Tabitha N. Ogletree

[caritasmitis]

GENERAL

NAME: Tabitha Ogletree
NICKNAMES: Tabs
AGE/DOB/ZODIAC: 17 / March 23rd / Aries
BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood
GENDER/PRONOUNS: Female, she/her
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual
HOMETOWN: Philadelphia, PA, United States.

CONCEPT: Cheerleader-artist with privilege and a determination to use that for good.

PHYSICAL

APPEARANCE: You wouldn't think that Tabitha was part a Gouch to look at her. To start off with, she doesn't have the dark looks and strong features of her mother's family, and instead inherited the lithe, slender frame and light, delicate features of her father's side of the family. The way in which she physically resembles her mother is in her walk - Tabitha carries herself with a calm, innately secure manner that does nothing to hide the fact that she is descended from some of Philadelphia's finest society families. Hers is a presence that simply commands attention with every aspect of her body language, even when she does not ask for it. Decorum was simply trained into her too much.

Petite and blonde, Tabitha just doesn't have a striking face. Unkind people might suggest that she is plain, but realistically she just looks like a normal, averagely pretty girl of almost 18. Tabitha is happy that way.

Tabitha adores fashion and looking nice, whether in or out of her uniform. She enjoys attention to detail when putting together her outfits, and if her uniform doesn't come back from the laundry perfectly pressed and scented the way she likes it, she isn't above rectifying the matter herself. When the occasion calls for it, she goes for demure and elegant rather than daring.


HEIGHT: 5'2. Tabitha is often teased for being somewhat 'pocket sized' for a senior.

PB: Kristen Hager

PERSONALITY

LIKES: Teen Witch Magazine, dancing, cheer squad, the arts, an excuse to celebrate events in a fancy manner, dating, sweet things, animals, soft pastel colours and gentle sounding music.

DISLIKES: The scent of cigarettes/cigars and liquor, rock music, the way boys at the country club think they can leer and get away with it, the way Ebonhide and Azurcrest are always niggling at each other, heavy spices, unprofessional behaviour, the feeling of not being good enough, struggling with more academic subjects, people who demean the worth of cheerleading, being single

PERSONALITY:

Tabitha is pretty much an aimiable and kind person, although if solitary for too long, she will regress slightly and dwell too long on her negative thoughts. She enjoys authority but uses it well, and is a fair and considerate leader who takes her jobs seriously. She sometimes has what you might call "projects", almost socially adopting someone and making it her aim to improve something - usually cheering them up, although she may also have other reasons. Tabitha would never let a word of this out to another person, though, beyond an "I feel so sorry for...".

She is very keen to succeed, hence seeking positions of power. Even if people don't consider Cheer Squad Captain a leadership role, Tabitha does. She feels responsible for her charges and makes up for the fact that she is not the most academically bright by using the arts to calm and content others.

As a first impression, Tabitha seems a girly, cheerful sort who is easily underestimated. Polite, well mannered and deferential (at least when it suits), Tabitha is the sort of person who usually makes friends easily, assuming that they don't take against her due to the undeniable privilege of her background. Tabitha doesn't think she deserves this, although of course it is not up to her to decide if she has caused genuine upset. It might not occur to her right away that someone may not have the same skills she does because they have not had the many years of training and practice she has - though she is genuinely mortified (if rather defensive) should she have offended someone.

Tabitha treats authority figures and strangers in much the same way - with the manners instilled in her by her mother at a young age. Deferring to them is a way of showing respect and making people feel comfortable, she says, although taking advantage of that is a sure way to rile Tabitha's nerves. With her friends she is different; being more natural and relaxed, a more true sense of herself coming through. Tabitha has a pretty broad sense of humour and several types of people can make her laugh, because she has a real enthusiasm and zest for life.

When she has a problem, the relative meekness of Ribbonfin comes to the fore, as well as the aspect of her upbringing to not cause trouble, boredom or annoyance for others. She will exhaust every possible avenue to solve the problem by herself, only then asking her friends. At some times, she will cause herself stress and worry before reaching out to those not directly involved.

HISTORY

FAMILY MEMBERS:
Mother: Eleanora Gouch Ogletree, 47. Chairwitch of the Philadelphia Witches' Institute, a social and charitable organisation.
Father: Theodore Ogletree, 51. Pennsylvania representative to MACUSA, specialising in international trade.
Brothers: Gavin and Garrett Ogletree, 15. Sophomores in Ebonhide and Coppertale respectively (Garrett is also a school prefect).

HISTORY:

Tabitha was born the eldest child, and only girl, in a wealthy Philadelphia family for whom having children was one more item to check off the "things that proper people do" list. Married at a fairly average age having graduated from equally exclusive schools and established respectable careers, Tabitha was surprisingly well nurtured and cared for, given that her parents were so busy dashing around the state. Eleanora Gouch Ogletree was often busy with her PWI events, and Theodore (working in local government at the time) doted on his daughter... when he was actually in the city. Her father was working in local government, with MACUSA the end goal, and saw no reason his little girl couldn't be equally ambitious.

