Hayden O'Brien (done)

Played by Alisha Newton (link)
DESCRIPTION:Hayden tends to slide under the radar pretty well. She dresses relatively plainly and she’s generally quiet, although not in a shy way that screams she needs a friend. More in the way of someone content with being alone. As a result, people usually leave her where she is. Her eyes seem deep somehow, like a sponge constantly soaking up a wealth of information. She has a habit of chewing on her bottom lip when she’s thinking hard about something. And if a person can actually manage to engage her in talking about a subject that interests her, her whole face seems to light up as if a mask has fallen off.




POSITIVE TRAITS: quick mind, talented artist, has a way with animals, observant, dreamer, good at verbalizing ideas (when she actually talks), thinks outside the box
NEGATIVE TRAITS: doesn’t let people in, secretly worried she isn’t worth people staying for, won’t apply herself to a task she doesn’t see the value of, abandonment issues, hard on herself, can be rather pessimistic, terrible at accepting help, afraid of how badly she wants to be an O’Brien because it might not last
LIKES: looking at the stars, Thestrals (she feels an odd sort of kinship with them), the color blue, wandlore (fascinating subject), finding beautiful corners of the school/grounds no one else seems to know about, winter, the sound and feel of rain, books that make her think, learning new things, cheeseburgers, Exploding Snap, getting creative with Charms
DISLIKES: when people try to make her talk, clichés in fiction, licorice, having to explain that her parents are dead (she doesn’t really see Claire and Connor as her parents yet), gossip, people saying they know how she feels, flying, cheesy romance stories, toads, feeling alone, the Ministry (the institution itself and all the problems it’s creating, not her family members who work there), fire (no longer terrifying but still makes her uneasy)
HOBBIES: reading, studying wandlore, exploring Hogwarts for new hiding places, drawing

GENERAL PERSONALITY: Hayden can be a little bit of a puzzle. She’s smart and creative, and that makes her quite good at school when she actually tries. Most of her professors agree she has the potential to be something special. And she has a way of seeing the world differently than others do. Maybe it’s the artist in her. She’s capable of piecing together complicated ideas and can even articulate them quite well on the occasions she actually decides to speak up. But tragedy in her life has caused her to pull back behind a shell of sorts. She doesn’t let people in easily, preferring to spend time pursuing her deep interests by herself. Actually, she connects with animals far better than she does with people. And she has a hard time accepting help from others. Even now that she has a family again, she’s struggling to let herself to truly bond with them in case it doesn’t last. Part of her secretly wonders if she’s even worth people sticking around for. Although part of that is just her habit of being hard on herself. More than anything she wants to be part of a family again. And if the O’Briens can win her heart, they’ll find her a fiercely loyal and remarkably caring addition to the clan. Hayden makes friends, and family, for life. It just takes a lot of hard work to earn that status, something few people seem up to the task of.




Parents: biological parents Stephen Pierce (deceased) and Emma Pierce (deceased), adoptive parents Connor O'Brien (33, unspeakable) and Claire O’Brien (30, beast liaison with the Ministry)
Siblings: Micah (10, adopted brother) and Megan (7, adopted sister)
Partner: n/a
Children: n/a
Other Family: Rebecca O’Brien (aunt, 36, reporter), Isaac O’Brien (uncle, 29, curse breaker), Trace O’Brien (uncle, 27, Appleby Arrows keeper), Hannah O’Brien (aunt, 23, medi-witch)

Character History: Hayden was born to a nice, quiet couple that was neither rich nor poor. Actually, they were more or less average in just about every sense. But they loved their baby girl very much. Hayden grew up happy with everything she needed and most of the things she wanted. Her parents were loving but careful not to spoil her. They fueled her imagination with books and drawing supplies while also instilling her with strong values and a healthy dose of common sense. In some respects she became almost more of a mini adult, spending conversations at the dinner table asking her parents about the things she saw in the newspaper. Not that she didn’t have a wondrous view of the world. Her parents worked hard to protect her innocence even as they were honest with her. But innocence, unfortunately, rarely lasts.

