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Personality Description: In most every area of her life, Mara is painfully average. Her looks are average, her home life is average, her time at Hogwarts has been average, her interest and ability in sports is average, her grades are average (or at least, average for an intellectual Ravenclaw, so perhaps they could be considered above-average), her skill-set is average. Mara’s entire existence has been devoted to figuring out whatever her god-given talent is so that she can start using it already. She’s tried painting, drawing, writing, sculpting, playing Quidditch, playing football, dancing, ice skating (and being slightly above-average in clumsiness, it is safe to say that ice skating did not last long), animal training, acting, singing, chess playing, cooking, learning and speaking foreign languages (although she’s semi-fluent in Serbian if she speaks slowly), knitting, crocheting, quilting, scrapbooking, and the list goes on and on and on. Mara may, however, have an above-average level of anxiety and perfectionism; she knows she isn’t going to get “O”s in all her courses, so she’s fine with an “E,” or even the rare “A” in Defense Against the Dark Arts (as once she thinks she can't do something she rather self-deprecatingly makes it acceptable to be 'average'), but anything less than an "A" would be apocalyptic in Mara's life. She is prone to tears (that she's excellent at hiding, as who wants to be seen with a crying sixteen-year-old?) and shaking hands, but she is usually able to get through situations that she is uncomfortable in or situations that aren't going 'well' for her. Honestly, she's so clumsy that you'd think she'd be used to being stared at, but she still has yet to get to used it. She’s a bit odd and more than a bit awkward, but what sixteen-year-old girl isn’t? The one almost-talent she has going for her is her skills in Transfiguration. It isn’t even that she’s the best in her class, because she isn’t, but she seems to have an ability to understand Transfiguration on a deeper level than what is taught to her. She enjoys doing her own research and coming up with her own spells (even though she’s afraid to try most of them, so they mainly remain ideas written in a leather-bound parchment notebook). Perhaps if Mara’s confidence was above-average, she’d be able to try some of these spells, or at least share her ideas and theories with her classmates and Professors. But unfortunately for Mara, she isn’t very confident, and keeps her ideas to herself. The one thing that Mara does need in her life is routine - she thrives on it. She both fears and abhors change, and handles it terribly. She was even upset over the extremely minor changes in tea cups last year, and sniveled a bit into the slightly larger cup. Something that she is trying to work past is her inability to accept events that don't go according to plan, as nothing ever seems to go according to plan. Mara is also trying to be less self-deprecating when she gets shy or awkward or anxious (which is, unfortunately, more often than she'd care to admit) and tries to internally shout at her worries until they go away so that she can try to be like a normal person and just roll with the punches. When she isn’t theorizing about Transfiguration, Mara enjoys reading Muggle and Magical novels, laughing with friends (she isn’t overly outgoing but has a great sense of humor, provided one takes the time to listen to her and wait for it), and taking walks throughout Hogwarts and its grounds. A bit on the shy side and more introverted than not, Mara doesn’t have many friends, something that has always secretly saddened her. She longs to be one of those girls who stays up late in the Common Room chatting, but she finds that she has nothing that’s worthy of sharing. Mara won’t talk just for the sake of it - she always feel that there needs to be a point to her joining a conversation. Because of this, she tends to listen more than talk, which is beneficial for those who are, actually, friends with her. Mara is an excellent secret-keeper and listener, and in her own shy, quiet, and awkward way isn’t half-bad at consoling her friends and classmates when necessary.

Isidora, Zora, and Mara Mara and her father, Zoran Mara's mum, Mary The Stojanovic Cottage Mara's bedroom at home

