Character Info-- Perry Alderton
Age: 25 (b. May 3, 1993)
Graduation: Ravenclaw, 2011
OWLs/NEWTs:
OWLs: DADA: O, Charms: O, Transfiguration: A, Arithmancy:
E, Astronomy: O, Herbology: A, History: P, Potions: E, Ancient Runes: O
NEWTS: DADA: O, Charms: O, Ancient Runes: O, Astronomy: O, Potions: E, Arithmancy: A

History: Perry was born to Etienne and Sara Alderton in Oxford, England. The family was a pureblooded one who ran a pub in Oxford that served any and all local wizards there. It was a small business which rocked with however the economy was doing, but largely the family was very poor. They were not by any means impoverished and Perry was always fed, but he did not at all lead an extravagant life. The family lived on the top floor above the pub, while below them rooms were for rent and the ground floor housed a neat little bar. Similar to how it works with the Leaky Cauldron, there are anti-muggle wards on the front of the building to turn muggles away.

Perry was an only child, though he had a lot of cousins to play with and look up to so he was not without social interaction. He spent his childhood helping out with the business when he could (he did things like clean and bus tables) and he was home schooled with a few of his cousins by his Aunt Linda. Bright and inquisitive, he took to lessons well and did a very good job studying on his own as well. He was not by any means a genius or anything, and like everyone he had his weaknesses when it came to learning, but the entire process of it fascinated him and it was no secret to his family that he was an intelligent boy.

His favorite subject in those formative years was maths, which he decided early on was best simply because of how universal it was, though he took to certain hobbies as well. One cousin in particular, an older boy named Valentine, was very into photography and taught Perry a few things about it. He couldn't afford his own camera, but Valentine was good about letting his little cousin borrow his on occasion and Perry had a lot of fun taking pictures around Oxford. He was a well-behaved child, so his parents often trusted him to go off wandering with friends around the city so long as he always went to lessons and was back before the sun began to set.

He was seven years old when he first showed some magical inclination. Since his direct line was all purebloods (though certainly branches of it had more of a mixed lineage) no one really doubted that the boy would become a wizard, but it was still a moment of pride after Perry managed to drop an entire tray of glasses and, instead of them all shattering to the ground, bounced harmlessly off the ground as Perry looked on in fear of having ruined his parents' glasses. Fear turned to relief, which turned to pride when his mother came out fearing the worst and figured out that her young son had just performed his first magic. She made fudge that night in celebration.

And finally the day came when Perry got his letter from Hogwarts. His things were almost all gotten second-hand and mostly from his cousins, but his parents did buy him a brand new wand all his own, and he was immensely proud of that wand. He boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time with a mix of nervousness and excitement. It was there he met a girl, Olivia Shalott, and the two became instant friends as she chatted away in their train compartment and Perry kind of smiled nervously.

At the sorting, Perry was one of the first to try on the Sorting Hat. There was quite a bit of inner argument with the hat over whether he should go to Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but after what felt like an eternity the hat called out that it was Ravenclaw Perry would spend his next seven years in. And when Livi put the hat on, she too went to Ravenclaw, thus cementing the two children's friendship.

First year seemed to go by quickly for the boy. He took to classes with quite a bit of enthusiasm, especially enjoying Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Astronomy. He spent his time making a few more friends, but for the most part he stuck with Livi and the two did typical firstie things.

The next few years went much the same. In his third year Perry decided to try and burst out of his shell a little and tried out for the Ravenclaw quidditch team, but he didn't make it. He also started his electives that year, taking up Arithmancy and Ancient Runes even though Livi went for things like Divination. Perry always stayed at Hogwarts over his breaks, where he spent much of his time alone since Livi usually didn't, and he continued to own a lot of second-hand things that he was occasionally embarrassed about – especially next to his wealthy friend Livi – but he did what he could and it was rare anyone was particularly hard on him about it all.

