Micha Schäfer
 | |
| Micha Jurgen Schäfer | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 1 May 2001, 16 |
| City of Birth | London |
| Current City | London |
| Blood status | Half-blood |
| Physical Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Hair Colour | Brown |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Education | |
| School | Other School |
| Year | Sixth Year |
| Class of | 2019 |
| Character Information | |
| Mai | |
Physical
Much to Micha's relief, even at 10 years of age, it was already clear he was taking after his father in the vertical department. He was even the second tallest in his class - well, second tallest boy in his class. The girls all seemed to be speeding past them in the height department and, even if his mum insisted that was normal and he and his mates would catch up, Micha was a bit impatient about the matter. He couldn't wait to be tall - being tall had so many advantages.
Truth be told, Micha is of the opinion that he very much takes after his father in many different ways. People tended to overlook those similarities, on account of his father being whiter than a sheep in a snowstorm. That was what people tended to notice first. But, despite his obviously darker tone, Micha definitely thought he'd inherited his dad's bean stalky, gangly physique and quirky smile. Not to mention his dimples and prominent ear lobes. The brown eyes and curly dark hair, though, definitely came straight from him mum.
Micha's mum jokes that he's her easiest child to shop for with his fashion style of choice falls squarely in the 'casual utilitarian' category. When not wearing pajamas or school uniforms, jeans with t-shirts or sweats or active wear predominant his wardrobe. He was a broad array of trainers, athletic shoes and boots with pairs for practically any activity.
Personality
There's a ongoing-running family joke that personalities in the Schäfer household are a sex-linked genetic trait. While his sister takes after their mum in seriousness and academic talents, the boys seemed to have inherited their father's easy going personality and sense of humor. Of course, that doesn't completely work, given Anton and Amanda had a different mum. But, at the end of the day, it was an paradigm that worked.
Micha is outgoing, good-humored and prefers to seek friendships rather than conflict, though not nearly as impulsive as his older brother. Nor is he anywhere near as nerdy - not that he has anything against nerdiness. He likes the occasional action-adventure, hero movie and has nothing against playing video games for an hour or two when there's nothing else to do. But, his personal interests lean much more towards being outside and active or exploring. He loves to kayak, play sports or hike but rock climbing is one of his favorite past times. If he's not playing football or rugby with mates after school, Micha can often be found kicking back at the rock wall gym.
His academic performance can generally be described as 'fair-weather.' He has the potential to excel at anything he sets his mind to, as his mum is always reminding him, but he wouldn't say he meets every class with the same degree of motivation. Maths and literature are definitely his better subjects; science and history fall squarely in the 'do enough to not fail' category. Except when it came to dinosaurs - since he was a young kid, Micha has always had a thing for dinosaurs. Not that that will matter much in a few months, after Micha starts at his new school. Apparently, they have all different classes there - like brewing potions and playing with weird animals.
Though Micha has known about his magical abilities for over a year, it still very much feels like an abstract concept. Like having wisdom teeth. He knows they are there. He knows that not everyone has them but he hasn't used them, yet. His mum tries to hide her worries but she's never managed to do a very good job of it. His older brother clearly tries to hide his jealousy but, again, he's been pretty rubbish with it. As a result, Micha doesn't know what to make of the whole thing - and he's not sure how easy it'll be to fit in.
History
Until a year ago, if someone had asked Micha to explain his life, he would have shrugged and said it was just pretty normal. He was born on his birthday to his mum and dad. Presumably, he crawled and ran around the house doing the typical baby and toddler things until he started going to school. Then, he went to school when it was term and played with mates, went out to do fun things at their vacation home during the holidays or did sports. Holidays. Birthday presents. Sibling rivalries and shenanigans. Getting excited for World Cups and then pretending not to care when your team got bumped out way earlier than they should have.
Sure, there were some not-like-everyone-else details along the way. Like, Micha's mum wasn't really his brother and sister's mum. Theirs died in a car crash when they were both really young; Micha's mum was his dad's second wife. Especially when he was younger, Micha would occasionally worry that that would make it weird, especially after watching some particular movie or sitcom. But, there had never been any reason to worry. Their family had always worked and felt like a proper family - more so, it seemed, then some of his mates whose parents always fought or were divorced or should have been divorced.
There was also the whole being a premie bit. The story, apparently, involved his mum getting sick late in pregnancy and induced labor and Micha being on a ventilator for a month or so. Of course, Micha couldn't remember any of this and it would have fallen to the wayside as 'amusing life factoids' if it hadn't been for the hearing loss. But, being deaf had never gotten in Micha's way. Reading lips wasn't that difficult, unless the person tended to slur or had a thick, lip-deforming accent. Though his school-assigned aid during grade school had been a bit of a mar on his social life, his aid in middle school was a hip, young bloke who had blended in better with his mates.
All in all, until a year ago, life seemed by and large normal. But, then, a year ago ... well, a year ago, Micha had been clamboring over some steep rocks near their vacation home when he'd lost his grip and started falling. A moment before his head was about the connect with a jagged rock just submerged in the lake water below, he'd ... stopped falling. He'd simply hovered in thin air, staring up at the clear blue sky above until he'd shifted to the side and completed his fall into the harmless, yet cold water.
He'd expected his mum to dismiss his story as 'fanciful' when he returned dripping wet but, instead, she'd explained to him that her parents - her real parents, she had been adopted - had been witches and wizards. While she couldn't do magic, Micha must have inherited their ability. She'd explained the same to Anton, Amanda and their dad but had also explained that it was best - and safer - not to let people know. Like his mum's parents - whom Micha had never met - he could do things others couldn't do, though it was probably best he didn't. Those that could do magic lived in a different world and the worlds never crossed paths. Her real parents had sent her away when they discovered she couldn't do magic. She didn't want her birth parents learning that she'd had a son who was capable of magic, just in case they thought it was best he be raised by those who could do magic.
So, they kept it mostly quiet over the last year. At least until Anton came home one day and told Micha, very excitedly, that he'd met some other wizards. Anton told Micha - and their mum - that Micha would probably get accepted to some magical school and would learn to use his magic. It was clear that mum didn't entirely buy Anton's story - he was, after all, a little prone to excited exaggeration - but it was also clear that she was trying to hide her anxiousness from Micha and the rest of the family. Micha hoped Anton's story wasn't just excited exaggeration - Anton had been trying to convince their mum to let Anton take Micha to meet some of these witches and wizards.
