In-Character

Full Name: Persephone Clio Van Helsing
Nicknames: Sephey
Birthdate: 8th November 1868
Current Age: 19
Occupation: Ministry - Unspeakable for the DoM
Reputation: 4 or 5

-- Although her father is trying to re-brand them as "vampire experts", the Van Helsings are still known vampire hunters, which is technically illegal in Britain.
-- Her elder sister got pregnant out of wedlock about six years ago - to the public, she has been disowned and cast off.
-- Persephone herself is not a vampire hunter, though works in a profession unsuitable to her social class.

Residence: Hogsmeade - Morgana Crescent, Wellingtonshire
Hogwarts House: Slytherin Alumna
Wand:

Black Walnut, 10", Ashwinder Ash, Firm - broken 1885
Ebony, 10", Dragon Heartstring, Firm

Blood Status: Halfblood
Social Class: Upper
Family:

Godfried Van Helsing, Grandfather (b. 1811)
Annika Van Helsing (née Bjoergen), Grandmother (b. 1813)

Abraham Van Helsing, Father (b. 1837)
Mina Van Helsing (née Brown), Mother (1841-1871)
Sadie Van Helsing (née ------), Stepmother (b. 1846)
Sophronia Van Helsing, Sister (b. 1860)
Corinne Van Helsing, Sister (b. 1863)
Artemis ------ (née Van Helsing), Sister (b. 1865); estranged & Perma-NPC
Roxanne Van Helsing, Sister (b. 1866)
Valentine Van Helsing, Sister (b. 1867)
Terpsichore Van Helsing, Sister (b. 1869)

Various aunts, uncles, and cousins, though most notable of her extended family is her cousin, Imogen MacFusty.

Appearance:

-- Petite at 5'1", Persephone is in possession of a slim and trim figure that is further helped by a corset and light exercise.
-- Alabaster skin is paired with light blonde hair that is usually kept up away from her face and grayish-blue eyes whose color alternates between specific moods. Thin lips and a small nose are positioned on a heart-shaped face with a soft jawline.
-- Her style is simple, yet elegant. She prefers to retain a neat look, and is often seen in gowns of blues, grays, silvers, and occasionally some green.

History:

LATE AUTUMN 1868 | Persephone Clio is born as the sixth child and daughter of Abraham Van Helsing, and his first wife, Mina. Her infancy was neither very interesting nor very tedious, and had passed away with little to remark upon.

LATE SUMMER 1869 | A few months before Persephone's first birthday, August had brought with it the arrival of the last Van Helsing daughter, who was promptly named Terpsichore. Given her age at the time, Sephey had had no set opinion on the new addition to the family, though she eventually came to enjoy having a confidante in her younger sister once she was old enough.

SUMMER OF 1871 | Her mother had been brutally murdered by a vampire during the family's vacation to Amsterdam. A rather devastating affair that had, unsurprisingly, left her father and elder sisters - Valentine, especially, who had been present on the night of - shocked and thoroughly shaken. Thought to be too young at the time to understand the particulars of their mother's death, the real truth of how she had died was concealed from them for quite some time.

AUTUMN OF 1871 | Despite the lingering shock of Mina's death, life had moved on for the Van Helsings, and the eldest child, Sophronia, had left for Hogwarts where she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw.

SPRING OF 1873 | Sephey was five when she had first shown signs of magic by turning one of her toys into a book - a sure sign that she was a studious pupil in the making.

AUGUST OF 1874 | Another of Sephey's elder sisters, Corinne, left for Hogwarts. She was sorted into Hufflepuff.

This was also the year that Sephey was permitted to begin her pre-Hogwarts education and the basics of vampire hunting. Unsurprisingly, she had proved to be an eager pupil, and often did a bit of her own reading on the side - which her governess had been quick to encourage, though ensured that it wasn't taken too far.

AUGUST OF 1876 Artemis left home to join Roni and Corinne at Hogwarts. She was sorted into Slytherin upon arrival. Her departure made Sephey begin to feel the unwelcome effects of a dwindling household.

YEARS 1877 - 1878 | With the departure of Roxanne to Gryffindor and Valentine to Ravenclaw brought with it the graduation of Sophronia at the end of the 1877-1878 school year. She had then proceeded to become a member of the Order of the Dawn - a society of vampire hunters - and often spent her time following their father around on different missions. Sephey had felt the absence of her sisters quite keenly during this time, used to a full household, and had often sought comfort in the company of her violin for some kind of noise. A choice which had done well to improve her level of skill, though perhaps hadn't bode well for Cora's sanity.

