FAMILY: Father: Ernest 'Ernie' MacMillan, 47, former Hufflepuff. Now a Ministry of Magic Barrister in the Wizengamot courtrooms. Tamsin respects her dad a lot, but saw little of him growing up as he was establishing his career in the Ministry. Now he is more settled, father and daughter are getting to know each other all over again.
Mother: Susan Bones, 47, former Hufflepuff. Now a Healer on the Spell Damage floor at St Mungo's. Tamsin adores her mum and is a total mama's girl - although it wasn't an outright persuasion, watching her mum go about her everyday life at the hospital definitely influenced her own decision to go into the field of medicine.
Siblings: A twin brother, Michael. She is the older (by a full two minutes, something that seemed to be very important when growing up), wiser sibling. Nonetheless, they are close, and Tamsin deems her brother to be her best friend and confidante.
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual. She doesn't think that other sexualities are wrong, they have just never really occurred to her.
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None. She is currently single and totally satisfied with her job.
CHILDREN: None - the joy of her profession is that she can make a fuss of the newborn babies and then hand them back afterwards!

POLITICAL VIEWS: Muggles and Muggleborns at Hogwarts: Tamsin's motto in this instance could be simply "live and let live". If people do no harm to her and hers, she will leave people do do as they will - and with pro-DA parents such as Susan and Ernie, she was never likely to be a blood purist, no matter how strong the combined lineage may be.

Muggle/Wizard Relationships: She doesn't see how it matters either way which is why she doesn't say "pro" - the more important thing is the personal compatibility with the couple, and the muggle half's capacity to cope with the weirdness of the magical world and the possibility of feeling left out.

Werewolves and other half breeds: She's never met any, although the idea of a werewolf scares her more than a wee bit. She's been raised to be tolerant, however though, so she tries to ignore any of society's ingrained prejudices and treat people fairly.

APPEARANCE: Height: 5'3 "and a bit". That little bit is very important.

Build: Thin. Slender rather than lithe, her shape comes to her through less than nutritious food habits (she'll forgo breakfast and drink coffee in the morning at work instead) rather than exercise.

Eyes: A muddy blue that looks brown sometimes in certain light.

Hair: Very dark brown, almost black hair with a gentle wave to it. She usually wears it down to her shoulders, although she'll charm it long or put it in an up-do for special occasions. On work matters out of the office, it will be pulled back from her face in a plait, unless it's an emergency and she only has time to put it in a ponytail.

Skin: A pale, milky white, unless she fakes it. She's British, OK? She doesn't tan!

Wardrobe: She wears fairly dainty, girly and innocent clothing when off-duty. Think little sun-dresses in summer (to show off her legs, the part of her body she does like), jeans with a v-neck jumper and a pretty scarf in winter. Even with her work robes, she likes to at least seem to make an effort whether fashion-forward or not. She has to wear hospital robes (dark blue given that she is neither a healer or one of the general mediwitches) with a trainee badge pinned over the top of the midwifery association's logo for hygiene and identification purposes. However, she always seems to look good because she is clean, tidy and well presented, with properly laundered and pressed clothes.

Distinguishing Features: A brown, oval shaped birth mark on the small of her back, and a small swirl shaped tattoo on the outside of her left heel.

PLAYBY: Phoebe Tonkin

WAND: Ash with Unicorn hair, 10 inches. Springy, good for charms.

BOGGART: A rotting mummy, with peeling bandages and long, untrimmed fingernails tapping on the floor.

PATRONUS: Somewhat appropriately, it's a stork.

LIKES: Quidditch (especially the Appleby Arrows), old people (especially her grandmothers), France, posh chocolate, bubble baths.

DISLIKES: Uncaring parents, bullies, not being able to concentrate, blood pops, boredom.

STRENGTHS: Tamsin is an absolute whizz at household spells, and in that sense she makes an excellent housemate. Not only can she get them done quickly, she has nice finishing touches such as being able to get rid of streaks caused by using Scourgify on windows, and folding clothes so that they all fit in the appropriate spaces.

WEAKNESSES: She is less skilled at spells that require a great deal of concentration, as her busy day to day life prevents her from focusing to any great extent. The Patronus charm is the only truly complicated spell that she can pull off with 100% success, as she has enough happy memories to draw upon.

DETAILED PERSONALITY:
Taurus, the nature-loving bull, is a natural sign for Hufflepuffs to be born under. These wizards tend to specialize in herbs and nature spells, also in the husbandry and preservation of magical beasts. Their gentle good natures, open friendliness, hard work, patience, and politeness endear them to most everyone they meet. However, these Hufflepuff Taureans must be careful not to overwork themselves, lest they suffer breakdowns in health. (It has been noticed that Hufflepuffs born under the sign of Taurus swing wildly between overwork and indolence, the lazy periods being used to recharge their energy; they seem to have a problem pacing themselves.) They like their magical workrooms neat and tidy, and prefer peaceful occupations to dangerous or aggressive ones; most Hufflepuffs born under this sign wind up working as hedge witches, village herbalists, and midwives.