Two years later, Tabitha was followed by twins - Garrett and Gavin. Previously coddled and indulged, the small girl simply didn't understand why her parents insisted on bringing these noisy, squalling things into her house and was most miffed when people seemed to fuss over them far more than they did her. Applying perfect toddler logic, they didn't need two more babies, and why did the grown ups laugh when she insisted they be sent back? She was further annoyed when the playmates she was promised turned out to be "too small and delicate for now, dear", and considered the earlier statements to be a betrayal.

By the time the twins learned to walk, and it became apparent that they were not about to steal her favourite toys (she hid them just to be on the safe side), Tabitha finally declared her brothers to be interesting enough to be worth her time. As they grew she led them around, taught them how to play only the best games, and was, if she was honest, a little bit bossy. To this day the siblings are not close or mushy, per se, but they have each other's backs, at the very least.

Tabitha was cared for and educated at home, with the help of the family's caring nanny, Miss Amy. Given that Amy was not educated as a teacher, though, Tabitha had to leave her beloved mother-substitute behind when she entered Kindergarten at an exclusive private school for children of witches and wizards at the age of 5. It was a steep learning curve for the little girl who had been to parties and playdates with no more than a handful of other children at most. During these formative years, Tabitha's qualities that would later influence her sortings came out - being in the mix of most events, but never quite at the centre, choosing instead to watch others and develop her social strategies based on what worked for others. When she was 7, the twins arrived at the same school and the Ogletrees became something of a social force to be reckoned with, especially as their father had just been elected as one of the youngest representatives in recent MACUSA history.

Instead of attending the middle school attached to her elementary school when she turned 11, Tabitha was informed by Theodore that she would be withdrawn and sent to the far away boarding school at Ilvermorny. To say she was surprised was an understatement, and having formed bonds with quite a few of the girls at her school, she was upset. Her parents' logic, however, was that Ilvermorny was their legacy school, and that if their daughter could perform well there, then it would set her up "for greater things in future", although they did not say what. So, in September 2007, Tabitha and her things were shipped off across the country for a fresh start and an opportunity to find herself. The sorting ceremony placed her into Pukwudgie - something of a surprise for her Horned Serpent father and Thunderbird mother, but the best place for her when she needed someone to nurture her most. Tabitha never told her parents - and fortunately their school connections didn't either - that Pukwudgie was the only house that really wanted her in the first place, the warrior house of Wampus making vaguely interested noises when they saw how stubborn she was for those she cared for.

Her first three years passed by in a fairly normal, mostly unextraordinary manner. Tabitha passed all of her classes without much trouble at all, but the Ilvermorny curriculum never really spoke to her. Theodore Ogletree was right in that she did enjoy the networking and meeting new people - what Tabitha never predicted was how much more diverse the school would be than the one she had come from - but she didn't really enjoy herself in the classroom. She had hoped to wield magic in a way that would allow her to be creative and express herself, but her school did not allow her to do that. Not to the extent that she wished, at any rate. Clubs were the only classroom sessions in which she really enjoyed herself, and to her delight she was able to practice her music, and also paint and draw in relative peace. It also emerged, through an amateur club put together by an older Pukwidgie student, that she had a talent for dance. But how would this get her anywhere in the wizarding world?

When her third year began, in the year 2009, Tabitha eventually discovered what her father had meant all those years before when he discussed "greater things" being in her future. She'd seen the odd student from Ilvermorny disappear here and there in her previous two years, being told only that they'd won scholarships or simply transferred to a smaller school out West. Thinking little else of it, Tabitha was surprised when Theodore informed her that he'd made an application on her behalf to this mysterious school in Utah. Unexpectedly, Theodore had been watching and making notes on his daughter's progress in the arts, and played on this in order to make her an attractive prospect to the school which so prided itself on picking the best and brightest students in several fields. Though she felt a little bit queasy at having to leave the place she had become used to - even if it wouldn't happen until the beginning of her fourth year of schooling - what swung it for Tabitha was the fact that her new school was so encouraging of the things she loved to do, and even offered courses in them.

Despite all this, that first bus ride to Gooseberry was not the best one. A heavy feeling in her stomach in which she doubted she would make friends, being alone for so long on the trip, all meant that by the time she walked into the Sorting Cave on her first night, being unable to eat with nerves made her sick to her stomach. The ceremony itself was more eventful than she was expecting, given that three houses - the Coppertale emblem bowed out immediately, telling her "You're a lovely girl, but just not bold enough for our lot, I can tell" - made a case for her to join them. Ebonhide dropped out after a minute or so, agreeing that while she was determined and a perfectionist, these were not her dominant characteristics. The Ribbonfin fish and the Azurcrest Bluejay, however, argued over her for a solid three and a half minutes before the meeker house proved that Tabitha was a better fit for the Olive and Copper. She sheepishly joined her new housemates with the realisation that Professor Hightower had been about to go in after her.

