Ivory Tower Within

- home of my characters -



Information and History of the character:
Zadkhiel "Zekke" Sauvignon de Barticot.

OOC: The player/person behind this character is FEMALE! Just so everyone knows. There seems to be a total lack of male characters all over the forums, so I'm RPing a male all around except in the Chat Box.

Another thing, too. I originally created Zekke to be RPed within the HP timeline, so since he's in the SS School, the situation has changed somewhat, so the Snape and Malfoy bit do not apply.

Known to all as "Zekke" or "Z". No one but the Headmaster knows his real name.

Easily recognized in and out of his House by his handsome face and androgynous figure that leads many people to question his gender, his beauty is offset by the stoic, even grim and icy expression he constantly wears on his face. He goes by the nicknames Zekke or "Z" – his real name a secret unknown to all but his family and the Headmaster – and he is described by classmates as exuding a presence of "quiet intensity" and has the bearings and aires of an aristocrat. His lineage is in fact that of an aristocrat and a pureblood with the family name of de Barticot running deep in French history and his family’s bloodline filled with the blood of wizards and witches.

Having grown up in France for 12 years before moving with his family to settle down in England and having had a private classical education, his command of the French, English, and Latin languages is strong. Brought up to socialize and associate with the elite members of society, his voice is cool, calm, and controlled and as a result, he's been accused on several occasions for being "aloof" and "indifferent" by his classmates though he oftentimes thinks otherwise. Not the sort to draw unnecessary attention to himself, he's worked on ridding his voice of his French accent to better fit in with the other students, though his French heritage becomes more marked the more emotional he becomes and he sometimes lapses into his native tongue for the same reason.

His eyes, however, speak louder than his cool words do – French-inflected or not, shifting into different hues of jade green to complement his mood and they seem to penetrate right through whoever they happen to rest upon. The dark quill-shaped arched eyebrows only serve to enhance the severity of his countenance by contrasting starkly with his pale skin that stubbornly refuses all efforts to tan. His hair is straight shoulder-length raven-black with a startling streak of argent on one side and he keeps it neatly pulled back at the nape of his neck with a leather thong or something similar, though a few strands seem to always manage to work their way loose out of the binding and fall around his angular face, its features a tell-tale mark of this French heritage.

His aristocratic aires are only further enhanced and exacerbated by his choice of attire and dress. Preferring simple elegance and practicality to gaudy flashiness, he favors a distinctly old-fashioned aristocratic taste. A typical outfit would consist of lace-up black breeches, a white bell-sleeved button-down and sensible black boots under his robe. He keeps to the plain and dresses in complementary colors. No one has yet to see him in something less than classic dressy (not counting his Quidditch uniform and sleep wear), just as no one has seen his cool demeanor break, though it has broken many a time when there was no one to watch or comment.

In addition to his outfit, he wears a select few simple pieces of jewelry – necklace that he keeps hidden beneath his shirt, a silver antique pocket watch, and a small platinum hoop with a dangling cross and a small unobtrusive diamond-like stud on his left ear with the stud’s mate decorating his right.

His aristocratic aires and appearance along with his cool demeanor got him immediately pegged as one of the School snobs (even within his own House) and the elusive recluse when he first arrived at Hogwarts to start classes as a second year student and it is only recently that people's opinions about him have started to change. People started realizing that though smiles rarely grace his handsome face, he is polite and amicable – even friendly – and that an aristocratic upbringing doesn't necessarily equate to attitude problems. People also soon realized that though he might not talk much, his words are usually worth listening to when he does. He has a great capacity for patience and can toil tirelessly at his studies and he rarely loses his temper, though it is rumoured that it is best to be out of his sight and way when he does.

His need for privacy and personal space, however, is rather well-known amongst Housemates and classmates alike and though most people seem to respect this, the distance seems to make others hesitant to approach him. Over the last year or so, he started trying to be more open towards others and it has earned him the affectionate nickname "Z" amongst some of his Housemates and certain classmates. He has few friends, but to those he chooses to be friends with and those who choose to take the time to get to know him, he is steadfastly loyal and supportive.

But even with his supposed closest friends, there are still some aspects of his life that he doesn't share and probably could and would never share. In his eyes, they just could never understand no matter how he tried to explain it, but in some ways, it was just as well because these were his deepest and darkest secrets to which no one had ever been privy to before.

Secrets like his family history or his ability to somehow sense other people's emotions at times or why his demeanor is so cool and distant. Or how he feels that he doesn't quite belong at Hogwarts. The last secret is one that strikes a particularly painful chord for him. It makes no sense to him to feel like he doesn’t belong in the place he considers to be his home away from home.

