Headmaster Joseph Witchard's bio

Name: Joseph Archer Witchard

Age: 40DOB: September 28th

Blood: Pure

Wand: 13 3/4" Indian Rosewood, Unicorn Hair

Position: Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Head of The Order of the Eight (TOE)

Physical Description: His dark brown hair complements his dark brown eyes. He is fairly tall, standing at 6'3", and has grown more muscular in adulthood than he ever was in his adolesent days at Hogwarts. He tries to look cheerful and smile, and it's part of his personality for the most part. Most of the time these days, however, he looks a tad stressed. He does his best to look presentable, even though he feels a little overworked at times.

Personality: Usually cheerful, or at least he strives to be. Joseph Witchard enjoys pleasant company, casual parties, and likes to have a laugh when the time is appropriate. When times are more serious, however, he gets serious; he has no problem speaking his mind when one of his students is out of order, and will give them detention in a pinch if he feels that they'll benefit from it. He values hard work, since he himself has worked hard all his life and gotten to where he is today. He has very little tolerance of people who make no effort, or else peope who take shortcuts that have adverse consequences on those who have worked hard for their life.

Likes: Pumpkin juice; butterbeer; reading; classical music; Muggle television; amusing jokes; charms; a nice, warm cloak on a cold day, and a warm cup of tea when stressed.

Dislikes: Alchoholic beverages; the Seven; the Dark Arts; people who don't try; low-fat ice cream; Muggle-baiting, and people who don't take proper care of their books.

Family/History: Born to Archer and Kathryn Witchard, Joseph grew up as an only albeit happy child in the heart of Manchester. He was a completely normal child until the age of five, when he started to show signs of magic. His parents were thrilled when he levitated his mother's coffee mug, and knew that he would be off to Hogwarts in a few years. He was schooled by his mother in English, history, geography, and mathematics when he got old enough, and he seemed to be fairly talented in academics, which made Kathryn very happy.

At the age of seven, Archer started drinking heavily. Most of his time was spent at the Leaky Cauldron, and he would stumble through their front door late at night so drunk he couldn't speak anything they could understand. Kathryn pleaded with him to stop drinking, but he would come home every night the same way. Kathryn cried a lot during this time, and Joseph watched the whole thing happen over and over again, never really comprehending what was happening. A week before Joseph turned eight, Archer stepped out of the pub after another night of heavy drinking. Highly under the influence, he stepped out into the busy streets of London without realizing it and was run over by a double-decker bus, killing him instantly. Kathryn was devastated, and after an emotional funeral, she started to raise Joseph by herself.

Joseph and his mother lived off of savings throughout his years at Hogwarts. They had everything they needed, but gold was extremely tight; there was no room to splurge except for a couple of Christmas and birthday presents once a year. In spite of having little money, Joseph grew up a happy young man. He excelled in his studies, particularly in the areas of Charms and Defense Against the Dark, and became prefect in his fifth year.

After starting Hogwarts, he never really left. He took the Charms post at an early age and became head of Hufflepuff (his old House). A few years after that, he was pleasantly surprised to made Deputy Headmaster of the school. His teaching career continued to thrive; he was gaining recognition among his older, more experienced colleagues, and 99% of his students received an O.W.L. in Charms. Joseph found great fufillment in his work.

At the age of 32, he took a temporary leave of absence from the school. His mother had passed away, and as the executor of her estate, he had a couple of family matters to attend to. He was away for a little over a month, and was welcomed back to Hogwarts with opened arms. Saddened that most of his family was gone now, Joseph began to invest his time back into his work; though he missed his family, he knew returning back to his normal routine would make him feel better, which it eventually did. He misses his family (most of all, his mother), but he has grown accustomed to being a loner.

Exactly one year and four days after his mother's passing, the school governors approached him with an offer: his old headmaster was retiring, and they had all agreed that they wanted Joseph to take the job due to his experience with the school. Honored, Joseph took the job without any hesitation. He started running Hogwarts at a time when the Ministry of Magic realized that a new band of Dark Wizards were beginning to grow in numbers.

A few years into his new job, the wizarding world wasn't as Joseph remembered it: murders, disappearances, and violent robberies were happening at least once a day. All of these things were happening in the name of a Dark Wizard who most people had never heard of: Daniel Marsden, who was supposedly the cleverest wizard of the age. The entire wizarding world was going down the drain, and Joseph couldn't remember the last time he had felt more concerned for his school. He wanted to do something, anything, to help destroy the threat, but he had no ideas; he was an educator, not an Auror, and it wasn't his place to get involved. This thought remained with him until he was approached by Andrew Langerton, one of his teachers. His colleague seemed to be thinking that the school was in danger too, and he made the argument that the Ministry's efforts had all been futile. His idea was this: use a number to compete with a number. Together, they founded The Order of the Eight, a resistance group dedicated to foiling the evil forces of the Seven. Joseph now splits his time between Hogwarts and the Order.

O.W.L.s
Charms (Outstanding)
DADA (Exceeds Expectations)
Transfiguration (Exceeds Expectations)
Potions (Exceeds Expectations)
Herbology (Outstanding)
History of Magic (Outstanding)
Astronomy (Acceptable)
COMC (Exceeds Expectations)
Muggle Studies (Outstanding)
Divination (Poor)
Arithmancy (Dreadful)
Ancient Runes (Dreadful)

N.E.W.T.s
Charms (Outstanding)
DADA (Exceeds Expectations)
Transfiguration (Exceeds Expectations)
Potions (Exceeds Expectations)
Herbology (Exceeds Expectations)
History of Magic (Outstanding)
Muggle Studies (Outstanding)