History: Mara has lived in the same house all her life in Holyoake, Norfolk (England). She was born in that house, as was her older sister, Isidora, and her younger sister, Zora. Holyoake is a tiny, Wizarding community near Norwich, one of those villages where everyone is friendly with everyone. Mara’s parents met at St. Mungo’s where they both work as healers (her father, Zoran, specializes in burns on the Creature-Induced Injuries ward and her mum, Mary, works primarily with children on various wards). Mary Stojanovic nee Holmes, a Muggle-Born, attended Hogwarts as a Gryffindor back in her day. Zoran had attended Drumstrang, and moved to England upon graduating when he was offered a spot to begin training as a Healer at St. Mungo's. Mara is certain that because her parents have a picturesque marriage she is doomed to never experiencing one herself (lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, or so the saying goes). While Mary and Zoran bicker from time to time, they genuinely adore, respect, and love one another. Mara has two sisters, Isidora and Zora, the latter of whom is the light of her life. She is beyond elated for her little sister to attend Hogwarts next year, and is eager to see where she will be sorted (Zora is, more-or-less, the exact opposite of Mara. Her sorting could really go any way at this point). Outgoing where Mara is quiet, talented where Mara is average, the two could not be any more different. But as far as sisters go, they are extremely close. The best and worst day of Mara’s life occurred the day she first left for Hogwarts. While she was eager to begin her studies and go to Hogwarts (“Think of all the books I can read, mum! There must be so many!”), she dreaded leaving her younger sister behind. After much weeping between the girls, however, Mara was on her way and ready to be sorted. It should be noted that while Mara and her older sister, Isidora, get along well, they aren't exactly the best of friends. Isidora is neither shy like Mara, nor outgoing like Zora. She is adaptable, much like the snake that represents the House she was sorted into. Unlike Mara, there was never a doubt where the ever ambitious Isidora would be sorted (Slytherin, of course). And no one thought Isidora was ever a Squib, either. Speaking of, said older sister in question did little to quell her younger sister's fears about the subjects, and only added fuel to the flame whenever the subject came up. Two years Mara's senior, Isidora graduated with high marks and is currently beginning her training to becoming a Curse-Breaker for Gringott's. There is little to be said about Mara’s childhood. Running with the theme of her life, it was quite average. Her mum and dad taught her to read and write and do basic arithmetic as a child, and when she about five she, along with several other children from her town, were taught more basic skills at Ms. Holly’s house, just as Isidora had done before her. The Stojanovic’s neighbor, Ms. Holly was somewhere in her seventies, had never been married, and considered it her mission to educate the children of Holyoake before they went off to Hogwarts. Mara, as much as she can remember, enjoyed her time spent with Ms. Holly. She had always enjoyed school, even as a child, and feels thankful to have had such a caring upbringing with regards to her studies. The one detail that sticks out in Mara’s childhood as less than average is also the one that she tries the hardest to suppress. For the longest time, Mara was thought to be a Squib. Unlike most children her age who were constantly performing accidental magic, Mara appeared quite normal until she was about ten. Less than a year before she would (hopefully, at that point) get her letter to Hogwarts, Mara was playing with Zora (who was three or four at the time) on the rope swing in their front yard. The rope swing was ancient and Mara was given strict instructions to watch her sister whenever she played on it. Mara took her job very seriously, and always made sure to keep an eye on Zora whenever she swung on it (which was often). On this particular day, Mara was sitting under a tree opposite the rope swing when Zora, who was always trying to swing as high as she could, launched herself from the swing. To this day, no one really knows what, exactly, happened, but instead of crashing to the ground, Zora ended on a pile of flowers that had certainly been rocks mere seconds before the incident occurred. This achievement in magic was also, in Mara’s humble and honest opinion, probably her greatest display of magic to date. Her father nearly cried when she told him what had happened, and he lifted her off the ground and spun her around as he had when she was younger exclaiming, “That’s my girl! I knew they were wrong about you!” It was no surprise to Mara what everyone thought about her, but Zoran always swore he knew his daughter was a Witch - she was just waiting for the right moment to show it. And that was Mara’s first and only display of accidental magic. Perhaps she had been waiting for just the right time to use it - after all, Mara finds that performing magic for the sake of magic is useless, similar to talking too much in a conversation. It is possible that her magic follows her nature dedicated to purposeful conversations and events - or perhaps she just got lucky that day. (Or maybe, although she’d never admit it to anyone because it made her sick just to think about it, it was Zora who had saved herself, while Mara merely looked on, horrified.) Regardless of what actually happened, Mara did receive her letter and, frantically with her family, rushed to get her supplies ready so that she could depart September 1st. Life has since been quite average, but Mara is still making strides to find herself, figure out her magical abilities, and find the thing that makes her more than just an average sixteen-year-old. Mara’s first year at Hogwarts was fairly typical - she received excellent marks in all of her classes, but rarely spoke aloud in class, fearing her fellow classmates (who actually looked their age, or even older, and just seemed so much smarter and better than her). Isidora was no help to her at all, choosing to ignore instead of aid the terrified First Year. Flying gave her a bit of trouble, as did the occasional Defense Against the Dark Arts class, but Mara was on a (fairly silent) mission. She was determined to prove to everyone - her family, her Housemates, and herself - that she belonged at Hogwarts, that she belonged in Ravenclaw. After her rocky start with magic (aside from the event with Zora that she may or may not have actually caused, it took an embarrassing amount of time for a wand to eventually ‘choose’ her. Mara started sniveling silently after the ninth failed attempt, and was in hysterics by the twenty-seventh when she shattered one of the windows), Mara feared (and still fears) that she really wasn’t (isn’t) a Witch, that she really was (is) a Squib, that her letter from Hogwarts was (is) some sort of sick joke. To curb these fears, Mara doubled her efforts in studying. Her theoretical knowledge was very impressive for a First Year, even if her practical skills occasionally felt through. Because of all her time spent in the Library studying, she neglected to spend time making friends. Her second and third years followed along in a similar manner. Mara wasn’t the best in her year, but she was up there, although it was rare her fellow classmates would believe it due to her lack of participation in class and occasional magical mishaps (an event in third year comes to mind when Mara panicked during a dueling session in Defense Against the Dark Arts and accidentally sent her target flying into a poorly placed Venus Flytrap). Her professors, however, were able to see that she clearly understood the material, even if she wasn’t going to be vocal about it. By her fourth year, Mara finally got around to doing what she had neglected to do her first year - make friends. Kind of. While she has a fair amount of  acquaintances that she enjoys chatting with, studying with, and grabbing dinner with, she longed (and still does) for a “best friend,” someone she can be really honest with about her fears. Mara began to come into her own during her fifth year, and finally began participating in the classes that she felt comfortable in. Still hesitant and a bit shy, she was more willing to volunteer her, more often than not, correct answers with the class. She also found it easier to talk to other people and befriend them (even boys!). Mara’s fifth year gave her the courage to speak in front of small groups of people, and, eventually, an entire class. Mara also excelled in her OWLs, scoring all “Os” and “Es” (and that one “A” in Defense Against the Dark Arts - she always choked under pressure there, it seemed). With the guidance of her professors, Mara selected six NEWT courses to take for her sixth year. She’s still on her mission to prove herself in the Wizarding community, even if she loses sleep and the chance to have close friends over it. Now in her sixth year, Mara is becoming fearful for the future. She’s keeping up in her classes, but has no idea what she wants to do upon graduating Hogwarts. She knows she has over a year left to decide, but the thought keeps her up at night. Despite her grades, she still fears that one day she’s going to wake up and not be able to do magic, or that everything will have just been a dream and she really is a Squib after all.

