Cole Arden

[COLE ARDEN]

``cole arden~

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yo, eleven here.
i came here from here
and i joined because i made it
i've circled the sun eighteen times
about seven of them have been spent roleplaying
i have four other characters:
The Eleventh Doctor, Zakhraet, Aerona Riley Araphen and Serabee Buckley
rules? of course I've read the rules; here's proof: glowsticks

birth name~ Cole Alexander Arden
nicknames~ dragonboy
age && date of birth~ 43, October 3rd
gender~ male
species~ modified human?
sexuality~ heterosexual
occupation~ making Voldemort's life hell
face claim~ Matt Smith
fandom~ Harry Potter
canon / original~ original

hair color~ brownish
eye color~ pale blue
height~ 6'0"
weight~ 144
distinctive features~ well, there's the fact that he looks like a dragon-human hybrid and he has to use a transfiguration to look normal. does that count?
general appearance~

As a child, Cole was skinny, slightly wimpy, and was never any good in any sort of athletic sport. In primary school, he was teased mercilessly about anything the other kids could think of, from his bowlegs to his eyebrows, his nose or his chin. As he went through Hogwarts, however, he went from looking like a puppy who still had to grow into his paws to a rather attractive, slim, slightly muscular young man. It was around then he decided to add the long brown coat he still wears today. He found it in a thrift shop on the clearance rack, and he just had to get it.

Specializing in magizoology, specifically dragonology, changed his looks quite a bit. Scars started popping up here and there from a couple of accidents, a few burn marks from standing too close to them, and a bit more energy in his step started it all off. Being a dragonologist and a dragon keeper was hard work, and one had to be constantly on their toes with all the teeth and talons around, not to mention the fire.

However, it was when he came up with the idea to try and domesticate one of the more docile dragons, an Antipodean Opaleye, using technology, spells, and potions. Being the reckless scientist type he is, he ignored the general belief that dragons couldn't be domesticated and instead worked hard on his combination of technology and magic. However, while adding the small amount of blood he'd taken from the Opaleye to the potion, the potion exploded in his face. Literally. His face had turned draconic, with even a halfway developed muzzle, and most of his skin had turned to scales. The reaction spread to cover all of his body in the hours following the explosion. He was still human, still a wizard, but he looked like a creature.

After this, he developed a way to appear human again through the use of a particularly potent transfiguration spell. Instead of what he'd naturally look like at age 42, though, he opted to look twenty years younger instead. As such, his taste in clothes wasn't all too age appropriate. A 22 year old dressing like a 42 year old doesn't go very far in society these days, and so he's taken on hoodies, scarves, and hi-top Chucks in all sorts of colors. He looked relatively like a normal English young adult, which is exactly what he wanted to be.

Now, after Sirius has died, he's taken on his draconic visage more often. He used to be scared of it, but he's come to realize that it's easier to disguise yourself as a monster so people don't think that the thing attacking them could possibly be human. He's still slightly uneasy about going out in public without his transfiguration, but he's slowly getting over it. After all, it's for safety purposes, and no one will be able to tell that it's him. Also, if people think he's a monster, there's an increased chance he'll end up dead. When your whole life is gone, there's nothing you really want to live for, and so why should you keep living?

likes~

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Sirius is basically Cole's partner in crime. Dragonboy and Dogboy met when Cole had joined the Order of the Phoenix after Voldemort's return in 1995. They're proof that when you stick two similar-yet-extremely-different people in an enclosed space for too long, they either start hating each other's guts, or become the best of friends. Sirius is really Cole's best and first real friend, which means a lot to him, seeing as how he's forty three years old and never really had a best friend before.

02. DRAGONS~

As a child, Care of Magical Creatures was his main hobby. However, when the professor gave a lecture about dragons, sixteen-year-old Cole was hooked. He went on to become a dragonologist and a dragon keeper, furthering his love for them, but it was Iris who really hooked him on dragons and brought him deeper into the field.

03. BEING ACTIVE~

Cole can't stand sitting still. He figures that it's from years of constantly running around and being on his toes around the dragons, but it's really because he's restless, paranoid, and a bit hyperactive. He'd rather be doing something -- doing anything -- than sit somewhere and do nothing. Even if it's playing a game in his head, or listening to people.

