In-Character
Full Name: Zophiel Ruskin (formerly Sherington) née DragoNicknames: Sophie - it was just kind of natural.
Birthdate: June 18, 1856
Current Age: 34
Occupation: Mother
Reputation: 5
Let’s see - effectively disowned by her highly religious family, and now married to the father of half-vampires, with three human children from a prior marriage in which she was widowed.Residence: Hogsmeade, with a secondary residence in Canterbury, England, remaining from her prior marriage.
Hogwarts House: Slytherin
Wand: Thirteen and one-quarter inches of slightly springy pear wood, with a core of Hungarian Horntail dragon heartstring - sourced as humanely as possible (i.e. to protect human lives).
Blood Status: Pureblood
Social Class: Middle
Family:
Ashley Sherington, late husband, b. June 7, 1839, d. July 9, 1887Appearance:
Malachai Sherington, son, b. 1880
Ariel Sherington, daughter, b. 1884
Gazardiel Sherington, daughter, b. 1887 (September or October)
Martin Ruskin, husband, b. 1841
Acacia Ruskin, step-daughter, b. 1871
Chrysanta Ruskin, step-daughter, b. 1872
Orinda Ruskin, step-daughter, b. 1874
Dunstan Ruskin, step-son, b. 1876
Ellsworth Ruskin, father-in-law, b. 1808
Rose Ruskin, mother-in-law, b. 1823
Elsa Cardew née Ruskin, sister-in-law, b. 1842
and family
Jacob Drago, father, b. 1825
Elizabeth Drago, mother, b. 1836
Gadriel Drago, brother, b. 1862
Judah Drago, brother, b. 1865
Abiel Drago, brother, b. 1866
Jethro Drago, brother, b. 1868
Micah Drago, brother, b. 1870
Sherah Drago, sister, b. 1872
Noah Drago, brother, b. 1876
Esther Drago, sister, b. 1879
Edna Drago, sister, b. 1879
History:Play-By: Kacey Rohl
A slender figure standing five feet, three and a half inches tall, Zophiel Ruskin dresses to impress, whether in wizarding robes or, as the occasion may call for it, the latest in Muggle fashion. With dark brown curls, highlighting with red in warm light, and expressive, wide blue eyes, and fair skin with a hint of freckles about her forehead and nose, she isn’t precisely a classical English beauty by any stretch of the imagination. But she thinks she looks quite lovely, particularly in shades of dark blue and green.
Personality:
1856: Zophiel is born. Her parents are displeased by the fact that she, their first child, is a daughter, and begin praying for a son to follow.
1861: At the young age of five, Zophiel displays her first true sign of magic, hovering a toy from a high shelf in a fit of frustration.
1862: Finally, her parents' prayers are answered in the form of Gadriel, their firstborn son.
1865: Another son, Judah, is born. Zophiel, at least, is glad of having more siblings upon which her parents can focus, as she begins mentally preparing to attend Hogwarts.
1866: Abiel - another son - is born.
1867: Zophiel arrives at Hogwarts. She is sorted to Slytherin, and begins her education in earnest, hoping to make something of herself.
1868: Another son, Jethro, is born. Jacob and Elizabeth, frustrated at having so many sons, begin to pray for another daughter - though not as hard as they had for even one son. Zophiel begins her second year of education, during which she seeks to mentally distance herself from the church, asking her immediate peers to call her Sophie.
1869: Entering into her third year, Sophie signs up for Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes.
1870: Micah, the fifth Drago male heir, is born.
1872: Sophie sits for her OWLs. Finally, finally, another daughter is born. She is named Sherah, and immediately, Sophie is the doting sister, spending what little allowance she has on a hand-carved rattle. Then, as her NEWT years begin, she continues forward in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Muggle Studies, and Transfiguration.
1873: Finally, she is no longer the only Drago at Hogwarts, as Gadriel begins his education.
1874: Sophie graduates, and before long, her beliefs - or lack thereof - are revealed to her parents, as excuses of illness grow flimsy. An argument erupts between parents and eldest child, the first of many - and the first of many headaches for the eldest.
1876: Noah is born. Their parents begin praying to have another girl, and please, God, no more sons. In April, Sophie meets and enters into courting with Mr. Ashley Sherington.
1877: Abiel and Judah begin their Hogwarts education. The family is, miraculously, unaffected by the Muggle Riots of the year, and even better, it is a good year for Sophie. Engaged in February - her parents agree to the union on the singular condition that Sophie name her children in the same way that they had named their children. Only mildly frustrated, Sophie agrees, and Ashley, by some miracle, does the same.
1879: Finally, more girls! And stranger, a twin birth! The sisters are named Esther and Edna.
1880: Gadriel graduates, and later in the same year, Jethro begins. Sophie and Ashley welcome their first child, a son - Malachai.
1882: Micah is off to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, due to the significant delay in further children born after Malachai, Jacob and Elizabeth become quite insistent upon Sophie going to church. Worse than before, the fights grow in intensity, before reaching a breaking point where Sophie cuts all contact with her parents. Some of her siblings still receive periodic letters and a gift at Christmas and their birthdays.
1883: Sherah, finally, begins her education - and soon, Sophie learns that her younger sister has been sorted into Ravenclaw!
