Biography

Full Character Name: Daphne ‘Aberdeen’ Spencer
Character Birthday & Age: 12th January, 1979, age 30
City & Country of Birth: Dundee, Scotland
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn?: Muggleborn
Alma Mater: Hogwarts (Gryffindor)
Job: Auror

Wand: Unicorn hair and birch, 11 ½ inches, rigid

Physical Description:

At 5’11, Aberdeen is reasonably tall and somewhat lanky, with short dark blonde hair, deep brown eyes and a fairly unassuming demeanor. She makes herself look as commonplace as possible; after years of covert operations she knows the value of being a face easily forgotten.

(These days, her hair has grown out somewhat, down to about her shoulders, and is a bit untidy as a result. Aberdeen doesn't particularly like her hair long, but with recent events, she hasn't got around to cutting it.)

Personality Description:

Aberdeen Spencer is unmemorable in temperament as well as demeanour; the sort of person who’s easy to forget a year or so down the line unless you knew her particularly well. She is a bright, diligent and skilled Auror, but no more so than any other.

Her deep sense of duty and passion for justice is something she really only shows to long-term colleagues and her loved ones, and her insecurities about her own judgement based on mistakes she made when she was younger is something she tries to conceal from everyone. Usually her response to any given situation is a dryly humorous rather than an emotional one.

Besides being dedicated to her job and devoted to her husband and son, Aberdeen is also a Quidditch enthusiast (supporting the Montrose Magpies), and an amateur drum player; she finds playing her drumkit an effective method of stress-relief.

History:

Daphne Spencer was the eldest of three born to muggles Alpine and Connie Spencer, the younger two being her sister Gweneth and brother Ellery. Though brought up in Dundee, she absorbed her father’s Aberdonian accent, so noticeably that the children at her primary school nicknamed her Aberdeen. The accent became less pronounced as she got older and moved away from home, but the name stuck, to the point that it was the name she was registered under when she enrolled at Hogwarts in 1990.

Aberdeen did well at school, making casual friends in all four houses without being particularly close to anyone, and excelling particularly in Charms and Transfiguration. Knowing since her first year that she wanted to be an Auror, she worked hard at all the required classes, gaining a mixture of Es and Os in her NEWTs.

During the summer of her sixth year Aberdeen worked a placement running deliveries for a shady potion shop, Witches’ Brew, during which she met Jairus Valdaine, who became something of a surrogate father to her. However, she started to suspect he was involved in Dark activity; a suspicion confirmed when he found out she was muggleborn. He tried to curse her; she Stunned him in self-defence, and left an anonymous tip at the Ministry of Magic. Valdaine was locked away and Aberdeen was wrecked with guilt.

Things were to get worse. In August of 1997, when Aberdeen was still in the preliminaries of her Auror training, the Ministry fell to Voldemort’s forces. Along with the other wizards and witches with muggle relations, she was forced to flee or be persecuted.

She spent the next few months deep in hiding in muggle society, practicing defensive magic and seeking out others on the run in the hopes they could band together into some sort of strike force. When they were set upon by Snatchers, however, survival suddenly became a lot more urgent than victory.

Most of the group was captured, Aberdeen being one of four who escaped, including a muggle named Luke Adani who had become caught up in the fray. He offered them a place to hide and they were so desperate that they ignored the Statute of Secrecy and accepted. The four of them spent the remainder of the war holed up in Luke’s basement flat, which they magically fortified.

After the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, Aberdeen was finally able to undergo her Auror training. She threw herself into work, doing all she could to contribute to the post-war Department of Magical Law Enforcement while learning the skills of her profession, and she became a fully-fledged Auror in 2001.

Around this time she accidentally ran into Luke Adani (whose memory she and the other two escapees, out of gratitude and respect, never did wipe), and they renewed their acquaintance. She started to realise that while her job gave her purpose, it didn’t make her happy. Luke did. Aberdeen didn’t want to fall in love, but she did. She knew he felt the same, and tried to distance herself from him for his own protection, but he reasoned, who better to protect him than an Auror? Aberdeen can’t remember ever feeling happier than when they kissed for the first time.

