Anne Knightley

-BASIC INFORMATION-

NAME : Anne Knightley
AGE : 36
BIRTHDAY :  June 15th, 1985
ORIENTATION : Straight
RELATIONSHIP STATUS :  Single
BLOOD STATUS : Half-Blood
POSITION APPLYING FOR : Head of the Department of Mysteries

-PHYSICAL INFORMATION-

What color are their eyes, hair and skin? :  Anne's hair is a dark brown almost black, her eyes a deep green, and her skin is white, but not pale.

How do they dress? :  Anne dresses in timeless fashions, things that never go out of style.  She is usually in a dress or skirt of some kind, though always of a length to modestly go below her knees.  Occasionally she may be found in pants, but she very much prefers more ladylike attire.  Her wardrobe is modest in expense as well as in taste.

Do they wear makeup? :  Yes, but she takes a minimalist approach, meant to enhance her features rather than obscure them.

Height? :  5'10"

Do they resemble any family members? : Anne strongly resembles her mother.

What is their best physical feature? : Her hair.  It is long and dark, thick and wavy.

What is their most flawed physical feature? :  Anne always berates herself about her weight, and takes steps such as working out and eating very healthy to keep it under control.

-FAMILY INFORMATION-

Where are they from? :  Kettlebrook, England

Describe their past history :  Anne grew up on stories of her famous ancestor Montague Knightley, who won the World Wizard Chess Championship every year for 40 years in a row before his death in 1588.  While a remarkable achievement in and of itself, Montague's real contribution to his family was the centuries early realization that pure-blooded inbreeding of his time would ultimately lead to the degredation and eventual extinction of Wizards everywhere.  He tried very hard to shake his contemporaries out of their foolishness, pushing his children to marry muggles or the muggle born.  Some of his children headed him while others still tried to keep the blood pure, but as a result of his efforts, the House of Knightley escaped most of the problems with madness and trouble with integration that plagued the other "pure blood" families like the Blacks and the Malfoys.  This included having a far stronger and more diverse base from which to support a large family tree.

Anne's father Mordecai took after his ancestor, winning tournament after tournament in Wizard Chess, and earning a modest living doing so.  He took a job in the Department of Magical Games and Sports with the intention of creating a department for Wizard Chess, a goal he spent most of his life working towards while slaving away in the Ludicrous Patents Office.  He was doing his own research into the similarities between Wizard Chess and Muggle Chess, watching Muggles play their own version of the game in Hyde Park, when he witnessed a young woman of no more than 20 take a seat across from one of the much older men waiting for opponents.  The ritual, as Mordecai understood it, was that once you won a game, the loser was expected to leave and find another table.  At first the older man was dismissive, but the young woman only smiled and insisted it was the older man's move.  The game was quick and brutal, with the young girl soundly trashing the older man.  In an effort to meat this young woman, Mordecai took the seat the loser vacated.  This is how Mordecai and Elizabeth met.

Elizabeth at the time was studying at Oxford, majoring in Physics and Philosophy, and about to start work on her graduate courses.  From the moment they met, it was true love.  Elizabeth's intelligence matched Mordecai's own, and soon enough, much to the derision of many of his peers, they were married.  Mordecai moved with his wife to Cambridge where Elizabeth earned her Ph.D. in Physics after transferring there from Oxford, while he apparated to work at the Ministry.  Shortly after, Anne was born.

It was clear from an early age that Anne had inherited her parents love for learning, as well as their intelligence.  Her parents initially paid for private schooling for Anne, where she was allowed to excel in all things academic.  The mandatory physical education Anne struggled with, but she was among people who were almost as smart as she was, so that didn't really matter.  She had a head for maths and sciences, though she tended to lag behind on the humanities like Literature and History.  She was very much her parents child in this, and she was so happy in her muggle school that her parents opted to have her father teach her magic, rather than pull her out of her muggle school.  When her Hogwarts letter arrived, Mordecai politely wrote back to Albus Dumbledore, telling him of their decision, which Albus acknowledged with a polite and encouraging letter back.  So for her fist year of magical education, Anne was taught at home by her more than capable father while simultaneously going to her private muggle school to learn the things she'd need for success in that world.

