Your Nickname: Jay
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Are you over thirteen? Yes
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Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary
Full Character Name: Isobel Mairi Stuart
Character Birthday & Age: 11 January 1947- 65
City & Country of Birth: Edinburgh, Scotland
Blood Purity: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts
Job/Position: Divination Professor
Wand: 14 2/3", Silver Lime and Unicorn Hair, Supple
Physical Description:
Tall and slender with a habit of quick, decisive movements, Isobel strikes quite an imposing figure at the best of times, and when she is irritated, it shows, as everything becomes just a little sharper. She walks briskly irrespective of the circumstances, and has little patience with dawdlers; her view is that it is her job to walk and everyone else's to get out of the way. Her hair, somewhere indefinable between blonde and silver, is always kept pinned back out of her face save for on the very rare occasions when she sees fit to dress up. Though her face shows her age, and perhaps then a little more on top, she has no time for beauty charms, and her blue-grey eyes are as sharp as ever, with a penetrating quality which makes many a little uncomfortable.
Personality Description:
Isobel is a woman of high expectations, and so she has little patience for those who fall short of them. Somewhat irascible when tested, she makes many people somewhat nervous, and for good reason, for she has a sharp, sarcastic tongue which she is not afraid to use on anyone, regardless of their position or authority. She has spent much of her life roaming to and fro at her own whim, and so has little time for structured hierarchies, which she makes perfectly clear to those who try to involve her in them. Where she cannot avoid them, it is always her aim to be as close to the top as possible not because she particularly desires power herself but because she cannot abide to have too many other people holding it over her. For Isobel, respect is something which must be earned, and when she gives it, she gives it to the person rather than to the office or title which they hold. Despite a somewhat prickly exterior, however, her heart is in the right place, and although she has little sympathy for those who lack the motivation to help themselves, she is always ready to lend a hand to those in genuine need, so long as they don't mind its being accompanied by dry humour and an utter inability to receive thanks gracefully.
History:
Born in a city still recovering from the ravages of rationing and subject to all sorts of shortages and restrictions, Isobel did not have an easy childhood; the more so as both her parents worked away, with her father being a Healer and her mother an Auror, and consequently spending much of their time down in London. She learned to entertain herself from an early age, spending much time in her formative years out exploring the local fields and woods, or watching birds and foxes from her bedroom window or even from the top of a tree. Perhaps as a consequence, she was always somewhat withdrawn and disinclined to use two words where one would do, to the extent that her mother had some serious concerns about her. She was something of a late developer magically, only showing the first signs around the age of five, and since she spent so much of her time out of the house even at this age, her parent missed many of the indications. Although they were fairly sure, it was still a great relief to them both when Isobel's Hogwarts letter arrived on her eleventh birthday.
Admittedly, her school years did not get off to the best of starts; Isobel managed to reduce two of the three girls with whom she shared a compartment on the Express to tears within the first half an hour through sheer bluntness and perhaps unnecessary honesty. She did somewhat better after this, however, genuinely upset by having caused such havoc, and her Sorting into Ravenclaw was not unhelpful, since it at least meant that she was less likely to have good cause to accuse those around her of idiocy when they proved unable to follow what were, to her, extremely simple arguments. Settling into her classes, she found that none of them posed her any particular difficulty with the significant exception of Potions, a subject which she simply could not get to grips with at all, much to her father's disappointment. She joined one or two clubs, where her quick wit and dry humour were of great use to her, and managed in this way to gather a circle of acquaintances, one or two of whom would, in time, become good friends. Although she did not cultivate a large circle, those that were close to her tended to remain so far more consistently than might have been expected for girls of that age.
Able to choose her elective subjects in her third year, she settled first on Divination, which she had always been fascinated by, and then on Arithmancy, which came a close second. Both subjects quickly took her fancy, and Divination became her favourite very rapidly, so that Isobel most likely put twice as much work into that one class as she did into all the others combined. Despite this, the majority of her teachers had little cause for complaint; she had quick wits and could pick up new concepts rapidly. In Potions, however, her abilities remained mediocre at best, and after completing a good set of OWLs in which that subject was the sole cause of disappointment for her, she took the opportunity to drop it, and looked forward enthusiastically to never having to think about it again. In the meantime, she ploughed ahead with her NEWT choices, and did so in possession of her first boyfriend, a somewhat unusual position for Isobel to find herself in since she had spent most of her previous five years at the school deriding any friend who managed to acquire such a thing for her foolishness. These friends had ample opportunity for revenge when the pair split up less than a month into the new term, and Isobel assuaged any regrets by determinedly beating him in each Arithmancy test that followed.
Having completed her NEWTs and gained superb results, Isobel went into the Ministry of Magic, where she found a role in the Department for International Magical Cooperation which took her across the world to India. Here, she immersed herself enthusiastically in the local culture, and particularly as it pertained to her favourite subject, Divination; she studied under noted Seers and diviners of all disciplines whilst on assignment in the country, being fascinated by the differences she encountered between these methods and those that she had been taught at Hogwarts. Almost every evening, she left her lodgings and ventured out into what might be called the seedier parts of the magical area of town to take lessons, and it was while returning from one of these that she was attacked and almost killed by a group of inebriated local teenagers. Isobel was sent back to Britain immediately and treated for some time by St Mungo's before returning to the Department in a desk role, but the mundanity of the work and sheer boredom drove her to tender her resignation. At the age of twenty, she set out for Paris, where she found work as a pianist in a variety theatre. There, she struck up an acquaintanceship with an old Seer making a little money through performing to Muggles as a fortune teller, with whom she worked for a number of months.
