UM: Bailey Ford

- loud like his owner; peeps when he wants to be picked up, fed, or fight
- protective, thinks he's much larger than he is
- also thinks he belongs in the air with the owls
- CONVINCED HE IS AN OWL, TRIES TO DELIVER LETTERS ON HIS OWN
- (Bailey is not yet aware that Knuckles will grow. One of her siblings convinced her that he was a rare breed of duck that stayed small forever, out of fear that Bailey would instead pick a frog, kiss it every day, and return home with warts.)

" Do you think you can use Expelliarmus on myself ? I ' m gonna try ! ExpelliaaAAAAA - "

doting | dilligent | friendly | loud | L O U D | rambunctious | not-so-bright | daredevil | naive

Bailey's appearance can be painfully deceiving when first meeting her. One minute, calm and collected, the next, accidentally tumbling off a moving staircase. She's incredibly childish; turning little things into competitions ("Okay, but I betcha I can make a potion that creates infinite nose-running faster than you"), shouting to friends who are very far away, regardless of distance or setting, or - more commonly - getting herself into all manner of pinches. Logic is almost completely lost on her - along with human limitations, and the laws of gravity - and she is almost always attempting some new, outlandish, and, more often than not, relatively dangerous antic.

She attaches herself to acquaintances and friends very quickly, and requires a lot of hugging and snuggling to make it through hard times (or pop quizzes). Despite this, she loves smothering on her loved ones in affection and recklessly spoiling them when she can, and will never hesitate when asked for a favour.

" I gotta get back to Hogwarts , I gotta get back to school ! "

Neil and Penny Ford met at a fairly young age, and fell in love only a short while later. They had plenty in common; both easing through university, passionate about their affection, and finishing each others sentences. They were married only a few years later with a daughter on the way. Due to their abundantly loving natures, Bailey grew up to be an aggressively friendly and careless child who spoke her mind loudly and clearly and tried to make friends at every turn she made. From a young age, she was a social butterfly and loved meeting new people, finding new ways to "help," (13 cans of beans on the burner, mom will be so happy to come home and realize dinner is all ready!!), and learning new things - and her parents couldn't have been prouder.

Discovering her magic was a huge development in both Bailey's and her family's life. At first, Neil and Penny Ford thought they were seeing things as objects slid across the floor, lights went out with a bang, or Bailey's hair was slightly suspended in midair. But when push came to shove (and they witnessed a large rat shrink to the size of a marble) neither could deny there was something else going on. For a long year, the family struggled with what to do; every abnormal occurrence was harmless, but unpredictable. Both Ford's began to realize that they couldn't raise their children with the carefree approach they had always dreamed of, and while Bailey was yet unaware that anything was seriously wrong, Neil and Penny enveloped themselves in research.

Neither had kept themselves attuned to any sort of news until this point, but with the realization that their daughter was maybe not entirely human and - in fact - in danger, they knew that things had to change. For her own safety, Bailey was pulled from school and picked up homeschooling with her mother, who gave up her job to keep her child company. Neil and Penny agreed it was time Bailey had siblings, and adopted a houseful of pets for her. Five siblings and nine pets (all curiously shrunk to the size of toys) later, Bailey had somewhat recovered from the withdrawal of school and was producing an abundance of miniature fireworks in the comfort of her home.

That's when the first letter came. At first, Neil and Penny were suspicious - it seemed too convenient to be real - but as more letters arrived by more and more owls and Bailey inevitably found one, the time for confrontation finally arrived. Bailey sat down with her parents one night and was officially told of her magic abilities for the first time. Though she had been living a happy-go-lucky life, Bailey hadn't been completely free of worries. She knew something was wrong when she was withdrawn, and was lonely despite the company of her family. She confessed that reading the letter had given her hope - the chance to be around people again, explore her abilities, make friends again.

For the sake of their daughter's happiness, Neil and Penny decided that Bailey's attendance would be for the best. Though there were many tearful goodbye's, Bailey was happily seen off to her first year. And nothing could have been better for her; with a wand to help control her magic and no need to watch her mouth or actions, Bailey found a second home at Hogwarts. Over her four years of attendance, Bailey's personality was able to shine to the fullest, and though passing classes wasn't the easiest for her, she found her time spent in class as valuable as time spent out. With every passing year she only became more passionate about magic, and more determined than ever to make both her own and her family's lives better with her newfound skills.

Though inching her way into the wizarding world was an adventure in and of itself, being sorted was when she realized she belonged. She didn't know much about the houses - aside from what she had learned through whispers in Diagon Alley or passing comments on the Hogwarts Express - but Gryffindor was a warm and welcoming group of people. Though she felt like she had similarities with people from her house, making friends was a much less easy feat than she had imagined; in her tween years as a muggle, she had developed a slightly guarded attitude towards everyone, an edge formed by being unsure about her parent's worries and her own less-than-normal abilities. And despite her excitement, being thrown into a strictly-magical environment was more of a transition than she had been prepared for.

There were no classes she particularly excelled at, the owl's every morning gave her a fright, and it was hard to find a good balance of being friendly without bowling people over with enthusiasm or being too afraid to really express herself, but Bailey persisted through the prolonged awkward loneliness. Learning to cast spells - real spells - and having an explanation for all the explainable was a passion she never lost interest in. Through trial and error, she maintained as positive an attitude as she could and pressed her way through her first and second years.

Her third year smoothed out a bit when she signed up for astronomy and divination, electives she not only fell in love with, but wasn't too shabby at either. More people knew her now, and having been at Hogwarts for a while and having broken out of her guarded shell, Bailey felt less alone. Though she still found it a little difficult to make new friends without scaring them off (with either her height or her knocking them over with affection), it was a work in progress and an improvement from her first year. Through her third and fourth year, despite still struggling with studies, being too tall, making seemingly basic mistakes, and accidentally running head first into columns, she became gradually more accepting of herself and the mistakes she'd make, and aimed to face the next couple years at school with a big smile.

Stance: Though her parents are vividly aware of the muggle/magic situation, they kept most of what they knew from Bailey, who never learned much about it on her own. Though she is vaguely aware of the conflict, she never fully comprehended how big a deal it was. They're not so different, after all... right?

- [ Neil Ford - father | muggle ]
- [ Penny Ford - mother | muggle ]
- [ Hardy, Max, Ruby, Nancy, and Berenstein Ford - younger siblings ]

- She headbutts people to get their attention - some times more gently than others.
- Not good with animals, particularily large animals. Ones that can fit in the palm of her hand are acceptable.
- When she's not tripping over the ball or being distracted by something, Bailey's loves exercise and is a fair athlete.
- Isn't entirely self-aware of her own height
- Loves to help where she can; sometimes hurts more than she helps

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