In-Character
Full Name: Thomas James Harvey Nicknames: Tommy to mum and childhood friends, otherwise Tom to most people he meets
Birthdate: September 17, 1862
Current Age: 29 years old
Gender: Male
Occupation: Master Mixologist & Private Investigator
Reputation: 7-8?; he's a known bachelor and only recently returned to Britain from living in the US for six years. He ran away from a respectable Ministry desk job eight years ago (ahem, with quite a bit of hellfire). Now a bartender, he might get roped into certain "situations" but he's quite non-controversial himself, just a man doing his job...s.
Residence: Hogsmeade, Pennyworth
Hogwarts House: Former Slytherin
Wand: Pine, 12", pliant, dragon heartstrings core
Blood Status: Pureblood
Social Class: Working Class
Family:
- Regina Thomas, mother, b. 1840
- James Henry Harvey, father, b. 1835, d. 1869
- Daniel Harvey, brother, b. 1860, d. 1866
- Edward Harvey, brother, b. 1862, d. 1884
- Georgina Harvey, sister, b. 1868
General | Tommy stands just shy of 5'10" and has a lean, broad-shouldered physique courtesy his Quidditch days and time spent working manual jobs. He has brown toffee-colored skin, brown eyes, black hair, and a smattering of freckles on his cheekbones that become more prominent when he gets a lot of sun. Tom is right-handed.
Expressions | It's hard to tell what Tommy is thinking, he usually deflects with humor and polite diplomacy. He prefers it this way. Since coming back from abroad, he has the faintest traces of an American accent, and enjoys using Americanisms he picked up while there.
Deportment | Tom is very well-mannered, especially considering his station, and he carries himself with easy confidence. He is rather talented at slipping in and out of conversations unnoticed, a habit of a good bartender who knows how to present a drink at just the right moment - attentive, but still giving people a sense of privacy. He's awfully lucky, too, and maybe that's why he walks with a bit of pep in his step. It's not uncommon for a group of people to get caught in the rain, and somehow Tommy emerges as the only one who didn't get all mucked up.
Distinguishing Features | His most striking feature is his big, bright smile - it takes over his entire face and matches his infectious laugh.
Fashion | Second most striking might be his painstakingly curated outfit, from his socks to his hat. Tom doesn't let his humble salary get in the way of dressing sharp (dress for the high-end clients you want to impress, right?). He's not the most outgoing person, so this is a reliable way to express himself and start conversations. He generally wears three-piece suits with good tailoring and ample use of colors and patterns.
PB: Regé-Jean Page
History:
Early Years (1862 - 1874)
- 1862. Thomas James Harvey is born three minutes before his twin, Edward. Unlike his twin or older brother, Tommy has the lucky family freckles his mom has.
- 1866. Tommy's older brother Daniel dies at age 6 from a devastating illness. Only four years old at the time, Tommy doesn't really have many memories of him.
- 1868. Tommy's sister is born, a fellow freckled sibling. He shows his first signs of magic at age five, when he vanishes his baby sister's bassinet so the two might play together.
- 1869. Tommy's dad dies from a bad accident on a broom. He's six at the time, and only has a few distant memories of his father.
- 1870. He distinctly remembers moving from one part of London to the next, a smaller home where he sleeps in the front room with his twin, and his mum sleeps in the bedroom with his baby sister. The boys make friends with local kids, and fight often: Tommy always wins nearly any game, and Eddie always thinks he's cheating.
- 1874. Tommy and his twin Eddie head off to Hogwarts.
- 1874-75. (year 1) Tommy runs into a wildcard kid named Barnabas on Hogwarts Express. He helps Becks terrorize the girls with his pet toad, and both immediately get into trouble. At school, Tommy is promptly sorted into Slytherin, while his twin gets sorted into Gryffindor. Since Barnabas and Tommy are both sorted into Slytherin, they start the school year off negative ten points due to their antics.
- 1875-76. (year 2) Tommy joins Barnabas on the Quidditch team, when his "lucky streak" becomes apparent through his ability to play a damn good Seeker. He and his twin also take school seriously enough so they can stay, with support of merit aid from the school to keep on.
- 1876-77. (year 3) Tommy drags Barbie along to the library to keep their nose to the ground and stop getting them in trouble. Since he's on scholarship, any trouble he gets into comes with an earful from mom. Barbs gives him a ton of grief over it, which Tom forgives, mostly because the two are thick as thieves by now. He takes up Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Ancient Studies, and Muggle Studies, and does pretty well on his OWLs as well, enough to qualify for most NEWT courses he wants.
