Galatea

This character is on the Roster. If you are interested in playing this character, refer to +roster in game and follow the instructions on how to claim a Roster character.

Former Hogwarts Professor
Portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave
Name: Galatea Merrythought
Aliases: (GAH-la-tee-uh)
Birthday: July 31st, 1865
Position: Founder of The Dark Force Defence League
Lineage: Irish/Swedish, Pure-Blood

Description

An elderly woman who's beauty is kept alive with an inner youthfulness that seems to stem from an endless reserve of optimism. Thin but not to the point of frail Galatea's thinness adds to the prominence of the perfectly round apples of her cheeks. Her lips are thin and pale. Her nose is high and small looking at some angles. Her eyes are a grey-blue an her hair is a dark sandy blonde that his greying in strands here and there. Often in her hair she wears a very simple tiara of red coral colored pearl sized beads at the tips of the brass tines.

Today Galatea is wearing a smoky grey simple gown. It is of a very squared collar with long sleeves that pleat and poof slightly at the shoulder. The top portion is mostly a very simple bodice construction that ends in a low rounded scoop down below her navel where the skirt then poofs our from it gently as well. Coral red slippers can barely be seen underneath the the grey gown for that playful little peek of colour sometimes when she's walking.

Background

Zephaniah Merrythought was a dark brooding Irishman that some time after graduating as a Slytherin at Hogwarts was hired on at Durmstrang as a professor there. There is very little romance to Zephaniah's life story. It's instead filled with trickery and betrayal. Ylva Helstrom was a student of Zephaniah's and for many years she harboured and unhealthy crush on her professor. During spring holiday of Ylva's Seventh Year she poured a powerful love potion into his cup at the tavern she followed him to. Zephaniah spiraled into a fit of depression when the potion wore off and he realized what she had done. When Ylva revealed that she was pregnant, Zephaniah did the honourable thing and married the young woman. Though Zephaniah hated Ylva for what she did, he adored the little baby that came from that deception. Born on July 31st, 1865. He did all he could to keep the little girl out of her mother's influence, which made father and daughter very close. More often than not he would use their time together to teach her the ways of the Dark Arts and how to defend herself against them and other things, like detecting Love Potions. Everything in his power that he could do to make sure she was protected from those in the world like her mother. When Galatea was eleven, her parents divorced. Ylva was pregnant again and there was no way that it could have been Zephaniah's. When the father was discovered to be Zeph's best friend and colleague at Durmstrang, Lars Vogler it was enough to send Zeph packing and returned to Ireland with Galatea.

Going from Durmstrang to Hogwarts was not an easy thing for Galatea. She was sorted into House Ravenclaw but had a difficult time making friends and trying to catch up with school, improve her English and do her best to take care of her lonesome and depressed father from afar. It all aged Galatea to a maturity that put off many of the students her own age. With Divination and Care of Magical Creatures as her electives, Galatea eventually narrowed her classes down during N.E.W.T.s to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Transfiguration. After graduating with honours in Defense Against the Dark Arts in 1883 she was disturbed by just how much her father had descended into darkness while she was away at school, he gambled, brawled and drank. His favorite tavern was the White Wyvern on Cryptick Alley in the Mysticked District. He even re-married while she was in school and gave Galatea two half-brothers. No matter how much she loved him and tried to bring him back to the man she remembered as a child it was no use. Galatea was twenty-two when her father was convicted of murder and practice of the Dark Arts and put into Azkaban. He succumbed to a Demeantor's 'Kiss' a few years after that.

Her father's conviction for a time was a dark stain in her reputation and she worked extremely hard to prove herself a witch of virtue, honesty and skill as a Hit Wizard for the Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic. For over a decade (twelve years) Galatea rose through the ranks and gained great admiration from most of her fellow Hit Wizards and was even promoted to Auror when she was 28 in 1891. However after a minor injury on a case she learned of the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts had become available and applied. It was 1895 when she turned in her badge for a new mantle as Professor. She taught the likes of Albus Dumbledore, and every other Professor that now teaches at Hogwarts. Including the very Professor that sacked her in 1938. Headmaster Garvus Flint was a horrible man and a worse Headmaster and Galatea was unafraid to say as much. So he fired her. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise, because of this surprise change in her life Galatea found herself in a position to start something grand.