---

Jairus Valdaine’s already strained mind had snapped when the Death Eaters lost the war, and he was being held not in Azkaban, but in a monitored cell in St. Mungo’s, where Aberdeen (who still felt responsible for his condition) had been visiting him under his daughter Margo’s name. Late in 2005, shortly after she and Luke had become engaged, it transpired that Valdaine’s real daughter (whom Aberdeen had believed to be dead) had turned up; Aberdeen was forced to explain all that had happened between her and Valdaine.

Put on probation while the situation was investigated, Aberdeen spent her excess of free time commiserating with Margo Valdaine. Margo, in her desperation at finding her father in no state to help her, confided to Aberdeen that she was pregnant by a Dark Arts practitioner on whose identity she refused to elaborate. She just wanted her baby kept safe. Aberdeen urged her to go to the MLE, but Margo refused, afraid that her own family’s ties to the Death Eaters would land her in Azkaban.

In the summer of 2006, Aberdeen and Luke were married. Before they could go on their honeymoon, however, they were sought out by a terrified Margo Valdaine. The baby’s father knew her location, and she was certain he’d come to claim his child. Aberdeen took her into hiding, and Luke looked for a midwife. The baby was due any day now.

On 19th May 2006, Margo’s son Robin was born, and there was no sign of the father. After a few hours they dared hope they were out of the woods, but they were about to learn just how dangerous Robin’s father was. Margo started to get sick. It was nothing Aberdeen could identify; frantic, she rushed both mother and child to St. Mungo’s. There was nothing the healers could do but explain what was happening; Margo had been hexed.

The lethal curse was set to manifest after she had given birth, and there was no counter-spell. Before she died, Margo begged Aberdeen to look after Robin, to keep him safe from his father. Aberdeen asked in return for the man’s name, though even if Margo hadn’t told her, Aberdeen would have complied. Having failed to save Valdaine’s daughter, the least she could do was protect his grandson.

Aberdeen disclosed all the facts of the case to the MLE. They searched for the father, but to no avail; he seemed to have vanished. The murderer at large with no way as of let to track him down, Aberdeen would not be satisfied with putting Robin in anyone’s custody but her own, a decision with which Luke agreed. Seeing as Aberdeen was the closet suitable thing to family Robin had left, the adoption process went underway quickly and quietly. The name Valdaine was left entirely off the record so that the boy could not be traced too easily.

For Robin’s safety, Aberdeen extended her leave of absence to be with her adoptive son fulltime. For the first few months she wouldn’t even let him out of her sight. They lived a fairly muggle lifestyle, and after they had become accustomed to the constant underlying worry, they started to appreciate the joys of parenthood as well as the hard work and woes. The couple had agreed before they got engaged that they wanted a family, and though this was sooner than expected, from the very start they knew they would not give Robin up for anything.

After two years of living inconspicuously in muggle society with no news concerning Robin’s father, Aberdeen, though frustrated Margo's killer was eluding justice, became hopeful the threat to her son had passed. Especially after the tragedy of the Remembering Day murders, she realised she could not stay at home forever when people besides her son needed protecting. With Luke working from home and so able to stay with Robin, Aberdeen took herself off ‘maternity leave’ and requested to be reinstated as an Auror.

What is your job description? How do you go about your job?
How did you get your current job? How does your past and abilities justify your current position?:

Aberdeen is an Auror, a magical law enforcer who investigates, tracks down and apprehends criminal wizards, protects their (would-be) victims, and generally works to ensure the safety of the magical and muggle populace. She gained her position after three years of Auror training during which she kept her head down and focused on her work before anything else, and passed all of her Auror exams satisfactorily. To earn a place as Auror-in-training, she scored Outstanding on her Charms and Transfiguration NEWTs, and Exceeds Expectations on Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures for good measure.

