Chantelle Lyn

Backstory

I am a 5’ 5” tall 185lbs Half-blood witch. I have shockingly bright red hair (yeah, I dye it) and blue eyes. I wear glasses, but I don’t want my eyesight corrected. My glasses remind me of my mum, who’s passed. My favorite color is purple, my favorite treat is ice cream, and my favorite season is Autumn.

I was born in the States and moved to the UK at about 5 years old. My dad is a Muggle and my mum was a witch. He left us after he found out. But it doesn’t mean I have anything against Muggles – some are bad and some are good, just like Wizards and Witches. After he left, mum decided to move back into the Wizarding World. But she also wanted a change in scenery so she decided to move to the UK.

I don’t believe being Half-Blood has impacted my life in any way, except for my father leaving me and my mum. But within the Wizarding World, there’s been no impact. I think because of the war, blood status is so much less important. Harry Potter was raised Muggle and had a Muggleborn mother. Voldemort himself was Halfblood, as was Headmaster Snape. Hermione Granger was a Muggleborn. Ronald Weasley was a Muggle-lover. Ollivander’s wife is a Muggleborn. With so many powerful Wizards and Witches of “lower status”, blood status is so unimportant now. A whole war was fought over this crap. It doesn’t matter and it never should have.

Also, magic is a part of who we are, not something to be exploited. How and why do Hippogriffs fly, or Mermaids swim? Wizards and Witches have magic. That’s all there is to it. Using it to hurt others or gain favor for yourself is just selfish. Just like blood status. It is what it is. To go into the Muggle World and use magic to gain unfairly over the Muggles is cheating. I believe in proper achievements, not lying and cheating.

Then Voldemort came back and rose to power. Crappy timing, huh? During the war, my mum was killed by a Death Eater because she was a Muggle-lover. Luckily, a great family took me in as a foster. A Pureblood couple with five natural children, two other foster children, three dogs, two cats, and two owls. They have a great house that we all squeeze into. It actually reminds me of the stories of the Weasleys I’ve heard.

One of the cats and one of the owls are mine. The owl was my mum’s; I kept her after my mum died. My cat is a male black-and-white tuxedo named Lucky. He is all cat, but he’s just as smart as a Kneazle. His favorite pastime is taunting the dogs into chasing him up the stairs, then boxing them when they reach the top. The dogs then run away. Eventually, the game is repeated. Sometimes a dozen times a day! The dogs never learn. My owl is a brown female, a tiny little fluffball of an Elf Owl named Lynn. My mum didn’t like pets, but eventually fell in love with Lynn. She named her this after her (and my) middle name, but spelled differently because she hated the spelling her own mum gave her. I, personally, love the spelling of my name.

When I got my Hogwarts letter, I was so excited! My mum went to Ilvermorny and was a Horned Serpent. I couldn’t wait to be Sorted. I wanted to be sorted into Slytherin. I guess snakes just run in the family. I wanted to sit where Headmaster Snape sat, where Merlin sat. Even where Tom Riddle sat, no matter how evil he became. I know the school was rebuilt after the war, but it’s the principle of the matter.

I was sorted into Slytherin! I got my wish! I’m going to the best school, following in the footsteps of the greats – Salazar Slytherin, Merlin, the Bloody Baron, Phineas Black, Horace Slughorn, Tom Riddle, Andromeda Tonks, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy… It’s rumored Harry Potter was supposed to be a Slytherin too! It didn’t take long to sort me, but the Hat did mention Ravenclaw as a possibility before saying Slytherin.

As for classes, I will say I do not enjoy Astronomy. I like my sleep, and I like to sleep at night. So waking me up at midnight to stare at the sky through a telescope, which is hard to stare through when you wear glasses, just plain sucks. I enjoy and am good at Defense Against the Dark Arts and I really love Potions. It’s not my strongest subject, but it is by far my favorite. Charms and Transfiguration are okay, and I do okay at them. Herbology is also okay. History of Magic is something I go up-and-down in, so that when I’m interested I do well.

Flying. Oh, I hate flying. Two inches off the ground or two miles, I hate it. I’m not exactly clumsy, but I’m not coordinated at all. I’m accident-prone too. I was nearly killed by a bludger just walking by the pitch one day! “But, Chantelle, there are charms to keep that from happening,” you say. Yeah. I tend to “break” things like physics, rules, and common sense. Madame Hooch eventually had to sign a special waver to exempt me from the class after I broke my wrist for the sixth time. I couldn’t be happier. I continued to attend the class but was not required to participate.

But I do love to watch Quidditch! Once I learned a charm to keep anything airborne from coming within three feet of me. I sit near the ground in the stands so my charm is not interfering in the game. Professor Slughorn taught me the charm and it’s been okayed by Madame Hooch, so long as I sit near the ground during the games.

I decided to take Care of Magical Creatures because I love animals, Muggle Studies because it’s easy, and Ancient Runes because it sounded interesting for my electives. I’m really excited for Alchemy and Apparition next year. I did take Magical Theory as an extra-curricular as a first and second year, but dropped it for my electives in third year. I also took Ghoul Studies in first and second year as an extra-curricular, and I keep up with it still.

I’d say my greatest strength is my ability to adapt. I can change as needed. I stick to my loyalties and my beliefs, but I’m also able to change with the times and when one of my beliefs is challenged and proven to be wrong. Show me the facts, and I’ll listen. However, this goes hand-in-hand with my greatest weakness. I can be extremely rigid. I like rules and I like boxes and I really truly believe in what I believe. I hold people to the same standard I hold myself, and that’s very high indeed.

Dream job? Oh, a veterinarian. But that won’t happen because I hate numbers and suck at them even more. Working with animals is the reason I’ve taken Care of Magical Creatures – to be with animals because I love them so much. Maybe I’ll open my own animal store, or work at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. Eeylop’s would also be interesting. I also really want to write new textbooks for Hogwarts. Man, these books are super out of date. Our History of Magic text doesn’t even mention the Golden Trio!