Name: OliviaCharacter name: Grace Howard
Feature you are applying for: Unregistered Animagus | Carrion crow (
Corvus corone)
Identifying marking: Faint white flecks (representing her freckles) scattered across her body
a b o u t g r a c e
her story: Grace was born to Cedella Howard, a young Magbob/Muggleborn Jamaican woman who had left her home country in search of a different life for herself. Despite not knowing the identity of her well-to-do Muggle father until she was a young adult, Grace was raised by a loving community: dozens of ‘aunties’, ‘uncles’, and ‘cousins’ in the form of their fellow Jamaican neighbors in Lewisham, in addition to her hardworking single mother. Grace learned the value of ‘getting her hands dirty’ early in life – and was stubborn and opinionated, to boot. Despite being teased during primary school for her abundance of freckles, her mother’s job as a housekeeper, or some combination of these, Grace proved to be resilient and fiery. Joining the wizarding world meant a fresh start, and she fell upon the opportunity with alacrity. She formed a few close friendships and became enamored with the possibility of a career Curse Breaking, craving the prospect of adventure, hands-on experience, and needing to think on her feet. At about the same time she began more closely researching the process of becoming an Animagus, and found herself drawn not only to the challenge but also to the opportunities that it, too, would offer her. Since graduation she has lived in at least six different countries, mastered her Animagus training, served as an unofficial informant for the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War, been captured by Snatchers, escaped those captors, and been involved with recent plots at Hogwarts including the infamous Dome and Gauntlet as well as – more recently – disappearing ghosts.
personality: As the cliché goes, big things come in small packages: the half-Jamaican is not one to be underestimated. She tends to have a
strong personality, with a naturally
loud (though not with the intent of being obnoxious) and
commanding presence. Grace typically prefers to assume a role as a
leader; though she isn’t necessarily averse to sitting back and letting others do the work if it’s not something she’s particularly interested in. When it comes down to it, however, she can generally be counted upon to do her share. Don’t expect her to keep her tongue in check if she’s feeling particularly
passionate about something: Grace is
vocal and
outspoken, with a
questioning mind and naturally
suspicious,
mistrustful, and
skeptical demeanor. She can be painfully
stubborn and almost never backs down from a fight – metaphorical or literal – for better or for worse. Grace has a penchant for
impulsivity (at least when it comes to mundane things), and is often of the opinion that it’s better to act first and ask questions later.
Sometimes this can snowball into conflict, at which point her
argumentative tendencies emerge; she
despises being wrong, and at the extreme she can be outright
defensive. It does not help that she – unlike her stoic mum – is
easily provoked: the main reason she got into as much trouble as she did growing up, teased about her freckles and her lack of a father figure to the point where she ultimately figured out that punching people in the jaw tended to shut them up pretty quickly. “Get over it†is not a turn of phrase that comes easily to Grace. She has a tendency to be
grudge-bearing and she struggles to let go of incidents easily, especially if they were highly emotionally-charged; likewise, positive acts stick with her just as steadfastly.
In her early school years, Grace struggled with self-consciousness. But since she learned she was a witch, her self-confidence skyrocketed; she has since grown into a
proud,
independent young woman.
Ambitious and slightly power-hungry, she greedily drank in all that the magical world had to offer. Unsurprisingly her experiences in both the Muggle and magical worlds have led her to be highly
selective – of friends, of whom she places her trust in, and so on – and
hard-shelled. With the exception of precious few people, Grace tends to be more
self-serving than openly altruistic; she’s not ruthless or cold, but her first instinct is typically not to put others before herself. She is
adaptable and
resourceful; traits which have served her well on the job.
A likely product of her childhood, Grace often displays
frugal tendencies and
despises wasteful behavior: this applies to food, money, etc. It irks her to no end when people blow their money on ‘stupid’ things, buy extravagant material objects just to keep up with the Joneses, and deliberately live well outside their means – even though she knows full well that it’s none of her business what other people spend their money on. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she is very much the
minimalist and is relatively
unsentimental. Even now that she makes enough money to indulge on material things if she so wishes, her flat is sparsely but comfortably furnished, and sensibly but cozily decorated. Her closet contents are significantly diminished when compared with the average witch or wizard, and she keeps only a few personal possessions. While not stereotypically a neat and tidy person, she does not like clutter because it is not an essential item and adds nothing of value to her life.
w h y i t f i t s
the feature: I’ve been an active member of the MH community for over twelve years, and this will be my very first SF application. It is not something I have taken lightly; I never really had a character that it would ‘make sense’ for, and thus never pursued it. Grace has been a long-term project (as many of my WIPs tend to be) and over the past two or so years that she’s been hibernating in my box, I tried to go ahead with writing her without the feature just to get the wheels turning – but stalled and had difficulty making progress. Once I made the decision to go ahead with the SF, things began to fall more easily into place. Not only did the difficulty of the training fit her personality, but it also provided interesting character development opportunities for her as a Muggleborn navigating the Second World War during her young adult years and also given her line of work.
