Your Nickname: Leoman

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Full Character Name: Leoman Gild
Character Birthday & Age: 5th May 1973 - 35 yrs old
City & Country of Birth: York, North England
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn?: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Ravenclaw
Occupation ex banker, shady character

Type of Criminal: Leoman offers private loans to the unfortunate and desperate. He procures ’difficult to find’ items for anyone who has the money, morality does not get in the way of a tidy profit, no matter what they might ask him to find. He also offers protection to a handful of working girls who ply their trade within both the Muggle and Wizarding world, the Muggle side of this particular business being far more lucrative. 

Allegiances / Loyalties / Political Faction: He is loyal to the God that is money and to himself. He would consider any allegiances which might be beneficial to him and has no particularly strong political beliefs. He sees Muggles as being rather useful creatures, especially since Magic makes it so simple to manipulate them and he wouldn’t see them irradiated. I imagine he has dealings with the Muggle criminal underworld as well, considering as a halfblood he has always lived in both worlds.

Previous Convictions or Crimes?: A 2 year stretch in Azkaban for smuggling stolen goods and defrauding Gringots bank.

He took advantage of the tolerance he had won from the Goblins who worked at the Wizarding bank and learnt much from them about the many Magical Goblin-forged items which currently languished in the dusty households of old Wizarding families. Leoman organised to return these items to their rightful place within Goblin society, for a fee of course. During this period he had also developed a charm, similar to Confundus, that could be invested into ink. Any words written with this ink would be strangely difficult to remember. In this way he fiddled the records for Gringot’s bank, squirreling away hordes of gold into Muggle accounts, some of which remain undetected to this day though to his dismay, most were discovered upon his arrest where they bought himself a relatively lenient sentence. He was soon to discover that there is no Time in Azkaban prison, he might as well have been there for 100 years. His time there did little to dissuade him fro the criminal lifestyle, rather he concluded that if those who worked for ‘the good of society’ could inflict such horrors on one of its members then it was likely that all of humanity was evil and corrupt to some degree, perhaps speaking of Human Nature itself as an ugly thing. Leoman determined to surrender fully to this nature, serving only himself.

I'd say his two major newsworthy crimes, the ones that got him put away for two years involve defrauding Gringots over a number of years with the method I've mentioned previously and the smuggling of Goblin Wrought items.

The first crime might have been discovered by the Muggles or the Goblins, perhaps the formula for the ink in the bank records was not perfect and it aged strangely but when the theft was discovered im sure all the assets he owned (that they could find)would have been claimed and it would have been newsworthy until the trail was over at least.lets say he was 31 so.. it would have occurred summer or 2004.

The second would have involved him working with an accomplice as Leoman is no master thief. It would have involved tracking down the items still held in Wizarding homes, procuring them by whatever means possible and selling them to private collectors within the Goblin community. Perhaps when the Gringots scandal was discovered the Goblins revealed his part in the spate of thefts that had occurred as revenge (as if losing an ear and some fingers was not enough), in any case it would give him a clear message that he would not be forgiven for abusing their trust in such a way when they do not often consort with Wizards in such familiar terms. I'd imagine because his thinking processes are so similar to theirs, including a love of money, they might have trusted him more than the average wizard, perhaps he even learnt their language and grew accustomed to their culture. So these crimes would have been discovered at the same same and his fraud, but might have been happening over a number of years previously and would have appeared in the news as unsolved crimes.


What crimes might you commit in the future?  Discuss all possible: Theft, fraud, breaking people’s legs if they don’t pay their loans back, pimping, smuggling illegal goods, possible use of Dark Magic though he’s not at all proficient in it.

Are you currently under pursuit by the Ministry of Magic?: Not currently. His crimes are quite low level at the moment. He works with clients on an individual basis and works hard to keep it discrete. Im not sure the ministry would bother with him unless they needed something on him to get information from him for a bigger case. He’d happily snitch to save his own skin.

Wand Description: Birch and Dragon heart-string (his second wand since his first was snapped upon his arrest)

History of 2nd wand :- since stealing it wont work, and I assume Leo would be prohibited from buying another even in another country (or even from leaving the country for some years) I'm gonna go with this.... His Mother rarely has any contact with him since his conviction, convinced as she is that the stress of the whole business contributed to his Father's stroke which occurred during his period of incarceration. Even Magic, as wonderful as if it, doesn't yet have the power to rebuild the brain and his father's fate is the same as millions of others who have fallen victim to this sad twist of fate. Though it was more likely bad luck, years of inactivity and who knew how many bacon butties that contributed to the event, his Mother's mind is still clouded by grief and shame. Some months after his release Leoman convinced her to allow him a visit to the family home to see his Father...

