Melissa Finnigan

Nickname(s): Millie, Mills, etc.
Age + Birthday: 17 // May 11th
Appearance: Around 5’7, bright, blue eyes, curly blonde hair, and a toothy smile.
Hogwarts House: Gryffindor.
Facts Known About Character:

• She plays a nasty (but entertaining) game of Quidditch.  
  
• She’s a hex first, ask questions later sort of girl when dealing with enemies.
  
• She loves, loves a good prank and is always conspiring with her fellow Gryffindors to pull off big, big pranking occasions.  
  
• She’s often in detention for the above.
  
• She’s probably the person you’re going to want to go to if you’re stuck with your Charms homework.
  
• You can often find Millie at the Care of Magical Creatures paddock.
  

Rumours About Character:

• Apparently she was responsible for the hexing of the Quidditch commentator’s speakerphone in fifth year which projected animal noises rather than his/her commentary. This isn’t true. She actually had nothing to do with it but she’s fine to have that tagged to her name.
  
• She’s in league with Peeves. Possibly Peeves’ apprentice. Neither true, she hates him as much as he hates her.
  
• Other assorted rumours regarding who she is dating ever since she got caught snogging – (does anyone want to volunteer their character, don’t mind who!) behind the Quidditch bleachers in fourth year.
  

Biography:
Melissa Aoife is the second of the two Finnigan children born to Seamus and his wife Lavender née Brown. Her elder brother, Elliot Caolan, preceded her by almost two years and has long since graduated Hogwarts. Melissa and her brother grew up in Ballycastle, a small town in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. A significant amount of time throughout her childhood was also spent in Liverpool, a city in northwest England, which was the home of her maternal grandparents and Dublin in southern Ireland, the home of her paternal grandparents.

The decision by the newly married Seamus and Lavender to settle in Ballycastle was partly made by the nature of Seamus’ job. After Hogwarts he had a spell as a reasonably unsuccessful Chaser at several low-ranking clubs. He had a much more prolific career as a Quidditch coach – particularly helping to train Keepers – and that was how he found himself working at the Ballycastle Bats. Lavender Brown had spent a lot of time recovering from her brush with Fenrir Greyback after the final battle and still retains the scars from the encounter – as well as some wolfish traits she passed onto her children. When she met Seamus again, she was working for the Daily Prophet and helped produce the newspaper’s ‘Showbiz’ section.

It was a long, on-and-off dating process but the pair settled down eventually and made Ballycastle their home, occupying a small cottage (bigger on the inside, of course) overlooking the beach. First, they acquired themselves a dog: an Irish Setter called Pip. Then, Elliot followed and Millie after him. The children had a settled but varied upbringing and Millie was always aware that she was a witch. Her magic came much later than Elliot’s but it arrived with a bang – the explosion of a pot of winter stew she most definitely did not want to eat. It went up the walls instead and her parents were too delighted to be cross.

She attended Muggle primary school in order to gain an appreciation of the world her had paternal grandfather had occupied before meeting his wife. To then go home to magic meant that Millie had the best of both worlds, in her mind. When they weren’t visiting magical locations in Ireland, the family was going to Quidditch matches. And, if the magic didn’t come early, the flying most certainly did. Seamus once boasted to friends down the pub that his daughter could fly before she could walk. It was almost true. Almost. He hopes she will be the player he never was.

Upon joining Hogwarts, Millie was sorted into Gryffindor – expected, given her parentage. She found that she excelled almost immediately at Charms and , another expectation based not only on her parents but also on the performance of her brother during his school years. In her early years at the school, she was glad to have him. He gave her advice on what subjects to take when it came to her third year. Like her mother, Millie veered towards Divination and possesses a skill in the craft that is quite remarkable although no one is quite sure whether she’s just inherited her mother’s predilection for the subject or whether she might actually be a Seer. And of course, loving all things fluffy, she’s always present for Care of Magical Creatures.

In her fourth year, Millie tried out for the Quidditch team but was unsuccessful. A year later, she finally came aboard as a Chaser and certainly excels where her father did not.

Coming into her seventh year, Millie is beginning to feel a bit anxious about her N.E.W.Ts. She did really quite well in her O.W.Ls and is hoping to replicate that success but she’s feeling the strain. She also knows it’s now time to work out what she’s going to do with her life. But that’s a completely different question entirely.
Playby: Rose McIver