Emily Howard (seeker, honorary O'Brien)

Played by Karen Gillan (link)
DESCRIPTION:Emily is as graceful on the ground as she is on a broom. She also knows how to dress well, and her beautiful dresses, long wavy hair and beautiful face tend to turn heads. But don’t let her seeming dignity fool you. Emily’s as fiery as they come. And she has no problem kicking off her shoes and getting competitive, regardless of what she’s wearing. Her confidence shows in the way she walks with her head held high. As does her vibrant love of life, evident in her musical laugh and her eyes are constantly roaming around to take in all the sights. She has an unconscious habit of twirling her hair around her fingers. And also a rather childish habit of sticking her tongue out at people when she’s mildly irritated.




POSITIVE TRAITS: optimistic, outgoing, talent for Charms, creative magic user, adventurous, takes nobody’s crap, fiercely loyal
NEGATIVE TRAITS: hot tempered, opinionated (read: stubborn), blunt to the occasional point of rude, can get a little too caught up in competition, makes snap judgements about people/situations that aren’t always correct, not the most patient person ever, bossy
LIKES: fresh flowers, dancing, listening to music, dark chocolate, a glass of good wine, having a night out on the town, French cuisine, art museums, spontaneous adventures, nice dresses, anything romantic (books, gestures, etc.), warm bread
DISLIKES: overly greasy food, playing the piano (too many forced lessons as a kid that just never took), crude humor, being seen as just a mindless pretty face, cheaters, people genuinely insulting her team (banter is all fine and good), being hit on by guys who clearly only have one thing in mind, being expected to act like a proper lady (she would most definitely kick these heels off right now if you challenged her to a race), the constant cloudy skies in England, gossip columns, high heels (she’ll wear them, but they’re the most impractical things ever), modern “art” that doesn’t look like art (where are people’s standards?)
HOBBIES: exploring London, learning Italian, having adventures with Trace, talking smack to rival Quidditch players (all in good fun, of course)

GENERAL PERSONALITY: At first glance, Emily seems pretty dignified. She’s graceful, a gorgeous dresser, and the perfect picture of politeness when the occasion calls for it. But she also has a sharp mind to go along with her good looks. Emily has strong opinions on just about everything and no qualms about voicing them, a fact that can sometimes get her into trouble. She can also be rather terrifying when people are unfortunate enough to make her angry. Most of the time though she’s all (highly sarcastic) bark and no bite. Emily loves to banter with people. Although she takes absolutely zero crap from anyone. She can get a little bossy at time, and she does have a habit of making snap judgements about people. She’s also not known for her patience. But she’s ridiculously loyal, willing to fight anyone who hurts those she considers friends. As an outgoing optimist, she tends to be fairly friendly. She’s perfectly comfortable being herself and has no issue breaking out into song and dance in public. And she loves having adventures, particularly spontaneous ones with her boyfriend. Anything from randomly deciding to explore a new street in London to having an unplanned karaoke and dance party in the kitchen. She also has a habit of using creative Charms to spice things up a little. On the whole, Emily is fairly likely and an absolute blast to be around. Just be careful not to get on her bad side or she will destroy you.




Parents: Edmund Howard (Muggle, British diplomat) and Charlotte Howard nee Thomas (British witch, former Witch Weekly model)
Siblings: Kate Howard (22, aid at the French Ministry and part-time model)
Partner: Trace O’Brien (27, Appleby Arrows keeper)
Children: n/a
Other Family: n/a

Character History: Emily’s parents met at a French café in London and bonded over their shared love of the culture. It was love at first croissant, and their relationship progressed in a whirlwind. It was only after they were married that Charlotte revealed herself to be a witch. Needless to say, Edmund was a little shell-shocked at the discovery of magic. But he was deeply in love with his wife, and he eventually grew to accept that part of her. Within a few years of marrying, the couple welcomed first Emily and then her sister Kate into the world. Both little girls were the center of their doting parents’ world.

