Splendora Speckle

"There's no angry way to say 'bubbles'."

Splendora Speckle is a half-blood witch and the only daughter of Morganna Speckle and an unknown muggle father. Splendora is upbeat, positive, fun-loving and curious, and though she's a little clueless about some things, she's surprisingly wise.

She attended Hogwarts from 1995-2001 and was sorted into Hufflepuff House. Splendora was present for the Battle of Hogwarts and was among those who fought and was injured in the fighting. She never lost her upbeat positivity, even in the face of the End of the World and her bravery earned her a Prefect position and accolades from the Headmistress, who Splendora considers a personal hero. She was offered a position as Hogwarts' new Charms professor in 2012, a position she happily and enthusiastically accepted.

Early Life (1983-1994)
Splendora was born four months early in the back room of a bar in the Welsh countryside to Morganna Speckle. She never knew her father, who according to Morganna, was a muggle.

Splendora grew up living in the basement of a bar where she was born, where her mother worked as a waitress/prostitute (the job that produced Splendora in the first place, she would later discover). They were destitute and essentially living on the barest of necessities. Due to the adult nature of her mother's job, Splendora was unaware of exactly what it was her mother did for many years (she was told her mother "made beds" for a living) and spent most of her time in the basement.

She didn't have any friends her own age and instead spent most of her time with the gay bartender/her mother's best friend and Splendora's godfather, a large black fellow named Hercules Jones, who she grew up calling Uncle Herc. Her mother and Herc homeschooled Splendora. Her magic first manifested when she unknowingly gave Herc a blue mustache after drawing him with one that he was unable to shave off for three days.

Despite the conditions at home, Splendora was a cheerful, positive and upbeat little girl.

Hogwarts Years (1994-2001)
Splendora attended Hogwarts when she turned eleven and was sorted into Huffelpuff, where she quickly displayed her Houses' qualities of loyalty, fairness, honesty and acceptance. She was always an attentive student who excelled in Charms work and was well loved by her instructors. Her peers, however, were a different story. Splendora was seen as a bit of an oddball and didn't have many friends. Her naive and trusting nature made her a big target to those who would tease or take advantage of her big heart. Despite how she was teased, however, Splendora's positivity never wavered.

Her first year at Hogwarts marked the Tri-Wizard Tournament. While she cheered for Cedric like the rest of her House, Harry Potter stole the show in her mind. She heard all of the stories and watched him in the Tournament, saving people and using magic like some kind of Greek hero. Harry became her idol, though he never knew she existed. Like everyone else, she was horrified when Cedric was killed during the final task. In her second year, Professor Umbridge became the tyrannical dictator of Hogwarts. Splendora doesn't hate people but she HATED Umbridge. She learned about Dumbledore's Army far too late and tried to join, but the group was disbanded before she had the chance. Splendora was among the many, many students to be "punished" by the monstrous woman. She was among those cheering when Fred & George Weasley left Hogwarts and did so again when Umbridge was sacked.

Her fourth year was the worst yet. Snape became Headmaster and the Carrows taught Dark Arts, a class Splendora absolutely despised. The atmosphere around the school was one of hatred and fear. Splendora worked with the Resistance throughout the year to comfort the younger kids, get muggleborns out of the school and otherwise fight back behind the scenes. She refused to leave, despite her blood status as a Half-Blood. Her mothers' occupation was discovered by one of the Carrows and Splendora gained a number of unsavory nicknamed and was targeted by them during their Dark Arts classes, but Splendora never broke. She kept going by thinking "I only have to do this for 10 more seconds", and when that time was up, she would count another 10 seconds.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Splendora was among those students who volunteered to stay behind and fight. She fought bravely, despite the horrors around her. She was injured during the fighting by a Cutting Charm to the thigh and to the ankle, which made her unable to retreat. The Death Eater who knicked her sadistically tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse. The seconds felt like hours as agonizing pain wracked every inch of her body. She saved, however, by the leader of the new Dumbledore's Army, Neville Longbottom. He saved her from the curse, fought off the Death Eater and then carried her to safety. In her dazed state, Splendora fell in love with Neville, feelings she's carried with her ever since.

After some healing, she would go on to witness Harry Potter's final defeat of Voldemort and survived the Second Wizarding War.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, Splendora carried on with school. Headmistress McGonagall, who knew of Splendora's struggles and bravery the year before, awarded her the position of Prefect and, later, Head Girl of Hufflepuff House. She did her best to spread love and acceptance throughout the school and make the younger kids feel accepted. Upon graduation, Splendora was awarded a Special Award for Services to the School for her role in the Dumbledore's Army resistance movement and her bravery in the Battle of Hogwarts.

After Graduation
Splendora moved to London after graduating, where she worked a few odd jobs before landing a job at Flourish & Blotts in Diagon Alley. She worked stocking shelves at first, before her upbeat personality and people skills eventually allowed her to advance to a counter girl. She was offered a better paying position as a manager, but she loved her job talking to people and helping the new Hogwarts students find the books they needed.

