Approved by Kelly
Your Nickname: Kit
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? RPG Directory
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: Member Board
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Secondary
Full Character Name: William Arthur Boris Shufflebottom
Character Birthday & Age: 48, 23 November 1962, turned 48 in November 2010
City & Country of Birth: Godric's Hollow, England
Blood Purity: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts, Hufflepuff
Job/Position: Magical Creatures Keeper; Ex-Azzie
Wand: Chestnut, unicorn hair, 6 inches
Physical Description: Willy is 5ft4in tall, and worn skin. He has a rounded build, and can carry a bit of a pot belly sometimes. He's quite approachable in appearance, almost fatherly, partly due to his height.
His hair is brown and grey, straggly and balding on top. It runs down to his shoulders and is quite wiry in texture, which gives him a wild look. It often looks like it hasn't seen a comb.
Willy has bright blue eyes which are often wide, and a long forehead. He often sports a bit of a beard. His hands have relatively short fingers but he is dextrous, both in handling small creatures and handling out people's wallets and purses. He often wears a gormless expression and makes out he is stupid. He has a west country accent.
Although most of the time Willy doesn't bother to dress up and slums about in tatty wizard robes, he can scrub up surprisingly well and also put on quite an act that he's rather with and well to do.
Personality Description: Willy is happy-go-lucky. He believes nothing wrong will happen often and can be a bit of a head-in-the-clouds optimist. He thinks he'll be fine when he breeds that dodgy cross-breed or trades those untradeable items. He lives in a false sense that everything will be alright. Azkaban doesn't scare him too much now the dementors are gone, and his wife is a forgiving sort.
He never hesitates to lie, and it has become almost a habit to lie, even when he doesn't mean to. He doesn't like that in himself, especially to the wife and children.
He is a doting father, always happy to play with the children and make sure they're happy. He would go to the ends of the earth for them. He shares his love of animals with them both and makes a point of including them.
Willy won't hesitate to do what he needs to do to get money and happiness for his family, even if that means something illegal, or inconveniencing someone else.
History: Willy grew up one of five children, of which he is the second eldest. He was named after his uncle who came a cropper to a dragon within the first couple of years of Willy's life. He is the third William Shufflebottom in the line.
As a child he could be a ridiculous liar, though when found out he got a beating for it. It began with his older brother passing the blame, and Willy learning to them turf the blame down to his three younger siblings. Then again, his father was also a prolific liar, breeding all manner of strange magical cross-breeds at the end of the garden and a string of lovers. Willy's mother was mostly bed bound after the arrival of the fifth child.
At school Willy was sorted into Hufflepuff, much to his disgust. He'd have rather been in Slytherin, or even Gryffindor. He never quite got on with his housemates, and instead made more friends in other houses, and in the years below as time went on. One of his friends through second to fifth year was Gryffindor Lawrence Musgrave who was in the same year. The pair were no longer friends when adults.
Willy's OWLs went pretty badly. He was horrific at taking tests and had no great interest in formal academia. He had particular interests in Care of Magical Creatures from his father and Herbology, the only two OWLs he managed to pass with. He left Hogwarts and worked with his father until his mother passed away when he was twenty. His father upped and left to live a woman in Dundee (or so he told Willy) and he took over the house in Godric's Hollow with his older brother.
Whereas his siblings in their various guises moved on, and returned, Willy kept the house and the strange animal breeding going just as his father had. Until he got caught breeding restricted creatures and ended up in Azkaban for a year.
The years through the war continued in a similar vein, in and out of Azkaban for various dimwitted actions of law-breaking. He did manage to stop a while and marry his childhood sweetheart from school, Gladys-May. She had a talent for herbology, but overall the couple are not the brightest.
By hook or by crook the pair manage to make ends meet, and have two children, Jack and Susie who are a year or two away from attending Hogwarts. The house in Godric's Hollow is forever in need of repair due to their low income, but the family are haphazard and generally happy. He adores his kids.
In December 2010, Willy is released from his fourth stint in Azkaban, this time it was for two years for trading acromantula eggs. Gladys-May is furious with him. The family are completely skint and he's missed 2 Christmases with the children. He promised he'd stay out of trouble like that once they had children. But she's forgotten Willy's a liar.
Describe your job duties and how you go about them & elaborate on your expertise in your field: A lifetime of experience of his own doing and also his father's teaching before then
Writing Sample: n/a
Sum up your character in one paragraph: Willy is a somewhat dim-witted wizard, a father, a husband he has a great interest in magical creatures and has spent time in Azkaban on four occasions for creature-related crimes. He is always looking for a way to supplement his income.
William Shufflebottom: Magical Creatures Keeper; Ex-Azzie