Post by Harrison Ashcroft on Nov 3, 2012 22:55:17 GMT -5
Name: Harrison James Ashcroft, III (aka Sin)*
Age: 17
Birthdate/place: 21-02-2019 / St. Mungo’s, London
Species: Human/wizard
Gender: male
Family: pure blood
Father: Harrison James Ashcroft jr, 44, ministry official
Mother: Delilah (Pennyweather) Ashcroft, deceased
Twin sister: ____ Ashcroft, 17
Paternal Grandfather: Harrison James Ashcroft, sr, deceased
Paternal Grandmother: Natasha Loren Ashcroft, 129
Maternal Grandfather: Lloyd Pennyweather, 65
Maternal Grandmother: Carolina Pennyweather, 61
Chantey-Marie Ashcroft Fletcher: paternal aunt, Pureblood, deceased
Avery Fletcher: paternal uncle (by marriage), Mudblood, deceased
Eden Fletcher – cousin, 27
Emery Fletcher- cousin -deceased
Elianora Fletcher, cousin-29
Appearance:
Hair: light brown, medium length
Eyes: blue
Build/height- lean, but with a developing athletic type build/5’11”
General Description- Sin, as he is called to distinguish him from his father, Harrison, is a good looking young man who appears for the most part to be a pleasant, smiling, likable guy. That smile can be a bit deceiving, though. For often, though his lips are saying one thing, his cold blue eyes are saying entirely a different thing. Sin discovered early on how useful that smile could be, to get his way, or to get him out of a tight spot. His cuteness, which has aged now to youthful good looks, were also something he could use to manipulate others as well. But if one is very observant, one sees that hardness that forms a core of steel in those eyes – a reflection of the rest of the hard exterior shell Sin has formed over the years, for good reason.
Though Sin comes from a very well off family – one that prides itself on its heritage and the old family name – he has of late taken more and more to the ‘just got out of bed and threw myself together’ look. But if you look closely, you will see, like his smile, this casual disregard for his appearance is deceptive. For his clothes, though perhaps slightly rumpled and untucked, are of the expensive designer kind. And his hair, which he prefers to keep a bit long and slightly shaggy, may appear to not be combed or brushed, but it might also have been more carefully arranged to look so very tousled.
Possessions- Sin has everything a boy could need, in terms of clothes and gadgets and books and a first class broom for quidditch. His family is wealthy, and though his father doesn’t indulge Sin, he makes sure his son has the best of what is required and appropriate. But Sin’s most prized possessions are 1) a collection of his mother's sheet music he managed to secret away in his room at home, after she passed away, and 2) all the many letters she wrote to him while he was at school, which he keeps with him in an envelope in his trunk there at Hogwarts. Otherwise, he probably doesn’t give a damn about anything his dad ever bought him.
Personality:
Temperment/Mental Attributes- Just like the contradiction apparent in his almost constant smile and his hard eyes, Sin seems to be a confusing mixture of an outward appearance of friendliness and affable motivations juxtaposed against an inner emptiness. He’s very manipulative, and a user, thus he has become very observant and very skilled at reading people. He’s good at knowing what people want from him, and delivering it, if it suits his purpose and his mood. Having been brought up with a hyper-critical and overbearing father, he has become adept at numbing any true emotions he may be feeling, and he’s got a real “I don’t really give a shit” attitude by this point in his life. Of the three people who might have softened the impact of his father’s constant barrage of negativity, his much beloved mother is now dead and his maternal grandmother is basically barred from seeing him. This leaves only his twin sister. They are very close, but over the years, Sin has even retreated from his one true and best friend, as he drops deeper into a feeling of not wanting to share his true feelings even with his twin.
