Effie Ketteridge

OOC

Game	Journal	Portrayed By
Sidelines	effiervescent	Claire Holt

Basic Stats

Full Name: Euphemia Elladora Ketteridge
Nickname(s): Effie
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Date of Birth: June 10, 1987
Zodiac: Gemini
Sexuality: Straight
Relationship Status: Single
Bloodline: Halfblood
Current Residence: Birmingham, England
House & Year: Hufflepuff 2005
Occupation: Bartender: Leaky Cauldron; Welcome Witch: St. Mungo's; shop assistant: In Bloom
Wand: 8 in, hornbeam, unicorn tail hair
Pet: None

Family

Father: Preston Pierce Ketteridge (wizard; Hufflepuff 1982; researcher; b. January 23, 1964)
Mother: Margaret Louise Ketteridge (née Smith; witch; Hufflepuff 1982; healer: Spell Damage; b. September 8, 1963)
Sister: Gretchen Gertrude Ketteridge (witch; Ravenclaw 2007; b. December 12, 1988)
Sister: Adelaide Anabella Ketteridge (witch; Hufflepuff 2009; b. July 31, 1991)
Sister: Henrietta Hyacinth Ketteridge (witch; Hufflepuff 2011; b. February 14, 1993)
Brother: Dexter Donovan Ketteridge (wizard; Hufflepuff 2011; b. February 14, 1993)

History

Preston Pierce Ketteridge was one in a long line of the more-or-less pureblood family. They didn't particularly go out of their way to keep the line pure, but it was rather difficult for them to get to know muggles well enough to marry them, so at most they only ever married muggleborns. Due to a tendency toward many children (and girls, at that), the line has fragmented, though Preston himself could trace his geneaology straight back to his great-something aunt Elladora, who discovered the use of gillyweed.

And she, really, is the prime example of what the Ketteridge line is most known for: lack of intelligence, really. Elladora discovered the use of gillyweed by eating it and nearly suffocating until she plunged her head in a bucket of water. Her particular branch of the family tree is pretty much the counter-example to the muggle theory of Darwinism: somehow, they've managed to survive, even while being … well, not the fittest. Which is another main characteristic of the Ketteridges: they're resilient and manage to keep going without being knocked down. It's almost ridiculous, the kinds of things they survive. (Preston's great-uncle Kendrick was struck by lightning and was perfectly find the next day.)

Preston and Margaret met in Hogwarts, where they were year- and housemates. They were still in school was the war reached its peak and ended in the (supposed) destruction of Voldemort. They started dating in their sixth year, and continued to do so after they had finished with school. Margaret went into healer training, and by 1986, she was a full healer and they were married. June 10th, 1987, brought the birth of their first child, a daughter whom they named Euphemia Elladora. Over the next six years, they had four more children: Gretchen in 1988, Adelaide in 1991, and the twins Henrietta and Dexter in 1993 (finally, a son!).

The Ketteridge household was always a crazy one as Euphemia grew up. From a young age, she couldn't pronounce her own name, and her younger siblings had similar problems, so she went by Effie pretty much from the start. As the oldest of five, she was sometimes charged with watching her younger siblings, though they were all so close in age that Gretchen in particular balked at the thought that Effie was old enough to take care of her. Especially since Effie was a typical Ketteridge and, at times, could barely take care of herself.

The Ketteridge children were all too young to know what was going on during the war, and Effie herself started school at Hogwarts right after the war ended, joining students who had just literally been through war. Her years at Hogwarts were considerably easier than those who went before her: no wars, no battles, just classes and crushes and homework. She never tried out for quidditch, having barely survived flying lessons in her first year. She made friends easily, but had to spend a lot of time on studying and homework in order to just barely scrape by in her classes. Throughout all of Hogwarts, even following her meeting with Professor Sprout in her fifth year about career paths, she was rather aimless: she wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She just wasn't really good at anything!

Over time, her siblings joined her at Hogwarts, as well. Most were sorted into Hufflepuff with Effie (as most Ketteridges were), though both Gretchen and Dexter made it into Ravenclaw. She was happy to have her little siblings around, though she was jealous of Gretchen's far superior marks in classes. By the time Effie finished school in 2005, she still had no future lined up. She took a few part-time jobs and saved up enough money to get a small flat and move out of her parents' house. While the jobs weren't exactly careers, they allowed her to do what she loved doing: interacting with people. Her first job was as a Welcome Witch at St Mungo's, greeting people as they entered the hospital and directing them to the proper floor. Her second job was as a shop assistant at a herbology shop on Diagon Alley, In Bloom, where she works the cash register and sometimes helps with the window displays. The third job she got, more to help pay for her shoe collection than out of real need for money, was as a bartender at the Leaky Cauldron.

She might not have a career, but Effie's happy anyway. She's working and supporting herself, she has a cute little studio flat in a bustling city, and she gets to help people. What more does she really need?

Personality

Effie is unendingly chipper. She nearly always has a smile on her face and a slight skip to her step. She displays the stereotypical Hufflepuff quality of hardworkingness in spades: she doesn't like to have too much idle time, which is part of why she's working three jobs. Her flat is small, she doesn't have to work so much to pay the rent, she works so much because she enjoys it. Each of her jobs does something that she finds very important: puts her in contact with people. As a Welcome Witch at St Mungo's, she greets people as they come into the hospital and sends them to the appropriate floor and answers questions. As a bartender at the Leaky Cauldron, she gets to talk to people and serve them drinks. And as a shop assistant at In Bloom, she gets to help people make their purchases, and sometimes her boss even lets her help design the window displays.

While Effie is nice and chipper, she's a bit … well, she's not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. She managed well enough to pass most of her classes with a lot of studying, but large words have a tendency to go over her head, and she doesn't always "get" everything. Sarcasm definitely goes right past her. It's something of a family trait, actually … the Ketteridges have never been particularly known for their intellectual prowess. For Effie, it's a clear case of "the lights are on, but nobody's home." But she's okay with being less-than-intelligent. Most of the time, she doesn't even realise it when people are making fun of her.

And she really is a sweetheart. She's very even-tempered, tending toward the positive side of the emotion spectrum than the negative side. When she does get sad (like when her gerbil died when she was seven), it doesn't usually last very long: something distracts her (shiny and glittery things do this very well) and she's happy again pretty quickly.