Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2014 23:58:44 GMT -5
GRIFFIN AARON GARLAND
CANON OR ORIGINAL: Original
AGE: Seventeen
FACE CLAIM: Harry Judd
YEAR: Seventh
HOUSE: Gryffindor
OCCUPATION: N/A
BLOOD TYPE: Halfblood
WAND TYPE: 12 1/2", elm, chimera scale
PETS: None
ABILITIES: N/A
freestyle
After a couple of years dating, and another year of engagement, it was in August that friends and family gathered for a small ceremony tying together Richard and Layla Garland in matrimony. Everyone commented on how in love the newlyweds were, how right they were for each other, and so it came as a surprise to no one when they greeted their firstborn within the year – a son they named Nathaniel. For a time, the young family lived contentedly. While Richard worked tirelessly as a surgeon at a nearby Muggle hospital, Layla took a break in her career as a complimentary medicine practitioner to raise their son. During that time some of her friends asked whether she missed her old life, but Layla always replied with a firm and immediate ‘no’. How could she lament the way her life had been before when she got to spend all day with her little boy, who was the apple of her eye?
No, Layla took to motherhood like the proverbial duck to water. A nurturing woman by nature, she loved every aspect of parenting, even the difficult parts. She never once complained about the sleepless nights or the temper tantrums her son threw – although they were admittedly few and far between. There was little she enjoyed more than teaching Nathaniel, who preferred to be called Nate, encouraging all of the academic and creative outlets the young boy showed an interest in. She looked forward to each and every day spent with him, and so when the time came for him to attend school, Layla quickly found herself at a loose end. In a bid to fill up her now plentiful free time, she began to take on clients as she once had, but it became clear to both Layla and her husband that her heart wasn’t in it in quite the same way as before. What she missed was being a stay-at-home mother, filling her days with little adventures with her child, and so they decided that they would try for another baby.
It didn’t take long for them to become pregnant and, at a little past eight on a warm June morning, the Garlands greeted their second son, a boy they called Griffin. In contrast with his older brother, James was an incredibly fussy baby. Whereas Nate had seemed content to lie in his crib and watch the world go by, Griffin screamed at every given moment, demanding attention. Layla has since joked that she should have known that he’d be trouble. Even her pregnancy had been harder with Griffin than it had been with Nate, the baby apparently not happy unless he was kicking or causing his mother discomfort, making her pay him attention.
Griffin grew from a fussy baby into a demanding toddler. He suffered from the Terrible Twos long past his second year, still throwing tantrums in the years leading up to, and including, the beginning of his school career. However, in contrast with this, when the boy was in a good mood – which was thankfully most of the time – he was a sweet-natured and affectionate child, quick with a smile and a hug for those around him. It also became clear very early on that Griffin was a child who enjoyed laughter. He loved to be surrounded by it, often going out of his way to make others laugh, even if he sometimes did take things a little too far. Knowing where boundaries are has never been one of Griffins’ strong points.
It was noticed by both his mother and father that Griffin had an incredibly short attention span. If something didn’t spark his interest, or if he found it too difficult, the boy would quickly go from being amiable and warm to upset and a little unruly, acting out when he became bored. But it would only be in later years that his parents would understand that their son’s reactions were at least partly due to frustration. Griffin was seven when he was diagnosed as having dyslexia, a neurological condition which affects not only his ability master the written language, meaning he has difficulties with reading, writing, and spelling, but also that he has problems with sequencing, labeling, phonetics, and his short-term memory. His attention span – and as a result, his ability to sit in a classroom, listen, and follow instruction – is another symptom of the condition, and one that was erroneously believed to be because the boy had behavioral problems.
Despite this, school was where Griffin really flourished, at least socially. Even though some of his classmates labelled him as stupid for his inability to keep up, Griffin rarely let it get him down. That isn’t to say there weren’t days he hated the condition, even himself, throwing tantrums reminiscent of his younger years through sheer frustration. But for the most part he tried to take it in his stride. Instead of focusing on what he couldn’t do, he concentrated on what he could. He learned to make people laugh, to socialize, to be friendly and make friends. Some may say that the boy was – and still is – overcompensating for perceived shortcomings in other areas of his life, but he will shrug off that idea. Griffin will simply tell you that he believes there is much more to life than academia.
Following his diagnosis, Griffin continued to struggle through school, although did so with a smile on his face. His report cards still read that he didn’t listen or pay attention, and that he was often a distraction to his classmates, drawing focus away from the teacher with his incessant chatter and playful antics. It was what landed him in trouble on a semi-regular basis, something many of his teachers grew used to. He became a popular and well-liked member of his class, seemingly always surrounded by a group of friends, something he now puts down, at least in part, to the fact that he refused to accept any special treatment. Even a young Griffin knew that singling himself out as being different than his peers wouldn’t help him, and that’s an attitude which has followed him into adolescence.