Of course, even the seeming void inside him is just a façade for a whole lot of hurt and anger. No child could have ever lived up to the expectations Harrison placed on his son’s shoulder from an early age. Sin tried – he really did – but of course, he eventually realized he was always doomed to fail and so now, he’s just given up. Not entirely, though – he does just enough to get by. But any impulse he ever had to excel or succeed was long ago squashed by the never ending invective that he hadn’t done well enough, he wasn’t good enough, he needed to try harder. In order to avoid dealing with emotions he couldn’t possibly process on his own (and he sure isn’t going to go talking about them – to anyone) Sin has become calloused, both inwardly and outwardly. Though bearing a persona of charming, pleasant, smiling, happy young man, he can be quite cruel when he chooses to be, especially with his sharp tongue, which can as skillfully cut someone to ribbons as it can stroke their ego. But more typically, Sin projects a friendly mien as he analyses people in terms of how they might come in useful to him. He has no real friends, though, keeping any real attachments at arm’s length. This includes the good number of girls he has had dalliances with – each short lived tryst just as superficial as any other interaction he has with anyone else.
Alliance- Sin would say that his alliance is to his Family but that is hogwash. When it comes right down to it, the only two people he really cares about are his twin sister and his maternal grandmother, and of course, he generally is looking out for number one, though he might not see that as clearly as his actions would demonstrate.
Alignment- Neutral
Employment&Education:
-Students-
House- Hufflepuff
Year- Seventh
OWLs/NEWTs- received acceptables in all his OWLS; now working on passing NEWTS in Potions, Alchemy, Charms and Transfiguration
Other:
Magical Skills- Has not shown any outstanding aptitude for any skill or field in particular. He probably could if he gave a damn and put in a little effort – but he doesn’t, and he won’t.
Patronus- – nope, hasn’t even tried really
Wand- elm, core of dragon heart string, 10”
Goals/Aspirations- None, sad really - oh wait...he'd really like to disappoint his father, if he can muster up the guts to do so
Other Information- Sin is a closeted pianist. Very few know of his talent, and he is out of practice and unmotivated now. He knows his father’s view on men being professional musicians of any kind.
History-
Daily Prophet Society Pages
June 2, 2015
WEDDING OF THE CENTURY
2014's most eligible young wizard, Harrison James Ashcroft Jr., married Delilah Pennyweather, a young musician and recent graduate of the Wizarding Academy of the Dramatic Arts, yesterday in a lovely ceremony at the Ashcroft ancestral home in Wales. The little known bride is said to be the great, great granddaughter of the American Wizard who invented Quadpot. The happy couple met last year at a Ministry party at which Miss Pennyweather was playing the harp. Rumor has it that the dashing young Ashcroft had been mesmerized by the lovely English Rose. Sixteen at the time of their first encounter, the skilled harpist had no idea who our groom was. Ashcroft too had vowed to learn the name of the young lady who had so captivated his heart. That initial encounter sparked flames in them both that would smolder until their next meeting at another party nearly six months later. A whirlwind romance began and shortly after her graduation from school they wed on a lovely summer day.
The bride was a siren in Arctic Lace, the style reminiscent of something Rowena Ravenclaw would have worn on her wedding. The groom could barely keep his smoldering gaze off the bride. Will there be fruit of this union soon?
A mere six months after the wedding, the unabashed couple welcomed healthy twins into the world. Harrison James Ashcroft, III, was born five minutes after his sister and his father never forgave him. The man should always be first to make way for the woman. While Harrison Ashcroft, jr, loved his wife more than anything in the world, he did hold misconceived notions about women - and sons too, it turned out.
From a young age, Sin's father demanded more of him than his sister, doting on his precious daughter but determined to be firm and make a man out of his son. Despite being younger by a few minutes, the expectation from birth, of course, was that Sin – as the eldest son - would take on the family name, business, and heritage. Through his veins would flow the blood of generations, which he would proudly pass on to the future. From the second he was born he never wanted for anything, except maybe his father's affection. Oh, he knew his parents loved him – at least, his mother was very open and warm with her affection. But his father constantly pointed out how Sin could improve. Harrison jr seemed to see only his young son’s shortcomings, and it was apparent he thought it his primary duty as father to whip his son into shape, figuratively if not literally. Delilah did what she could to soften her husband’s near constant criticism, but he actively discouraged her from “coddling” the boy. Still, when Harrison wasn’t around, Delilah would spend a lot of time with her little son, trying to bolster and reinforce the many good traits he possessed and praising whatever skills he had mastered. Naturally, the boy grew closer to the parent that seemed to actually appreciate his efforts. He loved his mother – his father he ‘respected’, out of fear, and ultimately he has grown to basically hate the man.
