FULL NAME
Her full name is Helena Ismene Darrow. Her first and middle name are both Greek, meaning “shining light” and “knowledge” respectively, while her surname is Scottish and means “oak tree.”

NICKNAMES
Her most common nickname is Nellie, but she also goes by Lene, Lenie, and Lena.

AGE & DOB
Currently eleven years old, Helena was born March 13th, making her a Pisces.

BLOOD STATUS
She comes from a long line of pure bloods.

YEAR
As of now, Helena is a first year.

HOUSE
Helena is a proud, if unanticipated, Slytherin.

WAND
Her wand is made of cherry wood with a snallygaster heartstring core, and is about twenty-nine centimeters long.

PATRONUS
Her Patronus is currently unknown.

PERSONALITY
If Helena were to be described in a single word, it would likely be "caring." With a golden heart and an open mind, she's always willing to provide a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. Her loyalty to those who find a place in her heart is admirable, even if it does sometimes blind them to their flaws. She always finds some way to show her adoration, whether it's through a warm hug when one is needed or a good laugh provided when sadness seems to be taking over.

Possessing an optimistic nature and an uncanny ability to find the bright side in almost any situation, she's good at spreading the hope she seems to always possess onto those around her. Helena has a huge soft spot for anything smaller and weaker than herself, and with her huge imagination, has a knack for entertaining children, since she’s able to come up with wild stories and fun games on the spot. Because of these traits, combined with her playful demeanor, light sense of humor and innocent disposition, she's garnered a reputation among those that know her well as being a complete sweetheart.

It’s the “getting to know her” part that’s the problem.

After all the children they had lost, her parents were incredibly protective. They didn’t want her roughhousing with other children, or going over to anyone else’s house. They were terrified of leaving her wellbeing to fate, and so they coddled her, never letting her out of their sight and subsequently never giving her the chance to spread her wings. As a result, despite being overwhelmingly kind and positive once she’s close to someone, Helena is cripplingly shy and struggles to make friends.

She lacks confidence in her social abilities, and her insecurity is blatantly clear when she tries to reach out to others. That doubt certainly isn’t helped by her embarrassment over her heavy Greek accent and self-proclaimed “complete lack of any sort of magic ability.” While she has discovered a natural affinity for divination, most of her other attempts at magic tend to fail and fizzle out. This only makes her even more apprehensive about interacting with other magical children, for fear that they’ll be miles ahead of her and she’ll be mocked for falling behind.

In short, imagine a faun riddled with anxiety. That faun is Helena.

ORIENTATION
Helena doesn't have a solid grasp on her orientation at the moment, but she's starting to get an inkling that she might be interested in girls.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Carrying on the faun metaphor, it’s no wonder that a baby deer is the animal Helena is most commonly compared to. She’s tall for her age, standing at five feet and three inches, with a slender physique and long, bony limbs that she often trips over. Her face is round, set with a button nose and pink lips, and her eyes are wide, round, and brown, framed by long eyelashes.

Her skin is rather fair, cheeks naturally rosy, and while mostly blemishless, she does consistently have tiny abrasions on her fingers due to having a tendency to pick at her skin when she’s nervous. Dark brown in color and soft to the touch, she keeps her hair cropped to her chest, despite her mother’s griping about how lovely she’d look with long locks.

BACKSTORY
There were many attempts at a Darrow heir before Helena.

None lived past infancy, if they even survived long enough to be birthed, but still, Somerled and Melinoe tried, because every pure blood family needed an heir and, more than that, they both desperately wanted a child. Time and time again, they would get their hopes up, would search for the right name, would spend hours buying diapers and toys and baby clothes, only to have their hearts broken. Eventually, they stopped trying. Somerled was fifty-two, and Melinoe was only a little younger at forty-eight. They were too old to bear a child now, too gray, and if their babies didn’t survive when they were young and healthy, they certainly wouldn’t now. So, they let dust settle over the nursery, and tried not to grieve.

Helena was a miracle.

A miracle, and a complete accident. See, she was actually supposed to be one of a set—twins—and that fact alone was enough for the Darrows to curb their tentative hopes. They were sure the babies would never survive, and sure enough, only minutes after being born two months too early, Helios Darrow passed away. Helena Darrow did not.

The first year was rough. Helena was tiny and weak, prone to sickness and colic. She didn’t walk until she was a year and a half old, didn’t talk until she was three. Every moment, the Darrows were waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it never did. Though she was sickly, Helena continued to grow. She developed slow at first, but caught up quickly. By the time she was five years old, Helena was happy and healthy as could be. She was her parents’ treasure, their miracle, and there wasn’t a day that went by that they didn’t make sure she knew it. They spent every moment they could with her, playing games and chasing her until their feet ached, kissing her head into their lips were dry, reading her stories until they couldn’t speak. Helena Darrow grew up wanting for little and knowing that she was loved more than anything.

She also grew up lonely.

After all the children they had lost, her parents were incredibly protective. They didn’t want her roughhousing with other children, or going over to anyone else’s house. They were terrified of leaving her wellbeing to fate, and so they coddled her, never letting her out of their sight and subsequently never giving her the chance to spread her wings. As a result, despite being kind, Helena is cripplingly shy and struggles to make friends. She lacks confidence in her social abilities, and that insecurity is blatantly clear when she tries to reach out to others.

That doubt certainly isn’t helped by her self-proclaimed “complete lack of any sort of magic ability.” While she has discovered a natural affinity for divination, most of her other attempts at magic tend to fail and fizzle out. She’s never had any bursts of accidental magic and her purposeful attempts at using it have been futile. This only makes her even more anxious about interacting with other magical children, for fear that they’ll be miles ahead of her and she’ll be mocked for falling behind.

Helena hopes, desperately, that her time at Hogwarts will help her outgrow her insecurities, but she isn’t quite sure how to start down the path to confidence just yet.

- None yet

FAMILY
Given that her parents are both in their late fifties-early sixties and only children, it stands to reason that Helena doesn't have much family outside of them. All the same, Somerled and Melinoe more than make up for the lack of extended family. While they're far from perfect, Helena's parents absolutely dote on her. They don't spoil her, but they make sure she never goes without something she needs, and they make sure she's never lacking attention or affection. The only other family Helena has is her batty great-aunt Olympia, who she's only met once or twice. The woman is prone to incomprehensible rambling and is very forgetful, but she's friendly enough, and secretly, Helena actually really likes her. Still, her parents think she's a bad influence, and keep Helena away from her.

FRIENDS
Her parents' protectiveness prevented her from making any friends in her early childhood and she's only just started Hogwarts, so she doesn't have any friends yet.

ENEMIES
For much the same reasons as her lack of friends, Helena doesn't have any enemies yet, and hopes that she never will.

STRENGTH
4

AGILITY
11

CONTROL
8

STAMINA
7