Claire O'Brien (beast liaison)

Played by Eliza Taylor (link)
DESCRIPTION:Claire makes for quite a pretty face with her wavy blonde hair (the devil to tame), sparkling eyes, and pronounced features. That, combined with the fact that’s she’s only average height at best, makes it rather easy for people to brush her off as ultimately unthreatening. They couldn’t be more wrong. When she gets truly angry, the fire in Claire’s eyes and the scathing tone in her voice can make her appear to tower over her opponent, even if she’s actually looking up at them. For the most part though, there’s rarely a need for that side of her to come out. Most of the time she’s exactly what she looks like – sweet. But please disregard any stray ink on her hands or glitter on her clothes. It’s a mom thing.




POSITIVE TRAITS: passionate, strong sense of justice, fights for what she believes in, patient, kind at heart, hard-working, refuses to give up, devoted to her husband and kids (and her husband’s crazy family), knows a ridiculous amount about laws related to her job
NEGATIVE TRAITS: doesn’t always understand the concept of picking her battles, can be blinded to the faults of those she protects, takes social issues personally, doesn’t appreciate that some people have a reason for being prejudiced against creatures (ex: having been attacked), her deep passion for her cause can alienate those who feel differently, often gives too much of herself when trying to fix something, has a hard time forgetting things that deeply bother her (they just keep looping through her head), ridiculously stubborn when she knows she’s right, speaks her mind when it might be better kept shut
LIKES: cherries, roses, fall, Connor being romantic in his cheesy way, drinking tea, the feeling of accomplishing something important at work, being around the O’Brien clan and knowing she’s part of a big family now, vanilla candles, anything her kids make
DISLIKES: prejudice, the new werewolf laws, being cold, trying to fix her hair (wavy ungrateful mess), having to slog through politics to get anything done, people politicizing tragedies for their benefit (Godric’s Hollow, anyone?), being written off as just a naïve bleeding heart, chipped nail polish (she always ends up picking at it until it all peels off), the way housework never seems to end
HOBBIES: making up games with her kids, dabbling in drawing (which no one will ever see), going on periodic dates with her husband

GENERAL PERSONALITY: On the surface, Claire is a sweet woman with a caring heart. But like any good badger, she’s got some fight in her. She’s a true crusader who will fight tooth and nail to defend the oppressed and the wronged. No Goliath is too big for her to take on. And she never backs down from a battle, even when it might be better to do so, preferring instead to return to the library or the drawing board as many times as is necessary to perfect a winning strategy. Her knowledge of creature-related legislation is ridiculous. Girl’s practically an encyclopedia thanks to how much studying she’s done on the subject. And it makes her lethal. Sometimes her passion can blind her to valid counterarguments or the faults of those she stands guard over. And her stubbornness can make her a touch difficult to work with in a world of political give and take. But her drive comes from a good heart that knows what it is to truly love and be loved and wants that same knowledge for those she advocates for. Claire can actually be ridiculously patient and gentle with those who truly need it. Like her kids. She’ll always there for them, and for any member of the crazy clan she married in to. But anyone who messes with her loved ones or her charges at work better watch out because they might be surprised at just how fiercely she’ll fight.




Parents: Dean Simmons (deceased, werewolf) and Samantha Simmons nee Williams (deceased)
Siblings: n/a
Partner: Connor O’Brien (33, unspeakable)
Children: Hayden (15, adopted), Micah (10, adopted) and Megan (7, adopted, Micah’s biological sister)
Other Family: Rebecca O’Brien (sister-in-law, 36, reporter), Isaac O’Brien (brother-in-law, 29, curse breaker), Trace O’Brien (brother-in-law, 27, Appleby Arrows keeper), Hannah O’Brien (sister-in-law, 23, medi-witch)

Character History: Claire was born to two halfblood parents. Her mother was an only child whose parents had passed and her father came from a slightly well to do family that wasn’t happy he had married down, so most of the time it was just Claire and her parents. That became even more true when Claire was three. Her father was bitten by a stray werewolf while coming home late from work one night. He survived, but he had been turned into a werewolf as well. After that, his family completely disowned him. Claire and her mother never forgave them for that.

Her early childhood was a dark time. Her father was fired from his job, leaving her mother to provide for their family. Dean’s condition caused him to struggle with bouts of depression. The first year was the worst as the family tried to find a way to cope with what he had become. Dean and Samantha fortified their basement, and he began spending the full moon in there. Even as a small child, Claire understood that something very bad was happening to him on those nights. Her parents tried to shield her as best they could. The pride and love they lavished on their daughter made up for most of the fear and tight financial conditions. But there was also the matter of prejudice. People could be anything from avoidant to downright hateful. The small family trying moved a few times, but it only took a few months before their new neighbors pieced together the truth. Finally Claire’s parents decided to just dig in and do the best they could.

