toffs
character name: Rosalind Montague. Her father calls her Rose, but she doesn't tend to like it when others do, as it smacks of familiarity and she's not the sort to open up very easily to people right off the bat.
age and birthday: 16 years old. DOB December 27th 2005
bloodline: Textbook halfblood-- Pureblood father, halfblood mother. More on her family situation later.
home residence: Eastbourne, England.
house and year: Slytherin sixth year
current classes: Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Charms, Muggle Studies and Transfiguration. I'm going by the standard set by the Trio in canon in terms of how many NEWTs a typical student takes.
sexuality: Rosalind is straight, but she's never really had any serious relationships. Being rather graver and more quiet than many of her peers, she's not really a boy magnet, and while she's not unfortunate-looking, she's also somewhat aloof, which lighter-hearted lads would probably find off-putting.
appearance: Rosalind is on the tallish side, and rather slim. She has straight brown hair and blue eyes, and while she's tolerably pretty, she's not the sort of girl that anyone would call a "babe" or a "hottie". She's a person of neat and tidy habits, so it would be very seldom that anyone would see her going to class with rumpled robes or bedhead. That being said, neither is she the sort of girl who'd spend forty-five minutes in the loo every morning with a makeup kit making sure she looks flawless. As far as she's concerned, appearance and comportment are important in so far as not to look slovenly or disreputable, but there's also little point in dolling herself up to impress classmates and teachers whom she has known since age eleven. While she lacks the athleticism of the Quidditch players, she does carry herself well, and she's not the sort to make clumsy gestures, crash into others, slouch or trip over her shoelaces.
On days such as Hogsmeade weekends, Rosalind would probably wear nice but comfortable clothing, such as a pair of linen trousers and a cashmere jumper underneath her cloak, and tends to go for conservative but classic looks rather than trends and anything flamboyant. Not having had much feminine influence in her formulative years, she's not huge on the whole hair and makeup routine, and for the most part probably sticks to the bare essentials of powder, a touch of lip gloss and eye shadow. She would probably make more of an effort on special occasions, but even then, it would likely be more subdued and elegant than head-turning and traffic-stopping.
Growing up the daughter of a former Quidditch player, Rosalind would lead a relatively healthy lifestyle, and while she'd not get up to the amount of athletic activity of her father back in the day, she would likely still make sure to exercise on a regular basis, eat a balanced diet, and sleep a reasonable amount each night. She'd also likely stay away from vices such as smoking and drinking, and limit caffeine intake to perhaps two cups of black tea a day.
played by: Hayley Westenra
descriptive personality: Rosalind is quiet, introspective and polite, a girl one can rely on even if she's overshadowed somewhat by louder and more sociable peers. She respects people's boundaries, and is probably quite a bit more discreet and less likely to butt into people's business than others her age. On the flip side, she expects the same courtesy from others, and as a rule, does not appreciate it when people get too familiar with her if she doesn't know them well. It's not a snobbish thing, she would say, it's simple respect and civility. Of course, this is likely to rub some people the wrong way, and she probably comes off as standoffish and perhaps a bit stuck-up to her fair share of peers. She's not catty or truly mean, however, despite the reserved mien, and is basically polite and well-bred when interacting with others. Surely her dormmates will be able to forgive her for not partaking in the gossip sessions, right? Perhaps her dormmates may not always take this attitude, however, and those who may have made overtures of friendship of the typical teenage fashion and invited her to participate in discussions about boys or celebrities or clothes or what have you would've found her frustratingly serious and reserved, and written her off as a snob. Similarly, boys who would've accosted her (and the majority of them likely would've gone for friendlier, more approachable girls) would have found her rather uninviting-- polite, but decidedly lacking in the encouraging and friendly flirtation department.
