Accepted! -- Dazmond

About You, the Writer:
We will never ask any member to disclose any personal information.
Your Nickname: Natasha
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes and Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? From SR and all the wonderful people who helped make this.
If you have written other characters here, list them all: Jason Marren

Full Character Name: Frank Pratt
Character Birthday & Age: 6 July 1981, 26
City & Country of Birth: Elgin, Scotland
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn?: Muggleborn
Alma Mater: Hufflepuff
Job: Bookhunter-in-Training, assistant to Fiona Marren, freelance journalist

Wand: Frank’s wand is an eleven inch Ebony wood with Unicorn Tail core. The shaft is spiraled and the wood is springy. The handle is wrapped tightly with dragon hide for a cushioned grip.

Physical Description:

Frank doesn’t stand out much in the crowd at five feet, nine inches tall. An average height for an average guy, in his opinion. He isn’t skinny and he isn’t buff—he finds himself a happy medium. He used to be quite lanky when he was younger, but over the years he has filled out. Keeping up with his job has forced him to stay in shape.

He prefers to keep his dark brown hair short and well trimmed, as the longer it gets, the crazier it becomes. He has a tendency (whether it is nerves or just habit now, he doesn’t know) to run his fingers through his hair a lot, which causes all sorts of different styles to go on at once. It might start out straight, but the natural tone of his hair is curly. Little tufts of hair stick at odd angles throughout, and very little can be done to keep them under control. Frank either has to keep his hair short to keep those areas under control, deal with it, or let it grow out long enough to bug him and curl, but to where it doesn’t look like someone attacked his head with a Kelpie.

His toothy smile almost always reaches his brown eyes, and he finds more reason to smile than frown. It is quite easy to tell when Frank is upset; that usual easy going smile is gone and replaced with narrowed eyes, drawn eyebrows, and a slight wrinkle in his forehead. Frank is an easy guy to read, his emotions showing most times before he realizes he’s done it.

Due to the nature of his work, Frank can sometimes go a while without a shave. He much prefers the scruffy look, allowing him a little more maturity on the surface amongst other peers and colleagues. Well, that and he likes running his hand over it when he is pondering or thinking. Along with the scruffy face comes his look as well. Dark colors look best on Frank; blacks, dark blues, dark reds—they set off his skin tone and eyes. Often he will be found in a plain sweater or shirt and jeans. He much prefers comfort to suits. It just suits his personality better.

Personality Description:

Frank enjoys going with the flow of things. He has an opinion, but rarely talks about it unless asked directly or around someone he knows well. Then he could go on about it for ever, if allowed. Some people bore easily with this sort of attitude, and so Frank has learned to keep his thoughts to himself when outside of his comfortable zone.

He considers himself to be a ‘good’ guy. He has morals and ethics and boundaries that he prefers to stay within. Frank will stand up for what he considers to be right, and doesn’t stand for the discrimination of others. Friendly, down to earth, and encouraging to others, he often comes across as someone to trust.

Frank loves a good book. Whatever tickles his fancy is what he reads. His office, when walked into, could be called a library from the massive piles of books, both on the floor, and stored in some sort of made up order on shelves. As a history buff, he loves keeping up on history (seems like a no brainer), and has quite a collection started of wizarding and muggle history. When he isn’t working, he will often be found laid out on his couch with a book and glass of something to keep him going.

Another passion Frank has is electronics. He finds tinkering around as challenging and a way to let off steam. He has taken apart so many radios (among other things) that he could probably put a new one together with the extra parts he seems to end up with after putting them back together. Another section of his ‘library’ is filled with different explanations for why electricity and magic don’t work very well together, mostly all theories.

When it comes to sports, Frank doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t mind listening or watching Quidditch, but in general he easily does without. If anything about it interests him, it is the past stories that spawned other incidents outside of the scored game. What use does he have for how well the Ballycastle Bats have done the past year? What good does that knowledge do for society?

Frank tries too hard, sometimes. He tells corny jokes, and can be overly friendly and charming. Some find this endearing, others find this annoying—it all depends on the individual’s perception.