Fifth year was really when things began to get interesting for Perry. He became a Prefect for Ravenclaw, which was a big surprise since he was still very shy, and he finally made the quidditch team as a Chaser. He wasn't the most brilliant player, but he wasn't awful either and he did do a good job as Prefect, even if he never really figured out a balance with Livi's inclination towards trouble. The two were, of course, still the best of friends, but as they got older some rumors began circulating that they were more than friends. It wasn't at all true though, and there was even some attempts at dating (other people, of course) on odd Hogsmeade weekends and the like. Perry was busy studying very hard for his OWLs though, and sadly girls got second place to his studies for awhile since he was determined to do well.

And in the end, it all ended up paying off. He came away with seven OWLs, four of which were Os with two Es and one A. His remaining two were Ps, but he was still very proud (and why shouldn't he be?). For the next year he signed up for six of those as NEWTs, which kept him VERY busy along with his prefect duties.

Despite how busy he was, it was during his sixth year that he finally did figure out where girls stood in his life. Except, he figured out that he also didn't think any girl was half as amazing as Livi, which caused some problems. For the first time in, well, ever, the two spent most of the year acting kind of awkward towards one another since, without each other finding out, the feelings were mutual. There was a lot of unnecessary complications and teenage angst, until Perry finally stepped up and mid-argument told her how he felt. They made up, kissed, there were some confessions from each one, and the nigh-inseparable pair of best friends became a couple. Who were still best friends. In fact, not a whole lot changed, they were just more physically affectionate at times and perhaps a little giddier around one another. They visited one another over summer as well, though that had happened before on occasion without very good results since Perry's family were wary of that rich friend of his and Livi's parents were disapproving of their daughter's second-hand boyfriend who lived around muggles and had a habit of indulging their youngest daughter's curiosity about such topics.

For his seventh year, Perry dropped quidditch after two years of play to better focus on his NEWTs. He had also managed to become the new Head Boy, so his schedule was as full as ever even without athletics. He was still unsure what he wanted to do after school, but he'd been talking to various professors and things about ideas he had for subjects of magic he felt needed pursuing. Half-way through his seventh year he got an owl from the department head of the Department of Mysteries, informing him that the department could have use for him and suggesting they set up an interview after he graduates. Though the letter also informed him that he needed to do well on his NEWTs for it to be a possibility. So Perry worked all the harder while still spending time with friends and his girlfriend and doing his Head Boy duties. It was very stressful, but it eventually ended and he left Hogwarts to move back into his parents' pub which was still suffering.

Once he got his NEWT scores, the Unspeakable did contact him again to set up an interview, since he'd managed to get high scores on five of his six classes. It was a strange interview, where rather than explain what went on in the department the Unspeakable let Perry carry the conversation. He asked the starting question (“What are you interested in?”) and after that let Perry answer however he wanted and just asked more about his answers, rather than divulge information himself. Perry talked about ritualistic magic, about holes he'd found in his own studies of charms, about an itching belief in infinite dimensions, and about random theories he'd come up with for more intangible forms of magic. The Unspeakable thanked Perry at the end, saw him out, and left the poor young man completely confused as to what had just happened while he fretted for a few days over it. Three days later, the Unspeakable sent another owl to set up another meeting, and THIS time he informed Perry that he got the job and told the man a little about what went on, in a vague sense.

Perry started his time as a trainee right after, working days at the Ministry and becoming a little more acquainted with the department, and after a few months he moved into his own flat on the outskirts of London so he could be closer to work and in a more centralized location.

He continued seeing Livi as much as possible as well, despite the growing concern of both of their parents that they were too serious and were improper for one another. Perry was a government employee now, one with a weird and often misunderstood job, and he was not getting the paycheck they hoped their daughter's future husband would get. But the two kept at it anyway, still hoping their parents would come around.

