something he’s worried about when thinking about Hogwarts.

James Briar Maudley went missing on the 14th of October, 2023 (Puck was 10), and was declared dead two months later, on the 15th of December. He was on a week-long, remote camping/climbing holiday with friends, who said that they’d last seen him and another, Mathew ‘Mitch’ Annan, walking down the road to the ‘shops’ (a small roadside store about an hour and a half’s walk away). Both boys were declared missing when they failed to return within three hours and a drive along the road to, and past, the shop failed to find them. Police investigation discovered that there was no record of either James or Mitch on the shop’s CCTV, though they found James’ jacket muddy behind a bush about 15 minutes (walking) from the store. The jacket had traces of blood on it, and though it could not be cross-referenced with James’ (who had nothing in a database), it matched Mitch’s, and was instrumental in the switch from missing to deceased. No further information or leads were found, and the case was closed and declared ‘cold’.

It hit both Puck and his mother hard, and two weeks later Puck was pulled out of school due to a number of occurrences of accidental magic, the most notable of which involved three boys falling from the top of the school-yard flagpole after a bout of magic threw them up when they’d started talking about James.

A year and a bit of therapy has helped both him and his mother come to terms with it, but Puck still refuses to believe his brother is dead and won’t talk about him to anyone. He wears their old climbing communication device on a necklace, and writes letters to James every now and then, which are stored in the Doctor Who tin underneath his bed. He also managed to retrieve James’ jacket from evidence once the case was closed, repairing the few tears, and scrubbing the blood out (there’s still a rather large stain on the inside of the left front panel). He’s caught his mother talking to the stars or into the fire late at night sometimes, but never sticks around to hear what she’s saying, not wanting to intrude.

Puck received his Hogwarts letter on the 2nd of July, 2025.

When he was four, whilst in Morar for the summer holidays, Puck was swinging on a tree branch overhanging the water of the loch near his grandparents house when the branch snapped and he fell in. Though he was on the edge of the loch, the water was deep as it was a rocky drop-off, and being four, Puck could not swim and sank. Having heard the crack of the broken branch and the following splash, Puck’s mother ran to the edge and dove in, swimming to the bottom (about two and a half metres) in a panic only to find him sitting quite happily on the stone loch-bed, playing with the loose pebbles around him, and quite ‘miraculously’ breathing perfectly fine. Upon being picked up and returned to the surface he threw a spectacular tantrum, not understanding why he was not allowed to play in this new-found and quite interesting environment.

After his first instance of magic, Puck's mother kept a detailed record of all instances and possible instances of magic surrounding him. Times when she'd try and feed him food he didn't want and suddenly the plate held chocolates and apple in place of chicken and peas. When she'd been frustratedly arguing with a landlord on the phone and suddenly it had burst into flowers and she'd turned to find Puck sitting morosely on the stairs. When he'd come downstairs in the morning with his hair blue. Times when he'd fall and come away miraculously uninjured (though as he gained more confidence in both his abilities to climb, and his abilities to fall safely, those times he did take a tumble, his magic no longer softened the fall). When his tics presented, there were times when they would involve magic. These were few and far between, but did occur, including accidentally conjuring glitter, sneezing a small gust of wind, and changing his water into apple juice (something he'd done as a child quite often when upset).

Stamina: 5 * Evasion: 4* Strength: 5 * Wisdom: 6 * Arcane Power: 8 * Accuracy: 7

Amelia, a girl of American nationality, grew up in a large house in the countryside of England, walking to school every day. Even though she didn’t have a room of her own, but shared one with her parents and brother, she never complained, and even learnt to enjoy being all together. Her parents worked hard to ensure she had a good life. They also expected her to do well in school so she would have the choice to do anything she wanted when she grew up. Her father worked as a computer engineer from home and her mother took care of the housework, leaving her free to study and play as she wished.
Her family was one with orthodox religious beliefs. Every day, she would pray to god before going to sleep and after waking up for good to bless her with a good day. She would usually eat fresh food prepared at home.

She loved playing games with her family and brother, and especially liked an Indian game called pallanguzhi (which she had learnt from her cousins who lived in south India. She also spent some of her free time outside playing with her neighbours and friends every evening and she would make optimum use of the recess in school, and the rest in reading storybooks, which she was very fond of.

She also learnt money management at a young age from her father and her school financial education course. After learning so much about money and finance, She was keen to take a job and earn. She was impatient to go into the world and earn, but her parents first insisted she finish her education with a straight A+ average before thinking of taking a job,

She would spend all her time in the muggle world, not knowing there was a wizarding one,as her father had kept his magical powers a secret from her. He finally discloses it when she created her first bit of accidental magic.

Amelia's first instance of magic occured when she was seven, and the ball with which she was playing volleyball with flew over the compound wall. she thought it would land in the lake, but it suddenly turned back in mid air and flew back to her. This surprised her and decided not to tell anyone about it. She was so excited when she found out she was a witch.