OOC
Name: Suzanne
Age: 19
AIM: Zanne Turtle
Experience: http://zanne-turtle.insanejournal.com/375.html#cutid1 ;
Sponsor: Meg
PB: Larisa Oleynik
PB Picture: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v324/Zanne_turtle/Icons/Larisa Oleynik/loss230.jpg


BASICS
Name: Grace Mira Underwood
Nicknames: Gracie
Name Meaning: Her parents had been trying to have a baby for over thirty years, resulting in three miscarriages, and one still born until their only child was born. They named her Grace, since they believed her to be one of God's favours to them. Her middle name means “peace”.
Birthday: May 19, 2006
Sign: Taurus
Astrological Significance: Their gentle good natures, open friendliness, hard work, patience, and politeness endear them to most everyone they meet. However, these Hufflepuff Taureans must be careful not to overwork themselves, lest they suffer breakdowns in health. (It has been noticed that Hufflepuffs born under the sign of Taurus swing wildly between overwork and indolence, the lazy periods being used to recharge their energy; they seem to have a problem pacing themselves.) They like their magical workrooms neat and tidy, and prefer peaceful occupations.
House and Year: Hufflpuff sixth year
Sexuality: Straight

Courses: Herbology, Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures
Bloodline: Muggleborn
Nationality: English
Home: Ulverston, England
Mother: Constance Englebert
Father: Elliot Underwood
Siblings: An annoying cat named Pinky who meows nonstop until he gets his way.

HISTORY
Constance and Elliot met by chance in the summer of 1960. Constance was paying her way through University as a secretary to a travel agency, while Elliot was planning to go on holiday to India. As he waited for an agent, Elliot began making small talk with Constance. Admittedly, there wasn't an attraction at first for either of them. She was soft spoken, her face too long and plain to be considered pretty, and her hair was pulled away from her face in a tight bun. He was a rather heavyset man, who had once been the star of his schools' wrestling team, but now had the start of a belly. His words were spoken loudly, a teasing tone as he commented on her hair. He told joke after joke, trying to get her to at least crack a smile. Finally, after he had nearly given up, she let out a reluctant giggle as he commented on a rather stern-faced employee. Heartened by the laugh, he relentlessly continued his jokes until she gave in and laughed loudly at a stupid joke about a snail. Later in life, when their daughter asked when her dad knew that he loved her mom, Elliot responded that he knew the first Constance laughed.

Her laugh wasn't the sound of belles or anything ridiculous like that. She has an embarrassing, snorting laugh. As she tried to cover the sound, he stared at her with a wide grin and told her how adorable he thought her laugh was. She blushed and he was called to talk with the travel agent. Afterwards, he left with a smile in her direction and neither of them expected to see each other again. During the next few weeks, however, he thought of her laugh several times. With each passing of the memory, her appearance improved until he thought she was beautiful. The first thing he did when he got back to ___ was unpack, the second was eating a huge piece of cooked cow. The THIRD thing he did, was go back to the travel agency and ask Constance out on a date. Too surprised to say no, she accepted (after all, it's hard to forget someone with a presence like him). Unfortunately, Elliot was disappointed with the girl sitting in front of him. He was so convinced that she was lovely, but when he saw her, he realized how plain she really was. If not for her name tag, he would have walked right past her, looking for the girl he knew to be the lovely Constance. Even though he was disappointed, he had already asked her out, and it would be too rude to retract the invitation.

As early as their first date, they discovered a problem that would last for the first few months of their relationship: Constance was three inches taller than Elliot (with heels, to be fair). When he had seen her, she had been sitting behind a desk, and now...well, this was awkward. They both assumed the date would end quickly and disastrously, so they ate hurriedly through their first course at the nice restaurant he took her to. Lucky for Grace, her parents hit it off by the time their second course was set on the table. They complemented each other perfectly in temperament and they had several things in common. Elliot couldn't stop staring as Constance became lovelier before his eyes. Her height meant nothing to him, as he was falling fast and hard for the woman. Constance was more reserved and cautious. She knew she wasn't anything special to look at and each time he told her how lovely she was, she disbelieved him more and more. She was therefore surprised when he asked her out for a second date. Blushing and hesitant, she agreed.