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The house is much the same as it was when he was a child, the same smell, the same lone house elf who still frowned suspiciously at the Muggle technology his Father had brought to the old wizarding house. It had taken many months to get even the television to function with all the old Magic suffusing the very bricks of the house itself but his Mother, ever resourceful, had found a way, and so his Father, with the BBC and regular football games, had not felt quite so disconnected when he became a part of this strange new world. His Mother had offered him a stiff greeting, had placed his coat on a hook by the door, the same one he had owned when he was young and had led him to the sitting room. There in His Chair was his Father, fully dressed, thinning hair neatly combed, a cup of tea on the table beside him. A Muggle news show flickered across the screen before him and from this angle it seemed as if nothing had changed. For a strange dreamlike moment Leo imagined that his Father would turn, and smile, stand and pat him on the shoulder and ask him familiar, comfortable questions about his job, his life...

But his job was gone, his old life too, and so was his Father. As Leoman moved to take a seat on the couch beside his father's chair he was taken aback by the change in the man. His whole face had transformed, one side seemed slack, the corner of his lip drooped, spittle gathered there, pooling until a drop, a thread fell to his shoulder. His Father's eyes were upon the screen but his eyes were dull as if he were far away.

"Theo... you have a visitor, look....our Leo, he's come to see you" His Mother placed her hand on her husband's shoulder and with the other she dabbed gently at his chest and mouth with a tissue. Theo took a breath and murmured softly, fixing his gaze for a moment upon his wife before it slid away unfocused, back to the screen. She touched the mug by his side and, finding it cold, lifted it and moved to the door. "I'll make us some tea..." She said, matter of fact, her eyes cool as they rested upon her son. 'Look' they said, 'Look what you've done.'

It was one of the hardest things he had ever done, meeting that gaze. He knew logically that it was not his fault, but the blame she placed upon him was so hard to escape. The shame he felt was no doubt multiplied by the knowledge that he had another, less altruistic reason for being here. In the cabinet across the room, at the back of a drawer long forgotten was a wand belonging to a great aunt of his Mother's... and he needed a wand.

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So, Leoman acquired a wand that he had at least some affinity for though this aunt was rather limited in her capabilities hence the reason the thing was left forgotten for so long. It serves him well enough, though he longs for his old wand and would take the opportunity to buy a new one that was well suited for him in an instant.


Physical Description: Leoman is of slim build, he is physically weak which made him an easy target for bullies during his school days until he learnt enough hexes to fight them off. He stands at 5ft9 with dark hair that has a slight curl to it which he wears long to cover the scar where his right ear used to be. His eyes are pale grey and they are quick and sharp, for the most part seemingly amused at the joke that is what passes for a life in this world. He appears older than his 35 years, aged by his spell in Azkaban and the stress of his current lifestyle, no doubt the whiskey and late nights do little to help his complexion.

Build/Body type: slim/light
Estimated Height/Weight: 5ft9 9st
Hair color: dark brown
Eye color: pale grey
Skin color: white
First Impression: sneaky
Any odd/outstanding features?: missing an ear and two of the fingers from his right hand which serves to remind him that Goblins are not to be messed with.

Personality Description: Leoman will seem perfectly cordial upon first meeting. He can be funny, charming, roughish, professional or furtive depending on what the client wishes to see. It is likely that his true self has not been seen by anyone for many years, except perhaps by his ‘girls’ whom he is as fond of as he can be of anyone. If people treat him right and keep to their word he will be the perfect business partner, unless of course it becomes profitable to sell them out to someone else. Money is his first concern in life, the acquisition of money, the spending and gambling of money… it fascinates him as does the power that having it give him over others.

History: His parents met when his Mother, working for the Misuse of Muggles Artefacts Office, visited the home of long time bachelor Mr Theodore Gilt. This essentially harmless placid loans manager had somehow acquired a cursed watch which had cased him to speak in reverse for the past week and which resisted all attempts to remove it. After assisting him Angela neglected to erase the man’s memory, being quite taken with him and his simple charming Muggle ways. They eventually married and he was inducted into the wonders of the Wizarding world. Leoman was a sickly child but otherwise his childhood was fairly unremarkable besides form the teasing that such children often have to endure. He attended a Muggle school until he was 11 at his Father’s insistence, and learnt much about the nature of money from his Father who was delighted to discover his son’s talent for numbers. Leoman managed various small scams and money making schemes throughout his time at Hogwarts whilst maintaining acceptable grades. His mental library of hexes grew significantly throughout his time at the school as he found that the bullies in the Magical world could be far more malicious, inclined as some of them were to judge him for his heritage. It amuses him now that some of these pureblooded fools have since come to him on their knees begging for money when falling on hard times in the post-war period.

