Tilden Toots
IN CHARACTER INFORMATION:
character name: Tilden Toots age & birthday: 24, July 20 pronouns: he/him blood status: muggleborn occupation: herbologist, potioneer & radio show host faceclaim: Elliot Fletcher
PERSONALITY TRAITS:
positive traits: kind, loyal, humble, easy-going, thoughtful negative traits: shy, insecure, scatterbrained, disorgainzed
KEY POINTS / BIOGRAPHY
tw: minor mentions of transphobia
I. childhood and hogwarts years: There was always something different about Tilden. He never identified with the name his mothers had given him, he didnât like being called a girl, always kept his hair short and he wasnât really into all of the traditional things girls his age liked. When people questioned it, his mothers simply shrugged it off, stating that it was just a phase, a wild imagination, and that he would grow out of it eventually. He never did grow out of it, but eventually he stopped correcting people. He let them say he was a girl and call him Tulip, it was clear that no one believed that he was a boy and he felt like he was wasting his breath repeating himself over and over again.
Everything changed when he was invited to attent Hogwarts. Tilden knew he was different, but he didnât know how different he was. He supposed, thinking about it, sometimes when he looked in the mirror his reflection changed right before his eyes, reflecting what he looked like in his head. Or when kids were mean to him, their shoes would sometimes untie themselves in order to trip them. He didnât realize they were cases of accidental magic, but learning about it, it did seem to make sense. He was excited to go to a new school, where kids wouldnât bully him because he was different. He would be allowed to be himself, and he couldnât wait. But all of his clothes were wrong, skirts instead of trousers, blouses instead of dress shirts. He hated his uniform, but he supposed he would have to make it work.
The Sorting Hat slipped on his head and it let out a small chuckle. Youâre going to thrive in Hufflepuff. Youâll find your true self, your true friends and your true calling. Tilden wasnât entirely sure what the hat meant, but he happily sat at the yellow table and introduced himself to his fellow badgers as Tulip. In the commonroom, however, things took a turn. He spent too long exploring and forgot to follow his classmates to the dorms, leaving him alone. He took a couple of steps towards the girls dormitory before the stairs turned into a slide, forcing him to slip and fall back down to the bottom. Frowning and frustrated, he tried again, only to be met with the same thing. Confused, he sat down on the sofa and began to cry. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe he wasnât magic after all and this was the school trying to kick him out. Footsteps came down the stairs and he attempted to hide himself behind one of the massive pillows, but the Head Boy spotted him easily and sat down beside him. âYour bags are upstairs, Tulip.â He said. Looking up to him with wide eyes, Tilden tried to wipe away his tears and explained that the stairs wouldnât let him in and that heâd have to go home. âWellâŚâ The Head Boy smiled, âIâm like you. When I first got here, the girls dorm wouldnât let me in, either. But I always knew deep down that I never really was a girl, and tried going to the boys dorm instead. My bags were up there and there was a bed ready for me. Did you try the other stairs?â Tilden shook his head no, the Head Boy stood up and took his hand, leading him into the boys dorms instead. âSee? This is where youâre meant to be⌠Er, what should I call you?â âTilden.â He replied immediately.
It was a confusing time, not only for himself, but for everybody around him as well. Some of the other boys didnât believe him, saying he didnât belong. But, for every one person that called him a liar, there were two others who supported him. With the help of the Head Boy, Tilden became much more comfortable in himself. He was still shy and quiet, keeping to himself most of the time, but he did have a small group of friends that were loving and supportive of him. Eventually it blew over, people stopped targeting him and he was able to live his life. Thanks to magic and the school matron, Tilden was able to alter his appearance slightly, still looking like himself but making his features more masculine, looking more like the self he always pictured in his head. Although, one spell did go wrong and he ended up sprouting a third thumb during his fifth year. The matrons offered to attempt to remove it, but Tilden didnât mind it too much, despite the fact that heâd always been made fun of for being different, he felt like that was a part of him he didnât want to take away, and a third thumb was definitely different.
Dealing with personal issues during his first few years at school, Tilden wasnât the best student. It was hard to focus when there was so much going on in his head. After his fourth year, he started doing better, but he always did well in Herbology. Plants were simple, and he liked taking care of something. He started doing better in Potions, finding with concentration he was able to brew almost anything that was presented to him. He wasnât very skilled with his wand, finding the more hands-on subjects to be his forte, but he managed to get through all of his O.W.L.s with nothing lower than an A.
II. during the first wizarding war: Hired right out of Hogwarts at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Tilden was happy with his job. He was initially hired to help out with taking care of their plants and working cash, but he was able to quickly move up became their head potioneer. He was essentially able to choose his own hours, as long as the orders done on time, it didnât really matter what he did. Although he spent most of his time in the back, he found it to be rather boring. After two years, Tilden decided he wanted to open his own Apothecary, and set up shop on the opposite end of Diagon Alley. His shop became a bit of a hot-spot for Death Eaters, he realized that perhaps he shouldnât have offered such a variety of potions and ingredients.
But, Death Eaters werenât always the smartest people, he learned, and it was rather easy to get information out of them. Tilden had their trust, he was able to get information out of them easily if he simply asked the right questions. He wasnât really prepared to risk his life and join the fight, but he couldnât sit idly by and hold on to this information. Managing to land a weekly spot on the Wizarding Wireless Network, Tilden started his own radio show, Toots, Shoots 'n' Roots. To the average listener, it sounded like boring chatter about Herbology and Potions, but to those who were able to decode his messages, he was speaking in code to the members of the Order, giving out useful information. It was risky, but he was never caught, and he wasnât even sure if anybody had ever picked up on his codes, but Tilden felt as though he was doing the right thing.
III. where are they now?: With the war over, Tilden still continued to keep his business and his radio show. Now that he didnât have any information to give, it did turn into an hour a week of him simply going on about Herbology and Potions, but it was fun for him and gave him something to do. He could hardly hold a conversation with anybody outside of his usual friend group and felt like doing his show gave him good practice at speaking.
Because heâd spent so much time tending to plants, all three of his thumbs turned an interesting shade of green. He never sought out a healerâs help for it, though, thinking it added more character to him. His business was successful, and his radio show began getting more traction, people actually enjoyed listening to him and hearing what he had to say. He started getting recognized every now and again, mostly from his voice, and it came to a shock to him every time. But, surprisingly, Tilden found it rather easy to speak to his fans. It was as if he was speaking into his microphone, but if the conversation shifted away from Herbology or Potions, he reverted back to his usual shy self.
