Ghastly Atassi
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| Ghastly Ophelia Atassi | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 27 March 1979, 33 |
| City of Birth | Richmond Upon Thames, Greater London, England |
| Blood status | Half-blood |
| Physical Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Magical Characteristics | |
| Wand(s) | |
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| Education | |
| School | Hogwarts |
| House | Ravenclaw |
| Class of | 1997 |
| Occupation | |
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| Character Information | |
| Playby | Thandie Newton |
| Amberlee | |
Ghastly is a bouncing, fearless devil may care free spirit who likes to keep herself busy and on the move. She adores her large, loving, albeit crazy family even if it hasn't helped her with her own mothering skills. Ghastly has loved Dragons since she was little and knew that they would play a large part in her life even at a young age which has led to her many years working with them.
History
The Story of Charles and Effy
Charles Atassi is the most normal thing about his family. Charles' parents were unhappy with their mundane lives in suburban London and felt there was more to life than the working grind. Having married young the two got caught up in the Hippie Movement overseas. They dragged Charles and two of his siblings to New York where the culture was blooming and had two more children during their time there. Charles and his four siblings were brought up in the 'Summer of Love' mentality long after it was over. As the sixties gave way to the seventies they moved back to England but didn't give up their lifestyle and instead started an organic farm to support their family.
Charles, unlike his younger siblings who embraced their lives, longed for something more, something normal. As soon as he graduated secondary school he moved to London and attended Cass Business School to earn a degree. He was determined to detach himself from his free love upbringing and his devil may care family. While attending Cass, Charles met Effy and his life changed forever.
The couple claims it was love at first sight but it was almost six months before they started going steady. After three years of dating and after Charles graduated, he popped the question. Instead of saying yes, Effy dropped a bombshell on him.
Charles soon discovered that Effy's family was more like his own than he ever imagined, only with real Earth Magic and not the kind of organic produce he had grown up on. Deciding that if he had managed to survive his Hippie parents he could survive his wife being a true blue Witch the two went ahead with their marriage.
Ghastly's Beginning
By the time Ghastly was born Charles and Effy were living comfortably in a town house in Richmond Upon Thames. Charles had a strong steady job with a large company in London heading up their organic produce section (bringing his own family in as one of their many suppliers) and Effy was a Healer working on Floor 3 - Potion and Plant Poisonings.
Though she grew up as an only child Ghastly was a happy one. She had lots of extended family, both on her magical and muggle side (which made family get togethers very entertaining since the Atassi's weren't allowed to know about Magic) She was doted upon by her Aunts and Uncles and spent holidays and summers with her numerous cousins.
Thanks to her father's muggle family Ghastly found it easy to get along with the neighbourhood children even if she had the occasional show of magic during her youth. Most incidents could be explained away as freak accidents, or tricks of the light, neither of which really made her unpopular amoungst the other students. At home Ghastly was allowed to embrace her Wizarding heritage, helping in her mother's greenhouse, preparing ingredients for potions or reading about famous Witches and Wizards.
When Ghastly turned Eleven she was given a large birthday party to celebrate the event. Amoungst the presents she received was an old family wand from her Great Aunt Elfreda who had passed away before she was born, though that didn't stop her from giving it to Ghastly in person. That was the night Ghastly discovered what she wanted to do when she grew up. She spent most of the time listening to her Uncle Dantius tell stories of the Dragon Reserve he worked at in Romania and even managed to convince him to take her there before she left for school.
It was no surprise that Ghastly received her Hogwarts letter and was practically floating down Diagon Alley when it came time to collect her supplies (which was the first time she laid eyes on the 'Hottest guy in town and love of her life' Balfour Spectre.)
Life At Hogwarts
Ghastly was sorted into Ravenclaw and while her bouncing, free spirited attitude didn't always reflect her house she was smart, quick witted and took her studies seriously (for the few minutes at a time that she was able to focus on them) With a few nudges from her Professors here and there she managed to due well in most of her subjects having a natural knack for Herbology and Potions.