History:

Frank Pratt was born into a muggle family. Katherine Dorland met Daniel Pratt and they fell in love quickly, like many did back then. It wasn’t clear at first that their family wasn’t all that it seemed. Frank was a fairly normal kid; he played with the other neighborhood boys, had scrapes and never seemed to come home clean. There were some things they couldn’t put a finger on, but it was easier to brush that off and label it something ‘normal.’

Frank was born on July 6, 1981 in Elgin, Scotland. Daniel seemed to always be somewhere else besides at home. As a sea captain, he was often gone for months at a time. Frank tried not to feel disappointment with his father, though it became harder with time. His mother worked at a local grocery store for extra spending money. Frank was the sunshine of her life. She dotted on him, and was the main reason he tried so hard in life.

When Frank was eight, his parents told him about a new addition the family, his sister, Isabelle. He helped care for his little sister, helping around the house when his mother and father were both working, and showing his little sister all the fun things in life. He was overprotective of her as most big brothers are, but also let her find out certain things on her own.

He went to the local school until he was eleven, when he received his letter to attend Hogwarts. After a visit from one of the school governors, who gave an entire explanation in one afternoon, both parents (and Frank) were a little shell shocked. Daniel didn’t want his son to go to some *mildly explicit* school! In the end, however, it was at least nice to have some explanation for the odd things they couldn’t explain that happened throughout Frank’s childhood. They were warned that it would continue as well if Frank didn’t learn how to handle it. In the end, they both agreed (even if Daniel was a bit discouraging of it) that it was best that Frank go to Hogwarts.

Frank attended Hogwarts, and was sorted into Hufflepuff. He quickly learned that becoming a wizard wasn’t going to be as easy as he expected. He was outcast by a significant number of students because of his birthright, on top of the house he was sorted into. The fact that he seemed to really pick up on History of Magic, and actually enjoyed it, also gave other students an easy thing to pick on him for. Frank was an easy going guy though, more so back then, and accepted that he wasn’t going to be liked by everyone. He had his friends, and that was enough.

His best classes tended to be the ones that, while they involved magic, weren’t solely based on it. History of Magic, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes were the classes he passed with no problem. He did well enough in Charms, but failed potions and transfiguration. Some things just don’t sink in, no matter how many times you attempt it.

When the Battle at Hogwarts happened, Frank quickly realized how important it was to know a few wand spells. It took some time for the wounds to heal, but it gave him room to grow as a young wizard. He lost a couple friends, and knew a few who lost a lot more—it was a tough time. Frank was very headstrong about staying in school, however, even with all the upset. He’d gotten that far, he might as well finish his schooling. He took the time to practice more outside of class on charms and some defense spells, though he still was horrible at transfiguration. Just best he let that subject go… He finally did graduate, however, and tried to find his place in this still unknown wizarding society.

At first, he started off as an arithmancer. He lived at home, helping his parents out as they needed it, and worked for a small shop off of Diagon Alley. The hours were long, and the pay wasn’t amazing, but Frank enjoyed his work and was able to do quite a bit of traveling. He worked alongside astrologers, helping map out astrology maps when they related to numbers; he also worked with Gringotts and some of their smaller accounts to keep the books balanced. It was per diem, and there were times where he didn’t work for weeks.

Though he really liked working as an arithmancer, it just wasn’t paying him enough to stay in it. He hadn’t even been able to save enough to move out, and the poor boy was all ready nineteen! Luckily, the Wizarding Library in London had a few openings, and Frank’s desire to work and love of history helped land him a position. For the next three years, that was enough to keep Frank busy. Then he started to get bored; there are only so many times you can get excited about reorganizing the Daily Prophet records. He had thought about journalism before—he loved reading articles pertaining to the things he enjoyed, and figured they didn’t seem to be very hard to write up. He started to do freelance journalism, which he found out quickly wasn’t quite so easy as he thought it would be.

Nevertheless, it allowed him something to do on his days off. He would take a few days off in a row so he could travel somewhere, experience something he was interested in, and then write about it. Sometimes he would be able to break even by selling the writing piece, and sometimes he would just take it out of his savings fund. He was also able to get a small apartment down Knockturn Alley in 2003. It had him close to work and allowed him to start living on his own.

