Written 2003, © Erica 2005
Profile for An Adventure at Hogwarts [EDIT: I left this RPG due to time constraints]
Player : Azurial, Berlioz Callaghan
Character's Name : Berlioz Jason Callaghan
Character's Year : 5th
character's house : Ravenclaw
Favorite Color : Off-white
Favorite Food : Waffles
Prized Possession : A poetry book his father gave him his 12th Birthday
Financial Status : Working Class
Character History and Description :
Berlioz was the third child of four. On account of his unusual name, there is a perfectly legitimate reason. For the boys, Marion chose the first name (musically related) and Matthew chose the middle name (Greek related). For the girls, Matthew chose the first name and Marion chose the middle name. Berlioz showed he had inherited his mother's talent for music at an early age. At three, the piano bench was an object of interest for him, and he would constantly climb up on it to bang at the piano keys. After turning four, Marion began teaching Berlioz to play the piano. And thus it started. Berlioz has been playing for twelve years now and even the revelation that he was a wizard has not deterred him from his desire to go professional.
Berlioz's older siblings are both non-magical, like their parents. Franz is married and his wife, Amie, is expecting their first child. Franz works as a computer programer and Amie is a tutor. Persephone is currently attending medical school with plans to become a pediatrican. Kalliope, or Kally, Berlioz's little sister, hasn't shown any signs of magic, but she's only eight and Berlioz was a "late bloomer" himself. Berlioz's first act of baby magic was when he was eight and a half. He had been having difficulty with a piece of music and was stomping around the piano room when the vase suddenly flew off the piano and smashed into the far wall. Berlioz is quite close to his little sister, and misses her quite a bit during the school year.
While Berlioz's fear of injuring his hands is understandable since he is a pianist, his fear of fire and dogs goes back to his childhood. When Berlioz was six, his family's house caught on fire. Berlioz had been trapped in the upstairs by the flames as the rest of the family had been in the downstairs when the fire started. Even though he had passed out from smoke inhalation by the time a fire fighter managed to rescue him, Berlioz's dreams were haunted by flames for many years after. Then when he was ten, Berlioz had been at his Uncle Luke's house, when his uncle's big Irish Wolfhound, Foofoo, for some reason bit him on the leg. Berlioz ran screaming into the house, with Foofoo not far behind. Luke took Berlioz to the hospital and had him patched up. The cause of the bite was never determined, and Berlioz harbors a deep-set fear of large dogs. In an attempt to help him avoid his fears, Luke would keep Foofoo out of sight when ever it was necessary for Berlioz to be at his house. Because dogs were so common, Berlioz started staying indoors more and more often. And thus stemmed his love for books and poetry, as he needing something to pass the time with and Marion would not allow him to play the piano all day long.
A hard working student, Berlioz works hard for his marks. Well, not all that hard, but he does work for them. Undoubtedly his favorite class is Transfiguration, mainly based on the difficulty of the material taught. During the years he spent in Muggle school, before he was informed he was a wizard, Berlioz had thought he would attend maybe Eton or his Purcell, and had prepared for such. His studious nature was one of the things that caused him to be sorted into Ravenclaw, along with his witty sense of humor. And while he's main focus is his studies and the piano, Berlioz does try to spend as much time as possible with friends.
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 150 lbs
Eyes: Blue/grey
Hair: Light brown, slightly curly and cut just below the ears
Face & Complexion: A mainly Caucasian complexion, a bit of a narrow face, but with a well defined chin
Build: Thin but slightly muscular
Defining Marks: Small scar on the back of his right leg (from dog bite)
Dress Style: Comfortable but semi-stylish. When not in uniform, he likes to wear jeans and a polo shirt, and a jean jacket if it's cool
Possessions always on this person: wand, poetry book
Manner of Speech: Lyrical in a sense, very pleasant to listen to, but he can be blunt when he wants to be
Manner of Movement: Measured steps, half-way confident and half-way distracted (as he's often daydreaming between classes)
Siblings, Parents, and other relationships :
Parents: Matthew Aaron Callaghan & Marion Rebecca Sutherland
Sibling(s): Franz Hector (23), Persephone Camille (19), Kalliope Amalia (8)
Family History: Matthew was born to Edward Davis Callaghan and Emma Isabelle Fredricks in Dublin, Ireland. Matthew was the oldest of four boys: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. His parents never had any girls. Matthew's father, Edward, was an accountant, and his mother, Emma, was a school teacher. Through this combination, the boys were taught to value education and all four went through school with excellent marks. John became a dentist. Luke became a lawyer. Mark became an architect. Matthew followed in his mother's footsteps and became a teacher. He earned his doctorate in Greek at University College Dublin and now teaches Greek at Eton.
Marion was born to Howard Brian Sutherland and Sarah Janelle Anderson in London, England. Howard was a banker and Sarah was a professional violinist playing in the London Symphony. Marion was an only child and therefore was a little pampered. Her parents gave her her heart's every desire, including music, painting, dancing, fencing, swimming and horseback riding lessons. Only the music stuck with her. Marion had her mother's talent for music and had a love for the piano, so piano it was. Marion attended the Purcell School from her childhood to youth and then attended the Royal College of Music in London. After graduating, Marion began entering contests to create a name for herself, and soon was giving concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Matthew and Marion met about six years after Matthew started teaching at Eton and four years after Marion graduated from the Royal College. Marion was giving a concert at Eton and Matthew happened to attend.
Matthew was smitten at first sight by her grace and quite elegance. As Marion was already a well-know pianist, Matthew was somewhat nervous to approach her, but soon gathered the courage and asked her on a date. Marion accepted and the two soon fell in love and were married.
Strengths :
Piano, piano, piano... did I mention piano? Music is what Berlioz is best at, and even when he's not playing, music is on his mind. But he isn't in Ravenclaw for nothing. Berlioz is a dedicated student and does pretty well in most of his classes, Transfiguration and Charms especially. Berlioz is also very good with words and be very tactful when neccesary, and he listens carefully when people talk to him.
Flaws :
There's a few things Berlioz fears: fire, large dogs, and injuring his hands. Because of this, he tends to be a bit overly cautious. Also, one would think a musician would have very good handwriting, but Berlioz's printing looks quite similar to chicken scratches. And while Berlioz is very good with words, he's not that good with girls. He's a bit shy about relationships and. The one class Berlioz is not good at is Herbology. Probably has something to do with the hands thing.
5th year Ravenclaw students
A-Days
1st period: Apparition Techniques
2nd period: Transfiguration
3rd period: Free period
Lunch in the Great Hall
4th period: Defense Against the Dark Arts
5th period: Free
6th period: Charms
7th period: Astronomy
B-Days
8th period: Free
9th period: Free
10th period: History Of Magic
Lunch in the Great Hall
11th period: Herbology
12th period: Arithmancy
13th period: Ancient Runes
14th period: Potions