In-Character
Full Name: Belladonna Gaia WoodsNicknames: Bell, close friends and family call her Bells
Birthdate: May 29, 1868
Current Age: 26
Gender: Female
Occupation: Earth Magic Professor
Reputation: 8; while Bell has not had the most traditional life, she is well respected in her field and for her knowledge. Most things that would lower her reputation are unknown to anyone - often including her. For instance whether or not her parents were married. Nobody knows of her miscarriage beyond her hermit like mother.
Residence: Hogwarts during the school year, cottage in the woods of Scotland during the summers
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Wand: chestnut, 10”, sturdy, unicorn tail hair
Blood Status: Pure
Social Class: Well to do Lower [the Woods, were they to join society and no longer live in the Woods of Scotland would have enough wealth and reputation to establish themselves as middle class]
Family:
Brooks - A male black catAppearance:
Meadow - A female cat owl (also known as a long-eared owl)
Lark - A female bowtruckle
Crocus Epona Woods - mother, a hedge witch, age unknown to Bells
Father - never knew him, her mother claims they were married and so Bells knows nothing to the contrary - even if her mother is a little … vague about the details.
General | With such a bright exuberant personality you might at first not realize that Belladonna stands just over five foot tall. If asked she’ll tell you she’s 5 foot 1, but in actuality she is just a smidge under it at 5 feet and ¾ of an inch. If you don’t notice her height you may just notice her smile first. It’s broad and unreserved going all the way up to her beautiful brown eyes. Her tanned cheeks are covered in an adorable array of freckles that she takes no care to avoid getting more. She moves her slender body with grace and unrestrained energy, often bouncing among people - but still and gentle around nature and creatures. Contrary to expectations she keeps her black curly hair shoulder length and often tugs it into a bun when in society. She dresses in the colors of nature, although she proclaims this includes the colors of flowers too and as such does not avoid bright colors. Her usual attire is a blend of muggle and wizarding clothing, leaning more toward what a hedge witch would wear than anything else. She even smells of nature, like moss, damp soil, jasmine flowers, and lavender. She uses her wand with her left hand.History:
Play by | Tashi Rodriguez
In every story there is a kernel of truth, Belle is that kernel. You know the muggle fairy tales? The ones with the witch in the forest? Well Belle is that witch. Actually she is one in a long line of those witches. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's first speak of the witch in the forest.
The Before, or: The Witch in the Forest [Ancient History]
Nestled in the foothills between the Scottish highlands and lowlands is a village on the edge of a forest, Torrhaven. No one knows when the stories started but for centuries they have warned their children away from the woods at the bottom of their hill. They whispered of how only the brave would enter those words, how those who entered would never come back and if they did they were driven to madness. The story told by the hearths of the villagers spoke of a witch. A witch as evil and black hearted as magic itself. Yet every generation a few of the brave or very desperate would make their way into the woods, for the rewards of finding the witch were said to be worth the risk of madness of death. These few would arrive back to the village with trinkets that they claimed brought them luck, with poultices and potions said to be miracles, with words of advice that could heal even the most unfortunate.
The First Flowers of Spring [1840s to 1868]
While the muggles of Torrhaven have their stories, so too do we. And here is where Belladonna’s story first starts: with Crocus Woods, her mother.
Crocus, like all the women in her family, grew up in the hollow in the middle of the woods. It was the only home she knew until she attended Hogwarts as every witch of the Woods family did. And like every witch she too took a lover who left her with child before she returned to her solitary life in the woods. The man is question is one Belladonna never met, a wizard of great renown in Spain his name known throughout his country, yet never to his daughter’s ears, for it is the Woods family tradition to keep only the mother’s name, to keep only the mother by. And so Belladonna Woods was born in the same hollow in the woods that all her ancestors were and it was here she was raised.
In a Hollow Deep In the Woods [1868 to 1879]
Bells was a merry child. Born of the earth and given to living in it. From the earliest age she was taught the magic of the earth. She knew no other humans beyond her mother and was content to befriend the creatures around her. She learned of creatures, of the earth, of magic, and of The Goddess.
The first time Bells encountered another human she was five years old. Her eyes widened and wished only to hide, so great was her fear. It froze her, left her lost among the trees. It was only at nightfall when her mother called her in that she was found - half formed into a tree. While being half transfigured into a tree is rather a terrifying proposition for a mother to find her child, Crocus was over the moon to see her daughter’s natural talent and first sign of magic.
