Chadwick Harvisham - Toby

My second character for


Name: Chadwick Tobias Harvisham

Nickname: Toby. If you call him anything else, an old fashioned Petrificus Totalus is what you’ll get in return.

Age: Twelve (for the first month and a half of school, anyway)

Birthday: October 14 (which means he's one of the older ones in his year)

Gender: Male

Nationality: British

Blood Status: Muggleborn

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Sexuality: Bisexual (though this isn't actually realized until he's 15)

Height: 5’4” (and growing)

Weight: 114lbs (he’s rather gangly and awkward with it, but Quidditch will hopefully bulk him up)

Physical Description:
Tan skinned with brown hair that darkens at its longest points (his bangs). Bright green eyes that tend to shine (when he's furious, and that doesn't happen often, they get icy). He’s a little tall and underweight for his age and gangly with it. (It won't take him too long to fill out, though. He tends to run up the Hogwarts stairs when normal people just walk and knocking a bludger away takes more strength than people tend to realize...)

Attire:
He lets his Hufflepuff tie hang loose as he hates hiding his school colors under the big sweater he wears. He wears his sweaters a little short, too, in order to show off the various belts his mother has made for him over the years. He hates the shoes, though. So unless he’s going outside, it’s all socks. He’ll usually keep them tied around his neck or shrunken in his bag if a professor gets on his case.

When not in uniform, though, Toby prefers plain t-shirts that can get torn up, and loose jeans. As he gets older, and largely due to Julian's influence, he starts to get jeans that properly fit him and goes for more clean-cut shirts (unless he feels like getting dirty). He's attractive and knows it, happily flaunting this fact to charm his way around the school. (Good thing that charm's sincere or more people would hate him...)

Personality:
Toby is, quite simply, a pistol. He’s athletic – loving America’s baseball and cricket more than anything. Since his father’s American, they would often play in the fields behind their house, actually building a baseball diamond as Toby’s swing began to get stronger. The last straw was when Toby broke a neighbor’s window from just over a mile away. With such a mighty swing, he’s found himself desperately in love with Quidditch – particularly the position of beater. He’s hoping beyond hope to become a beater for Hufflepuff and help them win the House Cup! (And if it leads to being able to play for a professional team, all the better.)

He’s quite the flirt, always smiling at girls (and sometimes the boys, though that doesn't start till later) and convincing them that he’s older than what he is. Sadly, it’s a bit difficult at Hogwarts as everyone saw him get sorted and he was… memorable. He tripped on his way to the Sorting Hat and about broke his nose on the steps. The First Years’ don’t know this, however, and if they weren’t so much younger than he was (in his mind one year is an enormous difference when it comes to girls) than he may actually flirt with them. As such, he’s resigned himself to having to wait for the older ladies to fall for his charm the old fashioned way.

And he may seem like a goof-off (and really, he is) but he doesn't shy away from hard work. He didn’t get so good at flying and swinging a bat by sitting on his butt. And he definitely didn’t get high marks in his first year by not doing the work. If there’s an assignment, he’ll do it and he’ll do it well. Otherwise, his poor mother would have a heart attack!

Toby also tends to have a small almost crippling "I'm-normal-don't-look-at-me" complex. He doesn't like to be noticed in a crowd unless it's for something he particularly wants to flaunt. He's got a huge curiosity streak and is a quick reader to boot. He doesn't always remember exactly what he reads, and he's definitely not above re-reading material. He's particularly fond of Magical Theory, enjoying the why as much as the how.

This curiosity and penchant for literature, however, is an absolute secret (except to the Sorting Hat, who nearly chucked him into Ravenclaw). He's not the smart one, he's the active one and he doesn't want anyone to think otherwise. He hates getting called on in class and will often give the incorrect answer just so the professor will move onto someone else.

