Full Character Name: Veronique Rossignol
Character Birthday & Age: June 16, 1987;  21
City & Country of Birth: Paris France
Blood Purity: Halfblood
Alma Mater: Hogwarts; RavenClaw
Job/Position: Junior Member; Committee on Experimental Charms

Wand:

Veronique is a slender woman, described often as eerily beautiful. Growing up on a farm she had always been very toned and without ever looking like a tomboy. At 5’9”, she does not consider herself to be unusually tall, however she does not wear shoes if they have a heal.  She has ash brown hair, which has a tendency to be unruly, so its often pulled tightly back in a bun, which complements her porcelain skin. She has a tall, broad forehead which is balanced with strong high check bones, a slightly prominent and an unusually square jar for a women. Although these features may sound unappealing, when combined with her large brown eyes and her wide smile, she has both a elegance and a distant innocence.
   On her face and across her body there are a number of scars, although timed had faded them almost to nothing. The most noticeable are a thin scar about  two inches long which runs from her forehead through her eyebrow over her left eye, and a small, but deep scar on her lower lip. Also, as a result of the accident, she is unable to fully extend her right leg making her appear slightly lopsided and walk with a limp.
   Being from Paris, she places a lot on importance on personal style. She can always be found dressed in the best designer clothes, preferring designers with a softer and darker aesthetic. She only wears solid neutral colors, and rarely will wear anything considered revealing, as most of her torso covered in scars.

               
 Veronique is not shy, she is reserved. She has very strong ideas about etiquette and personal boundaries which often make her seem aloof in a crowd. To those she knows and trusts she is warm, personable, and funny (in her own, dark way), but to people she is just meeting, however, she can appear to be quiet and withdrawn, and occasionally become frustrated at her apparent lack of interest in conversation. It can take her a long time to warm up to someone, only choosing those who she believes are worth while to allow into her world.
   She is a highly intelligent and dedicated witch. The majority of her time in school was spent studying and developing a deep understanding for various forms of magic. The only class she did not perform well in was Defense against the Dark Arts. She learned early that put under the pressure of a duel, she found herself grappling for the first spell to come to mind, making her an unpredictable and ineffective duelist. Having grown up in the muggle world entirely unaware of the rise and fall of Valdemort, she has little fear of dark magic and it’s users and therefore did not push herself to work past her performance anxiety. She only completed D.A.D.A. at her O.W.L. level, believing the N.E.W.T to be redundant as she was an animagus and could “simply fly away” from any dangerous encounters. She has more than once said she would want to teach at Hogwarts but having not completed D.A.D.A. and being passed over for Head girl has greatly discouraged her.
   From her parents, she adopted a passionate love for the arts. Into her adulthood, she frequently ventures in to the muggle world for the latest gallery openings or for a night at the Opera. It is this love for the arts that eventually swayed her to charms-work. One of her greatest loves is exploring the nuances and subtleties in spells and exploring how they effect it.
   One of her biggest weaknesses is her willingness to hold a grudge, even allowing it to ruin her relationships. This is what she did when her mother moved her to England after the death of her father and in her 7th year when her boyfriend was made Head boy. Another weakness is her occasional arrogance, believing that she smarter or more worth while than some of her peers, as well as believing that she would never need D.A.D.A. despite advice from professors
   Although she now lives almost entirely in the Wizarding world, Veronique always keeps a 12 pack of diet Pepsi in her apartment and wears almost entirely muggle-made clothes. She is fluent in English and French and can speak some basic Italian.

