Player

Name: Nicola (Nic)
Active email address: ask!
Instant Messenger Details: MSN: see above, AIM: Stupid Grrl05, Yahoo: Sugarplummage,
How did you find us?: I made it!
Previous RPG experience: 7 years on X-Men: Deus Ex Machina, formerly WWC, Tria Ligare for 1 year, ASU, 3 years. Also several years of chat-based RPG, I took over ownership of WWC for a short while, too.

Character

Full Name: Megan Broker. Some call her 'Broker' but no-one calls her by any abbreviation of her first name. It just doesn't suit her.
Gender: Female
Blood: full-blooded, with two half-blood parents, a muggle-born grandfather and a squib thrown somewhere into her family tree. So full, but not pure.
Canon or Original?: Original – previous character from the original ASU.
Date of Birth: 7th November, 1978
Place of Birth: St Mungo's Hospital, but she was raised in Derbyshire
Immediate Family: Mother; Joyce, aged 62 (deceased). Father; Robert, aged 64 (prison). Brother; Daniel, aged 42 (deceased).
Occupation: Megan works for Darwin and Duke Solicitors in London.

Physical Description: For a female, Megan is tall. She stands just shy of the six foot mark at a respectable five foot, eleven inches. This height is something she has inherited from her father, as both he and her brother, Daniel, stand well over the six foot mark. The three of them look peculiar stood next to their mother who is a modest five feet four inches.

Growing up, Megan went through the awkward weight-versus-height issues, but once Megan was more or less settled on the thrashing boat that is puberty, her weight soon caught up with her. These days, Megan retains a weight she had while in her early days at University. That is to say, she is a little bit fat. She has always had generous curves; something that her years playing Quidditch didn't shift. As she got older, especially during her employment, Megan attempted various weight loss schemes to shift the extra padding around her bottom, stomach and thighs, but to no avail. She would lose a miniscule amount after weeks of exercise and strict dieting, then the moment she so much as looked at a "bad carb", she'd put on twice what she'd lost. So instead of trying to lose it, Megan makes do with her lot.

Megan's hair is something she likes to take her time over. Naturally it is black (inherited from her grandfather) and very thick. Despite the weight it maintains natural, loose curls. For years she wore it long, but these days it is cut short, just brushing her shoulders so that she can pull it back for work.

Unfortunately as much as she likes her hair's condition, it comes at a price. With black hair, Megan has a very pale complexion. She doesn't tan – she freckles instead. However, she tries to make the most out of her fair skin and keeps it as clear as possible. She despises freckles, but when they appear, she won't hide them – she'd rather put efforts into covering up spots or dark circles under her eyes.

A curious trait Megan has picked up from her father is her eyes. Like Robert, Megan's are navy blue. They are large and, much to her distaste, they have always been expressive. In addition to this, Megan's eyes are almost constantly surrounded by eyeliner. Once upon a time she smudged it for a wider, smokier look, but now, pushing thirty-two, Megan saves that look for the evening, and instead keeps her eyeliner simple.

A small, thin nose and a full mouth are major attributes in Megan's icy appearance and to add to it, Megan still favours her red lipsticks. While she won't wear it constantly, she has gotten through several sticks of it over the years. Against a pale complexion it makes her mouth look like a vicious slash, which compliments her personality well.

Megan has a talent for being able to recognise her assets and take advantage of them and even now she can 'dress to kill', even though it might not be quite the same as it used to be. During her years at University, and throughout most of Hogwarts, Megan dressed in unusual, outlandish fashions that mixed Witch Wear with muggle fashion. She spent her weekends pawing through second hand shops and market stalls for clothing she could throw together and make work. These days, Megan still enjoys standing out, but she does so in a different way. She reeks, "professional woman" on weekdays with tailored suits and cloaks bought with her mother's inheritance, favouring skirts or even dresses over trousers. On weekends, Megan could be wearing anything – jeans and an old, wash-faded 'Weird Sisters' t-shirt, or maybe a corseted dress complete with pointed hat. Megan doesn't like predictability, and thus has abandoned her old style for something much more 'well rounded'. However, she still owns several eyebrow raising outfits for those evenings out.