His life stayed fairly uncomplicated the next couple years. He wrote, went to work, had a few relationships that didn’t pan out, and traveled an adequate amount. Frank was starting to feel stuck, though. He needed some adventure in his life. He started to leaf through the classifieds, attempting to find a new job that he could do part time on top of his current occupation. A little more money to help him out each month would only be a positive as well. In late 2005, he finally came across a promising job classified.

Assistant to a bookhunter… He wasn’t too sure about the assistant part of it, but overall it sounded different. Figuring he didn’t have anything to lose by applying, he sent in his resumé. Low and behold when he got a call back for an interview! He was quite shocked, to say the least. The situation was a bit odd; the husband of the bookhunter was the interviewer, and Frank later found out how much Miss Marren had been clueless as to his hire on.

In early 2006, Frank began to work for Miss Marren. Her daily attitude was something that Frank came to understand and accept. She was grumpy because she got out of bed in the morning. He learned to have coffee and breakfast (or lunch, sometimes) ready for when she got to the office. She began to train him in being a bookhunter as soon as he had down the basic assistant roles, even with as much as she complained about it.

When she became pregnant in mid 2006 (which was why Frank had been hired on to begin with), he was needed more often. As he couldn’t keep up with her demands and his job at the library, Frank let go of that job and settled into the dragon lair. He was too nice, really; easily chewed up and spit back out. He worked well with it, however, and when she was too under the weather (or when she got closer to her due date), Frank worked with her mentor, Gareth Ambridge.

The upside to being Fiona’s assistant and understudy is that Frank gets a plethora of experience in the field of history and bookhunting. The downside to being Fiona’s assistant and understudy is that when they aren’t busy or she is feeling particularly hormonal, Frank would be running around to stay on top of things. Now that Aidan is born, however, it isn’t so bad. Fiona is able to go back out hunting, which makes her nicer in comparison, and he is at an age that he doesn’t need his mummy there all the time.

Overall, Frank is happy with where he is. He loves his job, even the days that he is used as a lap dog, and enjoys the challenge each day brings. He doesn’t feel stuck into a career anymore; instead, he feels energized by what he has entered into.

Update

November eleventh of 2008 was supposed to be a forgettable day. Frank made a visit to an old lady, gave her the order she’d made, and had planned to leave for a nice quiet evening by himself. To some it might sound boring, but Frank absolutely loved his quiet life. It seemed the fates disagreed, however, and he was slammed with a change so big that you’d be surprised he wouldn’t remember it. Silly memory charms…

Unknown to Frank, he had been injected with some concoction designed to create a werewolf outside of a bite. As a guinea pig, he was deposited back in Knockturn Alley. Contrary to known fact, something in the injection forced the transformation earlier than expected. His desire for extremely rare meat leaves him gagging, and he has to shave more than usual, what with extra hair coming up in all the wrong places.

As he has no recollection of how he became a werewolf, he’s a bit frightened by the Ministry. For now, he is an illegal [as of yet unclassified] Werewolf. And though his friends might laugh at the notion, he’s dangerous and aggressive when he hasn’t eaten.


What is your occupation? How do you go about it?
How did you get your current occupation?
How does your past and abilities justify your current skills?:

Frank writes articles for extra pocket change, but finds his passion is in history. Being an assistant to Fiona Marren gives him a bit of adventure in his profession, as well as giving him the opportunity to learn the tricks of the book hunting trade. His previous jobs (librarian and arithmancer) helped work him in his organizational skills, which is a must while helping Mrs. Marren with anything. To find out where a book may be located, he must be able to find information not easily accessible, use common sense, and have adequate knowledge of wand lore to retrieve it unharmed for the client.

Writing Sample:
Show your character in a scene that illustrates their best and worst aspects
of their personality. Include action, dialog and thought.

Frank had only recently gotten back from a week long trek through the desert looking for a book. He was taking the last hour at work to put the finishing touches on a journal article he had written, hoping to get it published in one of the newspapers (preferably the Daily Prophet). It might not seem trivial to someone else, but Frank put a lot of work into each one he made, and when they were denied or only used in cheaper, less serious print, he felt a bit let down.

