Character Name: Breena Eris Brightheart
Blood Type: Pure, and the line is very old.
Gender: Female
Age/Year: I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Positions Held: Headmistress, Professor of Herbology.

Family Information: Her father is Devlin Brightheart, now deceased. Her mother is Ana Silver Brightheart, a socialite who cares more for her status than she does for her daughter--even her seemingly best intentions in regards to Breena have always been ultimately selfish. Her one comfort used to be her brother, "Silver" Brightheart, but since his marriage to a Muggle woman (Riona), she has not spoken to him, simply because he's all but turned his back completely on his magical life. She's fine with Muggles in general, but cannot stand to see a witch or wizard denounce, defame, or deny their magic (or the magical world in general). This is especially true for purebloods, and even more so for her own blood relations.

Her paternal grandmother, Beatrice Brightheart, is the person to whom Breena owes much of her education. She learned things from Beatrice she would never have learned in the innocent halls of Hogwarts. Since the death of her father, her maternal Aunt, Selena Silver, has moved into Brightheart manor, and she has an uncle on her mother's side as well: Evander Silver, who is the step-father of Angharad (Hari) Granger.

The most recent addition to Breena's family is her son, Devlin Sylverdarkness, who is almost three years old due to odd circumstances that she is not at liberty to explain. The child wasn't supposed to come to Hogwarts until he was old enough to attend as a student. However, due to the loss of Hades, she had him brought to her, and there he will stay. How this child was born is and will remain a complete mystery to all but Breena and Hades. Ask, and you will receive only cold stares (or worse) in return.

Hometown: Brightheart Manor is Unplottable, but may or may not be in the area of Kent.
Wand: Willow, 12 inches, core of chimaera hair. It was inherited from her great-grandmother, Brigit Brightheart.
Pet(s): She has a small owl named Aelwyn, who has had an unsually long life. Although I don't think it's considered a "pet" per se, she was also has her personal House Elf, Teensy. The elf has a large wardrobe of old silk pillow cases, likes to rummage through the trash in the Slytherin girls' dorms for discarded makeup and trinkets, and is wont to pop up at any given moment whether she's summoned or not.
Broom: Nimbus 2001

Physical Description: Breena is tall (5'10, or about 178 cm--if I'm doing the conversion correctly) and often stands straight to draw herself up to her full height. It's more intimidating that way. She has red hair that has been cut chin length, which makes her unruly curls spring about her face in a deceptively happy manner. Her green eyes are often cool and assessing, but are never without the sharp light of intelligence. Her pale skin never freckles because she takes great pains to ensure that it doesn't. Her overall frame appears to be that of a rather delicate, twenty-something year old woman, but appearances can be quite deceiving.

Her style of dress is like most pureblood witches, but Breena is extremely meticulous about the articles of clothing that she buys. Her attire must always be elegant and understated, but above all, must be of a certain calibre in their quality and durability. Because of her pickiness in this respect, there is always a hint of wealth in the way she dresses, simply because she refuses to buy anything that falls beneath her standards. That said, however, her appearance is never flashy, pretentious, or Merlin forbid, froo-froo.

Breena would never wear red tones, because they tend to clash with her hair. She often prefers black, navy, and dark green. Her jewels and accessories are usually silver. Since Devlin was born, she's taken to wearing a small locket, inside of which contain a picture of her son on one side, and Hades on the other.

Personality

Personality:

The Good

Sympathetic - Not withstanding her faults, Breena can be quite sympathetic towards others. This doesn't always mean that she will bend for them, but it does mean that she's far more understanding about things that she typically allows to be seen.

Loving - Yes, believe it or not, the same witch that likes cutting up fresh corpses not only has a heart, but a rather big one at that. Unfortunately, the love, caring, forgiveness, and all that other fluffy-bunny stuff she has is only reserved for a rare few. They know who they are.

Intelligent - Shrewd is probably the better word to use here. Sage might fit, too. But she's also as book-smart as she is street-smart. To her, knowledge is the ultimate power, and a power she makes a point to weild with some considerable skill.

Loyal - Once a bond a made with Breena, it's almost impossible to break. Though it should be noted that it's not always easy to form that sort of connection with her, it's not impossible either. She's very loyal to those she considers her true friends (and she can count them all on half of one hand), and still retains a certain amount of loyalty to her former house.


The Bad

The Bad side of Breena is not all that apparent these days. She's become quite devoted to Devlin, and he's helped to draw her better qualities out into the open more. However, there are some things that will never change. And I think we can safely assume that these are the facets of Breena's personality which will never die...

Formiddable - Suffice it to say that Breena is not the person whose temper you'd ever want to tempt. Doing so would be like running headlong into a brick wall set ablaze. When she was younger, she had... suitable outlets for her rage, and as she grew older was able to control her temper much better. However, it is still the one thing about her that no one in their right mind would want to test.

Secretive - Breena doesn't like her life to be an open book, simply because everyone else's life has always been partially open to her. She finds public displays of emotion abhorring, and will often keep things to herself at all costs. Her mind is constantly churning on several levels, but only a small portion of what's going on up there is ever revealed to others. Even her closest friends don't know the half of it.

Malicious - Let's just say you don't want Breena for an enemy, and leave it at that.

Willful and Stubborn - If something is important to her, Breena will stop at nothing to get her way. She doesn't come with a leash either, which means that she will do what she wants, when she wants, and will not negotiate the point with anyone. When it suits her, or she knows she's right about something, she will dig her heels in as deep as she possibly can and will refuse to budge on the matter.


