app; let us go then, you and I

[heardmermaids]

ABOUT YOU

Name: Takhys
Are you 18 or over?: Yes!
Other characters played: None.

CHARACTER

Name: Harry Potter, a.k.a. Sebastian LeMat

NB: Throughout this application, whether or not he is living under the pseudonym of Sebastian LeMat, I will refer to the character as Harry Potter. While he has created the persona of Sebastian, Harry is very much still Harry albeit considerably matured in comparison to the character he was in the books.

Canon: Potterverse AU

Age: 27

History: Harry is canonical up to the end of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but after that, his world goes radically AU. Please forgive me for the pointform rundown, but I've tried to capture the most important events. If you need any further explanation of the what's and wherefore's, please do not hesitate to ask.

The Cold War (August 1997-February 1999)
With the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, late in the summer of 1997, Potter's history deviates from canon. The Order, headed up by the Trio, retreat to Grimmauld Place to plan their next steps and begin work on destroying the horcruxes. Unlike canon, where the horcruxes were comparatively easy to access, in this AU the Order manages to locate and destroy two horcruxes over the following year and a half.

Frustrating the Order members, the Ministry of Magic chooses not to openly recognize that there is a war going on and does not act during this time. Moreover, in order to promote stability and confidence in the Ministry, the capture and imprisonment of Death Eaters is not frequently published.

During this period, both parties made an effort to improve their contacts with other wizarding communities on the continent.

The Hot War (February 1999 - September 2002)
After a series of increasingly public skirmishes with high civilian casualties the war is no longer considered 'cold'. Despite internal protest, the Ministry can no longer remain inactive and they are forced to declare a state of war within Britain. The declaration is couched in terms of a civil conflict and the official government position is one that promotes reconciliation and does not officially support or aid either side. As a result of this, the United Kingdom is put under embargo/quarantine by the rest of the wizarding world in an attempt to contain the conflict.

Whenever anyone opens an account with Gringotts, they sign a sub-clause that gives the goblins the right to do whatever is necessary to protect their gold. Unbeknownst to the majority of the wizarding world, this included the ability to close the banks and, quite literally, go underground and wait out the war. During the summer of 2000, they chose to do this and Gringotts vanished, further destabilizing Wizarding Britain. This action was a not-so-subtle up-yours from the staff, who remembered the Goblin Wars considerably better than most humans.

As is usually the way in civil conflicts, alongside the Order and the Death Eaters, a proliferation of smaller, splinter groups sprung up; each of these organizations professed some particular creed and settled into their own niche. One of the most notable was the Raven’s Hand, a collection of Ravenclaw students and graduates that felt the best way to win the war was through rapid advancement of magical technology. At first, the Order members were pleased to have their support, but as the war continued the Hand’s methods became less principled and this led to a falling out between the organizations.

The deciding event took place on the Gateshead Millenium bridge and was roughly the equivalent of a magical bomb. The device was prematurely triggered and instead of the intended effect, served to kill the the magical population of Newcastle and the surrounding area. It also killed or adversely affected a significant portion of the muggle population. In the aftermath, Gateshead Incident was blamed on a nerve gas leak.

Aware that the end of the war would soon be upon them, but that the outcome was still uncertain, a spell was devised with the intent to use sympathetic magic and Potter's connection with Voldemort to remove the Dark Lord's magical ability. In order for the spell to be effective, it’s believed that both Potter and Voldemort need to be in close proximity and so Potter allows himself to be captured. The spell is untried but if Potter dies, then it is believed to be useless.

The spell works and Voldemort's magic (along with Potter's) is removed in a rather spectacular set of fireworks. With both of them as squibs, the fight is brief and messy with Potter losing two joints off his right pinky and ring finger and Voldemort losing his life. At the very end of the war, after he had killed Voldemort, Harry knew that he was the last remaining horcrux so he attempted to kill himself. He entered death, met with various spirits (similar to what happened in Deathly Hallows), had the portion of his soul that belonged to Voldemort removed, and was returned back to life. Being denied a real, true rest after all he had been through absolutely infuriated him and he will still be angry about this upon arrival in Cittàgazze.

The Aftermath (September 2002 - January 2006)
As in the books, his death is not permanent and while it takes time, Harry recovers but remains unable to use magic. During the post-war rebuilding period, Potter remains a squib and once he is healthy enough is given a mostly honoury paper-pushing position at the Ministry. Frustrated and utterly miserable, he creates the concept of Sebastian LeMat and begins to save money at a muggle bank before leaving London for Newcastle. While it's technically safe, after the Gateshead Incident wizards no longer live in the north of England.

Newly renamed, 'Sebastian' spends some time aimlessly. Soon enough, he finds himself an apprenticeship as a handyman and carpenter. While he doesn't have many peers and post-combat (re)integration provides significant challenges, Potter manages. His newfound friends encourage him to adopt a dog and he agrees, taking in Velcro, a young Beauceron that failed out of a police training program as a result of poor tracking skills. Velcro has been trained as a service and emotional support animal.