Three months after their first date, Elliot proposed the best way he knew how—at a football match. Constance stared a him for a full minute before finally agreeing to marry him on one condition: they would have a very long engagement. He agreed and four days later, they were married (he never was a patient man). For the first year of their marriage, the Underwood's lived with Constance's parents, Eugene and Fern. Elliot was gone for most of every day, trying to earn enough money so he could put a down payment on a house for his new wife. After a year, he succeeded,, buying a small cottage in Ulverston (far, far away from the Englebert's). There were only two bedrooms, but the garden had potential to be something great. Besides, once they had their second child (they both wanted a really large family), they would buy something more suitable. They tried to have a baby the second year of their marriage and after another year, Constance was finally pregnant. Thrilled, she told everyone she knew and went straight out to buy what she would need. Sadly, the baby wasn't meant to be. A few days before her second trimester, Constance lost the baby. Devastated, she shut down, spending her days at work, her afternoons and nights in her garden. She rarely spoke and ate even less. Elliot tried everything he could to bring his wife back to him, but nothing seemed to work.

In desperation, Elliot forced his wife to go to the local church to find spiritual healing. To his surprise, Constance loved being at the church. Three years later, Constance had healed enough of her pain to be more like she was before her loss. They tried for another baby and this time, it took even longer for her to get pregnant. She lost the baby before she had even been able to find out she was pregnant. They tried again. Their third pregnancy went off without a hitch. Constance was confined to her bed with strict orders to not leave it for anything. When she went into labor, she had the best doctors from around the area at her side. Not even they could have saved the small, pale, still born baby.

After that, Constance gave up trying to have her own baby and the couple applied for adoption. Each child they met with just wasn't right. Certainly they would be able to love the child, but it would never be theirs. They searched for the right child for them during the next several years, in which Constance went through yet another miscarriage.

At the age of 35, the Underwood's gave up their search for the perfect child. It wasn't going to happen for them and instead of making a random pick, the two decided to concentrate on their marriage. If they couldn't have a baby to love, then they would have to settle with loving each other and themselves. The two acted like they did when they first met, using their baby money on various trips around the world. They fell madly in love once again, even though a part of them was missing.

At 47, Constance and Elliot were more than happy with their lives. They still owned their small cottage and their garden was absolutely gorgeous. They were content to spoil their nieces and nephews, since it was the best they could do. In the middle of prayer (they both had become deeply religious at this time), Constance was overcome by a bout of stomach flu and was forced to run to the bathroom. Her stomach flu lasted for several weeks, but Constance refused to acknowledge that something was wrong. She was sure she was just menopausal. The age was right for it, after all. It wasn't until she was four months pregnant did she go see a doctor. He told her the happy news, though her face registered nothing but shock and anguish. She reluctantly told Elliot her news, but neither of them expected the pregnancy to last. Each day, they wondered how long it would be until she miscarried. She didn't, though, and on May 19, 2006, Grace Mira Underwood was born, weighing a healthy 9 pounds and 7 ounces.

Grace was ADORED by her parents. For the first night home, every ten minutes one of her parents would come in to check on her. The second bedroom of their house had been closed for a very long time, with all the things Constance had bought when she was 20 still in their places.

Grace was a fairly normal child, but more sheltered than others her age. She grew up in a small village with her and four others who were around the same age. They traveled several miles to school, and even that school was small. Her friends were her neighbors and (much older) cousins. Her best friend was a quiet boy a few months older than her by the name of Philip Johnson. The two of them formed a close friendship and spent all their free time together.

Of course, she was a witch in an otherwise Muggle neighborhood. Strange things tended to happen when she was upset, but her parents thought it was just because she was such a special person. On the day she turned eleven, a stranger appeared at their door with the sensational news that Grace was a witch and should they choose to let her, could attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For the first time in her life, Grace begged for something. She wanted this more than she had ever wanted anything else in her life. Constance and Elliot finally agreed to let their daughter go in mid-July of that year. Her first kiss happened on September first, when she was about to leave for London. Philip had waited around his house, waiting for her to come outside. When she did with her trunk, he took it from her and loaded it into the car. Shuffling his feet awkwardly, he admitted to fancying her and was upset that she was leaving. She kissed him, then, promising that she would be back for holidays.