Another Sin supporter during his childhood has always been his twin. Despite their father’s totally skewed division of affection between the two, the twins were always very close. As toddlers, they had their own secret language and they supported each other like twins are wont to do. As they grew older though, they seemed to drift apart, as Sin began to shut himself off even from his closest buddy. Sin was very close, too, with his maternal grandmother, who was a frequent visitor to their home when he was little. Like his mother, she shared her passion for music with her little grandson. Since his mother’s death, though, about two years ago now, his father has forbidden Carolina entry to the familial estate in Wales. He has also forbidden her to have any contact with his children…but that hasn’t necessarily stopped her from corresponding with them.
But this isn’t to say that Sin never learned anything from his dear father. From watching him, Sin learned how to use flattery to get things accomplished. He saw how, if he was careful and observant, he could learn to manipulate others, and, consciously or not, he began to emulate Harrison jr in this respect. He would often talk his way out of trouble with his mother, and he learned that a flash of his dimples never went amiss. Smiles and sweet looks could also work wonders, and got him out of any number of scrapes. He learned these techniques worked especially well with women – not so well on his father, though. Harrison jr seemed made of cold, hard, stone when it came to his son. Failure was not an option. Neither were laziness or imperfection. The Ashcrofts were leaders in the wizarding world, and no son of that name would be anything but.
Part of being a leader, it seemed, would be excelling at Quidditch – a sport Harrison had been a master of when he attended Hogwarts. So, at seven, Sin began to learn how to fly. At first he had been terribly excited. He'd heard all about how his Dad had been a great Quidditch player, and he was still young, and naïve enough, to believe that he could garner his dad’s approval if he did well enough. It would be something they could share and enjoy together. At the end of the week, Harrison's dad would leave work early to see his son's progress. The flight instructor would be sent home and Sin would show off his new skills. Most of the time his father was not impressed and would often have Sin drill for hours. This continued throughout his childhood, with Harrison growing more demanding as Sin grew older and began to really practice his Quidditch skills. From an initial excitement – born of hope more than anything – Sin found the grueling hours spent practicing, and the relentless demands for improvement only became yet one more exercise in frustration, disappointment and the pain of knowing he just wasn’t good enough. It was during these years that Sin first began to catch a glimpse of the horrible truth – he never could be good enough, not for his father.
Once again, Sin was able to find some solace in the company of his other parent, and her great passion. From babyhood, at his mother’s side, Sin had learned to love music. She was a talented musician. It had been what had captured his father's attention. Del was a sweet, gentle woman who loved life, and her impish humor would often soften the demanding side of his father. Listening to his mother play in the evenings was one of Sin's favorite things to do. While his father was at work he would take lessons with his sister. Although he had never admitted it, he liked piano more than he liked Quidditch. But a man played Quidditch - not some sissy thing like the piano. When Sin got to school, he’d be on the Quidditch team, not the piano team!
And of course, a lot of what Harrison was so insistent that his son perfect himself in was leading up to Sin’s admission to Hogwarts. On the twins' eleventh birthday, a large party was held in their honor. Many of the most prominent wizarding families were in attendance. Bets were placed on what house the children would be sorted into. Gryffindor and Slytherin were the highest for Sin. It seemed he’d be a shoo in – especially for Slytherin, his father’s old House. It was a bitter disappointment for his father though, when Sin was sorted into Hufflepuff. His mother had been overjoyed. She thought it was one of the better houses. She had not attended Hogwarts herself so she didn't know for sure, but she was nonetheless proud of her children.
But Hufflepuff or no, school began and Sin settled into a routine at Hogwarts. He missed his mother, but was relieved not to have to see his father’s dour, negative face every day. Though outwardly affable, Sin made few close friends in school. He had many people he was friendly with, but never did he truly connect with anyone. Years of both a toxic home environment, and a father who role modeled really exceptionally manipulative behavior, had him both fearful of further rejection and yet inspired to see just how good he could get at getting others to do as he wished. But at first, both urges were very buried and unacknowledged. His behavior was more an instinct for survival than it was a conscious effort to keep people at arms length and yet also try to use them.