- 1879-80. (year 6) Tommy’s baby sister starts at Hogwarts, though he leaves it up to Eddie to do most of the babysitting. Barbie and Tommy keep up their antics around the school, having built up more of a sleuth operation of helping students solve their own mysteries: returning lost pets, confirming crushes or other rumors, or finding out if someone was actually just cheating all along. It starts to make the boys quite popular, which Barbs seems to thrive on. Tommy stays in good standing with his grades in most classes, while building up soft skills like diplomacy and making excuses to cover their trail.
- 1880-81. (year 7) Tommy has his first kiss. He's in love with her, but her family is upperclass. Tom ends the year broken-hearted as she makes it abundantly clear they have no future together. Barbie does a lot of back-patting and handkerchief passing all the way through the Hogwarts Ball.
- 1880-82. Tommy's NEWTs put him in pretty good standing for plenty of trainee Ministry jobs, but he got nervous during his Transfiguration exam, which blew his shot for what he really wanted - to qualify for Auror training. As a result, he's a bit directionless the first few years out of school. He picks up menial jobs here and there, and eventually, his twin Eddie pulls a few strings to help Tommy join him at the Ministry. Tom is placed in an entry-level program with the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
- 1883. Turns out, this is miserable work. Tom dreads going to the office every morning, he despises the Floo commute, he loathes the hours spent pouring over archives and stamping papers and issuing check-in notices. He would much prefer talking to people, and here he barely talks to anyone all day! On top of that, the creatures that need 'regulation and control' don't really seem all that bad. Why imprison some of them? Why keep true lovers apart? He spends a lot of time after work drinking and complaining to Barnabas, and happily "calls in sick" as many times as he can to accompany his friend on new adventures. He dials this down once he gets reprimanded by his boss… but not by much. Usually, he’s pretty lucky at sneaking in just before the boss gets in.
- 1884. When the Laughing Plague hits, everyone in the Harvey household gets sick. Tragically, Tommy's twin Eddie succumbs to the illness. Tommy is completely broken by this unexpected loss, and the family grieves well beyond the mourning period.
Tom can't even pretend to care about his stupid job at the Ministry anymore. After being reprimanded yet again for skipping out on work, Tommy quits on the spot. In a true show of the most badass thing he's ever done, he leaves a blazing ball of fury burning in their magical creature archive cabinets, probably destroying numerous records in the process. Were he not in mourning, or maybe if the secretary didn't like him so much, or maybe if he wasn't just so damn lucky, he probably would've been arrested.
- 1885. Barnabas, truly his best friend, goes out of his way to keep Tom in better spirits. Mostly for fun besides anything else, Tom starts to work with him on a few "mystery cases" again. Except instead of confirming crushes, they were confirming scandals - things Barbie could go off and use for the scoop in gossip rags. Not particularly interested in these outcomes, Tommy used it more as a nice escape to think about things besides his grief, and to make a bit of money beyond his barkeep job (which he likes way better).
- 1886. The investigative duo come across an older American man in need of their services - a simple ask to follow-up on the supposed dowry of a young debutante promised to his heir. They close the case, and this man volunteers to pay for celebratory drinks for the group. Tom puts his bartending skills to good use - he has a good knack for it, similar to his knack for Potions.
By the end of the night, the man asks Tommy if he would consider working as staff at his prestigious New York City hotel. Tommy would get good pay and excellent education on the refined drinking palates of the high-class, and learn from some of the leading minds in mixology. In return, Tommy would put his detective skills to good use at the Hotel by keeping an ear out for anything fishy that might harm the man.
The news, of course, devastated his mum, sister, and even Barnabas. But at the same time, everyone was a bit worried that a little piece of Tommy died when Eddie passed. This was the happiest he looked since his twin's death, and they couldn't keep him away from this wild dream. He'll come back... right?
- 1887 - 1890. Tommy not only survives the journey across the pond, but he thrives. High-end clientele at a ritzy type place like Montauk Manor Hotel draw out Tommy's best characteristics as a diplomatic, polite, and confident young man, and he settles in quickly. Everyone wants the charming Brit who graces them with martini glasses and wide conspiratorial smiles. Tom finds that Americans are far more adventurous with their cocktail mixing, and the ladies drink nearly as much as the gents. He takes immense pleasure in the world of mixology, art, music, and New York living. He writes to his mum, sister, and Barbs often - usually sharing some of the craziest cocktail recipes or descriptions of pretty girls he's tried to date with the latter. Generous tips from high-end cliente help support his burgeoning interest in fashion and fanciful new clothes.
