In-Character
Full Name: Gwynedd Vaughan OakbyNicknames: Ned
Birthdate: August 28, 1844
Current Age: 47 years
Gender: Male
Occupation: Head of Muggle Liaison Office
Reputation: 8 (I imagine it dropped down to 7 at some point, but these days Ned’s just trying to keep his head down.)
Residence: Wellingtonshire, Hogsmeade
Hogwarts House: Gryffindor
Wand: Ash, 11”, reasonably supple, unicorn tail hair
Blood Status: Pure
Social Class: Upper
Family:
- Mr. Oakby, father, deceased.
- Mrs. Oakby, mother, very much alive.
- [Glendowen] Oakby, older brother. Unmarried, father to (at least) one bastard.
- [Rhosyn] née Oakby, older sister. Respectably married with children.
- [Brunella] Oakby, wife. We don’t talk about Brunella.
- [Caris] Oakby, daughter. Unmarried, squib.
- Idris Oakby, daughter. Unmarried.
Appearance: Ned is someone easily overlooked. He’s unassuming, on the short side, and carries himself with manner that is neither nervous nor confident enough to attract much attention. He has light brown hair that is starting to show sign of greying, and blue-grey eyes with an almost imperceptible brownish rim around the iris. He’s always clean-shaven, tidy, and fastidiously well put-together, but despite his high-quality clothing and impeccable eye for detail he doesn’t quite manage that air of commanding elegance that comes so naturally to some of his peers. Ned is, simply put, unremarkable. The most noteworthy thing about him is probably his near-constant air of exasperation, a signature look that combines exhaustion, annoyance and (allegedly) amusement and perfectly communicates his outlook on life at this point.
(Intended PB Martin Freeman)
History:
Childhood (1844-1854)
1844 - Gwynedd Oakby is born to Mr. and Mrs. Oakby of Broad Oak Manor, in West Midlands not far from the border of Wales. He is the second son and the third child of the family, with a relatively significant age gap to his siblings, and in consequence is largely overlooked by his father. While Mr. Oakby continues to place all his expectations on his firstborn son Glen and all his love on his only daughter Rose, Mrs. Oakby is elated to have a newborn in the house again.
1849-1850 - As Ned’s siblings leave for Hogwarts and his father spends increasing amounts of time in London on Ministry business, Ned and his mother are left behind to occupy the winding halls of Broad Oak Manor largely by themselves. The legacy of these early years sticks; among the Oakby siblings Ned will forever be acknowledged as their mother’s favourite.
Hogwarts (1855-1862)
1855 - Ned starts Hogwarts and is sorted to Gryffindor, to the surprise of all who have ever met the docile and quiet boy. The event does occasion a brief congratulatory note from his father, and even to this day Ned continues to hold on to this small tattered piece of paper.
1856 - Ned settles into Hogwarts easily, especially following the graduation of his well-liked, bright and promising brother Glen at the end of his first year. He revels in the clear rules and predictable rhythms of school life, and takes his studies more seriously than any self-respecting eleven-year boy should.
1857 - Rose graduates as well, makes her debut and soon finds herself a perfectly respectable pureblood husband. In Hogwarts, Ned is left free to discover the person he can be without constant comparison to his siblings. The answer turns out to be ‘mostly harmless’ and ‘utterly unremarkable’.
1861 - The great shock comes on Ned’s seventh year when he’s appointed as the Head Boy. To this day, at least in secret, he continues to view this as his greatest achievement. There are some malicious whispers pointing out that the pickings that year for the position were slim, but Ned ignores these and chooses to focus on the memory of his father’s approving nod when the news arrived.
1862 - To Ned’s chagrin, Gryffindor wins the quidditch cup which largely overshadows his own achievement in the minds of his peers. As a result, his vague disinterest in the sport sharpens into an active dislike and derision that persist to the present day. Ned graduates with acceptable NEWT scores, including an ‘O’ in Herbology that his father never mentions.
Ministry (1863-1868)
1863 - Following a brief but disastrous tour of the continent with Glen, Ned starts work at the Ministry. His acceptable grades and the influence of his father are enough to secure him a junior position in the Department of International Magical Co-Operation. It’s not about money - though in all honesty Broad Oak Manor is an expensive house to run so money helps, of course - but about duty and honour. As a Gryffindor, Ned understands the point easily.
1864-1867 - As Ned gets to work on realising their father’s dreams, his older brother Glen is starting to crumble under the weight of expectations. It’s all worse for him, of course, as the first-born son. While Ned can one day count himself successful if appointed the Head of any department more significant that Magical Transportation - and, in all honesty, those are numerous - nothing short of Wizengamot will be enough for the heir to the Oakby name.
