Natalie Hollingberry

Born as an only child in a wealthy, pureblood family, Natalie was very much cared for and coddled by her parents, Marie and Peter Hollingberry. Her mother worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was a member of the Wizengamot, which made her quite a stern lady but around her family she was gentle and extremely caring, while her father worked as a Healer. Despite the fact that both her parents were usually busy with work and social duties, they always found a way to make time for their only daughter, this was even more so when it came to Peter. Natalie as a child was still very quiet, as noted by her father, but she did express herself when the need arises and this was mostly because of the shenanigans her father would drag her into. Even though he himself was a pureblood, Peter was especially interested in Muggles and their day-to-day life. He enjoyed learning more about them and what he learned, he would teach to Natalie as well. From reading about Leonardo da Vinci to trying to re-create Canadian taffy during winter, she and Peter did many things together. It was through these experiences that Natalie became an especially curious child. Her mother, however, was not very fond of the thought that her husband was filling her mind with muggle non-sense, ‘It’s not like she’ll need to know all those things; she’ll be married to another pureblood.’ Were her thoughts but seeing as her daughter was enjoying the new experiences- she decided to let them be. All in all, Natalie had quite the normal childhood.

Because of the influence of her father, at a young age the young girl started drowning herself in books- both about magical and muggles. To her quiet delight, her powers started manifesting at the age of 10 when she had accidentally turned one of their maid’s face bright pink. Needless to say the whole ordeal both shocked and amused her dear parents.

It was when she was 11 years old did things started to change in her family. A few weeks before her departure for Hogwarts, Natalie had started to notice that her father didn’t spend as much time as he did before with her. In fact he started going home terribly late, although he still acted like his usual self: Cheerful and kind. This too didn’t go unnoticed by her mother. But there was no time for her to figure out what was happening because before she knew it, she was to headed for Hogwarts. First year was a flurry of excitement and giddiness for Natalie, which was quite hard to tell sometimes because even as a child her quiet demeanor never left her. Despite this, however, she did gain a few friends, which meant a lot to her seeing as she wasn’t always permitted to leave her house unsupervised. Everything was good, splendid even. But this all changed when she came back home for winter break. The usually bright lit manor was dark and cold, and as Natalie made her way inside and headed for her father’s study- there she saw her mother, staring blankly and clutching a letter shakily. When she had asked what was wrong, Marie was surprised- but that was quickly replaced by a cold, bitter expression. ’Your father…he left us.’

It was common practice in her family that they marry purebloods. Her grandparents and the people before them were, unfortunately, incredibly shrewd and shallow. In ordered to ensure a strong family lineage, they sometimes resorted to arranged marriages. This was exactly what Marie and Peter had been forced to go through. Although they didn’t like each other, they didn’t hate each other either- so they just obediently accepted their family’s wishes. Her father, however, had feelings for another woman- a muggle. After years of enduring, it would seem he finally decided to chase after the woman he loved. But it was inevitable that one of them was bound to fall for the other after years of being married together, and to demise of Marie- it had to be her.

Peter leaving her and their household, was a big blow to her, not only emotionally but also socially- to think someone would just up and leave their wife for another woman- it was humiliating. To fix and regain what respect her family had lost, Marie became a cold woman, rarely smiling, never laughing. She did her job with an iron fist and interacted with other families solely for business. With time, she slowly untarnished her family’s name but at the cost of her daughter’s happiness. Natalie too was devastated at the news of her father leaving them, but when her mother had started being a strict, uptight and cold person, she felt as if both her parents left her that day. The house that once rang with laughter and glee was no more. Only the monotonous steps of maids doing their duties and the eerie silence was present now.

As time went on, Natalie started keeping to herself more. She wasn’t one time smile anymore, no matter how rare it was in the past. Some people started noticing this and even approached her about this but when she answered in a curt manner (a habit, she sadly got from her mother) they misinterpreted this. This coupled by her quiet personality and now evident, blank expressions- people started assuming she was either a loner or thought she was better than them. At around 3rd year she had stopped caring about that though and kept to herself- or talked to anyone who did bother talking to her.

Now a 5th year, she just hopes to graduates with good grades- but deep inside she also hopes to make friends.