Your Name: Ames!
Have you read the Code of Conduct?:  Yes~
Are you over thirteen?  Yes~
How did you find us? AO ALUM!
Do you play other Characters on AO?  You betcha!
Gabrielle Murray, Maurice Holmes, Adelia Delacroix, Rufus Delacroix, & Moaning Myrtle (Secondary)

Is this a Primary or Secondary character? Primary.

Character's Full Name:  Calvin Dolan Merrick.
Character's Birthday and Age:   November 13, 1964; will turn 46 in November.
City/Country of Birth:   Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Blood Purity: Halfblood; muggle relative via mother’s side. 
Alma Mater: Salem Institute, Salem, MA; Class of 1981.
Job/Position:  Former criminal in the States (more about this in History); seems to be a well to do bachelor.

Wand: 10”, Yew, Peruvian Vipertooth; wand is rigid, but capable of following its master’s call. His original wand was destroyed in his “death” – the wand was likewise 10” but was a dogwood with ashwinder ash.


Physical Description:
Lumbering about at a clear 6' 1" (1.85 m), Merrick is a towering and lingering shadow. He is hardly one to not notice in a crowd, but Merrick isn’t opposed to blending amongst the droves. His dark hair never goes farther than initial shaggy and prefers to keep a semi-tan as to keep himself from looking like a freakishly tall ghost. He’s been known to sport beards in the fall and winter, but is quick to get it away in the spring and summer. His hands are weathered from working about with various jobs, nicks and cuts from sharp objects. Merrick is pleasant more or less to observe when dressed out in public, but it’s not to say that his body is without its own scarring. Gashes that never really healed up properly are on his back, a few burns still healing from handling hot tempered creatures (much like himself). This said, Merrick wears them as proud badges and finds them unique in his own way.

Regarding his style of clothing, Merrick dresses far more Muggle than he does magical folk. It isn’t to say that Merrick doesn’t value a good robe, but they’re likely to be robes that either billow in the wind or secure closely to his form when having to be more naughty than nice. The robes are typically dark tomes, preferring ebony and scarlet and juniper, even mulberry and a dark azure compared to what one would have seen Gilderoy Lockhart in. As for the Muggle styled clothing, one can find him in business casual or just plain business when duty calls, otherwise Merrick is comfortable enough in rugged boots, dark jeans and tri-blend shirts.


Personality Description: 
Bypassing both the Scorpio-Sagittarius and Libra-Scorpio cusps, Merrick stands directly in the middle of both, no doubt smirking at what would have been. If he were to go by solely the cookie cutter standards of the Scorpio charts, Merrick certainly hits more than just a few of the points. He’s quite resourceful, cunning even with the methods to his madness. Some could easily say that’s likewise a negative trait of his when Merrick goes off to his scheming, planning ways. His resolutions to see every minute detail followed through could be best seen as almost obsession, but one wants to ensure it’s done correctly, do they not? Merrick has demands to be met and made – disobey them and he’s bound to hound you until you relent and finish or he has his way with you. True, these traits almost seem more of the other side than the good, but the drive to compel and push himself upward has been a force Merrick’s upbringing and personal mantra instilled into his brain. Fiercely steadfast and passionate in more ways than one, Merrick almost seems like an everyman because of this.

However. . .  we do have that other side to mention. His obsessive ways for perfection often lead to his personal misgivings, misfortunes for those who dare oppose him. Merrick won’t hesitate to slip someone up, causing them to fall in any of the forms you’d think of: Physically, metaphorically, the list goes on and on. One could say if they were to even really look into it, Merrick and Maurice Holmes aren’t too far apart in this manner. On the other hand, Maurice wouldn’t resort to bodily harm as an immediate choice – Merrick, yes. One had better not double cross him, unless of course you’re someone he cares for. Even then, it’s best that you don’t – he’ll only plot what he could do to you because of your betrayal of trust. And that’s another downfall of Merrick both sign wise and personal beliefs. TRUST. Merrick’s loyalty can be put into question, he admits, but you have with him a cord’s length of trust with him. Burn the wick too easily, you’ll find Merrick will dismiss the offender from his good graces. Extending the rope hasn’t been easy for him in a good while considering he’s supposed to be a dead man. Sure, he has a few networks Merrick depends on, but even then, the wizard’s cautious. Needless to say in a form of a wrap up, give Merrick an inch and he may devour you, but if he gives you one, you’d had better play nice.


History:   

Beginnings
Nathaniel Hardy came into the world with a smirk shortly after his first breaths and screams. That, and his superstitious folks, Lyn and Morris Hardy, had a baby boy born on the dreaded Friday the 13th. Lyn decided there was little they could do to change this fact and so raised Nathaniel with his older sister, Phoebe, and eventual younger brother, Owen, as normal as one could in the flower power/anti-government/love and exploration era. With the family only minutes away from the nation’s capital, it came as no surprise that Nathaniel’s earliest memories were in protest of Vietnam for the Muggles during the summer holidays and discontentment in the Ministry where Morris worked in maintenance. His parents meant well and wanted their children to have a better life than being stuck in the rabbles of destitution.

Nathaniel knew what love was and knew what the end of a rifle looked like all too well, but when it came down to it, the boy showed an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and with it, the desire to do more, to do better than those around him. Watching Phoebe leave for Salem when he was nine was the beginning of Nathaniel’s ambition for sibling rivalry. He couldn’t learn nor master magic just yet, but when his letter finally did arrive, the glint of something more than eager desire study arose.