By this time, Griffin was the oldest child at home. Nate had been shipped off to Hogwarts the autumn before, the school both of his parents had attended, and which he hoped to attend himself someday. That left just Griffin and his younger brother Ryan, who had been born the year after Griffin, at home with Mom and Dad. In Nate’s absence, Ryan became the focus of all of his brother’s playful pranks, for which he had developed a particular knack. But Ryan never complained. If anything, he came to accept that it was the way that his brother showed his affection, as much a part of who he was as his ever-present smile or alert, blue eyes. Certainly, for the most part, all three of the Garland boys shared a good relationship. While there were times they bickered and fought, like any siblings, there were never very many serious conflicts. Any arguments they did have were the kind that started quickly and were just as soon forgotten.
Before long, Griffin found himself eagerly waiting for the day that he would get his Hogwarts acceptance letter. For weeks following his eleventh birthday, the boy hoped and prayed for the owl to arrive, and finally it did. After that, the boy became unbearable. He constantly pestered his parents to take him to gather his school supplies, but it wasn’t until the end of July that they gave in. James had, of course, visited Diagon Alley many times before. Florean Fortescue’s was a favourite place of his, and where his folks would take him as a special treat. But that day, with both of his brothers in tow, Griffin viewed the popular wizarding district with fresh eyes, like he was seeing everything for the first time. He dashed from store to store, collecting books and equipment, picking out his owl, and tried his hardest to stand still long enough to be fitted for robes, all so he could do the thing he’d been waiting to do for years: find his wand. It took over an hour and twelve wands before Griffin found the one that would become his, and he had such fun that he still looks back on it with a smile on his face.
That summer was the longest that James can remember. Each day seemed to drag on endlessly and he spent much time badgering both his parents and Nate for details about the school he’d heard so much about. Finally, September 1st rolled around and Griffin joined his fellow first years as he took his first journey on the Hogwarts Express. He spent the whole trip wandering from compartment to compartment, working his way through an unhealthy amount of sugary treats, and fidgeting restlessly as the train barreled through the countryside on its way to the castle. After what felt like an age, the train pulled into Hogsmeade station and Griffin and his classmates piled into the boats that would take them to the place that would be their home for the next seven years. Hogwarts castle was, and remains, one of the most impressive things that Griffin has ever seen. Grand and majestic, just looking at the place from the boat filled James with a sense of awe, and also excitement. To be away from home and in a place like this, and to be surrounded by other magical children, was little short of perfection in the boy’s eyes.
Griffin found that the Sorting Ceremony was just as exciting as the journey to the castle. He twitched impatiently as he queued with the other first years in order to learn what House would become his surrogate family, until it was finally his turn. He bounded up to the stool, a bright grin on his face, and when the Sorting Hat had made his decision, cheered along with his new Housemates as he made his way eagerly to join them. That first night in the castle, Griffin is sure that those around him – both at the table for the feast and in his dormitory – grew sick of hearing his voice, for he talked relentlessly until he passed out from exhaustion, a pattern that would repeat many times in the ensuing years.
Griffin took to Hogwarts with the same gusto he approached everything else. He quickly made friends, talking to anyone and everyone his path crossed, and settled into the routine of life in the castle quite well. At first, he found it difficult to live up to Nate’s example. Graduating as one of the top students in his year, he had big shoes to fill, especially since Griffin struggled through a good many of his classes. But others he found infinitely easier to navigate. He flourished in those with prevalent practical elements, such as Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration, and by contrast tended to be more unruly in those he found challenging. Certainly, his name became well-known amongst the staff for his tendency to disrupt the classroom from time to time. As with his Muggle primary school, it landed him in hot water on occasion, although from his first year, most of Griffins’ detentions were due to his proclivity toward walking the line between obedience and rebellion, finding himself lost in the joy of pulling one prank or another.
An avid lover of all sports – and, really, anything which kept him active – during his second year Griffin tried out for his House quidditch team, although he was unsuccessful. He tried out the following year and won a spot, playing Seeker for the whole season, but didn’t re-try the year after because, in his words, he had “been there and done that.” Still, he will turn out for every match to support his team, come rain or shine, as his House pride runs deep. It was also in his second year that Ryan began his Hogwarts career. That meant that Griffin could pick up where he’d left off at home, with his kid brother often being the butt of his jokes, teasing the younger boy mercilessly as he had for as long as either could remember. In that one year apart, it was the sole aspect of Hogwarts Griffin hadn’t liked, missing his brother more than he would ever willingly admit. For his part, Ryan enjoyed having his big brother at the castle. He was that little bit of home which made him feel more secure.