At first, Sin really loved Hogwarts, although he missed his mum and piano. It was odd not being in the same house as his twin. At home, their rooms had been connected and more than once they had comforted each other over this hurt or that upset. But now, Sin was really on his own, and had to learn to function without the daily support of mom, his sister, or his gran. During his first year, he did well, and received the best marks of his Hogwart's career. He liked learning, and he was a popular boy too - and he got quite a kick out of charming people. Sin had already learned that a kind word and a winning smile often could get someone to do something for him, and at school he was able to hone this skill tremendously.
However, life at Hogwarts was not completely without his father’s presence and influence. Of course, every two or three weeks, his father would send a letter lecturing him about his performance. At first this would spur Sin to do better, to try harder, for – like the flying lessons – he had subconsciously seen Hogwarts as a new opportunity to please Harrison jr. But over the intervening years, Sin has come to ignore these missives, and his father’s imprecations to always do better. With each passing year at school, Sin has deliberately chosen to do only the bare minimum to pass. He makes sure his grades are average and nothing more silently refusing to exert the good brain that he has. Failure is not an option, but meeting his father’s impossibly high requirements is.
And then, there was Quidditch…
When Sin was a second year, he made the reserve Qudditch team. He'd been so excited. But of course his father was less than thrilled. All those expensive lessons and junior league - and his son was only second string! Well, that couldn’t be allowed to go unchanged. That summer, Sin practiced for hours with his father on honing his skills. At last, some real quality father-son time. His father wanted him to be seeker or a chaser, but really, Sin was far better skilled at being a keeper. Ah, too bad – Sin was going to be what Harrison jr wanted him to be, period.
The next year, Sin made the team. He loved Quidditch, for a while. But for three years, his father in attendance for every single one of his games, Sin has yet to hear a word of praise, for his efforts, for his skill, for simply getting out there and practicing his butt off at all hours and in all weather. Nothing – but commentary on how he could have done this or he should have done that. Now, in his seventh year, he doesn't give a rat’s ass. He played because it’s what he always has done – what’s expected of him. His father wouldn’t have accepted anything less. It got him girls, attention and perks. If he was banned from playing, he would balk at first, since it is his identity. But then he'd shrug his shoulders and not care - and maybe be a little bit relieved.
And of course, there was no piano…
Once Sin began school, piano flew right out the window. He really and truly missed it. But he couldn’t appear like a girly boy in front of the other students. His father had him convinced that that’s how all normal people regarded men who played the piano. His mother tried to encourage him to take lessons still – he could have. But he refused, and she seemed a bit hurt by this. But Sin stuck to his guns, stubbornly. Being exposed to more kids than he had ever been around – and more boys his age, and older – he thought he had a lot to prove, and Quidditch was the way to do that, not tickling the ivories. When Delilah became sick, when Sin was thirteen, he immediately felt guilty for this rejection of what was so important to her. It was devastating for him to see her so weak, when he was at home. The life was slowly draining out of her, and he asked his father if he could stay at home and miss school for a while. Harrison of course nixed that idea completely. As his mother worsened, his father's expectations grew. It was as if Harrison’s response to his dear wife’s impending death was to take out his pain on their son. Del was too weak to know what was going on, and Sin never breathed a word to her.
She died during his fifth year. Sin was devastated, but he had come to have this thick calcification about his heart, and his grief was entirely contained. And just as Harrison seemed to need to take out his frustrations on his son, so to did Sin lay the blame for his mother’s death at his father’s feet. Illogically, perhaps – but grief and pain often are such. Since then, Sin has become more robotic. He has no real goals and he cares less and less about pleasing his father. There is a scary lack of emotion about him. He has the facade of the charmer, and a devil may care attitude – a certain reckless abandon that does not bode well for his own welfare. His grades slipped after his mother died and he now only does the bare minimum to pass. The hold his father has on him is slipping.
At seventeen, Sin has no real goals, except he’d kind of like to find a way to really piss his father off in a major way. He has no idea what he wants in the future. There was always this expectation that he'd follow in his father's footsteps, but he knows that’s the last thing he wants, for himself. Despite the face he shows to the world, he is a very, very lonely, angry, hurting young man who is very likely to start spiraling down if something major doesn’t change in his life – and he might end up taking a few people with him.