The world turned, however.  Anne's wand, one of Walnut and Phoenix Feather, 10 inches, was the last one Ollivander sold before his disappearance.  Mordecai kept hearing more and more disturbing rumors at the Ministry, until he quit so as to keep his wife safe from harm.  When the Second Wizarding War began in full, and the Ministry changed the law making Hogwarts attendance mandatory, Mordecai had no choice but to pull Anne out of her muggle school and send her to Hogwarts, and seeing the writing on the wall, he and his wife went into hiding after getting all the supplies Anne would need.  Anne was absolutely heartbroken to leave her dear friends behind, and she did not fully understand why she had to go to this new school rather than learn magic from her father, but she complied, knowing that if her father had any other choice, he would take it.  Anne was informed that due to her age and assurances from her father she was up to it, she would be starting at second year, rather than starting at first year.

While waiting at Platform 9 and 3/4 for the train, Anne had a chance encounter with Neville Longbottom.  By chance encounter, it is meant he collided in to her.  Anne was familiar with Wizard World news, so she knew who Neville was, but meeting him in person awakened an instant crush for him.  This was only heightened when Draco Malfoy came up and tried to make fun of the pair of them.  Her instant crush on Neville caused her to beg the sorting hat to put her in Gryffindor house so she could be near him, and maybe win some attention, but the hat saw right through her.  She certainly had courage, but it was her mind that defined her, and her willingness to use guile to get what she wanted.  Almost instantly, the hat sorted her into Slytherin, much to Anne's regret.

Anne learned in Slytherin house just what she'd been missing by being isolated from the Wizarding world, and what she found disgusted her.  Bigotry and mania from pure bloods made no sense to her, as she had been taught to view science and magic as equal in power and deserving of equal respect, and her basic knowledge of genetics taught her the folly of the purity position.  She very much agreed with Charity Bubage's article on the subject, but she was savvy enough to keep her opinions to herself.  Voicing them, she knew, would lead her peers who believed the nonsense to abuse and possible violence against her, so she adopted a go along to get along mentality, never agreeing with them, but never disagreeing either.  Instead, as Neville and the DA ramped up their insurrection, she did what little she could to help them from afar without actually seeming to join them or actively support them.  She changed the names on all the trophies in the display case to Harry Potter secretly.  During this time she went along with learning Dark Magic from Amycus Carrow to avoid getting noticed and punished, and tried her best to keep her head down in Muggle Studies class.  By the beginning of the second semester, she'd given up on her crush on Neville and was just trying to survive and help where she could.  She was caught helping one of her housemates escape punishment for some minor offense, and was forced to take his place.  Gregory Goyle personally administered the Cruciatus Curse to her, and he was by this point quite proficient in it's use.  After this humiliation and pain, Anne received an official Ministry letter informing her that her Parents had been found, tried for crimes against Wizard Kind, found guilty, and executed by being forced through the Death Curtain.  Apparently, she was not to be blamed for the fact that her father had had the audacity to marry a muggle woman.  Anne cried for weeks, as she dearly loved her parents with all her heart, then became more determined to bring the Death Eaters down in whatever way she could.  As a very young second year student, she couldn't do much, and this became readily apparent.

When Harry returned to Hogwarts, Anne was so disgusted with her housemates attitudes that she slipped away from the line as they were being marched from the castle, determined to help the side of light rather than be forced to help the side she despised.  Unfortunately, with too little training and not nearly enough knowledge, Anne couldn't do much more than watch in hiding as people she knew and loved died just like her parents, as Death Eaters and Werewolves mauled and killed those who did not deserve to die.  Watching such events at such a young age and being helpless to do anything about it left Anne scared for life, having PTSD flashbacks to the Battle of Hogwarts when in particularly stressful situations even to this day.  She has otherwise suppressed most of the memories of that night.

