Biography

Full Character Name: Yolanda Marisol Valdaine
Character Birthday & Age: 2nd June, 1952, age 57
City & Country of Birth: Houston, Texas, USA
Blood Purity: Muggleborn
Alma Mater: Salem Witches Institute of Magic
Job/Position: Transmutation teacher at Salem

Wand: Kelpie mane-hair and hickory, 9 inches, supple

Physical Description:

Yolanda is smiling and sunny inside and out. Though a little worn with age, her bronze-toned skin is still vibrant, and she inhabits her body with as much energy as she's always done. Her round face is brought alive by her bright brown eyes, nicely framed with the comfortable beginnings of laughter lines, and also by her wide smile, which never fails to display her rather startlingly white teeth. Of average height and build, albeit a little on the rounded side, Yolanda carries herself with an easy lope, making her unassuming enough not to grab attention instantly, but not so much so that she fades into the background. Her burnt umber hair falls in loose curls down to her shoulder blades when down, though usually Yolanda has it tied in a thick braid to keep it out of the way. She also brushes her favourite perfume into her tresses every day, so a very strong, sweet smell of roses follows her wherever she goes.

Personality Description:

A born teacher, Yolanda, believes that one of the important things she must bring to the classroom is that she never stops learning, and she encourages her students to tackle things the same way. She sees the potential in each one of her kids, and though she has had her share of problem students, she does her best to help everyone under her tutelage discover their abilities for themselves.

As such, Yolanda is very approachable, and not just when it comes to students. She finds it easy to make friends in any given circle, helped along by the fact that she's an instinctively good judge of character and quite adept at reading people. However, this can result in her being too forward, or overly familiar. She's quick to use pet names and endearing terms, and readily able to rely on people, with the rationale that if she's proven willing to help someone, she should expect the same from them.

Transmutation has been a passion of Yolanda's ever since her own school days. Growing into a style of magic that was based more on feeling and intuition than anything she learned traditionally, she soon discovered she had a natural talent, and these days is considered something of a master in her field, but her real pride really does lie in teaching, to the point where she is fiercely protective of her students; if ever she feels they are threatened in any way, Yolanda can be quite the figurative, and literal,[1] mama bear.

History:

Yolanda Juárez grew up as part of a large, loving muggle family, in Houston, Texas. Born to hispanic Texan Horatio Juárez and his Hawaiin wife Iwalani Kekoa, Yolanda was firmly a middle child, sandwiched between older brother and sister Rosalba and Keo, and younger siblings Pilipo and Jacinda. Early on, Yolanda took to vying for attention in the hopes of standing apart from the others, but she still loved them all dearly, constantly looking up to Rosalba and Keo, and always protective of Pilipo and Jacinda. Eager to get along with everyone but a little too trusting, she sometimes got into trouble when other kids took advantage of her naivete, but usually her big sister was around to watch out for her, and eventually she became better at judging character.

Any worries Yolanda had about getting lost in the shuffle of her family were quelled when, some days after her ninth birthday, she was watching Pilipo climb a tree. Pilipo had always been mischievous to the point of recklessness, and on this occasion he climbed too high and fell; but he didn't hit the ground. It wasn't until a representative of the USA's wizarding government got in touch to explain that Yolanda's family realised that she had beent he one to make Pilipo float safely down to the ground like that. They were surprised, to say the least, but warm and accepting as they always were. Two years later, Yolanda was ready to attend the Salem Witches Institute of Magic.

Once at Salem, Yolanda took to her studies right away, but excelled particularly in Transmutation. She formed a unique bond with her teacher, Mortimer Rook, eager to learn all she could from him. So promising a student was she that she was allowed to take an advanced curriculum for Transmutation in her senior year; as a result, she became an animagus at age eighteen.[2]

Upon graduation, Yolanda, who had always dreamed of being a teacher, studied at Laevenstrome's Fundunct of Sorcery to earn a wizarding teaching degree. It was around this time that she realised she was bisexual, but like most other things in her life at this point, she took it in stride as best she could. She had the complete support of her family; ever since they had learned that she was a witch, nothing really caught them offguard anymore.

The teaching qualification under her belt didn't garner Yolanda a job straight away though, so to fill in the gap she started to pursue a deeper understanding of her specialist spellcraft by joining the Experimental Transfiguration Division of the Spell Research and Development Bureau. Having fallen into this exciting career, Yolanda put her teaching ambitions on hold and threw herself thoroughly into working to discover new transformation spells and refine existing ones.

