Bio Post

[houndsofhell]

Azraella Selwyn

~~~ Basics ~~~
name: Azraella Rhiannon Selwyn
nicknames: Az, Rae, Rhia
birthday: November 6th
hair: black
eyes: brown
height: 5'3" // 1.60m
bloodline: pure
house: slytherin alumna
sexuality: 2 on Kinsey Scale
pb: Cristina Scabbia
fandom: Harry Potter (OC)
canon point: post Deathly Hallows
game: Underworld Angel (PSL)

~~~ Wand ~~~

maple wood with a phoenix feather core,
9 ¾" and rigid flexibility
Maple
"I have often found that those chosen by maple wands are by nature travellers and explorers; they are not stay-at-home wands, and prefer ambition in their witch or wizard, otherwise their magic grows heavy and lacklustre. Fresh challenges and regular changes of scene cause this wand to literally shine, burnishing itself as it grows, with its partner, in ability and status. This is a beautiful and desirable wood, and wand quality maple has been among the most costly for centuries. Possession of a maple wand has long been a mark of status, because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers." -- info from Pottermore

Phoenix Feather
"This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won." -- info from Pottermore

Short Length
"Abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized (many small witches and wizards are chosen by longer wands)." -- info from Pottermore

Rigid Flexibility
"Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair - although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique." -- info from Pottermore

~~~ Patronus ~~~

dolphin
General Info
The dolphin spirit animal represents harmony and balance. Dolphins are both highly intelligent and closely in tune with their instincts, striking a balance between the two states. Dolphins are also a symbol of protection and of resurrection. Their playful nature is a reminder that everyone needs to approach life with humor and joy. People who identify with the dolphin totem are usually peaceful and gentle, but with a deep inner strength. -- info from spiritanimal.info

Peace & Harmony
Dolphins balance their animal nature with a higher intelligence. They trust their instincts and intuition rather than overthinking things. They live peacefully with other species, including humans. It isn’t uncommon for dolphins to swim and play around swimmers and boats. Their gentle natures remind us to look for the good in everyone and strive to bring peace to our lives and those around us. -- info from spiritanimal.info

Protection
Sailors have long believed that dolphins are a good omen. Dolphins have been known to assist drowning people and to chase sharks away from people in the water. In one notable case, a pod of whales was beached in New Zealand. People were fighting to keep them alive but the whales were disoriented. A nearby pod of dolphins came over and herded the whales back to sea, saving their lives. Due to this tendency, dolphins have a well-earned reputation as protectors. They teach us to not only save ourselves, but to protect others in need. -- info from spiritanimal.info

Resurrection
Dolphins have long been linked to resurrection. The ancient Greeks believed that they carried the souls of the dead to the afterlife. In Christian artwork, the dolphin is often portrayed as carrying souls to Christ so they can be born anew. People who are attracted to the dolphin spirit animal may find themselves on the cusp of a spiritual and personal rebirth, or may have undergone one recently. -- info from spiritanimal.info

Inner Strength
Dolphins in the wild are strong and fearless. When sharks or orcas threaten them, they don’t hesitate to fight instead of trying to flee. They represent strong moral convictions and self-confidence, reminding us to speak our minds and stand our ground rather than hide our true selves. -- info from spiritanimal.info

Cooperation
Dolphins live in large cooperative social groups. Healthy adults work to protect and feed injured ones, and the whole pod rallies around mothers and their calves to protect them from predators. They demonstrate a level of selflessness and cooperation that most people struggle to achieve. The dolphin totem shows that coming from a place of love makes it easy to work with others without sacrificing our own needs. -- info from spiritanimal.info

~~~ History ~~~

Childhood
Azraella is the only child born of a Death Eater surnamed Selwyn and his supremecist wife. As one of the Sacred 28 Bloodlines, the Selwyn family took its lineage very seriously and ocassionally partook in incestuous relationships to keep the blood pure. Thus, Azraella's parents were actually cousins - children of twin siblings, in fact. It was neither celebrated nor shunned, and was presented merely as a fact of life.