Relationships and Social Skills: Breena usually seems unapproachable. That could be due to her position of authority, or it could have something to do with the fact that she always seems so wintery on the surface. However, those brave enough to approach her without their company being solicited will find that she's not all ice and prickles as her outward demeanor might have them believe. She cares a great deal about the students of Hogwarts, and takes her obligations to the school quite seriously.

In closer relationships, the snow and chill melts away, and she reveals more of the warmer side of her personality. With her old friends, she can be quite fun-loving and cheerful, not to mention thoughtful, caring, and understanding, though it really all depends on her mood and/or the circumstances at the moment. (Better watch those moods of hers, by the way--they're quick to flip.) With those she loves, she cannot hide any part of herself. In short, the closer she is to a person, the more priviledged they are to know the real Breena.

Weaknesses: Hades and Devlin come to mind, though as of late, Devlin has been obliged to take a higher place over his mother in that respect. She and Hades have known one another since they were students at Hogwarts (don't be fooled by Hades' age--she's not really that young, just as Breena isn't as young as she appears), and they have a child together (do not question how this was possible).

Strengths: Wait, she has strengths? *blink* Why doesn't anyone ever tell me these things?!

Oh, alright. She's a rather powerful witch, I suppose. Comes with age and lots of practice/use. She was quite adept at Charms during her school days, which was why she became a Charms professor when she returned to Hogwarts. And um, we won't get into her partiality to the Dark Arts.


Past, Present, and Future

History: (Edited-To-Save-My-Fingers Version)

Breena was born to Devlin and Ana Silver Brightheart many, many years ago. She grew up on the Unplottable estate known as Brightheart Manor, presumably located somewhere in the vicinity of Kent. Everything was perfect in the beginning, really. She was loved, happy, and had not a care in the world. When she turned eleven (back when the Earth was sill cooling), she received her letter from Hogwarts as expected, and like her brother before her, was shipped off in a flurry of excitement to catch the train in London. Though it was a surprise to her and her family (all of whom had steadily been Ravenclaws, or the equivalent thereof, for as far back as two centuries), she was sorted into Slytherin.

Six months into her first year, her happy little world shattered into a billion pieces. She was paid a visit at the school by her father, who had come to say goodbye, as he was leaving on a mission for the Ministry. Like all the times it had happened before, he couldn't say where he was going, what he was meant to do, or when he would return. He simply promised her that he would see her again soon, and left her with a small owl as a present.

He was officially declared missing in action a year later.

By her third year, she had already started down a rapid spiral into a world of exquisite darkness. At fifteen, she was sneaking out of her house during the summer to go into London, where she worked and played at a Knockturn establishment by the name of Gofein House. Many twisted and unspeakable things happened there, and it was where she used her skills with a wand for darker activities. It was also where she developed her affinity for whips and other interesting torture devices.

She graduated from Hogwarts, only to return a few years later to fill the position of Charms professor. When she grew bored of that, she took the Divination position, hoping it would be one of those cushy jobs where she didn't have to do very much. It was during that time when she began to acquire a fascination with potions and herbology. Though she'd been rather lacking in her performance in potions classes during her days as a student (Hades had always helped her out there), she'd been fairly decent at Herbology. Her intentions in regards to the two subjects were less than seemly, however, given the fact that she was only interested in honing her skills in order to concoct a potion that would be used in a ritual designed to block her empathy. It worked for a while, but eventually backfired, leaving her abilities in a proverbial state of snobbery, as they now only work (or get stronger) the closer she is to a person on an emotional level, but not before a shortly-lived bout of insanity.

About a year after her empathy finally straightened itself out, Devlin Sylverdarkness was born in secrecy. He remained there only a few months, but had already passed the age of one when Hades disappeared and Breena had him brought to the school. How he was conceived, and how he aged so fast, no one but Breena and Hades will ever know (and harm is sure to befall any who ask, or worse to any who actually find out). It can be assured that he will now grow as a normal, healthy boy should, and will remain under the care of Breena at Hogwarts, come the reincarnation of The Dark Lord or the rising of a massive army of Inferi.

Do not eff with Breena and her child. You will not win.

Here and Now: At present, Breena's world is wrapped up in Hogwarts and Devlin. Naturally, she would kiss Hogwarts good-bye in an instant if she were ever forced to choose between it and her son, but she is very loyal to and protective of the school, as well as its denizens. She's also struggling to put Hades out of her mind and heart. Sad, but true. Probably impossible as well. But because it hurts to hang on to her when she's scarcely allowed to see her, she doesn't feel like she has any other choice. Devlin has provided a proper (not to mention significant) shift in her focus, but naturally, he's only making her bond to Hades stronger--something she doesn't yet realize.

Long-term Outlook: It is likely that Breena will remain at Hogwarts for several years to come. As stated, she would give it up in a heartbeat in favor of Devlin if it came to that, but until that unlikely moment presents itself, she has no intention of leaving it. It's become her home, and she can't imagine not being there in some capacity.

--------------------------------------

Magical Abilities: Empath. This ability is hereditary and becomes more powerful and as her "connection" to someone increases. In other words, if you're a stranger, she's not likely to pick up anything out of the ordinary. But her closest friends cannot hide anything from her in this capacity.

End Note: The best way to get to know Breena and anything regarding her is to interact with her (or at the very least, observe her closely in other threads). She's so developed as a character (seriously, she has a mind and will of her own--even runs away from me in certain situations), it would take an entire novel to do her character description any justice.