Her academic interests and strengths lend themselves well to the rationale of pursuing Animagus training. Grace quickly gravitated towards Transfiguration and before long it proved to be her best class, which was only augmented by her dogged pursuit of absorbing all that the magical world had to offer. She is also one of those rare people who held some degree of interest in History of Magic, albeit less about the nitty-grittiness of dates and more about how people lived and what things were like at various points in history. From there, her keen interest in old magic was hardly a stretch, which ultimately led her down the rabbit-hole to Curse Breaking; often described as a variation of Muggle anthropology and archaeology mixed with code-breaking or hacking, it is certainly something that appeals to Grace.
As described above, she is an ambitious young woman constantly seeking to prove herself (whether she realizes it or not); even if she wasn’t particularly interested in the topic for other reasons, the sheer challenge posed would likely be enough to lure her in, if only
just to prove that she could do it. Her sense of personal accomplishment (and pride) would be significant motivating factors. At the same time, however, this is not a reckless and rash decision of hers made with no foresight: she knows this is a dangerous undertaking even under the most supervised circumstances, and has thus done her research thoroughly. She has adopted the same approach for her career choice: a calculated adrenaline rush. She craves a challenge and adventure as well as knowledge, but at the same time takes high-risk operations very seriously. Resourceful and unafraid to ‘get her hands dirty’, when the going gets tough one won’t find her turning up her nose. As discussed below being an Animagus is useful for her career path, has served as a helpful means of non-magical travel, and was integral in her escape after she was imprisoned by Snatchers during the Second Wizarding War.
With regard to her pursuit of the unregistered route: Grace harbors a general mistrust for and suspicion of others, and vastly prefers to do things alone more often than not so that none may be privy to her secrets – or her weaknesses. She is quite vocal by nature (and particularly struggles with self-control when she holds a strong opinion) and resents feeling as though she’s at a disadvantage, doing just about anything in her power to allow herself the best possible opportunity for success.
the crow: It is said that – as a totem – ‘crow people’ tend to find a balance between cities and wild places, but are often drawn or tied to more urban settings. Described as fearless and insistent, they are relentless in pursuit of their goals in the face of any and all adversity: and often succeed. The crow is said to symbolize intelligence, adaptability, survival skills, resourcefulness, ambition, and cunningness. It also represents change, which may be positive (growth) or negative (destruction).
Like other members of their genus, crows are highly intelligent in a manner that rivals (or matches) most primates: they can discriminate between numerology up to 30, manufacture and use tools, exhibit episodic-like memory, flexibly provide for future needs, exhibit vocal learning, master elaborate tests of object permanence, flexibly switch between rules to make decisions (hallmark of executive control functions), and recognize both human and crow faces. Carrion crows are inherently scavengers but often consume whatever food sources are available, such as insects, earthworms, fruits, seeds, and even small mammals.
In the wild, crows are territorial and will not hesitate to actively harass predators or competitors that get too close for comfort; whether in defense of their offspring or territory, or in an attempt to steal kills from birds of prey or even foxes. They often come together to defend themselves by means of group mobbing behavior, and similarly will occasionally cooperate with other crows to execute kills. Crows are vocal creatures; they tend to choose a high vantage point and call three or four times in rapid succession.
p l o t s
At this point in Grace’s life,
historical events hold much of the initial weight and incentive for Grace’s decision to pursue Animagus training and ‘why it fits’ her as a person.
telling her best friend: In her Sixth Year Grace is caught by her best friend,
Honey, as she attempts to find a spot to carry out the second phase of the Animagus ritual. This is a thread that can easily be Timeturnered.
‘near misses’: Similarly to above, there are plenty of Timeturner opportunities for ‘near misses’ that Grace has had over the years. These can include instances where she was still undergoing the training, as well as after successful transformation. She is exceptionally secretive about her ability, and would go to great lengths to ensure it stays as such.
the Second Wizarding War: The events leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts provided two key opportunities for Grace to utilize her Animagus ability. The first was as an informant, allied with (but never actually a member of, as she never knew the name) the Order of the Phoenix. Because crows were not traditional messengers in the wizarding world, she was never searched or targeted in the way that owls were, and thus was able to smuggle coded messages with relative success. The second was that her ability to transform was integral in allowing her to escape after she was captured by Snatchers; though she was nearly caught on several occasions. Her escape directly segued into the ‘survivor’s guilt’ she experienced between that moment and the Battle of Hogwarts, and heavily influenced the decisions she made in the interim.
other regional/board-wide events: Grace has been involved with two principal Hogwarts plots to-date: the dome (investigating the ancient magic, then helping evacuate students when it came down) as well as more recently investigating the mysterious disappearances of the resident ghosts. Her Animagus form was helpful for fast and efficient reconnaissance in locating and signaling students needing assistance in the aftermath of the dome; she was able to fly through the castle, and Apparation/Disapparation cannot be accomplished on Hogwarts grounds.