*credit for the creation of this character goes to Elle. This application is a re-write, but almost all of the content sprang originally from her lovely mind.
Age: 17
Birthdate/place: 21-02-2019 / St. Mungo’s, London
Species: Human/wizard
Gender: male
Family: pure blood
Father: Harrison James Ashcroft jr, 44, ministry official
Mother: Delilah (Pennyweather) Ashcroft, deceased
Twin sister: ____ Ashcroft, 17
Paternal Grandfather: Harrison James Ashcroft, sr, deceased
Paternal Grandmother: Natasha Loren Ashcroft, 129
Maternal Grandfather: Lloyd Pennyweather, 65
Maternal Grandmother: Carolina Pennyweather, 61
Chantey-Marie Ashcroft Fletcher: paternal aunt, Pureblood, deceased
Avery Fletcher: paternal uncle (by marriage), Mudblood, deceased
Eden Fletcher – cousin, 27
Emery Fletcher- cousin -deceased
Elianora Fletcher, cousin-29
Appearance:
Hair: light brown, medium length
Eyes: blue
Build/height- lean, but with a developing athletic type build/5’11”
General Description- Sin, as he is called to distinguish him from his father, Harrison, is a good looking young man who appears for the most part to be a pleasant, smiling, likable guy. That smile can be a bit deceiving, though. For often, though his lips are saying one thing, his cold blue eyes are saying entirely a different thing. Sin discovered early on how useful that smile could be, to get his way, or to get him out of a tight spot. His cuteness, which has aged now to youthful good looks, were also something he could use to manipulate others as well. But if one is very observant, one sees that hardness that forms a core of steel in those eyes – a reflection of the rest of the hard exterior shell Sin has formed over the years, for good reason.
Though Sin comes from a very well off family – one that prides itself on its heritage and the old family name – he has of late taken more and more to the ‘just got out of bed and threw myself together’ look. But if you look closely, you will see, like his smile, this casual disregard for his appearance is deceptive. For his clothes, though perhaps slightly rumpled and untucked, are of the expensive designer kind. And his hair, which he prefers to keep a bit long and slightly shaggy, may appear to not be combed or brushed, but it might also have been more carefully arranged to look so very tousled.
Possessions- Sin has everything a boy could need, in terms of clothes and gadgets and books and a first class broom for quidditch. His family is wealthy, and though his father doesn’t indulge Sin, he makes sure his son has the best of what is required and appropriate. But Sin’s most prized possessions are 1) a collection of his mother's sheet music he managed to secret away in his room at home, after she passed away, and 2) all the many letters she wrote to him while he was at school, which he keeps with him in an envelope in his trunk there at Hogwarts. Otherwise, he probably doesn’t give a damn about anything his dad ever bought him.
Personality:
Temperment/Mental Attributes- Just like the contradiction apparent in his almost constant smile and his hard eyes, Sin seems to be a confusing mixture of an outward appearance of friendliness and affable motivations juxtaposed against an inner emptiness. He’s very manipulative, and a user, thus he has become very observant and very skilled at reading people. He’s good at knowing what people want from him, and delivering it, if it suits his purpose and his mood. Having been brought up with a hyper-critical and overbearing father, he has become adept at numbing any true emotions he may be feeling, and he’s got a real “I don’t really give a shit” attitude by this point in his life. Of the three people who might have softened the impact of his father’s constant barrage of negativity, his much beloved mother is now dead and his maternal grandmother is basically barred from seeing him. This leaves only his twin sister. They are very close, but over the years, Sin has even retreated from his one true and best friend, as he drops deeper into a feeling of not wanting to share his true feelings even with his twin.
Of course, even the seeming void inside him is just a façade for a whole lot of hurt and anger. No child could have ever lived up to the expectations Harrison placed on his son’s shoulder from an early age. Sin tried – he really did – but of course, he eventually realized he was always doomed to fail and so now, he’s just given up. Not entirely, though – he does just enough to get by. But any impulse he ever had to excel or succeed was long ago squashed by the never ending invective that he hadn’t done well enough, he wasn’t good enough, he needed to try harder. In order to avoid dealing with emotions he couldn’t possibly process on his own (and he sure isn’t going to go talking about them – to anyone) Sin has become calloused, both inwardly and outwardly. Though bearing a persona of charming, pleasant, smiling, happy young man, he can be quite cruel when he chooses to be, especially with his sharp tongue, which can as skillfully cut someone to ribbons as it can stroke their ego. But more typically, Sin projects a friendly mien as he analyses people in terms of how they might come in useful to him. He has no real friends, though, keeping any real attachments at arm’s length. This includes the good number of girls he has had dalliances with – each short lived tryst just as superficial as any other interaction he has with anyone else.