1884: Abiel and Judah leave Hogwarts. Soon after - with quite an age gap, though not the worst Sophie has seen - she gives birth to a daughter, whom she names Ariel.
1887: Jethro graduates.
July 9, 1887: Tragedy strikes! Ashley Sherington is crushed by falling rubble, leaving Sophie a widow - and worse, a pregnant widow. She is able to stay in her husband's home, thankfully, as the residence was left to her and the children, along with a healthy allowance to continue their lifestyle for a few years, at least.
Post-September 1887: Another daughter is born. She is named Gazardiel, and is the first light of hope amidst Sophie's grief.
1888: Noah begins his education.
1889: Micah graduates.
July 20, 1889: In a chance meeting, Sophie finds herself speaking to Mr. Martin Ruskin. A sensible match, in a handful of ways. Each has children of the opposite gender. Sophie could benefit from a stable income in the home.
August 8, 1889: Martin and Sophie officially begin courting. At her request, they wait until September second to inform his daughters, in a letter.
December 24, 1889: Sherah is disowned, after their parents learn of a continuing close friendship with a half-breed - who turns out to be Martin's daughter, Acacia! Eagerly, Sophie welcomes her into the home.
January 17, 1890: Over dinner with Martin and his mother and sister, he proposes. Sophie gladly accepts, on the minor condition that they maintain the Canterbury house as a vacation home, with just one groundskeeper to ensure the place doesn't fall into disrepair when not in use.
June 24, 1890: On perhaps the most auspicious day they could've chosen, Sophie and Martin marry. Sophie wears a dress of blue, with a bouquet of white clover, white hyacinth, and white jasmine tied with a single black ribbon.
Protectively impulsive, sentimental, confident, stubborn, worrywartOther:
As a youth, all Sophie wanted was happiness. Her parents weren’t outright unkind, but they were insistent in their own way. Their prejudices always set her on edge, though she would hold her tongue. She often looked to the future, eagerly waiting for the day she would be her own person, and insisted unto herself that her children would not be raised in hate.
Since growing up, graduating, and becoming a mother, her ambitions have tempered. She wants her children - and now her step-children - to thrive. She wants Malachai, Ariel, and Gazardiel to know that their father loved them, and their step-father is just as kind as he was. She wants them to have as close to a perfect childhood as she can give them.
She is an imperfect soul, however. If it were the only way to save her children (or step-children), she certainly would step into danger while shoving them from it. She fears that one of the younger ones might seek a career in Quidditch or dragon-care or some other dangerous profession. And, perhaps the most interfering - she insists upon helping to care for her children personally. Tucking them into bed, sitting with them when they are ill, reading to them...she insists upon being truly involved in their innocent years.
Sample Roleplay Post:
- She is adept with nonverbal magic, and has been working to learn wandless techniques - she’s not amazing at it, but it is a goal of hers.
- Amortentia smells of jasmine, cinnamon, and ink.
- Her Patronus is a polar bear; until just recently, she hadn’t cast a corporeal patronus since Ashley’s death, though it hasn’t changed since she first cast it in seventh year.
- Her Boggart takes the form of the walking, rotted corpse of Ashley Sherington, only one word mangled from his throat - “Why?”
Sophie loved the smell of jasmine. It had always been her favorite flower - not too heavily fragranced, not too large a blossom, just right to tuck over an ear if she was so inclined.
It had been part of her first wedding bouquet, mixed in amongst the white roses with a sprinkling of forget-me-not, though the roses had been the star then. This time, it would be the star of the show. The flowers were woven into her bridal hair, even, and the bouquet felt…heavier, with the weight of the black velvet ribbon.
Her previous wedding had been quite the showing. Her family were all there, her parents to give her away. This time, she had only her sister, and three children of her own who deserved the world. Malachai, especially. Just as Sophie had lost a husband, he had lost his father. And so, before she turned to depart for the altar, she pulled her children close and sat with them, letting Ariel hold onto the jasmine, clover, and hyacinth bouquet.
“Malachai. Ariel. Gazardiel.” Sophie smiled softly, touching each of her children on the chin. “I want you to know that this does not change anything. You’re still Sheringtons. Just because I’m marrying again, doesn’t mean that my new husband will replace your father. On the contrary, he will simply fulfill the role your father can’t anymore. I believe I’ve made a good decision - you’ll all have older siblings, and your aunt Sherah will be around, too, until we get her married off.”
But she wasn’t sure. She’d never be certain that Ashley would want her to move on. It had happened all so suddenly, and they’d never discussed the possibility of one of them meeting an untimely demise.
Was she doing the right thing?
Well. It was too late to back out, now. It wouldn’t do to cause even more scandal.
“Let’s go,” she whispered, gingerly taking her bouquet from her middle child and standing, turning to the door that led to a new family name.
Out-of-Character
Name: ElaineAge: 27
Contact: PM, Discord [BlackSwan#2437]
Other Characters: nah, and I’m keeping to two, maximum.
How did you hear about us?: That’s a long story
Sophie is a retconned and renamed Naomi Ruskin née Drago, with permission from Kelly.
![[Image: agr8A1.jpg]](https://*****.host/agr8A1.jpg)
