BIOGRAPHY.
CONTINUED FROM WILDFLOWERS @ GJ
NAME: Shirley Eleanor Fawcett
NICKNAMES: Shirley. No, really, she has no idea how anyone could possibly make a nickname from her name, but feel free to try.
AGE: 17 / born 1978, November 28
HOUSE/YEAR: 13th year, Ravenclaw
SOCIAL STATUS: Shirley is very firmly in the middle of the social classes. Neither of her parents attended Hogwarts, though her parents did attend other prestigious schools. After years of working in the restaurant business and dabbling in retail, her mother opened a bakery and has turned it into a successful business over the last ten years. The area they live in is well-to-do, but not the top-tiered of the social classes. They certainly have enough for summer holidays visiting relatives in Europe, and for her mother to open her own business.
FAMILY:Father: Martin Fawcett
Mother: Barbara Fawcett (nee Mazur)
Siblings: None
Other:paternal grandparents: Edward and Doreen Fawcett [Edward is deceased; Ottery St Catchpole]
maternal grandparents: Fabian and Irena Mazur [living in Poland]
aunts, uncles, cousins: numerous!
cousins [scattered about Poland]: Adela [age 18]; Damian [age 14]; Emilia [age 12]; Igor [age 5]; Renata [age 7]; Salomea [age 2]; Stefan [age 15]
cousins [in Bristol, UK]: Molly [age 21]; Caitlin [age 18]; Beatrice [age 16]; Jeremy [age 13]
APPEARANCE: With her large brown eyes, dark brown (nearly black) hair, and pale skin, Shirley can either be quite pretty (when she puts effort into the way she looks), or rather sickly and pallid. She does tan, but even though she tries to spend as much time out of doors as possible, the fact that she lives in England and attends school at Hogwarts means that she retains that pale and creamy complexion year-round. She was introduced to make-up at an early age, because she has older female cousins. Once she discovered the wonders that make-up did towards making oneself look less half-dead and more alive, she's been using it ever since - foundation, lip gloss, mascara. Without it, she blends into the background and looks as though she's gone half the night without sleep, which is the case occasionally. Her skin gets puffy underneath her eyes with lack of sleep and without make-up to cover it up. Aside from that, she has nearly flawless skin, and takes care of it accordingly.
Shirley takes even better care of her dark hair. While sometimes she hates that the dark hair makes her pale skin stand out even more, it isn't always a bad thing. On her best days, the contrast is stunning, even if she herself is not the hottest girl of all Hogwarts. She wears her naturally wavy hair long, past her shoulders. She is typically seen with her hair half-up, or wearing headbands, somehow keeping her hair away from her face during class (except for Chemistry, and other science courses that require girls to keep their hair completely up - then, it's pulled back completely, in messy pony tails). Her hair is her prize: long, shiny, soft.
Flexible, fit and curvy, Shirley wasn't always that way. She used to be a bit chubby, actually, until a growth spurt over the summer before her fifth year gained her 5 inches in height and put her at 5'6", evening out her weight to a rather average one. If she isn't careful, she gains weight easily: right to her thighs, hips and bust, and a lot of the weight gain happens over the summer holidays, when she is at home, working with her mother in the bakery. Her metabolism just is not that fantastic. The weight gain in her bust? She doesn't mind that. Shirley wishes she could afford some of the more expensive fashions that she sees some of her Hogwarts contemporaries wearing, but instead, she just covets them, looking through fashion magazines. This isn't to say she doesn't dress well, because she does. She loves dressing up, making herself pretty, wearing dresses... and she also loves wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
PB: Fanny Valette
PERSONALITY: Shirley is an optimistic and calm girl, though she borders on obsessive when it comes to the environment. The bright Ravenclaw side of her appears only when she's studying something that actually interests her; then, she gets deeply involved and is intensely curious. Shirley also loves jigsaw puzzles, and is known for finishing thousand-some piece ones quickly - another side of her obsessiveness and curiosity. She often doesn't do them more than once, though. She's restless at heart, often found gazing out the windows when the weather is not to her liking. She's fiercely independent and doesn't depend on other people for hardly anything at all, except maybe companionship and entertainment. She's imaginative and when she was younger, she strongly believed that widespread action (such as banning all cars) would prevent further damage to the environment. Now, she is able to accept that even little actions help, but deep down, she still wants to solve all of the world's problems immediately. She's just a nice girl, though is occasionally known for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, being too nosy in her friends' lives (especially love lives), or being completely oblivious. She's a little quieter than some of the other 13th years, and has little tolerance for people who don't pick up after themselves. She doesn't smile those big, wide, take-a-look-at-my-teeth smiles, going for the half-smile, closed-lips one instead, which doesn't always come off well, but she is friendly. She completely hates public speaking, however. She prefers to just smile and nod than have to converse. She's not shy, just.. a bit naive. Shirley is a dreamer, when it comes to fixing the environment to her idea of romance. She has, however, figured out that most of the boys at Hogwarts are not the type for monogamy - all rude comments and lecherous looks? No, thank you.