Alliance- Sin would say that his alliance is to his Family but that is hogwash. When it comes right down to it, the only two people he really cares about are his twin sister and his maternal grandmother, and of course, he generally is looking out for number one, though he might not see that as clearly as his actions would demonstrate.
Alignment- Neutral
Employment&Education:
-Students-
House- Hufflepuff
Year- Seventh
OWLs/NEWTs- received acceptables in all his OWLS; now working on passing NEWTS in Potions, Alchemy, Charms and Transfiguration
Other:
Magical Skills- Has not shown any outstanding aptitude for any skill or field in particular. He probably could if he gave a damn and put in a little effort – but he doesn’t, and he won’t.
Patronus- – nope, hasn’t even tried really
Wand- elm, core of dragon heart string, 10”
Goals/Aspirations- None, sad really - oh wait...he'd really like to disappoint his father, if he can muster up the guts to do so
Other Information- Sin is a closeted pianist. Very few know of his talent, and he is out of practice and unmotivated now. He knows his father’s view on men being professional musicians of any kind.
History-
Daily Prophet Society Pages
June 2, 2015
WEDDING OF THE CENTURY
2014's most eligible young wizard, Harrison James Ashcroft Jr., married Delilah Pennyweather, a young musician and recent graduate of the Wizarding Academy of the Dramatic Arts, yesterday in a lovely ceremony at the Ashcroft ancestral home in Wales. The little known bride is said to be the great, great granddaughter of the American Wizard who invented Quadpot. The happy couple met last year at a Ministry party at which Miss Pennyweather was playing the harp. Rumor has it that the dashing young Ashcroft had been mesmerized by the lovely English Rose. Sixteen at the time of their first encounter, the skilled harpist had no idea who our groom was. Ashcroft too had vowed to learn the name of the young lady who had so captivated his heart. That initial encounter sparked flames in them both that would smolder until their next meeting at another party nearly six months later. A whirlwind romance began and shortly after her graduation from school they wed on a lovely summer day.
The bride was a siren in Arctic Lace, the style reminiscent of something Rowena Ravenclaw would have worn on her wedding. The groom could barely keep his smoldering gaze off the bride. Will there be fruit of this union soon?
A mere six months after the wedding, the unabashed couple welcomed healthy twins into the world. Harrison James Ashcroft, III, was born five minutes after his sister and his father never forgave him. The man should always be first to make way for the woman. While Harrison Ashcroft, jr, loved his wife more than anything in the world, he did hold misconceived notions about women - and sons too, it turned out.
From a young age, Sin's father demanded more of him than his sister, doting on his precious daughter but determined to be firm and make a man out of his son. Despite being younger by a few minutes, the expectation from birth, of course, was that Sin – as the eldest son - would take on the family name, business, and heritage. Through his veins would flow the blood of generations, which he would proudly pass on to the future. From the second he was born he never wanted for anything, except maybe his father's affection. Oh, he knew his parents loved him – at least, his mother was very open and warm with her affection. But his father constantly pointed out how Sin could improve. Harrison jr seemed to see only his young son’s shortcomings, and it was apparent he thought it his primary duty as father to whip his son into shape, figuratively if not literally. Delilah did what she could to soften her husband’s near constant criticism, but he actively discouraged her from “coddling” the boy. Still, when Harrison wasn’t around, Delilah would spend a lot of time with her little son, trying to bolster and reinforce the many good traits he possessed and praising whatever skills he had mastered. Naturally, the boy grew closer to the parent that seemed to actually appreciate his efforts. He loved his mother – his father he ‘respected’, out of fear, and ultimately he has grown to basically hate the man.
