Wand: Eight inch aspen, rigid with a spiral pattern engraved into the wide-based hilt. Zilant fang core. The wand is very old and its white wood has aged into a warm peach. It is excellent for duelling and delicate charm work, with a firm grip. A decidedly loyal wand that will produce little magic if used by a wix who lacks conviction in their beliefs.

Physical Description:
Haroun is a beanpole of a man, from a distance, at about six foot and without seeming to have much muscle on him. On second glance you might notice broad shoulders and the sinewy build of hardy men. He was something of a beautiful wizard in his youth but old age and peppered hair suit him - lending Haroun a wizened air, helped along by a well kept beard.

He dresses simply and tastefully, as one would expect of a tailor. Comfortable slacks, loose button-ups, sports jackets, fine-knit sweaters. Haroun maintains an excellent collection of vests in traditional Turkish patterns, which he often throws over his everyday clothes.

Haroun carries himself with quiet ease. Perhaps too quiet. One never hears him until one sees him: on approach, or hand-sewing in a corner as he squints from behind a pair of glasses. He always seems to be doing something but never hurriedly or with any sense of urgency. Always careful, deliberate, and level. Even his anger takes on this silent quality.

When he must act quickly, it's with feather-light mannerisms. Plucking something off a shelf or swiftly adjusting an actor's costume before they stride onstage. He likes to touch and feel texture - clothes, hands, objects - but Haroun is never casually tactile about touching people.

Personality Description:
On the whole, the tailor is likeable for his efficiency and laid back attitude, though you might notice a cold reserve behind all that warmth - like a distant sign warning you off from getting too close.

He has a dry, playful sense of humour and can usually slip into conversations with ease. Haroun is unlikely to take up much conversational room, however, purposefully intent on keeping the discussion smooth. There is a gentle ring of authority in his voice when he is in his element at work, the only real indication of a more decisive disposition beneath easygoing manners.

Most will find it simple enough to befriend Haroun. He is a good person to go to for sensible advice, rarely judgemental or harsh. Haroun is religious in his own fashion; he tries to live by these personal values but accepts that he is as imperfect as most. On the whole he sticks to his beliefs in equal rights for all Beings.

History:
Haroun ibn Ismaeli was born in Istanbul to an old, well-known family of tailors and fashion archivists known as Al-iibir. His father had been the orphaned son of a Sudanese immigrant, adopted and apprenticed by the family as a tailor. His mother was an English witch who disappeared shortly after Haroun was born.

The Al-iibir are a sprawling family who care very little for blood or racial purity. It is their custom to adopt and apprentice anyone with talent, and such is the culture in which Haroun grew up.

As a young child he had little interest in following his father's footsteps; his passions lay in the Ottoman outfits and fabrics of which the family had become caretakers. He fancied becoming either an archivist or curator in the Al-iibir museum.

MADRASSA SAHANE (1963 - 1972)
Things changed once Haroun attended one of Istanbul's small wizarding schools. His awareness of both city and world expanded, while he started helping his father out with light needlework. Haroun discovered the delight of having a talent, of being able to create with nothing but needle and thread and fabric.

At the same time, history lessons at the Madrassa contextualised Haroun's understanding of the clothes the Al-iibir looked after. He developed a deep interest in history and enjoyed Istanbul's unique history, placed as it was between east and west.

His family did not mind the indecision. Not all their children have both talent and interest, and they believed Haroun would eventually come to settle on one thing or another. He was given lease to study whatever he wished at the Madrassa, though there was always pressure to perform well academically. In his final two years, in which boarding was compulsory, Haroun's interests and personality came into focus.

He was friendly and vaguely charming, though his strong opinions put people off him. As a result Haroun had a small group of friends. Some from Sahane, some from other Madrassas. They were all wixes with radical beliefs about the equal rights of Beings and open immigration. Their free time was spent at social gatherings, often attending talks by like-minded groups.

Haroun wasn't much of a loverboy but he had the odd girlfriend and boyfriend in these last two years of school. His family retained late-Ottoman values regarding queer relationships, turning a blind eye to his fluid preferences. They were more concerned about Haroun's radical political ideas.

TAILOR AND REBEL (1973 - 1981)
He graduated from Sahane with excellent achievements in history, charmwork, enchantment and duelling among other things. Haroun went straight into tailoring to work alongside his father at the main shop in Sultanahmet - Istanbul's old city. The Al-iibir were relieved he seemed to have abandoned thoughts of a politically-oriented career.

As such, they paid little attention to the radical gatherings he continued to attend and the unusual wixes or beings he befriended. Nobody was a stranger to Haroun if they shared his egalitarian values.