Christophe  Rossignol and Natalie Crow met in 1982 outside the stage door of Palais Garnier in Paris after a performance Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande. Christophe was a young French Wizard researching for the book that would soon bring him a moderate fortune and fame among the Wizarding world’s academic elite: Art, the Muggle’s Magic. Christophe was incredibly moves by the performance, and especially the young star of Natalie Crow, who was a muggle and prominent English Opera singer. After the show he waited for her at the stage door, and although he had never spoken to her, proposed. To the surprise of all (including Christophe) she thought for a few long moments and responded “Oui“. For years rumors flew that he had bewitched her, or that she had only agreed because her costar, who recently left her for another woman, was standing a few feet behind her. The two were married the following summer, and spent the first years of their marriage enjoy the fame garnered by the success of Christophe’s book and Natalie’s career, traveling in the most glamorous circles of both the magical and muggle world. But when Natalie became pregnant, the pair agreed that it would be better for the baby lead a “normal” life, without magic or celebrity.
   Veronique Rossignol was born in Paris on June 16, 1987. For the first 6 years of her life, Veronique lived happily with her mother and father (both retired) just outside of a small village about an hour north of Paris. They lived on a small farm, which had been a favorite vacation spot of Christophe in the past, and raised their own animals and grew their own crops. As soon as Veronique was old enough, they put her to work milking cows or spreading seeds, they wanted to teach her the value of hard work. Her parents also taught her read, write and how to appreciate art at an early age; They took their daughter on weekly excursions into Paris to visit museums or to see the latest plays.
   In July of 1993, while returning from a trip to Musée Bourdelle with his daughter, Christophe suffered from a seizure and swerved into oncoming traffic, dieing instantly. Véronique survived the crash, but suffered severe injuries which left her with scaring and a permanent limp. Devastated, Natalie sold the farm, returning to England and taking a teaching position at the Royal Academy of Music. For many years, Veronique held a grudge against her mother, feeling they had betrayed her father by moving to England. She became reserved and mistrusting, preferring to spend time reading and studying rather than socializing with her peers.
   In 1998, Veronique received a letter from Hogwarts School. With Christophe dead, her mother did her best to explain her father’s heritage and why they had decided to conceal it from her as she grew up. Unable to understand why her parents would conceal her magical background, her resentment for her mother only intensified and she resolved to attend Hogwarts, if only as a way to escape her mother. Upon arrival she was sorted into Ravenclaw, and immediately left an impression on many of her professors as an intelligent, if somewhat reserved student. She excelled in nearly all her classes - with the notable exception of flying - and was considered to be at the top of her class. She made few friends however, and many of the student in other houses teased her for her limp. In her second year, she began to open up to her fellow Ravenclaws, making several friends and even joining the dueling club along with several of her classmates. Although she had a wide variety of spells at her disposal and was one of the most gift casters of her class, her ability as a duelist was heavily effected by her nerves; under the pressure of a duel, she would often cast which ever spells came to mind, just as frequently casting the Growth charm on her opponents wand causing it to grow too large to effectively use or fixing her opponents wand arm to the side as using a shield charm or expelliarmus. Her inability to keep her composure during a duel also played a role in her emerging struggles with Defense against the Dark Arts.
    In her 3rd year she began taking Muggle Studies, remembering her mother saying her father had once been a muggle researcher;  to her surprise, she found her father’s book listed among the required texts nearly twenty years later. Reading the book, and studying her fathers work made her feel close to her father for the first time since his death. She begin to let go of some of her anger go, and began to reconciled with her mother after 7 years of turmoil. In her 4th year, she decided she wanted to be a teacher at Hogwarts; she began spending all her extra time studying and practicing, making marked improvement even in her weakest subject, DADA. She became particularly adept at Transfiguration and Charms, although originally preferring transfiguration for its order and its finite nature. She also convinced her transfiguration to allow her to begin training to become an animagus.
    In her 5th year she was made a Prefect for Ravenclaw, a source of great pride for her. Through her experiences as prefect, she became much more outgoing and social. Although she still spent the majority of her time studying, she had many friends from each of the houses at Hogwarts, even dating a fellow prefect from Slytherin. On her O.W.L.s she received 5 O’s (Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, and Study of Ancient Runes), and 2 E’s (Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies) and one A (Defense against the Dark Arts) She continued in her 6th year to the N.E.W.T. level in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Study of Ancient Runes. She was also allowed to continue D.A.D.A. in the N.E.W.T. level, even though her O.W.L. score normally would not qualify her, because of her strong work ethic and her ability in other fields. However after finishing her animagus training halfway through the second semester, gaining the ability to transform herself into a Fox Sparrow, she decided to drop D.A.D.A. from her course load, saying: Why fight when you can simply fly away.
  Her final year she was passed over for the position of head girl because the Headmaster felt she was too detached and reserved for the job. Already severely discouraged,  she suffered another blow after a particularly nasty fall out with her boyfriend, who had been appointed to head boy. She spent the next months isolated from her friends, putting all her efforts into preparing for her N.E.W.T.s. It was during this time that she also began to develop an affinity for charms work; Although previously she thought it was a weaker form of magic, her new found understanding of the nuances and individuality of charms-work led her to view it as an art form. She began experimenting with augmenting and even creating simple charms, one allowed her to bewitch a ring that would give its wearer the an ability similar to telekinesis. She graduated with Outstandings in all of her classes except Herbology where she scored a E, and was among the top members of her class.
   In 2005, she began a year long  a clerical internship with the Spell Experimentation & Research Office of the department of mysteries. It was her responsibility to document the experiments and process and present the files in a neat organized manner for review. Although the work was tedious, her discipline and quick wits made her a popular member of the team. She made a strong impression on many in the team when she retranslated a runic source text which allowed for a major break though on a powerful healing spell. After the internship had finished she was offered  a position as assistant  researcher  with S.E.R.O. Although she now had more of a hands on role in the team, she steadily grew more and more frustrated with the lack of practical experience her work offered.
   In 2008, after two and a half  scouring ancient tomes and translating forgotten runic secrets, Veronique was present with an opportunity for a more exciting profession. After a experiment gone array, the Committee on Experimental Charms was looking for new recruits. She applied for the position and was given an interview for a week following. During the interview William MacDougal, head of the committee,  was skeptical of whether or not she had the ingenuity and innovation for the position, viewing her work with the S.E.R.O. as purely academic. He quickly changed his mind though, when she revealed how she invented a charm that bewitch her ring, allowing it the wearer to magically move objects without the need for wand or incantation. and told him how she believed that given enough time it would be possible to charm an object to take on all the abilities and properties of a wand, which would allow for much more discretion while using magic. Although he dismissed her theory, he was convinced that she would make an excellent addition to the team. A few days later she began work as a Junior member of the Committee on Experimental Charms.

