Nessie Swansea | Second Year | Hufflepuff

⥽──── . CHARACTER BASICS . ────⥼

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❧ FULL NAME ───── Vanessa Wilda Swansea ❧ HOUSE & YEAR ── Hufflepuff Second Year ❧ BIRTHDAY ───── 17 November, 2009 ❧ RESIDENCE ───── Kingswood, England ❧ STATUS ─────── Wizardborn ❧ SPECIES ─────── Human (Seer) ❧ PRONOUNS ───── She/Her ───────────────

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⥽────── . APPEARANCE . ──────⥼

❧ HAIR ────── Brown, wavy mess ❧ EYES ────── Brown, warm ❧ SKIN ────── Fawn / tan ❧ HEIGHT ──── Below average ❧ BUILD ───── Athletic, agile ❧ WAND HAND ─ Left-handed ────────────

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⥽───────── . MAGIC . ─────────⥼

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❧ WAND ───────────────── LENGTH: 28,0 cm ─ WOOD: Cherry CORE: Dragon heartstring ❧ ERISED ──────────────── Unknown ❧ AMORTENTIA ───────────── Petrichor, lime, and pine ❧ POLYJUICE ────────────── Bubbly yellow; tastes of dandelion & lake water ❧ BOGGART ─────────────── Likely: family & friends in danger ❧ PATRONUS ────────────── Unknown ────────────────────────

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⥽──────── . HISTORY . ────────⥼

Reducio

Leona Bird and Valerian Swansea met at Hogwarts, where they were friends for most of their time as students, before falling in love during their seventh year. The couple were married soon after graduation, and settled in Norwich. Although neither the Bird nor the Swansea families consider themselves pureblood, both sides of the family have wizarding lineage reaching back generations. The young Swansea couple frequently played host to the magical folk in the extended family who stopped by to visit, and their home was a bright, busy, and happy one.

A few years into Leona and Valerian's marriage, they welcomed a daughter. Vanessa Wilda Swansea was born 17th November, 2009 in Norwich, but she was soon nicknamed Nessie. The family of three lived happily on modest means: they had enough to get by and they had each other, and that was enough.

However, their joy was only temporary. Valerian’s grandfather, a Seer, prophesied that doom would come to the couple. The prophecy made no mention of their child, so Nessie’s parents made the difficult decision to cut ties with their daughter and their families, in an effort to protect others from the danger in their future. They have not been seen or heard from since they entrusted Nessie’s care to Leona's aunt Lulu, shortly before Nessie’s second birthday. [If Nessie ever learns anything about her parents, it will be that they are missing. They are in fact dead, but their disappearance and deaths will remain an unsolved mystery.]

Lulu, a skilled witch and retired Obliviator, had been one of the frequent family visitors to the Swansea home before the prophecy, and was always very fond of her niece, Leona. Lulu never had any children of her own, but she took Nessie in without hesitation. Nessie does not remember her first home, nor does she remember her parents - all she knew before Hogwarts was her life with her great-aunt Lulu in Kingswood.

Lulu spends her time caring for her garden, her many pets, and Nessie. Lulu keeps to herself and is disciplined and serious, showing her care for Nessie through her actions. Lulu refuses to talk about the past: Nessie does not know anything about her parents, the prophecy, nor anything about Aunt Lulu's life prior to taking her in. Lulu supervised Nessie's homeschooling lessons before Hogwarts which included standard fare such as reading, writing, and mathematics; but also physical training with an emphasis on self-defense, because Lulu has been very protective ever since the prophecy and wants Nessie to able to protect herself, just in case the danger comes for her too. Nessie has also learned kindness and respect for all living things from helping to care for Lulu's plants and animals. Nessie considers the pets and flowers to be her friends, as she has had very few interactions with other children her age prior to Hogwarts.

Nessie's first observed use of magic was at age five. Nessie would ‘help’ Aunt Lulu with the garden - at that age mostly she would follow her aunt around and look at the plants, chatting to them excitedly. One day, as Lulu and Nessie made their rounds, the little girl discovered that her favorite flower had been flattened by last night’s intense rainstorm: alive, but very much injured. Tears welled up in Nessie’s eyes, but much to her surprise the plant began to heal and was soon standing proudly back up. Lulu observed the incident, but as magic runs in the family she was not surprised and did not make a big deal out of it.

Nessie loves nature and is very kind and compassionate. She spends as much time as possible outdoors and likes to explore the forests and fields nearby. In summer, Aunt Lulu occasionally brings Nessie to the beach, where Nessie likes to go swimming and collect shells and pebbles. Nessie especially likes plants and animals - as she has known many more of them than she has other people - but she’s looking forward to meeting and befriending other children. Nessie is eager to please and impressionable, so she has learned hard work and discipline from her great aunt. As Nessie’s childhood has been rather sheltered, she can be rather naive and oblivious. She views attending Hogwarts as a grand adventure, and has very optimistic and idealized expectations for it.

As for her appearance, Nessie is shorter than average with brown eyes and wavy brown hair that falls a little past her shoulders. Nessie is an active child, so she chooses clothing for comfort and practicality when possible. Due to all the time she spends outside, her skin varies from a lighter fawn in the colder months, to warmer tawny tones in the summer with the occasional sunburn. Nessie often looks unkempt: covered in dirt and grass-stains, with her hair wildly out of place. When Nessie’s hair is messily pulled back, it’s a sign she’s trying to focus.