The newest batch of Hogwarts students have entered this historic school and no one knows how their future will turn out - will you be a quidditch pro or maybe a prefect? The year is now 2021, and now it's time for the next generation to make their mark. The newest batch of Hogwarts students have entered this historic school and no one knows how their future will turn out - and that is where the fun begins.
The plot will be determined by the characters of the site as of now - future plots will change as these forces weigh in on the Wizarding World, and we see where these characters take us. So join in and let your character make their mark!
Minimum word count is 200.
CHARMING: With a naturally friendly personality and an inviting, warm smile, most people take an immediate liking to Joy from their first impression. A great sense of manners and a strong desire to be likable contribute to this as well.
POSITIVE: For the most part, it's very easy for Joy to find the silver lining in any situation. No matter how terrible things can go, whether it's a bad grade on a test or a fight between friends, Joy's ability to look above and beyond have helped her stay happy amid strife.
LOW MAINTENANCE: The Sweetings have never been a family of means, despite all of their sincere wishes for a life made easier by money. But apart from her ability to be frugal, Joy doesn't need much for her to be content. She likes to think of herself this way in terms of materialism. In reality, she requires some coaxing and compromise in social situations where she is inexperienced.
PATIENT: It takes a lot of frustration to build before Joy's feathers are truly ruffled. Most of her life has been subservient to the people around her; she'll happily cater to her friends' desires over her own and if her family ever needed something, she is willing to lend a hand. She's not a decision maker; she's a follower, and that can mean a schedule or dynamics that aren't necessarily her own.
COMPASSIONATE: It might not be her first instinct, but because of her second guessing and reflections, Joy tries to understand other points of view that can differ from hers. She is a naturally emotional person, and easily sympathizes and wants to help, even if she is not needed. To her, there is no greater gift than a lended ear or a borrowed shoulder.
GULLIBLE: It is not Joy's first instinct to doubt something that someone tells her- she's idealistic in the way that she prefers to think of people as good and truthful before jumping to consider them otherwise. It's not hard to lead her to believe something that isn't true, and this is a common joke among even her friends, much to her embarrassment.
EVASIVE: Avoid. Conflict. At. All. Costs. Even if it means sacrificing her opinion, pride, and point of view. In her mind, arguing just isn't worth it. She admires this trait in her friends, but has never been able to stand up for herself or others the way that they do.
INSECURE: Without much doubt, Joy is fully aware that she's the least cool person she hangs out with. With interesting, clever, and beautiful friends, it is easy to compare herself to them and feel like she doesn't measure up. This paired with her beta personality? A whole lot of second guessing.
JUDGMENTAL: There are certain types of people that Joy doesn't understand- vagabonds, ruffians...rebels without causes. Drug users, cigarette smokers, folks with a generally rude demeanor. Because of her warm upbringing, it doesn't add up to her how someone could become such a person unless it was just...inherent? She doesn't think favorably upon these people, despite not making them aware of it.
COWARDLY: There have certainly been multiple opportunities in Joy's life where she could be confident, outgoing, and prideful. She's never been able to make the jump to spotlight, defend herself, or put herself in situations that make her uncomfortable. She doesn't like to linger on this part of her personality, but it can be hard to avoid being the only person who says 'maybe this is a bad idea'.
In the glory days of Diagon Alley, gilded in the memories of all who talk about the years before the second war, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was a staple of the strip. Mr. Fortescue, known for his generosity, warmth, and wealth of niche knowledge about medieval witch burnings, turned away no customer and wasted no opportunity to produce a smile. His ice creams, which he donned with all sorts of candies, dried fruits, and nuts, were each made inside the shop, by a secret method that turned out to be not so secret as the years went on, as he was happy to share his tricks with anyone who inquired. He was known to be a generally affable fellow, a fantastic listener and conversationalist.
While all knew Florean, many were unaware of his little family, who were nestled off in a small village in Surrey where they enjoyed a private and expansive country life. While the Ice Cream Parlour was a personal dream, the Fortescue's had been in agriculture and dairy as long as time could remember. It was Florean's wife, Matilda, who had encouraged him into an enterprising venture along Diagon Alley, after his ice creams continually sold out at their local farmer's market in mere hours. While the business venture was an exciting deviation from what he'd always known, Florean never once considered a move to London. The calm of the country was preferential.
Florean and Matilda had three daughters- Anna, Louise, and Eileen, born in that order, all two years apart. While Hogwarts was certainly the top school in the country, the Fortescues opted to send their children to a smaller school in Wales, where they received five years of education with shorter summer holidays and were permitted to floo home on the weekends. They had an incredibly tight knit family, and despite their continual financial struggles, they were very content with what it was they had.
It was a devastating shock to all when the shop was mysteriously abandoned at the turn of the Second Wizarding War. It was widely rumored that he'd been taken by Death Eaters, and the boards across the door of his once bright shop only added to the darkening of the entire alley at that time. Few questioned its dormancy, fully unaware of the grieving family miles and miles away, dealing not only with the loss of their loved one, but of their predominant way of life.