Tamsin loves the great outdoors and feels most at home outside, although she believes that a house should at least be clean and tidy for the amount of time that one spends at home. As a result she is somewhat fastidious, but she is also massively keen on a party. As such she often has dramatic behavioural swings - from the ambitious young mediwitch spending most of her time training and revising, to the fun-loving, outgoing sort who stays out to the small hours and causes a mess on getting home, to the guilt-tripped home-maker who goes about the place cleaning in fastidious detail.

Most people's first impression of Tamsin are based on the physical - she is petite and dainty with a girl next door sort of prettiness. She is either cute, innocent, or not a threat. The first two might be justifiable, the last most certainly not. In fact, it is precisely because she doesn't look like a threat that she potentially is very much one.

As a family member, she is the one who never forgets birthdays, does her fair share of chores (whether in the mood or not) and negotiates between warring sides without getting involved.

As a friend, she isn't the kind who will stay up all night partying with you when you're due in work the next day, but if you need her for company when pulling an all nighter to finish that assignment you put off to the last minute, Tamsin is the one who will stop you panicking and make you coffee.

Her day to day personality is rather endearing, as she is polite and kind, without being overly intrusive in the business of others. However, she is sometimes afraid to do as she must for fear of reprisals. As a result of her changes in behaviour, her friends sometimes worry that she is overdoing the hard work and are trying to convince her to rest more often.

When it comes to men, Tamsin doesn't have a steady boyfriend although she does date. She isn't particularly chaste, either, and enjoys the occasional romance (for this, read 'fling') with an attractive male.

As a work colleague, she has retained her Hufflepuff work ethic and never forgets to do something she has promised to do for you. Her assignments and reports are due in on time, and her mentor says she is one of the quietest, most uncomplaining students he has ever taught. Tamsin is that girl in the office who sits working diligently in her cubicle, barely looking up unless addressed directly. When there is a stressful atmosphere, she doesn't stick her nose in and ask what's wrong, but will silently walk by and set a cup of tea and a couple of pieces of chocolate onto your desk.

HISTORY:

Family Background

Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones were one of those couples who had been friends for years before anything romantic happened between them. Sorted into the same house in September 1991, they became closer over the next seven years with the growing pressures of a world at war encouraging them to cleave to their fellow Hufflepuffs for support.

Mid-way through the 1995-1996 school year, they joined the pro-Potter group 'Dumbledore's Army' together, and the necessity for secrecy and careful behaviour only strengthened their bonds of friendship - though it was not until 1997, when the school was taken over by Voldemort's Death Eaters following the Death of Albus Dumbledore, that Ernie and Susan realised that their feelings were more than something platonic. It was not the time for a new relationship to form, that was for sure... though seeing the torture and injury of their fellow students allowed for a mutual realisation that if this happened to one of them, the other would feel a true sense of devastation more than if pretty much anyone else was victimised by the regime.

Following the fall of Voldemort, when Ernie and Susan had collapsed into each other's arms in relief at the end of the last battle, the young couple decided to take things slowly (Ernie will happily admit that this was at his wife's instigation). The trauma suffered by their society after the end of the war, in which people had been imprisoned for nothing other than their blood status or been tortured simply for standing up to their oppressors, was not something to be taken lightly, and Susan was particularly keen that if they were to be together, the relationship would not be rushed or on the rebound for company's sake. After a year, she felt ready to move on from the events of the war and they began a new life - Ernie as a trainee wizarding barrister at the Ministry of Magic, and Susan as a trainee Healer, using skills honed during the war.

Mr and Mrs Macmillan were married in 2002, four years after the end of the war and three after becoming a couple. Their fellow Hufflepuff friends, those close to them who had also made it through, joined them for the simple ceremony and sent them off on their honeymoon in France, where the couple now have a holiday home.

The Early Days

Tamsin Jane Macmillan was born at 23:59 on April 23rd, 2004, with her twin - Michael Joseph - following at 00:01 on the 24th. They arrived at the family home just outside of Exeter, in a small cottage with a garden chosen by the Macmillans as the ideal place to raise their growing family, and unsurprisingly the twins are rather attached to the family home - both saying that moving out was a wrench.

As toddlers, always having another person their own age about the house was both a blessing and a curse. It allowed for company and a constant playmate, but it was evident from an early age that the two were not very much alike. Tamsin was the quieter child who enjoyed reading books and playing with her dolls outside in the sunshine, whereas Michael preferred running around inside the house, generally causing chaos and keeping their parents busy. Tamsin could have been bitter about the amount of time their parents spent with him as a result, but she says the advantage of this is that she is now more independent and copes better with living on her own.