It’s such a perplexing paradox to him because as much as he enjoys the schooling and experiences, he oftentimes feels that something is amiss somewhere – either within himself or elsewhere or sometimes everywhere – and that he doesn't quite belong – either in his House or at Hogwarts. And truth be told, when he had first gotten Sorted, the Hat wasn't quite sure exactly which House to sort him into (he eventually got sorted into Slytherin House) – and neither was he.

So if in Slytherin House he felt that he didn't quite belong, he supposed that he wouldn't have truly belonged in any of the other houses either. This distress has caused his moods to shift to the darker and more brooding on different occasions in the past and consequently caused him to seek complete isolation, withdrawing from everyone around him and coming out only when absolutely necessary while studiously avoiding or excusing himself from social functions if at all possible. With his cool and distant demeanor though, these episodes went by unnoticed, though he has this nagging suspicion that his Potions instructor, Severus Snapes, and his sometimes-lab partner and housemate, Draco Malfoy, were not oblivious to these changes. But so far, no one had made any comment about these episodes to him and he planned to keep it that way, though deep down inside, there was this tiny desperate voice inside that pleaded otherwise.

But he was Zadkhiel Sauvignon de Barticot. The "angel" of Enlightenment, Forgiveness, and Transmutation. Part of the de Barticot bloodline and fame. Heir of the de Barticot fortune. Upholder of the good name, grace, and face of the bloodline. So of course, he could ignore that voice. He had to ignore it. And he WOULD ignore it. At all costs. But the question is, how much longer could he stand all this?

He was sure that even the all-knowing Headmaster wouldn't have an answer for him and quite frankly, he didn't really WANT to know because it was a terrifying thought and he felt like a time bomb just biding its time until detonation. He also knew that when and if the time should come, he would fall apart alone and by himself, isolated away from the outside world – the explosion contained and muted behind a mask of cool indifference while his heart and soul bled dry.

This silence would be both his burden and saviour and he would bear this alone.

Because he was Zadkhiel. Because being alone was the only way he knew how to be.

Because this was how it had always been.



OOCness:

The Player for this character and for all the other characters I RP is a very avid and fairly dedicated RPer, delighting in making stories and story concepts come alive. I've done almost every form of RP ranging from the old tabletop to the online message board style RP to online journaling to Live Action Role Playing. Yes, I'm a dork.

Time: Pacific Standard Time (California)

Contact Information:

AIM: Zadkhiel
Email: It's listed in my profile

Character Preferences/Experience:

I really don't have a preference, though I usually RP male characters. However, I do have experience RPing these HP characters, either in or out of the SS forums.

Draco Malfoy

Severus Snape

Ron Weasley

Hermione Granger

and of course, my original character, Zadkhiel

General Information

Name: Zadkhiel "Zekke" Sauvignon de Barticot
Gender: Questionably Male
Age: 16
House: Slytherin

Height: 5'10"
Body shape: Androgynous
Hair color: Black with a streak of frosty white
Eye color: All shades of green
Skin complexion: Clear and Pale

Other Information

As a student, he excels in Potions, DADA, Charms, History (only because he reads way too much), and Astronomy. Arithmancy and divination sound interesting to him and for the life of him, he can't seem to quite get things straight in Herbology and Transfigurations doesn't seem to interest him too much.

Like most students, he enjoys Quidditch and while he doesn't seem to play such sports much, if at all, he enjoys watching the games and silently trying to divine who is going to win.

His curiosity and craving for knowledge has gotten him into trouble a few times and he's fond of perusing the books in the Restricted Section.

He's not a troublemaker, though if he's bored, he'll quickly find something more interesting to do and if something doesn't make sense to him, he won't do it. He's been called "rebellious" by his teachers before and he dismisses it by insisting that he's "persuing higher learning".

A Paradox

Because of his artistocratic upbringing, one would expect that he'd also keep far away from the Muggles and the Muggle world. The contrary to that is actually true, which he takes great pains to hide.

He developed a particular fondness for music because his parents took him to see the opera and symphony every so often when he was younger and so he enjoys going to the opera and to the symphony when he has the chance. After his first trip to listen to a symphony, he fell in love with the sound of the stringed instruments, which he thought had voices and emotions of their own. He loved it so much that his parents conceded to let him take violin lessons from a famous half-Muggle violinist and it was from that Muggle that Zekke became familiar with parts of the Muggle world.