Another Sin supporter during his childhood has always been his twin. Despite their father’s totally skewed division of affection between the two, the twins were always very close. As toddlers, they had their own secret language and they supported each other like twins are wont to do. As they grew older though, they seemed to drift apart, as Sin began to shut himself off even from his closest buddy. Sin was very close, too, with his maternal grandmother, who was a frequent visitor to their home when he was little. Like his mother, she shared her passion for music with her little grandson. Since his mother’s death, though, about two years ago now, his father has forbidden Carolina entry to the familial estate in Wales. He has also forbidden her to have any contact with his children…but that hasn’t necessarily stopped her from corresponding with them.
But this isn’t to say that Sin never learned anything from his dear father. From watching him, Sin learned how to use flattery to get things accomplished. He saw how, if he was careful and observant, he could learn to manipulate others, and, consciously or not, he began to emulate Harrison jr in this respect. He would often talk his way out of trouble with his mother, and he learned that a flash of his dimples never went amiss. Smiles and sweet looks could also work wonders, and got him out of any number of scrapes. He learned these techniques worked especially well with women – not so well on his father, though. Harrison jr seemed made of cold, hard, stone when it came to his son. Failure was not an option. Neither were laziness or imperfection. The Ashcrofts were leaders in the wizarding world, and no son of that name would be anything but.
Part of being a leader, it seemed, would be excelling at Quidditch – a sport Harrison had been a master of when he attended Hogwarts. So, at seven, Sin began to learn how to fly. At first he had been terribly excited. He'd heard all about how his Dad had been a great Quidditch player, and he was still young, and naïve enough, to believe that he could garner his dad’s approval if he did well enough. It would be something they could share and enjoy together. At the end of the week, Harrison's dad would leave work early to see his son's progress. The flight instructor would be sent home and Sin would show off his new skills. Most of the time his father was not impressed and would often have Sin drill for hours. This continued throughout his childhood, with Harrison growing more demanding as Sin grew older and began to really practice his Quidditch skills. From an initial excitement – born of hope more than anything – Sin found the grueling hours spent practicing, and the relentless demands for improvement only became yet one more exercise in frustration, disappointment and the pain of knowing he just wasn’t good enough. It was during these years that Sin first began to catch a glimpse of the horrible truth – he never could be good enough, not for his father.
Once again, Sin was able to find some solace in the company of his other parent, and her great passion. From babyhood, at his mother’s side, Sin had learned to love music. She was a talented musician. It had been what had captured his father's attention. Del was a sweet, gentle woman who loved life, and her impish humor would often soften the demanding side of his father. Listening to his mother play in the evenings was one of Sin's favorite things to do. While his father was at work he would take lessons with his sister. Although he had never admitted it, he liked piano more than he liked Quidditch. But a man played Quidditch - not some sissy thing like the piano. When Sin got to school, he’d be on the Quidditch team, not the piano team!
And of course, a lot of what Harrison was so insistent that his son perfect himself in was leading up to Sin’s admission to Hogwarts. On the twins' eleventh birthday, a large party was held in their honor. Many of the most prominent wizarding families were in attendance. Bets were placed on what house the children would be sorted into. Gryffindor and Slytherin were the highest for Sin. It seemed he’d be a shoo in – especially for Slytherin, his father’s old House. It was a bitter disappointment for his father though, when Sin was sorted into Hufflepuff. His mother had been overjoyed. She thought it was one of the better houses. She had not attended Hogwarts herself so she didn't know for sure, but she was nonetheless proud of her children.
But Hufflepuff or no, school began and Sin settled into a routine at Hogwarts. He missed his mother, but was relieved not to have to see his father’s dour, negative face every day. Though outwardly affable, Sin made few close friends in school. He had many people he was friendly with, but never did he truly connect with anyone. Years of both a toxic home environment, and a father who role modeled really exceptionally manipulative behavior, had him both fearful of further rejection and yet inspired to see just how good he could get at getting others to do as he wished. But at first, both urges were very buried and unacknowledged. His behavior was more an instinct for survival than it was a conscious effort to keep people at arms length and yet also try to use them.
