MARLENE MCKINNON
22 who works as a HIT WITCH. They are a PUREBLOOD who currently sides with the DEATH EATERS. Their pronouns are SHE/HER and look like KATHERINE MCNAMARA.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER
Personality
+ Determined -- Marlene won’t stop doing what she is doing until she gets what she wants, she’s known for doing whatever needs to be done. She doesn’t take no for an answer, despite probably needing to at times. Her determination is something that she’s proud of, even if people think it’s her being stubborn. She’s willing to fight for what she want’s given that nothing is going to be handed to her. + Self-less -- Marlene’s number one priority is her friends and her family but never herself. She’d give up her own life to ensure that someone else that she loves lives. It’s hard for her to see someone she cares about struggle and will do anything to help them. She’s even gone as far as lying to protect a friend, even if it doesn’t end well. + Kind Hearted -- Marlene’s best quality would have to be her urge to help people. She’d never let someone she loved suffer if she could help it. Perhaps it was because it was how her mother raised her. It was the example that had always been given to her from day one of her life. When you love someone you take care of them, and when the tables turn you know that they’re going to be there for you. Marlene definitely needs the good karma in her life considering all the trouble she’s gotten herself into in the past. - Hard Headed -- Marlene doesn’t give up, even when everyone including herself believes that she should. She’ll fight until her last breath. - Loud mouthed -- Marlene knows what to say to get on people’s nerves but likewise she doesn’t know when to stop. She’ll push people to their limits and more often then not she ends up in a more negative situation then a positive. Sarcastic answers are her specialty, even to a professor if they piss her off enough. This trait ties into her determinedness, as people often call her stubborn. - Reckless -- Marlene doesn’t think when she gets involved with something or someone. She just jumps in without question. She’s a devoted person but she’s also quick to action without thinking.
School
Coming from the line of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin she had already made up her mind of wanting to be sorted into Gryffindor. A request that was answered with no hesitation as the hat billowed out and she marched over to where she would spend her next seven years. Marlene was able to pass her courses thanks to the marks she got on her tests and the notes that she borrowed from her classmates. There was no denying that she was smart but the largest thing she seemed to struggle with was that she found herself wanting to work with her hands over sitting and reading like they asked from her in class. A reason that explained why Marlene seemed to be at her best while running the halls and spending her afternoons lazing in the sun. That wasn’t to say Hogwarts didn’t come with challenges–Marlene was a naturally social person and didn’t grasp that as a pureblood, the McKinnon’s were considered better than others. While it seemed, others had been raised to believe this since birth Marlene had been given the gift of free choice. Soon, Marlene had come to realize that had likely been the reason your father had packed the family up and moved, he’d wanted to spare his children from growing up the way Adira Parkinson had wanted.
Bio
As luck would have it, greatness was supposed to come together in the form the Parkinson’s’ oldest daughter and the McKinnon’s’ oldest son and it would be a cold day in hell before either would let their parents down. Marshall McKinnon and Adira Parkinson-McKinnon had two separate stances on the world around them long before Voldemort was known around the Wizarding World. Marshall didn’t fall prey to the notion that purebloods were more worthy of their magic, but Adira was a true Parkinson, a true pureblood, in every move she made. Every decision was calculated and determined to uphold the purity of her blood line. Even still with the differences before them, when they were tasked with marriage after their graduation neither one of them dared to question what was was expected of them and proceeded to marry and produce an heir that joined the two families for life. Marcel had been everything they’d wanted out of a son, a heir who was everything that Adira wanted. But shortly after Marcel had turned one another blessing surprised the young couple, Adira had fallen pregnant once more. Enter little Marlene came into the world with perfect blonde curls and striking green hues that captured your father’s heart. It was decided quickly that the McKinnon family would retire back to the Scottish Highlands where his extended family resided. Raising children in the middle of Europe and with the mentality that was now being shoved down their throats wasn’t something that Marshall wanted either of his children subjected to. Adira was less than pleased but when push came to shove if that’s where her son was going then that was where she’d follow.