04. HAVING FUN~

Fun is a big part of Cole's life. Being a paranoid son of a bitch, he's put into a lot of situations he doesn't particularly like, namely crowds and social interactions, and so having fun and doing things he likes is a big part of the unwinding process. If one spends the entire day hyped up and paranoid, there needs to be some downtime where one isn't around things that make them antsy.

05. MUGGLES~

Having grown up with his Muggle grandmother, he has a positive outlook on Muggles. He despises the pureblood elitism that so many hold so dear, equating them with Voldemort. He doesn't really care too much about whether someone's muggleborn or pureblood: never has, never will. Having been raised like a Muggle, he tends to do things in the Muggle fashion: with his own two hands.

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dislikes~

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Cole can't stand being bored. When he gets bored, he gets restless, which leads to him doing stupid things in order to not be bored. He gets frustrated easily when he's bored, and a lot of the time, boredom will lead to simply thinking about the past, which will get him depressed. As such, he'll do just about anything to keep from getting bored, such as potions, developing new spells, trying out new recipes, etc.

02. VOLDEMORT~

Cole's hatred for Voldemort is a big part of why he's on the path he is right now. During the First Wizarding War, he knew that Voldemort was going around killing Muggles and muggleborn witches and wizards, and so his grandmother was in danger. He went to see her, to get her away from all of this and try to get her to move to America, but the Death Eaters got there first. They burned down Cole's childhood home, tortured the both of them and killed his grandmother right before his eyes. He's gotten over it, but it's still in the forefront of his mind, as he's made it his life's mission to exact his revenge on Voldemort.

03. INTOLERANCE~

Cole generally likes to stay objective on the matters of feelings and beliefs, even though he tends to not agree with those of pureblood elitism and religious sects. While he doesn't agree with them, he doesn't judge people for following them, and tries to let everyone have their viewpoint without shoving his particular viewpoint down other people's throats. He believes that everyone should be able to coexist with everyone else, even though differences of opinion exist, which is why he can't stand people who are intolerant and prejudiced against other people.

04. STUPIDITY~

Most of the time, Cole has the patience of a saint. However, there are things that really irk him to no end, and one of those main things is when people are just plain stupid. He really just doesn't understand how someone can have common sense and not use it, or just not have it altogether. Cole believes that the people who run the Ministry, in particular Cornelius Fudge and the new guy, Rufus Scrimgeour, are completely inept in their abilities and would rather see the Ministry run by more capable hands.

05. HELPLESSNESS~

Cole can't stand being useless. There is quite a difference between uselessness and boredom, however: boredom is the feeling of having nothing to do, and uselessness is the feeling of having nothing you can do. Cole is very protective of people, especially the ones who he cares about, and so when there comes a time that there is nothing he can do to help, he tends to get frustrated and lash out at people without warning.

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habits~

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Cole, above all else, has a bit of a paranoia problem. And when I say a bit of a problem, I really mean that he tends to have panic attacks when he can't calm himself down. He doesn't like it when people stand behind him, and when he gets startled, he'll literally attack the person. He sleeps with a knife under his pillow, his wand on his nightstand and a shotgun in his closet. If that doesn't tell you the extent of his paranoia, I really don't know what does.

02. WORD VOMIT~

Cole has the unfortunate habit of speaking without thinking, and when he does think, he tends to think so much faster than he can speak. Cole has dubbed this situation "word vomit," much to the amusement of Sirius and anyone else he reveals it to. He has no real control over some of the things he says sometimes, and when he's reasoning rather fast, he tends to leave out words and jump between things fast enough to make the people around him confused.

03. MENTAL BOX~

One of Cole's main mental defenses include the box he throws all of his feelings into, labeled "feel later." He then hides this box behind a smile, but it's only a facade; if he didn't do this, he wouldn't nearly smile as much. As much as he wants to believe that the longer he fakes the smile, the more it will become real, he can't get past the fact that he hurts so much that smiling won't help.

04. BROODING~

Now that Sirius has died, Cole can't get over the fact that he's dead. He's starting to change his perception of reality instead of coming to terms with the fact that he's dead. He'll think about it for ages, just sitting there and replaying the events of the Department of Mysteries over and over again, trying to figure out a way to get Sirius back from the Veil. It's become an obsession, really, and it's quite scary.

05. BOTTLING THINGS UP~

Cole is known for keeping things to himself, especially when he knows that they're important. He doesn't necessarily lie to people, but he will withhold information if he sees it fit. He does this with his feelings, as well as with information. He doesn't like letting people know everything about him, which is why Eirawen and Sirius were such special cases.

