Your Nickname: Mel
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Friend
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all: Active Characters are Edward Pratt and Hannah Bombay
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

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Charisma’s wand has taken its fair share of beatings and yet it still keeps working. It is durable hawthorn wood with a core of dragon heartstring. The wand is brilliant at hexes, curses and defensive magic, very helpful for someone in Charisma’s line of work.


Charisma Aldridge has the body of someone accustomed to running fast, ducking and dodging dangerous spells and being stuck in tombs for days on end. She is slim, relatively toned and still in good physical condition. She used to be able to outrun most witches and wizards in their twenties and despite her age, has as much energy as these youngsters as well. Unfortunately, she had an accident recently with runespoor. Her left leg is now badly scarred and painful. She can't stand on it for long periods of time and walks with the aid of a cane. Regardless of the positive aspects her career has had on her health, her body still tells a story of certain intrepid explorations in the way of scars from previous injuries. Charisma isn’t particularly tall. She stands at an average height of about 5”5.

Charisma’s piercing blue eyes still retain the youthful glow she had in her 20s. Age betrays itself in the tiny, barely noticeable lines framing them and the need for a pair of golden rimmed reading glasses. Her bright eyes also have a tendency to betray the emotion felt behind them. Sleek brown tresses befall Charisma’s shoulders. The layered waves frame her face and the style gives the woman an air of elegance when she does it properly. Other, she spends most of her time with it clipped back for practical reasons, her reading glasses precariously propped on top amidst layers of golden brown hair.

Clothing for a cursebreaker should always be practical. Charisma has owned a pair of mid-calf dragonhide boots since she commenced work for Gringott’s Bank over forty years ago. She’s possessed them longer than she’s known her spouse of 41 years and often jokes to him that she’ll get rid of him before her boots. These well aged and worn boots are usually accompanied by a pair of long burgundy robes, tight trousers and a comfortable shirt. In her older age the woman has started dressing in a more feminine, ‘pretty’ style suitable for a grandma but for the majority of the time, her youthful rebellion wins over and the boots and burgundy robes emerge.


Charisma, or ‘Charis’ as her family and close friends call her, loves excitement and danger. Her whole family does. She makes a living risking her life in ancient and cursed Egyptian tombs. Her husband makes his living researching and handling rare and dangerous dragons. Her eldest son makes his living keeping rare and dangerous dragons and her youngest son made his living tracking down and capturing dark criminals. For the former three, their careers hadn’t yet led to anything more than a few extended and painful trips to various wizarding hospitals across the globe. For Charisma’s youngest son, the worst befell him and she grieves him to this day.

The death of her youngest son permanently marked Charisma. Originally she had appeared to be a carefree adventure loving mother who wanted both the best and a lot of independence for her children. She was never in their faces telling them what to do but they were always aware she was in the background to steer them in the right direction or for them to come to if ever they faced unsympathetic situations or any sort of trouble. She was the kind of mother that wanted her children to grow into themselves and not a younger version of her or her husband. After Tait’s death, however, the grieving mother became an over interested one. Tait and she had been exceptionally close as far as mother and son went. Therefore his death rocked her very core. She had lost a part of herself. Now she personally makes sure her family meet for meals and parties because she couldn’t bear ever losing another member.

Charis is the matriarch of her family. Her children, grandchildren, extended family and friends look up to her. She gives the impression of being wise, mature and settled, regardless of her perilous, daredevilesque career choice. She is an intelligent woman and in regards to wiseness, Charisma never states such a fact. She looks after her family in a way she has learned for years. It seems to work for the majority of the time and she will do anything for any of them and if it doesn’t her determined nature will make it work. She never gives up on people or problems.

Her marriage is strong. Ryan Aldridge, Charisma states, is an attestation that she is an exceptionally intelligent woman. She leaves that statement open for one to interpret however they wish. Ryan is her very amiable rock. Their marriage isn’t based upon dependency, it’s based upon love and companionship and it’s one of those most people would aim for. The couple have been through many ups and downs as all spouses would but Charis proudly admits they never go to bed on an argument and would never be without one another.


1947 was the year A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot was first published. It was the year some of the worst snowfalls were recorded by muggles in the UK in the 20th Century. More importantly it was the year when Karina Agnes gripped her husband Theadore’s hand like a viper takes a victim and yelled out in ferocious agony as Charisma Agnes was unceremoniously born into the world. Gunk covered limbs waved energetically while tiny vocal chords tested their ultimate capacity for the first and definitely not the last time.

