Addison Blackwell (b. October 31, 1991) is a Half-blood Witch born to Muggle Doctor Eddison Blackwell and Witch Mariella Applewood. She is apparently, and to no one's surprise, named after her Father. She lost them, however, during a visit to her Aunt and Uncle's home when she was young. She was raised partly in Canterbury, England and partly in Chartres, France. She's grown into a very tall, very peaceful woman, at least in appearance. Some say she actually has a very adventurous side to her, but it's yet to be seen in her Teaching Years.
Addison is a sufferer of Gigantism, though is often mistaken for having Giant Blood. Her bones are actually fairly brittle and her heart aches on occasion, but she uses potions to counteract that and do her job efficiently... so long as she's not overly stressed.
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Early Life[]
First Magic[]
Addison's first display of magic came when she was two years old while spending the day with her father. Eddison was aware that her mother was a Witch, but Addison's sudden display still shocked him greatly. They had been in the garden playing hide-and-seek and while he was counting he heard her scream and start to cry. When he turned around, he found the two year old in a high tree, clinging to it, absolutely terrified. When he got her down, he managed to calm her, but from then on he was much more inclined to keep an eye on her.
Early Loss[]
She managed to grow without incident after that, the few displays of untaught magic always happening near her mother. It seemed as though she knew that Mariella would be able to help her in situations her father couldn't, not for lack of trying. Addison also grew more powerful under the watchful eye of Mariella's brother Preston and his wife Aleca who had been living in France at the time.
The most powerful hit to Addison's life came in the year 1997. While visiting Preston and Aleca, due to their urging as the Second Wizarding War raged on, Addison got the horrible news that her parents had been killed. It was never found out who exactly did it, but they knew at least it had been followers of Voldemort and Addison was told, and believes to this day, that it was the handiwork of the Death Eaters. This left Addison an orphan at only six years old. She ended up staying with her aunt and uncle in France until word came that the War was over, and then they took up residence in Canterbury, near her parents' graves.
After this, Addison seemed reluctant to perform any magic unless it was necessary. It was also this loss that caused her to be such a strong advocate for the equality of all blood-types, even after the war was over. Both of these carried into her time at Hogwarts and far beyond.
Hogwarts (2002-2009)[]
General Life[]
Although living with her aunt and uncle was pleasant, she often felt like she wanted to get away. That being at home was a cage, and that to truly grow she needed to get out. She often wandered around both Chartres and Canterbury once she moved there in order to learn what she could about their Ancient buildings. That's why, when her letter from Hogwarts finally came in August of 2002, she felt an excitement and a flutter in her heart she didn't think she could feel again since the death of her parents.
Addison was Sorted into Ravenclaw, with the hat having barely touched her head. She held her head high as she nearly skipped over to the proper table, and that's where it all began. She wasn't the top student in her year, but she was consistently among the top five. Her best subjects were History of Magic and Study of Ancient Runes, while she occasionally struggled with Divinations and she was absolutely abhorent with Arithmancy. Addison tended to love Care of Magical Creatures, adoring learning anything about the creatures that appeared in Ancient texts, and was an exceptionally good flier in her later years.
Academics[]
While she was generally able to get top marks in all classes, she had a few blunders. She mistakenly began Arithmancy in her third year but had to quit after just a semester due to poor grades. The young girl was able to begin taking Ancient Studies that year, as well, and got top marks of anyone on every exam and lesson. She was perhaps even the most well-learned on the subject of the whole school during her years. She was also exceptionally skilled at the Study of Ancient Runes, however there was another student, a Gryffindor Boy, that tended to out-mark her throughout the class. This led to a fierce competition of the two all the way through 2009, when the two graduated.
