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Your Nickname: Monkshood
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Are you over thirteen? Yes
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If you have written other characters here: No
If Yes, list them all: Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary
Full Character Name: Elias Bartholomew Hollow
Character Birthday & Age: October 18, 1935 (75 Years Old)
City & Country of Birth: Dublin, Ireland
Blood Purity: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts; Gryffindor
Job/Position: Head of the Departmnt for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures
Wand: Black Walnut Shaft, Cedar Handle, Phoenix Feather, 8 Inches, Knobby and Bendy. It shows signs of significant use.
Physical Description: Elias has a very rugged almost feral appearance. His brown hair is wild and unkempt, and he possesses a beard that would rival even the most seasoned frontiersman. His eyes are a striking bright green that seem to glow with a bestial light causing most people to avoid contact with him. His body is covered from head to toe in scars and burn marks earned from his various escapades with each one telling a different story. He is also missing part of his left ear and the little toe on his right foot from injuries that could not be solved with magic.
Standing at 7’10’’ Elias tends to tower over everyone around him leading many to believe he may be part giant. His body is a pillar of muscle and sinew developed during his treks into the less populated areas of the world. He can easily command a room due to his large figure, naturally drawing the attention of others upon entering an area. When he is angry, he tends to coil his body like an animal ready to strike, making those near him very nervous.
Elias could care less what he wears at any given time. While he does wear a suit he saves this for extremely serious occasions such as press conferences following a particularly nasty incident involving his Department. For the most part he prefers to wear whatever is most comfortable and convenient for the area he will be in and clothing that allows him to travel fast with relative ease.
Personality Description: Elias is above all else a family man. He absolutely adores his grandchild and has spent most of the later years of his life catching up with his wife and daughter. He frequently references them as his source of motivation believing it is his duty to create a world that they would like to live in. He is also not shy in bragging about his status as a married man to those around him, frequently sidetracking conversations so he can show off his family to others.
Elias also seems to have a natural air of confidence about him, as if he is afraid of absolutely nothing. Considering everything he has been through, this may very well be the case. He also seeks to protect those he cares for, going out of his way to assist them (even risking his own hide) if he believes they truly need help. He seeks to inspire those around him to do better using his own actions and expects the very best from those around him, coworker or otherwise.
When dealing with beings and beasts Elias adapts a very calm, reasonable persona so as to help quiet the nerves of the creatures he is handling. He maintains this persona even in the face of adversity, believing the best way to persuade a being or beast is to appear nonthreatening. He is also a very good negotiator, and is very capable at coming up with compromises that benefit everyone involved. He also rarely insults or speaks out against his political adversaries preferring to let them make a fool of themselves. Elias is also a master tactician and can be very cunning when dealing with a situation composing plans that many may not fully understand until they are in place.
While he does admire the beauty and elegance of many magical creatures, he does not let that get in the way of public safety. Similarly, he is reasonable and helpful to beings due to his status, but he will not hesitate to cut negotiations short if he believes that they are using negative methods or have negative intentions. He also is not afraid to reform an aspect of his Department if he believes that it could be getting better results if it did things a different way.
History: Elias was born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 18, 1935 alongside two other siblings: Eleanor and Iscariot. His father Balthazar was a moderately wealthy wizard and the owner of an emporium of magical creatures. Elias’s mother was a non magical woman who participated in a one night fling with Balthazar that resulted in her eventually dumping their children unceremoniously on Balthazar’s front step. When he wasn’t busy helping his father in his shop Elias was busy exploring the city with his siblings.
In 1946 Elias and his siblings received their invitations to Hogwarts and were promptly whisked away. Elias was sorted into Gryffindor, while his sister was sorted into Ravenclaw and his brother into Slytherin, causing a division between them all that would never fully heal. Elias spent much of his time getting into various sorts of trouble and quickly built up a reputation as a delinquent and prankster. The only class he seemed to show any affinity for was Care of Magical Creatures, largely due to the influence of his father.
In 1953 Elias graduated from Hogwarts, breezing through both his O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. much to the surprise of all of his teachers. He secured no less than five O’s in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. Initially intending to assist his father in his emporium, he was instead encouraged to apply for a job in the Ministry. Reluctantly agreeing Elias became an employee in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Beast Division as a member of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures hunting and eliminating dangerous creatures.
Meanwhile Eleanor moved to Belfast where she opened up her very own potions shop much to the delight of her father. Iscariot, having fallen in with the wrong crowd at Hogwarts, began to get involved in various criminal circles.
In 1956 Elias married his wife Ophelia Thatch; a witch working for the Daily Prophet who Elias had met through work. Two years later in 1958, Ophelia gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Astrid. He would also reconnect both with his father and his sister at this time, who visited both the marriage and the birth of Elias child. With a loving family and a career on the fast track to promotion these would be the best days of Elias’s life. All things must come to an end though.