When Ghastly was in her second year the Famous Harry Potter had come to Hogwarts. It had been a bit of a sensation in the first few months of the term but it wasn't long before she lost interest and got distracted by many other things, like stalking the gorgeous upper years, which just happened to include Ghastly's favourite, Balfour.
In her third year Ghastly started to come into her own, she had a strong group of friends which also included a dozen or so of her older cousins who helped introduce her to Hogwarts legends, Fred and George Weaseley and by extension allowed her to meet her idol Balfour Spectre who was a wonder when it came to Care of Magical Creatures which was Ghastly Favourite Subject.
Her final four years of school happened without too much incident. She was comfortable with who she was, surrounded by family and friends and knew which subjects she loved (CoMC) and which she loathed (HoM) She managed to keep in touch with Balfour, sending him letters as he trained in New Zealand and Australia.
In her fifth year the Tri Wizard Tournament had come to Hogwarts and Ghastly had a fleeting love affair with a Beauxbatons boy who shared her love for Magical creatures. Unfortunately their interest in each other waned quickly and by the next school year Ghastly had forgotten all about him. She mourned the loss of Cedric Diggory whom she wasn't close with but admired for his work in the tournament and was amoungst the few that believed the return of the Dark Lord, if only because the mere thought of it terrified her entire magical family.
By the time she had reached her final year at Hogwarts her correspondence with Balfour had gone beyond just talking dragons and the two began to date, meeting up during Hogsmeade weekends (when his work schedule allowed it) and visiting during the holidays.
With NEWTS in Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Potions, Charms and Transfiguration Ghastly left Hogwarts with a bounce in her step and a gleam in her eyes and headed to Romania to work with her Uncle Dantius (who by now had more scars and burns than he did hair)
Romanian Romance and an Ill Fated Marriage
The first summer Ghastly stayed at the reserve she met a handler named Luca Moraru, who was a little older than herself and had just finished his training. The two were caught up in a whirlwind romance that made Ghastly forget all about Balfour, and three months later they were married. They stayed in Romania as the War broke out back home. Ghastly kept in touch with her family to ensure their safety, even urged some of them to join her out of the Dark Lord's reach but aside from that the newly weds had little to do with the Second Wizarding War. Instead they continued to work side by side as Ghastly learned the tricks of her trade but it wasn't long before they discovered she was pregnant and Ghastly soon found herself an unexpected parent by the age of twenty.
Having a baby put an unexpected amount of stress on the otherwise free spirited couple, Ghastly had to take time away from the reserve and Luca seemed to find excuses not to come home until both mother and baby were asleep. For the sake of their son Jaxon, the two kept at it but it was obvious to both of them that their marriage wasn't going to last. Not long after Jaxon's third birthday the two were officially divorced and Ghastly moved back to England.
For a time Ghastly stayed with her parents who had recently moved to Ottery St. Catchpole finding that the country life was easier for them than living in the suburbs. With the stress of her failing marriage behind her Ghastly expected her maternal instincts to kick in but unfortunately they never seemed to. She loved her son more than anything but she didn't know the first thing about being a single mother and every attempt she made seemed to go up in flames. Thankfully Charles and Effy were ecstatic about being grandparents even if they hadn't expected it so early. Though it broke her heart Ghastly decided Jaxon was better off being raised by her parents and returned to Romania picking up where she left off (Luca was no where to be found) running into her former idol and brief boyfriend Balfour who had gained a large amount of repute in their field himself.
Ministry Bound
As Ghastly moved into her late twenties she accepted a job at the Ministry of Magic in their Beast Division of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, using the skills she had obtained at the reserve to become one of their Dragon Handlers. She was still a free spirit but Jaxon would be eleven soon and going off to Hogwarts himself and though she still didn't think she was up to snuff on her motherly duties she opted to at least be within the United Kingdom with him when the time came. She could still take him shopping for his school supplies and other such motherly duties right?