An only child, Rosalind learnt responsibility from a young age, and takes her classes seriously. While she's not likely to be the academic elitist Hermione-esque sort who takes every NEWT possible and raises her hand incessantly in class, she works hard and is a diligent student, and would hand in assignments on time, written neatly and carefully referenced. Ditto, on the event that she DOES get called on in class, she will be alert and probably be able to answer the teacher's questions. Teachers wouldn't find her to be a troublesome student, though some of the more friendly ones would likely try to get her to speak up more in class, and in the event of any overt attempts of the sort, she would likely thank them politely for their efforts, and tell them that she's all right, but doesn't see the point in waving her hand wildly in the air whenever she knows the answer to a question, because isn't the point of doing one's work and studying to learn the answers anyway? She'd not really understand the motives of her more vocal classmates, but would figure that it's their business, and not disparage them. In short, what her marks are and how well she does in school is more or less her business, and it really doesn't affect anyone else whether she gets straight O's or straight T's. Being disinclined towards wasting time or frivolous activities, her marks would be fairly good, but she'd be getting them for herself as opposed to any sort of recognition or to please anyone else.
Subconsciously, she probably desires closer relations with people and validation more than she lets on, but it would probably take a while for her to both figure this out and to work out what to do about it. Also, while she is of a cool and calm disposition, she's not wholly without emotions or pet peeves, and while she isn't the sort to, say, throw a fit if someone she barely knew called her "Rosie" or tweaked her hair, it'd more than likely garner an eyebrow raise and a somewhat unamused look at least. If she gets the impression that anyone is acting a certain way to deliberately rile her up, she will likely, with equal deliberation, be awfully and pointedly polite to the individual in question in return. It probably takes a great deal of aggravation to make her lose her temper, but it's not impossible, though it's not recommended. She has a long memory, and Slytherins aren't particularly known for turning the other cheek.
There are ways of making her unbend a bit, but it takes a bit of digging to find them. Soft music relaxes her, and she's not insensible of beauty and harmony. Just because she's not writing ballads and painting pictures of a nice sunset doesn't mean that she doesn't notice it.
family: Rosalind is the only daughter of Solan Montague, former Quidditch captain for Slytherin, and Alexandra Richardson, a halfblood witch formerly of Ravenclaw house. Her parents met through work after the war, when both of them found employment in the Ministry of Magic. Montague, an excellent Potions brewer, worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement doing analysis for criminal cases, and Alexandra worked in the Wizengamot administrative services keeping records for court cases. Both had been more or less neutral during war-time, avoiding the fighting for the most part, and as neither of them had ties to either the resistance or the Death Eaters, they were perhaps some of the more emotionally objective individuals of the department of Magical Law Enforcement during the aftermath of the war. It was after two years of marriage that Rosalind was born in a bitterly cold winter.
Rosalind was an infant of about two months when Alexandra's health, never very robust, faded after childbirth and complications from what the Muggles would call pneumonia. She has no recollection of a final hospital visit to her mother, of being held in her father's arms and watching her mother's final moments in St Mungo's. However, she had been able to see the thestrals pulling the carriages since the first time she'd arrived at Hogsmeade station. It came as a bit of a surprise to her that the other students in her carriage couldn't see them, and had no idea what they were. After she'd been Sorted into Slytherin, she asked the Prefect leading them to their Common Room what the creatures that pulled the carriages were, and was told in a nonchalant way, "Oh, those are thestrals. A type of winged horse. You can only see them if you watched someone die."
Rosalind was bothered by that bit of information, and didn't understand, because she didn't have any memories of watching anyone die. At first deciding to dismiss it as a mistaken notion, she wrote home mentioning it casually, asking her father what thestrals were. It was only then that she found out that she'd actually been present at the scene when her mother passed away.
Her father never remarried, and being a rather introverted individual himself, didn't deem it either wise or necessary to date around after his wife's death, believing it to be more damaging to Rosalind's emotional development to bring random females into the house than would be worth having the occasional company. Montague is, however, a conscientious and caring parent nonetheless, perhaps not the sort to clown around with his daughter, but a father she can look up to and count on to be there for her, and who has the perception not to be insensitive about the things that matter to children or teenagers. Rosalind is very close with him, though neither of them are demonstrative individuals, and would be very annoyed if she ever overheard anyone, regardless of age, position or authority, say anything disparaging or derogatory about her father's decision not to marry again and find her a mother replacement. As far as she's concerned, she's grown up basically well-adjusted, wanting for nothing, well-loved, and carefully brought up, thank you very much, and not to be rude or anything, but she's certainly seen many a 'whole' family exhibiting far more dysfunction and hypocrisy than she grew up with.