The three girls entered the work force as soon as they were able. Anna, out of school before her father's disappearance, became a healer's aide at St. Mungo's Hospital, and was on duty during the height of battles during the war. Louise had only just graduated, but at fifteen there were limited options for her. With little choice, she took up odd jobs in the area as a farmer's hand and housekeeper, even for muggles, who were quite impressed with her speed and accuracy, often joking that she'd have to have made friends of the mice. Eileen was still much a child, and her mother insisted that she continue her education. With the height of terror, Matilda kept her at home, teaching her whatever she knew, developing her own curriculum on the fly with the intention of keeping her daughter safe. But there wasn't much she knew...not about books or potions or transfiguration or arithmancy. But she did know quite a bit about ice cream.
It was many years before the shop was reopened, after the war had come and gone, after the girls had all been married. Anna fell in love with the healer she supported, immediately retired, and began raising their eventual five children. Louise took to a whirl of travel, finally settling with her great love in France, preferring a cat to the mere idea of children. Eileen married a muggle milk man, whose surprise to learn about the existence of magic did not nearly match the delight in his surprise to learn that he'd fallen in love with a woman who sought to reopen her father's ice cream business.
childhood
Joy was just that.
She was born to young parents of little means, two people very much in love but unaware of the trials that lay ahead for them, not only emotionally and financially, but magically as well. Nothing is going to be simple about the convergence of a traditional pureblooded magical family and a catholic clan of muggles from the outskirts of London. They were lucky there was no hatred in the hearts of their respective families, although the Sweetings were left predominantly in the dark in order to adhere to the International Statute of Secrecy.
Joy's parents has moved into the little apartment above the ice cream shop shortly before she was born. It was not meant to be a family home, so they made do with the space they had, renovating with little fixes here and there as they could afford to, but the majority of their time and energy was poured into Florean's parlour. They provided steady business, but it was many years before Diagon Alley reached the peak of foot traffic it had once drawn. There were many difficult years, tethered to both the financial instability of the business, but the continued disputes about a muggle maintaining permanent residence in a magical area of London. Although bias had come to the fore, there was a long way to go.
Youth enjoy their naivety, and Joy was lucky to have two parents who were incredibly kind, compromising, and diligent despite their woes. Many hard years came and passed without the young Sweeting knowing much of her circumstances. There was always a toy to play with, whether it came from one of her older cousins didn't matter much to her. The activity was inconsequential, Joy simply wanted to receive attention and provide affection. It was easy to keep her occupied, as long as one was engaged. Without resources for childcare, the majority of this occupation became associated with the parlour. As her little fingers grew, she began to peel, squeeze, stir, and churn.
She took a liking to this sort of activity; even from a young age, there was something satisfying to setting about a task and tackling it fully with success. She has nearly become an integral part of the business before leaving for school, helping her parents in whatever way they needed, namely preparation, cleaning, and baking. Her first signs of magic were rather subtle, and did not become apparent until she was nine or ten, although they could have been presenting much longer without their knowledge. To their whimsical surprise, batters of muffins were taking on delightfully unintended flavors when she handled them.
hogwarts
As age eleven drew closer, Joy watched her cousins follow in their mother's footsteps and attend the same school that she and her siblings did. It was a tradition in their family, one held with high esteem. Eileen, however, allowed this decision to weigh heavily upon her shoulders. Her husband had no opinion to offer, knowing nothing about wizarding schools nor the magic that was taught inside them. The choice to break from tradition was challenged by her siblings and initially feared by her child, but as Joy's Hogwarts letter arrived and they ran about the Alley buying her books and robes, she knew she had chosen right.
There were no stories about her eventual experience but from the customer's that visited, and even those stories didn't make much sense outside of the years of context everyone else had under their belt. Houses and hats...it could only be learned in time. Very good at taking direction, when those days did come, she simply followed suit, keeping her eyes open and trying her best to not be nervous. She sat in a train car with a handful of other young students, and happily listened to their tellings of what could possibly lay ahead, many of them having siblings they were joining.
She didn't sit long after the hat, and she watched a large number go before her. She had only just memorized the four different names when she approached the stool, but there was hardly any waiting (some kids were up there for full minutes!). The Hat shouted Hufflepuff, and she had no story to report of it talking to her alone, as many others did. She found a space next to the first girl who had been sorted of her entire class, a bright blonde with an equally bright smile.
She was a good friend to have through the following weeks. They shared a dormitory with a handful of other lovely girls, found their way to classes together, and tackled their first homework assignments. They were certainly fast friends, and it was easy to bask in the opportunities of light that the other girl opened to her. As years progressed, Joy started to find her voice, but with friends like hers, she rarely needed to speak up. Thankfully, she was and is surrounded by kind, interesting, accepting people with whom she has a mutual trust. She is known by them as a warm presence and good listener, someone who can try to help them sort out any problem.
Joy is relatively private about her family life. Many people do recognize her from working in the ice cream shop over the summers, but the more intimate details of her family situation, like the fact that they still live in the tiny apartment above it, or that money is incredibly tight, stay close to her chest, even with her great friends. It can be difficult at times, being surrounded by people who have had all the money in the world, to hide the fact that your Quiv is seven updates behind, to spruce up last season's clothes, to not shop at will (despite your complete adoration of fashion). But Joy makes do.
Welcome to Hogwarts Miss. Sweeting. Please remember to fill out your claims HERE and claim your canon HERE. Once you do those you can start posting and plotting with other members!