- 1891. Tom falls in love, and writes Barabas to say he found his wife. She is exactly his type, wild-haired and gorgeous eyes, rosy cheeks and an infectious laugh, quick wit and fearless, not at all like the other girls. Her favorite drink was the French 75, and he'd make it for her almost every Friday evening while her family stayed at the Montauk Manor. Their innocent flirtations soon blossomed into passionate love and poems read to each other under moonlight. There was just one problem: she was a muggle, from a family of muggles, muggles who actually lived in Chicago and were bound to return any day now.
Current era laws would never recognize their marriage for a number of reasons, so the couple resolve to run away together. Miss Field insisted she cared not one bit to throw away all the comforts of her station. But on the night they intended to escape, Miss Field never made it to meet him. Perhaps she was caught, or perhaps she became afraid - in either case, Tommy had waited hours for his true love, only to see the sunrise alone. A few days later, she receives a letter to ask that he cease and desist, for she was engaged. It was signed by Miss Field, though the tone and writing in the letter sounded nothing like the poet he had grown to know so well.
- 1892. Utterly broken-hearted - again! - Tommy decides it is time to start fresh. His mum is getting a bit older now, and Barnabas promised him a bottle of bourbon and a soft landing if he needs it. Soon after the new year Tommy moves back to Britain, where he quickly finds a tidy home in Pennyworth that can be occupied comfortably by his mother, sister, and himself. He really hasn't any money, or any prospects -- but somehow he's not worried. Lady Luck always seems to find him.
Personality: Lucky | Dreamer | Romantic | Unassuming | Observant
The first thing to know about Tommy: the man is lucky. The only surviving members of the Harvey clan are those with "lucky freckles", for one, and they all have a knack for being at the right place and the right time. Tom would like to think it has less to do with blind chance, and more to do with his observational skills that help spot opportunities others do not, or maybe his ability to deflect with humor and diplomacy. Someeetimes, though, there's really no explaining what happened.
The next thing to know about Tommy: he's unassuming at first, and exploits this fact with pleasure. He is an excellent listener. This skill is fueled by his genuine interest in hearing people's stories, especially stories that kindle his inner romantic. The stories he's gathered, and his own experience, make him compassionate and empathetic to most people. Tom doesn't have much use for the things people tell him after one too many libations; he treasures his role of trusted confidant.
Finally, Tommy is an idealistic dreamer. He did well all through school, and could have pursued a "real" career (a fact his mother starts to lament after two glasses of sherry). But after nearly dying from boredom ten months into his entry role at the Ministry, Tom resolved that life is too short to be unhappy. Though he's clever, he has a tendency to fall in love too quickly -- whether with a person, an adventure, or even just an idea. Once enamored, he feels tense and stressed until he can follow through. Tom's had a long "lucky streak" that helped him stay naive to the consequences of succumbing to reckless idealism, but it finally bit him hard this year.
Other: Boggart | himself, old and on his deathbed, succumbing completely alone
Patronus | a Friesian stallion
Favorite Classes | Potions and DADA
Romance | People may think he's a bit of a dandy because he likes to dress well and is very clean (what! he likes to be tidy). He's really just a hopeless romantic. The era means he usually envisions himself growing old together with a woman, though he's had relations with men in the past (all in good fun). In either case, he has a very specific "type" he falls for.
Gets around by | Tom has his Apparition license and also enjoys traveling by broom when possible. He's not terribly fond of the Floo network, though convenient, because he finds it makes his suits dusty.
Opinions on Blood Purity | He could care less about blood purity, having fallen in love with a Muggle in New York.
Opinions on Half-breeds | He feels sorry for them and the bad wrap they get by default, more than afraid or hateful.
Opinions on werewolves and vampires | He's never met one (that he knows of), but is curious about it the way you might be curious about seeing a shark: fine from afar, a little unnerving when you're swimming together.
Opinions on women's rights | He's an ally for women's autonomy, funny enough. Seeing as the only family members he has left are women, and he'd rather not be responsible for their existence since they're quite intelligent and capable on their own.
Sample Roleplay Post: n/a
Out-of-Character
Name: NolieAge: 30
Contact: PM or Discord Nolie
Other Characters: Ida Chang
How did you hear about us?: This muse courtesy Stefanie <3
