GENERAL INFORMATION

Name: Magdalena Amelie Juliette Wickham-Deakin Age: 48 (15 June 1976) Species: Human (Muggleborn) Hometown: Bournemouth, England Height: 5'9"

Occupation: Head of Slytherin Prior Occupation: Academic/Potion Master Alma Mater: Hogwarts Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw Hufflepuff Slytherin Patronus: Great white pelican

APPEARANCE

Magdalena is a relatively tall woman, standing at approximately 5'9". She is possessed of a rather slender build, albeit boney as opposed to soft. Tendons and bones become her, most notably in her hands, her fingers are long and spindly and are more oft than not dyed with some form of reagent or ingredient. Her hair is a vibrant shade of red, a colouration that carries across much of her features, rosy undertones punctuate her skin and pale blue eyes serve to contrast the reds. Crows' feet and other such laughter lines punctuate her eyes, and evidence of a life spent broadly outdoors has left her skin rather darker than one would expect. When combined with the easy confidence with which she holds herself, Magdalena appears the sort to be just as comfortable in some remote locale as at a charity dinner for movers and shakers within the wizarding community.

All in all, she is almost always well put-together, dressed professionally, albeit in a rather masculine fashion, with few hairs out of place. Well-tailored suits and leather boots that are equal parts functional and fashionable serve as her general daywear, although she is not opposed to dress robes where the situation requires.

PERSONALITY

Magdalena is equal parts severe and forgiving. She has little time for those who fail to help themselves, and is struck by naught but contempt for those who would seek to blame their problems on others. Of course, such an outlook fails to extend to children, who she has the utmost care for. Accordingly, her approach varies considerably based upon whom she is conversing with. For Magdalena, work and productivity, the thrill of discovery and learning form the crux of her ambitions and she holds that others should possess the same desire. She has little time for those who rest upon their laurels, nor does she have time to ever organise anything. She is a profoundly messy woman.

Her office and workspace appear, to the casual observer, as pure realms of chaos. But everything has a place, albeit one that she has memorised mentally and without care for a proper system of documentation, and everything lives in such a place. A system that is utterly arcane to anyone but the professor. This approach is ultimately reminiscent of her approach to life, and of her personality as a whole. She possesses a severe focus, and is of the opinion that the path that one takes is almost certainly the correct one for their situation, provided that they own their mistakes and do not rely on others for support. Such are the lessons she wishes to impart to the students in her charge, self-responsibility and independence.

Still, in spite of her work ethic, she does find time for the finer things in life. Magdalena is the sort of woman who believes that life is divided in two parts, work and relaxation. Fine Scottish whisky or an occasional puff from a pipe proving her personal weaknesses. Moreover, her travels abroad have left her with a particular way of speaking, her words littered with terms borrowed from Australasian and Malay colleagues, and casual and formal speech more often than not mixed together without apparent forethought.

BIOGRAPHY

Magdalena was born to an upper middle class muggle family in Bournemouth, Dorset. Neither of her parents had grown up wealthy, her father's family having lived in the county since time immemorial and her mother the child of Polish immigrants, but they had been comfortable enough. Yet, their fortunes did prove to rise and as such, they saw fit to ensure that their daughters would receive nothing but the best. Even before the gift of magic first materialised, the shattering of a window during a particularly frightful argument with her sister, her childhood was particularly loving and doting.

Of course, once that gift was made plain, she found herself at Hogwarts, where she excelled academically. Hard work and natural aptitude soon found her particularly gifted in the study of potions. A study that would lead her to a very brief stint in the Ministry of Magic following her graduation. Although, she soon found herself tired of the bureaucracy and paperwork and instead opted to enter the realm of academia and study.

Her work took her abroad for much of her adult life, with a bulk of her time spent working in and around the southern Pacific, particularly in Malaysia and later Polynesia. Magdalena found herself experimenting with exotic plants, learning from wizards both local and fellow foreigners, her skill in potioncraft greatly developing by the intermixing of traditions and knowledge.

Two children, a divorce, and many years later, she found herself returning home to England, where she would spend much of her time publishing recipes and furthering her studies. Before a chance opportunity to ply her craft and impart her passion upon the youth at Hogwarts took her fancy.

Having commenced work at the school in the early days of 2022, her children, both of whom are closer to finishing school than commencing it, remain in Singapore, where their father continues to work in the realm of potioneering. Holidays, however, are more often than not spent with their mother under the intermittently gray skies of southern England. Although, as of recently, they find themselves sharing their breaks with Magdalena's new fiancé. A muggle fiancé.

The latest chapter of Magdalena's professional career took place during the summer of 2022, where she changed her role at Hogwarts from Professor of Potions to Head of Hufflepuff. Fortunately, the relocation of her office from the dungeons to the cozy badger common room was relatively uneventful. Approximately a year after taking the role of Head of Hufflepuff, she would return the title of 'Head Badger' to Caradoc Browne and take up the vacated position as Head of Slytherin, returning once more to the dungeons.

FAMILY & RELATIONS