By the time Claire was old enough for Hogwarts, she was well acquainted with people staring and whispering and calling her names. That didn’t change at school. Even in Hufflepuff, generally the most accepting house, there were still students who avoided or taunted her. She did make a few solid friends who were willing to have her back, but most just didn’t know what to do with the daughter of a werewolf. The prejudice she faced at school and back home convinced Claire from a very young age that she wanted to help people like her father when she grew up. While her peers daydreamed of careers as dragonologists or Quidditch players, Claire spent her time researching creature legislation. It helped that she was a bright student. Not the smartest, perhaps, but her determination helped to balance that out. She did especially well in Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. She also excelled in the dreaded History of Magic, although that was more due to her ability to remember an insane amount of facts on just about any subject she deemed worthy of the effort it took to cementer that knowledge.

Upon graduating, she managed to worm her way into a secretarial position with the magical creatures department at the Ministry. Her father’s werewolf status nearly shut the door altogether thanks to the disapproval of some important figures outside the department, but an employee inside it decided that quality made Claire an asset and managed to get her in. Claire’s devotion to the job and her extensive research helped her progress quickly up the ladder. But life wasn’t all about work. It was while at the Ministry that she came across Connor O’Brien, an unspeakable who set out to win her affections. Claire wasn’t particularly interested at first. She had important work to be doing. Eventually, though, Connor’s kindness and willingness to have an actual intelligent discussion about her work won her over. Well, the cute if dorky romantic gestures helped too. They dated for some time before finally deciding to get married.

Their timing was either impeccable or horrific because war began brewing around the same time. By their one-year anniversary, wizarding England was heading to hell in a handbasket. Their Ministry careers and unwillingness to bend to the incoming regime made them both expendable. Seeking protection in numbers, Claire and Connor moved in with the rest of Connor’s siblings, and Connor eventually cast the Fidelius Charm on the house with his brother Isaac serving as secret keeper. It was shortly after they went into hiding that a pack of werewolves working for Voldemort attempted to suck Claire’s father into their number. Both he and her mother were killed while attempting to resist. Claire was devastated. She probably would have wasted away had it not been for Connor and his older sister Becca. The two women hadn’t quite known what to do with each other before, but that crucible forged a remarkably strong friendship between them that holds to this day.

Finally the war ended. Connor and Claire moved back out and returned to their jobs at the Ministry. They even started talking about having kids. Some medical complications led them to the decision to adopt instead. The war had certainly left behind plenty of war orphans. After a bit of searching, they came across Micah and Megan Stevens. The former was clearly sweet and bright underneath his trauma, and the latter was utterly irresistible in her cuteness. Working the kids into their family was a process. Megan was only three at the time, so she quickly adjusted to her new parents and aunts and uncles. Micah took a bit longer. He remembered his biological parents and he could comprehend losing them, and it took him a while to fully accept Connor and Claire and believe they weren’t going anywhere. It helped that both his new parents understood the loss he had suffered. But a little over four years into things and the family has come together nicely.

They’ve even added another member – Hayden. When Connor and Claire decided they wanted to add another child to the family, they specifically went looking for an older kid with less chance of getting adopted. An orphanage worker connected them with the young teenager. They spent a few weekends in Hogsmeade getting to know her before having her move in with them over the summer. Things have been a little interesting. Hayden gets on well enough with Micah and Megan, but she keeps pushing back against her new parents, especially Claire. It’s like she’s scared of getting to get close to them, despite the fact they just finalized her adoption a few weeks ago. But Claire is determined to win her over. It just may take some hard work to pull off.

On top of that, her job is getting a little hectic lately. Being a working mother took a little practice, although Claire manages it admirably. She has worked her way up the ranks at work and now holds the post of beast liaison, a position she takes very seriously. Especially now that the Ministry has begun rolling out so much legislation against werewolves. People say the pen is mightier than the sword, and Claire is fully prepared to put hers to work fighting for the rights of those the Ministry has oppressed just like they did her father.




Wand: ebony, unicorn tail feather, 11 1/3 inches, slightly yielding
Former House: Hufflepuff
Affiliation: N/A
Amortentia: log fires (she used to sit in the living room with her parents while her father told stories, a tradition she now shares with Connor and thier kids), roses (Connor likes to buy them for her), the smell of a full breakfast cooking (the whole O’Brien clan gets together every Sunday for breakfast, and Claire loves being part of their big family)
Magical Abilities: n/a