Professor Laurel

Backstory

Full Name: Lavinia Elana Laurel-MacPherson
Wand: Laurel wood with a unicorn hair core, 13 ½ inches, and rigid flexibility
Patronus: Dolphin
Pets: Bastet (Grey Egyptian Mau - Cat) and Monkey (Barn Owl)

Socials
If you frequent the Muggle inter-nets, feel free to friend me on Facebook.
We also have "Charms Classroom" groups on both HiH and Facebook, where you can chat with your fellow classmates, ask questions, and have fun with Charms-related activities and challenges.
(Please note: These groups are completely optional - for fun - and are not required for your success in Charms class.)

Brief Biography
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
Lavinia Laurel was born - a Libra - on October 7, 1991, in a small magical community nestled in the heart of Scotland. However, her parents were habitual travelers her entire life, making everywhere and nowhere "home" to her. Her father worked as a cultural anthropologist and her mother was a writer. Although both magical, they spent a large amount of time living among Muggles and abstaining from magic. Lavinia was homeschooled until her magic began to show, and it was time to enroll in a formal wizarding school. She inexplicably received letters from multiple institutions. Her parents struggled to choose a school for her that would be convenient, as they often traveled around the world, never staying anywhere longer than a couple years. 

Lavinia’s parents ultimately decided to enroll her in Hogwarts (Hufflepuff), as it was close to her maternal grandparents, who she would often stay with during breaks. However, before her Third Year, they moved her to Ilvermorny (Pukwudgie) in the United States, where her father had secured a long-term position which required less travel. This was Lavinia's first time living in a house they owned. It was not to last, however, as her mother began to suffer from depression, which she attributed to stagnation, and the family was on the move again. With a desire for independence, Lavinia transferred to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (Bellefeuille) in France for her final two years of magical education.

After graduating, she spent an additional three years studying Magical Theory as an apprentice under Lucien René Leclair while also working as an intern for the French Ministry of Magic Records Room. At the age of 20, Lavinia moved to England and began working as an Unspeakable in the British Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries. However, although she loved working in Magical Theory research, the work proved to be too strenuous. At 23, she transferred to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and worked for the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee. Her work there helped maintain the magical world's secrecy while ensuring the safety and well-being of Muggles, and it required travel all over Europe, which was oddly comforting to her for a time.

She met her husband, Alaric MacPherson (Gryffindor), while working on a job in Edinburgh when she was 27, and after a year of dating long-distance, she began to long for stability and somewhere to truly call home. She resigned from her job at the Ministry, and she and her husband bought a small home in Scotland, near the same hamlet she was born in. Her greatest joy arrived a year after their marriage, when Lavinia and Alaric welcomed their daughter, Aurelia, into the world.

After moving back to Scotland, Lavinia worked as a Magical Education tutor for the local under-school-age children in the hamlet. When she heard of an opening for a Charms co-professor, she felt a tug in her heart to apply for the position.

As of October 2023, Lavinia Laurel has taken on the role of a Charms instructor, sharing her extensive magical knowledge with the next generation of witches and wizards.

Fun Facts
"It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information." – Oscar Wilde
~ The young Lavinia was as surprised as anyone when the wand that chose her happened to be made of laurel wood. However, over their years together, their influence on each other has become quite apparent.
~ Unlike most professors who choose to live in the castle, Lavinia makes the commute (by broomstick) to the castle from her home in a nearby hamlet.
~ Lavinia has visited many countries throughout her life. Counting only the countries she has spent longer than six months in, she has lived in no less than 18 different countries across four continents.
~ Lavinia named her Barn Owl “Monkey” due to his random and alarming, yet hilarious, shrieks that sound oddly similar to a monkey’s screams and howls.