Growing up in the McKinnon manor nestled deep in the Isle of Skye, Marlene’s upbringing was unorthodox to say the least. There was no question and no doubt that your father adored everything about his little girl but the fact remained that Marshall was far too flighty in raising his children with the work he had to attend to. Even in Scotland there was no doubting the Auror was in high demand, whispers of how he presented himself in his work had resulted in him being sought out by many. Every need and every want were answered, Marlene had anything that she asked for to make up for the lack of attention from either parent. Adira hadn’t wanted that second child; she’d found her heir in Marcel thus most of her attention was focused on raising the proper solider while Marlene was left to amuse herself. There was comfort in her paternal grandparents who dragged Marlene around with them every which way they went, noticing the lack of stability one should receive from a parent. Even with all the setbacks, Marlene was blissfully unaware that this wasn’t how life was supposed to be, she was a happy child. Marlene and her family would live this way happily until Marcel turned eleven and Marlene just shy of nine, Hogwarts was calling upon him and Adira had let Marshall drag them out here long enough. It was time that he get a proper education that his father didn’t seem thrilled about giving him. Marlene could feel the tension, but you did as she was told, giving a tearful good-bye to her grandparents and heading back with the family to a cozy home in Godric’s Hollow. The next two years were immensely different for Marlene who was more often than not left to find friends to play with in the neighborhood while her father returned to his work for the Ministry as an Auror and her mother did… whatever it was that Adira did.
The two years between returning from Scotland and turning eleven were the absolute loneliest time of Marlene’s life. But when that letter from Hogwarts arrived it was easy to see why a mixture of nerves and excitement coursed through the young witch. The breaks when Marcel was home, he would share stories of the friends he made, the classes he took, the clubs that he’d join and of course Quidditch, something Marlene loved like most children in the Wizarding World did. It was her brother who kept by her side and helped her get her robes, pickup her books, and it was he who was there when Marlene had to choose a wand. He’d only been thirteen at the time but he’d always seemed older than what he really was, something the youngest McKinnon wouldn’t grasp on to until much later.
Returning home from her seventh year at Hogwarts with the dreams that she held and hopes that she had for herself she realized what was going on while she was away. Her parents weren’t seeing eye to eye and the situation had escalated to the point that her mother was leaving the Mansion, after thirty years together her parents were going their separate ways. Standing in the McKinnon manor between her parents she knew what she was going to do as she moved to stand by her father and watch as her mother left. There was no question as the remaining three McKinnons stood together that they felt they’d made the right decision. The Order was calling their name and a difference needed to be made.
Upon Marlene’s completion of her education through Hogwarts it was simple for her to make her way into the career of her choice. Marlene had grown up listening to the stories of the Hit Witches and Wizards that worked for the Ministry and how they were called in to defuse the chaotic situations and to make the tough calls when necessary. It was in the chaos that Marlene thrived, some people froze in a fast-moving situation but for her it was like time slowed down, enabling her to see things clearer than she normally would. There was no denying she was one of the best in the department–most of her poor marks stemming from the inability to remember that her wand was her greatest weapon. The fiery blonde preferred a hands-on attempt at things and more often than not would throw a punch at the perfect moment. Marlene’s career was something she took pride in and to have a child so well looked at in the Ministry resulted in something that Marlene had never had before, Adira was proud of her youngest child. At any given moment Marlene was expected to attend a function where she would make her mother look good and plaster a smile on her face–in turn she was able to evade the traditional idea of an arranged marriage that would bring honor to the blood line. As long as Marlene kept her nose to the ground and kept her place in the Hit Witch department then her mother was willing to let things continue as they were.
The decision to join the Order wouldn’t be an easy one for Marlene. Adira saw a weakness she could exploit, Marcel was finally in a good place, with no parents breathing down his neck. He had a freedom that he’d never had before. It was made clear to Marlene that if she didn’t join the Death Eaters then it would be Marcel and her father that paid the price. There was no question as to what Marlene would do from there. Marcel had practically raised her given the fact her parents were more dysfunctional than anything else–he’d sacrificed so much for her. She’d sooner die than allow her mother to take away the happiness her brother had found. She joined the Death Eaters, keeping the secret from everyone and alienating herself from family and friends alike. She sits at the table listening to Voldemort preach despite her entire body screaming how wrong it all is. Marlene would love an out to the situation she’s in but instead she’s stuck on a side she doesn’t believe in to protect the people she loves most.
Wanted Connections
Mentor: This person can work for the Hit Department or the Auror Department, or perhaps even be a Death Eater. They should see some of themselves in Marlene and want to help her. This can be a strong friendship, a relationship built on mutual respect, or it could simply be an alliance out of desperate times.
Best Friend: This person would have been Marlene’s best friend since birth, or close to it, they should have bonded over mutual things and been inseparable. They should be able to tell that Marlene’s life is currently in shambles and see her pulling away.
Snippets from canon and admins
Marlene is a natural blonde but when on missions for the Death Eaters her hair is charmed red.
Marlene is currently TAKEN and played by ASH.