Anne, like many others, was allowed to repeat her second year due to the idiocy of the Carrows during her first try, something she eagerly accepted.  Without the threat of war, Anne thrived in the academic environment of Hogwarts, deciding early on that she'd want to be an Auror like her hero Neville, but also like many in her generation wanted to achieve.  In addition to the classes necessary for earning that position, she took History of Magic, Divination, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Astronomy.  Already used to learning magic and muggle subjects at the same time, Anne had little problem balancing her schedule.  She joined the restarted Dueling Club and made many new friends in every house.  In her fifth year, Slughorne made her the Girls Prefect, and she earned OWLs in all 10 of the subjects she kept up with.  It wasn't until sitting down with Slughorne for career counseling that Anne even considered the path of joining the Department of Mysteries.  Slughorne wisely said that the Auror sots would have heavy competition for eahc one, while virtually no one was trying to go into the field of magical research and development.  The idea deeply appealed to Anne, so she agreed.  She kept all the classes she was already taking as no one had any idea what the Department of Mysteries required.  In her Seventh Year, she was made Head Girl, and made O's or E's on every one of her NEWTs.

Anne's Application to the Department of Mysteries was accepted almost immediately.  She started as an Unspeakable in the Hall of Prophecy due to her high marks in Divination.  Most of her work there involved recreating the files lost during the disastrous Department of Mysteries battle between Harry, his friends, and the Death Eaters, even years after the fact.  Hundreds of years of prophecy had been lost, and tracking them down and restoring them to their place occupied most of her time.  Anne developed a new enchantment which not only kept the prophecies in place on the shelf, but ensured that the glass orbs could not be broken open except by one of the subjects of the prophecy, rather than by anyone who happened to get hold of them thereafter.  She earned a commendation for her work, and a promotion to the Brain Room, after only three years.

During this time, she also applied to and got in at Cambridge university, her mother's Alma Matter.  She started taking classes in Physics almost immediately.

It was in the Brain Room that Anne met the love of her life, a fellow Unspeakable named Ian McCallister.  They fell in love almost instantly, moving in together after only knowing each other for a few months.  The pair threw convention out the window, refusing to get married and instead celebrating their love for each other.  Their combined work in the areas of memory and thought restored the Brain room to it's former glory within 2 years, during which time Anne's talent for Legilemency was discovered.  Immediately once word got out, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement began to ask her to fill in on interrogations, as truly talented Legilimens were rare. 

At this point she had to put things on hold for a year, as she had just gotten pregnant, and playing around with magic while in that condition would be harmful to both herself and her baby. She took a more clerical role, doing math and book research, and soon enough her daughter Meghan was born. Ian decided to retire from his position in the Brain Room to raise her.  Ian loved being a stay at home dad, and supported Anne in her career.

At 23, Anne was promoted, and took her place as a Time Room Unspeakable.  The Head of the Department at the time thought her skill in enchantment may be  of great use in restoring the Time Turner program, and he was right.  Within two years, Anne had the Time Turner program on track to be fully reinstated, and her son Matthew was born. 

It was shortly after Matthew's birth that another tragedy struck Anne's life, as Ian inexplicably disappeared without a single trace. Despite intensive efforts by Anne and Magical Law Enforcement, it seemed that Ian had left the hose with Anne and her children inside, and simply never been heard from again. To this day, no one is sure what happened.

Anne had to scale back on her hours at work, and hire someone to help her with the kids when she did work. Fortunately, her parents had left her a not insubstantial sum of money, and her own pay from the Ministry was quite generous. Ian's disappearance was more harmful to her children than it was to her, a fact she carefully hid from them. She was able to balance her time between work and her children rather well, and her kids never lacked for anything.

Upon returning to full duty, the Department Head asked her where she would like to be posted.  By now having earned her Masters of Physics from Cambridge, Anne asked for a position in the Space Chamber, and it was here that her full talents were finally realized.  Combining Muggle Physics with Magical spatial manipulation proved such a powerful combination that she was leading the Chamber's Unspeakables within a year.

Just as Meghan started her first year at Hogwarts, the Head of the Department of Mysteries announced his plans to retire, and Anne was almost immediately and universally recommended to Kingsley Shacklebolt as his replacement.  Gratefully, Anne accepted, and has filled that position for the last 4 years, watching her daughter grow up and her son begin his own career at Hogwarts.  Her position has afforded her the opportunity for deep study and experimentation in the deepest realms of magic, something Anne loves only slightly less than her own children.


Who are their parents? : Mordecai Knightley (father, wizard) and Elizabeth Knightley (Mother, muggle, maiden name Colly), both killed during the Second Wizarding War

Do they have siblings? :  No

Do they have any children? :  Her daughter, Meghan, now in her fourth year at Hogwarts, and her son, Matthew, who just started his second year there.