Eventually, though, the wanderlust struck again, and, having improved her stock of French through working in Paris, Isobel disappeared into the depths of the countryside, wandering from village to village and earning a living by any job she could get, working as a waitress one day, a cleaner the next. It was an exciting time and she enjoyed it all thoroughly, but as she approached her thirtieth birthday, she felt the need for a somewhat more permanent living situation, and so she applied for the post of Divination Professor at Beauxbatons Academy. Initially, she was refused on the basis of insufficient teaching experience, but the retiring professor took a fancy to her and invited her to undertake an apprenticeship of sorts, studying under him for a few years years before assuming his position. This was an offer which she accepted, and so in the September following her thirtieth birthday, Isobel Stuart took over as Divination professor at Beauxbatons, a post which she retained for another thirty years, across the period of the Wizarding Wars during which her primary concern was her parents, who still remained in Scotland. Her fears proved justified as her mother passed away during the Second War, and she was regretfully convinced that it would be for the best not to return to Britain for her funeral.
At the age of fifty, she was offered the position of Deputy Headmistress, which she accepted and occupied for the next ten years before receiving word from a friend that her father was dangerously ill. Considering this a sign that it was about time she went back to her roots, Isobel returned to Scotland, and spent the next two months nursing her father before he passed away, leaving her to set his affairs in order. Though she had planned to travel the world once more, she found that her desire to do so was lessened, and for once, she considered the possibility of retirement. In fact, she actually attempted it for a few years before rapidly realising that it would not do for her, and applying to teach Divination at Hogwarts, for which she was accepted. Returning to the scenes of her childhood was a nostalgic experience for her, but she soon settled back into it and set about whipping her students into shape.
Describe your job duties and how you go about them:
As Divination professor, Isobel is responsible for conveying the intricacies of the art to her students through a mixture of practical and theoretical lessons dealing with various different aspects of predicting the future, whether through tasseomancy or tarot. She has little patience with those who do not apply themselves, and has an undeniable gift for spotting them; such students are likely to find themselves in receipt of the sharp edge of Isobel's tongue. Equally, however, she can spot students who are genuinely struggling and will do her best to give them a hand, though she prefers, as the saying runs, to help them to help themselves over doing things for them, believing that this is the only way in which they will truly be able to expand their abilities. In the meantime, students with a genuine interest and enthusiasm for the subject will receive all the aid that she is able to give them, whether that be long and involved conversations about the minutiae of the subject or lending out her possessions, from advanced textbooks to her own crystal balls.
Elaborate on your expertise in your field:
Divination has been Isobel's area of expertise since she was at Hogwarts, and following an excellent NEWT in the subject, she has gone on to study further under a variety of different tutors from all over the world, particularly in her youth in India, where she studied under a number of reputed Seers and diviners whilst on assignment from the Ministry. She also studied for two years under her predecessor at Beauxbatons, acquiring much depth of knowledge and a number of tips regarding the teaching of the subject, before taking over from him. Since then, she has developed her abilities chiefly through independent research and reading in the intervals of her teaching work, and has amassed a considerable collection of reading material dealing with aspects of Divination, to say nothing of her thirty years of previous teaching experience in the subject.
Writing Sample:
Tapping her fingernails gently against the edge of the bed, Isobel looked down at the girl lying in it and sighed. Foolish of her, really, getting so involved in a sport, but she well remembered the excitement and adrenaline which had come with the big matches when she had been at school herself, and she could sympathise... but all the same, going up on a broom when you were in floods of tears to start with would never be a good idea, and Mary MacLeod had proved that conclusively with the aid of a couple of Bludgers.
Her eyes traced the outline of the bruise that covered half the young brunette's face, and she winced in sympathy. "I suppose I should be foolish to ask you how you're feeling?" Isobel's words provoked a slight smile, though that was by no means a good thing since the stretching of the skin evidently produced a somewhat painful effect. Very gently, the older witch patted her student on the shoulder. "Not to worry, not to worry. You'll be fine, and in the mean time..." She gestured to a stack of parchment on the table at the bedside. "You'll be delighted to hear that we professors are all so concerned that we've sent you some homework as a get-well present!" Sharp eyes traced the girl's expression. "Only if you feel up to it, of course. And only if the Matron will let you."
Sum up your character in one paragraph:
Isobel is a sharp-tongued woman with limited patience which she does her best to stretch out across the course of the teaching day. Although she certainly doesn't suffer fools gladly and has no tolerance at all for those who waste time and effort in any way, she does have a heart, contrary to popular opinion, and will always be prepared to help those in genuine need. She has led a varied life in many different parts of the world and is thoroughly cosmopolitan in outlook, taking a keen interest in politics of all forms, but always has the interests of those close to her in mind, and those who can deal with her sarcastic sense of humour will find in her a loyal and stoic friend.
Isobel Mairi Stuart: Divination Professor