Once he was living on his own in the north of England, along with taking a few courses at the local college in small machine repair, Potter made the choice to enter continuing education and earn his Access to Higher Education Diploma. In a best case scenario, he arrived at Hogwarts with a grade five reading level and I think it's reasonable to assume that did not progress too far during the war. Following his HE Diploma, Potter continued to regularly take classes on various cultural topics: Great Books of Western Literature, Music and Pop Culture, Film and Society, etc. In part, these courses served the practical function of giving him knowledge of muggle culture, but additionally, they served to refine his critical thinking ability and deepen his love of art.

Should the modteam (or anyone else) want clarification or more information on the history of this AU - events, who lived, who died, etc. - I'm more than happy to tl;dr for as long as you'd like.

Point in canon: January 2006. Potter is established as a part-time handyman and student in Newcastle. He lives with his service dog, Velcro, and while he has kept in contact with a few friends from the war, he has not reintegrated with wizarding society.

Window Location: Contained within a substantial closet in Harry's workshop.

Universe: Wikipedia has a rather extensive article on the Harry Potter Universe.

Abilities: I'm not really going to go into detail about how Potterverse magic works because I'm willing to wager that the modteam is already pretty familiar with it and its rules. Nevertheless, in my opinion, Potterverse magic is frighteningly powerful; e.g. It's not seen as extraordinarily difficult to turn a human into a canary and back again.

Harry was a powerful, if untrained, wizard and when the war came, this fact both hindered and helped him: without a complete, traditional magical education, Potter and the other youth members of the Order were often caught unawares by the Death Eaters, conversely, they were able to innovate and adapt, creating new spells. While not a fan of more rigorous trial and error, Potter has a talent for 'on the fly' adaptation.

Since sympathetic magic spell to remove both his and Voldemort's magic was enacted, Harry has been entirely unable to do magic. This is not psychosomatic, although some of his friends in the wizarding world believed it to be so. In reality, his magic is slowly regrowing along 'new pathways' much in the same way a stroke victim can relearn to perform tasks.

At the time of his arrival in Cittàgazze, he really only has one traditional wizarding spell that he can perform (a modified patronus), but he will be experimenting and adapting freely.

He's a passable handyman, an average shot, and knows a good deal about fighting really dirty.

Possessions: While not a device, per se, Harry travels everywhere with his service dog, Velcro.

Personality:
Harry's development can best be divided into three phrases: pre-war, wartime, and post-war. Thematically, the main emotional forces that have shaped and continue to shape his life are trust issues, the trauma of war, and the reality of the unpleasant decisions that he made during war.

During his time with the Dursleys, Harry was given no reason to trust anyone other than himself. Surprisingly, he retained a sense of optimism and upon entering Hogwarts hoped that the adults he would meet could be trusted and that he would be able to have a 'normal' life; however, time and time again he was either lied to or had critical information withheld from him.

While Harry does exhibit emotional growth during the span of the six books, by the end of Half-Blood Prince, he is still a relative innocent, often ruled by his anger and mistrust. Once his life diverges from canon, when the cold war begins, Harry is increasingly forced into an awkward leadership role -- while the members of the Order often look to him as a figurehead and want him to endorse the decisions made by the older, more experienced members, he was rarely given suitably information and decision-making agency that would allow him to feel a sense of ownership over the choices of the Order.

During the war, Harry has to temper the early rational survival skills he developed living with the Dursleys with the emotional, social growth he made while attending Hogwarts. Harry's primary mode of living is focused internally; when faced with a problem, he gathers information and interacts with the world through his five senses, in a literal, concrete fashion allowing him to deal with what could otherwise be overwhelming situations in a rational and logical manner. When faced with a new situation, he does not discuss it with his friends; rather, he will mull over the possibilities and decide for himself.

Both in war and in his personal life, his mind constantly gathers information and makes associations about it. He is insightful and usually very quick to understand new ideas. However, his primary interest is not understanding a concept, but rather applying that concept in a useful way.

Harry is a natural leader, although given much choice in the matter he would choose to remain in the background until he sees a real need to take over the lead. When he has been placed in a leadership role, he is usually quite effective, as he is able to objectively see the reality of a situation, and are adaptable enough to change things which aren't working well. Ron is a far better military strategist, but Harry is better suited to making tough and 'big picture' decisions.

Post-war, once Harry had woken up from his coma and discovered that he was still unable to use magic, there was a decision made to keep his disability secret and Harry was given a quiet office job which was less an actual, useful job as it was a way to put him away in a safe place. He was becoming increasingly unhappy and despite caring for Ginny, he would often lose his temper and snap at her. A combination of frustration, PTSD, and anger at being refused entry into death causes Harry to retreat into himself and eventually decide that the only way he could recover and possibly find happiness would be to adopt an alternate identity and move to an area of Britain almost entirely devoid of wizards.