In 1963 Elias’s family became the target of Fenrir Grayback due to his job position. Fenrir dispatched one of his followers to infect Elias’s daughter, but the werewolf was intercepted by Elias before he could carry out Fenrir’s orders. Upon finding out that their star employee had been turned into a werewolf the Ministry promptly fired him. Elias’s wife unable to live with the shame of having a werewolf for a husband fled from their house with his daughter in tow.
Elias slunk back to Dublin to assist his aging father in the maintenance of his emporium. In 1971, Iscariot, now a low ranking Death Eater, visited the emporium in the hopes of convincing his father to join his cause, promising that he would be forgiven for his dalliances with muggles. Elias intercepted him however, and after a heated argument in which Elias backed the Ministry Iscariot challenged him to a duel. Reluctantly agreeing, Elias defeated Iscariot and turned him over to the authorities of the Ministry.
As a reward for his actions, Elias was granted a new position in the government as a magizoologist. He happily accepted the opportunity as a way to escape the increasingly worsening hardships of the First Wizarding War. Traveling to South America, Africa, Australia, and a variety of obscure and isolated locations he spent his time tracking and researching the most dangerous creatures known to wizards. He quickly picked up a reputation as being the wizard equivalent of the as yet unborn Steve Irwin, and picked pup no little amount of fame. Publishing a variety of articles and books on his findings, his status as a werewolf soon became almost irrelevant to his peers.
He returned to Dublin in 1985 four years after the end of the war to attend the funeral of his father. It was there he reconnected with his daughter, now twenty seven, and began working to reestablish some sort of relationship between them once again. While his daughter had at first been angry at her father for what she had seen as abandonment (especially after various lies put forth by her mother), Elias’s happiness to see her again convinced her that he had no choice in the matter. It was decided that he would visit her regularly, but not to inform Elias’s former wife that they had patched things up between them.
Wanting to resume his travels while staying relatively close to home, Elias moved to Northern Europe to study the Centaur herds. He quickly became fascinated by Centaur culture writing several books on the matter and once again entering the spotlight of the magizoologist community. It was also during this time that Elias attempted to patch up relations between Centaurs and wizards, receiving no little amount of skepticism from his peers despite his impressive research for his sympathies. Eventually Elias willingly insisted he be transferred to the Centaur Liaison Office, and it was at this point that his coworkers openly began to ridicule him despite his previous accomplishments.
Elias eventually returned to Britain in 1995 after hearing varied reports about Cedric Diggory’s death and the return of Lord Voldemort. During this time his reputation received a large amount of flack due to his Centaur sympathies, his status as a werewolf, and his belief that the Ministry was being idiotic in its accusations against Dumbledore. Elias was forcibly retired at the insistence of Cornelius Fudge, and he vowed never to work for the Ministry again. Returning to Dublin once again, Elias opened his very own Emporium in the spirit of his father.
In 1996 with the breakout of Death Eaters in Azkaban, Elias made certain preparations in case the Death Eaters once again sought him out. Elias also started to appeal to various werewolves and other Beings to support the Ministry against the Death Eaters, but these negotiations would prove largely unsuccessful. However, his enthusiasm did attract a variety of witches and wizards eager to fight back against the Dark Lord and his followers. This militia of roughly eighteen individuals was known as the Silver Stag Group and mirrored Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix.
In 1997 with the second breakout from Azkaban, Elias’s brother finally returned to him after twenty-six years. However, rather than seeking revenge, Iscariot returned a broken man after so long in Azkaban, begging Elias to forgive him and assist him in hiding from the Death Eaters that would surely notice his betrayal. Elias reluctantly agreed, causing many other members in the Group to defect, believing Iscariot to be a spy sent to reveal their location. By the time the Ministry finally fell the Group had fallen, with seven members dead, another four missing, three compromised as their families were taken hostage, and Elias’s Emporium burnt to the ground.
Elias and Iscariot were forced to go on the run, barely staying one step ahead of Snatchers, Death Eaters, and werewolves who saw Elias’s actions as a betrayal to their race. Elias relied heavily on connections with his old coworkers for assistance, but eventually his luck ran dry. Elias’s sister was captured by Snatchers in October, and he was forced to turn himself in alongside his brother to guarantee her safety. They were both sentenced to execution by the Dementor’s Kiss for their actions, and were placed in temporary cells in the Ministry to await their fates.
However, just hours before the appointed time, Eleanor managed to smuggle in several polyjuice potions and assisted in their escape. Fleeing back to Ireland, Elias’s siblings laid low while Elias checked in on his daughter. He arrived just in time to fight off another group of Snatchers before engaging in a tearful reunion with Astrid and much to his surprise Ophelia who was secretly ashamed at her betrayal. Elias was also surprised to learn that Astrid had married a young wizard name Mathias and was now pregnant with his grandchild.