Charisma continued into her next few years just as she had into the world. Noisily and energetically. The young girl was an intrepid explorer even at the age of three when she would ungracefully run around the overgrown garden, hiding, seeking out bugs and creatures and terrorising the family’s house elf, Flounce. Her parents were able to exhale far more than a sigh of relief when the Hogwarts acceptance letter was mercifully delivered to the family home by owl. Charis was cheerfully waved off on the train and began a much more exciting adventure.

Ravenclaw house has happy to accept the youngest member of the Agnes clan and she spent seven years working hard, winding up prefects and exploring the forbidden forest proudly draped in black, blue and silver. By her fifth year, Charisma was already dead set on her future career. She was going to travel, indulge in her thrill seeking adventurous personality and never settle down to be boring. She was going to be a curse breaker for Gringott’s bank.

In the summer of 1965 Karina and Theadore Agnes waved their daughter off once more to a far more interesting country than Scotland. Charisma had graduated Hogwarts with remarkable results in Arithmacy, Ancient Runes, Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions and Herbology. She was now off to Egypt to break into tombs and risk her life just as any 18 year old young woman would.

Ryan Aldridge quite literally fell into Charisma’s life in December 1966 when his hands betrayed him as he flew overhead, gripping onto a thick rope wrapped around an angry dragon’s neck. One slip and he landed hard on his back right on front of his future wife. Who was she to resist such a sign dropped at her feet by undoubtedly Merlin himself.

The following February Charisma Agnes married the free falling dragon researcher (once he’d recovered) and became Charisma Alrdidge. Two years later saw the birth of her first son, Trystan and the following year after that Taryn, her only daughter was born. Ryan and Charis agree that in order to maintain the life they were used to with travelling and exciting careers, two children would be enough. This was why they were both surprised, but pleasantly, when in 1973 they found out a third child was on his way. This final infant was to be called Tait.

Somehow the young couple managed to juggle their exciting work lives and having children. The first wizarding war started in 1970 and Ryan and Charisma decided to move permanently to Egypt until the hostilities died down. The Hogwarts letters still arrived and despite worries regarding the safety of Hogwarts, the children were reluctantly waved off. The Aldridges set up home in the south of England but when Hogwarts took all three of their children the couple were able to go off and work abroad during the term times. Ryan would head off around the world and Charisma would go straight to Egypt, happily spending months encased in dangerous tombs. While the distance between them presented difficulties for the Aldridges, Charisma thanked Merlin for apparation, floo powder and owls.

The kids graduated in turn from Hogwarts. Trystan Aldridge followed in his father’s footsteps to become a dragon keeper in Romania. Taryn Aldridge became an assistant in the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop in Diagon Alley. A couple years later Tait began to train to become a highly esteemed auror.

In 1994 things in Charisma’s life took a very depressing and heart wrenching turn. Her youngest son Tait was taken from her and along with him, a part of herself. She tried to reach out to his fiancée only to get no response. The young woman distanced herself from the Aldridges and Charisma began to drive her remaining children and husband insane by taking an over the top interest in everything they did and felt as if to bring back a part of her son.

Life however moves on and with it Charisma’s heart started to slowly repair itself, allowing for her to continue with her life while never forgetting the memory of her youngest son. Trystan got married to a beautiful Romanian girl and had a couple of equally beautiful children and Taryn opened her own Quidditch Supplies store in Hogsmeade. A large distraction for Charisma came in the shape of an attack on her Taryn. This one, unlike the murder of her son wasn’t personal. Taryn ended up gravely injured and bed ridden for several weeks in her parent’s home after being mauled by a changed werewolf. Needless to say, this has been a closely guarded secret between the Aldridges who feel it unnecessary to register her and instead decided to handle the curse themselves.
   
Whilst Charisma focused on helping her daughter, she also threw herself even more into her work, writing a couple of books about varying adventures. Now she and Ryan own a large house in a small Devonshire village where the two of them and their house elf, Herby rattle around. Charisma travels less often and Ryan does a large amount of his work from home. Every month on the full moon Tarn returns home from Scotland to venture into the purpose made cellar of her parent’s home to change before returning back to Scotland. Every year around the time of her son’s death, Charisma writes a very detailed letter to the woman that should have been her daughter in law and she still remains in contact with Tait’s best friend.


For 43 years Charisma has been employed by Gringott’s Bank in England as a curse breaker. For the majority of her career she was regularly sent off to Egypt (and similar countries with ancient treasure to be found) to tombs and ancient burial grounds to seek treasures to bring back to her employers. Charisma’s job had always involved a great deal of danger which she thrives upon. Her job would be to utilise experience and skills in Arithmacy and Ancient Runes to break into tombs or break security curses and find treasures.


Curse breaking has always been an opportunity for Charisma to travel and while working for the bank, she made the most of her discoveries by taking a ‘souvenir’. It is doubtless that most people employed by the bank have done this occasionally and as a result of Charisma’s more frequent ‘souvenir taking’, her home is full of various illegally owned relics and paintings.