detailed history: Brought up in reasonable affluence as the only daughter of a well-off pureblood, Rosalind was born in London, where her parents lived for a time, but around the time of her second birthday, the Montague family estate, located in Eastbourne, fell into her father's possession, and the two of them relocated there. Many children would find life in a big house by the sea to be a lonesome existence, but Rosalind never seemed to notice the lack of people around. As a child, she seemed to prefer exploring the house with her nanny-- leafing through old books, watching flowers grow in the gardens, looking at paintings and antiques in the gallery, and so on-- to playing house with dollies or cavorting about outside. The highlight of the day, however, was still in the evenings when father came home from work, had dinner with her, and spent the next few hours between then and her bedtime talking with her about whatever happened to interest her at the time, listening to her as seriously as though she were grown-up as well, and reading with her before she went to bed. The reading selection would be eclectic-- a history of Quodpot one day, 19th century Muggle poetry the next, a children's tale the day after... but it'd always be something she picked out.
Rosalind does not remember her mother, and has no remembrance of watching her die. She thinks that she'd miss her mother more if she'd known Alexandra, and a part of her is privately glad that she doesn't, because being sad wouldn't solve anything, or bring her mother back to life. She has asked her father about her mother a few times, and has always received answers, though somewhat brief ones. Yes, your mother was a smart woman, and pretty. Yes, you take after her a bit, you have her hair and her mouth. Yes, she loved you for the time that she knew you, and would be proud of you. So on and so forth, but having information about a person isn't the same as knowing a person. Rosalind sometimes feels a bit of regret about never having the chance to meet her mum, but on a pragmatic level, understands that there's not much for it but to make the best of things.
Unlike her father, she never had more than a passing interest in Quidditch, and even that is better from a respectable distance. Were her house Quidditch captain to involve her in a conversation about strategies and the like, she'd probably be a decent sounding board, but it's unlikely that such a thing would occur to either of them, and she herself prefers to remain on solid ground.
Rather than flying, she takes her exercise in the form of long walks outside, usually alone, and it's a good time to be able to think without being interrupted or constraints. While Scotland does not boast Eastbourne's sunny weather, the Hogwarts grounds are, in her opinion, no less beautiful than her home town, and the half an hour she spends outside every day isn't something she'd give up for the world.
As far as hobbies and extracurriculars go, Rosalind likes to read, and is a decent artist-- someone with a good eye and a steady hand who took lessons as a child because it interested her, and while she lacks the ingenious inspiration to produce anything close to the next Rembrandt (or the next Magenta Comstock, for that matter), she can do a decent sketch of a person or an object in front of her when inclined. This lends itself somewhat to her school work, where she can draw up decent diagrams for Arithmancy and write up Runes without missing minor strokes that would alter the meaning of the words.
At Hogwarts, while she's not particularly close to many people, she also doesn't really have any enemies. A good student if not a loud and memorable one, she's probably well-liked enough by the teachers, though she'll have always done somewhat better in classes that required more research and observation than pure hands-on activities, and would have dropped Herbology and COMC (if she did in fact ever take the latter at all) after OWLs.
This year, in addition to preparing for NEWTs next year, she's determined that perhaps, as she doesn't have too much time left with these people around her that she's known since age eleven, perhaps she should start making friends with some of them before it's too late. Whether anyone will want to befriend her, or indeed how she will go about socialising with others, remains to be seen. It comes as a sort of belated realisation that it seems as though most of her peers are happier and more relaxed (though she'd not describe herself as sad), and that if she were to go through the entirety of her schooling being such a loner, she'd end up regretting it. Perhaps some subconscious part of herself also yearns for companionship from others, though even she herself couldn't explain why that was.
A significant childhood memory: As a child of four, ironically on a day that would've been her mum's thirtieth birthday, Rosalind exhibited her first sign of magic. Having followed a house elf into a room in her home that she's never seen before, she inadvertently came upon a white dress wrapped in paper and clipped to a hanger too high up for her to reach. When her dad came home from work an hour later, he found her carefully fingering her mother's unwrapped wedding dress. She explained to him that she didn't mean to make it unclip itself and flutter to the floor so she could reach it, and he didn't speak for a few moments, but when he did, it was to say gently and seriously that it was all right, she did nothing wrong. It was that evening that for the first time in her life, she asked him about her mother.