Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2021 20:48:28 GMT -7
Adelaide Gemma Zabini
pronunciation:
a-deh-lie-deh jehm-ma zah-bee-nee
nickname:
Some friends call her Addy or Gemma.
Strangers and acquaintances call her Adelaide or Zabini.
Her parents call her Adelaide.
age and birthday:
19
13 March 2006
gender and pronouns:
Female
She / her
basic info
blood status:
Pureblood
sexuality:
Uncertain but ugh, drama
wand:
9.5 inches, cypress wood, dragon heartstring, solid
playby:
Lovie Simone Oppong (specifically from Selah and the Spades)
appearance:
Standing at 5’ 8” even without heels, Adelaide fills any space with poise and grace. Back straight, chin tilted up, and every step taken with confidence, people make way for Adelaide when they hear her heels striding down the halls, the crisp sound heralding her entrance. Her hair, braided into thin dreadlocks, reaches her waist even when pulled into a ponytail and trails behind her like a mantle while her clothes - wizarding or muggle in style - never look anything but pristine; paired with her ever-present heels and confident gait, Adelaide turns any walk into a runway, never presenting herself in anything less than her best. She has minimal jewelry on her person due to her job (usually a necklace and pair of earrings), but she never takes off an anklet, a graduation gift from her family with a protection charm imbued, from her left foot.
education and jobs
schooling & status
Hogwarts - Slytherin
Graduate (2024)
current occupation:
Potioneer at St. Mungo’s (2024 - current)
personality
likes:
Full marks
Gemstones and meanings
Spending time with family
Completing something difficult
Books, especially murder mysteries
dislikes:
Sweating
Hot weather
Perfumes / Colognes
People who do not put in effort
People who complain about their results
overall personality:
Most people know Adelaide by reputation and rumor. Upperclassmen complain to each other about a younger student who doesn’t give any respect unless proven abilities for it and laughs in the face of their “experience” with the assurance that she’ll be better at their age. Underclassmen warn each other with tales of a friend who went to the free tutoring offered in the library and was pushed to tears in minutes. Peers roll their eyes at the Slytherin girl who seems to hate everyone, even other Slytherins, and is somehow near the top of every class. Hogwarts professors discuss a student who, despite her high grades and probable ability to win at any duel, has a tongue just as deadly in cutting down the spirit. Even some wizards outside of Hogwarts have heard of her in passing, usually in relation to her family - a combination of Blaise’s ego, Daphne’s beauty, and Valentina’s ruthlessness. While people with an ounce of sense know that rumor tends towards exaggeration, they find that rumors about Adelaide are, upon meeting her, true. She doesn’t respect people unless given good reason to, tells the truth regardless of the feelings hurt along the way, treats just about everyone with equal animosity, and will throw words like sharp knives. On top of all that, a physical interaction with Adelaide includes the obvious judgment of her expression, the elegant yet dismissive flick of her fingers, and the superior tilt of her head. It’s little wonder that a majority of witnesses to Adelaide’s personage prefer to give her a wide berth.
A majority, however, is not all. Though it is a much smaller number, there exists those who see something else underneath Adelaide’s words, who can consider themselves Adelaide’s friends and more often than not end up fielding questions or warnings from others about getting close to her. They don’t deny her inconsiderate honesty nor the size of her ego as well as the results that back up said confidence, but they accustom themselves to looking past the facets of black diamonds for glimpses of gold. They learn to not look at her words but at her actions, because while her statements only attack, her hands kindly nurture. When worried about their diet, she questions their food choices and leaves more than enough galleons for the bill so that they can buy more next time. When they lack confidence for an upcoming test, she sweeps in with jabs at their intelligence and flashcards to help review. When reminding them about the drop in temperature, she insults their fashion choices and lends them an extra scarf she happened to grab. Her friends hide smiles when she does her own version of mothering - her sharp words contrasting against her soft actions - and determine the difference between mere conversation and verbal castigation - the way her eyes are cool like snow or cold like frostbite and when she softens her vowels or hisses her consonants. (Because though her kindness is often present, that doesn’t mean it always is, and when she verbally eviscerates someone, they are reminded of her reputation and why she has it.) It isn’t an easy journey by any means, but those close to her find that the end result - this relationship that no one thought was possible - is more than worth it; and in aureate moments - genuine compliments without a hint of derision, coins mysteriously tucked into jacket pockets, late nights of study though tomorrow is an early morning - they know for all of her ice, Adelaide is a lady of true nobility and obligation who seeks nothing more than to help others using her many talents (in a way that minimizes direct interaction with people as everyone - including herself - is aware of her social shortcomings).
personal history
origins:
London, England
relations:
Valentina Zabini - grandmother (81) retired socialite
blaise leo zabini - father (46) Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts
Daphne Zabini neé Greengrass - mother (46) actress
_____ Zabini - brother (18) _____
scorpius hyperion malfoy - cousin (20) Magical Artefacts Development & Testing Office employee
pets:
None.
history:
Adelaide likes to say that her childhood was normal. Despite the parade of nannies thinking they knew best and non-wizard fame carrying her mother to all places in the world, she can’t remember a time where she was anything but fortunate. She could count on her grandmother to always be there with the best tales and tricks - and would remind her the only thing every man unanimously did was pass away - and knew if she called (though she didn’t foresee herself needing to), her father would stride in with a solution - an ex-hitwizard and obliviator who had justified confidence in his abilities and in her. Even her younger brother was there to keep her from being too lonely when she was tired of listening to the latest, ignorant nanny suggest childish games unbefitting of her maturity, while her cousin was refreshingly and openly warm compared to the cooler attitudes of the adults. It wasn’t always a bed of roses given how her parents were often out of the house, but she understood the importance of her father’s job and the whimsy of her mother’s personality, and she took it upon herself to act in a way that befit her status despite her age and refused to besmirch the Zabini name.