Charisma has made a name for herself in the wizarding world. She’s written books about her discoveries and adventures and is known somewhat as an expert in her field thanks to her large amount of experience. Nowadays, however, she spends more time at the bank behind a desk sending out younger curse breakers and training them up.


Charisma Aldridge is a thrill seeking witch who heads a thrill seeking family. She loves danger, adventure and running away from dangerous things and will never give up on a person. She is determined and energetic and has owned a pair of incredibly durable and reliable dragon hide boots for over forty years.

Career Change

Character Name: Charisma Aldridge
Character Biography: http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=7345.0
Previous Job/Position: Gringott's Cursebreaker
Position Applying For: Professor of Ancient Runes

Why have you chosen to change careers?:
For nearly two years Charisma has been out of the field due to a Runespoor injury meaning she needs to rely on a cane to walk. Back in September her husband walked out on her due to a lie she'd told since their son's death and one could say she is now going through a midlife crisis at the age of 63. She needs to throw herself into something new and fresh and sharing her love of runes and ancient magic with the young minds of Hogwarts seems like the perfect thing to jump into.

Elaborate on your expertise in this new field:
Charisma has over 45 years worth of experience in the field as a curse breaker and ancient runes expert. Charisma has made a name for herself in the wizarding world. She’s written books about her discoveries and adventures and is known somewhat as an expert in her field thanks to her large amount of experience.

During the past year and a half, due to Charisma's grounding at the bank, she has taken more of a lead role in training new cursebreakers.

Describe your new job and how you go about doing it:
Charisma understands that being a professor will be a far less active role that she's had before. But at her age now and with her injury she needs to face up to a reality of no more exciting travel  and exploration through dangerous tombs and ancient civilisations. But this profession will allow her to train the future generation of runists and cursebreakers.

Being a very active and energetic witch, Charisma will fill her lessons with practicality and excitement with a little hint of danger. Very little, she believes, can be learnt from books and watching. Leaners need to get out and do.

Having raised three children, Charis will also take on her role using her mothering instinct in a pastoral manner when the students need it.

Special Title Request
Character Name: Charisma Aldridge
Title Applying For: Head of Ravenclaw House
Character Biography: http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=7345.0

What Experience has Prepared You For This Honor?:
Charisma has been working at Hogwarts since late September where she stood in for an absent professor and was asked to stay on. She has over 30 years of experience raising her own children and has always been the firm matriarch of her family. Head of House at Hogwarts is therefore a role that she can step into quite easily.

Firm but fair, Charisma is a mother hen who can be a force to be reckoned with. For all the kindly demeanour she may seem to have, threaten one of her hens and you will regret it.

What Do You Think the Most Important Aspect of This Job Is:?
Being mindful of the welfare of the students in Ravenclaw house. Charisma, while being the person for pupils to confide in and respect, will also be the person to discipline those in her house and stand up for them. In the short of it, the head of house is in loco parentis while students are at Hogwarts.

Tell a Story From Your Past That Has Proven Your Mettle: 
Taken from Can you Count to ten? where Charisma has been badly injured by one of the cursebreakers and yet she is still protecting her from the hell the goblins could wreak.


Raizel Cohen lived in a sugar dusted world of her own. Reality and sense didn’t seem to have reached this young witch like it had with the majority of the wizarding population. If Charisma hadn’t been so utterly stunned by the attitude of the young witch before her she would have laughed. The complete ignorance the Israeli witch possessed when it came to the truth, the real happenings from that evening was absolutely astonishing.

Despite the urge to correct Cohen, to argue with her about the facts she had incorrect, Charisma decided to take the moral high ground, to ignore the pain this incompetent witch had caused and inform her just what would happen if the ‘old witch’ berating her laid off and sent her to the goblins.

“Hm.” Charisma leant forwards, resting her elbows on the desk between them. “As I said, Cohen, I see absolutely no point in making threats when they would pale in comparison to the goblins. I certainly don’t wish to pack you off directly to them, my dear. Not after I took you off their hands in the first place.” The cursebreaker had started twisting a quill absentmindedly between her fingers as she considered her words, speaking slowly. “If I sent you to them to be dealt with they’d be mad at me as well for wasting their time. Not that they’d kill me like they would you.”

A small sigh was released from Charisma’s pale lips and she looked up from the quill to her younger colleague. “I’d rather not be responsible for that to be honest; despite the fact that it’s your foolhardiness that landed me in St Mungo’s and you terribly out of favour with the goblins. You’ll never learn to be a decent cursebreaker if you’re dead, will you?”