As anyone who has been bullied knows, even the most simple teasing can cause wounds that are disproportionately deep, wounds that never really heal. Leo was no exception however his quick mind and the skills he learned from his Father allowed him to gain some measure of revenge from a relatively early age, the satisfaction of this helped to soothe the hurts though of course it would not serve to truly heal them. He learnt simple Muggle magic tricks before he discovered his true magical talent, a simple cups and balls trick being is favorite, and took great pleasure in parting those bullies form their pocket money though more times than not it earned him a beating. When Wizarding children proved to be just as cruel on occasion as their Muggle counterparts Leoman began to accept this human capacity as a simple truth, just another factor to be figured into the equation of life. It perhaps was the foundation of his personal philosophy, his recognition that the world gave you nothing for free and that his own personal happiness lay in manipulating the world so that events turned out to his own liking.

The bullying also inspired him to become rather adept at defensive magic and various hexes and curses that would mainly give him time to escape from potential threats. He has never been particularly interested in the Dark Arts in of themselves. He might dabble in the darker sides of magic if some technique would be useful to him but he does not wish in any way to harm others or to abuse them. He might well have done so as a consequence of his actions in the past but this was never his direct intention, he only serves himself and is quite single minded and blinkered in this way.

I'd imagine surviving Azkaban with his mind mostly intact was one of the most testing experiences of his life and once he had been released his conviction of the shadowy nature of mankind was firmly fixed therefore i cant imagine he feels much guilt any more for his actions. Before his incarceration I'd say he felt a little guilt for betraying the trust of his coworkers at the bank, but self interest and greed won over.. sadly. But he wouldn't be so interesting without flaws like this!

To convince people that he has seen the errors of his ways and that from now on he will contribute to society he started up a shop soon after his release form azkaban. The store sells special stationary and inks, the latter being a hobby of his (see his previous crimes) and not having a wand (as far as they know) does not preclude him from devising new charms that can be invested in such inks. Pretty colours, colour changing varieties, scented inks, invisible inks, security inks only visible to selected persons. Under the counter varieties are available that combine certain potions with the ink that might serve to incapacitate or confuse the reader in a way that might prove advantageous to the sender of the letter. The shop acts as a front to cover his less legitimate business affairs that he has no intention of giving up.


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

“E-excuse me… are you Leoman Guild?”

Leoman had seen the man enter minutes before looking furtive, uncomfortable and thoroughly out of place. Well cut robes that were a little faded with age, a monocle and a fine mahogany steel-tipped walking stick, he placed the man as a once wealthy businessman fallen upon hard times, hard enough to bring him to a place like this. Eyes all around the room were casually drawing the exact same impression, some greedy some curious, and the rare few showing some sympathy for the poor fool. Leo raised a finger and the barkeeper poured him another measure before topping up the glass belonging to the lady to sat beside him. She smiled her thanks, a slow easy smile helped by the wine and the coins that currently weighed down the purse hidden within her robes.

Leo turned on a cool, casual smile as he turned to the man. He had no need draw this one in, he was already committed to the transaction which awaited him. No one sought Leoman Guild out in such a way unless they had no other options. Their bank had denied them another loan, their family had stopped returning their owls and they hovered on the very brink of losing all they had worked so hard for. Desperation took over and common sense fell by the wayside. It was a very human pattern, this compulsion to grasp hold of the leaky boat of one’s ambitions, even as it dragged one to the depths, and it was a compulsion that allowed Leo to maintain his current rather comfortable lifestyle with the minimum of effort.

“I am indeed,” he replied smoothly, “how can I be of assistance?”

“I was told… that you might be able to assist me. You see…” the man looked about and lowered his voice a little twisting his hands together in distress, “I am in need of a loan…”

Leo’s smile dissolved and his expression at once became sincere, completely understanding of the full seriousness that this situation warranted.

“Say no more my good man, come, take a seat here and we’ll discuss your options. Would you like a drink?”

The man shook his head mutely as he scrambled ungracefully onto the stool beside Leoman but Leo ordered another whiskey anyway before turning to his other companion.

“Lucy my dear, my new friend and I require some privacy…” The woman sighed petulantly and took her time gathering her belongings.

“I’ll see you later Leo.” She called over her shoulder as she left, there were other establishments that would welcome her this night and she had money to burn.

Leoman coughed deliberately and the man tore his gaze away from the sway of the woman’s retreating hips looking a little guilty before the reality of his situation occurred to him once again and worry filled his expression once more.

“I doubt you could afford her my friend… now down to business, let us not equivocate… how much do you need?”

“Five…thousand galleons…” The man’s voice nearly disappeared entirely before the end of the short utterance as if speaking of the sum made it seem even vaster than it seemed in his mind.

“That is not a problem my friend.” Leo smiled once more and placed a hand upon the man’s shoulder in a reassuring way and with the other hand he summoned a roll of parchment and a quill. “You can have the money this very night, all I need from you is a simple signature, a guarantee you see, that I’ll see my money again.”

The man’s eyes lit with hope as he nodded, though it was entirely unfounded. Instead of losing his life to the banks he would instead be losing it to this man and property might not be all that was on the line…



Sum up your character in one paragraph: Sneaky goodfornothing cynical lowlife who enjoys cards whiskey and women.