Nicknames: Oli/Ollie
Birthdate: 21st May, 1853
Current Age: 35 Years
Occupation: Muggle Solicitor
Reputation: 8
Is currently engaged to his first cousin, and his other cousin is back from the dead with some wild, unbelievable story that Oliver tried to kill him, so.Residence: London
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Wand: Fir, 9 1/2”, phoenix feather, pliant.
Blood Status: Halfblood
Social Class: Middle
Family:
Andrew Devereaux | Father | Muggle | 18xx - 1858
Mira Devereaux née Anand | Muggleborn | 18xx - 1858
Michael Devereaux II | Uncle | 18xx
Jaya Devereaux nee Khurana | Aunt | 18xx
Frances -- née Devereaux | Cousin | 1850
Watson Devereaux | Cousin | 1853 - 1881
Jane -- née Devereaux | Cousin | 1857
Victoria -- née Devereaux | Cousin | 1863
Harriet Devereaux | Cousin & Fiancée | 1866
Appearance: Oliver is 5’8” and sturdily built, a little more naturally athletic than his cousin used to be; like the rest of the family and their Indian heritage, he has brown skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair. Oliver usually sports some facial hair these days, if only to hide his eternal babyface. He still has those rounded cheeks and a boyish smile, though these do serve to make him look genial and approachable. He takes care of his appearance and is a decently snazzy dresser, and is right-handed in both writing and spellwork.
History:
Oliver doesn't remember much about his parents. The things he knows about them are what he's heard from his aunt and uncle: they were happy, they were kind, they loved him. (Can't have loved him that much, Oliver spent much of his childhood bitterly thinking, or they wouldn't have always cared more about their missions than him.) As dedicated Anglican missionaries, they couldn't stay in London for long, and when they set off abroad they decided it best to leave him in the care of his grandparents.
This did spare Oliver from coming down with cholera, to be fair. It is 1858, he is five, and they are away... and never come home. Both succumbed to cholera. Oliver gets shunted from his grandparents' house to his aunt and uncle's, with the cousins (at that time, only Frances, Watson, and Jane). As the only other boy in the house - not to mention they are the same age! - it is no wonder that he and Watson become best friends. Brothers, even.
The most Oliver has in common with his late mother is the inheritance of her ability to do odd, not-quite-explainable things. He and Dev notice these occurrences, here and there, over the years. Sometimes Dev claims it's him doing the things, which makes no sense. Clearly it's Oliver who's different, Oliver who's special.
Or not. 1864 sees the revelation that not just Oliver, but Oliver and Dev are wizards. And so they are allowed to go off to Hogwarts together.
The Sorting ceremony marks the start of Oliver and his cousin becoming very different people. Watson is sorted into Gryffindor; Oliver is placed in Ravenclaw. This makes sense to him almost immediately, when he learns what Ravenclaw means. He knows he is logical, rational, witty and smart, and expects to spend the next seven years discovering unique and hidden talents. Except... he can't escape Dev, can't seem to shake off his cousin. They're in all the same classes, and if that weren't bad enough, his cousin is better than him in nearly all of them, however hard Oliver tries. Life quickly becomes a competition, although one possibly only known to Oliver. Rather than working harder academically, Oliver leaves that to Watson, and instead cultivates the image of being too cool to care; he tries to find a different crowd of friends; picks different classes; joins the Quidditch team in his third year as Keeper, enjoying being known and admired.
He hasn't found a talent in anything particular, certainly nothing he could make a profession out of; not that Oliver much cares about what his day-to-day life will be, as long as it furnishes him with decent funds and perhaps some prestige. His aunt and uncle are keen for the boys to integrate back into the muggle world, when they finish; having closely observed Watson, who seems torn between that and going into magical healing, Oliver promptly asserts how much he wants to become a lawyer in the muggle world.
He could do all the sucking-up in the world, but it's never really any use. Oliver is still the outsider to the family that he has always been, will always play second fiddle to their dear son. He tries very hard to be content with his lot, to forge out his own place in the world: he apprentices with a London solicitor, and when he has qualified, works at a firm himself. He doesn't mind the work, mostly - it may not be medicine, but it is a perfectly respectable career. Though Oliver works in mostly muggle spheres, he has a case or two over the years quietly dealing with mixed magical-muggle affairs for wizards with whom he is acquainted; he keeps up an acquaintance with old friends from school easily enough, as Diagon Alley isn't far from his offices. Realising that he stands to inherit little from his aunt and uncle (not so much as their own children will, to be sure), over the years Oliver invests here and there in some property in magical London, so as to earn a little extra on the side. He also limits his less savoury pursuits (brothels, an on-and-off opium habit, and so forth) to his wizarding circles, so his aunt and uncle never have a thing to reproach him for. Cousin Harriet, in 1877, discovers that she too is a witch; Oliver has never yet paid her much mind before, but that is interesting.