It was after her Hogwarts letter that Adelaide had her first indicator that she’d been sheltered as a child. And that she was surrounded by idiots. (In hindsight, she thinks her experience with the nannies should have prepared her, but she was young and naive and had hope for the better.) Sorted into Slytherin like her parents and with her cousin in the same year, Adelaide had confidence not only in her house but also in herself to sit at the top. However, she found that she was not the first in every class - high up in most, but not first in all - and, though it was a bitter pill to swallow, came to acknowledge that she wasn’t the best at every subject and that it was ok. (The encouraging reply letter her father sent her did wonders for her confidence as did his firm reminder that he wanted her best, not the best.) So, she sought to be better than her previous self every day, acting as her own rival, and though most people only saw the results and self-satisfaction, she continued to put in effort behind the scenes because it was not their opinion she cared for. If anything, she was superior by pure motivation alone and found herself annoyed when people would complain about their results when they didn’t even give their best effort; why did they act as if she was cheating when they weren’t even trying to compete? (And why, she questioned with increasing agitation, were people so bad at taking care of themselves? It seemed like it got worse as they grew older, not better. Why?)
In spite of her growing respect for people (only a select few, not all), she found the ones that annoyed her the most were people stuck in the past who judged their peers based on the actions of their predecessors - by blood or house - rather than looking to the present. Some even leaned on blood status, which she used to believe in but could not after the stupidity and entitlement other purebloods demonstrated. She told herself she’d stay out of the fight, since it didn’t involve her; the “victims” of such bullying could not always depend on someone else to better their situation and should learn to stand up for themselves anyways. This philosophy was quickly defenestrated when she witnessed someone talking about her cousin Scorpius within her earshot, calling him names that discounted his gentle nature and implying he was a villain who would meet a grisly end that he deserved. While Scorpius was too non-confrontational to speak up, Adelhaide had no such compunctions and proceeded to politely and viciously disagree, pointing out that their words and attitudes were more prejudiced and crude than Scorpius who had done nothing to earn their ire.
Despite her vicious intolerance of any form of prejudice or bullying from then on, Adelhaide’s haughty yet adroit reputation was set in stone by that point. Even the free study / tutoring sessions she hosted in the library thrice a week starting her third year did little to soften her icy position, though her spartan methods driving underclassmen to tears certainly did not help even if their grades did rise under her tutelage. When she took every NEWT available and received high enough grades to get her pick of jobs once she graduated, no one blinked, and a few people commented that she might have done well on the Quidditch team until they quickly realized that she lacked any interest in the sport, much to the house’s (and secretly, her father’s) disappointment. It was due to her reputation that when the murders began in her sixth year, eyes and whispers turned to her in wary consideration. However, rather than keeping her head down, she lifted her chin higher and, when confronted by a bold student, declared that she wasn’t greater because of her blood but because of her talent and hard work. Not all of the whispers died down, and the attendance count at her tutoring sessions was lower than ever, but she didn’t back down or change herself and, instead, kept a close eye on her family and her friends, especially those who may have been targets - whether from the murderer(s) or their fellow students due to their blood status or lack thereof. She didn’t complain nor did she let down her guard at any moment, but the constant vigilance made her wary. The reveal of the Purifiers’ existence, she found, gave the remaining students a single group as the common enemy and allowed her to breathe sometimes.
And time moved on. In spite of the remaining caution, Adelhaide looked to the future and tried to see what she wanted to do. She tried to see her life years from now, but nothing fit. Any job involving customer service would most likely have her fired in a month tops (She was self-aware enough to know that she was not a people person nor a person who would show kindness to a rude customer), and the thought of an office job of any sort bored her to figurative tears. She contemplated a position at the ministry - which was prestigious and had less administrative, more active roles such as being a hit wizard, much like her father - but she couldn’t see herself settling into such a high-risk role and living with constant vigilance like before the reveal of the Purifiers’ existence without burning out. In contrast, the thought of starting her own business for profit didn’t appeal when she knew she had talent that could be put to use. It wasn’t until the Triwizard Tournament’s return was announced and her father asked if she was going to participate that she realized her issue: she’d been trying to find a job her father would take when she was, as much as she respected him, not her father. While part of her struggled following the epiphany, she came to terms with it soon enough and sent another letter to her father, admitting that she might pursue a job that wasn’t particularly prestigious or well-paying. He reminded her once more that he wanted to see her best, and if that was an underappreciated job, well, the Zabini family was not in need of money (and that he had full confidence she would remain someone respected even if the position itself was not). She thanked him and started thinking of jobs for herself, including roles that weren’t necessarily powerful or popular. It wasn’t until after the Yule Ball and the end of the Tournament, after the Kraken’s terrorist attack, that she decided on a position at the hospital.
Following graduation, Adelhaide became the potioneer at St. Mungo’s, talented at potions in part by natural interest and by her father’s influence (and thorough help whenever she had questions). It wasn’t the most luxurious or valued job, but she found satisfaction in brewing potions she knew would go towards helping others and assisting people in the laboratory research new or improved treatments. Slightly before Hag’s Fever broke out in the British Isles, she moved out and got her own apartment - close enough to the Zabini home to visit every weekend if she wanted but far enough that it wouldn’t be possible every night - to avoid passing any illnesses from the hospital to her grandmother, who was more susceptible due to age, and to foster more independence.
alias
name:
Eve
pronouns:
She / her
age:
Almost one-quarter of one-hundred