Catch The Snitch

Full Name: Katherine "Katie" Cromwell
Age: 13
Birthdate: August 30, 1992 (Virgo)
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 3
Years/dates attending: 2003-2010
Classes/Extracurriculars: Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Music
History:

The daughter of Christopher & Waldrada Cromwell.

Katie's father owned and operated an apothecary on Diagon Alley, and the family lived upstairs. From a young age, Katie was curious and would often watch her father work, which naturally progressed into helping him and learning more than a few things about potion-making.

Katie was also very curious about her mother's work, and from her, she learned a few of the simpler spells used by Aurors, including privacy charms--though she couldn't practice these with a wand until she got her own.

Among the potions Christopher produced and sold was wolfsbane, though it was expensive due to the ingredients required, and most werewolves couldn't afford it due to being unemployed. When Katie was ten years old, on the night of a full moon but before it had risen, a group of desperate werewolves barged into the shop, grabbed Katie, and threatened to bite her unless he relinquished his full supply of the potion. Waldrada heard the commotion and came downstairs, and her sudden appearance (with a wand at the ready) provoked an altercation, during which Katie was bit and Christopher was killed. Katie's bite was from a not-yet-transformed werewolf, leaving her not with full lycanthropy, but still an untreatable, life-altering condition.

Katie's physiology was altered such that she can only stomach meat if it's served rare. Additionally, her sense of smell become hyper-sensitive. While this can be a hindrance in many situations, she would later find that it helped her to easily determine the freshness of potions ingredients and also allowed her to brew better potions, as she learned precisely how each potion ought to smell at each stage of brewing for it to have the greatest efficacy. On the night of a full moon, while she doesn't transform into a wolf, she still suffers a number of symptoms that drive her to self-isolate: she gets a huge adrenaline rush, her emotions go into overdrive, she becomes nervous/jittery, she loses some self-control (to the point of snapping at people and throwing things), and she experiences extreme joint pain from her bones trying but failing to shift. She can't infect anyone else, but she's still afraid of hurting people.

After the death of her husband, Waldrada sold off the apothecary's remaining stock, then sold the building itself. She and Katie moved into a flat within walking distance of Diagon Alley. Katie still has all of her father's professional potion-making paraphernalia, and she's brought a portion of it with her to Hogwarts in lieu of the standard equipment that first-years are expected to purchase.

Personality:

Katie has always been curious and precocious. She was thrilled when her father first allowed her to help with his brewing, and she resolved to be the best helper that she could be. She's very observant, and methodical in everything that she does. She considers herself blessed to have a really good memory.

Beyond her interest in herbology and potions, Katie also learned music theory from her mother, and she can play the cello.

Katie doesn't hold her mother responsible for her condition or for her father's death. She still finds it difficult to talk to people about her condition, because of the stigma surrounding lycanthropy, despite not having the full version of it.

Face Claim: Emma Myers

Birthplace: St. Mungo's
Hometown: wizarding enclave of London
Residence: flat near Diagon Alley
Relationship status: n/a, she's 13
Blood status: half-blood (pure-blood father, muggle-born mother)
Pet: A cat named Jinx
Wand:: Peruvian Vipertooth heartstring, Brazilian rosewood
Patronus: unknown
Boggart: werewolf
Broom:
Certifications/skills: proficient with potion-making, aided by augmented sense of smell due to partial lycanthropy

Family Members:
Parents:
mother: Waldrada, ex-Auror, about 45
father: Christopher, potion-maker, about 45
Siblings:
none

Hogwarts
Quidditch team position: n/a
Clubs/Activities: Orchestra Club (plays the cello), Potions Club
Best classes: Potions, Herbology
Worst classes: no apparent deficiency in any subject
Favourite class: Potions
Least favourite class: History of Magic
O.W.L. results: n/a

Appearance
Hair/eye colour: brown hair, grey/blue eyes

OOC information:
OOC username: Fox
Preferred means of contact: Discord