Atlas Rey | Second Year | Hufflepuff - Encyclopedias

Reducio

At twelve years old Atlas stands at 4’6 having inherited being a little on the short side from her mother. Usually, she doesn’t mind this trait but when faced by a stand-off Atlas will make sure to keep her chin up and her back as straight as possible, trying to appear taller. She has pale skin that doesn’t tan easily but never gives up a chance to get sunburned. Her hair is a bundle of messy waves, a result of straight hair being constantly messed with and tied into buns, braids, and ponytails. It reaches a couple of inches past her shoulders and is a shade that's a mixture of brown and blond, the way it looks depending on the light. Some refer to it as blond, others as dirty blond, and others as light brown. Atlas has gray eyes, with small specks of green that one would notice only if they were to stare straight at them. Her wardrobe consists of her robes, extremely comfortable leggings, and sweatshirts, or pieces of clothing that remind her of her favorite characters. Her scent constantly changes depending on the shampoo and soap she's currently using, but underneath those scents, you can always find a hint of peppermint seeing as Atlas doesn't go a day without sucking on a peppermint candy or covering herself in different peppermint oils.

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| Appearance
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Face Claim: Karolee Jones

Reducio

Atlas comes from a small family home in London, brought up by her parents William and Isabelle Rey. Born in May of 2009, she was one of the youngest in her class at a muggle primary school but never fell behind. Her parents always pushed education, mostly her father who believes that schools don't teach enough and a seven-year-old should be reading a thousand-page book about the history of the world during her summer vacation. Whenever they were together Will would ask Atlas about her reading and knowledge, knowing she would probably disappoint him Atlas avoided conversation with her father at all costs. Instead, she spent her childhood with her nose in fictional novels because they provided a sort of safe haven. Her father wouldn't question her when he saw her reading, whether it was a history textbook or a fantasy novel. After a while, she fell in love with the books she hid behind.

When her Hogwarts letter arrived Atlas was skeptical of it, despite a professor having delivered it and explained magic. Even wondering whether this was some cruel joke being played on her. That night she slept with the letter clutched tightly to her body praying it wouldn't disappear, praying this wasn't just her imagination. The next day she skipped school and instead went to her home library and spent all day trying to find something, anything, about magic, wizards, witches, about Hogwarts. She never did find anything and when she consulted her parents about her doubts it was obvious they thought it was a joke as well. Not until September 1st did they all finally realize magic was real.

Atlas never had the guts to tell her parents what happened the day their library went up in flames. She knew if she did, Grey would have gotten into a whole lot of trouble and Atlas couldn't condemn her little brother to their parent's wrath. It was her tenth birthday and seeing as both of her parents had to work until dusk Atlas had decided to spend the day in the library. With her nose in a book and earbuds blocking out any noise Atlas hadn't noticed her brother walk into the room holding a chocolate cake. Atop the cake stood ten gorgeous golden candles, some of the wax dripping onto it, creating golden splotches on the brown frosting. When Atlas looked up and saw the bright toothy smile on Grey's face, all she could think about was what a good brother he was. The thought that ten lit candles in the possession of a five-year-old could be dangerous hadn't come up. She later wished it had, wished the thought ruined the happy atmosphere because nothing was worth the panic she felt when the cake fell to the ground and the carpet caught on fire. Everything after that moment was somewhat of a blur, her mind circled around two things as the fire spread, getting her brother to safety and the pages of her favorite books that would soon burn away. There was screaming coming from Grey, screams coming out of her own mouth directed at Grey, telling him to run while she scrambled to get to her favorite stories. The ones that held her friends, her family, the ones she couldn't leave behind. But there were too many, her arms couldn't hold them all, and Grey wouldn't leave, and the screams continued, and the flames kept spreading. She couldn't just leave the books behind. They meant too much to her, they meant quite literally everything to her. She felt her palms start to sweat, the heat from the fire getting to her, her head start to spin, tears started running down her cheeks. All Atlas could do was fall to the ground, cover her ears, and pray that Grey wasn't in the room anymore. Later, when Atlas finally opened her eyes the flames were gone and for a couple of seconds she wondered whether she had imagined the whole thing.

A part of her yearned for magic to be real, for what she had done to be real but knowing it was unlikely Atlas buried the memory. Until the letter. Until September 1st.