Accepted! ~Elle

About You, the Writer:
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Your Nickname: SL
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How did you find us and decide to write with us? I am Simon
If you have written other characters here, list them all: Simon Reid
Full Character Name: Dexter Sheldon Pratt
Character Birthday & Age: February 17th, 33 years of age
City & Country of Birth: Elgin, Scotland
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn?: Muggleborn
Alma Mater: Hogwarts – Gryffindor House
Position at Hogwarts: Care of Magical Creatures
Wand: 11 1/4” Cherry Wood, Phoenix Feather, Springy, Spiraled shaft 
Physical Description: Standing burly and well built at an average height, Dexter's eyes are a deep green, his hair is softly brown tousled generally when not cut very short.
Dexter has a beauty mark above his right eye which hides behind his increasingly bushy eyebrows and strands of fallen brown hair.Much of the parts of his forearms and other appendages have scars from his work with Dragons. Has burns that were unable to be removed by magic on the right side of his shoulder leaving pale scars there. His facial hair is often rugged and showing as a prominent five O'clock shadow.  The hair on his arms matches his facial hair in that it is darker then the hair atop his head.

His dress is generally muggle apparel with a pair of Dragon Hide boots. Most often when outside with the animals in the pens Dexter wears what is known as flannel in the muggle world, with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of jeans that are able to be worn in the mud and the muck. Not afraid of hard work of any fashion, Dexter can be seen covered in dirt, and filth when he is outside getting his job done and making sure the animals in his care are being watched.

In his closet there are very few nice suits, and usually it is his daughter's protesting that he spends money on his own attire. She is the one who gives him pointers on what looks respectable for special events such as tea with her friend's parents or social functions that are school related. Until his daughter chimed in, Dexter had one suit for which he had one tie, and one pair of nice shoes. Since she became a force of nature in his wardrobe's existence, Dexter now owns several different sets of casual and high fashion outfits so that he looks acceptable in both muggle and wizarding world events.

Personality Description: Bright and cheerful, Dexter is generally energetic and enjoys goofing about with a bunch of his mates whenever possible. Family oriented; Dexter cares for his parents, as well as his siblings, and his daughter Madeline. His charismatic demeanor and free spirit gained him many friends as well as helped him get through much of life's turmoil.

Dexter has been a ball of energy since the day he was born. His mischievous ways have always been the driving force to his parents scoldings as a child. As he grew up and took on more responsibilities, Dexter became a little more subdued because he was looked up to by his little brother and sister. Has a need to help protect those around him be them human or animal. Much like the keeper of his siblings, Dexter hates to see people in pain.
 
Loves to talk to all sorts and has a warm demeanor. Often if he isn't drafting out course work, Dex is off spending quality time with his mates or tending to the animals in his care. Generally he likes to keep in an even mood, unless he cannot stop others from provoking his annoyance. Stubborn and thick headed much like his father, Dexter is known to lose his temper when he gets overwhelmed and tries his hardest to reign it in. His father's short fuse and ability to hold a grudge was one of the many things he passed down to him, and while it might be a hurdle at times, Dexter would not change his ability to stick to his guns or stand up for his rights.

Likes: Animals, Reading, Tending to both his creatures and the garden outside of his little home which he shares with his daughter Madeline.

Dislikes: Slackers, sloppy people, when people don't take pride in their work, and losing. Hates getting lost, or being proven wrong though he knows there is no possibility he is always right.

Strengths: Quick witted, strong willed, and has a mind of his own. Dexter is quick on his feet and sometimes find that his fast tongue gets him in a spot of trouble. Determined to a fault, Dexter will not just back down because of a minor bump in the road he is traveling. Compassionate, and empathizes with the plight of the weak. 

Weaknesses: Tends to beat himself up when things aren't done to his standards, is a sore loser. Frets over the little things instead of looking at things big picture. Can care too much to the point where he worries about them constantly.

History: History: Born to Grocery store clerk Katherine Dorland and sailor Daniel Pratt. They were a quick and fast love affair that fixed the two muggles together permanently for life. Though he wasn't home a lot because Daniel was always traveling, he did have enough time to father three children over the years. The first one was a spitting image of Daniel, they named the boy Dexter Sheldon Pratt. Daniel explored, as did Dexter who wandered through the house a as a little boy often letting in stray cats from the neighborhood and rescuing lizards and snakes from the flower box much to the dismay of his mother. Whenever his father came back he would bring back treats and toys of his travels even if they were just something from an exotic land, places that Dexter could only dream of. While he grew up he read many books on different places to travel someday as well as the animals of those regions.