Aberdeen goes about her job with a passion. She wanted to be an Auror ever since she was eleven, and even before she knew she was a witch she wanted to be a detective. Though she lost any idealised illusions she may have had about the profession, she knows that she wants to make a difference, and that this is the best way she can do it. She may not be the strongest, smartest or quickest Auror, but she is the most meticulous, especially when it comes to investigations. She can spend hours picking over every last inch of a crimescene; if there's a lead to find, she won't stop working until she's found it. Proficient with a wand (charms is her forte) and handy on a broomstick, Aberdeen she knows how to think on her feet. She isn't anything as sneaky as an Animagus or a Metamorphmagus, but she’s adept at observation and discretion when she needs to be, having learned her fair share of lessons that you can never be too careful.

Writing Sample:

The baby was sleeping now, curled like a little hedgehog against Margo's chest, his tiny frame undulating with each breath. Aberdeen resisted the urge to touch him lest she wake him, and satisfied herself with protectively stroking Margo's hair back from her forehead.

The door opened and shut, and feet padded down the stairs. Luke motioned to his wife that he had managed to see the midwife into a taxi. Aberdeen had been careful with her Memory Charm; the woman would be confused for a little while, but there should be no lasting damage.

Margo's eyes fluttered opened; she looked too exhausted to even get to sleep. 'If something happens to me...' she croaked.

'Nothing's going to happen to you,' Aberdeen cut her off. 'You've had your baby--'

'Robin.'

'Robin?' Aberdeen smiled a little. 'That's a lovely name. You've had Robin, and you're still in good condition, considering. The midwife said so.' She didn't mention Robin's father. She hated that the thought of him wouldn't leave her mind, even though she knew they had to remain vigilant.

'But if something...'

'Nothing will happen,' Aberdeen reemphasised.

'Deen.' Luke spoke up gently. He watched her with those patient, compelling eyes of his. 'Let Margo talk.' Aberdeen slumped her shoulders a little in defeat. She knew what Margo was going to say, and she knew it was going to break her heart. She didn't want to hear it. She wanted to remain dettached, like this was just another case.

Only no case was just another case. Especially this one. It wasn't even on the record.

'If something happens to me, take care of Robin.' Only the way Margo's voice cracked when she said her son's name kept it from sounding like an order.

Aberdeen gazed back at her steadily without really looking at her. 'Of course, I should still have a little sway with the MLE, I'll make sure they--'

'Not Magical Law Enforcement, Aberdeen, you.' There were fresh tears in Margo's eyes and Aberdeen hastily looked down. She heard Luke sitting down in the corner of the room. 'Robin... He's my father's grandson, and you... You were more a daughter to my father than I was.'

'No I wasn't,' Aberdeen said sharply. From the corner of her eye she could see Luke turning to look at her. She could imagine the imploring expression on his face without seeing it, knew she shouldn't be harsh with Margo in her current condition, but she was tired and worried and couldn't keep the frustrated anger out of her voice. 'It doesn't matter how close we were those few months, it didn't to him, he made that clear, he... Well. Well, I am a mudblood after all.'

'Deen!' Luke gasped. He knew enough of wizarding culture through Aberdeen to know how much she hated that word. Margo winced at the use of it. Aberdeen immediately regretted the outburst, though her bitterness did not dissipate straight away. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that.'

'And neither should he. Aberdeen-- my father was wrong to care so much about blood purity, but... If he had been more enlightened, Aberdeen, you would have always been like a daughter to him. How he reacted when he found out about your heritage, that doesn't change how he felt about you back then. He cared about you. And I think the reason he hates that you're a muggleborn so much is that, somewhere in that broken mind of his, he still cares about you. And judging by how often you've been visiting him since he got put in hospital, and how you're risking your job-- your life, even-- to help his daughter, I think you care a great deal about him too.'

She was right on the mark, but Aberdeen didn't want to admit to it, not outloud anyway. Instead she shrugged. 'It's not that much of a risk. I'm sure Raynor will understand if I explain the circumstances.'

Margo looked for a moment like she wanted to say more, but then she smiled weakly. 'Well that's all right then.' There was peaceful silence for a time; Margo tenderly stroked Robin's dark, fluffy hair, gazing at him as though she couldn't believe he was real. Eventually, she spoke again. 'So... can you?'

Aberdeen looked at the baby boy, then to his mother. 'I can.'