At Hogwarts, Grace kept to the background of her house, working by herself. She doesn't talk much to people outside of her house and she tends to have awkward pauses in conversation with people she doesn't know very well. During the holidays, she spends her time with Philip, who is still as sweet as ever (even if he does look like a member from a punk band).

SIGNIFICANT CHILDHOOD MEMORY

The hardest and most exciting moment for Grace was her first day of primary school. It was the first day that she was really away from her parents. Tears were in abudance for both Grace and her parents. After twenty minutes of clinging to her dad, Phillip finally arrived at the school and instantly managed to get Grace to stop crying and meet everyone else. Grace had spent the entire day clinging to his hand, shyly talking with the other students. Of course she missed her parents, but it was her first step toward independence...well, as independent as Grace can ever be.

PERSONALITY
Grace is a sweetheart. She genuinely loves people and if someone she hardly knew asked her for help, she wouldn't hesitate to do whatever they needed. However, it gets her into trouble because she can't tell someone “no”. Grace is the student who would do all the work, yet give equal credit to her partner for only a “thank you” in return. Being the only, and much awaited for child of her parents, Grace was sheltered from the negative side of life. She has no reason to believe someone would lie to her or trick her in any way. She's rather naïve and had no idea that there was an alternate definition to the word “gay” until her third year at Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, Grace has a teeny, tiny problem of fangirling. Besides for an embarrassed giggle and subtle blushing, her habit is under control. She comes off as being exceptionally friendly to the people she looks up to. She has several boys she fangirls, but she'd never admit that she has them on a pedestal. She also has an obsessive personality. If she likes something, she'll buy whatever it is in bulk, just in case she runs out before she can get back to the shop. This includes shoes, pillows, shirts, sweets, hair products. Anything and everything.

APPEARANCE
Height: 5'3
Weight: Far too high of a number, in her opinion. She weighs 138 pounds, the extra weight located in her chest and hips. Her weight is the only part of her body that she's embarrassed about. She refuses to wear anything form fitting or things that show too much skin. In her mind, she weighs two hundred pounds. She's tried dieting and exercising with little to no results. She's meant to be more curved and there's nothing she can do about it.
Eyes: Dark brown
Hair: Light brown or dark blonde, depending on the lighting.
Defining Marks: A small smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.
Style: Very casual without much style involved. Mostly whatever is comfortable and easy to care for. Usually here clothes are shapeless and in boring colours.

ROMANCE
Status: In a relationship for the past two years.
Partner: A muggle boy named Philip Johnson who has been Grace's neighbor since they were infants.
Turn Ons: A nice smile, ability to find laughter in most situations, dark hair, curls, blue eyes, kindness, someone who's not like most people
Turn Offs: Insults, bad teeth, bad breath
First Kiss: With Philip (of course) when they were eleven.
First Sexual Encounter: During the winter holiday last year when Philip and Grace had a bit too much wine with dinner.
Past Relationships: None.

SAMPLE ENTRY
I'm in Italy! Daddy's business trip got pushed back a few days when my mum found out that the entire point of the trip was so Daddy could spend the evenings drinking with his friends. Daddy's not usually so sneaky, but Mum really doesn't like his friends. Something about being a "corrupting influence", but that's all I gathered from their discussion. As it were, I had to beg her to let me go with Daddy. How many times could I have the opportunity to see Italy?

Oh, it's so lovely. This is my second day here, and I'm in the hotel room, waiting for Daddy to get back with his friends. I'm not allowed to go exploring on my own, but I don't mind at all. The hotel room is absolutely fantastic, and when I open my window, I can hear the people on the street speaking Italian. I've been amusing myself by trying to translate what they're saying. Daddy bought this neat little translation book, and it's really easy to follow. He can translate a lot more Italian then I can. I'm really bad at it, unfortunately. I wish I knew more than just Hello, Good-bye, Thank you, You're welcome, and how to find my way back to the hotel in case I ever get lost.

The book really came in handy last night. Daddy felt bad that I had to stay in the hotel, while he went out, so he invited me to come along with him. His friends were really nice, but I didn't talk to them very much. Instead, they had this really fun billards table at the pub, so I spent the time doing that. At the end of the night, I had gotten quite good at it since I had been playing for a few hours. A few really nice blokes played with me throughout the night, and they were really helpful when trying to show me how to properly play. It was really odd, though. One of the blokes bet that if I won, he would buy me a drink. That's not the odd part, of course. What's odd is that we had played a few games against each other before, and he was really good at it. Yet for that game, I ended up winning. I think he may have let me win on purpose, but that really wasn't fair.