The creation of a charm is a long process; It begins with an idea, followed by intense research of similar spells and ancient texts, looking for ways to augment, bend and manipulate the spell into something new. Much of the work relies solely trial and error. As a Junior Member of the Committee on Experimental Magic, it is her responsibility to support senior members in charm research, development,  setting up experiments and developing counter charms when necessary. She also plays a role in presenting the charms to the committee for review.
   The brain storming process for charms occurs in a bimonthly meeting of the Senior members and the Committee leader. They decide the basic parameters of the charm based on suggestions by members and on Wizarding polls and research collected by a small intelligence division (consisting mainly of interns and clerical workers).
   Experiments are designed to test which of the test varieties are most effective, both in power and consistency. Placing the wrong wand movement or incantation will usually cause the spell to fizzle however it has also been known to cause rain, flashes of light and small explosions. Many safety precautions have to be made, as well as careful dictation and recording of each trial.
   Although only senior members are allowed to propose new charm projects, any necessary counter-charms are developed entirely by the assisting Junior member(s), much like the creation of the actual charm, this is a long process, although statistically safer and easier.
   On the last business day of every month the committee holds an extended review, looking over the all the charms which have been or are in the process of being created. As the senior members are encouraged to invent spells regardless of legal factors, it is here they discuss possible distribution and restriction of the charms. The majority of charms are kept from wide spread practice, either being redundant or too dangerous.

   Veronique was hired for several reasons: the first was her 4 O and 1 E on her N.E.W.T, the second was her skills as a translator and researcher developed with S.E.R.O, and the final was her experimenting with charm creation in her 7th year at Hogwarts.
   In her work treats each aspect of a spell like part of a symphony, each component alone extractable but not truly whole until they are whole; but if you take a piece of that symphony and change it only slightly, you have a whole new piece of music. The difficulty is, you have to find a change that is still combatable with the remnants.