1867-1868 - Glen spirals out of control. First there are whispers of wild parties, rumours of less-than-savoury adventures, and talk of multiple illicit affairs - and then, suddenly, a bastard. They make the child go away, of course, and eventually the hubbub dies down, but the damage is done. Glen is forced to leave London in shame and a short time later Mr. Oakby collapses at work, brought down by stress and shame. Ned’s own supervisor shakes his head gravely, when he thinks Ned isn’t looking. It’s a catastrophe.
Marriage (1869-1879)
1869 - Ned does the sensible, emotionally mature thing and decides it’s time for him to get married. It seems such an obvious solution. The respectable status of a husband might give his career a much-needed boost, and the possibility of the Oakby name continuing to the next generation - properly continuing - might cheer his father up. With the help of his mother Ned’s betrothal is executed with astonishing efficiency, and within a year Mrs. Oakby has found him a suitable partner, orchestrated a proposal, arranged a wedding, and wept tears of joy as Ned chastely leads his bride out of the chapel to meet the cheering wedding party.
1870 - In advance the idea of a life as a married man filled Ned with vague trepidation, but after the fact things are not so bad. His darling Brunella insists on certain distance between them and stubbornly clings to vestiges of formality in their daily life, but the arrangement is not so different from the union of his own father and mother Ned remembers from his childhood. The Oakbys do welcome their firstborn only a year after the wedding, so even if the baby is a girl Ned decides to deem the project a success. His father, at least, seems to find some solace as he holds the newborn in his arms. A fortnight later he’s dead, leaving Glen the new Mr. Oakby of Broad Oak Manor. Life goes on.
1872 - Another baby comes along a few years later, a girl again, but Ned refuses to be disheartened. What does it matter if on some days he and his wife barely exchange any words beyond ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’? Brunella is young. There will be time for more children, later.
1877 - Following Queen Victoria’s assassination attempt, the Oakbys are forced to abandon Broad Oak Manor along with the family’s house in London. Ned is far from thrilled when his brother manages to sober up enough to suggest they establish a shared residence in Wellingtonshire but, due to the unfortunate issue of the inheritance all being in Glen’s name, counts his blessings and accepts the invitation. He’ll be close to their mother, at least, the most reliable source of reassurance in his life even now in his 30s.
1878 - Glen, Brunella and Mrs. Oakby adapt well into life in Hogsmeade, while Ned himself finds his existence miserable. Acutely aware of the oppressing proximity of his peers and acquaintances, he longs for the privacy of the vast grounds of Broad Oak Manor. His brother and wife, however, both seem particularly excited for the increased opportunities for company and spend most of their time socialising outside the family home. Glen’s social circle shows no signs of improvement - he’s rumoured to be spending time in the Slums, of all places, though Ned refuses to ask if there’s truth to the whispers.
1879 - It turns out it isn’t Glen who Ned should’ve been worrying about, but Brunella. In hindsight the signs were there, of course - the persisting distance between him and his wife, the countless days she spent coming and going without informing him of her plans, the ever-increasing presence of her in their home - but in Ned’s opinion no-one in their right mind could claim that having your wife run away with another woman is a threat a gentleman should prepare for. Others seem to have differing opinions, though - not long after the scandalous events Ned is passed for a major promotion at the Ministry, and he knows exactly who to blame.
Aftermath (1880-Present)
1881 - The invitation letter from Hogwarts never arrives for the elder Miss Oakby, leaving Ned stunned. How has his life come to this - a string of disasters, one after the other? At work the catastrophe is again somehow classified as his personal failure, and a promotion is handed to someone less deserving and much his junior. Nevertheless, even in his darkest thoughts, Ned refuses to place any blame on his dear daughter - it’s not the girl’s fault she comes from a rotten stock.
1882 - Following an internal suffling of staff Ned is transferred to Muggle Liaison Office. The post is hardly a stepping stone to Wizengamot, but at this point he can’t even find the energy to be outraged. Muggles aren’t really any worse than wizards, when it comes down to it, are they? The wizarding community is largely contained in Hogsmeade with very few opportunities for contact with muggles, so he finds himself spending most of his days reading newspapers or brushing up on his gobbledegook. Perhaps, at some point when the memory of his late wife has faded, he will apply for a transfer to the Goblin Liaison Office. There, at least, there would be someone to liaise with.
1883 - Idris, the younger of the two Oakby sisters, is invited to Hogwarts and starts her education without any major mishaps. At this point, Ned thinks, it’s a small miracle.
