Character Info--Dr. Nicholas Preston, 'Nick'
Age: 43
Graduation: college 1996, grad school 2000
OWLs/NEWTs: N/A, went to Southampton undergrad and King's College graduate school for his psychiatric degree

History: Nick is a Muggle. He grew up in Southampton, the third and youngest son of a moderately successful stage actress and a pediatrician. His father died of a heart attack three years ago, and his mother has been having some difficulty living on her own; he and his sisters stop by often.

A good student, he went on to Southampton University, where he studied medicine, then went to King's College to get his degree in psychiatry. He was on his college tennis and soccer teams and did only moderately well; he's not very competitive. He met his wife-to-be, Cate Chester, when they were both quite young, in grade school. She went to a different secondary school, and he didn't see her for several years. They met up again after he graduated college, while she was working on the Muggleworthy Excuse Committee. They dated while he was in graduate school and married once he had established a practice. By that time he'd begun to notice a few strange things about his girlfriend. Luckily enough, she was a Muggleborn Witch, but it was still a shock when she told him a few days after he proposed. They married when he was 28 and had one child, two years later, named Daniel. He turned out to be a Wizard, and he's currently off at Hogwarts, in his second year. Nick's been working, as the husband of a Witch, in the psychiatric profession for both Wizards and Muggles.

Despite Nick's general calm and tendency to serve as an anchor to those around him, he's felt stretched recently. His wife began suffering from depression a few years ago, and while she got treatment, she accused Nick of infantilizing her, and the few years when she wasn't doing well created a serious rift in the relationship. After a few years of fighting, they finally agreed to a divorce six months ago, but the custody battle is ongoing--a source of bitterness on Nick's part, since his wife's recent instability meant the only reason she was accorded equal respect was the Wizarding world. He's also trying to cover his legal tracks so he can continue to work as a practitioner in the Wizarding world.


Personality: Nick has always been an easygoing, quiet, thoughtful person. As a child and young adult he was always unusually insightful, able to put his own problems aside. Selectively nonjudgmental and naturally relaxed, he's always been comfortable in social situations. At the same time, he's withdrawn enough--introverted enough--to understand himself and other deeply, both on an intuitive and theoretical level. Sometimes he doesn't pay enough attention to how he feels or thinks, or assumes he's fine; sometimes it's a drawback, rather than an asset, that he isn't always willing to dismiss people who don't deserve his time, or he's too willing. Nonetheless, his cognitive therapy is often matter-of-fact and even difficult to listen to. At the same time, he's on the lenient side as a father.

One of the only people he judges harshly is his ex-wife. Matters between them are tense, partly because of their custody battle, partly because she calls him ridiculously self-righteous (and that, of course, is the least of it). Their grievances are typical but nonetheless painful.

Appearance: Nick is on the tall side and in very good physical condition for his age (though different aging speed was a contention between him and his wife, and remains so--she still looks younger than he). He's black, with short hair, sometimes a short beard, and a ready smile only slightly touched with insincerity. He dresses impeccably while at work--suit, tie, etc. When off work, he generally changes into his gym clothes; working out takes up a lot of his time, and he likes to wear more comfortable things to relax in, and to get out of the 'character' of therapist, so to speak.

OOC Info--
Name & Contact Information: Sam
Previous Roleplay Experience: ... yeah.