Peyton Carter

Peyton Carter / Katie Jarvis

OOC

Game Journal Portrayed By
New Salem peytoplay Katie Jarvis

Basic Stats

Full Name: Peyton Isabelle Carter
Nickname(s): Pey, Peyt, Peyts...
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Date of Birth: May 14, 1991
Zodiac: Taurus
Sexuality: Straight
Relationship Status: Single
Bloodline: Halfblood
Hometown: Bristol, England
Current Residence: Dunmoody, Ireland
House & Year: Ravenclaw 2009
Occupation: Waitress
Wand: 8 in, poplar, unicorn tail hair
Pet: None

Family

Father: Glen Carter (wizard; Ravenclaw 1980; music shop manager; b. December 29, 1961; d. February 3, 1998)
Mother: Jolene Mays (witch; Slytherin 1987; mediwitch; b. June 23, 1969)
Step-father: Alexander Mays (wizard; Hufflepuff 1980; music teacher; b. February 28, 1962)
Half-brother: William Mays (wizard; b. September 15, 2006)
Half-sister: Georgina Mays (witch; b. December 31, 2008)

History

Glen Carter was a failed musician. It wasn't that he wasn't good, he could play the guitar just like ringing a bell, he just lacked the drive and strong will to actually go out there and "be discovered." But music was his passion, and he ended up getting a job in a music shop, which sold both recordings and musical instruments. And that was where he met Jolene. Nearly eight years younger than him, a fresh graduate from Hogwarts, she wandered into the shop one morning to buy some music in the summer of 1987, and they engaged in a long discussion about music, delighting in shared tastes and butting heads over how "amazing" Celestina Warbeck really was. Later that afternoon, Glen was kicking himself for not asking her out before she'd left with her purchase when Jolene walked right back into the shop and asked him out to dinner.

Two years later, Glen and Jolene were married, and it was within another two years that their daughter, Peyton Isabelle, was born. Glen still worked in the music store, though he'd worked his way up from simple cashier to manager, and Jolene was a mediwitch. Both were still passionate about music, and they passed that passion on to Peyton. Glen would sit beside her crib and strum his guitar and sing for her, while Jolene (who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket and couldn't play an instrument to save her life) would put records on in the nursery to play for her. At the age of four, Glen took Peyton into the music store and told her to find the instrument that "felt right" to her. Peyton ended up in front of a piano, and Glen had an old friend (Alexander Mays) teaching her to tickle the ivories within a week.

Of course, Peyton's childhood wasn't a completely idyllic one of nothing but music. War was brewing, and though they tried, the Carters couldn't stay out of it forever. Especially with Glen a muggleborn. Jolene was tipped off by a coworker that the muggleborn registration business was not what was expected, and the next night, Glen disappeared without a word. He went on the run to try to avoid Azkaban, leaving Jolene and six-year-old Peyton to fend for themselves. Jolene was questioned about her husband's disapperance, of course, as was Peyton, but neither had any answers. Not until the following February, when they found out courtesy of the Prophet that the "dangerous fugitive" Glen Carter had been cornered by Snatchers and was "accidentally killed" in the ensuing fight.

After her father's death, Peyton grew withdrawn and moody, and Jolene reached out to everyone she knew in the medical field to find somebody to help her. Peyton saw several mind healers over the course of the following year, but none of them were particularly helpful. Finally, it was actually Alexander, who was still teaching Peyton to play the piano, who came up with a way to help the now-eight-year-old: music therapy. He helped Jolene find a therapist to work with Peyton, and Alexander and Jolene started growing close as they both mourned Glen's death. Peyton was twelve when they got engaged, and they got married in July of 2004, shortly after Peyton came home from her second year at Hogwarts (and Peyton chose to keep her father's name instead of taking Alexander's). Within the next four years, Peyton was joined by two younger half-siblings: a brother William in 2006 right after she returned to school for her fifth year, and a sister Georgina in 2008 while she was home for winter hols in her seventh year.