For the most part, Azraella had a typical childhood for the offspring of pureblood elitists. She was rich, important, entitled, and rather engrossed in teachings of the dark arts. It was expected that she'd eventually marry a man of pure blood and carry on the lineage, and as such she was trained to be proper and respectful so as not to dissuade any potential suitors later in life. It was exhausting, but for the first several years of her life, she honestly didn't mind being Mummy's Spoiled Heiress or Daddy's Little Princess - though she was always a touch closer to her father.

Schooling
Attending Hogwarts during such turbulent political times, however, left Azraella facing interesting challenges to her indoctrinated beliefs. Her first year was during the escape of Sirius Black, and her second the Triwizard Tournament. There were alliances to make or break, and the girl found herself feeling lost and adrift amongst her social circle, the majority of which were fellow Slytherins and purebloods placed among other houses.

Watching undeniable proof that even muggleborns such as Hermione Granger could harness magic as well as (if not better than) any given pureblood was damaging to the core of her beliefs, and started her on a path of curiosity and questioning. Though this turning of beliefs came in the less than flattering form of believing Hermione was an example of a 'mudblood rising above the disadvantages of her bloodline,' it was a huge step for the child of a Death Eater to take, one which could have easily placed a strain on her family relationships, had she not been wise enough to keep it mostly quiet.

During her third year, Azraella's shifting and mellowing beliefs gathered the attention of fellow third year Slytherin, Astoria Greengrass. The girls had always been part of the same social circle, but hadn't been very close in the past. Given the new development, however, the girls became fast friends and were soon almost inseperable. Since they were both of pure blood, Az needed not hide anything (other than her waning dedication to his belief system) when writing home to her father and being invited over to each others' houses during school holidays became the norm for Azraella and Astoria.

What should have been Az's fifth year of Hogwarts ended up bringing about complete disaster, as it was the year of the Battle of Hogwarts. Azraella was torn once the school fell to Voldemort's influence, as she still had a fondness for the dark arts despite not falling for the anti-muggle propganda any longer; for her and other students of similar parentage, the experience was nowhere near as horrific as for those who sought to rebel directly (or whom did not hold some manner of favour). Though Azraella was beginning to feel the stirrings of rebellion herself, she was whisked away with the other underage students while the school was under threat and taken under her mother's wing, where all she could do was wait around and fret over her father's position as a Death Eater. She honestly had no clue which side she wanted to win; at the time, all she wanted was for the war to be over.

It was a trying and terrifying time, which ulimately ended in learning of her father's death during the battle. Within a few months, while the family was still grieving (for being evil does not preclude a man from being important to his family), Azraella's mother was also arrested for her role in aiding the Death Eaters and ended up sentenced to Azkaban. Rather than deal with placement among relatives or family friends, Azraella sought to gain emancipation; when it was granted, she took on the family funds and home, thus avoiding being further displaced. (And, frankly, avoiding the risk of being placed with people whose views differentiated too far from her own.)

Continuing schooling was extremely difficult for her at first, given the grief she felt over her father's death. When she heard of the terrible losses, when she felt herself feeling glad that the Order won over Voldemort and the Death Eaters, she felt insurmountable guilt. Astoria helped Az through this, providing a listening ear and the gentle advice that it's okay to hate a person's actions and beliefs yet love the person themself. Between such advice and her mind's own desperate attempts to protect itself, Azraella began to perfect an ability to compartmentalize - an ability which technically already had started forming when harbouring secret dissent against her parents' views.

Career
The more she saw of the post-war world, the more Azraella realized she wanted to atone for her family's sins by finally taking an active stance. Though she couldn't go back in time and defy her upbringing during the war, she saw an opportunity to put her knowledge of the dark arts and other magical combat skills to use in protecting the newfound changes in the world. She didn't quite qualify for work as an Auror - and frankly doubted she'd be welcomed among their ranks anyway - and thus applied for training as a Hit Wizard (she never did care for the way 'Hit Witch' rolled on the tongue). With much study, dedication, and training, she succeeded in attaining the job.

bio layout by devilbear for personal use // wand and patronus images from pottermore