20 Random Facts About Sally-Anne Perks
Title: 20 Random Facts About Sally-Anne Perks
Author: magikcat112
Rating: PG-13
Warning (highlight to view): For mentions of cutting, violence.
Word Count: 2,515
Disclaimer: Things you recognize belong to JKR. Norman Forrest and Tommy LeRoche, as well as some concepts on Sally-Anne, belongs to thanfiction from his fanfiction, Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness.
Author's Note: Written for Round Five of the Harry Potter Random Facts Fest. ,
1. She was named after her mother's late sister.
Polly Perks was a half-blood witch, but her sister Sally inherited their father's non-magical abilities. The two of them remained close however, even when Aunt Sally joined Scotland Yard and married a Muggle. Her aunt was killed while in the line of duty shortly before she was born. Sally-Anne's brothers said their mother cried for days. She was talked about so much that when Sally-Anne was younger, she thought of her aunt as a guardian who watched over her when her brothers weren't around-someone who stood beside her bed in the dark and chased away the nightmares.
2. She hates bugs and blood.
She didn't like the way bugs moved or how they could jump out of nowhere and crawl all over the body. The sight of blood-thick, oozing, and downright disgusting-made her ill. Of course, her older brothers-Alan, Lewis, Gary and Phillip-were always there to protect her from these awful things. They always took a glance through the garden to make sure there weren't any bugs when they went outside and kept her calm when she skinned her knee. And they never laughed at her for it.
3. She took karate when she was in primary school.
With her brothers going off to Hogwarts, her mother felt like Sally needed to learn to defend herself on her own and signed her up for lessons. She hated it. The class was full of older Muggle children who teased her and the stances the teacher made them do felt ridiculous. She was too afraid of disappointing her parents to say anything, and it wasn't until a particular bad lesson that had her in tears did her mother pull her out. The only moves she remembered were how to block.
4. She had a weakness for rice pudding.
Muggle or not, her grandfather cooks the best rice pudding in the world. Whenever her family visited, he'd cook a big batch and serve it for dinner, much to her mother and grandmother's disapproval. She knows it's bad for her and does nothing for her weight, but she doesn't care. Though she thinks no one could make it as good has he does, Sally-Anne's mouth still waters whenever it's popped from the oven. Her friends soon found they could talk her into almost anything if they offered her a fresh bowl of the stuff. She nearly cried when Rowan Glynis forbade any sweets and it took all her will power to give it up.
5. She has visited her Muggle relatives every summer since she was eight.
The first time had been with her mother to see Aunt Sally's widowed husband. He lived with his two children and his sister, but had enjoyed her so much they invited her to stay for another week. It became a tradition she looked forward to every time she came home for the holidays. She liked her Muggle relatives-they were kind and treated her well, and she was fascinated by they way they lived. She learned more about the Muggle world in those few days than all her Muggle Studies classes. By the end of the week, however, she missed the convenience of magic and was spent by the exuberance of her cousins, and was more than too happy to be home.
6. She was the only Hufflepuff in her family.
All of her older brothers and her parents were Gryffindors-with the exception of Lewis, who had been a Ravenclaw. Neither fantastically intelligent nor having any of her brothers' fearlessness, she hadn't been surprised to be put in Hufflepuff. Although she wondered if her parents had been disappointed by it, she loved her house. It was made up of laidback, comfortable people who didn't expect more than your very best, and once they were your friend it took a lot to break that bond. She could give all that in spades.
7. She had a bit of a sassy streak.
It's a given that siblings are meant to tease each other, and Sally's brothers were no different. As protective as they were, they never failed to give her a bit of a ribbing once in a while. Sally learned to stay ahead of them with a playful, yet sarcastic sense of humor. Most of the time she kept from being outright mean, because she always felt bad about it afterwards. At Hogwarts, she was trying to get on without her brothers looking out for her that it took a couple of years for her sassiness to show itself properly. Even then, it was used sparingly, because there was a bit of pride that came with surprising others with an unexpected zinger.
8. She liked to paint.
It wasn't something she was spectacularly talented at, but she did enjoy it and her skill improved over the years. She loved the thrill of creating something, of capturing a moment on a blank canvas. Her subject was always something with color-a flower, a sunset, a rainbow, a forest-because she wanted people to be happy when they saw looked at her work. Her favorite piece of work was the first time she used magical paints. Seeing her mother in the bright blue dress she wore during the summer, smiling and waving as she sat in a bright red chair, always made Sally smile when she was down.