She often worked beside her mother as she grew older, learning the plants of the forest and of their garden, helping make possets and potions. It was not until years later that Bells would find out these went to the muggle villagers of Torrhaven and when, during her twelfth summer Bells, brought up this taboo of the wizarding world Crocus merely waved it away saying that the only magic she bartered to those brave enough to enter their woods was the power the muggles chose to give it, an answer which is dubious at best - but Bells doesn’t push. Sometimes it is better not to know the truth. And then Bells’ world changed: her Hogwarts letter arrived (July 1879).
Witches, Wizards, and School - Oh my! [1879-1886]
The last month of summer passed in a blur, more of impressions than actual events: shopping for a wand and school supplies in Hogsmeade, the smell of books instead of plants, the taste of butterbeer, wizarding robes, and lots and lots of faces.
Bells arrives at school full of excitement for her first year (1879-1880) and is thrilled to be sorted into Ravenclaw. Despite having led such a sheltered life Bells proves to be gregarious and enthusiastic in making friends. In her third year she enthusiastically adds Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and (of course) Earth Magic to her schedule.
Having adjusted well to this new life outside of the hollow in which she grew up it comes as little surprise that Bells is appointed to be the fifth year prefect her fifth year. She, like most of her classmates, spends much of the year anxiously studying for her OWLs, which she applies herself to with as much enthusiasm as she always does and is very pleased with the results.
When her final years approach Bells finds herself at odds with how empty her schedule now seems as she has buckled down on her courses and no longer has to take mandatory courses. In rather a fit of fancy she tries out for the quidditch team and actually makes it as their seeker. She settles into her courses and spends the final two years of her schooling quite happily. The end of the year turns out be an exciting one with Ravenclaw winning both the house and quidditch cups. Of course she rounds out the excitement by sitting for her NEWT exams and then debuting at the Hogwarts Coming Out Ball of 1886.
Into the Wild [1886-1894]
The summer of 1886 Bells returns to the hollow to help her mother with her duties. But she misses people, misses seeing new things. So when her school friend Cynthia Emsworth invites her to participate in a botanical expedition, Bells joins without the least hesitation (or even question as to where they are going). She is fascinated at the earth magic they encounter in small villages during these travels. In 1892, however, Bells splits from the original party. She spends her time in the forests of Germany with a hedge witch, similar to her mother, teaching her the traditional Germanic earth magic. It is not just this invitation to learn something new that tethers Bells to the location, but rather a gentleman. Impulsive, perhaps, but it is a trait all Woods women share. And so Bells spends almost two years nestled in the middle of Germany, in another woods, another fairy tale.
But in December 1893 she returns to her own hollow in northern Scotland, unwilling to speak of what happens. Her mother is hardly surprised when Bells begins bleeding - miscarrying a child that had hardly begun to grow.
Growing Something New [1894-Now]
By the summer of 1894 Bells is once again restless. She longs for the company of others, longs to once again see people and places. She knows she is expected to take her mother’s place in the hollow one day, but she wishes to live her life on her terms until then. Which is why she feels it is rather fate when her former Earth Magic professor writes her announcing she is retiring and encouraging Bells to take the position.
Thus it is that Bells arrives at Hogwarts for the 1894-1895 school year determined to help students grow and perhaps to grow a new happiness for herself.
Personality: Bells is a very social individual, she is bubbly, outgoing, gregarious, and charming. However, she is also quick to be annoyed, can be oblivious to the overtures of others, and easily finds herself forming attachments to others. While this is the case she finds she can quickly adapt to situations and finds herself excitable and impulsive. There are times, however, she she longs for solitude and only nature and animals around her. These are the times when her curiosity, creativity, determination, and hard work ethic are most often on display. She is also very caring, with an open heart, and in her calm moments she adores bolstering her friends and those who are close to her. She is certainly not shy in providing this for anyone either.
Other:
- Languages: English, Scottish Gaelic, German, and Latin
- Amortia: Damp soil, dew, cinnamon, and apples
- Patronus: Were she able to produce one it would be a small owl from the forests of Germany
- Transportation: While Bells did take apperation courses her seventh year she much prefers broom travel when she can and only uses apperation for long distances
- Animagus: Takes the form of a scottish wildcat. Registered.
| Class | OWL | NEWT |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomy | E | NA |
| Charms | E | E |
| Care of Magical Creatures | O | O |
| Defense Against the Dark Arts | A | NA |
| Divination | E | E |
| Earth Magic | O | O |
| Herbology | O | O |
| History of Magic | A | NA |
| Potions | E | E |
| Transfiguration | E | E |
Out-of-Character
Name: Fallin![[Image: b7sGHIg.png]](https://i.imgur.com/b7sGHIg.png)
![[Image: HqS2LdO.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HqS2LdO.png)