Occasionally, she gets upset that she sticks out like a sore thumb in her family. None of her immediate relatives are into science, nor are they so reserved and calm, so none of them can relate to her passions and none of them understand that being quiet does not always mean she's unhappy or angry or anything. She's just a bit conservative, sometimes. Luckily, her loud family does bring out that side of her, and stimulates her optimism. The only down moments she ever has occur when she has a sudden feeling of dread that saving the world is completely hopeless and a waste of time.
Shirley is very good at keeping secrets to herself - both her own, and those of other people, provided that the other person thinks she's interested enough to actually tell her anything. The truth is? She's not very interested in other people. She likes plenty of people, sure; she just tends to think a lot of them (especially the boys!) are so over the top and ridiculous. She's patient enough to tolerate everyone, though.
The one thing she would ever argue about is the environment. Often, her opinions are extreme and often don't get at the real issue, or are only one section of the issue at hand.
Shirley is slightly vain. She makes sure to always make herself presentable - curling her hair in the mornings and often putting it half-up, putting on make-up (foundation, lip gloss and sometimes mascara, at the very least). She does this even for her science classes, except for the earliest ones when she can't possibly wake up early enough to primp herself properly. She likes looking good just as much as she likes getting dirty and looking like a slob. Shirley loves the attention she gets when she wears dresses, especially if she hasn't been doing so very often.
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: Shirley is wild about the environment and conservation, to the point of near obsession. She is always picking up after people outdoors, complaining about the lack of proper trash and recycling receptacles, the damage that Hogwarts might have on the lake and surrounding ecosystems. She is not a tree-hugger in the sense that she would climb trees or tie herself to one to prevent it from being cut down, but she would certainly plant a new one to replace it. She also has no problem eating animals; while she is certainly sympathetic towards them and hates animal cruelty, she doesn't think it is that pressing of an issue. Humans have been doing it for ages, it is not going to stop.
Other than that, she sees herself fairly ordinary.
LIKES: Disney movies, learning languages, protecting the environment, being outside, being an only child, living in the middle of nowhere, trees, geological formations, looking at pictures of volcanoes and mountains, ecology, her hair, Winnie the Pooh, giving massages, older men, secrets, curling hair, Poland, jigsaw puzzles, Rainer Maria Rilke, knitting, baking
DISLIKES: Cats (allergic), big cities, alcohol other than wine and champagne, pollution, traffic, humidity (it makes her hair frizz), boys who are too forwards, history, public speaking, student government (but she wouldn't dare tell Alice that), Cameron Stebbins, learning grammar, having a low metabolism
INSIDE SCOOP: - Huge fan of Disney movies. Particularly loves Aladdin. and Beauty and the Beast.
- Grinds her teeth - so she has to wear a bite guard at night, otherwise she'll absolutely destroy her teeth by the time she is 25. [dormmates know this]
- She thinks a lot of the boys at Hogwarts are... way over the top. Outgoing and loud and always trying to one-up each other. Isn't there anyone normal?
- Has been avoiding Cameron Stebbins ever since The Incident in their 5th year where Snape caught them snogging. He, of course, avoided her first, making her feel extremely rejected, and she hasn't quite gotten over that! [her closest friends would know this]
- Still sleeps with a teddy bear. Specifically? A Winnie the Pooh teddy bear. [dormmates would know this]
- When she was young, she used to desperately wish for a younger sibling - preferably a girl - to keep her company and to be best friends with. She saw how close her cousins were to each other and wished to have that sort of relationship with someone. She's outgrown that for the most part, knowing she is lucky to have such loving parents, but part of her has always - and will always - miss that connection.