Having taken violin lessons since he was 5, he has a collection of violins which he keeps at the Estate under lock, key, and charm. His violin collection isn't the only muggle-based items in the Estate as his mother knows how to play the piano and so his house has a grand piano in the salon. His professional violin is kept at the vault at home, but to Hogwarts, he brought along his practice violin, which he keeps safely hidden in a secret compartment in his trunk, which is sealed shut with a heavy-enchanted lock. No one knows that he plays the violin, though some observant people might notice his hands making odd gestures when he's studying or deep in thought.

Recently, he bought a cello and has been teaching himself to play it because he sometimes prefers the warmer tone the cello can produce. However, because it's so huge and unwieldly and not particularly concealable, he didn't bring it with him to school.

Computers and cars fascinate him, but his knowledge of them is fairly limited. He got to drive his violin instructor's car once when his teacher had taken him to the countryside for a surprise outing. He nearly ran into a tree, and so after that, he stayed far away from cars. Computers are interesting, yet he finds them ultimately tedious. Owling is faster and his penmanship is much quicker than pecking at keys. "Like a chicken hunting for corn" as he calls it.

He likes reading books for pleasure and his command of French, English, and Latin has allowed him to accumulate quite a collection of books from contemporary works to Troyes, Homer, Chaucer, Milton, and Shakespeare, many of which he brought with him to Hogwarts, again, kept in his trunk where no one would see.

His involvement with the muggle-world is one that is frowned upon by purebloods, especially those of Slytherin House, and like with many aspects of his life, he keeps this side of him hidden under lock and key.

Androgyny?

So someone once asked me why I mentioned that Zekke is androgynous-looking. Believe it or not, there's a very particular reason I made Zekke to be androgynous-looking.

When I was doing research for his "celestial" background, I found out that archangels seem to be paired with an archai, sort of like a balancing other half/the other gender with other qualities etc. Since Zekke has no archai, he himself has to be the embodiment of both archangel AND archai - both male and female.

Hence, to be both male and female-looking, he is labeled as androgynous.

Visual Reference

If anyone's been interested in what he looks like, here he is. Note that this portrait is still being worked on and the final portrait will be displayed when finished. :flowersmile:

Zadkhiel



de Barticot Estate

Draco Malfoy - Mis(ter) Understood

Since I'm RPing Draco for a few RPs on this forum, I figured I should probably give my take on him and his personality to give people a better idea as to what to sort of expect when I RP him.

Unless told otherwise, I do NOT RP him as a total bad-boy.

There are plenty of reasons for this choice and I will always RP those reasons out.

Here's a look into the resident bad-boy's head to see my reasons why:



The Fruit and the Tree

After Draco had finished filling in Crabbe and Goyle on the latest news that he felt were pertinent to share, he excused himself to go to the Library to study.

How many times had he used that excuse to get away from them? From everyone?

Quite frankly, he didn't want to count.

As he packed his books to bring with him to the library, his hand came across an envelope he had been owled earlier that day. He grimaced and stuffed it into the bottom of the bag before he closed the bag and left the Common Room.

He passed by Hermione Granger on his way and he automatically sneered and looked away as he muttered something under his breath. Thankfully, she wasn't going in the same direction he was, and so he continued on his way to the Library.

When he arrived at the Library, he made a beeline for the very back of the room where it was mostly empty and the two Gryffindors who were chatting in the next table over immediately got up and moved to a different table.

He gave a wry smile and set his satchel down and took a chair. He needed to think. A lot. As he started his musings, he pulled out his Potions textbook and leafed through it to the next day's lessons and left the book open in front of him.

Now he looked like he was studying (he actually studied that lesson yesterday, but no one would know that), he could now freely think without people interrupting him -- not even Crabbe and Goyle who were notoriously "allergic" to the Library.

His eyes flitted to the piece of paper sticking out of his bag and he sighed. The letter. The letter from his father. He debated whether or not to open this letter then realized there might be something important, so he picked it up as if it were dirty laundry and broke the seal. One glance was all it took and he grimaced, read the letter as quickly as he could, and crumpled it up and set it on fire with a spell.

"Bloody hell. Bloody, bloody hells." He muttered and sank into his chair, a sour look sweeping across his face and his lips settling into its customary sneer.

He was wrong. It was yet another one of those letters. One of the ones in which his father indirectly accused him of letting Potter beat him, of disgracing the Malfoy line, and of being too weak. At least it wasn't a letter saying that he was only half the wizard Potter was and half as smart as the muggle-born was. When he had received that letter, it had put him into an atrocious mood for weeks. He had been meaner than usual and definitely more spiteful.

"Potter." He spat the word out as if it tasted bad, yet somewhere inside of him, he felt a twinge of remorse.

