In-Character
Full Name: Henrietta Frances CartwrightNicknames: Siblings and close friends might call her Hen or Henri; she is not the sort to introduce herself as anything other than Miss Cartwright, even to other ladies, so most people call her that.
Birthdate: August 7th, 1871
Current Age: 19 Years
Occupation: Almost-a-debutante.
Reputation: 9; missing brother!
Residence: London
Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff
Wand: Larch and unicorn hair, 11 3/4", rigid.
Blood Status: Half
Social Class: Upper
Family: The Cartwrights, of Cartwright Cauldrons. Father is dead, Hector has disappeared, both sisters are married, which leaves Henri home alone with Mother and Holden, which — is quite the delight, honestly. No complaints whatsoever from Henri on that front.
Appearance:
Miss Cartwright is slender and a bit short, standing five foot even. She is pale, and frequently fighting off bags under her eyes which combined with her gauntness make her look as though she is on the verge of death. Her hair is just on the border between blonde and brunette. It is naturally much curlier than either of her sisters, and she uses mild straightening potions and conditioners to make her hair fall in graceful waves instead of a frazzled halo as it typically does. She has light blue eyes. She dresses impeccably, in the latest fashion, and laces her corsets a hair tighter than perhaps she should. She wields a wand with her left hand, which is her dominant one, but was trained as a girl to write with her right.History:
1871 — 1877 Henrietta was born in summer of 1871, the last of the Cartwright children. Her first display of magic arrived simultaneously with her first tooth; during a screaming fit she causes her mother's heirloom mirror to shatter. This is the first indication that she would be a Troubled Child, but as she moves from infancy to her toddler years and then to childhood it is far from the only incident. Henrietta has magical outbursts frequently, which are typically destructive. Some of her earliest memories are of her mother complaining that she couldn't ever have nice magical outbursts, like her oldest sister, who just changed her doll's hair color once on a whim and has never broken anything. 1877 — 1882 When Henrietta moves from the nurse to the governess, she learns her letters, but more importantly begins lessons in how to comport herself. Her mother warns her frequently that if she continues on from a Troubled Child into a Hysterical Woman she will have no prospects and will likely die alone and miserable. Henri tries her best to absorb the wisdom of this cautionary tale. 1882 — 1884 Frankly, Henrietta is terrified of going to Hogwarts; every instance of magic that has so far occurred to her has gotten her into a great deal of trouble, and she doesn't really care to learn any more of it. She does not, however, have the courage to tell her mother that, and so off she goes. Her nerves persist through the sorting, but once seated at the Hufflepuff table she is greeted warmly by a third year who would go on to become her very best friend in the world. Not that she has much competition, really.
Henrietta takes to the academic aspects of her classes reasonably well, but is timid about trying new practical magic. Her performance throughout her introductory years is erratic; her professors and classmates don't really know what to think of her. She is not particularly popular when it comes to choosing partners for class projects, because she does have a tendency to accidentally blow things up.1884 — 1885 In third year she adds Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, not because she has any particular interest in them, but rather because they seem to be safe choices. Nothing can go wrong with numbers and runes. 1885 — 1886 By the beginning of her fourth year, Henrietta's confidence is at an all-time high and she is finally beginning to smile at people other than Helga. She makes a few friends, one of whom (a dormmate) intends to stay at Hogwarts during the winter break. Henrietta determines to stay as well, which means she is not at home when her eldest brother disappears. She learns about it only shortly before the papers do, and is wracked with guilt over not being at home during such a tumultuous time — though it's probably for the best, anyway. Her presence certainly wouldn't have helped matters. In absolutely-positively-definitely-unrelated news, her dorm room catches fire and her friend is rather severely burned. The girl spends two weeks recuperating in the hospital wing. She and Henrietta do not often speak after that. 1886 — 1887 A combination of severe test anxiety and a collection of decidedly-not-her-fault magical mishaps makes her OWLs... interesting. She is rather embarrassed to share her results with her parents when they arrive that summer. She expected the T in arithmancy (numbers had never made any sense to her), but had been hoping to do better in Ancient Runes; of course, that was before someone brought all the runes to life and sent them dancing around the exam hall, which complicated matters so much she eventually turned in a nearly blank paper and left the room in near tears (the runes, coincidentally, settled as she walked out). She is nearly as embarrassed by her strong marks in defense against the dark arts; it isn't a very appropriate subject for a lady.
The worst of it is she can't even ask Helga Scamander for advice, because she's gone and graduated and debuted and has more important things to worry about than Henri's course schedule. She eventually elects to continue on with defense because she doesn't have a wealth of other NEWT options.1887 — 1888 Sixth year begins just like any other. Henrietta's attentions are mostly directed to the society adventures of her friend, and she expects to spend all summer flooing to the Scamander house to hear the latest news — but then her father dies, which plunges her into mourning and curtails that plan. 1888 — 1889 Henrietta's final year sees her exit mourning, and look forward with both excitement and trepidation towards her debut. Helga had debuted straight off, so Henri assumes she will, too, but her mother has other plans. She heads off to the Pendergast School in the fall for finishing, and while she complains bitterly that she is ready to debut, she is secretly a little relieved. It would be a sweeter victory if it didn't provide such a constant reminder that her mother is skeptical of her abilities on the marriage market. 1889 — 1890 Her steady complaints to Holden about the confines of the finishing school eventually wear him down, and he says she can leave at the end of the year. This is an unexpected turn of events both for her and for her mother, who declares she cannot possibly plan a proper coming out ball on such short notice and Henri's debut must be delayed until the following season. Again, Henri might be relieved if it didn't make such an obvious show of how little faith her mother has in her. 1891 After several frankly oppressive months home alone with her mother and Holden (who is not much of a reprieve), Henri starts dropping heavy hints to her friends that she would like to go on an extended visit somewhere else. Helga, of course, agrees at once, and Henri all but flees to Hogsmeade when the Christmas holidays are complete.
Personality:
Repressed.Other:
Oh, wait, you need more than that.
Most would describe Miss Cartwright as meek. She is polite and presents herself well, but seldom contributes to the conversation unless called upon to do so. Is she witty enough to secure a husband? I suppose we'll find out, as it's possible she may have literally never talked to a boy at Hogwarts except when forced to do so in class. Is she intelligent? Her OWL scores would not particularly suggest so. Is her mother eternally disappointed in her? Yes, but she tries not to show it.
- Languages: Fluent English & French
- Enjoys piano and watercolor.
- Patronus: Caracal.
Class OWL NEWT Ancient Runes A — Arithmancy T — Astronomy D — Charms T — Defense Against the Dark Arts EE O Herbology EE P History of Magic O EE Potions A — Transfiguration P —
Out-of-Character
Name: Lynn