In his third year, Griffin began to notice girls. No longer were they strange creatures that talked about things he didn’t understand, like fashion and make-up and how stupid they thought boys were. Instead, he began to appreciate their beauty, and soon came to enjoy both their company and attention. But, then, Griffin had always loved the spotlight. It was during his third year that Griffin had his first kiss – a sloppy, awkward affair with a girl in his year – and also when he began dating, although all of his relationships were short-lived, with the boy moving onto the next girl after only a matter of weeks. A playful young man, it’s an extension of his desire to make those around him comfortable and at ease, or merely to raise a smile, that he cannot resist flirting with the girls he meets, regardless of whether he’s dating or not. It soon became apparent, not only to James but also his friends, that he didn’t so much enjoy having a girlfriend as he did having the company of girls.
But all that changed when, early in his fifth year, Griffin began to look at Felicity Warren in a different light. In the year below, Griffin had known the girl since his second year, when she’d stood up to him for terrorizing Ryan on his first trip to the castle. Always one to like a person with spirit, it was safe to say that Griffin liked Felicity from the get-go, although for a few years she was little more than Ryan’s best friend – or, as he regularly teased, Ryan’s girlfriend. When that changed, when he started to see her for the bright, funny, and beautiful girl that she was, Griffin began to pursue her. It was subtle at first; she knew him well through all the time they spent together, including holidays she spent at the Garland’s home, where she was treated like family. And so it took a couple months for things to move from friendship to romance. But once it did, the two became inseparable, one never too far away from the other. They were happy.
The pair stayed that way for quite some time, building on their existing relationship in ways that Griffin hadn’t even considered the year before. She became someone he trusted implicitly and could rely upon. Someone who brought out his very best qualities and always pushed him to be the very best version of himself he could be. She tried, and often succeeded, to curtail his more reckless tendencies, going so far as to calm the teasing Griffin routinely handed out to his baby brother. And he, in turn, tried to be that person for her, someone she could depend upon and trust. Someone who wanted her to feel happy and secure and loved, making sure she knew every second of every day just how special she was. How much she meant to him. How much he cared about her.
For several months, Griffin and Fee were together and happy. They were often seen walking the corridors hand in hand or huddled together in some quiet corner, joined at the lips. But in true Griffin fashion, his attention began to wander. Even while dating Fee, Griffin was the boy he’d always been. He was friendly and open and warm to everyone he met, which translated as flirting with girls. Fee knew this, of course, and had accepted that it was part of who he was. And that would’ve been fine, had Griffin only stuck to being friendly. But just before Valentine’s Day, Griffin crossed the line between thought and action and kissed another girl. As soon as it happened, he regretted it, not only because Fee caught him in the act, but because he’d known that it was wrong. He’d simply been swept up in the moment and made a poor decision.
Griffin, of course, tried to apologize. In fact, he apologized until he was blue in the face, but neither she, nor her friends, would hear it. If Griffin had thought that Daisy and Jennifer were intimidating when protecting Fee, they had nothing on Ryan. Usually so passive and laid-back, it became startling clear to Griffin just how badly he’d screwed things up when he got into a fight with his kid brother, who actually took a swing at him for the first time in his life. A lot of things were said that Griffin has since come to regret, and he had little choice but to let Felicity go, just like she’d asked. Given how much he’d hurt her, he supposed it was the least he could do. Griffin spent the remainder of the year going back and forth on his agreement to leave Fee alone, flitting between wanting to do what was right and fighting for what he wanted. He even tried to use studying for his O.W.L.s, albeit disastrously, as a distraction, and as such he finished his fifth year with a few decent grades under his belt.
Griffin’s sixth year was pretty much a repeat of the end of the year before. He tried his best in classes, though still struggled with much of the content, and spent a lot of time trying to win Felicity back. He wanted to prove to her that he could be better, that he would never hurt her in that way again. But aside from a few momentary lapses, when it looked like she might take him back, the two remained estranged. Over the course of the year they tried to work through their problems, rebuilding their friendship from the ground up after Griffin had destroyed it, but it was a slow process. Even now, in the first part of his seventh and final year, the two have days when everything feels off. Days when it all feels tense and awkward and forced. But they are interspersed with days when everything feels right, and that’s why Griffin keeps fighting. While many of his classmates want to make their last year count, to either make a name for themselves before being thrown out into the real world or claw their way to top of the class, graduating with top grades, Griffin wants none of those things. When the time comes, he would be happy to leave school safe in the knowledge that he and Felicity are back on good, solid ground – the way he feels it should be. And until then, he will continue the way he always has, facing each day like the mini adventure it is, laughing and joking with his friends, and living life to the fullest.
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HEY MY NAME IS ORCA, AND I ALSO PLAY NO ONE ELSE ATM. I FOUND THE SITE THROUGH GOOGLE YO.
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