O.W.L.s:
- Charms - O
- Transfiguration - O
- Herbology - A
- Defense Against the Dark Arts - E
- Ancient Runes - O
- Potions - E
- Care of Magical Creatures - O
- Astronomy - O
- Divinations - P
- Arithmancy - N/A
- History of Magic - O
N.E.W.T.s:
- Charms - O
- Transfiguration - O
- Defense Against the Dark Arts - O
- Ancient Runes - O
- Potions - E
- Care of Magical Creatures - O
- Astronomy - E
- History of Magic - O
The Gryffindor Chaser[]
Addison wasn't the most skilled flier in her first couple of years at Hogwarts. Sure, she got off the ground, but it wasn't really until her third year that she started to excel. Her greatest rival, a boy from Gryffindor, was beating her thoroughly in Study of Ancient Runes. It prompted a 5 year-long fight between the two to be the best in everything they could. In 2005 her rival, named Dakota Williams, was accepted onto the Gryffindor Team as one of the three Chasers. As it turned out, this boy was an exceptional flier and she knew that if she was going to beat him in everything she could, she would have to mount her broom and really get going! She began sneaking out of the castle at night to practice whenever she could. She was caught once, and suffered a horrible detention, but in 2006 her training paid off and she spent the rest of her time at Hogwarts as the Seeker for Ravenclaw. Before long, the two were flying circles around each other and even attempted to knock each other off their brooms a few times.
After this, the two stopped being spiteful of each other and became much more friendly. Still rivals, still seeking to be the best of the two, but now they were practically inseperable. They liked to laugh and call themselves 'closer than the Golden Trio.' This dynamic in their sixth and seventh years was only slightly offset by Addison's excitement towards sneaking out past curfew to explore the castle with a girl in her own House named Beatrice Mathias. Dakota, while fun loving, also wanted to be careful and not get into trouble with Headmistress McGonogall. However, in the end, he couldn't resist the call of Hogwarts' secrets and went out with the two girls. The new things he learned rooted something very deep inside of him, something that Addison had since she was young, and once they graduated in 2009 they decided to travel the world discovering the Ancient Secrets it held.
Pre-Teaching Career[]
Archeology[]
While living at Hogwarts, the two attempted many times to open the Chamber of Secrets, or to find an alternative entrance into it, along with Beatrice. The three may have come very close at one point, because while they were fairly far from the main castle, they found a large crag. Addison wanted very much to enter the crag, believing it to go far into the Earth, and had planned to find some spelunking equipment over the summer. Dakota initially suggested using brooms to go down, but Beatrice was hesitant. They had no idea where it would go. Eventually she convinced the other two that there was no way to get into the Chamber of Secrets, and they never solved the mystery of the crag. Still, it's something that the two kept with them during their travels. After graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dakota and Addison began traveling the world in order to find the secrets of the Ancient Pasts of both the Muggle and Wizarding societies. They were seeking to prove that magic was a part of life, and that once upon a time Witches and Wizards lived peacefully among their non-magic brethren. They started out as tourists, taking pictures of Ancient places, but soon put their Magic training into better use. Starting in 2012, the two were very well respected in both Magical and Muggle Archeological fields.
Their biggest find took place in Romania in 2013, where, while visiting the Dragon Sanctuary, they decided to take a look at an old castle. The two got insanely lost on the way, and while backpacking through the mountains quite a ways from the Sanctuary, Dakota stumbled down a hill and landed (quite luckily) right next to a suspicious stone. Upon further inspection, the stone seemed to be part of a wall dating back to around 5000 BC. This discovery has since led to the excavation of a massive, previously unknown city where the evidence points to both Magical and Muggle society blending together seemlessly. This location is known as the Blackwell-Williams Digsite and is still being excavated to this day, with Addison being called there occasionally to oversee another find within the ancient city.
However, this wasn't their only achievement. Most of their finds went unknown to a large amount of the public and was only given to experts in the field for further research. These locations were often coated in magic, and required that magic to be dispelled before people could set foot in their safely. Such locations include the Pyramids of Giza, an Ancient Cavern under Rome, and a fantastic Magical Maze hidden away in Turkey and left by the wizards of the Persian empire.