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strengths~

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Cole's rather unfortunate potions accident has come with some rather amazing side effects. For one, his legs have changed shape, looking more like a zigzag instead of straight down like a human's yeah shoot me i can't describe this for crap, giving him more speed and agility. His skin has turned to scales, and while they keep him protected against most spells, it's not impenetrable. His feet and hands have talons instead of fingernails, and his face has been changed into a short muzzle. It gives off the whole "monster" look that he's going to eventually come to see as useful.

02. OBSERVATION AND DEDUCTION~

Cole is rather quick witted and sharp, piecing together scant amounts of information based on things he's observed before. He's very Sherlockian in this way, though he still has a high regard for people in general, and he likes watching them and figuring out their habits. It's how he knows that when the average person is confronted with something relatively normal looking, they don't even give it a second glance as they go about their day. Very easily exploited.

03. FORESIGHT~

Cole has a vast knowledge of consequences, partially based on the observation and deduction skills that are used to judge other people's habits. He uses this to accurately judge what people will do in odd situations, or the way hypothetical situations will turn out. He's really rather good at this, but as much as he likes to peoplewatch, he'd rather stay very far away from them.

04. LEVELHEADED~

Cole generally doesn't let his emotions influence his decisions. As much as he's driven by revenge, he would rather go about it as levelheaded and as unemotional as possible. The way he works is that he has a little box in his head that he puts all his feelings in, and while he's alone, he'll go through it later and feel all of those things when he can do them in peace and not be rash and lash out at people.

05. OBJECTIVE~

Above all else, Cole tries to have an objective viewpoint on everything. He'll listen to everyone's ideas and sift through the bias in order to come up with the truth. However, he'll take into account people's feelings, but he won't let them sway him to any one viewpoint. Instead, he'll weigh the facts of the situation and come up with the proper solution, but try to present it without sounding too much like an arse.

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weaknesses~

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If there was a Gryffinclaw house, this is what would make him be sorted into it, instead of just straight Ravenclaw. While rather intelligent and insightful, he has moments of recklessness and impulsiveness that occasionally get him into trouble. The more he hangs out with Sirius, the more these moments shine through.

02. WORD VOMIT~

Cole has the unfortunate habit of speaking without thinking, and when he does think, he tends to think so much faster than he can speak. Cole has dubbed this situation "word vomit," much to the amusement of Sirius and anyone else he reveals it to. He has no real control over some of the things he says sometimes, and when he's reasoning rather fast, he tends to leave out words and jump between things fast enough to make the people around him confused.

03. ALTRUISM~

Cole has absolutely no concept of self-preservation, and he puts others' safety above his own. Partially because of his self-esteem issues, he sees himself as worth absolutely nothing, and everyone else's lives are worth so much more than his, and so he'll do just about everything to protect the people he cares about.

04. SELF-ESTEEM~

Cole's insecurities lie, in particular, around his draconic appearance. Since the accident, the only ones who have really been supportive of him and his monstrous apparance have been Iris herself, Sirius, and Eirawen. However, until he manages to come to terms with it, he won't feel like he's truly human.

05. PARANOIA~

Cole, above all else, has a bit of a paranoia problem. And when I say a bit of a problem, I really mean that he tends to have panic attacks when he can't calm himself down. He doesn't like it when people stand behind him, and when he gets startled, he'll literally attack the person. He sleeps with a knife under his pillow, his wand on his nightstand and a shotgun in his closet. If that doesn't tell you the extent of his paranoia, I really don't know what does.

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goals~ to find a way to get Sirius back, to make Voldemort's life hell
secrets~ dragonboy
overall personality~

Generally, Cole is a complicated person, made even more so by the fact that his best friend, Sirius Black, is now dead. Now, Cole really doesn't feel like he has anything to live for, and so he's simply wandering the world trying to come up with a way to revive the dead. It's not easy, really, dealing with the fact that your best friend and partner in crime -- not to mention your first true friend since you became a monster -- is dead and you can't get him back. Cole has started to twist reality around in his head, denying the validity of his friend's death.