1884 - An outbreak of Laughing Plague overtakes Hogsmeade. While Ned and his daughters are spared but his brother Glen catches the disease, no doubt from his unsavoury escapades. Soon he spreads the plague to the family of their sister Rose, and several relatives succumb to it. The two brothers nearly come to blows at the funeral, and afterwards Glen removes himself from the family home. Since majority of the inheritance is left behind, Ned decides he doesn’t really care to find out where the rake is headed.
1886 - The wizarding society’s formal reconciliation with muggles is preceded by an unheard-of level of activity at the Muggle Liaison Office. The change in pace comes as a shock to most of the office’s personnel, who have chosen it exactly because of the leisurely work load and the glaring lack of any oversight. For the first time in ages Ned feels anything like excitement for his work.
1887 - Soon after the Queen’s visit to Hogsmeade the long-standing head of the Muggle Liaison Office announces his retirement, and while ‘family matters’ is cited as the official reason all his underlings are well-aware of the true reason, a poorly-hidden mental breakdown brought about by the sudden increase in workload for the poor old man. Ned manages to secure the nomination for the interim Office Head, even to his own astonishment, and sets out to prove his mettle through hard work and dedication.
1888 - The elder Miss. Oakby debuts, at the insistence of Ned’s mother. It’s a disaster, of course - Mrs. Oakby is decades too old to arrange a proper introduction for her grandchild, and Ned himself can hardly be expected to know how to go about it - and no suitors come knocking. Around the same time, Ned’s interim position as the Head of the Muggle Liaison Office turns permanent without fanfare. At this point no-one else wants to have anything to do with the muggles, and so the competition for the post is practically nonexistent. Ned’s own initial excitement starts to soon fade as well, as he sees the short-lived burst of activity of the few previous years die down and the office return to its original state of permanent drowsiness.
1889 - Ned finds himself the head of an irrelevant office, with underlings who are either waiting for an opportunity to secure a posting elsewhere or trying to perfect the art of dodging any and all work-related tasks until retirement. Sometimes, when he’s having dinner with his mother and elder daughter at the Hogsmeade house, Ned feels the reproaching gaze of his father’s portrait resting on him. So it’s not quite Wizengamot, he wants to tell the disappointed old man. But with a wife and a brother like Ned’s, could he really have done any better?
1890 - Idris graduates from Hogwarts and debuts in her turn. Ned tries to keep from placing too much pressure on his younger daughter, but fails miserably. She’s the last hope for the Oakby name, after all. And it’s not like the bar has been raised that high by those who have come before.
Personality:
RESPONSIBLE - PRACTICAL - LOYAL - STEADFAST - TRADITIONAL - LOGICAL - OBSERVANT - YET CLUELESS - STUBBORN - INSENSITIVE - JUDGMENTAL
Other:
- Still legally married.
- ”I’m surrounded by idiots.”
- Loves gardening, loathes quidditch.
- Speaks French, Gobbledegook and a bit of German, reads Latin.
- Unable to produce a corporeal patronus.
- Started his ministry years with lofty ambitions of making it into the Wizengamot, but at this point has practically given up. Blames his thwarted ambitions on his wife and his brother, and refuses to consider the possibility that his own blunt demeanour and inability to play politics could have anything to do with it.
Sample Roleplay Post:
(Ned’s running a staff meeting.)
Ned continues his presentation: “Now, I’d like to bring your attention to page 3 where you’ll see that compared to last month we’ve seen fifteen percent increase in -“
Someone is speaking at the back row, again. Ned pauses, now truly annoyed, and looks up from his notes.
It’s the new intern, no doubt. Ned’s long-term staffers might be lazy, but they know better than to interrupt him. The new boy, however, has been there only for a few days and has already demonstrated complete disregard for the wishes of anyone else - a remarkable degree of self-absorption, even for someone of his age. (It would remind Ned of Glen, if he gave himself a permission to dwell on the thought.)
In all honesty, Ned probably shouldn’t be surprised that the lad can’t sit through one staff meeting without hearing himself speak. His father is the deputy head of the DoMT and his mother’s the sister of the Junior Undersecretary to the Minister himself, and he’s clearly just doing his time so that he can jot down one more internship position in his resume before continuing on to more exciting appointments. No-one takes an internship at the Muggle Liaison Office because the work is interesting. These things are to be expected. Still, a little bit of respect shouldn’t be too much to ask.
Ned clears his throat. “Yes?” he asks evenly. “Is there some problem with the percentages, Mr. Anderson?”
Out-of-Character
Name: ElviAge: 30+
Contact: PM
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