He actually didn't hate Potter half as much as everyone (including Potter) thought or said he did, though admittedly, he did act that way. To be honest, he thought that the two of them shared more in common than anyone would guess. Potter was extremely intelligent (though also admittedly not as intelligent as the... muggle... Hermione) and he took far more chances than a typical Gryffindor would and he cost his House as many points as he gained a lot of times. He was daring and wasn't afraid to speak his mind, which Draco thought was a trait he usually didn't see too often. And he was a... Draco made a face as if he had bit into a vomit-flavoured Bertie Botts Bean.

And he was a good wizard.

"He's a bloody darned good wizard." He finally admitted out loud.

He cringed immediately afterwards as if his father would apperate at any moment to slap him or belittle him.

His father. He made another face, this one of anger and resentment.

HE was the reason him and Potter could never get along. Admittedly, there probably would have been rivalry regardless, but it would never have become what it finally came down to -- out and out war.

When he had first met Potter, he had wanted to friend him. Originally, he had thought that he could use the other boy to his advantage because even before meeting him, he had a deep resentment for him because his father was always comparing him to the "Boy Who Lived". However, once he met him, he knew that there was more Potter than most people thought, and he had genuinely wanted to friend him. Obviously, that never turned out and he wasn't about to try again. He was a Malfoy, first of all, and secondly, it was just... impossible.

His hate for the other boy grew porportionally to his father's exacting demands and condescending attitude. He didn't hate the other boy for the sake of hating, he hated Potter because he was the one who lived and the one who his father expected him to beat.

To be quite honest, he never particularly had many friends to begin with besides Crabbe and Goyle and for the most part, treated everyone with the same indifference, owing to his aristocratic upbringing and admittedly snobbish attitude, which grew more out of a self-defense mechanism than anything else. But because he hated Potter, he hated anyone to do with Potter, including the Weasley boy and the muggle-born girl.

He had always been his father's shadow and now, he was in the shadow of another person. He hated it. He loathed it. And now, he lived off of it. That loathing had made him who he was. The sneer, the contempt, the attitude, the darkness... they all made him stronger if for all the wrong reasons. It was with this hate that he would use as his shield and strength. The more hateful he became, the stronger he became and ironically, the better he did in classes.

But even he, for all the darkness he harbored, knew that it was for the wrong reasons and he dreaded the day that even his best and full potential would still leave him in the shadow of his nemesis and the mockery of his family.

Oh yes he hated.

Oh god, did he hate.

Because hating brought him strength.

Because hating was as close to being friends as he could get.

And he hated himself for this.

But more than himself, he hated the people who said that:

The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

The Rest of [Zekke's] Story

Note: Excerpt from **** To Pay RP in Salazar's Lair.

A different Zekke and a post from the school RP...

The Russian and his Russian Blue

This was/is the character I created for the RP, Goblet for Bulgaria.

Name: Nikolai Andreu
Gender: Male
House:Bundimun
Year: 4th

Hair: Straight shoulder-length platinum blond, usually tied
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 5'10'' - he's got a little left to grow

Strengths: Charms, Potions, Arithmancy
Weaknesses: Divination, DADA, and enclosed-spaces

Blood: Pure-Blood

Short Bio:

Nikolai's platinum blond hair is a testament to his solid Russian roots though his family. He owns several cats at home and one of them, a Russian Blue named Zephyr, he brings with him to school.

Generally well-liked, he's considered a bit prattish at times due to his upbringing and is sometimes teased for his more-than-obvious Russian heritage. He's honest, intelligent, and has a razor-sharp tongue and wit when provoked. He's neither shy nor outgoing, but isn't afraid to speak his mind.

He has a very logical mind - "coldly" logical at times - and for some reason, is excellent at anything that requires the working with numbers. For this, he excels at Arithmancy, yet fails miserably at Divination.

He enjoys Quidditch, but doesn't play on the team because of a health concern that has sent him to the infirmary every term the flu season hits. He does however, regularly practice Calisthenics, a form of gymnastics that helps keep the body toned while being low-impact. He's physically fit and agile, and if anyone could squeeze into tight spaces, it's him, though he HATES enclosed spaces.

His family line have been strong defenders against the Dark Arts, though several generations back, his family line was just the opposite. This is a fact he acknowledges and it has caused him worry that perhaps there's a dark side within himself as well. Thus, DADA is a weakness for him and is certainly something he needs to work on.

Up until his fourth year, he has been doing very well, but as classes become more difficult and the tone of school becomes more serious, he has to face up to his challenges and make amends with his internal conflict.