Nicknames: Higgsy, Sonny, Nel, Nelly, Dummy, etc. He’s a youngest brother and unable to talk back. He’s used to it.
Birthdate: 2nd August, 1874
Current Age: 14 Years
Occupation: Fourth Year
Reputation: 7
Having been mute since the age of nine, people tend to find him mildly unnerving.Residence: Hogwarts during the year; the London suburbs in summers.
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Wand: Acacia, 8”, unicorn hair, whippy.
Blood Status: Halfblood
Social Class: Upper
Family:
Gulliver Higgs | Father | Muggleborn | 18xx
Theodora Higgs née ____ | Mother | Halfblood | 18xx
Hector Higgs | Brother | 1867
Morris Higgs| Brother | 1869
Quentin Higgs | Brother | 1872
Appearance: The shortest of his brothers - naturally, being the youngest - Nelson has undaunted hopes that this might one day change, although being currently only 5’3” and stocky, none of them are yet holding their breath. He has dark skin and bright brown eyes, with short black hair and a broad grin. He has learned to be fairly expressive with his face, and the better you know him the easier it is to read its quirks - but even if you don’t, he is often seen gritting his teeth or biting his lip, maybe clapping a hand over his mouth, just to resist the temptation to talk. He is right handed.
History:
1874 | The Higgs are a well-to-do family, well known for sending their sons off to rise through the military or navy - that is, until one of their children, Gulliver, shows a rather different talent. He goes to Hogwarts and onto the Ministry, and eventually marries Theodora - as accomplished a young lady as she is loving - who grants him four sons. Nelson is born in 1874, the fourth and final son in the family.
1879 | The boys are a well-taught but boisterous bunch, prone to rough-housing when unsupervised and to bouts of competition that manifest in a manner of ways. Hector is the leader, charismatic but bossy, Morris funny but insensitive, and Quentin anxious but driven. Nelson, a cheerful boy, keeps up with them all as best he can, and as much as he is allowed to. Morris has the least patience for him, of the three, but Morris has little patience for anyone, so Nelson doesn’t let that bother him.
1883 | Most of the time. Nelson has just turned nine. To stop them trying to muck about on broomsticks in plain view in their garden, their parents see to it that the Higgs boys spend much of their summer forcibly cooped up in the house. The elder boys would have been bored enough even without Nelson pestering them all the time - and he has spent most of his life learning to avoid their pranks - but tragedy befalls when he is promised he’ll finally be allowed to join in their grown-up games if he can just keep quiet. Morris (in an ill-conceived endeavour, though not in malice) makes him vow it, just to be sure. Only he makes a big hoo-hah about it, with Quentin looking on, and in the heat of the moment, Nelson finds himself promising to never speak. Hector walks in at about that point, and freaks the hell out. He calls for the parents, and it is only then, when Morris is being yelled at by their father and his mother has her hand over Nelson’s mouth to stop him from even trying to talk, that Nelson begins to panic.
The rest of the summer is quiet. It’s made up of several trips to the hospital to consult with healers, and then to various Ministry departments - but seeing as none of them can undo an Unbreakable Vow, it is nevertheless on Nelson’s part... quiet.
1884 | As the rest of his life looks set to be, in fact. It’s a pretty sobering wake up call about existence, that, the knowledge that if he so much as utters a word he might drop dead. He has plenty of questions about the nature of this vow he made, but the thing is, he’s not sure any theories are much worth testing.
1885 | By the time it’s his turn to go to Hogwarts, Nelson is very good at erring on the safe side, and keeping his mouth shut at all times. His parents write ahead, because of course they do, they’ve been horrendously overprotective of him ever since, but however prepared the school staff are, Nelson is still unprepared for the prospect of making friends as a mute. Mostly, he has to let his grin do the talking, or else rely on people’s morbid sense of curiosity, and that doesn’t usually get him all that far.
Having no friends is almost less embarrassing than the way he falls behind in classes at once, which gains him a reputation of being an idiot as well as a mute, in those circles less familiar to him. The truth is, he’s naturally bright, and not being able to properly cast a spell frustrates him to no end, because he is already spending half his time feverishly trying to learn the theory behind non-verbal spellcasting. He tries to make up for it in the classes he can (although, again, he is not much good at answering questions when he’s called on, unless he’s allowed to write his answers on a blackboard).
1887 | By the time third year comes around, Nelson knows well enough where his strengths are, and picks the most theory-based courses he can: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Ghoul Studies. Potions is also excellent, as are Astronomy and History of Magic, and Herbology too. Everything else is... well, suffice it to say he’s still not making progress in tune with the rest of his class. It’s lucky his parents have the money to pay for his way through school, because the practical subjects really put a damper on his chance of a scholarship.
1888 | He’s gained a few friends by his fourth year - settled into the way of things - and his confidence is growing every year. He’s always been keen to play quidditch for his house team, but his parents are less keen on the thought and their unbidden counsel mostly gives him anxiety about it. Still, next year, he’ll be there, he sw... well, Nelson doesn’t swear.
Personality: Nelson has always wondered just how different he would have turned out if he’d avoided his fate and didn’t seem like a bit of a freak to most people now. For all he seems quiet and reserved and stoic, he is actually quite naturally outgoing, with a good sense of humour, a cheerful disposition, and a nose for adventure. The Sorting Hat told him he was very nearly a Gryffindor. But he likes learning and has an excellent memory, has a learned knack for pranks (from always being the butt of them, thanks to his brothers) and a very controlled temper, for obvious reasons. He knows darn well how to hold his tongue. His frustration, when he feels it, is always inwardly directed at himself, rather than feeling impatience with the rest of the world. (And maybe he’s grown to like unnerving people from time to time, just a little.)
Other: --
Sample Roleplay Post:
Age: 23
![[Image: TrSGeWR.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/TrSGeWR.jpg)