YEAR OF 1880 | Nine years after the death of his first wife, the Van Helsing patriarch decides to remarry, and had settled upon a one Miss Sadie ------. Sephey hadn't been all too keen on her father's remarrying as she believed that they had been doing just fine on their own - and she hadn't much liked the look of her new stepmother either - but had consoled herself with the fact that she wouldn't have to deal with the woman anymore than she had to as she received her Hogwarts acceptance letter that very summer.

AUTUMN OF 1880 | Finally, Sephey and her younger sister (whose birthday fell just before September) had arrived to Hogwarts where they had been sorted into Slytherin and Gryffindor, respectively. There was a brief moment in which the Sorting Hat had considered putting her in Ravenclaw, but had settled on Slytherin in the end, as she cared for knowledge more as a personal gain rather than for its own sake.

SEPTEMBER 1880 - MAY 1881 | While nothing out of ordinary had happened - she had attended her classes, got acquainted with her classmates (mainly other Ravenclaws and Slytherins; she saw no need to venture out of her circle other than to see her Gryffindor sisters), and became familiar with her surroundings - Sephey had deemed her first year as one of her favorites as it had been a new experience. The classes, especially, she had enjoyed and found them all equally fascinating, though excelled particularly in wand-based subjects. Hence why she would eventually join Dueling and Transfiguration Clubs, with Potions coming in a bit later.

Corrine graduated at the end of the year, joining the family vocation as a Healer.

SEPTEMBER 1881 - MAY 1882 | Excepting the removal of Magic Theory from her class load, Sephey's second year was nothing interesting, though she did join Potions Club to better enhance her potioneering skills. She was informed, a few weeks before Christmas break, that her stepmother was with child.

WINTER OF 1881 | The household was thrown into unexpected tumult when it was discovered that Artemis was pregnant out of wedlock. Abraham had tried to quickly and quietly mend the situation, sending Artemis out of the country to wait out her pregnancy, though to the public she has since been disowned and cut off. Having always viewed Artemis as a role model of sorts, Sephey had been intensely disappointed that her sister could be so reckless, and rarely speaks of her now because of it.

SUMMER OF 1882 | Due to her stepmother's advanced pregnancy, the family was unable to retreat to their Dutch estate for the summer. To Persephone, that was a sure sign that the summer would only bring more disappointments, and to that end she'd been right, as Mrs. Sadie Van Helsing gave birth to a stillborn son not too long after. Distraught, Sadie's mental health deteriorates, leaving the family to think that she was slowly going mad with grief, though no immediate action was thought needed just yet. For mourning purposes, the child had been named Adrianus Van Helsing, and a small funeral had been held just consisting of the family.

Later that summer, Sephey found that Artemis had been safely delivered of her own baby boy, though out of continued resentment, could have cared less about the contents of her letter (though was pleased to learn that she and her lover were now married, though less out of happiness for her sister) and couldn't even be bothered to learn his name. (She later discovered that it was Broderick - an unfortunate name for an equally unfortunate boy, in her opinion.)

SEPTEMBER 1882 - MAY 1883 | Sephey had been relieved when the new school term came around again. The farther she was from home, the better, and she had thrown herself into her studies. At the end of her second year, she had been required to select up to three electives for her OWL-level course, and had chosen Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Ancient Studies. The three subjects she felt would provide the most intellectual stimulation, even if she did often have a spot of trouble with Arithmancy.

This was also the year that she contemplates doing something other than her family's profession after school.

WINTER OF 1882 | With her stepmother having shown no signs of getting better, Abraham had taken her to spend the winter outside of Hogsmeade in the hopes that fresh air and new scenery would do her some good - or so he had informed his daughters, at any rate. Unbeknownst to them (except for perhaps Roni and Corinne), Sadie had spent some time in a hospital away from anyone who would be likely to recognize her, and while it hadn't seemed to have done quite the trick, there had been a noticeable difference in her behavior once Sephey had returned home for the summer.

SEPTEMBER 1883 - MAY 1884 | Persephone's fourth year saw her become acquainted with a certain sixth-year Gryffindor by the name of August Lynch. He was the last person she thought she'd ever befriend - as he was usually of the sort that irked her - but there was something about this boy that she liked, and the two kept a steady rapport over the Christmas holidays. It was within those letters that a competition had been initiated, to see who could cast a corporeal Patronus first.