Edmund worked for the Muggle government and was sent to Paris as a diplomat when Emily was five. France was a marvelous place for two little princesses to grow up, especially coming from a cultured family that most would have considered rich. Emily and Kate only narrowly avoided becoming incredibly spoiled. But their parents did their best to keep the girls grounded by introducing them to all aspects of the world they lived in and not just the realm of rich expats. Emily manifested magic soon after the move with Kate following close behind, a fact that only made sense given how close the two girls were. The girls were rather upset at being separated when Emily left for Beauxbatons, but they kept in touch through letters and made up for all their lost time during the summers.

Beauxbatons was, for lack of a better word, magical. And the more artistic magical style suited Emily perfectly. She particularly excelled at Charms, often using the spells in creative ways that quickly made her a favorite student of her professor. It was also at school that Emily discovered Quidditch. Not the most ladylike of sports, but she quickly proved to be a father agile speed demon when it came to flying. Plus it fed her competitive side nicely, giving her something to work for and banter about. And since Kate proved not to care much for playing the sport (though she happily cheered herself hoarse supporting her sister), it was something that belonged to Emily and Emily alone. Not that she took any issue with being so close to her sister. It was just nice to have something for herself.

Most of Emily’s school years passed in a blaze of wondrous magical learning and exhilarating Quidditch. News of the war in England reached the school, but it seemed a world away. She graduated near the very top of her class, passing all her exams nicely. Her Charms final in particular was something quite impressive. Her professor seemed hopeful Emily would continue in the subject with intention of becoming a master but was rather disappointed when she chose a Quidditch career instead. She was offered a spot on a French team as an alternate. An injury to the team’s acting seeker a few months after Emily joined the team gave her the chance to finish out the match, her first time playing in a pro game. Luck was on her side that day. Her performance attracted the attention of a team manager from England who was in France visiting one of his old friends on the team. He found Emily after the game and told her to come try out for his team if she was every in England. Emily thanked him but had no real intention of taking him up on it. She was quite in love with France, thanks.

She stuck with her French team, gradually getting more and more playing time. About two years after that visit, which Emily had all but forgotten, she accompanied her mother and sister to England to visit her cousins. She had been to England several times before, but this time it was like seeing the country with new eyes. London captured her in a way it never really had before. By the end of the visit, Emily was toying with the idea of moving. She dug the English manager’s business card out of her bag and sent him an owl, merely out of curiosity. She was in luck. Not only did the manager remember her, but the seeker for his team has just announced her retirement. Emily went to England for tryouts and was able to secure the spot as seeker for the Appleby Arrows.

She packed her bags and moved to England. It was different being back in the country again. The dreary weather in particular was something Emily didn’t care for. But the rest of it steadily grew on her. As did the team’s keeper, a young man by the name of Trace O’Brien. They made a rather unlikely match, though apparently opposites truly do attract. The two began spending more and more time together, and eventually their friendship turned into something more romantic. They started dating about a year and a half ago. Now Emily can’t even begin to imagine her life without Trace in it. Or his crazy family. The large O’Brien clan took some getting used to, being very little like Emily’s own cultured family. But she’s come to love their crazy and down to earth ways. In particular she has gotten to be good friends with Trace’s younger sister Hannah. She makes a solid substitute with Kate still back in France. (Although Emily’s been working on convincing her to move to England too.) Emily has a feeling her relationship with Trace may be turning even more serious somewhere in the near future, a da she looks forward to a little more than she cares to admit. But for the time being, she’s pretty content to just enjoy having him as a boyfriend to banter and have adventures with.




Wand: white elm, vela hair, 9 2/3 inches, swishy
Former House: Beauxbatons
Affiliation: N/A
Amortentia: freshly baked bread (she ate a lot of it in France), good wine (most of her favorite days out with her family ended with dinner and a glass of wine outside at a restaurant), Trace’s cologne (not that she’d ever admit that out loud)
Magical Abilities: n/a