Otherwise, Cole is quite an eccentric, as he was in the past, and rants quite a bit to himself and to his friends. He's very physical when he speaks, tends to talk at a million miles an hour. He's quite a bit of a scatterbrain as well, and has a tendency to beat himself up when he doesn't catch something immediately. He also can't stand being bored; he needs to be able to run around and be active. He has quite a bit of a temper, and he lashes out when he's frustrated, being pressured, or when the people close to him get hurt. His seriousness comes out in dire situations, along with his determination and will to do just about anything to keep people safe. This is one of the main reasons he's so beat up over Sirius' death: he feels like it was his fault and he could have prevented it if he tried harder.

home town~ Morpeth, Northumberland
current residence~ he's a wanderer
parents~

• Gabriel Arden, father, 35 (at time of death in 1958), Auror, Gryffindor, pureblood, deceased
  
• Anna Arden (nee Elliott), mother, 32 (at time of death in 1958), Auror, Ravenclaw, muggleborn, deceased
  
• Mary Lou Elliott, maternal grandmother, 67 (at time of death in 1975), retired, Muggle, deceased

siblings~
pets~ Antipodean Opaleye, Iris
family~

• Sirius Black, partner in crime, 37, wrongfully accused mass murderer, Gryffindor, pure blood, deceased
  
• Eirawen Rohana, confidant, age, Healer at Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, halfblood, alive

history~

Cole had a relatively normal wizarding childhood. Well, as normal as one's childhood could be with parents that were Aurors. Gabriel and Anna were regularly deployed, leaving Cole with his Muggle grandmother. As a result, Cole doesn't really remember much of his parents, only shapes and voices, as they were gone too much before he could really get to know them. When it was clear that by being Aurors, he was endangering his family, Gabriel, fearing for Anna's and Cole's lives, picked up and moved them from the city to the countryside. They still took their Auror duties seriously, going out regularly and defending the world from the Dark Arts, but just after Cole's fifth birthday, a strange letter came home from the Ministry. Cole watched as his grandmother collapse into a chair and burst into silent tears when she read the letter. It was only after a while of patiently comforting her did he get to hear the news that had made her cry in the first place.

His parents were dead. They'd been killed while investigating some dark incident Mary Lou sold her old house, moved into Cole's parents' house with him, and took good care of him. She got him enrolled in primary school and kept his parents' wizard money safe for him. Being a Muggle with a witch child, she'd been explained to about the wizarding world when Anna's Hogwarts acceptance letter came. She knew all about Cole's heritage, and when his own Hogwarts acceptance letter came, she was overjoyed for him. He, however, had no idea what was going on. Mary Lou got her daughter in law, Cole's aunt, to take him to Diagon Alley and get his things, as she had no wand and no magical talent to get in.

And then he was on the train. His first year at Hogwarts was uneventful, really, just as the rest of them were. He'd planned on becoming an Auror, like his parents, in the first two years of school, but in his third year, when he took the Care of Magical Creatures class, he was immediately hooked. He decided that he'd specialize in magizoology, and specifically dragonology when, in his Care of Magical Creatures class, they did a lesson about dragons. He passed his O.W.L. exams with flying colors, and subsequently obtained quite a few Outstandings in his N.E.W.T.s (Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and an Exceeds Expectations in Herbology and Charms). After graduating from Hogwarts, he went off to further study dragonology and eventually ending up in Romania.

After quite a few years of being a dragon keeper, he took it upon himself to test the impossibility of domesticating dragons with the Antipodean Opaleye that he'd befriended and nicknamed Iris, after the iridescence of her scales, and he'd decided to attempt it by combining magic and technology. In the end, the potion exploded in his face while he was adding the dragon blood to personalize it, and the reaction ended up changing him. His skin turned to the pearly scales of the Opaleye, and his face turned to what one would believe a half human half dragon would look like, complete with a part length muzzle and the dragon's eyes. He managed to keep it a secret from the rest of the dragon keepers, and he stayed pretty much holed up in his cabin while he was perfecting the transfiguration to make himself look normal again.

He left the dragon keeping profession with a sad goodbye to Iris and the other keepers and explored Britain for a few years. When he heard scattered rumors about Voldemort's return, he thought about his kind Muggle grandmother who had helped him after his parents had died and joined the Order of the Phoenix out of revenge: Voldemort had killed Mary Lou during the First Wizarding War. He went on to teach Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts during the 1995-1996 school year, and after Sirius' death, he's gone away from the Order and is roaming the world, trying to find a reason to be and realize the fact that Sirius is gone. However, he's really roaming around trying to find a way to get him back.

rp sample~ see Eleven please?[/size][/blockquote]

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