Which both had managed to do by April of the next year, though much to her annoyance, August had won with his fluttering hummingbird. A wound to her intellectual pride that would only be healed when her shimmering snow leopard had easily trumped his hummingbird in both size and magnificence.

SUMMER OF 1884 | While illness and Fiendfyre had ravished through Hogsmeade, the Van Helsings had relocated to their Dutch headquarters for the summer, effectively putting them out of harm's way. Which Sephey had felt entirely grateful for - albeit somewhat guiltily, as many she knew weren't quite as lucky - and had used what free-time she had when not with her sisters to begin pre-studying for her OWLs. And when one of her great-uncle's half-Kneazle cat has a batch of kittens later in the summer, Sephey had been permitted to keep one, a male she named Argus.

SEPTEMBER 1884 - MAY 1885 | Although initially a little irked that she hadn't been made Prefect, she suddenly found herself not having the time to stew over it. With studying for OWLs, juggling her three clubs, participating in the Pan-Magical Games as a Hogwarts champion, and somehow still finding time to spend time with August before he graduated, that before she knew it, it was May and she was sitting her exams. Despite the many distractions, she had been awarded with a handful of Os and Es.

OWLs
Ancient Runes - O
Ancient Studies - O
Arithmancy - E
Astronomy - E
Charms - E
DADA - O
Herbology - E
History of Magic - O
Potions - O
Transfiguration - O

SEPTEMBER 1885 - MAY 1886 | Sephey entered her sixth year, deciding to pursue her NEWT studies with Alchemy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Charms, DADA, Transfiguration, and Potions. She had been a little disappointed to leave Ancient Studies behind, but with the (unfortunate, though needed) seven classes limit in place, she had elected only to choose the ones she thought would best benefit her in her chosen career - to become an Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries. She was also surprised, though pleased, when she was named Transfiguration President at the beginning of the year.

SEPTEMBER 1886 - MAY 1887 | Her seventh and final year had proved to be her most difficult yet, though she'd been nothing but determined to end her schooling on a satisfying note, and by the time May came around for the annual NEWT scores, Sephey had had no choice but to accept that she had done her best - even if she had felt that she could have done better.

Despite how pointless she thought it was, Persephone had made her debut into society at the end of the year.

NEWTs
Alchemy - E
Ancient Runes - O
Arithmancy - E
Charms - O
DADA - E
Transfiguration - O
Potions - E

SUMMER OF 1887 - PRESENT | The months leading up to July when scores were sent out, had seemed to Persephone to have crept by painfully slowly. She'd tried to keep her mind occupied as best she could, filling her days with walks in the parks or to town, delving into Animagi research, and other such time-killing tactics until she had nearly exhausted every one she could think of. The Wizarding World Market had been a good distraction at first - and interesting, too - until the tiger chaos unfolded, and her days, on top of her anxiety that her scores wouldn't meet her expectations, were spent worrying for Cora who had been missing for up to a week. She was surprised by how relieved she'd felt when her sister had been found, and was impressed that all Cora had to show for her experience were shaken nerves and a broken arm.

The letters arrived two weeks after Terpsichore was found, and Persephone had promptly joined the Department of Mysteries in September.

Personality:

INTJ. Ambitious. Determined. Focused. Reserved. Passionate. Self-confident. Private. Can be judgemental. Intellectually driven. Can be obsessive about the things she's passionate about. While not family-oriented per se, she does care a great deal about family loyalty - the same goes for friendships, as well, and as there aren't many that she considers actual friends, she treasures the ones that she does very highly. Has high expectations of herself, which often leads to pressure to do everything she pursues, well. Despises small talk. Clever. Some may call her a loner, but she's simply comfortable being alone, as it helps her to recharge and internally process her thoughts.

Other:

-- Persephone's patronus is a snow leopard.
-- While not a vampire hunter herself, she was still taught the combative training needed for it, and that, along with her extensive practice in defense magic, means that Persephone is very capable of defending herself if the need ever arose.
-- She speaks both Dutch and French fluently, and can read Latin without issue.
-- Though out of practice currently, she used to be proficient in playing the violin.

Out-of-Character

Name: Miri
Age: 21
Contact: PM Imogen MacFusty, please!

  

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