9. She had a love/hate relationship with her breasts.
"Well endowed", "ample bosom", whatever you call it-the fact was that Sally-Anne had boobs the size of cantaloupes. Her bust had exploded two sizes the summer before her fourth year, and it didn't take long to notice that boys-even strangers-never looked at her face anymore. At the same time, when she realized there was no way for even her robes to hide them, she realized she either have to withdraw or, as her mother would say, "flaunt it". Though she refused to wear low-neck shirts, but she put her sense of humor and cheekiness into better use. By the time she lost her sight, she was so used to people treating her different for an outwardly appearance that she took thoughtless comments in stride.
10. Ernie was the first person she ever hit.
It had been a particularly awful day-she had woke up early with a headache, had done terrible on her Ancient Runes test that she had skipped lunch to study, and had twisted her ankle on some ice. Ernie asking her breasts if they would go to the Yule Ball on top everything caused her cheerful demeanor to snap. She was so angry she smacked him across the face in front of the entire common room before stomping to her dormitory. It probably hadn't felt very hard on that thick skull of his, but she had never hit anyone before and the look of shock he gave her was priceless. It was a bit encouraging to know she had a bit of fight in her.
11. She prefers younger men.
Perhaps it's because she's always been the youngest, or because her father was three years her mother's junior, or perhaps because there's something that seems vaguely rebellious about it. Whatever it was, she has an almost unhealthy taste for younger men. For a long time no one but Susan knew, after she had seen the look of more-than-casual-interest in Sally's eyes as she gazed at Christopher Parnett's rather well-defined arse in sixth year. In school, it hadn't been anyone more than two years younger than her, and when she dated between the break-ups and getting-back-togethers with Norman Forrest, she had gone out three times with a university student five years her junior. Although she sometimes feels self-conscious about her preferences, she has never apologized for them.
12. No one expected the change her brother's death had on her.
Alan had been an Auror and was killed in a giant's raid one January night of her sixth year. They had always shared a special closeness even though he was ten years older then her. She had never felt such anguish and terror in her entire life, and realization at how close this war could affect her made her cry in her bedroom for nearly two days. It was then that she realized that she couldn't be a little girl depending on her brothers anymore. When she emerged from the curtains of her four-poster, it was with more control and stoniness than her friends had ever seen. She forced herself not to avoid conflict or her childhood fears. She refused to sit in the corner and not say the things that needed to be said. Although most of her personality didn't change, there was a bit more bite in her remarks when people annoyed her and she didn't laugh nearly as much as she used to.
13. She taught herself not to faint at the sight of blood.
When she joined the DA, she realized she'd have to get over her childhood fear if she was going to make a proper fighter. Everyday for more than a month, she locked herself in the bathroom and slice a little of her skin. First her finger, then her hand, then her arm-making the cut a little longer and deeper each time before Healing it together again. It took several bouts of vomiting and a few near panic attacks, but she finally was able to push back the illness that rose at the sight. That year, whenever it felt like too much, she'd slice her arm and make herself remember what she had done to make herself a fighter, and how much Alan had sacrificed.
14. Jack Sloper had been her first.
Susan's marriage party had been on the one year anniversary of Alan's death, and the resentment Sally had held back for months flowed swiftly to the surface. It wasn't fair that Hannah, Susan, and Meg each had someone, Morag didn't need anyone, and she was left grieving alone. After the party, she grabbed Jack Sloper, who had been paying a lot more attention to her lately than he had before, and pulled him into an empty broom closet to kiss him. Jack seemed surprised but not unwilling, and when she tugged at his shirt, he had quickly caught on to what she wanted. She wanted to feel something other than the anger and grief, even if it was with the Man-whore of Gryffindor. It was rather quick, desperate and clumsy on her part, but Jack hadn't seemed to mind. He said nothing as he put on his clothes back on, and looked relieved when she waved him away without a word. She felt stupid and dirty, and refused to ever speak of it again.
15. She didn't know how much she appreciated her sight until it was gone.
The last thing she saw during the Final Battle was a white light heading for her face, and then everything went dark. When the battle was over, she thought about all the things she would miss. She would never see the sun rise or set. Never see her mother's smiling face or the laughing grey eyes of her father. Painting was impossible now. All the joys and wonders she had taken for granted were gone, and would fade from her memory with time. She would've given anything-anything-to see the vast blue waters of the lake or the wide green fields, even if for just a minute. Never had she been so anguished at not being able to cry.