Is their any history of mental illness in their family :  No, but Anne herself struggles with PTSD stemming from her time at Hogwarts while the Carrows were there.  She regularly sees a specialist at St. Mungoes to help her deal with this, and while it is controlled, exceptionally extreme stress may push her into a panicked state.

-PERSONAL INFORMATION-

What do they hate? :  Gregory Goyle.  People who get power over others only to abuse it for selfish ends.  Anyone who uses torture as a method of control, or those who endorse using torture as a method of getting information.  Anyone who would use the Unforgivable Curses for any reason other than research on non-sentient life.

What do they love? :  Anne loves her children more than her own life, and she dearly loves her job.  Delving in and researching the deepest and most ancient forms of magic that cannot be easily or readily explained.  People who get power and use it to help and uplift others.  Everyone of her Unspeakables.

What can they not live without? :  Her children, her job, and knowing more about the deepest levels of magic than any of her peers.

Have they ever been in love? :  Yes, she was deeply in love with the father of her children.  He disappeared without a trace just after Matthew was born.  It is unclear if this was by his design or by some unfortunate accident.  Anne and he never married, despite being together for more than 6 years.

What is their most traumatic memory? :  Having the Cruciatus Curse used on her for a detention while in her second year at Hogwarts.  The man who did so was none other than Gregory Goyle, whom she has a deep hatred of to this day.

What is their happiest memory? :  The birth of her daughter.

Describe their personality :  Gracious and charming, Anne has a kind word and a smile for all she meets.  She is quick to laugh, and slow to anger.  She is somewhat of a touchy feely person, as she is quick to offer a hug or a brief touch on the shoulder, especially if someone is in need of comfort.

What would be a stranger's first impression of them? :  Talkative and witty, kind-hearted and warm, but there's something in her eyes that can disturb people, as she has a way of looking at you that seems to be looking right into your heart and soul. 

How would you, the writer, describe them? :  Anne is a survivor, someone who has gone through hell, and come out the other side to heal and then thrive.  She is well balanced, intelligent and innovative, and fiercely protective of those she loves.  She is extremely perceptive and empathetic as well.

Any special magical abilities? :

Apparition:  Due to years of work in the Space Chamber in the Department of Mysteries, Anne can Apparate as easily as she can walk, to the point that she sometimes will "flit", meaning she will be walking along normally and inadvertently Apparate through her next step.  To ensure this causes no problems with Muggles, she has an enchanted ring she wears that keeps a modified Silencing Charm cast on her which completely suppresses the iconic popping sound normally made by Apparating.  Most muggles who inadvertently see her flit simply assume that they blinked.

Dark Magic: Anne learned a great deal about dark magic in her second year at Hogwarts from Amycus Carrow. This was largely out of defense, because if she hadn't been willing to get dirty with the rest of the Slytherins, they would have made her life much worse through the course of that dreadful year. She has even cast all three of the Unforgivables, with little result as she did not have the stomach for it. After that year, Anne continued her study into the darker aspects of magic in order to never again be subjected to it. While she has studied this subject deeply, and could definitely use potent Dark Magic if she chose, she has little practice with the spells. Much like Dumbledore, while she has this knowledge, she is too noble to actually use it except under the most extreme of circumstances.

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Once again a result of her second year, Anne dedicated herself to learning to defend herself in her later years at Hogwarts so she would never again be afraid of the likes of the Carrows.  Her depth of knowledge in Dark Magic allows her to be absolutely exceptional in defending against it.

Dueling: Anne not only joined the reformed Dueling Club while she was at Hogwarts, she asks for and receives special battle training from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as recompense for her service as a Legilimens.  She does not broadcast this proficiency, but anyone who wants to engage her in a magical battle will be greatly surprised that not only can she hold her own, she is highly skilled.  She surprises her teachers on a regular basis with just how fearsome a dueling opponent she is.

Enchantment: Anne is adept at enchanting physical objects to produce magical effects. The ring she wears to stop the popping of her inadvertent apparition is one of her own making.