Devouring the books were easy until his little brother Frank arrived. Their mother dotted on her boy while Dexter waited patiently for his father to come back again. Everything seemed to go smoothly, he was outdoorsy, and into reading absorbing anything he can. When school came up, Dexter had every intention of excelling with whatever he put his mind to. It was however a shock when it turned out he wouldn't be going to a local school but had in fact been accepted to a wizarding school. Changing gears, Dexter had to make a new game plan to follow. So in his new life, with his new world he wanted to be the best possible older brother to both of his siblings. Be it sport, or school books Dexter wanted to be number one. However when he came to wizarding school he found he was far better with the books, then broom related sports and gave up on quidditch after playing one half hearted season as the Quidditch Keeper for his house Gryffindor. His heart was never truly in the game, but he gladly could say he tried and is rather fond of yelling for his team whenever he has a chance.

Dexter was more drawn to the written word than extra-curricular activities, focusing mainly on Care of Magical Creatures which he took to like a duck to water. Instantly his love for animals that has been since he was a child collecting garden snakes, frogs, and other muggle animals in the garden was the new career path he wished to follow in his new world. Dexter was named Prefect his fifth year and left the school with a stellar academic record in almost every class save for History of Magic which was deemed too boring, and Divinations which he thought was hokum. 

During school Dexter got into a heated debate with a girl he met in the library. Dora Mack was a witty Ravenclaw who seemed to think she knew everything there was about anything. Dexter being quite the wise acre decided it was time to put her in place about a few things. They were discussing beings and beasts and their rights over others when the two seemed to differ but the debate eventually led to a romance. They married shortly after leaving Hogwarts and found they were going to have a child soon after. As a muggleborn the couple feared any offspring they might create had a possibility of being a squib. Though it was not as big a fear for Dexter as it was for Dora, the two hoped their future child would be able to enjoy all the fruits of the wizarding world and not be forced to sit on the site lines.

The future seemed bright for the pair, Dexter was off studying and doing research at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary as a Dragon Keeper shortly after leaving school. He spent every spare moment with his bride/mother to be. Gaining the most knowledge he could in Romania he wanted to be closer to home as well closer to his wife who had given birth to their bouncing baby girl Madeline. Maddie was the light of her father's life, to the point where he spent much of his time trying to find ways to make her laugh or getting her things spoiling the tike rotten. Sadly mothering wasn't quite in Dora's blood, she felt detached from her child and even found herself increasingly discontent with her marriage. One night Dexter's best mate Leonard stopped by while Dex was off in Wales working with the select dragons kept in that secluded sanctuary. The two stayed up chatting, and an affair blossomed from what seemed from the exterior as the perfect marriage. This went on for quite sometime before one night Dexter came home to find the bags were packed and she was heading out the door. The man was completely devastated, not to mention stunned, even attempting to reconcile but Dora would have none of it.

When Dora left, she not only closed the book on Dexter she also left Madeline. Being only five years of age she hadn't the foggiest idea what was going on. The hole in Dexter's heart had been terrible. Madeline rarely sees her mother since Dora slept with Dexter's best mate Leonard and moved out with him. In an attempt to compensate Dexter was able to find a governess willing to stay in house so that Madeline could live with a female presence despite losing the one who was supposed to be the most caring.

It was a struggle at first finding the perfect balance of work and home. Dexter wrote articles against the cruelty of Dragons for the Daily Prophet here and there, often reading things on the rights of both animals and creatures. The most awkward thing for Dexter is when he accidentally bumps into his ex-wife at events they both find interest in.

Dexter transferred to the Wales facility, closer to home after his daughters suspension from his alma-mater. Since while he was Romania the owl delivery was spotty at best, Dexter knew it was time to bring his work closer to home where he was needed most.

Writing Sample:
Show your character in a scene that illustrates their
best and worst aspects of their personality. Include action, dialog and thought.
Sum up your character in one paragraph:

Setting up for his first class, Dexter found himself flitting about the classroom almost resembling a humming bird in nature. The man had the hardest time keeping still when it came to excitement. Dex was very much amused by the tales of the former Care of Magical Creatures Professors students had to endure over time. It seemed some were so classic that he hardly found it fair to try and top them. This was the first class so he didn't want to frighten them. Though he had to admit talk of if he might bring a book that bites back caused a tickle in the back of his throat.

There were five levels of creatures according to the Ministry, they ranged from 'Boring' to 'Known Wizard Killer' it was Dexter's goal to never get too close to either extreme. If he wanted to keep the young minds interested in the subject matter he would have to bring them something to captivate.

What he had planned for the first class was no less spectacular than any other time he trained and tamed Dragons in Romania and Wales. If the students wished to know more along that subject matter he would have no problem going into details. Though Dragons were for the later years to learn from. In his head he hoped to gather a response by bringing out two creatures which he had held under two separate sheets clearly covering cages.

Grinning ear to ear at his own genius, Dexter sat as he watched the third years enter the classroom. It was his first chance to teach all the things he has learned over the years to bright young minds, it would be interesting to say the least. “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives,” he chuckled to students who looked eager to peer under the clothe into the cages.