The Dark Force Defence League is a civilian organization dedicated to the opposition of the Dark Arts. While it is the duty of Aurors to do battle with Dark wizards, the D.F.D.L. emphasizes support for the Auror Office through vigilance and information gathering. They are responsible for publishing a great many texts and pamphlets about the Dark Arts and how to identify practitioners, and regularly submit reports to the Aurors on suspected Dark magic users. The reaction to them is mixed, as some view them as overzealous, but there are also a number of recognized experts on Dark Arts defense among the society.

Timeline

  • Born: 1865
  • Graduated: 1883
  • Began teaching: 1895
  • Sacked: 1938

Quirks

Merrythought_Arms.png
  • Eternally Optimistic
  • Infamous Father
  • Wealth: Comfortable

RP Hooks

  • Merrythought taught at Hogwarts from 1895 to 1938. If you attended Hogwarts during those years, she was your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
  • Attended Durmstrang as a child.

Logs

Logs featuring Galatea Logs that refer to Galatea

Relationships

NoImage_icon.jpg

Zephaniah Merrythought
Father: (1828 - 1891) Pure-Blood.

NoImage_icon.jpg

Ylva Helstrom-Vogler
Mother: (b. 1849) Pure-Blood. Mother seduced father with a love potion. When it wore of he did the 'right thing' and walked knowingly into her trap of a marriage and a baby on the way. Ylva grew bored of Zephaniah and their daughter and moved on to another doop. Meinhard Vogler, Zeph's best friend at Durmstrang. She is the reason for Zeph's descent into dark places and Galatea has never nor will ever forgive her.

NoImage_icon.jpg

Gwen Merrythought nee Moody
Step-Mother: (1838 - 1939) Pure-Blood. Galatea did not know this woman well at all. Galatea never was included in family events and they married while she was at Hogwarts. Only her son Eamon tried to make a connection with his half-sister.

NoImage_icon.jpg

Eamon Merrythought
Half-Brother: (1879 - ?) Pure-Blood. The one Merrythought that made a connection with Galatea, the rest of his family were rather detached. But when their father died, he become the Head of Family and made great efforts to invite Galatea to family events and made her feel more like a part of the family. Eamon is married to Eilish Quinn and together they have a son Conleth.

Conleth

Conleth
Nephew: (b. 1898) Pure-Blood. Galatea out-lived both of her little half-brothers. Conleth is the eldest son of the older of the brothers and so it he that now wears the mantle of head of the family. She is very grateful that he shares as much of that mantle with her as he does. They are very close and she considers him like a son. Conleth is married to Deirdre Lovegood and together they have a daughter, Solstice.

Solstice

Solstice
Grand-Niece: (b. October 27th, 1921) Pure-Blood.

NoImage_icon.jpg

Padraig Merrythought
Half-Brother: (1881 - ?) Pure-Blood. Only after their father died and Eamon start to bring her in to family events did she meet and get to know Padraig. They aren't as close as Eamon and Galatea. But he is a Merrythoght and of her blood and that means a great deal to Galatea. Padraig is married to Aisling Quinn and together they have four children. Including Argyle Merrythought, their eldest.

Aiden

Aiden
Grand-Nephew: (b. March 2nd, 1930) Pure-Blood. Galatea doesn't know where or what went wrong, but this one just doesn't seem to represent the family. She sees her father in him and that is very worrisome to her. All caught up in purity, if it was still around she would not be surprised if he wanted to be in the Magijugend. Galatea doesn't know what to do. It's not exactly her place to do any scolding, or even molding.

Flint

Flint
Former Headmaster: (b. April 24th, 1872) Pure-Blood. He is not her favourite person.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License