|Aaron Bachmeier|
Male | 17 | 7th Year | Muggle-Born | Tituba
Aaron is a beanpole if ever you've seen one. Standing at an astounding 6'5" and weighing only a measly 160 lbs, he’s long and lanky and undeniably thin. He has kind eyes, a short face and straight, white teeth. Of course, the relative normalcy of his appearance stops there. Both he and his twin brother were born with Waardenburg Syndrome, type II. As such, their appearances are a tad odd.
Aaron’s skin is a somewhat tan shade of generic German white, with several large, hypo-pigmented (read: bleached-ass, abnormally white) patches across his body. The most noticeable of these are on his left forearm/hand, left hip (stretching diagonally up across his belly) and right collarbone, starting below the clavicle and running up his neck and jaw and crossing over his right eye and eyebrow and into his hairline. Aaron’s left eye is a relatively dull, dark shade of greyish-green, while his right eye (surrounded by hypo-pigmented skin) is an unnaturally bright blue. His hair is dirty blonde, save for a stark white lock where his hypo-pigmentation runs beneath his hairline. If one were to really look, they’d also find some stray silver hairs among the dirty blonde ones, signs of premature greying. He keeps this bouncy but otherwise straight hair cut a little long, long enough to go past his ears and occasionally fall into his eyes. All of his bizarre physical traits can be attributed to the Waardenburg Syndrome that took his hearing at birth.
Aaron’s style of dress could be described as casually formal. He’s a fan of button-up shirts, jeans, slacks and khakis, and tends to iron everything he wears. The dress code at the school suits him just fine.
Pet:
Schnitzel (Or Schatzi for short, meaning ‘sweetie’)
Schnitzel is a sweetheart if you’ve ever seen one, liable to roll sleepily over and loudly purr the moment someone touches her. She’s the type of cat who will take attention wherever she can get it, including jumping on laps and lounging on homework to get a little snuggle time in. She’s extremely gentle, even as a kitten never bitten or scratched anyone on purpose.
Electives:
- Alchemy
- Study of Ancient Runes
- Arithmancy
Clubs:
-Charms
-Magical Creatures
Boggart:
A dusty and rotting casket, which shakes with blows from the inside and echoes with muffled screams, as if someone inside is fighting to escape.
Patronus:
An extravagant peacock.
Amortentia:
Old books, cloves and cinnamon.
Wand:
Best Class:
Charms, History of Magic
Worst Class:
Defence Against the Dark Arts
Strengths:
- Healing spells
- Listening (ironically enough)
- Reading comprehension (he has no problem learning from reading)
- Time Management
- Seeing all sides
- Trilingual (German, English, Sign Language)
- Keen senses (deafness taught him how to use his other senses more effectively, such as touch)
- Intelligence
Weaknesses:
- Meek
- Weak grasp of sarcasm/other finesses of speech (mostly in English)
- Poor command of spoken language
- Easily caught off-guard
- Can't deal with other people's emotions (he’s poor at comforting a sad person, calming an irate one, etc. It is a skill he is trying to master)
Personality:
If the meek are to inherit the earth, then Aaron is set to become a very rich man. Growing up deaf in a school for the hearing naturally pushed him to the sidelines, with only his twin brother to pull him back in. As such, Aaron is understandably quiet and tends to stay on the outskirts of the social scene, keeping his few, good friends close. This is not to say, however, that he avoids new people. Quite to the contrary, he’s polite and courteous and always greets new people with a smile. This had been a somewhat recent development, as only at his magical school was he able to effectively communicate. In fact, since his admission to the wizarding world at age eleven, his exceptionally expressive face and demeanour (encouraged by his brother to develop) tend to get his point easily across and more than compensate for his lack of literal voice.
Aaron is a caring person, who had always preoccupied himself with the welfare of others. Ever since he was young, he dreamed of becoming a doctor, healing the wounded and curing the sick. He has a natural caregiver’s air to him, always willing to be anything from medic to crying shoulder. Even his wand reflects that fact, a wand with wood and core practically made for healing magic. Although, even with the incredible efficacy of healing spells, he finds himself preferring the ingenuity of muggle medicine.