16. Norman Forrest gave Sally her first pet.
They had beds next to each other while in St. Mungo's, and had found his voice warm and friendly, without a bit of pity. Norman was two years younger than Sally, and she had missed his company when he left almost two weeks before her. The day of her release, Sally had been surprised to hear his voice at the exit. Norman, in his own endearing way of trying to help, had gotten her a Golden Retriever puppy, saying it could grow into a one of those Seeing Eye dogs Tommy LeRoche had mentioned once. She heard the embarrassment and disappointment in his voice when she told him Seeing Eye dogs were usually trained for years before they were fit to be useful in that way. She accepted the puppy anyway, and immediately fell in love with little Squirt.
It didn't take long for her to fall in love with Norman after that as well.
17. She loves her new eyes.
Being able to see was good enough, but being useful was even better. A few years before, she would've been disgusted at the thought of having eyes like Mad-Eye Moody, but now she felt like one of Colin's X-Men. Everyday she learned something new, whether it was something her eyes could do or something she could use them for, and it made her grin and a bit rush of power run through her. Norman, once he got over the initial shock, thought it was the coolest thing since Quidditch.
18. It was a mutual agreement not to have children.
Sally's experience with her nieces had proven she wasn't honestly very good with them, and both were too busy with their careers to give the time and attention needed. She would come home late for days and Norman often became so focused on creating a new wand that he lost track of time for hours. Not to mention that she couldn't see much sense in bringing children into the world with the way everything was. The horrors at Sally's job just made her even more certain that no child deserved to live a life like this.
But she will not lie to herself and say that she does not feel a twinge of regret when she sees the joy on a young mother's face as she holds her baby.
19. She was one of the Auror office's best interrogators.
With her easy-going manner, "nice girl" demeanor, and sizable front, she was good at drawing in suspects into a false sense of security and relaxation. It wasn't long before they fell into the hole she needed and were taken by surprise when she went in for the kill. She could see when a suspect was under an Imperious or some spell that might make them hard to get the truth out of, or even had been drinking Polyjuice Potion. And perhaps most important of all, she could see through their chests and watch the beat of their hearts for signs of stress-a good indicator that they were lying.
20. She joined the Aurors for more than wanting to see.
Though the thought of seeing again had been a part of accepting Harry's offer, she had another, larger one. The prospect of actually doing something-not sitting at a desk or stumbling around her home-made Sally's decision for her. She wanted to be useful-for herself, for Alan. She had learned to be a fighter, and she wanted to keep going until she wasn't physically able any more.
Author: magikcat112
Rating: PG-13
Warning (highlight to view): For mentions of cutting, violence.
Word Count: 2,515
Disclaimer: Things you recognize belong to JKR. Norman Forrest and Tommy LeRoche, as well as some concepts on Sally-Anne, belongs to thanfiction from his fanfiction, Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness.
Author's Note: Written for Round Five of the Harry Potter Random Facts Fest. ,
1. She was named after her mother's late sister.
Polly Perks was a half-blood witch, but her sister Sally inherited their father's non-magical abilities. The two of them remained close however, even when Aunt Sally joined Scotland Yard and married a Muggle. Her aunt was killed while in the line of duty shortly before she was born. Sally-Anne's brothers said their mother cried for days. She was talked about so much that when Sally-Anne was younger, she thought of her aunt as a guardian who watched over her when her brothers weren't around-someone who stood beside her bed in the dark and chased away the nightmares.
2. She hates bugs and blood.
She didn't like the way bugs moved or how they could jump out of nowhere and crawl all over the body. The sight of blood-thick, oozing, and downright disgusting-made her ill. Of course, her older brothers-Alan, Lewis, Gary and Phillip-were always there to protect her from these awful things. They always took a glance through the garden to make sure there weren't any bugs when they went outside and kept her calm when she skinned her knee. And they never laughed at her for it.
3. She took karate when she was in primary school.
With her brothers going off to Hogwarts, her mother felt like Sally needed to learn to defend herself on her own and signed her up for lessons. She hated it. The class was full of older Muggle children who teased her and the stances the teacher made them do felt ridiculous. She was too afraid of disappointing her parents to say anything, and it wasn't until a particular bad lesson that had her in tears did her mother pull her out. The only moves she remembered were how to block.
4. She had a weakness for rice pudding.
Muggle or not, her grandfather cooks the best rice pudding in the world. Whenever her family visited, he'd cook a big batch and serve it for dinner, much to her mother and grandmother's disapproval. She knows it's bad for her and does nothing for her weight, but she doesn't care. Though she thinks no one could make it as good has he does, Sally-Anne's mouth still waters whenever it's popped from the oven. Her friends soon found they could talk her into almost anything if they offered her a fresh bowl of the stuff. She nearly cried when Rowan Glynis forbade any sweets and it took all her will power to give it up.