He also thoroughly hides the fact that his family is extraordinarily wealthy as he doesn't want anyone to treat him any differently than they'd treat anyone else (and because he was taken advantage of just a month before receiving his Hogwarts letter). His grandfather was a member of the UN for almost thirty years, his uncle right on his heels after his death. His mother is an internationally known lawyer and his father is successful in business (with fingers dipped in several pies) based in London that tends to stretch across the pond. Being a political wife definitely went to his grandmother's head and she expects all of her children (and her grandchildren) to act accordingly. Toby hates acting accordingly and will usually go out of his way to annoy her. After an incident that led to a particularly nasty scar on his shoulder, he became more subversive in his efforts to undermine his grandmother.

tl;dr - He's sweet, blunt, athletic, charming, keeps his wealth and intelligence a secret, and is awesome.

Likes: sweets (particularly acid pops), sports, girls who like sports, roughhousing, running, flying, Quidditch, belts, friends, the rain (because it leaves the world smelling nice and mud is hella fun), Julian Kensington, (secretly) reading
Dislikes: lightning (because he can’t play sports in it), fashion, shoes, pizza (he’s allergic to tomatoes), betrayal, heartless cruelty, his grandmother, (secretly) fire pokers

History:

Chadwick Tobias Harvisham (prefers Toby and only Toby) was born to a pair of Muggles, his father being American and his mother being Irish/British. He has three older sisters (Bridgette, Tammy, Laura), one younger sister (Jenny), and his mother is pregnant with what is probably yet another sister (born Christmas Eve, Susan). Toby is the only wizard in his family, which would almost be lonely, but his parents and his sisters are very supportive. They listen to him babble about Quidditch and have even watched, amazed, while he flies his broom (not that he’s supposed to outside of school). He also has a neighbor, Brian, who works for the Ministry, is a potions master, and married to a Muggle woman. They can't have children, so Toby and his siblings spend as much time at his home as they do their own.

He’s technically grown up in southern Britain, but has been to America every summer since he was born, so considers himself to be a dual-citizen. He absolutely loves it and, when he feels like it, dons his father’s Texan accent just for fun (or to charm a gal). Even though his father is from Texas, Toby doesn’t share his love of the Houston Astros, instead rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals from Missouri. Ever since discovering them, he's been a season ticket holder and has been to very nearly every game since he was six. He never tires of it and, when it comes to sports stats, he's alright with letting it fly that maybe he's a little smarter than people think.

There was a time when he was nine that, in the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals and the Cubs (out of Chicago, Illinois) had been tied. It had seemed like a foul ball at first, but suddenly the replay screen was showing that it was fair and, in everyone’s mind, it had always been fair. It was the first real manifestation of Toby’s magic and, since then, he’s been trying to explain it. The letter from Hogwarts – delivered by an owl, no less! – had come as a great shock to his entire family. To Toby, though, it was an explanation for all the strange things that had been happening to him since that day at the baseball field (not that he believed in magic of any sort). He honestly feels bad for being a wizard when he never believed in magic and his eldest sister, Bridgette, has always loved and believed everything about it.

Toby was also taught French at age five by his grandmother and, while he constantly got the male/female incorrect (on purpose), he secretly enjoyed learning it and kept up with it. It's yet another thing he keeps secret because knowing French at eleven (or even twelve/thirteen) is just incredibly odd. He's just started getting into Italian and will be teaching himself soon enough.

History at Hogwarts:

First Year: For Toby, this was the best year of his life. He had a wand, he had teachers who could turn rats into water goblets. And he finally, finally, had something to do when a person called him Tobias or, worse, Chadwick. Petrificus Totalus soon became his favorite spell and flying was immediately his favorite class. He begged his parents to get him a broom and, surprise surprise, their nextdoor neighbors – longtime friends of the Harvishams – were a mixed couple. Not only was it the husband who took Toby and his father through Diagon Alley, it was he who gave Toby the newest Nimbus broom for his birthday. It was, quite simply, the happiest day of Toby’s life (next to his first Quidditch game, that is).