Hearing the bell from the front room, Frank bit his lower lip and glanced towards the door. Perhaps Fiona would get it… Glancing back down to the article, he was about to continue writing when his conscious got the better of him. Letting out a soft groan, Frank put the quill back in the ink pot and pushed himself away from the desk. Standing up and stretching, he made his way towards the cracked open door. “Hello!” Even if Frank hadn’t wanted to get up, he could easily be friendly. Spotting the little old man at the front desk, looking down the edge of his nose out of some of the largest spectacles he’d ever seen, Frank made his way over. “How can I help you today, sir?”

The little old man glanced up and seemed to startle at seeing Frank. Catching his breath, gripping his cane, the old man shook a finger at Frank. “You shouldn’t sneak up on your elderly!” The raspy voice mixed in with the stature made Frank feel like a kid again—he hadn’t been talked down to since Fiona last saw him. A faint blush stained his cheeks before he let out a nervous laugh. “I’m sorry, sir. Didn’t mean to startle you… Can I help you with something today?” Perhaps he could be nice and make the older man at ease.

Staring at Frank, frowning behind his microscopic prescription glasses, the little old man put both hands on top of his cane and leaned on it. “Well… maybe ye can.” Frank’s eyebrows rose as he leaned on the countertop, waiting for further instruction.

Sum up your character in one paragraph:

Frank is a sweetheart—that is what most would say if they were asked to explain him. He works hard to make others happy, but may drone on about one thing for far too long. Some find his ‘sweetness’ to be too much. No one can be happy all the time, and some take his easy going, optimistic attitude to be annoying and cringe worthy. All in all, Frank loves history, finding ways to parallel happenings in today’s society to the past, and using the knowledge of the past to improve the future.

Creature type:
Unregistered Werewolf

Employed? If yes, where and for how long:

Frank is a Bookhunter-in-Training underneath Fiona Marren, as well as her ‘book keeper’ in the sense of organization, and he’s been doing that since 2006. He also occasionally is a freelance journalist when he has the time for extra income, which he has done since 2002.

What is your understanding of your character's special abilities or
attributes and weaknesses?:

During the ‘Full Moon,’ Frank transforms into a werewolf, which is an exaggerated cross between a wolf and a human. His body covers in fur, his face transforms so a snout sprouts, and his fingers turn into viscous paws with unrelenting claws at the end. His arms are longer than usual, allowing for his hunched over cross between a four legged animal and one that walks on two legs. It’s useful for when he is standing upright in his mutated form, but also when he has to run, allowing for the help of four limbs versus two to get away quicker.

The mutated strain that was injected into Frank has a few nasty side effects; the most opportune, for the one who injected him, being that he has an allergic reaction to Wolfsbane Potion. Though Frank hasn’t tried it yet, the reaction will be severe and not worth trying again. On the same hand, he isn’t any stronger or faster than normal werewolves bitten naturally, and the biggest difference is when he is affected (a full day, including daylight hours).

Once he is back in his ‘human form,’ it may take a few days for him to feel back up to par; the transformation takes a lot out of him physically, as well as all the activity that he partakes in. It may take Frank a few reminders that silver is also no longer his friend. He retains certain attributes during the ‘off’ days, however, such as extra hairiness in places he doesn’t think should look like a shag rug, and an affinity for extremely undercooked steak. A good scratch can also leave him helpless.

Is your character a dark creature?:

Unintentionally he is-those who know Frank Pratt would be shocked to find out he’s capable of hitting someone (and actually land it), let alone actually murdering someone in cold blood. When the full moon is in its phase, Frank loses his inhibition and morals and becomes a savage, violent and hungry beast.

Is your character currently under pursuit by the Ministry of Magic?

Yes and no… As a new hybrid werewolf, thanks to Cin’s injection, he’s also the guinea pig. A werewolf during day light hours, even if on the ‘full moon’ date, would raise suspicion, on top of murdering someone in broad daylight (currently being RPed). They just don't know it's Frank yet.

How did your character become a creature?:

Bad luck. He was surrounded, forced unconscious, was beaten unconscious, injected with something, had his memory erased, and dumped in Knockturn Alley to see ‘what would happen.’