5. She has visited her Muggle relatives every summer since she was eight.
The first time had been with her mother to see Aunt Sally's widowed husband. He lived with his two children and his sister, but had enjoyed her so much they invited her to stay for another week. It became a tradition she looked forward to every time she came home for the holidays. She liked her Muggle relatives-they were kind and treated her well, and she was fascinated by they way they lived. She learned more about the Muggle world in those few days than all her Muggle Studies classes. By the end of the week, however, she missed the convenience of magic and was spent by the exuberance of her cousins, and was more than too happy to be home.
6. She was the only Hufflepuff in her family.
All of her older brothers and her parents were Gryffindors-with the exception of Lewis, who had been a Ravenclaw. Neither fantastically intelligent nor having any of her brothers' fearlessness, she hadn't been surprised to be put in Hufflepuff. Although she wondered if her parents had been disappointed by it, she loved her house. It was made up of laidback, comfortable people who didn't expect more than your very best, and once they were your friend it took a lot to break that bond. She could give all that in spades.
7. She had a bit of a sassy streak.
It's a given that siblings are meant to tease each other, and Sally's brothers were no different. As protective as they were, they never failed to give her a bit of a ribbing once in a while. Sally learned to stay ahead of them with a playful, yet sarcastic sense of humor. Most of the time she kept from being outright mean, because she always felt bad about it afterwards. At Hogwarts, she was trying to get on without her brothers looking out for her that it took a couple of years for her sassiness to show itself properly. Even then, it was used sparingly, because there was a bit of pride that came with surprising others with an unexpected zinger.
8. She liked to paint.
It wasn't something she was spectacularly talented at, but she did enjoy it and her skill improved over the years. She loved the thrill of creating something, of capturing a moment on a blank canvas. Her subject was always something with color-a flower, a sunset, a rainbow, a forest-because she wanted people to be happy when they saw looked at her work. Her favorite piece of work was the first time she used magical paints. Seeing her mother in the bright blue dress she wore during the summer, smiling and waving as she sat in a bright red chair, always made Sally smile when she was down.
9. She had a love/hate relationship with her breasts.
"Well endowed", "ample bosom", whatever you call it-the fact was that Sally-Anne had boobs the size of cantaloupes. Her bust had exploded two sizes the summer before her fourth year, and it didn't take long to notice that boys-even strangers-never looked at her face anymore. At the same time, when she realized there was no way for even her robes to hide them, she realized she either have to withdraw or, as her mother would say, "flaunt it". Though she refused to wear low-neck shirts, but she put her sense of humor and cheekiness into better use. By the time she lost her sight, she was so used to people treating her different for an outwardly appearance that she took thoughtless comments in stride.
10. Ernie was the first person she ever hit.
It had been a particularly awful day-she had woke up early with a headache, had done terrible on her Ancient Runes test that she had skipped lunch to study, and had twisted her ankle on some ice. Ernie asking her breasts if they would go to the Yule Ball on top everything caused her cheerful demeanor to snap. She was so angry she smacked him across the face in front of the entire common room before stomping to her dormitory. It probably hadn't felt very hard on that thick skull of his, but she had never hit anyone before and the look of shock he gave her was priceless. It was a bit encouraging to know she had a bit of fight in her.
11. She prefers younger men.
Perhaps it's because she's always been the youngest, or because her father was three years her mother's junior, or perhaps because there's something that seems vaguely rebellious about it. Whatever it was, she has an almost unhealthy taste for younger men. For a long time no one but Susan knew, after she had seen the look of more-than-casual-interest in Sally's eyes as she gazed at Christopher Parnett's rather well-defined arse in sixth year. In school, it hadn't been anyone more than two years younger than her, and when she dated between the break-ups and getting-back-togethers with Norman Forrest, she had gone out three times with a university student five years her junior. Although she sometimes feels self-conscious about her preferences, she has never apologized for them.
12. No one expected the change her brother's death had on her.
Alan had been an Auror and was killed in a giant's raid one January night of her sixth year. They had always shared a special closeness even though he was ten years older then her. She had never felt such anguish and terror in her entire life, and realization at how close this war could affect her made her cry in her bedroom for nearly two days. It was then that she realized that she couldn't be a little girl depending on her brothers anymore. When she emerged from the curtains of her four-poster, it was with more control and stoniness than her friends had ever seen. She forced herself not to avoid conflict or her childhood fears. She refused to sit in the corner and not say the things that needed to be said. Although most of her personality didn't change, there was a bit more bite in her remarks when people annoyed her and she didn't laugh nearly as much as she used to.