Of course, no one is cheerful and helpful all the time. Aaron is a hard worker and an intellectual, enjoying his alone time and valuing his peace when he must work. H e can accomplish anything he sets his mind to, a trait shared by his brother, but not without hard work. If someone is becoming a nuisance or a distraction while he is occupied with something of more importance, his lengthy fuse beings to burn short. While he is a patient person, everyone has an end. In this case, his most likely reaction is a frustrated breath and curtly asking the offending party to leave.
Likes:(At least three)
- Warmth (especially fire)
- Morning/sunrise
- Cold days (with warm clothing)
- Reading/researching
- Tedious, simple tasks that he can sit and mindlessly work on
- Cozy furniture
- Writing by hand
- Using sign language with people other than his brother
Dislikes:(At least three)
- Strong opinions
- Crowds
- Swimming beneath things (swimming itself doesn't bother him, but he's not about to swim under a dock to get to the other side, no matter how short the distance)
Pumpkin juice
Many American foods
Fears:
- Small/confined spaces
- Drowning
- Buried alive/trapped under floorboards/trapped in a vent/being unable to breathe freely (he's a claustrophobe, can you tell?)
- Public ridicule
- Getting lost/stranded
Biography:
Aaron, along with his brother, was born to a tiny woman in the city of Munich, Germany. Their conception was one of passion, unexpected and ill-prepared for. Still, the trooper of a woman raised the twins with as much love and care as her heart could handle, leaving both boys feeling indebted to her, and willing to come at her beck and call. Though he was born deaf, Aaron's mother unfortunately did not have the means to accommodate much past some largely ineffective hearing aides and the use of American Sign Language (chosen over German Sign Language for its more common use across the world). Therefore, both he and his brother were sent to a public, hearing school. His brother was Aaron's best friend and interpreter all through school, until the day of their eleventh birthday, when a rather strange letter arrived by golden eagle and set their lives on an extraordinary path.
While Aaron was initially miffed by the fact that technology such as hearing aides and recording devices malfunctioned in the magical atmosphere, the Eastern European School of Magical Sciences quickly won the young boy's heart. The charms professor took special interest in his challenges and introduced the boy to one of two options to improve his communicating: He could either use an imperfect charm to give him some semblance of hearing or, Aaron’s preferred solution, a charm with which he could use sign language, but have it translated to voice or text.
When he was young, he began learning English for the sole purpose of being able to read English books and watch films and shows in English. He dragged his brother into the language, and the two spent a lot of time exploring its nuances.
Life until now has been rather standard for the two, comparatively: They go to school during the year, work during the summer to support their mother, and prepare for their futures. This year, however, they applied for the foreign exchange program offered by their school for some advantage in university application (not to mention something new and interesting), and are excited to explore the school, the system, and the people who attend.
Other:
Aaron's type II Waardenburg syndrome is the culprit for his congenital deafness and his odd appearance. Type II Waardenburg Syndrome is a rare genetic condition that often causes heterochromia, abnormal skin/air pigmentation and congenital deafness, though its effects generally do not extend past appearance and deafness.
Aaron has a fascination, almost an infatuation with language. As such, he has his own unique form of communicating. He can adequately read lips in German, though he has not a prayer with English speakers. His spoken German is laboured, but understandable, though spoken English is a challenge he’s nervous to even attempt. Therefore, he has a workaround.
Introduced to him during his first year of wizarding, he has nearly perfected a charm, cast daily, which can translate his signing. The process is this: If he must converse with a hearing person, particularly in English, he expressively signs as normal, and lets he charm to the rest. As he signs, his words are written midair in front of or above him, in his own handwriting, without need of a wand. The letters shimmer, as if written in sparkly nail polish, and the colour and font changes depending upon the tone. For example, particularly happy words would be written in yellow with a scrolling, decorative form of his own handwriting. Particularly angry tones could be written in harsh, fast hand and crimson in colour. In return, the words of his correspondent appear before them for him to read, in their own handwriting and similar scheme for colour. Aaron can choose (as can the other party, subconsciously) whether he wants his words broadcasted for everyone to see or only to be seen by the other person. This charm can translate some thoughts as well, though this effect only applies to Aaron himself, and is exclusively voluntary.
Member
WardenCelestine
TokyoPewPew
Emma
Hos
RPM
Hope Lover
BobbyJones314