He also made the best friend of his life, Julian Kensington. While most people would look at Julian and, after a while, grow weary of him, Toby practically glues himself to the other boy's side. He especially enjoys removing Julian's glasses to watch him get flustered. He also enjoys all the mischievous adventures they go on and assumes that Julian's talk of world domination is a running joke. He hates it when anyone talks bad about the bloke and will always jump to Julian's aid.

He's also flabbergasted by how intelligent the other boy is and is actually a little intimidated. Julian very obviously doesn't have any insecurities about his wealth or his mind, using both to the full extent of his power. Toby may find it odd for an eleven year old to have lawyers, but he's more amazed. He learns quite a bit from the blonde that year and misses him greatly over the summer.

Second Year: With the news that flying was no longer an available course, Toby thought that his world would end. With the news that he would be able to try out for the Quidditch team that year, his world was saved. It’s been the most pressing matter in his entire life up to that point and he was desperately looking forward to the chance to show them what he could do with a bat! Maybe he’d even be better than the famed Weasley Twins of Gryffindor past!

He's also overjoyed to discover that one of his roommates is Julian and the two immediately get back to work on their schemes. Julian's back to calling him Mr. Harvisham, though, which Toby quickly puts a stop to, baffled as to why Julian would be so formal. As they draw closer to the holidays, Toby decides to be brave and ask Julian to come home with him, knowing full-well that this lets Julian get a look into the life he keeps hidden from the rest of Hogwarts. He doesn't feel right hiding things from his best friend and wants to get it out of the way.

Also, as Toby nears thirteen, his hormones are starting to take over (not helped by an unknown small hormonal disorder that creates a bit too much testosterone in his system). He starts going after girls in earnest as the holidays are over, though he never quite manages to snag a permanent girlfriend. Julian and Quidditch keep him too busy.

He's also fairly pleased with his schedule and is excited about Ancient Runes (not that he'd say so aloud) as he's always loved languages.

House: Hufflepuff

Year: Two

Items:
His wand is 8¾” long, oak, and has a dragon heartstring core. It’s very sturdy, almost unwieldy at times, and good for hexes and counter-curses.

Other: While he doesn’t yet know his patronus, once he learns that spell, he’ll discover that it’s a golden retriever, which embarrasses him for a while because he's really not sure how it suits him.

He doesn't have his own owl yet either, so uses the school one’s (or Julian's) in order to contact his family. And he has a cat named Fred (after the Cardinals’ mascot Fred Bird, despite being female) who he’s had for over six years. Fred wasn’t exactly thrilled at the relocation, but she’s settled in fairly nicely. It’s much quieter in the dorm during the day than it is at home.

His absolute best friend is Julian Kensington, which can baffle some people, since most seem to find Julian to be intolerable after a while. Toby, though, remains a popular force in the school with his big, easy smile and eagerness to help anyone with anything.

His mother is Lorry. His father's name is Grant. His sisters are, in order, Bridgette (a sculptor about to head to college in America), Tammy (a feisty girl who's as likely to punch as hug her brother), Laura (about to graduate high school at 13 and move on to what will end up being a forensics degree), Jenny (a ballet-dancing second grader who charms Julian and shows him the wonder that is The Lion King), and Susan (the baby who will end up being a witch).

Toby also has several scars. One on his wrist from a baseball accident (someone ran over his wrist with sharp kleets when he dove to catch a ball and then he proceeded to argue with the umpire with his wrist broken and bleeding). There are two on his back from a fall off a gate while trying to escape his grandmother's mansion one summer. He slipped while climbing over the gate and two of the spikes scratched him up pretty badly. There's another on his butt from a dog bite after he and some of his friends had tried climbing over a fence to retrieve a cricket ball. Toby was just stubborn enough (and just stupid enough) to try for it even when his friends abandoned the idea. He ended up in the hospital with stitches in his behind, but he'd succeeded. He has another, particularly jagged one on his shoulder, but he doesn't like to talk about it.

Class Schedule:
Study of Ancient Runes (elective)
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Potions
Herbology
Transfiguration