Crypto- and Magizoology[]
Addison's interest in these two areas came from her time in Hogwarts. From the very first time she saw a Thestral, she knew that she was in love with the unknown animals of the world. Both her and Dakota were able to get O's in Care of Magical Creatures, so they were allowed to do extra studying of the more dangerous creatures. They spent time still in Hogwarts researching the Thestrals, the Basilisk, and the Unicorns. Using the knowledge they learned of the three, and taking it with them on their adventures, proved absolutely invaluable. The mere knowledge of creatures that could be hiding in the dungeons they delved within saved their lives, and the lives of many Muggles. The most frightening case of this was when Dakota and Addison not only discovered, but also cleared out a cavern of Acromantulas that were terrorizing a temple that belonged to a small, very old tribe of people who lived nearby. The spiders had been stealing people from their beds, and the two are known reknown heroes for saving the tribe and restoring peace to the temple.
Though she has no proof of it, Addison is quite sure that she came face-to-face with the Yeti while up in the Himalayas in 2015. After being separated from Dakota and nearly dying in the snow, she found herself in a cave, covered in blankets made of fur. She enjoyed the warmth, and from her position laying down she could see a massive, fur-covered creature. The woman couldn't stay awake, however, and the next time she opened her eyes she was safely at the base of the mountain with Dakota and their guide. She attempted to explain what she'd saw, but it was dismissed by the guide as a dream. Still, Dakota and Addison believe he merely said this because he didn't want them to learn the truth. They never returned to the Himalayas out of respect for the creature.
The Sphinx[]
To this day, Addison still finds most creatures absolutely fascinating. She gets a small glint in her eyes when certain creatures are brought up, and loves to speak about them almost as much as Ancient Civilizations. However, there is one beast in particular that Addison is absolutely terrified of her. It is the form of her boggart, and even the mere mention of the creature puts her in at unease. The two friends had been called to Greece to explore a previously undiscovered catacomb. Since they were then considered experts in Dungeon Delving, the expulsion of harmful magical creatures, and counter-cursing, they were sent in first. They found that the Catacombs eventually came to a larger structure, underground, that seemed to connect to three other segments. While walking through a hall of this structure, suddenly a creature burst out from the wall just in front of them. It caused a bit of the wall and roof to come down, trapping Addison. When she looked up, her eyes widened at the sight of the amazing Sphinx. It told Dakota very simply that if it solved a riddle, they could pass. But if not, it would kill them. Addison was trapped, but her wand was in her hand. Dakota decided to listen to the riddle, and while Addison knew the answer to it something stopped her from blurting it out. The Gryffindor Alumn was not as talented at Riddles, partly because he didn't have a magical door asking them of him several times a day. He got the answer wrong, and the Sphinx lunged. Addison could only watch in horror. She couldn't force herself to move, to say anything, or even to look away. It was 2017, and her long-time friend and rival had just been devoured. From this moment forward, Addison would try as hard as she could to make sure she never hesitated, nor get captured by such fear again. If she could help it, no one would be harmed on her watch, especially not because of her inaction.
[]
Ancient Ethnolinguistics and Anthropology[]
Part of studying history, and adoring doing so, is that the people who created that history are a little more fascinating to Archaeologists than other people. While performing tasks for her other job, Addison began to pick up more and more understand of Ancient Languages, and began to become enamored with how language grows with the culture. With this skill and interest Addison became quite capable of reading many forms of lost languages, and can generally identify about where that language would have come from, when it was used, and what the people were like. She takes this skill a step further by making connections between civilizations that others couldn't find with archaeological evidence alone. She takes great pride in this work, and will often gladly help students with translations of all varieties. She credits this skill to being raised in both England and France, and therefore learning both languages together at a young age and associating them with the characteristics of their respective countries.
Return to Hogwarts[]
Between 2017-2022[]
It was during this period that Addison began to wear the veil and hiding her face. She never gives much of a straight answer when people around her. She also began the study of the Deathly Hallows in this time, and finding the missing pieces of its trail began to consume her until she hit a dead end that stopped her work for a year. She then had the Hallows' symbol tattooed on her back and began to cover that up as well. By 2022, she showed almost no skin and her digsite attire became 'witchier'.