His reputation as a tailor was one of reliability and stolidness; he veered to using traditional textiles and developed his own style and cuts that married historical fashions with the new. It was clear he liked his job, took pride and pleasure in it. Yet the more Haroun became involved in the movement for Being Rights, the more dissatisfied he became with the state of his life. And the more dangerous he would grow.

He joined a small resistance movement of house-elves in the late 1970s. The Al-iibir themselves never had house-elves: only their own hands were permitted to care for and handle the clothes in their charge. For that reason, the plight of house-elves seemed all the greater in Haroun's eyes. The recent nature of their indentured servitude incensed him especially.

Haroun became a more active member in 1980 and recruited support from his other connections. He spent less time accepting new commissions as a tailor. Those in the right circles knew him to be a lynch pin in the resistance: it was due to his efforts that the house-elf resistance could enlist so diverse an array of supporters.

Vampires, goblins, werewolves. Outcasts, minorities. He had a good eye for spotting people with enough of a chip on their shoulder to talk them into countering the status quo. Vulnerable, angry people with nothing to lose. His vigorous conviction transformed what little charm he had into a magnetic persona.

EXPECT RESISTANCE (1982 - 1983)
At the start of 1982, Haroun disappeared from public life and the Al-Iibir after maiming a member of law enforcement at a protest. He left a note to his family about diappearing abroad with a lover - only his father and an aunt knew that he was going to ground as a member of the resistance.

Haroun was a key figure in organising a larger mass protest for house-elf rights that would take place the following year. The planning of it was a highly secretive undertaking, and it was during this time that he became involved with an English widow, Olivia, who had joined the movement after she immigrated to Turkey as an apothecary.

He ended up living with Olivia and her toddler daughter for the better part of the two years: tucked into a tiny flat in the wizarding corner of Old City, avoiding popular thoroughfares and public spaces. The protest kicked off in August 1983.

It lasted for three months. Escalation of violence led to the resistance taking hostage of Old City, where many of Istanbul's cultural landmarks were located. Some might say it coincided coincidentally with the muggle military coup of September but the resistance had very much planned for the possibility - they timed the protest in accordance with rumours of muggle Turkey's coup.

During this time, Haroun became known as a highly dangerous figure and inciter of violence. They knew him simply as 'The Tailor' but there was no real evidence of his identity. He was personally responsible for the hostage-taking and, in some cases, deaths of several law enforcement officers.

In early December, house-elf rights were officially restored to their status prior to the introduction of indentured servitude. Negotiations were made by house-elf leaders of the resistance. They were once again legally recognised as free individuals with rights to money, property and safety guaranteed by the state. It was again legal for house-elves to gather in private or public spaces.

This acquiesence to the demands of the resistance was seen as a huge victory but it came at a personal price to many of the organisers. Olivia had been injured at the start of the protest and died shortly afters its conclusion, due to a poor constituation and untimely treatment. Haroun, as well as several other key figures, faced persecution of Turkey's Diwan if their identities were found out.

He eventually relented and left the country, claiming an English passport on the grounds of his mother's nationality.

SANCTUARY AND STARDUST (1984 - 1998)
Along with Haroun came Olivia's daughter - he was all she had left in the world, so he found himself a single father out of his element in London for the first time in his life. He had the help of resistance allies with British connections but the initial shock of the move was exhausting. He lost weight and grew snappish, and thought of the British as complacent fools.

Meeting Edgar Carstairs (then known as Aloysius Threepwood) one late night in Soho was fortuitious. The younger wizard had none of Haroun's experience or cynicism but he had all the spirit of a true egalitarian. And he was endearing, of course, endearing enough to soften Haroun's hardened opinions. To Edgar the world was still fresh and new and change was achievable.

It was! Haroun knew it was. He had helped to incite it in Istanbul, despite being unable to enjoy the fruits of his labour. This is how he became part of parcel of Edgar's theatrical aspirations - lucky for him, the wizard needed a tailor.

Haroun made ends meet over the years as a regular wizarding tailor, sometimes taking up muggle commissions when desperate. Through Edgar he was able to discover new clients while helping sew costumes. Working with needle and thread again did wonders for Haroun's well-being. It was all at once return to familiarity and a great challenge, being faced with strange new commissions.

By the time Stardust Theatre was established, he was more at home in London than he could have imagined. His adopted daughter, however, had been sent back to Istanbul to be raised by his family and to attend an all-girls Madrassa when she turned eight. Haroun had been unable to cope with full-time parenthood, seeing her once a year at best.

Eventually, the letters between them dwindled and stopped altogether when she graduated in 1998. This was towards the culmination of the second wizarding war and Haroun had been too preoccupied with Edgar, helping muggleborns and such, to notice the drop in communication.