On a research trip to the UK to compare methods with the Department of Mysteries, Yolanda met an Unspeakable named Lois Valdaine. The two were very taken with each other from the offset, and would talk long into the night about their upcoming research projects. Eventually they realised they were besotted, much to the horror of Lois's family, who didn't have a problem with their daughter seeing a woman so much as they had a problem with her seeing a muggleborn. There was too much bad blood to overcome; Lois cut off ties with her family and found work in America developing counter-curses for the SRDB, to be with Yolanda.

When Yolanda was thirty-two, she learned Mortimer Rook was set to retire, and promptly applied for the post he left at Salem. Coming highly recommended by her predecessor, Yolanda was given the job, which was a dream come true for her, and she couldn't think of a better use of her talents than to help shape growing minds. She followed a lot of the curriculum as it had been established by Rook, but also over time integrated her own new ideas into the subject, meaning her lesson plan was constantly evolving year by year. She worked hard to engage her students, and was always pleased when her efforts paid off.

One of her students was an orphan named Edeline, who came from a muggle children's home, and who worried that not only her age would keep her from being adopted, but also her newfound powers. Edeline and Yolanda ended up bonding much like Yolanda had done with Rook all those years before. At this point Yolanda had been teaching for about ten years, and used what little sway she had with the school and the other relevant magical authorities to see if she could adopt Edeline (or Teddy, as she came to be affectionately called) herself. After a few years and much scrutiny, the adoption went through, and Teddy, now fifteen, officially became Yolanda's daughter. Yolanda and Lois couldn't have been more pleased to be parents, and although the adoption was legally under Yolanda's name only, Teddy happily thought of both women as her mothers.

Teddy ended up without much interest in pursuing Transmutation farther than high school, and worked briefly in counter-curse development with Lois before deciding that wasn't for her either. She eventually became a historical author, with a particular interest recent magical history. Yolanda and Lois, who had always been very proud of Teddy, were thrilled when she found her niche, to the extent that sometimes Yolanda would work in anecdotes about her daughter during her lessons.

In 2004, Yolanda and Lois were married. Afterwards, Yolanda and Teddy took Lois's surname, in the hopes of proving that good things could still come out of what seemed like a bad family name. It took some of Yolanda's students and colleagues a while to adjust from calling her Ms. Juárez to Ms. Valdaine instead, but now everyone, including Yolanda, has a hard time thinking of her as anyone else.

Describe your job duties and how you go about them:

Transmutation, particularly the way Yolanda teaches it,[3] involves the study of transformation of matter and energy by both magical and scientific means. As such, her lessons incorporate transfiguration, transformative potions, chemistry, select tribal magicks, and alchemy. There is also a focus not just on transforming one thing into another, but also breaking it down into its component parts for study. The class is taught in a lab rather than a classroom.

Yolanda teaches students of all ages at Salem. Salem Junior is offered Introductory Transmutation, which covers:

• Transmutation theory (including the laws of the conservation of mass and energy)
• Basic transfiguration (e.g. transforming small, inanimate objects)
• Transformative potions theory (i.e. studying effects of certain potions)
• Basic chemistry (including balancing reaction equations)

Once students reach Salem Senior, they are offered a different Transmutation class each year, with the option to take it as an advanced class in senior year if they grasp the subject well enough.

Transmutation I (9th grade)

• Further transmutation theory
• Intermediary transfiguration (e.g. transforming small animals)
• Basic transformative potions (e.g. causing small asthetic changes)
• Chemical reactions

Transmutation II (10th grade)

• Advanced transmutaion theory
• Further intermediary transfiguration
• Intermediary transformative potions (e.g. transforming energy)
• Complex chemical reactions

Transmutation III (11th grade)

• Experimental transmution theory
• Advanced transfiguration (e.g. self-transfiguration, elemental transfiguration)
• Advanced transformative potions (e.g. draughts such as the Polyjuice Potion)
• Alchemic theory (including equivalent exchange and studying component parts)
• Introduction to tribal transformation runes

Advanced Transmutation (12th grade)

• Formulation of theories based around what students have learned
• High level transfiguration (including animagi training being offered for particularly promising students)
• Transformative potion experimentation (in a controlled environment)
• Alchemy
• Tribal transformation runes

Yolanda is a fairly easy-going teacher for the best part, tending to let her students take the lead and ask questions, but she never loses sight of the information she has to impart, and never lets any class get out of her control. She can be impressively stern when she feels it's necessary, but she really prefers to keep her learning environment relaxed yet focused.

While she is still first and foremost a teacher, Yolanda never really gave up on spell research entirely. One of her ongoing projects when she's not teaching is experimenting with transfiguration at the atomic level, a subject on which she one day hopes to publish a research paper.