It didn't work very well. More than a year later when Perry was just completing his two years of being a trainee with the Unspeakables, and right before he was to turn twenty years old, he went to Livi's parents to ask them permission to marry their daughter, hoping they would be okay with it so long as they were the ones who got the final say (or, well. Thought they got the final say). But they said no. And rather than continue to try and appeal to them, Perry proposed anyway. Livi said yes, and they eloped the next evening. A weekend was spent in a small beach town for their honeymoon, but Perry had to be back at work by Monday and they lacked the funds on their own to do more. Livi moved into Perry's small flat while he was at work on Monday, and despite the fury of their parents the couple was really quite happy.

It was only a few months after that when Perry was promoted from his trainee status. Rather than remain in London, the department sent Perry to Egypt where he was to research an ancient ritual that had taken place there and left an interesting curse on a city that wasn't supposed to exist. Livi came too of course, leaving her job with an astrological studies company to follow him.

And the work was a dream come true to Perry. He spent five years there taking apart complicated rituals that fit together like a puzzle. He ran into interesting ghosts and got to learn their stories. He even found a djinn at one point and got to banish it away. It allowed him to push magic to levels he'd never dreamed, test his wits against ancient puzzles, and further indulge some of his academic curiosities. While there,one of his colleagues – a local, and esteemed Legilimancer – also began teaching him the art of Occlumancy, a talent they both hoped would prove useful throughout his career.

While there Livi also got pregnant with and gave birth to a son, whom they named Martin. That was in February of 2015.

But when he finished, lifting the curse and destroying the ritual that had caused it, the pair returned to London. Now, both twenty-five years old and with a son who is three, Perry intends to get reacquainted with his coworkers and what's been going on in the department and catch up with some old friends as his small family gets resettled in England.

Personality: Perry has always been an introvert. He is the sort of person who prefers to spend his time with others in small groups, usually in casual settings, and he only gets very comfortable around someone if he knows them reasonably well already. Even then, he is oftentimes not the most open sort of person and he doesn't talk about himself much, preferring more general topics. He also usually prefers to spend his free time with a book or a puzzle, or just relaxing with his small family.

Despite this, he seems to have an insatiable curiosity. He loves puzzles and likes to know how and why everything works the way it does. He loves to sit around and theorize over just about anything, and with a few exceptions he isn't any happier than when he's just figured out something very difficult and tricky. Not only this, but he likes to discover new things and sometimes gets distracted by his learning, forgetting about other important things in the meantime. He's something of an intellectual in the way he gets caught up in his own thoughts.

He is also a generally friendly sort of guy. Even if he's uncomfortable in most social situations, that doesn't stop him from trying to be genial towards anyone around him, at least at first. He's laid-back and not the sort of person who takes himself too seriously, but he doesn't take anyone else too seriously either. He does show respect where he ought, but it is more difficult to earn his respect and he tends to look at everything at face value, forming his own opinions based on what he sees rather than what he hears. Actions speak louder than words, in his book.

So all in all, he is serious, calm, standoffish to new people, and it takes quite a bit to shake his foundation.

Appearance: Perry is not the tallest man around, standing at roughly 5'9”, and he's skinny without very much muscle to him. His hair has always been a little unruly, but he has long since stopped trying to force it to do anything so other than brushing it he lets it be mousy. It's dark and usually cut neatly, though tends to vary in length. His eyes are hazel, a mix of brown and blue, and are overshadowed by the oval glasses he's almost always wearing. His skin is pale, not tanning very well even if he does get sun, and a few light freckles splatter his nose and cheeks right under his eyes. He has a small, pointed nose, a small mouth, and his ears are just a little on the larger side.

When not in his Ministry uniform, Perry typically dresses very neatly. He wears slacks, button-down shirts, and jackets that usually sort of match. His shoes are black and comfortable, though are very worn. On his left ring finger is a plain gold band, nothing at all fancy that likely wasn't expensive either. There's a chain hanging from one pocket with a pocket watch attached as well.


OOC Info--
Name & Contact Information: Perry, vitani@gmail.com
Previous Roleplay Experience: Various games since 2002