Legilemency: Her work in the Brain Room lead to Anne studying the art of Legilemency, which she has a talent for that matches Tom Riddle's. If someone has no training in Occlumency, she automatically knows if that person is lying to her, and can pull out the deepest of memories from those she actually focuses this skill upon. However, she strictly follows Ministry guidelines in the use of Legilemency. Due to this talent, Anne is sometimes called in to interrogation sessions by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which she willing helps in every way she can. Occlumency proved impossible for her to grasp, as Anne is terrible at hiding who she is, though she does know enough to be able to keep someone out of her head if she needs to.

Non-Verbal Spells: Anne has had years of practice with her spell work, as well as deep knowledge of the nature of magic itself. Casting spells silently is almost second nature to her.

Transfiguration: Anne is wonderful with spells of all types that change or alter form, but especially with those that alter spatial dimensions.  Her work on Theoretical Physics only enhanced her talent for space manipulating magic, giving her an insight that no other wizard has.

Any special skills? :

Administrative Knowledge: Due to long experience with the Bureaucracy of the Ministry, and long experience with people, Anne knows what it takes to manage her department, and do it well, from allocating resources like money and people, to navigating the red tape and filing the paperwork the Ministry requires.

Arithmancy: As a result of her studies in early life and in the Muggle world after Hogwarts, Anne is very good with Maths of all kinds.

Deep Magical Knowledge: While not yet anywhere near the level of Albus Dumbledore, Anne has studied the underlying foundations of magic for most of her adult life. Unlike almost all of the Wizarding World, she can explain exactly why Harry Potter survived the Killing Curse, the ancient magic that kept Harry protected during his time with the Dursleys, and why Harry's sacrifice lead ultimately to Voldemort's downfall. She even understands why Harry survived the Killing Curse a second time, though she has no idea about what Harry experienced afterwards. Wand lore, soul magic, love magic, mind magic, she has studied all of these things through her work with the Department of Mysteries, and continues to seek out new and broaden her knowledge.

Logic: Much like Severus Snape, Anne does not equate magical power and prowess with intelligence.  She is exceptionally good at logical thought and progression, a result of the years she spent playing Wizard's Chess with her father and logic games with her mother before being forced to go to Hogwarts when she was 12.  Also much like Snape, she is most likely to test someone with a logic puzzle rather than a magical one.

Physics: Anne has kept up with her study of science and physics, and is as well educated as a Muggle as she is as a witch. After Graduating Hogwarts, she took college coursework from Cambridge University as her work at the Ministry allowed, and earned her Masters degree in Theoretical Physics. She decided not to pursue a doctorate, as she would then be expected to write papers on the subject and teach at university, which she had no intention of doing. This knowledge helped her greatly while she worked as an unspeakable in the Time and Space rooms.

Wizard's Chess Hogwarts Champion: While not as good as her father or her ancestor, it is very difficult to find a player as skilled as Anne at Wizard Chess.  A match was set up between her and Ron Weasley at one point, a match on which betting within the Ministry was fierce.  It ended in a stalemate, an outcome which only Hermione had bet on, so she won the full pot.  Thus far, Ron has been Anne's only worthy opponent, other than her father.







Current Occupation :  Head of the Department of Mysteries

Where did they go to school? :  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Was school a good time for them? Describe their school life :  After the Second Wizarding War, school was a good time for Anne, but during her second year at Hogwarts, it was pure hell.  She lived through the horrors of the Carrows at a much younger age than the more famous survivors of that time, and was scared by it.  She ended her school career having earned OWLs in every subject except Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies, and NEWTs in all of those same classes, a total of 10 each.  She became Prefect for her house in her Fifth Year and Head Girl in her Seventh Year. 

Did they have a lot of friends? :  After her second year, yes, Anne was a popular student, though she maintained a distance from her friends that few could break through.

Have they worked previously? If so, where? :  Anne has worked as an Unspeakable in the Halls of Prophecy, the Brain Room, the Space Chamber and the Time Room in the Department of Mysteries, and has worked in that department since her graduation from Hogwarts.  This made her uniquely qualified for the Head position of the department, a fact that Kingsley Shacklebolt openly acknowledged when he appointed her to the position 4 years ago.

Writer's Name: Imbeni

Role Playing Sample: (A PARAGRAPH IN THIRD PERSON DESCRIBING AN INTERACTION OF YOUR CHARACTER DOING SOMETHING)