Being able to study art, and learn how to use magic to manipulate it, meant that Tabitha was happier in any school room than she had ever been before. She enjoyed being outdoors, she enjoyed living near the lake, she liked getting to walk every day - Gooseberry High was proving to be a good fit for her. She joined the Cheer Squad as soon as she can, having a talent for dance more than gymnastics, but she won herself friends on the team by her willingness to work hard and practice. It was during her Sophomore year, however, where she began to stand out. She caught the attention of Professor Hightower when an argument took place in the Atrium between herself and another team member, where Tabitha firmly said that it was wrong of the other girl to write a cheer that singled out individual members of the opposition. It was too close to picking on them and being mean, she said. Why couldn't they write something positive about their own players, and lift them up? Wasn't that the point of Cheer in the first place?

It was because of this desire to do the right thing, and leading by example in hard work, that she was recommended for the Captaincy in her Junior year. Being named the best at something for once in her life meant Tabitha cried tears of joy at the news, and she certainly started as she meant to go on. She was kind and welcoming to the new team members, chose them on the basis of potential as much as existing talent, and encouraged a little practice every day rather than wearing her team out with killer, hours long sessions. As a result, that year's Cheer Squad got on well with the Quidditch team, and as this year's squad is so female-dominant Tabitha is keen to promote a feeling of female solidarity, and ideally amongst the whole house as well as the teams. She chose to continue in the subjects she found least stressful, which is why she took two pass/fail classes, but could not resist the opportunity to take the Advanced Study course in Music. A passionate cellist, Tabitha threw herself into the class with great gusto and it swiftly became one of her better set of grades, heavily influencing her choice of Senior Project.

A few months into her Junior year, Tabitha began a different part of high school life - dating. Diego Morales was an Azurcrest boy in her year, and they shared many extracurricular activities as well as classes. She was excited when he asked her out, and fairly swiftly they became a proper couple. Some of Tabitha's favourite times that year were spent sneaking into the gardens or quiet areas of the campus with her boyfriend and being alone. While things had never gone beyond a little bit of fooling around, Tabitha was nonetheless devastated when rumours reached her that Diego had cheated with another girl. Confronting him and finding out that it was true meant that she didn't care for any of his reasons or his excuses, and she told him so in an argument that she really has no desire to ever repeat. As such, despite Diego's best efforts, she simply didn't want to talk to him again.

Now, as she is about to begin her Senior Year, Tabitha is once again sad that after just a few years in a place she loves, she will soon have to move on again. As a result she is determined to make the most of her final year at Gooseberry. She wants to make her senior project a success, leave the Cheer Squad in a better place than when she found it, ensure that her friends she has made are friends for life, and for the love of Goosie, find a boy who will treat her better than Diego did.

SCHOOL

YEAR: Senior
HOUSE: Ribbonfin (previously a Pukwudgie at Ilvermorny).
SORTING: Tabitha HATES fighting, or more so, hates it when people do things knowing that the likelihood of social unrest is high. She is fair minded in negotiations and when leading her squad, and makes sure that all voices are heard. She is more subtle about this than Ribbonfins in leadership roles often are, and quietly assesses situations with a high social skill. Being brought up in a well off family of social prestige means Tabitha instills a strong sense of etiquette in with right and wrong, and keeps a cool head in most situations because coarseness and brashness just won't do.
WAND: Tabitha carries a Jonker creation of Apple wood with Wampus hair core, carrying a distinctive mother-of-pearl inlay on the handle.
FAMILIAR: A Balsas Screech Owl named Aristotle.

CLASSES: Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Outdoor Education, Aesthetic Magic, Artificing, Magical Rudiments, Music.
SENIOR PROJECT: Tabitha is combining two subjects by exploring the notion of Art Therapy for wizards. She is carrying out a study in the use of creative arts and music and how they soothe troubled minds and bodies, using fellow students as test subjects for her final presentation and report.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Tabitha may take 8 classes, which is considered on the high side of usual, but it is worth noting that two of these are pass/fail with a less stressful workload. In the others she takes she is a good but by no means gifted student, perhaps on the high side of average where Gooseberry students are concerned. She adores the subjects with a more artistic and expressive element, such as Aesthetic Magic and Music, which is where her A grades come from, and of the remaining subjects she finds Charms to be most difficult given the higher theoretical component in Junior and Senior level work.

EXTRACURRICULARS: Cheer, Choir, Drama, Equestrian. She'd do more if she wasn't Cheer Captain and responsible for choreographing routines as well as practising by herself.

OOC

NAME: Heather
EMAIL: heather_stanton@hotmail.com
CDJ: Fandomfeministecdj @ tumblr
OTHER PREFERRED CONTACT: shewhodares85 @ AIM
TIME ZONE: BST/GMT

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
8:00	B R E A K F A S T
8:30
9:00		Herbology	Charms
9:30
10:00	Aesthetic Magic	Music	Aesthetic Magic
10:30
11:00	History of Magic			Magical Rudiments	Artificing
11:30
12:00	L U N C H
12:30
13:00	Magical Rudiments			Herbology		Ribbonfin Team Practice
13:30
14:00	Charms		Artificing	Outdoor Education
14:30
15:00		History of Magic
15:30
16:00
16:30		Equestrian Club	Choir		MONTHLY BONDING ACTIVITY TIME SLOT #1
17:00
17:30
18:00	D I N N E R
18:30
19:00				Drama Club	MONTHLY BONDING ACTIVITY TIME SLOT #2
19:30
20:00