'But will you?'

She paused, then turned around to look at Luke, who, by his expression, had been listening intently. He nodded slowly.

Aberdeen turned back to Margo. Gingerly, she placed a hand on Robin's cotton-covered back. She was startled by how warm he felt. How alive. 'I won't let anything happen to him.'

Sum up your character in one paragraph:

Aberdeen is approachable and witty, used to hiding her deep-seated self-doubt lest it be seen as a weakness; someone who has no trouble making superficial acquaintances, but has only a few close, foul-weather friendships. Having a family of her own has tempered her fervent nature somewhat; as much as she hates uncertainty, she has started to accept that she can't control everything, and take things as they come. And make sure that she's damn well ready to face them when they do.

Plot Tracking

Overview

Aberdeen is a former Auror with a great deal of self-doubt countered by a fierce determination to do what’s right. She lets very few people get properly close to her, and holds most people at arm’s length with her cynical sense of humour.

Brief History

Aberdeen had wanted to go into law enforcement since childhood, and joined the Auror Corps right after the Second War. In 2005, Shortly after she became engaged to her now-husband, Luke Adani, she was put on probation when it came out that she had ties to a criminal, Jairus Valdaine, now insane and residing in St. Mungo’s. When his daughter Margo appeared in the picture, pregnant and on the run, Aberdeen became protective of her. But the people Margo was running from caught up with her; shortly after she gave birth, she died of a lethal curse. Fulfilling a promise to look after Margo’s son Robin should anything happen to her, Aberdeen and Luke adopted the baby and have been raising him as their own.

Major Plots

Since returning to duty in June 2008 after an extended leave, Aberdeen had been very involved in Magical Law Enforcement, most notably being on hand during the escaped runespoor incident, and investigating the scene of Akiva Katz’s return after her abduction.

In September, she met Kabir Ahmed during his chaotic arrival in London, started to get to know her partner Adon Eleor better (against her will) and tried her best to support her closest friend Akiva during her transition after the kidnapping.

But tragedy struck when Aberdeen was put under the Imperius Curse by  Cináed Tawse and used to assassinate Head of Magical Law Enforcement Gawain Robards in October. Aberdeen wasn’t convicted, but her future on Level Two was almost certainly over.

Worse still, while in control of Aberdeen, Tawse learned that her son Robin was in fact his child by Margo Valdaine. At the end of December, he had Liadán Ó Móráin kidnap Robin and wipe Aberdeen and Luke’s memories of him.

When in January Aberdeen and Luke found out what had happened, they were admitted to St. Mungo’s to work on recovering their memories while the MLE started an investigation. Resolved to take matters into her own hands, Aberdeen has been piecing together her memory with Akiva’s help, been getting Occlumency lessons from Head Healer of St. Mungo’s Delilah Foley, and asked for assistance from Kabir Ahmed and private investigator Jonas Trevelyan in recovering her son.

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Accepted!  -- Sparky

Character Name: Aberdeen Spencer
Age: 30
Please provide a link to their Application: http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=2127.0
Do any of your other Characters have Special Abilities?: No
If Yes, then Please provide their name and a link to their bio:
 
Special Ability: Occlumens
What level is this ability at?: Beginner
At what age did your character gain this ability?: 30

How did they learn or hone this ability?:

Shortly after being admitted to St. Mungo's with an altered memory, Aberdeen learned that the Healer in Charge, Delilah Foley, was an accomplished Occlumens and Legillimens. After the Memory Charm, and before that the Imperius Curse, Aberdeen was desperate for some kind of measure for keeping her mind better guarded, and so she asked Madam Foley to teach her Occlumency. Madam Foley was kind enough to oblige, and has been giving her lessons since January.

Describe how the Special Ability influences their life.  What do they use it for?:

The sole motivation for Aberdeen to learn Occlumency is to keep people from being able to get inside her head. From learning this skill, she hopes to build up a resistance not only to Legillimency, but also other mind-controlling and mind-altering magics that have ruined her life so far.