Splendora also took time to hang out at the Leaky Cauldron to see Neville Longbottom every so often. Even though he was married, Splendora just...liked spending time with him, even though she knew being with him would be impossible. In 2012, she received a visit from Headmistress McGonagall not long after school got out that year. The two caught up and before long, McGonagall revealed her real reason for coming to Diagon Alley: she offered Splendora a job as Charms professor, taking over for Professor Flitwick, who had just retired that year.

"Charms Professor, me? I don't know, Professor...I'm not exactly...Professor material, am I?"

"Splendora, I have known you for many years. In that time I have witnessed a strong and fiercely courageous woman whose love for her fellow students stood strong against unspeakable evils. I need that woman on my staff, Splendora."

Splendora tearfully accepted and hugged McGonagall tightly and her old Headmistress told her she had Splendora in mind for the job since she'd graduated. Splendora resigned from Flourish & Blotts that same day and ended up traveling back to Hogwarts with McGonagall later that week.

Return to Hogwarts
Splendora proved to be a popular teacher. Her bright, upbeat and positive attitude have earned her a lot of love and respect from her students (though some ridicule her). She is good friends with Neville, who is now teaching Herbology and the two can often be seen hanging out and talking during meals or free time.

As of 2018, Splendora has been teaching at Hogwarts for five years and has been Head of Hufflepuff the same amount of time.

Physical Appearance
Splendora is a little ball of sunshine and aspiring ray of sunlight. She has shoulder-length red hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. She usually wears a big, bright smile that accentuates her full cheeks. She's a slight and waifish build and moves with a manic energy; many have described her like a hummingbird, which only makes sense, as that's her patronus. She tends to dress in bright colors and eclectic patterns, favoring yellow, bright pink and floral patterns. She often wears flowers in her hair.

Personality
Splendora is upbeat, positive, optimistic and courageous. She is a deeply loving person and works hard to affirm and love each and every one of her students. She sees the best in people and prefers to trust others, often to her detriment. She brings cheer and enthusiasm to her job as Charms professor. She truly enjoys working at Hogwarts, cheerfully indulging her students. She can be naive and is easily impressed.

Splendora loves her students and personally roots for each one to succeed. She takes the time learn the names, personalities and skill levels of her students and does her best to accomodate everyone and help them feel affirmed and loved. She always has her door open for any students who wish to talk to her about anything. She is honorable, charitable, accepting, loving and kind.

Despite her cheerfulness, Splendora is a mamma bear when it comes to her students. She would die for them and will not hesitate to destroy anybody who threatens them or their safety without mercy or remorse.

Magical Abilities and Skills
Splendora fought with the second incarnation of Dumbledore's Army and scored relatively well on her N.E.W.T.s and possesses above-average dueling skill. Charms is her best subject, however; she received an O in Charms every year from 1st to 7th and Flitwick once commented that she had a natural knack for the subject and he was sure she was destined for great things.
 * Charms: As Charms Mistress, Splendora is capable of effectively casting numerous charms and enchantments, ranging from conjuring simple decorations to the most advanced Shield Charms known. She is also able to conjure a Patronus, which is very advanced magic and concrete evidence of superior magical ability. She has also invented several spells of her own. Unlike her former Charms Master, she is not analytical about charms; she sees it as art or music, an extension of the self and one of the purest forms of self-expression.


 * Dueling: Splendora was Hogwarts Dueling Champion in her sixth and seventh years. Though she has not formally dueled in some time, she has retained the formidable dueling skills she learned during her time fighting with Dumbledore's Army.
 * Non-Verbal Magic: Splendora is also skilled in non-verbal magic. She is capable of casting even the most advanced charms without saying the incantations. As non-verbal magic is very difficult, this testifies to her being a truly powerful witch.
 * Music: Splendora is the Conductor of the Hogwarts Choir and has been since 2012 (taking over a disastrous run from Professor Mount).

Neville Longbottom
Neville, the current Herbology professor at Hogwarts, is Splendora's best friend and the love of her life. She was leader of Dumbledore's Army during the horror of the 1997-1998 school year and he saved dozens of lives and fought back against corruption and evil. He was the brave knight who saved her from a Cruciatis Curse and personally carried her to safety, like Superman. She's loved him wholey and truly since that day. He's married now and she knows they'll never be together, but she still loves him anyway and is determined to be the best friend she can be to him. The two are often seen hanging out or talking during free time and the pair often collaborate on events for the students.

Rose Granger-Weasley
Splendora adores little Rose, the enthusiastic and brainy little Gryffindor that reminds her so much of herself at that age. Splendora feels strangely protective of the girl and is quite fond of her.

Trivia

 * Splendora's favorite color is a tie between yellow and pink.
 * Her favorite song is "What I Like About You" by the Romantics.


 * Splendora has never had a boyfriend longer than a few weeks, as her feelings for Neville continually sabotaged any attempts she made at a relationship.
 * She's afraid of snakes.
 * A lover of dogs, cats and anything particularly fluffy.
 * Has tea with Hagrid once a week and has done so every week since she was hired.
 * Not a big fan of pumpkins or pumpkin flavored things, which is the one thing she can relate to Professor Mount over.
 * She's always wanted children but has resigned herself to the fact that she probably never will. She's okay with it, though; working at Hogwarts lets her be a mom to a thousand kids.
 * Volunteers with orphanages over the summer.
 * Has hugged a lion.