Writing Sample:

"Maraaaaaaaaa!"

The girl in question sighed.

"Maraaaaaaaaa! Where are you!"

The girl in question sighed again and dog-eared the book that she was currently in the middle of (Transfiguration for a New Age, by Augusta Hamlisch).

"I'm in the backyard!" She hollered towards the direction of the house.

Within seconds she heard the elephantine footsteps of her little sister (for such a small girl she made quite a bit of noise) running down the stairs, through the living room, into the kitchen, and finally out the back door. Mara smiled, shaking her head slightly. Her ten-year-old sister was going to be the death of her, but she loved her too much to protest (excessively, anyway).

"Hi! Whatcha reading?" Zora inquired, slumping down the willow that Mara was currently reading under. The older girl showed the younger one the cover, to which the latter made a face. "That looks really boring."

"It isn't! Augusta Hamlisch has some really innovative ideas on the various properties of various substances. If you can better break down what you're trying to Transfigure, you'll have greater success. It's putting more of a scientific spin on Transfiguration, which I think-"

"-is super lame. You're on holiday break! Why can't we do something fun?"

Mara sighed and huffed, "This is fun."

Plucking the book from her lap with the swiftness of a sea bird catching a fish, Zora jumped up.

"Give it back," Mara sighed for the umpteenth time, beginning to stand. "I borrowed it from the library at Hogwarts, it isn't mine."

"Come and get it then!" Zora shouted, twirling like a dancer and racing to the side of the house.

Mara resisted the urge to sigh once again (it was beginning to feel redundant). This was supposed to be a relaxing holiday, full of time for reading and time for hanging out with the family. Why did the family part have to include chasing her little sister around to engage in the reading part? Lowering herself almost comically to the ground to adapt a 'runner's pose,' Mara dashed after her sister. "I'm bigger and faster than you!" She called as her sister darted to the front yard.

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"Everyone thinks we're twins!"

At this Mara stopped and glowered at the younger girl. It wasn’t fair that she was constantly compared to her ten-year-old sister. While Zora's hair was much darker than Mara's, there was no denying the similarity between the two. But why did Mara have to look like a ten-year-old? It just wasn't fair.

"Well..." Mara continued, beginning her chase again, "I'm still faster than you!" And with that, the older girl launched herself in the younger girl, pivoting herself so that she, instead of her sister, would take the brunt of the fall.

They landed with a grunt.

"Hey, Mara?" Zora asked, relinquishing her hold on the book.

"What?" She replied, lips beginning to turn up in a grin.

"Have you ever considered becoming a rugby player?"

Sum up your character in one paragraph:
The ever-so-average Mara is more than meets the eye (she hopes - oh gods, does she hope). The introverted book-worm is an asset as a friend, and is always eager to please. Be it a friend or a classmate, she is always ready to lend an ear to listen or a hand to help. She hopes that she has a talent that will somehow make her special or important - but she isn't holding her breath. Although it is very possible that she underestimates her magical abilities. Maybe this year, with friends to help boost her confidence, she'll be able to come into her own and leave the non-confident, awkward, and average girl behind for good.