- Shirley met an older boy over the summer - a student at the University of Bristol, in the environmental science programme. She went on a few dates with him, and very nearly lost her virginity to him. She is thrilled that she didn't follow through.
HISTORY:On November 28, 1978, Martin Fawcett carried his heavily pregnant wife into a hospital in Bristol - his wife, Barbara, was in labour, protesting loudly that it was still too early. She had roughly four weeks left of her pregnancy and despite the best efforts of the staff, they were forced to deliver the small baby. The Fawcetts had been struggling for years to conceive while their brothers and sisters succeeded. The couple, Barbara in her mid-thirties and Martin, nearing forty, had been about to give up and had actually begun the adoption process, desperate for a child, when she became pregnant. The pregnancy went smoothly, so a premature birth was not in the cards and came as quite a surprise. After some complications, they brought little Shirley home. Growing up, Shirley's parents doted on her, seeing her as their blessing, their little girl with a shock of thick, dark brown hair, more hair than most of her playmates. She was given everything she ever wanted, though she never asked for much.
Her early years took her frequently between Bristol and her grandparents' home near Ottery St. Catchpole, for the most part. As her grandparents aged, her parents decided to relocate from Bristol to be closer to them, to care for Martin's parents. After the move, Shirley still found herself going back and forth, because she had an aunt, uncle and cousins in Bristol. Shirley loved - and still loves - the area near Ottery St. Catchpole. She typically spent more time outside than in, unless it was too cold or it was a downpour and her mother had managed to stop her before she unlocked and opened the door. Shirley loved to explore, getting into trouble by crawling through fences and letting neighbouring farm animals out. She was a curious child, interested in the world around her, asking her parents what each and every flower and tree she saw was. What impressed her parents even more was how easily she remembered the facts that they told her (after they looked it up, of course). Her father started carrying field guides around, just in case. Neither of her parents had a scientific bone in their bodies, and only one relative in her extended family did, a cousin she had never met. Of course, Shirley did other things with flowers than inspect them: she also made crowns and necklaces out of them, as many young girls do. She also developed a slight stutter when she was young, overcoming it only with time and some speech therapy, but she still feared that it could come back - and it does, when she gets very nervous and stressed out. Shirley excelled in the sciences during her years in primary school, keeping her nose in science books so she wouldn't have to talk, and she also had a keen eye for languages, which was surprising, considering the difficulties she had with English. She liked using the little she could of Polish and Russian (an influence of her mother, and maternal grandparents who live in Poland), provided she was comfortable enough. She loved getting her hands dirty and actually doing something in class. History was boring, though she didn't do poorly. She just didn't like the subject. English? Psh. She already knew English! And of course, there was that nagging fear that she couldn't speak it as well as other students. Unfortunately (in her eyes), she didn't always get her way, and had to struggle through years of grammar and spelling out loud when she'd rather be learning about rocks and pretty flowers. As a result of her lack of interest in the English language, her handwriting is... not very nice. It's legible, which is more than her father can say.
Shirley also has grandparents and other relatives in eastern Europe, where her mother grew up. Her parents met while Martin was on a backpacking trip through Europe with his friends; Barbara was their waitress at a restaurant in Kielce, Poland. This connection has led Shirley to have a basic understanding of Polish, and some Russian; her abilities are not spectacular, but they are enough to converse with her grandparents and relatives. Shirley is actually very proud of this, and attempts to write to her cousins in Polish as much as possible.
When she was seven, her mother decided to quit her full-time job at a local restaurant to open up her very own bakery, which had always been her passion. The first few years were a struggle, but Barbara quickly gathered a good reputation and soon enough, business was bustling. Shirley was often found helping out during the summer - decorating or ringing customers up - even as a young teen. People in the neighbourhood often gave her large tips, and the little old ladies in particular made sure to spend at least 30 minutes talking to her. Shirley has seen more than enough pastries to last her a lifetime, but she can make mean Polish doughnuts and gingerbread.
