Sally-Anne Perks

OOC

Game	Journal	Portrayed By
The Gossip Witch	_perky	Isabel Lucas

Basic Stats

Full Name: Sally-Anne Perks
Nickname(s): Sally, Sal
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Date of Birth: April 13, 1980
Zodiac: Aries
Sexuality: Straight
Relationship Status: Engaged to Nathan Cadwallader Single
Bloodline: Halfblood
Hometown: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Current Residence: A small flat in muggle London
House & Year: Hufflepuff 1998
Occupation: Photographer: British World News (a monthly muggle news magazine based in London)
Wand: 11 in, cocobolo wood, phoenix tail feather core
Pet: None

Family

Father: Jack Perks (wizard; Gryffindor 1965; quidditch commentator)
Mother: Lauren Perks (née Simmons; witch; Hufflepuff 1965; assistant in the Department of International Magical Cooperation)
Brother: Arthur Perks (wizard; Gryffindor 1989; Auror)
Brother: Michael Perks (wizard; Ravenclaw 1991; Auror)
Brother: Jonathan Perks (wizard; Slytherin 1996; Death Eater, presently in Azkaban)
Brother: Nicholas Perks (wizard; Ravenclaw 2003; intern at Whizzhard Books)
Sister: Elizabeth Perks (witch; Hufflepuff 7th)

History

Born on April 13, 1980, Sally-Anne Perks is a middle child. Not the middle child, she shares the position with her brother Jonathan. She has three older brothers: Arthur, born in 1970; Michael, born in 1973; and Jonathan, born in 1977; a younger brother: Nicholas, born in 1984; and a younger sister: Elizabeth, born in 1987. Yes, Sally is aware that her family is quite large, but she loves her family and, growing up, she couldn't imagine her life without her siblings around. Arthur and Michael were so much older than Sally and the other three that she tended to be closer to Jonathan, Nicholas, and Elizabeth, Jonathan in particular.

Even though money was tight, there was no shortage of love in the Perks household. Dad Jack was a quidditch commentator and mom Lauren was an assistant at the Ministry, so while they weren't exactly rolling in the money, they were able to make ends meet with some money left over. Schoolbooks were often recycled down for the younger siblings, but Sally felt a little closer to her older brothers when she used the same books that they had used.

The Perks children ended up in widely varied houses. Eldest child Arthur was sorted into Gryffindor (their father's former house) and he became a proud wearer of the red and gold. Next came bookish Michael two years later, sorted into Ravenclaw. Five years later, snobbish and cunning Jonathan was sorted into Slytherin. Two years later, Sally finished the collection of Hogwarts houses when she was sorted into Hufflepuff, her mother's former house. Five years later, Nicholas joined Michael's former house of Ravenclaw, and two years after that, Elizabeth was sorted into the house that her sister had only just vacated, Hufflepuff. Because of the age differences, Sally was only ever at school with Jonathan and Nicholas, but their different houses and years made it hard for them to spend much time together.

But Sally made herself at home in Hufflepuff right away. She made friends with her roommates, and she became the biggest fan of Hufflepuff quidditch the school had ever seen. Her father had instilled a love of the game in all of his children, but Sally couldn't play it to save her life. So she contented herself with watching the game and being the biggest fan that she could be. She really got into it, painting her face in yellow and black, making banners, cheering until her throat was raw. In her third year, she even tried to get some of the other girls interested in starting up a Hufflepuff Cheerleading Squad, but she couldn't get enough interest. She did continue trying almost every year after that, especially as the war was brewing, because she thought that a bit of extra cheer was just what everyone needed.

In March of her fifth year, Sally was stricken with mononucleosis. She was sent home for the remainder of the term, in part so that she couldn't pass it to anyone else, and in part because she was so fatigued that she couldn't even drag herself out of bed. As a result, she missed taking the O.W.L.s with her yearmates, so her parents petitioned the Ministry of Magic and got special permission for Sally to take the O.W.L.s over the summer, so that she could stay with her friends.

Once Sally had recovered from mono, she returned to school in her sixth year, which wasn't that bad of a year until the end. Sally was shaken by the death of Professor Dumbledore and the battle in the school (in which she didn't take an active part, she was never all that great at classes like Defense and only decent at Charms and would have been more of a hinderance than a help, so she stayed in the Hufflepuff common room and tried to help keep the younger years calm and safe). After a summer of pulling herself together, she returned for her seventh year.

Seventh year at Hogwarts was a trying one for everyone who was there. Returning to school, only to find that many of her classmates were missing was upsetting. Sally also didn't enjoy the fact that Defense Against the Dark Arts was mandatory again (or the fact that it was now just Dark Arts), and although she was already taking Muggle Studies, she did not like the new direction the class was taking. Despite the fact that Sally did poorly in Dark Arts, she continued to earn high marks in that class, which confused her terribly, until the aftermath of the battle at Hogwarts. As in the one the year before, Sally did not stay to fight (she was still no better at magical fighting than she had been before), instead helping to get the younger years to safety through the Room of Requirement and into Hogsmeade. When the dust settled, though, Sally found out that her beloved brother Jonathan had been captured during the battle and unmasked as a Death Eater.

For a long time, Sally refused to believe that her brother was guilty, despite the fact that he readily admitted to his guilt and was sentenced to Azkaban. Sally just could not make sense of her brother's betrayal. When she finally did accept the truth, thanks to her friends refusing to let her avoid it any longer, she began blaming the Slytherin house for making Jonathan into a Death Eater; she was positive that, had he been sorted into any other house, he would not have gone down that path. The first time that she visited Jonathan in Azkaban, nearly two years after he had been sentenced, she finally found out why she seemed to do so well in Dark Arts that last year: her brother had petitioned for her safety, turning himself into essentially the Carrows' lapdog in exchange.

Sally was torn about how to react to her brother's admission. Should she be grateful that he sacrificed whatever morals he'd had to save her? Should she feel guilty that it was because of her that he went the way he did? Since she didn't know how to react, she just shoved all the feelings aside, choosing once again to ignore the facts and run from things.

In April of 2003, Sally ran into Nate Cadwallader, with whom she had attended the Yule Ball at Hogwarts all those years ago. He had been a year ahead of her in school, and she'd harboured a small crush on him on and off during her Hogwarts years. They began dating and, on Christmas day 2003, he proposed to her and she said yes. However, less than a year later, in late September of 2004, Sally was offered a position as a staff photographer at one of the muggle news magazines that she was a freelancer for. The only catch was that, for her first assignment, they wanted to send her to Zimbabwe, Africa, for five months with a research group. Sally was torn, because the opportunity was a wonderful one, but five months away from home and her fiancé (and surrounded by muggles, so the use of magic, especially apparating home for visits, would be impossible) would be almost too much to bear. What ended up making the decision for her was especially rampant rumours about Nate and herself. She had never liked being the focus of gossip, and in her already-conflicted state, the new rumours were just too much to bear. She gave Nate the ring back and accepted the job.

Now that her five months in Africa have drawn to a close, Sally is nervous about returning to England. She has definitely missed England and all her friends, but she is worried about seeing Nate again. She's also not sure how she feels about returning to all the gossip and rumours.