Hogwarts, 2022-2023
In the summer of 2022 Addison was contacted by Hogwarts' Headmistress Hannah Fischer to work as the Ancient Studies professor of the school. Addison was hesitant at first, believing that her down-and-dirty way of life wasn't very suitable for a teaching position, but she did come back to the Headmistress within the week to accept the job with the condition that she would not be coming to the position until mid-way through the year if her current work in Romania allowed her. With this agreement in place, Addison was able to continue her dig and come up with a way of teaching that she thought would be more appropriate for the school. She abandoned pants, bracers, and her folded arms for a more reserved attire. The rather tall woman had worn corsets for a very long time, but as a Professor of Hogwarts she began to use decorative ones as well... her clothing took on a fantasy flair and her attitude adjusted to be more motherly, calm, and patient. She believes that the Professors' relationships with the children will have huge impacts on their lives and disapproves of any Professors treating students like they are inferior in any way.
Addison began the trip back to England in February and finally arrived at Hogwarts in late March. She began the same day as Arianna von Dracheblume, and the two became fast friends. Addison, who still had problems making friends even then, related their friendship with the turmoil going on in the school. Both were shocked and disgusted that the Ministry (lead by Judy Dorchester) had infiltrated the school and turned monstrous individuals into 'teachers' and they were determine to fight back. They stood up against these 'goons', as the children called them, all the way up until the return of Headmistress Fischer and Deputy Headmaster Fox and they learned that the Ministry was not aware of the actions that Dorchester took. They, along with several other teachers, had planned on removing Dorchester themselves, but luckily it was not required.
During the last months of the school year Addison found herself fighting often with Arklin Owsley and Vanagandr Grograman, but by the end of the year Addison was pleased to count the latter of these two as one of her friends. She spent a good amount of time helping his image, as he had lost a lot of the students' trust with the way he handled their punishments. Indeed, most of her time there when she wasn't teaching was keeping the peace between the teachers, goons, and students.
At the end of the school year, at Fischer's return, a massive attack of Inferi was set on the school by the goons. Addison was late to arrive, as she had been across the Dark Forest at the time and had to run back, but once she joined she was pleased to see the students and teachers holding their own. She had her own moment of glory as she defeated a small group of Inferi herself, and took the spear of one of them to use against them. She still keeps this Spear as a show of triumph. For the rest of the attack she took to making sure that injured staff and students were taken to the Hospital Wing and well cared for.
During the summer, Addison invited the students to spend some time at her own valley, to get more hands-on experience with care of magical (and non magical!) creatures, astronomy and Ancient Studies. She held cook outs at nearby ruins, over night camps within a nearby cave, and taught the children how to take care of sheep, a tiger, owls, and other creatures of the forest. She also introduced them to her home: A floating house that she could fly where ever she pleased. It was good, she believed, to give them a first-hand experience of what sort of magics could be in their future as well as teach them Muggle ways of doing things (such as raising the sheep) so that there would be harmony between the two cultures.
Hogwarts, 2023-2024
At the end of the summer, about a week before the school year began, Addison's floating house crashed on the far side of the Dark Forest. She spent a great deal of the first term cleaning up the wreckage and removing the magic from the area. There were so many magical artifacts within the house it took a very long time to dispel everything that needed to be dispelled, collect everything that could be saved, and find a home for her tiger, Raja, and her sheep. In the spring of 2024 she sent them off to live with the Dracheblume family in America. The entirety of the year went by in a particularly uneventful manner, which suited Addison just fine. It is unknown what she did the summer following, but she is at least known to have spent some time in America with Arianna and Chase. This was her first time visiting the Western continents. The nature of this stay is currently unknown.
Relationships[]
Adults[]
Arianna von Dracheblume - The two met on what happened to be the first day on the job for both of them. Arianna had just portkeyed across the ocean, and Addison had finally gotten to Hogwarts from Romania after a few weeks of being side-tracked. The two clicked almost immediately, sharing views on most subjects, and are now often near each other tackling the student disobedience problem in a friendly, understanding way as opposed to how some other teachers might. These women often spend late nights together, talking about topics ranging from Arianna's love life to the current events at the school.
Liliana Lemieux - Lili and Blackwell get along very well these days, but in school Lili was a year younger and in Gryffindor, so they didn't really know each other. Addison only really saw Liliana when she was doing homework with the Gryffindor Chaser, and didn't form much of an opinion of her. She also happens to remember seeing Lili with Arklin together often during school, but neither of them are aware of it and Addison doesn't realise it's anything worth mentioning.