Together with his family once more, Elias hid until Voldemort was defeated in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. Following the war Elias successfully appealed to the Ministry to grant his brother a pardon for his crimes after the bravery Iscariot displayed in the Second Wizarding War. Elias then spent the next twelve years making up for lost time with his family, in addition to watching his grandson grow into a handsome young man.
Recently Elias was invited to apply by the Ministry for the position as the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Initially intending to refuse, Elias was convinced by his grandson that Elias could help many more people if he took up the post.
Describe your job duties and how you go about them: Elias prefers to personally oversee and involve himself in his department’s wellbeing. Instead of locking himself inside his office all day Elias pays frequent visits to the Heads of his Divisions to make sure everything is running smoothly. He also holds weekly meetings with his division heads to discuss his department’s current objectives and any issues the Division Heads are likely to run into. Elias also insists that he personally oversee any major crises that may occur and pays frequent visits to the Minister of Magic to inform them of any such issues in addition to attending frequent meetings between the Heads of the Departments. Elias leaves the majority of his paperwork up to his Intern although he oversees the more important documents (such as request for aid or additional finances) himself.
Elias is also a strong advocate for the rights of Beings, Centaurs and the Mermen. Having seen and experienced firsthand the difficulties many of these races face he tries his best to support legislation that might help to preserve and expand upon their rights and reform the policies of Level Four. He also works hard to dissuade the various prejudices that have developed over the years, using his own life and accomplishments as an example. However, at the same time he also works to uphold the Ministry’s public reputation amongst the populace and frequently takes time out of his schedule to listen to and discuss issues with political groups on both sides of the debate.
Elaborate on your expertise in your field: Many would argue that Elias’s appointment to his current position has been long overdue. He spent the first ten years as an employee of the Ministry in the Committee for the Disposal of Magical Creatures, hunting and eliminating a variety of dangerous creatures. Through this job he gained an understanding of the smugglers of the wizard black market that more often than not accompanied the presence of such creatures. Later when Elias was reemployed by the Ministry, he worked for fourteen years as a renowned magizoologist, proving both his skills as a researcher and his talents as a wizard as he studied some of the most terrifying creatures known to wizards (classes XXXX and XXXXX) in addition to discovering a variety of new species. He also became a member of the Centaur Liaison Office for another ten years, ingratiating himself with several Centaur herds as he worked to both examine Centaur culture and improve Centaur conditions in wizard society, developing many of the diplomatic skills he possesses today. He has also published hundreds of books and research articles and has worked off and on as an Emporium owner in between his duties as a Ministry employee. He also proved his loyalty to the Ministry despite being prejudiced against after courageously fighting and risking his life during both the First and Second Wizarding Wars.
Writing Sample: Tupperware sat on the end of the wagon, feet pulled up to prevent muddying them as she clutched the horse’s reins with half frozen fingers. Despite the warmth her fur coat provided, it did little to prevent the wetness of the rain from seeping in, the chill against her bare skin wracking her with shivers. Miserable, soggy, and freezing she silently cursed her brother once again for pushing her to journey so far north. She could barely handle the winters in her homeland, and despite it being summer, the weather in this foreign land had turned out to be surprisingly cold.
Tupperware glanced up from her stupor momentarily, taking a moment to register what she was seeing. A massive tree stood to her right, decorated with what appeared to be various pieces of art and labeled with a name she was unfamiliar with. Momentarily stunned by the beauty and complexity of such a thing in a place she had previously believed to be inhabited only by uneducated country bumpkins, Tupperware brought the horse to a stop. She was aware of the presence of the second wagon drawing up parallel to her, her brother looking questionably at her from his seat.
Tupperware twisted her body in his direction saying, “This looks like a pack. We should see if they’ll let us rest up until this rain clears.”
Fresco looked thoughtful, pausing for a moment before he said, “We should see if we can join them, sis. We’ve been looking for a new pack for a while since we…um…left the caravan. From the looks of those paintings it looks like they might be open to people like us.”
“You’ve been looking for a pack you mean”, Tupperware growled, “And a few scraps of art left out in the rain hardly eases my worries.”
Tupperware sighed as she hopped down from the wagon, making sure her horse was still attached. When she was finished she slowly walked closer to the border, letting loose a howl that echoed through the surrounding area. She hoped that somebody would come soon as another shiver rippled through her body. The sound of padded feet and a decrease in the deluge alerted her to the presence of her brother’s hulking form behind her, purposefully shielding her from the rain. She let loose a rare smile and then settled in to wait.
Sum up your character in one paragraph:Elias is a grizzled old wizard and a veteran employee of the Ministry who has seen more than his share of both wondrous and horrifying things. He is also a very grandfatherly man and is very protective of both his family and those in his Department. In addition he is a werewolf seeking to change the Ministry's outlook on his kindred from the inside out. He is also an explorer at heart and spends much of his time outside of work catching up with old colleagues and sharing tales of his exploits.
Elias Bartholomew Hollow: Head of the DRCMC