Your Nickname: SJ
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Full Character Name: Effie Kathleen Finnigan
Character Birthday & Age: 11/28/1978 (31)
City & Country of Birth: Leeds, England
Blood Purity: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts, Hufflepuff House
Job/Position: Professor of Transfiguration

Wand: 9 1/2 inch pliable spiraled Mahogany with a hair of Unicorn core

Physical Description:
Build: Petite in every way, narrow hips, narrow waist; her limbs a fairly long in comparison to her torso but there is no mistaking how tiny she is.
Height: 5'3" flat footed
Hair: Brown in hue, shoulder length or a little below in length, often worn up in a hurried bun; as though she forgot to tie it back before she left home (at times held in place by spare quills or spells). She has been known to get rather bored and take a pair of kitchen sheers to it resulting in a spiky pixie cut.
Eyes: Large, soft brown, extremely expressive, when angered they seem to darken and change the tone of her usually open smiling face.
Skin tone and complexion: A healthy peaches 'n' cream, and blemish free (mostly because she is religious about her skin care regime). She looks younger than her 31 years but it could be argued it's because she's so short and not because her skin is so fantastic.
Style influences and impressions: Coming from a family of modest means with several siblings to boot; fashion was not something that Effie became aware of or passionate about until much later in life. She buys well-tailored long lasting pieces rather than following the latest trends of Muggle or Wizarding fashion. She likes to look polished but also approachable. Her makeup is kept to a minimum unless it is a particularly auspicious occasion; as someone who deals with transfiguration mishaps regularly ease of wear and durability matter more than flash and sizzle.

Personality Description: First and foremost Effie is a teacher; she always has been. From the time she was a little girl; it wasn't just looking after and mothering her siblings it was teaching them things. Both of her younger brothers knew how to knit before they were ten (despite protests that it was giiiiiirly). They might not have been making works of art; but there was something inspiring to Effie about seeing their eyes light up when they got it right and could run off to show their Mum. As the second oldest she spent a lot of time pre-Hogwarts keeping an eye out; a habit that follows her to this day. She likes looking after people, helping them, teaching them. Smart as she was focus was not always her strongest suit and it is with that in mind that she tries to create an engaging classroom.

Like most Sagittarius, she is optimistic, wise beyond her years, and a big believer in having and chasing massive dreams. She's also restless, clumsy, a little naive, and absolutely terrified of commitment. It's a list of traits that seem rather contradictory, but they form the whole that is Effie. She believes the best about people, until they prove otherwise. She has an innate sense of what people need to hear or have to become the best versions of themselves they can be - and she is driven to help them achieve those things. Does giving others that much of herself and the benefit of the doubt come back to bite her squarely in the bum?

Absolutely! Yet she can't shake this feeling that, through everything the Wizarding world has gone through there is no such thing as simply good or simply evil. Every person she meets has a wellspring of potential just waiting to be tapped; sometimes they just use that potential for nefarious means. The devil is in the details and Effie forgets about the details as she's sketching out these massively beautiful dreamscapes for other people. With age comes experience and she is not as trusting as she once was. This applies more to her personal life than to her students, given her own academic struggles she is more lenient then perhaps she should be but she likes to think she knows when she's being duped and she finds her own little clever ways to force perpetrators who misuse her trust to fess up.


History: Born in late November of 1978; Effie Kathleen Finnigan was the second eldest child of Riordan and Maggie Finnigan (actually her birth name was Oighrig but she's never in her life gone by that and she had it legally changed as soon as she was able, this is a major reason she doesn't believe in "family" names). She already had a brother Ronan, and before she was three, the holy terror twins (Oliver & Owen) came along and from the beginning Effie took the job of being a big sister very seriously. Needless to say the Finnigan household was always chaotic but it was something that Effie enjoyed, she also enjoyed being the only girl; that is until her little sister Bronwen (Bryn for short) was born right smack dab the month before Effie was off to Hogwarts! It would be a lie to say that Effie didn't feel like her parents' little "surprise" was meant to replace her but it would also be a lie to say she wasn't thoroughly distracted by the idea of roaming the castle with Ronan (who was a third year and as it would turn out did not have a lot of time for his baby sister).