There is also ample opportunity for
current and
future utility.
her career: As a Curse Breaker, Grace faces a myriad of challenges in her day-to-day work. Her ability to transform into a crow would be particularly helpful for reconnaissance, especially when she receives a new assignment or is sent to an unfamiliar region. She would have the literal advantage of a ‘bird’s-eye view’, as well as the ability to communicate with similar avian species to gather useful information about the area. It may also allow her to get past enchantments designed to keep humans out.
current worldwide events: With the political climate out-of-sorts once again thanks to Swedish Minister Nyström, Grace may have an opportunity to reprise her role as an informant and/or messenger. She is wary of being put in such a precarious position for a second time, but could ultimately be convinced given that the threat is not immediately on her home turf. Additionally, her job stations her literally all over the world, thus providing an opportunity to use her abilities in any geographic location.
being ‘found out’: To-date, Grace has somehow (to her knowledge) managed to keep her Animagus ability unknown to others with the exception of
Honey. This leaves the door wide-open to possibilities in which her cover is blown, or someone connects the dots and discovers her ability and confronts her in real-time. The discovery could be benign, or used against her as blackmail.
t h e c r o w i n f l i g h t
Agoyán, Ecuador | February 1995
Fixing a beady eye on the entrance to the mountain pass below, the roosting crow did her best to obscure herself among the canopied leaves of the ceiba tree in which she was perched. How long had it been since that Spanish-looking wizard started prowling about? Fifteen minutes? Thirty? She wished he’d just
leave already. She didn’t like being followed. She didn’t like other Ministries’ employees knowing she was there, if she could help it.
Not that he really
knew she was there, she supposed; only one person knew what she looked like in this form. But her particular species was not native to anywhere in South America, and so she had to tread carefully. Or flap carefully. Whatever. Regardless, Grace had always been more of a ‘work alone’ type; though, when in a good mood, could occasionally be persuaded to play nicely in the sandbox.
The Animagus wrapped her talons around her perch for good purchase and, unfurling her wings, flapped them twice – her corvid equivalent of impatiently tapping her foot. The sunlight caught the purple-green gloss of her feathers, her identifying faint white flecks nearly invisible in the brilliant southern-hemisphere summer (she was just
barely south of the equator, after all) but popping back into view under the shade of the surrounding leaves.
Her keen hearing picked up the rustle of wings, sharp eyes zeroing in on the shifting of leaves in a
very focused breeze. The branch upon which she was perched swayed slightly as a second added weight settled gently onto it. Grace the crow whipped her head around, eying the newcomer. It was a hawk of some kind, eying her up with what seemed like interest – but in a curious manner or a hungry one, she couldn’t quite discern. She was still getting used to speaking and miming ‘bird’, for crying out loud. She let out a warning quork, posturing to make herself look larger and angrier.
‘My spot. Don’t mess with me. Shove off,’ was the message she was attempting to relay. The hawk tilted its head. She still couldn’t read exactly what was going on, but she didn’t like it. The half-Jamaican ruffled her feathers – and when it
still didn’t take the hint, she lunged, jabbing her beak into the empty space between them and flexed her wings in what she hoped was a menacing fashion. With a seemingly indignant
squawk the hawk took flight, and Grace sighed internally with relief. She’d conveniently forgotten that some birds of prey went after
other birds, and not just small mammals. Thankfully, she’d had
plenty of practice telling people to stick it where the sun don’t shine. Fortunately, also, she’d managed to not fall out of the tree this time. Progress!
Resettling herself, the twenty-one-year-old resumed her watch. She wasn’t quite sure why it didn’t occur to her before, but birds in other parts of the world
sounded different from her native – almost as though they, too, spoke a different dialect or with an accent, though not quite in the same way as humans did. It was difficult to describe; at the same time, though, Grace was still getting the hang of this whole ‘transforming’ business so it
was possible that it was operator error… she didn’t like to entertain the possibility much. Perhaps things would become clearer with time; it wasn’t like she was perfectly fluent in Spanish after seven months in southern Mexico, anyways – not to mention the Spanish spoken in Peru and here in Ecuador were
both different dialects, from each other and from that of Mexico City and the Yucatan. She’d only transformed for the first time about seven months ago, as it was. She was already better able to retain her human thought processes than she’d been even last month. Though the sight of insects after a long day
did pique her appetite sometimes…
yech.
At last, her obstacle to accomplishing her task for the day emerged, blinking, into the February sun. He consulted something from his pocket and set off down the path, perpendicular to where she roosted. Covertly, she watched him go, and a few minutes later and took flight, wobbling only slightly this time as she swooped downward and spread her wings. It had taken longer than she’d liked to admit (and even more crash-landings) to get the hang of the whole process, but things were finally beginning to click. The Curse Breaker stayed relatively close to the trees for her preliminary assessment in case she needed the cover, steadily climbing higher as she felt comfortable.
Right, then, to business. She’d identified a likely cave entrance and marked the location, but before she entered she wanted to scope out at least two-and-a-half miles in either direction – checking for other entrances, any obvious landmarks, any potential barriers (magical and otherwise), and so on. Hopefully she could make short work of it and get back to camp before she got hungry enough to consider eating bugs…