Beatrice Barnes - These two shared a dormitory together in the Ravenclaw tower and both graduated in 2009. They never truly considered themselves friends, but did often study the Ancient Workings of Hogwarts together. Most of the hidden passages, exits, entrances, and rooms were found by the two of them exploring together in their sixth and seventh years. She no longer has contact with Beatrice, but knows that she has married a man who also graduated in their year, and has a son who prefers to be called JL currently attending Hogwarts.
Vanagandr Grograman - Addison has a deep respect for the man. She believes that some ways of punishing from him are not appropriate, but she also understands that he is an ex-Auror and will still be in a combative mindset. Most of their interactions have been what one could call pleasant, and Addison also calls him her friend, to which he has yet to argue. She has called him Van once, and takes great pleasure in the fact that he didn't even glare at her when she did so.
Arklin Owsley - This man happens to be the one person in the school that Addison dislikes almost as much as Ironhand. Whenever they're in the same room, an argument is likely to errupt. She has apologized for this behavior, and told him that she would seek to do better in the future, but everything about his attitude irks her and is completely against her moral viewpoint.
Students[]
Essa Nazari - Addison considers Essa a very bright and talented girl, who needs to be treated like she has a gift and not a curse. She's currently trying to work with Essa to make her see that nothing about herself needs to be hidden away, and the only one that will hurt is herself. Addison is quite used to Essa staying after class to chat these days, though Essa is currently the only student to have angered her in the school.
Hope Downly - This little Lion first met Professor Blackwell when she was secretly sneaking out to the Quidditch Pitch long after curfew. After a few warnings, Addison took Hope to Owsley to scare her. Luckily for Hope, Professor Eastwood stepped in and him and Professor Dracheblume have been helping her with her dream problem. Still, Hope is one of the students who always says hello and is excited for Ancient Studies, and Addison does like her.
JL Barnes - They are currently going through somewhat of a Mentor program, with Addison trying to help JL curb his anger. He's snappy and doesn't really want her help, but she's working with him regardless. She's hardly registered that he is the son of Beatrice Mathias.
Nyota Cochrane - Their first meeting wasn't exactly pleasant, as Nyota attempted to hit her with a pellet spell. Unfortunately, she wore some apparently rather flammable attire, and when Nyota's spell backfired she lit up like a forest fire. She was depressed for a few days after that, but is apparently very happy that Nyota was not expelled.
Rumours[]
2022-2023[]
Apparently, there’s a lion trying to bring down the house back into last place. Sixth Year, Nyota Cochrane apparently felt the need to set Professor Blackwell on fire. Students are wondering when the girl will be expelled, while others are thinking she’ll just be besties with a certain slytherin.
Rumour has it a certain Ancient Studies Professor is not fond of glitter.
The same could be said about some professors, at least two were noticeably absent over the last full moons...
2023-2024[]
A keen-eyed Ravenclaw student noticed that the hat used by the Owl Post in a recent article belongs to Professor Blackwell. No word yet on whether or not said Professor has noticed it’s missing.
Speaking of Professor Blackwell, why has she been missing lately? Apparently, there’s a betting pool on whether she’s hiding a pestilence she accidentally unleashed on the other side of the forest, or she’s taking Polyjuice Potion to act as the Ravenclaw Head of House!
Rumour has it Professor Blackwell is actually two midgets in a dress.
Apparently, ever since the final exams, Professor Blackwell giggles when she sees Upton.
2024-2025[]
Imagine a Professor with hair the colour of a Raven’s feathers… she’s tall, fair skinned, and her eyes are sharp and grey. Her presence is calm, her voice is stern. Is it Blackwell or O’Keeffe?
Apparently, Professor Blackwell is absolutely ripped under all those layers of clothes. She held up the Great Hall’s roof with sheer force alone!
I heard that Professor Blackwell put a vampire in a headlock.
Rumour is that Blackwell is going a big loopy after the weekend in the Wing with all the hurt students.
I heard a first year Slytherin threw up all over the Great Hall floor last week. Perhaps that class with Blackwell was too much for her?