Living as Sebastian, Harry is a quiet and reserved individual who takes the time to think through what he wants to say in advance of speaking. He has not lost his high temper and can occasionally be provoked into a terrifying rage, but he is usually able to consciously recognize that his anger is building and then find a way to divert the energy.

Harry is considered to be a good citizen and a man who can be depended on to do the right thing for his friends and the community. He donates a portion of his earnings in the appliance shop to Oxfam and is a volunteer coach for children's football. The locals in Newcastle know that he generally takes things very seriously, but he also has an offbeat sense of humour and can be a lot of fun.

As Harry integrated himself into Newcastle, two main theories about where 'Sebastian' is from emerged. There are a few that suspect he once was a gang member from London who was injured, scared straight, and then left the big city. More commonly, people believe that he is from somewhere in Eastern Europe (most likely Serbia) and that he endured something terrible and while he is illegally in the country, is a good man and should be welcomed.

As a result of his upbringing, Harry is not naturally in tune with his own feelings or the feelings of others. While he can often anticipate what the correct response to any particular situation is supposed to be, it is a conscious decision that he must make. He does care deeply about those close to him, but is not particularly comfortable with expressing his love verbally. He is far more likely to express affection through action, rather than through words.

Thread Sample: This thread is years after the point that I'll be taking DistantSkies!Harry from, but for an app sample, it'll do. 'Have you graduated to stealing towns yet?' and other vital existential questions.

Prose Sample: "It's for your unbirthday," he said handing over a pair of glow-in-the-dark muggle deelyboppers wrapped in newsprint. Harry had seen them in a shop window and instantly knew Luna would appreciate them. Even as he said it, his flimsy excuse for their purchase rang hollow leaving him ashamed that he was unable to admit he'd bought them without a reason.

"An unbirthday? Is this from another of your muggle books, Harry?" He nodded and went to put another log on the fire before returning to the soft, almost shapeless couch that was the only comfortable and vaguely warm thing in the squalid flat they had been staying in. It had been an ugly lesson, one of many, that the most difficult part of war was less about battles and more about who could wait, watch, and seize whatever small opportunities arose. With only so many games of exploding snap and wizarding chess to keep him occupied, Harry had eventually and unexpectedly turned to reading to pass the time.

The rest of the evening was filled by his stilted, occasionally circuitous recollection of Disney's Alice in Wonderland; he hadn't read the book yet, but he did see the movie one rainy afternoon at school. Luna was particularly charmed by his description of the momeraths and how much they reminded him of the chirwirrits that lived in the garden outside her home.

"Harry?"

"Mmm," he said, more than half-focused on trying to make the recalcitrant sofa-bed turn into a proper bed without slicing his fingers off.

"I think that the Death Eaters might've come across Vermicious Knids and trained them. Do you think it's possible?"

"I'm not sure. Why do you think that?" Harry smiled while fighting with one of the stuck hinges. Not many people understood Luna's quiet, gentle sense of humour, but he'd read the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to her earlier in the week and could appreciate the joke.

"It would be a good tactic and I think you should be prepared for it."

Still kneeling and trying to coax the hinge, Harry could only hear her speaking and the soft rustle of fabric. "And how would I do that?"

"We, Harry. We would be prepared because they only eat virgins."

As the hinge finally released, sliding the pull-out section of the sofa free, Harry stood, brushing off his hands against his jeans and turned to face Luna. Silhouetted by low light cast by the remains of the fire, she was only wearing the deelyboppers; one daisy perfectly still, the other listing to one side. "It's a matter of life, death, and knids."

Plans: I would like to see Potter regain his magical ability, but it's going to be slow process. I do think that it's something he'd look into once he adjusted to


DÆMON

Name: Eadgyth

Sex: Female, but will generally present as androgenous. Unless one is an expert in the identification of cryptozootic leonids, it’s pretty darn difficult to tell the gent manticores from the ladies.

Form: Manticore.

Additional notes: There are many different variations on what a manticore could look like, but I’m going with one of the more traditional interpretations: a large, lion-shaped beast with a scaled tail ending with a poisonous barb. Martyaxwar has the face of a woman, with shark-like rows of teeth, and a rough, reddish mane of hair that serves to make her gender a little less clear. She speaks quietly, with an odd bell-like tone, but when she raises her voice it's a ringing, clarion call.

Why this form: In canon, Potter's patronus is a stag, but I think that as he grew up and grew into his own person, his patronus (and by extension his daemon) would change to better reflect his personality. I'm particularly fond of the idea of a manticore before it's a magical blend of man, lion, and serpent. According to the medieval symbolic thinking popular in bestiaries, the manticore was a portent of war and strife.