Virgo is the only zodiacal sign represented by a female. It is sometimes thought of as a potentially creative girl, delicately lovely; sometimes as a somewhat older woman, intelligent but rather pedantic and spinsterish. The latter impression is sometimes confirmed by the Virgoan preciseness, refinement, fastidious love of cleanliness, hygiene and good order, conventionality and aristocratic attitude of reserve. They are usually observant, shrewd, critically inclined, judicious, patient, practical supporters of the status quo, and tend toward conservatism in all departments of life. On the surface they are emotionally cold, and sometimes this goes deeper, for their habit of suppressing their natural kindness may in the end cause it to atrophy, with the result that they shrink from committing themselves to friendship, make few relationships, and those they do make they are careful to keep superficial.

But the outward lack of feeling may, in some individuals born under this sign, conceal too much emotion, to which they are afraid of giving way because they do not trust others, nor do they have confidence in themselves and their judgments. This is because they are conscious of certain shortcomings in themselves of worldliness, of practicality, of sophistication and of outgoingness. So they bring the art of self concealment to a high pitch, hiding their apprehensiveness about themselves and their often considerable sympathy with other people under a mantle of matter-of-factness and undemonstrative, quiet reserve. They are still waters that run deep. Yet in their unassuming, outwardly cheerful and agreeable fashion, they can be sensible, discreet, well spoken, wise and witty, with a good understanding of other people's problems which they can tackle with a practicality not always evident in their own personal relationships.

Both sexes have considerable charm and dignity, which make some male Virgoans appear effeminate when they are not. In marriage they can be genuinely affectionate, making good spouses and parents, but their love making is a perfection of technique rather than the expression of desire, and they must be careful not to mate with a partner whose sex drive requires a passion they cannot match.
They are intellectually enquiring, methodical and logical, studious and teachable. They combine mental ingenuity with the ability to produce a clear analysis of the most complicated problems. They have an excellent eye for detail but they may be so meticulous that they neglect larger issues. Also, although they are realists, they may slow down projects by being too exact.

They are practical with their hands, good technicians and have genuine inventive talents. Thoroughness, hard work and conscientiousness are their hallmarks, and they are such perfectionists that, if things go wrong, they are easily discouraged. Because of their ability to see every angle of a many-sided question, they are unhappy with abstract theorizing. Appreciating the many different points of view as they do, they find philosophical concepts difficult, and they vacillate and have no confidence in any conclusions at which they arrive.

With these qualities, they are better as subordinates than leaders. Responsibility irks them and they often lack the breadth of strategic vision that a leader needs Virgoans are essentially tacticians, admirable in the attainment of limited objectives. Their self distrust is something they project on to other people and tends to make them exacting employers, though in the demands they make on those under them they temper this attitude with justice. They have potential abilities in the arts, sciences and languages. Language especially they use correctly, clearly, consciously and formally, as grammarians and etymologists rather than for literary interests, yet they are likely to have a good memory for apt quotations. Although they are well suited for careers in machine drawing, surveying and similar occupations, they are better fitted for a job in a library or office than a workshop.

Their minds are such that they need the stimulus of practical problems to be solved rather than the mere routine or working to set specifications that need no thought. They are careful with money and their interest in statistics makes them excellent bookkeepers and accountants. They also make good editors, physicists and analytical chemists. They may also find success as welfare workers, ministering to those less fortunate than themselves. They can be doctors, nurses, psychologists, teachers, confidential secretaries, technologists, inspectors, musicians, critics, public speakers and writers especially of reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Both sexes have a deep interest in history, a feature recognized by astrological authorities for at least two hundred years. If they go in for a business career their shrewdness and analytical ingenuity could tempt them into dishonesty, though they usually have enough moral sense to resist temptation. Female Virgoans may find a career in fashion, for they have a flair for dress, in which they can be trend setters. In any profession they choose the natives of this sign readily assimilate new ideas, but always with caution, conserving what they consider worth keeping from the past. They love country life but are unlikely to make good farmers, unless they can contrive to carry out their work without outraging their sense of hygiene and cleanliness.

Their faults, as is usual with all zodiacal types, are the extremes of their virtues. Fastidious reticence and modesty become old-maidishness and persnicketiness; balanced criticism becomes carping and nagging; and concern for detail becomes overspecialization. Virgoans are liable to indecision in wider issues and this can become chronic, turning molehills of minor difficulties into Himalayas of crisis. Their prudence can become guile and their carefulness, turned in on themselves, can produce worriers and hypochondriacs.