Aberdeen had a hard time picking up Occlumency at first, realising very quickly that it wasn't enough simply to hide her emotions; she had to keep them from affecting her at all. As a result, she works daily at being on guard at all times, keeping her feelings at bay, only slipping up during the most stressful circumstances.

She is slowly learning to recognise intrusion into her mind, but she never takes it for granted that she'll be able to notice instinctively, so as a result she is always trying to keep her mind clear. This is very nearly futile, given how much she has to worry about, but she tries all the same, and even succeeds to some extent.

The other side of Occlumency is that, the more accomplished she becomes, the more she implements it, the more she guards herself, the more detached she seems. It's not as though she doesn't trust anyone, she does have a circle of good friends after all, but if it was hard to get close to Aberdeen before, it's close to impossible now.

Write a description of what happens when your character is exhibiting this Special Ability:

Fortunately, since starting Occlumency lessons, Aberdeen has not yet needed to defend her mind against a real attack. On the whole she simply has work against Madam Foley's Legillimency. She finds this draining, though not as much as in the earlier days. When she feels the foreign presence in her head, she shuts down her emotions, creating a sort of barrier to stop the intrusion from going any further. She is still working on being able to push the intruder out.

As previously stated, Aberdeen does also practice this ability, or rather the mindset that goes with it, even when she's not under direct attack. It takes its toll on her, sometimes leaving her mind feeling numb, though she hides the effects decently enough.

Accepted!  -- Sparky

Character Name: Aberdeen Spencer
Link to Accepted Biography: http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=2127.0
Previous Job/Position: Auror
Position Applying For: Muggle Events Specialist (Muggle Affairs Office)

Why have you chosen to change careers?:

Aberdeen was put on leave from the Auror Corps after assassinating Head of Magical Law Enforcement Gawain Robards while under the Imperius Curse. Even if new head Cameron Rosier and Head Auror Tamis Raynor deemed her fit to return to duties, she still sees herself as a security risk, undeserving of her badge.

However, Aberdeen cannot just do nothing with her life. While much of her time is currently dominated by investigating her son Robin's abduction, she needs something else to focus on, and the fledgling Muggle Affairs Office is a venture Aberdeen can fully throw her support into. She knows the Ministry still needs further reforms, believes the new department is a good start, and very much admires Dreogan Eleor for heading it up.

Elaborate on your expertise in this new field:

Being a muggleborn, and also married to a muggle, Aberdeen is just as firmly rooted in the non-magical world as she is in the magical one. Her new position entails a degree of cross-cultural cooperation, which she has some experience of in finding ways work around obstacles with her husband Luke when conventional muggle or magical methods won't suffice.

Her background as an Auror, specifically one who specialised in crime scene investigation, has given her an impressive eye for detail that is important when considering not just the big wizarding events, but also the small ones, that have the possibility of impacting on muggle life.

Most importantly, Aberdeen has a sense of empathy with the muggle community. She's much more in favour of cooperating with muggles on equal terms, not simply talking down to them or wiping their memories when they ask too many questions. She likes to think this puts her attitude in line with the spirit of the new office.

Describe your new job and how you go about doing it:

The main responsibilities of a Muggle Events Specialist include helping to arrange venues for meeting with muggles, making muggle communication (like mobile phones) available to the Muggle Affairs staff, and keeping tabs on the muggle world for convergence, or potential convergence, with magical affairs.

In a management position, Aberdeen would tackle these duties with the same meticulous efficiency she applied to her law enforcement work, even if she does end up with colleagues to whom she can delegate. She would keep a very close eye on muggle news, not to mention being mindful of wizarding events that have the potential to disrupt muggle life and threaten the Statute of Secrecy, including but not limited to magical crimes in the muggle world. As such she would work closely with any Muggle Public Relations Specialists the office employs, as well as the Muggle Affairs Office Researcher and Office Head.

Aberdeen also puts a lot of emphasis on ease of communication between muggles and wizards, and would do her best to aid Muggle Public Relations in facilitating the use of magical communication (e.g. owls) for muggles new to the wizarding community, as well following through on her own duties of ensuring that muggle-facing staff are well equipped (and, if necessary, trained) to use any essential muggle technology.