At first, Sin really loved Hogwarts, although he missed his mum and piano. It was odd not being in the same house as his twin. At home, their rooms had been connected and more than once they had comforted each other over this hurt or that upset. But now, Sin was really on his own, and had to learn to function without the daily support of mom, his sister, or his gran. During his first year, he did well, and received the best marks of his Hogwart's career. He liked learning, and he was a popular boy too - and he got quite a kick out of charming people. Sin had already learned that a kind word and a winning smile often could get someone to do something for him, and at school he was able to hone this skill tremendously.
However, life at Hogwarts was not completely without his father’s presence and influence. Of course, every two or three weeks, his father would send a letter lecturing him about his performance. At first this would spur Sin to do better, to try harder, for – like the flying lessons – he had subconsciously seen Hogwarts as a new opportunity to please Harrison jr. But over the intervening years, Sin has come to ignore these missives, and his father’s imprecations to always do better. With each passing year at school, Sin has deliberately chosen to do only the bare minimum to pass. He makes sure his grades are average and nothing more silently refusing to exert the good brain that he has. Failure is not an option, but meeting his father’s impossibly high requirements is.
And then, there was Quidditch…
When Sin was a second year, he made the reserve Qudditch team. He'd been so excited. But of course his father was less than thrilled. All those expensive lessons and junior league - and his son was only second string! Well, that couldn’t be allowed to go unchanged. That summer, Sin practiced for hours with his father on honing his skills. At last, some real quality father-son time. His father wanted him to be seeker or a chaser, but really, Sin was far better skilled at being a keeper. Ah, too bad – Sin was going to be what Harrison jr wanted him to be, period.
The next year, Sin made the team. He loved Quidditch, for a while. But for three years, his father in attendance for every single one of his games, Sin has yet to hear a word of praise, for his efforts, for his skill, for simply getting out there and practicing his butt off at all hours and in all weather. Nothing – but commentary on how he could have done this or he should have done that. Now, in his seventh year, he doesn't give a rat’s ass. He played because it’s what he always has done – what’s expected of him. His father wouldn’t have accepted anything less. It got him girls, attention and perks. If he was banned from playing, he would balk at first, since it is his identity. But then he'd shrug his shoulders and not care - and maybe be a little bit relieved.
And of course, there was no piano…
Once Sin began school, piano flew right out the window. He really and truly missed it. But he couldn’t appear like a girly boy in front of the other students. His father had him convinced that that’s how all normal people regarded men who played the piano. His mother tried to encourage him to take lessons still – he could have. But he refused, and she seemed a bit hurt by this. But Sin stuck to his guns, stubbornly. Being exposed to more kids than he had ever been around – and more boys his age, and older – he thought he had a lot to prove, and Quidditch was the way to do that, not tickling the ivories. When Delilah became sick, when Sin was thirteen, he immediately felt guilty for this rejection of what was so important to her. It was devastating for him to see her so weak, when he was at home. The life was slowly draining out of her, and he asked his father if he could stay at home and miss school for a while. Harrison of course nixed that idea completely. As his mother worsened, his father's expectations grew. It was as if Harrison’s response to his dear wife’s impending death was to take out his pain on their son. Del was too weak to know what was going on, and Sin never breathed a word to her.
She died during his fifth year. Sin was devastated, but he had come to have this thick calcification about his heart, and his grief was entirely contained. And just as Harrison seemed to need to take out his frustrations on his son, so to did Sin lay the blame for his mother’s death at his father’s feet. Illogically, perhaps – but grief and pain often are such. Since then, Sin has become more robotic. He has no real goals and he cares less and less about pleasing his father. There is a scary lack of emotion about him. He has the facade of the charmer, and a devil may care attitude – a certain reckless abandon that does not bode well for his own welfare. His grades slipped after his mother died and he now only does the bare minimum to pass. The hold his father has on him is slipping.
At seventeen, Sin has no real goals, except he’d kind of like to find a way to really piss his father off in a major way. He has no idea what he wants in the future. There was always this expectation that he'd follow in his father's footsteps, but he knows that’s the last thing he wants, for himself. Despite the face he shows to the world, he is a very, very lonely, angry, hurting young man who is very likely to start spiraling down if something major doesn’t change in his life – and he might end up taking a few people with him.
*credit for the creation of this character goes to Elle. This application is a re-write, but almost all of the content sprang originally from her lovely mind.