Personality: Megan is not a sweet nor loving person. She is not without manners and politeness and she does use them where appropriate, but the majority of the time Megan is nothing short of unpleasant. Ten years ago, Megan went out of her way to be unkind, these days, she is merely cold. Life took its toll on Megan, and at thirty-two, she is more closed off and private than ever. With her only living family member in Azkaban, Megan makes regular weekly visits and that alone puts a damper on her mood.

She is, however, easily intrigued - Megan likes to know things - she doesn't like withheld information, and she doesn't like fuzzy situations - she has had her fair share of them, and still has a couple, but that doesn't mean she enjoys them. Instead she likes to cut straight to the bone of a situation and this, in part, is what made her ideal for her present career.

Megan is very self-involved. All her drama's are catastrophic and good news is always the best news in the world. She has always been a woman of extremes, with no middle ground. Her friends, she loves with a passion, but when she takes a dislike to someone, there is little or no chance of redemption. That said, she is very loyal – unless there is just-cause she will remain friends with someone whether they have been gone for years, or she's had a ruck with someone. While the argument might be explosive, it is difficult to get Megan to hate someone she has befriended.

She doesn't enjoy complicated relationships – she has put herself through the grueling dating regime, looking for pleasure or fun but only finding someone at the other end who wants more from her. When they hardly know her! Megan uses most men and she will freely admit to it. They are attractive accessories or ways of alleviating the stress from a day's work, and the number of men who have left an impression on her she can count on the fingers of one hand. It is because of this that in the last four years, Megan has been careful about her relationships – becoming much more picky about who she sees. She isn't getting any younger, after all.

History: Megan was born to parents who loved one another dearly. Megan wasn't planned, but she was a pleasant surprise. At last! A baby sister for their only son, ten year old Daniel. Unfortunately, the love for their son showed itself in the way of constant attention, surprises and pulling out all the stops. In short, Daniel was spoiled, so imagine his shock when Megan came screaming into the world and suddenly, there wasn't enough money to cover surprises and doting gifts. A noisy, miserable, pudding-body baby was suddenly the focus of his parent's attention. Instead of joining in with the birth of his sister, Daniel embarked on a simmering resentment that would only intensify as Megan got older.

It was a combination of her brother's seething jealousy and her mother's constant turning of her head that made Megan cold and bitter. Her parents loved her, but they didn't see what was really happening, and thus, until Megan joined Hogwarts at the age of eleven, Megan was trapped at home with someone who couldn't stand her, just because she existed.

Megan was sorted into Slytherin, quite rightly and spent her years at Hogwarts dreading going home and relishing her time at school. Despite what her peers made of her, Megan did well in all her subjects – she applied herself, always with the thought in her head that if she did well, she could slack off for the rest of her life, more or less. Unfortunately, that part never came to pass.

It was during Megan's sixth year at Hogwarts that she began to uncover the wonders of the muggle world. Her grandfather, even though he was past the age of retirement, ran a small second hand bookshop on the outskirts of Camden and Megan visited often while she was home during the holidays. She could sit quietly and witness the people coming in and out – but more to the point, she could go out into the muggle world (dressed as muggle-like as possible with the help of her grandfather) and witness things first hand. It was these visits that gave Megan a taste for the bohemian lifestyle that stuck with her for many years. She discovered thrift shops and vinyls, thick makeup and leather-like accessories.

Megan spent the next few years experimenting with her look. By the time she finished Hogwarts, she had it down-pat.

Megan secured herself a place at Aeternus Sapientia University and after much encouragement from her Professors, Megan studied Magical Law. She pushed through University with little to no consideration for those around her. She made a few close friends, some more unusual than others, specifically one in the form of Fred Weasley. Megan indulged in alcohol, cigarettes and unsavoury behaviour. She seized the pleasures in life by the throat, no matter how other people saw her, or what she was doing.

Back-tracking to Fred, Megan's relationship with the redhead started out innocently enough. She frequented the jokeshop largely to take in the achievement that two men from her year at Hogwarts had earned themselves. George never took a shine to Megan, but Fred was quite different – cheeky, cheery and always with a glint in his eye, the pair developed an odd relationship.