War came to the wizarding world, and it wormed its way into every family. Hayden’s parents both had solid status as halfbloods with strong magical heritages, allowing them to escape most of the persecution against those viewed as lesser magical blood. But times were still hard. Voldemort’s reign was brutal, and Hayden still has memories of terrible things she saw done during that time. The family stayed in the house as much as they could. Her mother cried a lot. Aside from the fear though, the Pierce family came through the war remarkably unscathed.

Voldemort’s downfall was a day of great rejoicing. Hayden’s parents danced around the kitchen laughing until they cried. It seemed like the world was going to be alright again. And for about a year, it was. When Hayden was ten, however, the family took a trip to Diagon Alley. Which would probably have been nothing memorable had it not been for a string of fires that broke out that day. The blaze, at least part of which was magical, rapidly overtook the shop the Pierce family was currently browsing. In the fiery chaos, Hayden was separated from her parents. A wizard managed to rescue Hayden, but her parents both died in the fire.

With no family, Hayden landed in an orphanage. A combination of grief and loneliness caused her to begin pulling back into herself. She began spending more and more time alone, away from the loud kids and the adults with their meaningless words of attempted comfort. It wasn’t like she was going to get adopted. The interest was in poor war orphans and the cute younger kids. Nobody wanted a ten-year-old with an average backstory. A few families over the years showed mild interest in her via visits and even some short stays in their homes, but none of it ever lasted.

Hayden started Hogwarts a few months after arriving at the orphanage. The large school provided plenty of places to hole away, as well as a wealth of books and drawing inspiration. Still grieving the recent loss of her parents, Hayden kept herself pretty isolated from her peers. By the time she finally came out of her shell, most everyone had already found their group, leaving Hayden more or less on her own. But she made it work by losing herself in reading and drawing. She even made friends with the Thestral herd, finding a strange sort of solace in the misunderstood creatures. Some of her professors worried a bit about the bright girl not really having any friends, but Hayden seemed to do well enough at her schoolwork despite keeping to herself. Although she did have a habit of daydreaming or forgetting small assignments if she found the material too boring. Mostly though she seemed to be alright, if a little solitary. She did especially well in Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, as well as more obscure classes like Arithmancy. But in spite of decent grades, Hayden secretly missed having someone in her life she could be truly open with.

It was early this year that an orphanage worker told her a family was showing interest in adopting her. That came as a bit of a surprise. Hayden had pretty much assumed at this point she would be in the orphanage until she graduated. School being in session complicated visitation a bit, so an orphanage worker set up several visits on the weekends when Hayden could go to Hogsmeade to spend some time with the family. At first it was just Connor and Claire O’Brien, who certainly seemed nice enough. And Connor’s work made for some interesting conversations. Their other adopted children came along a few visits later. Megan was an adorable little princess, and Hayden found herself strangely drawn to quiet but brilliant little Micah. Then there were the aunts and uncles. Seeing the O’Brien clan in its entirety was a little overwhelming. But some part of Hayden longed to be a part of the bond the members of the fun but fiercely loyal clan all seemed to share.

When summer rolled around, Hayden moved in with Connor and Claire for a trial run of sorts. She wasn’t really expecting it to last. But as the summer neared its end, they told her they were going ahead with formalizing the adoption. Part of Hayden is still skeptical about whether this arrangement will really last. As much as she wants to be an O’Brien, she’s been trying to keep a bit of distance for her own protection. Being part of a family again has taken some getting used to. She’s managed to bond with Micah and her new uncle Isaac, as well as her aunt Hannah, who she sees almost more as a potential big sister. She’s even shared a few brief moments with Connor, although right now he’s more of an uncle than a father in her eyes. Things with Claire are a little trickier though. Hayden has gotten pretty used to taking care of herself, and she’s not quite sure how to respond to Claire being motherly. Maybe because she’s scared of just how much she wants it. In some ways, it’s been a relief getting back to school where she can have some distance from the whole situation. Part of her is still waiting for the other shoe to drop despite the adoption having finalized just a few weeks ago. It just hasn’t quite sunk in yet. That’s just going to take some time. Hopefully her new family is willing to wait.




Wand: pine, phoenix tail feather, 10 ½ inches, reasonably supple
Former House: ?
Affiliation: N/A
Amortentia: old books (the library provides infinite escapes), the smell of rain, lavender (one of her birth mother’s favorite plants, their house always smelled faintly of it)
Magical Abilities: n/a




No.