13. She taught herself not to faint at the sight of blood.
When she joined the DA, she realized she'd have to get over her childhood fear if she was going to make a proper fighter. Everyday for more than a month, she locked herself in the bathroom and slice a little of her skin. First her finger, then her hand, then her arm-making the cut a little longer and deeper each time before Healing it together again. It took several bouts of vomiting and a few near panic attacks, but she finally was able to push back the illness that rose at the sight. That year, whenever it felt like too much, she'd slice her arm and make herself remember what she had done to make herself a fighter, and how much Alan had sacrificed.
14. Jack Sloper had been her first.
Susan's marriage party had been on the one year anniversary of Alan's death, and the resentment Sally had held back for months flowed swiftly to the surface. It wasn't fair that Hannah, Susan, and Meg each had someone, Morag didn't need anyone, and she was left grieving alone. After the party, she grabbed Jack Sloper, who had been paying a lot more attention to her lately than he had before, and pulled him into an empty broom closet to kiss him. Jack seemed surprised but not unwilling, and when she tugged at his shirt, he had quickly caught on to what she wanted. She wanted to feel something other than the anger and grief, even if it was with the Man-whore of Gryffindor. It was rather quick, desperate and clumsy on her part, but Jack hadn't seemed to mind. He said nothing as he put on his clothes back on, and looked relieved when she waved him away without a word. She felt stupid and dirty, and refused to ever speak of it again.
15. She didn't know how much she appreciated her sight until it was gone.
The last thing she saw during the Final Battle was a white light heading for her face, and then everything went dark. When the battle was over, she thought about all the things she would miss. She would never see the sun rise or set. Never see her mother's smiling face or the laughing grey eyes of her father. Painting was impossible now. All the joys and wonders she had taken for granted were gone, and would fade from her memory with time. She would've given anything-anything-to see the vast blue waters of the lake or the wide green fields, even if for just a minute. Never had she been so anguished at not being able to cry.
16. Norman Forrest gave Sally her first pet.
They had beds next to each other while in St. Mungo's, and had found his voice warm and friendly, without a bit of pity. Norman was two years younger than Sally, and she had missed his company when he left almost two weeks before her. The day of her release, Sally had been surprised to hear his voice at the exit. Norman, in his own endearing way of trying to help, had gotten her a Golden Retriever puppy, saying it could grow into a one of those Seeing Eye dogs Tommy LeRoche had mentioned once. She heard the embarrassment and disappointment in his voice when she told him Seeing Eye dogs were usually trained for years before they were fit to be useful in that way. She accepted the puppy anyway, and immediately fell in love with little Squirt.
It didn't take long for her to fall in love with Norman after that as well.
17. She loves her new eyes.
Being able to see was good enough, but being useful was even better. A few years before, she would've been disgusted at the thought of having eyes like Mad-Eye Moody, but now she felt like one of Colin's X-Men. Everyday she learned something new, whether it was something her eyes could do or something she could use them for, and it made her grin and a bit rush of power run through her. Norman, once he got over the initial shock, thought it was the coolest thing since Quidditch.
18. It was a mutual agreement not to have children.
Sally's experience with her nieces had proven she wasn't honestly very good with them, and both were too busy with their careers to give the time and attention needed. She would come home late for days and Norman often became so focused on creating a new wand that he lost track of time for hours. Not to mention that she couldn't see much sense in bringing children into the world with the way everything was. The horrors at Sally's job just made her even more certain that no child deserved to live a life like this.
But she will not lie to herself and say that she does not feel a twinge of regret when she sees the joy on a young mother's face as she holds her baby.
19. She was one of the Auror office's best interrogators.
With her easy-going manner, "nice girl" demeanor, and sizable front, she was good at drawing in suspects into a false sense of security and relaxation. It wasn't long before they fell into the hole she needed and were taken by surprise when she went in for the kill. She could see when a suspect was under an Imperious or some spell that might make them hard to get the truth out of, or even had been drinking Polyjuice Potion. And perhaps most important of all, she could see through their chests and watch the beat of their hearts for signs of stress-a good indicator that they were lying.
20. She joined the Aurors for more than wanting to see.
Though the thought of seeing again had been a part of accepting Harry's offer, she had another, larger one. The prospect of actually doing something-not sitting at a desk or stumbling around her home-made Sally's decision for her. She wanted to be useful-for herself, for Alan. She had learned to be a fighter, and she wanted to keep going until she wasn't physically able any more.