Writing Sample:

   She sat roughly onto the bar stool as if her body were too sore to hold her up any longer; Work had been rough. During an experiment for what was supposed to be a simple counter-charm, they had succeeded in returning a test dummy back form being suspend outside of our universe, but somehow also managed to cause it to violently explode. She had spent the entire rest of the afternoon  being treated for blunt force trauma and second degree burns at St. Mungo’s hospital, where she was on a first name basis with the healers. They done a great job healing the burns, but she still has some minor bruising and she reeked of burnt hair.
   “Double whiskey sour” she muttered, flinging her cloak and bag over the stool next to her. The bartender nodded and grinned as he turned to his collection of bottles. Veronique Rossignol was not a regular at the Leaky Cauldron, however the few occasions she has visited have left a very distinct memory on him. She always arrived looking as if she were on the loosing end of a duel, limping to the counter and ordering a strong muggle drink; Today she dawned a fresh black eye, a fat lip and  hair which was drastically uneven and burned char-black at the ends. After a moment the bar tender returned with her drink and she reached for her purse,
   “Nah miss, it’s on th’ house,” he smiled faintly with sympathy and moved to the other side of the bar, where a man with a leather jacket was flagging him down.
   The bar was unusually empty tonight, it occurred to her. Although it was dimly lit, she could see that almost all the tables scattered about were empty, save for the one directly behind her, which was occupied by a pack of cackling school girls drinking butterbeers. There were only three other people seated at the bar. Even the dining hall must be empty, she thought, as there was no sound pollution seeping through the brightly light archway which led from one room to the other.
   She looked up from her drink, to where the bartender was pouring a shot for the man in the leather jacket. He was rather handsome, she thought, and it had been a while since she’d - oh shit. Damn shitty crap bugger, she had caught the stranger’s eye. She watched as the man took his shot and walked slowly over to her. Impact in three, two…
   “Rough day?” asked the man in a soothing voice.
   One
   “Oh this?” she said pointing to her eye “No, I got this hugging baby unicorns” she said, taking a large sip of her drink.
   “Oh, well then maybe you’ll be able to tell me something; I’ve always wondered, are unicorns born with their horn? It sounds tremendously painful for the mother” he was met with a look of disbelief be. Oh god, he‘s a funny man, she thought.
   “Look,” he said hesitantly “this is kind of embarrassing, but have you ever heard the expression: love at first sight?”
   She did not turn to look at him this time, she spoke calmly and flatly, “Have you ever heard the expression: get the hell away from me?”
   To her surprise the man chuckled , “You stole that from a television show.”
   She turned to him in disbelief, she wasn’t sure if any of the wizards she had met even knew what a TV was, let alone be able to catch a decade old reference to an American cartoon. He smiled and slide the piece of parchment under her hand and headed for the door. She finished what was left of her drink with a shadow of a smile on her face. She flagged the bartender down and she ordered another drink: a champagne martini. Once again the man turned to the bottles as Veronique gathered her belongings and took some money from her purse. When he had finished he returned and set the glass in front of her.
   “Actually, can you send this to the lady in the table over there” she said, pointing to a homely looking witch alone at the end of the bar. “This too, and keep the change.” she added handing him the man’s note and a five galleons. The bartender smirked, she was always a memorable customer.
    She walked out the door, her limp slightly exaggerated by her brisk pace. Aren’t there laws about legilimency, she asked herself before making her way home.

Veronique is a fiercely intelligent and capable witch. Although it has been her dream for many years to teach at Hogwarts, she believes that it improbable and has since began working in the ministry of magic. Although her deep belief in social etiquette and personal boundaries can make her appear cold and distant, she is a very caring and devoted friend to those she believes are worth while; and while her ego and temper may sometimes get her into trouble, those who know her are quick to forgive her because of her wit, dedication, and charismatic - if some what dark - personality.