Elaborate on your expertise in your field:

In addition to having earned a teaching qualification at Laevenstrome's Fundunct of Sorcery, Yolanda has always been at natural at transformation magicks and sciences, excelling in Transmutation class while she was at school, and also having a successful career in spell research and development for ten years, during which time she has authored or co-authored a number of papers.

Writing Sample: See Aberdeen or Pax

Sum up your character in one paragraph:

Yolanda is a bright, amiable witch with a flair for transmutation, a passion for teaching, and a dazzling smile. Though her forwardness puts some people off, her forthrightness has won her a number of friends and a degree of professional notoriety both as an educator and a spell researcher. Having been teaching at Salem for about twenty-five years now, she's an integral part of the school just as the school is an integral part of her. A loving wife and proud mother, Yolanda is thoroughly happy with her life, but that's not to say she won't call out the things that she feels are wrong with the world.

1.	Pending approval of Special Ability request, to be submitted upon character acceptance.
2.	See above footnote.
3.	This is all open to discussion based on what other people with characters attending or teaching at Salem think.

Plot Tracking

Overview

Yolanda has been teaching Transmutation (a combination of a number of different transformative magicks as well as some chemistry) at the Salem Witches Institute of Magic for about twenty-five years. She is a master in her field, having a decade of spell research and development under her belt, and a born teacher, being incredibly approachable, if a little over-familiar at times. She is fiercely protective of her students.

Brief History

After graduating with honours from Salem, where she displayed a particular affinity for Transmutation, Yolanda spent four years at Laevenstrome's Fundunct of Sorcery to earn a magical teaching degree. Unable to find a teaching job straight away, she spent ten years working for the Spell Research and Development Bureau, in the Experimental Transfiguration Division, during which time she met Unspeakable Lois Valdaine, who moved to the States with her and who is now her wife. In 1984, Yolanda took on the position of Transmutation teacher at her alma mater. About ten years later, an orphaned witch called Teddy became her student, and in 1998, Teddy became her adopted daughter. Yolanda has been happily doting on her little family, in addition to teaching and researching, ever since.

Major Plots

To be added.

Network

If you'd like me to add/move a character of yours, simply post here or send me a PM. Thank you!

Family

Friends

Colleagues

Students

Acquaintances

Character Name: Yolanda Valdaine
Age: 57
Please provide a link to their Application: http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=9320.0
Do any of your other Characters have Special Abilities?: Yes
If Yes, then Please provide their name and a link to their bio: Aberdeen Spencer (Occlumens)
http://absitomen.com/index.php?topic=2127.0
 
Special Ability: Animagus
What level is this ability at?: Master
At what age did your character gain this ability?: Eighteen
How did they learn or hone this ability?:

Yolanda showed incredible talent in Transmutation class during her time as a student at Salem, and as such she was offered the opportunity to take the addition Animagi Training Class as a senior year Transmutation student. She leapt at the opportunity, and with the supervision of then-Transmutation teacher Mortimer Rook, she eventually became a fully-fledged grizzly bear animagus over the course of her final school year.
Describe how the Special Ability influences their life.  What do they use it for?:

Yolanda learned to become an animagus more to push the boundaries of her transfiguration skills than anything else; she simply wanted to see if she could manage it. Over the years, however, she found the ability to have a number of uses. Once she got used to moving around as a bear, she became graceful as well as powerful while transformed, being able to rear up on her hind legs as well as lope along on all fours. If the situation calls for it, she can climb expertly, travel across land quickly, and even launch a formidable attack if she's caught without her wand.

For the most part, however, Yolanda uses her ability for study purposes. Older students are allowed to witness her transformations as part of their self-transfiguration research, and in her Spell Research and Development days she often volunteered herself as a guinea pig whenever an animal transfiguration needed to be tested.

She also occasionally transforms into a bear in an attempt to scare off the headmaster's errant stuffed alligator. (It never works.)
Write a description of what happens when your character is exhibiting this Special Ability:

Back when she had first honed the ability to transform into a bear, Yolanda tended to need a lot of concentration to make the change, and often felt giddy and/or disorientated after morphing back. However, having now been an animagus for almost forty years, she can shift in and out of animal form with ease. So much ease, in fact, that she has been known to startle some of the students, although she does claim never to do so on purpose. When in the form of a 300lb grizzly bear, Yolanda looks terrifying, but she remains in complete control of her faculties and due to decades of experience can manuever incredibly well even as such a large animal. She is never a danger to anyone when transformed, unless they are a direct threat, especially to her students.

One can recognise Yolanda in bear form partly by the fact that her fur is the exact same shade of dark brown as her hair, but mostly by a small grey patch on her left shoulder, where a birth mark can be found when she is a human.