To this day he isn't certain what became of her, as even the Al-iibir have lost contact.

OLD AND NEW (1999 - 2018)
Life after the war finally took on a quality that Haroun had never encountered. Stability and calm. He almost didn't know what to do with himself - Stardust kept him occupied, as did the influx of creative wixes who came to form the whole of it. Edgar had given him the title Costumier and even a couple of youths who wished to learn the trade.

Haroun came to trust this peace, one day at a time. Until the days became weeks and the weeks became months....

He was a fixture at the Theatre, with enough time on his hands to accept tailoring commissions outside theatrical endeavor. Haroun fell in love with his work and understood, more than ever, the devotion of the Al-iibir. Even so he still found himself restless. Finding peace is a constant effort.

His influence on Edgar was something to be proud of, he felt. Haroun had fine-tuned his friend's earlier opinions and encouraged the supporting of Being rights in Great Britain. He kept stronger opinions and his history a secret - therefore convincing himself that part of his life is over. But the situation of British house-elves still troubled him.

They were indentured, as Beings, for longer than Turkish house-elves had been. Haroun was bewildered by their attitudes the first time he spoke to a British house-elf and witnessed their extreme loyalties. There was no resistance to speak of, no rallying community. He wrote to old friends in Istanbul, who put him in touch with Turkish house-elves at the Hag Market who were trying (failing) to bring their cause to British shores.

The situation was dire indeed. Haroun had joined an existing resistance in Turkey but there was nothing to join here - and he was not so presumptuous as to see himself starting one. All the same, he decided to do what he could. Over the years he would be tentatively welcomed in the Hag Market, through his past reputation in Istanbul and old Being contacts.

Haroun befriended what few disillusioned house-elves he could and has since become an abetter in their attempts to resist total servitude. He mostly does this through furnishing house-elves with new clothes and putting them in contact with other house-elves, or Turkish house-elves. Haroun is also a member of the Werewolf Alliance.

At present, the world goes on in its usual way. Haroun enjoys his unassuming life. He reads the newspapers and talks to friends from all walks. He sees tensions building and changing. He notices patterns others might not, harking to him from a different life - a lost life. He worries.

Describe your job duties and how you go about them:
Haroun is the Costumier and Tailor at Stardust Theatre. He is responsible for the care and upkeep of the theatre's costume collection, and handles the loaning of such costumes to other theaters or plays. You might call the collection his life's work.

In addition to these duties, Haroun also sews new costumes and does alterations for various productions. He has an assistant as well as an apprentice who help spread the weight of all these tasks, which gives Haroun the time he needs to also work on private commissions. Many of these commissions come from friends or friends of friends.

Elaborate on your expertise in your field:
Haroun trained for most of his youth and young adulthood at Al-iibir in Istanbul, a world-famous tailoring family. His skill is not immodest and he produces enchanted clothes of excellent quality - perhaps beyond the quality that might be expected of someone whose reputation is so quiet.

He has spent the last thirty years sewing for Edgar Carstairs' theatrical productions, whilst also accepting the odd private commission.

Sum up your character in one paragraph:
Haroun ibn Ismaeli is the quiet, unassuming tailor at Stardust Theatre - a life he has earned long after escaping his past as part of a radical resistance in Istanbul, Turkey. He takes on private commissions in his spare time, and makes friends from all walks of life. Haroun has a vested interest in history as well as the politics of Being Rights.

He is a sensible man who gives (mostly) sensible advice and makes excellent clothes.

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Special Ability

Character Name: Haroun Ismaeli
Do any of your other Characters have Special Abilities?: Yes
If Yes, then Please provide their name and a link to their bio:  Virgil, Raine, Balfour, Yavin, Leon, Fionn, Feliks.
 
Special Ability: Occlumency

What level is this ability at?: Advanced

At what age did your character gain this ability?: Twenty five years old

How did they learn or hone this ability?: Haroun was taught Occlumency by a wizard member of the house-elf resistance movement, in order to protect his thoughts while planning the mass protest that would occupy wizarding Istanbul in 1983.

Describe how the Special Ability influences their life.  What do they use it for?: After honing and using the skill intensively while working in the resistance, Haroun grew out of practice for a few years. However, he found himself having to acquire the skill once more after Edgar's legilimens son, Virgil, became a presence at Stardust in the mid-90s. Ever since then, Haroun has gotten into the habit of checking the boundaries of his mind on a daily basis - he believes it helps him better retain memories and important details of the past.

Write a description of what happens when your character is exhibiting this Special Ability: While practicing Occlumency to either defend his mind or examine its barriers, Haroun might seem like he is lost in thought. He often stares into space or at his sewing work, a little wrinkle in his brow.