Physical Description:
"My mum's Greek, that's why I'm so lively and colorful."


A rather short and slight teenage boy, just breaking one hundred pounds (he weighs 46 kg), Nico often slouches (despite his yia yia’s protests) which makes him appear even shorter. His expression is generally one of blasé disdain, and he rarely shows an emotional response regardless of what is happening. If irked, he will give his best withering glare to let the offender know that they are on thin ice. His voice is a low, monotone drawl, as if speaking is an irritating chore that is required of him, and he simply can’t be bothered to muster up an appropriate amount of warmth even for those he cares about.

His dark brown hair can sometimes appear almost black, and while he now wears it relatively short and somewhat spiked, he had been a veritable mophead until this summer. Nico’s chocolate brown eyes generally appear to hold some measure of boredom, though he has been known to express some level of mild amusement due to the antics of those around him. These occurrences are often heralded as a sign of the coming apocalypse.

Despite his thin frame, he shows a fondness for oversized sweaters and hoodies (always in dark colors) when not in his school robes, and he takes a measure of pride in his thick-framed glasses when he wants to feel particularly studious. He has multiple piercings in both ears, as well as his right eyebrow, and has an ouroboros tattoo on his left wrist.

Personality Description:
"I hate talking to people about things."

A rather taciturn boy, he rarely opens his mouth other than to mutter a sarcastic remark. A bit of a misanthrope, he nevertheless finds it difficult to shut out all people to his eternal chagrin, and some individuals he is even almost fond of. However, he detests people who have a disdain of others above anyone else, as he finds them to be insufferable narcissists. He will never deny his contrariness.

Ultimately, he is a surprisingly caring individual, though he has difficulty expressing such to most people. Even when he does show his caring side, it appears to come across in snarky japes and teasing remarks, unless one pays attention to his actions. For those he likes, he will give his time and show his affection with actions, such as taking on some of their responsibilities to give them a break. He dislikes when attention is brought to these acts of kindness, and he prefers if the person he is helping doesn’t ever find out about his assistance.

Many find interacting with Nico to be uncomfortable, as his deadpan expression often causes people to feel a strong need to entertain him, and be discouraged when nothing elicits a response from the boy. Nico considers this to be a bonus, because it inevitably leads to him being left alone by most people whom he considers irksome. The number of people who have made Nico smile or laugh can be counted on one hand, and those few who manage such a feat find themselves with a loyal and true friend.

Underneath his stoic exterior, he is a conflicted and guilt-ridden individual. He refuses to make promises, due to breaking the one he made to his mother that he would take care of her, and harbors a lot of resentment towards his father for abandoning his family as well as himself for contacting the authorities. This guilt affects much of his personality, though he was always a rather somber and brooding child – those events simply exacerbated his introversion. Due to this, he actively attempts to maintain a level of unpopularity so that he won’t let anyone down or be let down in turn.

History:
The eldest of five children born to Delia Zacharias and Ira Roth, Nico found his parents’ constant bickering infuriating, and took it upon himself to care for his younger siblings. His father disapproved of Delia’s obsession with alchemy, and would frequently sabotage her experiments to keep her under his thumb and reliant on his income. Nico loathed his father, and his controlling behavior, and would often assist his mother with her work. It was during this time that he realized he shared his mother’s love for alchemy (though if one asked what fueled his interest in the subject they would probably receive a different answer every time, with his top reason being: “Nico stands for Nicholas Flamel. Don’t tell anyone, though, I’m kinda on the lamb.”), and he began to study on his own.

When he was 9, his father tampered with a particularly sensitive experiment unbeknownst to either Nico or Delia, and when the two went to check on the progress, the unstable formula reacted and blasted Delia across the small room they used as a laboratory. The next several days were spent at St. Mungo’s, and the healers advised the family to send Delia to the Janus Thickey ward indefinitely. Ira was wracked with guilt, but ultimately brought the children’s mother back to their home where she was a shell of her former self. Nico shut himself off completely from his father and he decided that he was already taking care of his younger siblings so it wouldn’t be difficult to take care of one more person. It wouldn’t take long for him to realize how wrong he was in that assumption. Shortly after the accident, Ira left his family due to the stress of having to care for Delia, leaving Nico in charge of the household. In her more lucid moments, Delia managed to make some money working odd jobs from time to time, and things were good. But all too often, she would lapse into a dangerously paranoid and delusional state which caused the young boy to have to hide his siblings in the closet while he calmed down their mother.

It was around this time that his ability as a Seer manifested. He would be able to predict when his mother was about to lapse, and prepare accordingly, sending his younger siblings to his yia yia, telling her that his mother and he were working with some very sensitive materials and they were being too rambunctious. He became adept at obfuscating the truth as a necessity, and Delia asked him to promise her that he would keep their family together. Nico agreed without a second thought, as he worried that if the authorities found out he and his siblings would be separated and never be able to see their mother again.

All good things must end, though. Nico received his letter to Hogwarts, and he knew that meant he wouldn’t be able to watch over his family. Unwilling to give the burden to one of his other siblings, he finally came clean and contacted one of the head healers in the Janus Thickey ward. His mother looked at him with bewilderment, and spat vile accusations at the boy as they took her away from the children. Their yia yia, Hekate, took all of the children in and cared for them, assuring Nico that he didn’t have to be the responsible one any longer. Before Nico left for his first year at Hogwarts, the children went to see Delia at St. Mungo’s, but she refused to acknowledge Nico and only paid attention to the younger siblings.

As he boarded the Hogwarts Express, he decided that telling the truth only served to hurt everyone involved. He came up with wildly elaborate backstories whenever someone would question him, all delivered with the same deadpan expression. Somehow he managed to get roped into a merry band of misfits, and found himself not loathing everything they did. The fact that they didn’t hound him about all of his past experiences probably helped with not hating them.

Now entering his 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he swears that his excitement and joy cannot be contained. You’ll just have to trust him, as you’d be hard-pressed to be able to decipher any sort of sincerity behind his words.

Classes:

Core Classes Astronomy Charms Defense Against the Dark Arts Herbology History of Magic Potions Transfiguration

Electives Arithmancy Care of Magical Creatures Divination Muggle Studies

How Do You Fit Into Your House?:
"Some people are okay, but mostly I just feel like hexing everybody."

Too much of a grumpster to fit in either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, his deadpan snark caused the Sorting Hat to place him in Ravenclaw where he hoped that he wouldn’t have to deal with quite as much stupidity. He was ultimately let down, as he was simply surrounded by imbeciles who postured as sages.

Writing Sample:
See Verity Bell

Sum up your character in one paragraph:
A deadpan snarker with a penchant for telling wild stories, Nico is not a fan of people in general. Sure, there are exceptions, but you're probably not one of them. His blasé attitude is considered off-putting by most, but the Ravenclaw is not shedding any tears over it.