School Years
Arriving to Salem for Nathaniel seemed to be nothing short of relief to the rivalry back home for his parents and for Phoebe. Sorted into Hippogriff House, his skills were finally going to have application put to the task and mastered them the young boy did. He wasn’t a Lily Potter or a Hermione Granger, but Nate showed promise, skill in the classroom and dedication to his house. These devotions paid off nicely as he was eventually placed into Ptolemy House, making friends and a small handful of enemies along the way. Not overly fond of sports in the beginning, Nathaniel found a thrill in Quodpot, joining Ptolemy’s team his sophomore year to balance the workload of his studies. His parents could not have been more proud, but there was still the nagging buzz in his mind that said he could be much more. And so come his junior year, Nathaniel began the stealthy descent into trouble making. Choosing to enlist fellow classmates as enforcers and bully quietly those around him, the teen wizard was respected still by his mentors while feared by those who dared cross him. It was during the junior year that Owen came to Salem and eager to be his big brother’s shadow; unfortunately, Nathaniel shooed the boy away, content to have Owen learn how to survive Salem on his own.

Finally come his senior year, the itching to make a name for himself outside of the school walls were beginning to take shape. His grades held sure enough, but Nathaniel was distracted with other priorities: girls, graduating, and growth. Midway through the senior year, it was encouraged by a faculty member that they write to others in a form of pen pals. Many scoffed, including Nathaniel, at such a thought – they were young witches and wizards, not some old spinsters, however, the wizard gave it a go. Surprisingly, the response from a witch in Beauxbatons was his other side and learning what the Europeans studied seemed not too far from their own. The second half of the school year could not have gone any faster and Nathaniel was eager to graduate so he could go make marks on his own.

His grades reflected predominately on the positive scale – the basics were well matched with the equivalences to ‘Exceed Expectations’ on the NEWT’s with a few ‘Acceptables.’ His parents were proud, this much was for certain, but Nathaniel was now looking forward with his newfound glory and freedom to becoming a wizard in main society.

Adulthood
This said freedom had its own restrictions though, so Nathaniel found out. Even though blood status wasn’t much a pressing issue in America, the jobs your folks had were. Nathaniel was ambitious, cunning, and methodical – yet doors were still slamming in his face. This meant one thing: Nathaniel had to climb on a different ladder in the end and this ladder would only land him into a spiral of darkness. Associating himself with some wizards who were less than savoury, Nathaniel learned that how to start achieving the means he so sought. His parents and siblings became suspicious of his withdrawal from them, but Nathaniel played it off as simply being busy, reassuring them that their boy was all right. The habitual lying could only get him so far and so, the cover up stories, weaving intricate fabrications that weren’t at all true began.
 
Finally, job security came along in labor work as a muscle man in the South but with it, bouncing from Kentucky and Arkansas one week to Mississippi and Alabama the next. The pay wasn’t really the greatest, but it kept Nathaniel busy and quenched the thirst to keep people on their toes. It would take until 1990 before Nathaniel worked his way up in command, eventually leading himself to bigger scores and hits, the pay proving to be much better than where he had started. Then, his ambition bug bit hard – he wanted more than just this, so Nathaniel looked to take over the people who had hired him. It was in thought a brilliant concept, but when it came time for application, Nathaniel partially failed. He was able to take down a few members of the high command, but with it, a price on his head with not only the organization but with the Auror Branch with the Ministry who had undercover agents who had been tailing them for a while.

He had to flee and find a way fast out of the country. Nathaniel chose Tennessee to take care of business. Picking a quiet community in between two of the more metropolitan cities, Nathaniel chose flame as a way to end it all. Igniting a home after murdering a Muggle with two gloved hands and posing the dead body as himself, Nathaniel had himself go underground and out of sight. He spent the next five years in various locations, never staying for long: Prague, Tristan Da Cunha, Brasov, Nain. Finding a fellow wizard by the name of Mickey “Mick” Oglander while staying in Mallaig, Scotland, to entrust his secrets and the like to, the wizard once known as Nathaniel Hardy became Calvin Merrick.

Securing a new wand for himself was a bit harder than anticipated, but Merrick found Gregorovitch and purchased one at his establishment after a few hours of deliberating. As for Merrick and Mickey, they were thick as thieves and some were never the wiser – it was for this that they often departed separate ways to avoid recognition and trouble with authorities. Eventually, Merrick landed himself into London in 1995 right as Voldemort arose again and stood watching as witch and wizard tore themselves apart. His own involvement was simply doing nothing aside staying informed through the Prophet posts that came his way in Mallaig. Once Voldemort fell, Merrick began his own little establishment that allowed him to work on various hires all while posing as a trade post. Currently, Merrick still is living in Mallaig amongst the locals and for the most part, keeping his toes in line.

Job Description:
Considered a dark hitman of sorts and definitely a killer with a debonair flair, Merrick is rightfully good at his job.
Perhaps. . .  a bit too good. This said, Merrick is currently not for hire, so don’t be asking him for it, hooligans.

What expertise makes your character qualified for their position?:
Not to be rude, buuuuuut. As a hitman/con man/all around baddie, qualifications come along with practice, don’t they? >;3   
 
RP Sample including dialogue, reactions and descriptions of surroundings: See Gabrielle or Maurice! 

Provide a short summary of your character:
Once upon a time, Nathaniel Hardy tried his very best to please mom and dad,
Unfortunately so, Nattie turned very, very bad.
He didn’t see the value of being proper and doing well for a little lad,
Oh, no – he saw the importance of making people very sad.

Nathaniel dreaded his namesake, his appearances too,
So, he chose to divert his attention to trouble and it surely grew.
Where’er he goes, trouble and suffering is surely to follow,
Nathaniel perished in flames one eve; now Merrick comes to bring the sorrow.