Effie proved to be a bright enough student, eager in class to learn and practice; her favorite lessons were the ones in which she could really use her wand. She suffered through lectures and tried her best but it was hard, the windows were always so distracting and Professor Binns could go on for ages and ages, and he could afford to of course because he was dead! Effie always felt like it was such a waste of time but a very wise Headmaster told her that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it; before offering her a toffee and shuffling off to save someone else's day. Not to mention literally being taught for seven years by her idol Minerva bleedin' McGonagall! When Effie looks back on it now she sees her time at Hogwarts as a truly golden era; she was taught by the best of the best (in most instances anyway), and though their world soon fell into darkness it was impossible for the tiny Hufflepuff to ever really lose hope.

Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense were her best subjects, which would come in rather handy during the war. She had graduated a year before the battle of Hogwarts but with a muggleborn mother Effie worried greatly about the safety of her family with the Death Eaters in control. It is not a period she likes to revisit in her life, though Ronan will tell you it explains very much the reason why his baby sister refuses to settle down at thirty-one years of age. The safest thing back then was to keep moving; which Effie made sure they did. She might not have been able to protect the boys who were in their 5th year (and refused to leave their friends behind), but she could keep Bryn and Maggie safe. The three of them moved from house to house before Effie finally convinced her mother it would be safer stateside. Once there Effie found a job as a magical tutor and though she felt she had done what was best for her family she couldn't help feeling like a traitor.

Eventually, good won over evil, He-who-shall-not-be-named was defeated... and somehow life went on. She and her mother and Bryn came home and, well, Effie just locked away painful memories of lost friends and extended family, though the guilt is still very much a motivating factor as to why she gives so much of herself to her students. Soon Bryn was off to Hogwarts and Effie had to find a way to be in the world and of the world. She took several jobs as a governess to magical children, but found the positions lacking. It was then she decided to become a traveling tutor for students who had either dropped out of Magical Academies and/or were retaking their OWLS or NEWTs. It was the most fulfilling job she's had to date but upon learning that McGonagall was once again Headmistress and there was a vacancy in Transfiguration she felt compelled to return to Scotland and Hogwarts Castle.

Describe your job duties and how you go about them:
Having spent the last ten years teaching people who were "unteachable" the corner stone of Effie's teaching philosophy is to find the best possible way to engage her students, to create an environment in which they feel safe to explore their magical ability and aptitudes. Each student needs something different to be the best witch or wizard they can possibly be and she feels it is her duty to find whatever it is they need and offer it to them. She believes if you put your faith and trust in your students and give them opportunities to do the right thing, to make the right choices they will most of the time. Her trust is freely given at first; but if you abuse it then it is a long hard road back to redemption. She is not one to scream or threaten, she rarely raises her voice (unless it's in excitement or amusement) but she spent seven years watching the McGonagall glare and the last ten perfecting her own version.

Elaborate on your expertise in your field:
Naturally gifted with wand work, she excelled in all spell related NEWTS; while not desiring a ministry job she knew she wanted to work with children and teach so she's spent the last ten years as a traveling tutor and sometimes substitute proctor for the Ministry. Her last project was a group of drop outs and werewolves who had never sat for their NEWTS (all of whom passed with an A or better, especially in Transfiguration).

Writing Sample:
See Dolly St. James

Sum up your character in one paragraph:
First and foremost Effie is a teacher; she always has been. From the time she was a little girl; it wasn't just looking after and mothering her siblings it was teaching them things. Both of her younger brothers knew how to knit before they were ten (despite protests that it was giiiiiirly). They might not have been making works of art; but there was something inspiring to Effie about seeing their eyes light up when they got it right and could run off to show their Mum. She is optimistic as well as a big believer in having and chasing massive dreams. She's also restless, clumsy, a little naive, and absolutely terrified of commitment. It's a list of traits that seem rather contradictory, but they form the whole that is Effie. She believes the best about people, until they prove otherwise. She has an innate sense of what people need to hear or have to become the best versions of themselves they can be - and she is driven to help them achieve those things.