Mostly it consisted of fumbles in the dark when Megan didn't have anyone else on the roster, but outside that, the pair talked. They talked a lot – sometimes all night. He was the most unlikely character for her ever to be seen with. For this reason, Fred and Megan rarely went places publicly together. She chose other men to escort her to public events, but no matter how many she got through, how many failed relationships she churned out, Fred became a permanent fixture in her life.

During Megan's second year at Aeternus Sapientia, she saw Harry Potter attend the university, and the Death Eater activity take a steep incline. Throughout the horrors that Voldemort inflicted, Megan had always been able to take a back seat. She counted herself lucky that she and her family had been able to side step the destruction Voldemort brought until news reached her by owl that her father had been incarcerated on suspicion of aiding the Death Eaters acquire certain items that had once belonged to the Dark Lord. Megan disregarded the letter, confident that it was a mistake and that he would be released soon. However, as no word of his freedom reached her, Megan got in touch with her mother, who told her the whole grisly story.

Robert Broker had been bribed – with a sum of money large enough to guarantee he and his wife would never have to work again – to retrieve certain items belonging to the Dark Lord from the Department of Mysteries. An exchange had been made between himself and a masked Death Eater (Vendetta Godard) and he had fled the country, brushing it off as a job-related trip.

He made his way to Russia with the money in hand. The seriousness of what he had done set in, and he knew that it would be a long time, possibly years, before he could return home. However, not two weeks after he had gone missing, an anonymous tip off was made. The Ministry landed on him hard and he was shipped back to England.

Robert Broker pleaded guilty to the crime and since then has been in prison. His wife was never the same and in the years following, despite the support she received from her two children, Joyce wasted away. She died the year that Megan graduated from University with a Bachelors in Magical Law.

Into University and out the other end, Fred Weasley managed to stick by her. There after the death of her mother and there for every weekly visit she took to Azkaban to see her father, he didn't budge no matter how many times she shoved him away with her sharp tongue.

Fresh out of University, Megan joined many others in post-grad positions at the Ministry of Magic, Megan settling in at the Department of Magical Law.

The battle of 2003 at Merlin's temple came, and Megan sat it out – she wasn't close to the order members, outside of Fred Weasley, so instead, she went to work, she worried, she almost got herself fired, the number of arguments she struck up with her co-workers. The situation had been snowballing throughout the year she had been with the Ministry, and as much as she liked muggles and their cultures, even she couldn't stomach the sight of muggle military patrolling the streets, much less the magic rationing that they introduced.

It was during this time that Megan lost her brother, Daniel, albeit she will admit to not being too heartbroken over it. As much as she loved her brother, as much as he was a part of her and her life, he didn't show her enough love to make her cry at his funeral, or even to visit his grave thereafter.

He was caught in the crossfire among with many muggle soldiers and wizards when Death Eaters ransacked the streets of Diagon Alley. They smashed shop windows, set fire to displays and took out anyone in their path. Daniel Broker was put through a shop window and died in St Mungo's from severe blood loss. Megan organised a small funeral to which only family could attend.

What sorrow she felt at being the only member of her immediate family that was neither dead nor in prison, was evened out by the feeling of relief that came with realisation. Realisation that there was nothing weighing her down any longer. Nothing standing in the way of the rest of her life.

After Voldemort was defeated, Megan did something for Fred Weasley she had never done before. She supported him - probably her first ever selfless act. Following the attack on Merlin's temple, news of the injured and deceased was released in a copy of the Daily Prophet. Fred's mother, Molly Weasley, was on that list. During this difficult time, Megan put extra effort into her peculiar friendship with Fred Weasley and did what she could to try and keep him grounded - though how effective her efforts were, is debatable.

During this time, Megan also focused on work. Once she had one year of experience with the Ministry under her belt, Megan handed in her notice and applied for a job at a pokey solicitors on the outskirts of Diagon Alley called Darwin and Duke. It is here she has been since, along side Serafina Callaghan.

Wand: Eight inch Holly with a unicorn hair core.

Do you know what you want to do with your character? Do they have purpose?: Yes ma'am!

Miscellaneous: Oscar is still alive! A Spur-Thighed Tortoise (or Greek Tortoise) he was the runt found by her brother in their back garden, eating his way through the vegetable patch. Megan rescued him from her sibling's clutches two months before going to Hogwarts.

Sample Post: I was on the old ASU!