Nicknames: Ozzie
Birthdate: 19 July 1872
Current Age: 11
Occupation: First Year
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Wand: Beech, 9 inches, unicorn tail hair- sturdy.
Blood Status: Halfblood
Social Class: Middle Class
Family:
- Jameison Howard, father. A hardworking man, but distant and detached. A no-nonsense type of individual. Attended Hogwarts and was a member of Hufflepuff House.
- Audrina Howard, mother. Very kind and very stable, but also over-protective and a worrier. A squib.
- Matilda Howard, sister. Still an infant, she is sweet as a button and the apple of her family's eye.
Ozzie bears the misfortune of being both shorter and rounder than the average eleven year old boy. He barely reaches 5'2 in his tallest shoes, and he weighs in around 145 pounds. His belly pokes out obtrusively, and his chubby cheeks are always a shade darker than the rest of his fair skin.His lack of height and excess weight means that his walk looks more like a waddle than anything else.
To combat the shame he feels regarding his size, Ozzie takes care to ensure every other part of his appearance comes across as top notch. He keeps his thick hair cut short and uses oils to part it to the side, a perfect portrait of sensibility and style. He has light blue eyes that seem to be the only part of his body women want to dote over; men, on the other hand, have been known to mock the feminine eyelashes that make Ozzie's eyes so appealing to the ladies.
History:Birth and Early Childhood. Ozzie was born on a typically wet and warm summer evening in July 1872. He was the first born son and remained the only child until his sister Matilda was born some ten years later. Oswin fell ill during his first month of live and struggled to survive, although survive he did. This incident predisposed his mother to worry about him for the rest of his life and become somewhat overprotective concerning his health. Before the founding of Hogsmeade, Jameison Howard worked as a clerk in a garmet shop in downtown London and his mother, who had previously been employed as a governess by a wealthy Muggle family, stayed at home to care for her son.
The Move to Hogsmeade. The Howard family fled London foe Hogsmeade with the rest of British wizardry in 1877. The transition was not difficult on Ozzie; his life up until that point had consisted mainly of the four walls of the family's flat in London, so he hardly noticed any change at the beginning. Jameison Howard's knowledge of fabrics and fashion made procuring a job as a shop manager in a clothing store on High Street fairly simple. Audrina Howard kept on as a stay at home mom with Ozzie until budgetary shortcomings forced her to look for work in 1879, when Ozzie was seven years old.
Education and Opportunity. Audrina Howard had been a governess before becoming pregnant with Oswin and sought a similar position once she began looking for work in Hogsmeade. She joined the staff of a kind, upper-class family as a part-time governess to two twin boys who were the same age as Ozzie. Audrina worked out a deal with her employers where part of her pay would be forfeited in exchange for Ozzie attending reading and writing classes with the children of the house. Although the twins looked down on him and the tutors paid him little attention, this instruction became critical to his development as a person, teaching him to love the written word and planting in him a love of literature and knowledge.
Ozzie showed little innate magical ability until he began reading and writing. The introduction of books into his world opened his imagination, and after his mind became active his magical abilities began to present themselves in small ways- raising a plate off a table and turning the tip of a cat's nose purple are the two examples he remembers.
Hogwarts and Birth of Matila. Oswin's mother became pregnant when he was 10 years old, in 1882, and quit her job as the governess to prepare to raise another child. Ozzie lost access to the tutors at that same time, but had already learned enough to help him be successful if he received admission to Hogwarts. Indeed he was accepted, and Ozzie is currently in his first year of school, having been sorted into the Ravenclaw house. Matilda was born while Ozzie was at school.
Personality:Insecurity is the trait that most potently describes Ozzie's personality. He is self-conscious about his appearance, having learned from a young age that to be overweight is to be ostracized socially, especially among children. The overprotective tendencies of his mother, who babied Ozzie beyond what could be considered a healthy age, often leave him incapable of thinking clearly enough to make a decision for himself. He is so used to his mother making choices for him that he has no idea how to own his thoughts and actions.
On the positive side, Ozzie is a very inquisitive young man. He loves to learn and, having never found solace in a playmate or peer, turned to books for comfort. His book smarts often make him appear as a know-it-all, compounding his problems with appearing socially awkward. Being a good reader, and therefore a good analyzer, Ozzie is a bit ahead of his peers in that he can examine himself and his flaws objectively. He knows that he is socially awkward and wants to become more personable, although he often lacks the knowledge of how to make that happen. He hopes that his seven years at Hogwarts will teach him more than spells and knowledge- he hopes he will gain the social skills there to make a friend.
Sample Roleplay Post:He went over the contents of his trunk meticulously, almost obsessively, for what had to have been the seventh time that morning.
"Books... robes... cauldron... why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?" The preparation for his move to Hogwarts had been a stressful one, and Oswin Howard was determined to not be caught off guard when the term started tomorrow. He had approximately 24 hours to go before he was off, and anything he'd forgotten at that point would have to be mailed to him at school. Preparation was paramount to making a move successful. "Always be prepared," his mother had warned him. It was one of her signature slogans, along with "Don't get too close to the Forbidden Forest," "Don't run with a cauldron in your hand, empty or not!" and "Don't talk to people who were in Slytherin." There was a lot of truth in all of those sayings, he reasoned, but right now the adage about always being prepared seemed the most wise. Even his father, much less excitable and more stoic as a rule, had encouraged him to be absolutely certain he wasn't leaving anything behind. Ozzie removed his socks from his trunk for the fourth time in two hours and separated them all out, making sure they were appropriately paired and tried to push the worry about the upcoming day from his mind.
"It seems unlikely that I shall be the largest boy in the whole of Hogwarts," he repeated to himself. He had been calming himself with some variation of that statement for some weeks now. "And even if I am, perhaps it won't be as big of an issue as I'm prepared for it to be. Maybe I'll find I have a knack for magical theory and will become a great wizard. That's right, me- a great wizard!" He smiled happily to himself, satisfied that all the socks in his trunk had been paired properly and set about rolling them up together again.
His mother came into his room quietly, her presence a combination of reassuring love and anxious oppression. "Howard, dear," she called out to him. "I hope you've remembered to bring enough socks with you. One can never be too prepared when one's under garments are concerned," she lectured solemnly. Ozzie gave his mother a resigned nod. It never once crossed his mind to raise his voice at her, to insist that at 11 years old he was more than capable of accounting for his own socks, even as the thoughts swirled around in his consciouness. "Yes mum," he replied.
He made a face as she swooped in beside him and crushed his face against her bosom. "You're mummy's big boy," she said, fighting back tears in her eyes. "You're going to make mummy and daddy so proud. Just remember that above all else you need to be safe while at Hogwarts! Magic is useful, and it is fun, and it is good that you are learning, but don't forget that it's dangerous as well! You must be safe."
"I'm sick of being safe, I'm sick of being coddled and taken care of and so bloody safe all the time!" he screamed in his mind. A brief moment passed and he thought he might actually explode, actually let all of his feelings burst out. But they didn't. He kept them inside like he had been doing his whole life.
"Yes, mum," he said out loud. "I"ll be safe."
Age: Twenty-too-old
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