She grew up sort of familiar with the other families in the area, and was surprised to recognise a few surnames when she arrived at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was an opportunity of a lifetime for Shirley, because though she could have gone to any number of schools, in her mind, it was clearly one of the best. The family was lucky enough to afford the education, too. There, she was sorted into Ravenclaw, which she sometimes thinks fits her perfectly, and other times, she isn't so sure. She was happy though, because she looks much better in blue than in yellow or red. Her restless spirit made her feel a bit cooped up behind the walls of the castle, and as she got older, she slowly became more concerned with appearances, as many teenage girls do. With her oval-shaped face, big brown eyes, and dark brown, nearly black hair, she drew attention from boys, though rarely reciprocated. Her growing curves meant she started getting attention for that too, but even now, she doesn't often flaunt it. She knows she's a pretty girl, and knows how to accentuate that by taking extremely good care of her hair (when she's not out in the field, of course) and by wearing make-up.
Because she had been taking gymnastics throughout her late childhood, Shirley took gymnastics up at Hogwarts as well, silently dismayed that it was only offered during one term. But she settled that disappointment by convincing herself that it would be a good chance to open her mind to new opportunities. She was never terribly interested in playing football, as some of the other girls in her year were; Shirley prefers to watch the boys play. Between fencing and gymnastics, she has developed a nice, athletic, lean figure, and she's rather happy with that. Her courses have been heavily concentrated in the sciences, though she quickly discovered she did not like physics very much at all, and still has not figured out why. Her mean environmentalism streak has popped up over the last two years, as she has begun preparing for university. Shirley spent quite a bit of time debating with herself over what to do. So many of her fellow schoolmates seemed so certain that it left Shirley baffled. Sure, she liked... rocks... and trees, and flowers, and being outside, but she wasn't sure that would get her anywhere, until she started becoming interested in the environment as a whole. She's no tree-hugger, no anti-fur protester, but if given the choice, Shirley would much rather walk or bike than drive. She recycles everything. So it was decided: environmental science was the way to go. Shirley isn't sure if that's what she truly wants to do, but it's a start, and at least she knows she enjoys it. Most people would be surprised - a pretty girl like her, forgo make-up and deep conditioning treatments and facials to take care of dirt?
Socially, she falls somewhere in the middle of the student body. Shirley is not involved in school government, she is not a prefect, she is not involved in any major sport (unless being a spectator counts). By all accounts, she should be largely ignored. Her strange and outgoing Ravenclaw contemporaries (depending upon the person, they may be one, the other, or both), Shirley knows people throughout the castle, and will talk to nearly everyone. Except for one person, and, well, she tries to avoid all of the boys in his dormitory as well. During her fifth year, she was invited to the Yule Ball by a Hufflepuff, Cameron Stebbins, and... let's just say it didn't go particularly well. After Professor Snape caught them snogging behind rosebushes, Cameron started avoiding her, terribly embarrassed. Shirley, in turn, was incredibly offended by his actions and tries hard to avoid him. It wasn't that she was terribly interested in him, or wanted a relationship - they were still so young! - but the fact that he couldn't handle the situation angered her.
The summer before her final year at Hogwarts was spent in Bristol, instead of at home in Ottery St. Catchpole. Shirley lived with her aunt, uncle and 4 cousins (three of which are girls, aged 21, 19 and 16, and the boy is 13 - though the 21 year old does not live at home), while taking summer courses about ecology and the environment.
SOCIALSexuality: Heterosexual
Significant Other: N/A
Crush: Austin Thacker, maybe?
Best Friend(s): Alice Chambers
Friends: Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, Eugenie Gamp; Harrison Muldoon, David Bradley; Apollo Oldridge
Acquaintances: Everyone else?
Enemies: Cameron Stebbins? ha ha. Millicent Bulstrode
COURSESG → Geology [YR 13 → W/F 7AM-9:15AM]
C → Chemistry [YR 13 → M/T 2PM-4:15PM]
G → Geography [YR 13 → W/F 12PM-2:15PM]
SPORTSMichaelmas term: Fencing
Lent term: Fencing, Gymnastics
Summer term: Sailing, Windsurfing
EXTRACURRICULARSSocieties: Green; Scientific
OOCplayer: Laura;
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