Tamsin, the first to do pretty much everything - being born, walking, talking and growing teeth, for instance - was also the first to demonstrate her magical ability. Displeased with a boy at the muggle primary school she attended - he kept running up to her in the playground and yelling in her face when she was trying to read her book - she somehow made the weighty tome of fairy stories fly from her hands and smack him in the face. The boy tried to blame Tamsin and said she threw it at him, but several witnesses to the contrary defended her, saying it was just a freak accident, and she did not get into trouble. Her faith in justice was restored, but even now, she has a loathing of confrontation and being put on the spot in front of others.

The Hogwarts Years

Her parents having made the decision to be open with their children about magic, though having impressed upon them the importance of secrecy from Muggles, Tamsin grew up knowing all about Hogwarts. Particularly after the incident at school, she had no doubt whatsoever that she and Michael would both be going - because if she had done it, surely he would too? - and the morning of her 11th birthday saw her rise at a ridiculous hour so as not to miss the owl post. To no-one's surprise, both twins made it, and on their first day at the prestigious school, could not have been happier.

Tamsin was sorted into Hufflepuff almost immediately - she figures her family had a lot to do with this - and it quickly became clear that there could not possibly have been a better place for her. She formed fast and devoted friendships within her house, encouraged all of them with their academic studies - even setting up an official study group so that they would all make it through their exams - and cheered herself hoarse in supporting those who went on to play Quidditch. It was still a surprise to the modest youngster when she was chosen as Prefect at the beginning of fifth year, but she did the job well and with decorum. Due to her ingrained Hufflepuff work ethic, she balanced her duties successfully with her school work and obtained good grades in her OWLs, with nothing below an EE grade.

Her last two years at Hogwarts were slightly less idyllic, as her well-meaning parents were leaning on both of their children to begin working towards their chosen careers - something Tamsin did not quite feel ready for yet. Her mind wavered from one idea to another, settling eventually on magical midwifery when she visited the hospital in the summer before her seventh year began. It required a lot of work, and the study of some muggle medicine in addition to magical methods, but it appeared to be one of the caring professions with which she could best use her skills and make an immedate impact. Her decision made, friends from other houses saw little of her that year unless it was in class or the library, as Tamsin was determined to get herself off to the best possible start. The last thing she wanted for herself after leaving Hogwarts was to come down to earth with a bump. She wanted to love what she was doing, and not simply drift from one career to the next. Luckily, the NEWTs she received were enough for the course, and she loves her job as much as she hoped she would.

Graduation to Present Day

Following her graduation and successful interviews at St Mungo's, it took Tamsin a good few weeks to decide what she was going to do in terms of living arrangements. For a start, she would not be earning much money to begin with, and staying at home would allow her to save. Indeed, this is what she did for the first few months of her adult life. However, it gradually dawned on her that it was probably time to make a life for herself, and although leaving the Macmillan family home was hard, it was something she made herself do as she knew she would benefit. She found a flat, sharing with another young person, and this is where she lives to this day. Now in her final year as a trainee midwifery mediwitch - she is due to complete the course at the end of June - she is considering if it will be time to move on again and find a place to call her own.

CHARACTER SAMPLE: 345 words

Tamsin closed her locker door with a loud, metallic clang that seemed to accentuate the little dance she did in that quiet corner of the staffroom. She hadn't had a bad day by any means - in fact, it was rather a good one. She had met and helped some beautiful babies, reassured several worried parents, and handed in one of the last assignments she was ever due to complete. Two more and she would be officially qualified and a proper grown up.

Sealing the locker door behind her with a quick flick of her wand, she checked everything and slung her bag over her shoulder, departing for the quiet point from which hospital staff were asked to apparate, so as not to disturb any patient care. She practically skipped down the stairs - almost bumping into a passing Healer from Spell Damage, a colleague of her mother's - but Tamsin was out of the way and practically out of the next door before the man even noticed. She was going HOME for the weekend, and she was as sure as hell happy about it.

Stepping around a large dustbin at the back of the old department store which served as the mask for the magical hospital, Tamsin joined a short queue of people heading for the block of disused outside bathrooms. It was now 3pm on a Friday afternoon, many of the staff were done for the week, and she figured she was lucky that the queue was only *this* long - but nontheless, she couldn't help but sort of hop from one foot to the other as she waited, fidgeting, eager to get back to Exeter for a traditonal family gathering.

Finally, she made it into the little brick building, and clutched onto her wand tightly. With a loud 'crack!' - it was lucky that the sound in here was muffled - she disappeared in London and re-appeared at the bottom of a garden path, paved with worn grey stones, that led up to the wooden front door of a little thatched cottage. Tamsin smiled. She was home again.