Daddy said that I'm not allowed to go back with him, though. I think it had something to do with what happened just before we left. I was playing billards with these two boys, who were around my age. They were really nice, and they even offered to give me a tour of the town to "show me a good time". I wasn't about to tell them that Daddy would never let me go, but I really appreciated the offer. They said something in Italian then, but I had no idea what it was. Unfortunately Daddy heard, and he wasn't happy at all. We left then and came back to the hotel. It took me about an hour, but I finally pieced together what they had said with my translation book. They said something about "she has something to hold onto". I thought that was pretty ridiculous to say, since I wasn't holding anything at the time. I don't know, I guess Italian blokes are just strange or it was a different sort of humour than I'm used to.

Oh! Room service is here. Bye!!

Sample Log

"Good morning, Daddy!" Grace greeted, chipperly, with a broad smile on her face, despite the hour of the morning. She placed her hands on the back of his chair and swooped down to kiss his cheek. "I hope you slept well. Has Mum already gone to church?"

"Mmm," her father nodded, as Grace sat herself down on her usual chair and began pouring herself a bowel of cereal. Elliot halted his fork halfway to his mouth to smile at his daughter and respond to her. "Mornin', luv. Mum left about ten minutes ago. She wanted me to remind you that you need to weed the garden today. When she gets back from church, she said she'd help you. God only knows when she'll get back, though." Every Thursday morning for the last sixteen years, Constance Underwood had gone to the small church located in their village to pray for her blessings, and to help the church with various charity work and fundraisers.

"I should be able to get it done without Mum's help." Grace swirled her cereal around in the bowel with her spoon. She wanted to get started, but she also wanted to see her dad before he left for work. "I did most of it yesterday when Mum was at work. You know there hasn't been much to do here since Phillip left for school. You know, it's really not fair that I have a longer holiday than he does."

Elliot bent his head to the side, coughing loudly. Bringing out his handkerchief to his mouth, Grace looked on worriedly until he rightened again. "Now, none of that from you, Miss!" He chuckled, seeing her expression. "I won't have you fussing over me, too. You're mother does that enough as it is! Just getting a bit of heartburn, that's all." He bent over again with his handkerchief. "It keeps getting to me."

Grace frowned in concern, reaching over to touch his hand. "Daddy are you alri--" She cut herself off midsentence, staring at his handkerchief. "Daddy...is that BACON?!" Her mouth parted in surprise, taking the handkerchief away from him, revealing a small piece of bacon. She stared at him, accusingly. "You've been sneaking in bacon this entire time. How did you...no, I don't even want to know that. Oh, Daddy, Mum is going to be SO angry if she finds out!"

"There's no need to go and do that, luv," he hastily replied, looking shamefaced. "You don't need to make her more upset and worried than she already is."

Grace gestured towards the napkin, her eyes wide. "Daddy...you're sneaking BACON at the breakfast table. You have a bad heart! You have horrid cholesterol! You're not allowed to have bacon at the breakfast table!"

"I'm perfectly well aware of what I am and am not allowed to have, Grace." His tone had remained just as cheerful as it always was, though his eyes had narrowed marginally. "I'm a grown man, and no doctor is going to tell me what I can and cannot eat. Besides," he sighed, heavily. "This is the last of it and I can't go to the store since your Mum has told everyone there that I'm on a diet."

Grace picked up her bowl of soggy cereal and his empty plate. "I was going to do the same thing if Mum hadn't done that. You know I just worry about you, Daddy." Setting the dishes in the sink, she walked back to his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. "I want you to be around for years and years and years longer. You have to see my wedding, and be a proud granddad to half a dozen grandbabies."

"That had better not happen for twenty more years, Miss." He patted her arm affectionately. "I'm not ready for you to get married yet."

Grace smiled and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, I still have ages to go before then. I should start weeding the garden before it gets too hot. Make sure to come and get me before you leave for work."

"I will, luv," he said with a smile as she let go of him and started outside. "Don't work too hard. I'll try to leave early so we can have dinner together." With a smile in return and a nod, Grace walked out of the house, shutting the door behind her.