The music therapy helped Peyton a lot with dealing with not only the emotions from her father's death, but also with coping with a new father and suddenly having two little babies around the house. The piano became her refuge from everything, a way to calm herself and regain her sense of inner peace. Even while at school, she would seek out the choir room and its piano whenever she needed to de-stress. Although she wasn't all too big on singing (she could sing better than her mother, but singing wasn't her passion), she joined the choir to accompany the singers on piano. She was not your stereotypical Ravenclaw, nose buried in books, obsessed with homework, but rather the type who loved to get into discussions about anything. Discussions, not debates, she didn't like taking sides.

It was when she returned to school after Georgina was born that Peyton started having trouble sleeping. Ever since her mother's remarriage, actually, Peyton had occasionally had a sleepless or restless night, but they were few and far between until those last months of her Hogwarts life. She took to spending more time at night down in the common room to avoid keeping her roommates awake, and would then often be found there in the morning, dozing in one of the armchairs, or her head cushioned on a textbook at one of the tables, her homework imprinted on her cheek. She never mentioned it in any of her letters home to her mum, and when she returned home that summer, she kept to herself in her room when she couldn't sleep, quietly pacing back and forth or writing out music in her notebook.

Much to her disgruntlement, it was Alexander who discovered her issues with sleeping. And he, once again, had the answer: he bought her an expensive piano, the muggle kind that ran on electricity, but altered to run on magic instead. He even helped to soundproof her room, so that she could work on the piano late at night without disturbing the babies. Peyton appreciated the gift, and it's one of her more cherished possessions, but she dislikes that it was her step-father who noticed and not her mother. With the babies around, Peyton felt largely ignored by Jolene, who seemed to view Peyton as a live-in babysitter, often asking Peyton to watch the babies on short notice, so she could run to the store, or go out and get her hair done. Whenever Peyton expressed an interest in going out to get a job, Jolene dismissed her, saying she wasn't ready for it, and she and Alexander would continue supporting Peyton.

After a year of this, Peyton couldn't take it anymore. She hated being just the babies' babysitter, and even though she had no idea what she wanted to do, career-wise, she went out and got a job anyway: at The Four Courts in the wizarding village of Dunmoody. Her mother was upset with her for getting the job, but as a nineteen-year-old, Peyton was perfectly capable of getting and keeping her own job, and there wasn't much Jolene could do to stop her. And when Peyton expressed the desire to move out of the house into her own flat, Jolene once again tried to fight her. Again to Peyton's disgruntlement, Alexander once again stood up for her and talked her mother into letting her move out, so long as Jolene approved of where she lived and any roommates she might have. And so, Peyton ended up moving to Dunmoody, where she answered an ad for a roommate.

Personality

Peyton is something of a quiet, introverted girl. She withdrew into herself after the death of her father, and she never really fully recovered. She's a polite young woman, and she keeps to herself, not wanting to stick her nose into other people's business. Really, she'd be perfectly happy to be more or less left alone, but she also frequently yearns for company and companionship. Company other than her mother, step-father, and half-siblings, especially. After a year's worth of being a glorified babysitter for William and Georgina, she's not so much a fan of little kids, and would rather just avoid them if possible. She doesn't have a problem with children in general, she just doesn't like taking care of them.

The piano is Peyton's solace. Even just sitting around and tinkering with the keys, not really playing, is enough to make her feel calm inside. She writes her own music, but only for herself. Like her father, although she absolutely loves music and it's her passion, she doesn't have the driving personality to go for any kind of career in the music industry. Peyton is far too shy to share her own music with anyone. She doesn't even play in front of other people generally, regardless of whether or not it's her own compositions. She just doesn't think she could take the rejection if people didn't like her playing. She would rather just enjoy having it as a beloved hobby and pasttime.

Peyton has problems with sleep. Insomnia, to be precise, though she's refused to see any healers about it. She doesn't think it's a problem, constant tiredness and difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep are just the way things are, the way she sees it. She sleeps whenever she can, and when she can't sleep at night, she'll sit at her piano and play around on it. Sometimes, that even helps her to fall asleep, but she doesn't think that being put on sleep potions (her mother's suggestion) would help anything, which is why she's refused to get help.

Quirks, Features, and Habits