Watson, meanwhile, is ruining his relationship with his parents by going after a Miss Jennings, a witch, and her hand in marriage. Oliver watches these tensions unfold soberly, pretending that he isn't very much enjoying these events. It puts Oliver in the convenient place of mediator between uncle and aunt and his cousin; suddenly, even, he is essentially their favoured nephew son. When the tensions reach an all-time high at the start of 1881, Oliver pitches the idea of a North American tour and drags Dev along to Canada.
Oliver's vague plan has been to assure his aunt and uncle that he'll try to dissuade his cousin from marrying into the wizarding world (and spend their trek about in the Canadian wilderness subtly encouraging Dev to disappoint his parents in every way imaginable). The trip, however - with no distractions besides the glaciers and mountain scenery - throws into full relief how infuriating his cousin actually is. Oliver can't say he has truly cared for his company since before their Hogwarts days, and even on the sliver of a chance Watson pisses his parents off enough to get himself disowned, Oliver can't fathom his cousin infuriating him any less as long as he's alive.
As long as he's alive.
Oliver has imagined it, how much easier his life would be without Watson in the picture - of course he has. Has he ever imagined it so viscerally as on the last morning of their trip in the bleakness of northern Canada? They are about to return to England, and Oliver knows he will see things inevitably settle to how they have always been. And what does he have, really?
There's a blizzard rolling in. He has an opportunity.
He has gathered up all their supplies, packed the maps, is ready to go. Before he does, he stands above his cousin - still asleep - for a minute, considering. Just considering. But no, that would be unnecessary. He doesn't need to go that far. Instead, he takes Dev's wand, because how would his cousin survive out here without it? Good enough, Oliver thinks.
(A fatal error, as it turns out.)
Oliver takes the boat home, extraordinarily calm. He has his story all worked out. The family is devastated, naturally; on the other hand, Dev's parents do not seem wholly surprised by the fact their son threw himself off a boat. He hadn't been himself even before Canada, they say. Oliver agrees.
It ought to be a test of his acting ability, the next few months, the next few years - but really, it's no trouble at all. The family need someone to lean on: Oliver is there for them. People feel guilty? So does he. (He did everything he could to stop him, but he - he should have done more.) They miss their son, their brother? Understandable. But at least they didn't lose him, too.
Oliver gets closer to some of the family, as the years go by. His female cousins are getting married, one by one, but it is only when Harriet, the youngest, comes out that Oliver begins to consider that marriage might be a fruitful step for him to take after all. Despite the fact that she is already being courted, Oliver senses another opportunity, and does all he can to encourage her affections for him, instead. This goes well, and in 1887 he proposes to his cousin; unlike Dev's pursuit of Nathalie Jennings, this is perhaps the only wizarding match his aunt and uncle can enthuse about. Oliver's rather enthused, too. He'll have it all.
Until.
The prodigal son returns, Lazarus back from the dead. This is the first sign of turbulence to Oliver's carefully laid plans; he had, after all, been quite sure that Dev had died out there, eventually. So... this is not ideal. Unfortunately, Dev hasn't forgotten being abandoned out there, and isn't shy about recounting it; this is another good test of Oliver's acting abilities. Fortunately, the family know that can't be right, so Oliver's cousin is swiftly situated in a hospital's psychiatric ward. Well, that's something. Now if he can just stay there out of the way, this might all still work out.
Personality: Look, he had potential. Outgoing, likeable, and reasonable, Oliver has always proven easy enough to get along with. On the surface, he is calm, cool, and collected, possesses an almost unflappable exterior. Beneath that is a simmering mess of insecurity, jealousy and narcissism, all of which have propelled his drive for praise, admiration and recognition. These are things which he tends to pursue, however, not by an honest work ethic, but by opportunism and manipulation - although these are subtle, almost subconscious instincts, because Oliver also has an unhealthy preoccupation with what people think of him.
Other: --
Sample Roleplay Post:
![[Image: tumblr_nua7xtMBY21qhhxd4o3_250.gif]](https://78.media.tumblr.com/d58704f9b9f1052f1531f76592928877/tumblr_nua7xtMBY21qhhxd4o3_250.gif)
Oliver “I don’t know what you’re talking about” Devereaux
Age: 23
