Duncan Williams
Ilvermorny's Potions Master
Post colour: #43A374

ⅰ basics

Name: Duncan Williams
Nicknames: Dunkin Donuts (to Mel ONLY)
Gender: Male
Date of birth: 6th June 2058
Age: 34
Current Occupation: Ilvermorny's Potions Professor
Previous Occupation: Private tutor | Wizarding Elementary School teacher | Apothecary worker
Place of birth: Mobile, Alabama, United States
Current place of residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Fluent in: French, American-English
Relationship Status: I like my women like I like my coffee

ⅱ appearance

Height: 6’0”
Hair colour: Almost black
Eye colour: Dark brown/almost black
Looks like: Pierre Abena

ⅲ magical info

School/House: Horned Serpent / Ilvermorny
Heritage: Mixed Blood (No-Maj father, witch mother)
Wand: 13
Patronus: Hm.
Boggart: None of your business
Amortentia: What did I say?

ⅳ family

Father: Logan Williams (deceased)
Mother: Dakota Williams (nee Mosely)
Twin Sister: Melanie Williams

ⅴ education

AUGUST 2062 - MAY 2064
W.H. Council Traditional School

AUGUST 2064 - MAY 2069
Homeschooled - First in Le Feu, AL, then Philadelphia, PA

SEPTEMBER 2069 - JUNE 2076
Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mount Greylock - Horned Serpent

SEPTEMBER 2076 - JUNE 2080
Wizarding University of Boston, Massachusetts - Advanced Potions major, Advanced Herbology minor

ⅵ history

The story of Dakota and Logan started during a Spring Break vacation to the Gulf Shores, Alabama. Dakota, born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studied at the Wizarding College of Alabama. Logan, born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, was studying in a muggle college in the very same area. During a trip to a bar in the middle of Spring Break, the two lovers met and hit it off immediately. Many trials and tribulations followed but the two lovers made it through and ended up getting married once they had graduated. It wasn’t long before the twins arrived, sealing the wholesome family look.

Growing up, both twins were practically attached to the hip, despite their genital differences. Any sight of sibling rivalry was used to coat an undying amount of sibling love for one another. Other students in their year would always comment on never seeing one without the other. Therefore, it was hardly surprising when both twins started showing signs of magic at the same age and at the same time. Because of this, Logan and Dakota made the decision to move the family to Le Feu, an all wizarding town a little further south.

Le Feu is an all magical town along the Mobile Bay that has a strong French history. In the mid-16th century, a number of French settlers came to America and settled there, with a large number of wizarding folk finding and taking over Le Feu. Because of this, many future generations have had the French language embedded into their curriculum, Duncan and Melanie included. Logan and Dakota, upon visiting the area once, decided that moving was a safe option.

However, Le Feu wasn’t all it was made out to be. While on the outside, the town looked like the perfect place to raise two magical children with the knowledge that they’ll be able to practice magic freely, it was actually a highly discriminatory place to raise impressionable minds. The magical folk in Le Feu prided themselves in their magical capabilities and, as a result, scorned anyone who didn’t hold the same ounce of magical blood that they did. No-Majs and those of No-Maj descent were treated particularly badly but even half-bloods received their share of foul, derogatory language. This was a fact that the Williams’ found out very soon after moving into their new residence.

Slurs followed the family around and weren’t missed by the twins. However, considering the fact that they had only just moved into the premises, moving out wasn’t an option just yet. The family had to persevere and deal with the comments while still upholding key family values. As a result, the siblings felt more connected than ever, always willing to have the other’s back should they be in any kind of trouble.

One day, when the twins had reached the age of ten, there was a particularly cruel case of discrimination. A group of elitist witches and wizards were bored and decided to ease their boredom by picking on a helpless No-Maj-born victim. Mr Williams, who had been in the vicinity, happened to see what was going on and, in an attempt to do some good, tried to stop the fight. Unfortunately, this resulted in the group of magical folk turning their aggressiveness towards Mr Williams himself. Mr Williams’s lack of magical ability mixed with being outnumbered by the bullies led to his demise.

Dakota, Melanie and Duncan were devastated with the news. This seemed to be the last straw for all of them and it wasn’t long before the remaining Williams’ moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Dakota’s family helped to look after the kids. The siblings were scarred from the incidents in Le Feu and, as a result, ended up becoming slightly weary of purebloods in general. A hard shell and complete devotion to protecting his family grew within Duncan. Nobody was allowed to lay a finger on his women.

At the age of eleven, the acceptance came and Duncan had mixed emotions about going to Ilvermorny. While he was enthusiastic about the possibility of furthering his magical knowledge, he did not like the idea of leaving his mother behind, nor did he like the idea of being in the vicinity of purebloods who could potentially cause them some harm. Some coaxing was required and eventually, he accepted the idea of attending a wizarding boarding school.

Upon arriving at Ilvermorny, Duncan was sorted into Horned Serpent where, moments later, Melanie joined him. The house that favoured scholars moulded and shaped Duncan into an intelligent and yet meticulous young man. He soared in subjects like Potions, where attention to detail was a necessity for the practitioner to brew the perfect potion. Other subjects that required a more creative thinking strategy were ones that the boy struggled to grasp the concept of. His brain couldn’t wrap itself around the idea that a logical way of thinking couldn’t be applied to a subject. Looking at you, Divination.

It was to no one’s surprize that Duncan ended up getting top marks in Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy, Charms, Transfiguration and Astronomy, as well as reasonable grades in Care of Magical Creatures and Defence Against the Dark Arts. The male twin went forth to pursue a career in Potions by going to a wizarding university to pick up a Potions major. His initial desire was to go to the Wizarding University of San Francisco, California, to complete his studies but, upon further reflection, the man couldn’t bear to be so far away from his twin sister and his mother. So, he ended up settling for the Wizarding University of Boston, Massachusetts, where, alongside his Potions major, he also took up a Herbology minor.

After four years of laboratory work, experiments and studying, Duncan graduated with an undergraduate degree. While Melanie went off to do a masters degree, Duncan had a change of heart from studying. Along with a small group of friends, the man went off to a research trip to Brazil to try and find the latest and most innovative plants, both magical and mundane, to use as Potions ingredients. There were some successful experimentation but most were rather unsuccessful and resulted in some nasty bruises and scars, some of which still faintly linger on the man to this very day. Dare to ask about them and he’ll give you a different tale each time.

The research venture took a further three years out of the man’s life and before he knew it, he was back in Philadelphia with his family. While he had been happy to be researching away from home, the man had grown very homesick and found that he didn’t want to stay far away from his family anymore. It was because of this reason that he soon found himself a job working for an upcoming potioneer’s apothecary in Philadelphia. It was dreary and boring work, especially compared to the adrenaline rush from his recent trip, but it paid the bills.

Duncan stayed in the job for a further four years, where he rose from a simple worker to a supervisor role. It was then, on a bright summer’s day, that he decided that as much as he liked working with potions, he couldn’t see himself working in an apothecary for the rest of his life. He found, during his time at the apothecary, that he liked talking to others about potions, especially those who were enthusiastic about the subject as well. While he wasn’t an open individual, he liked passing on this little bit of knowledge and it was because of this that he went back to the Wizarding University of Boston, Massachusetts, to earn a teaching qualification. The following school year was one in which he had to be stationed in a wizarding elementary school for the entirety of that year while a qualified teacher sat in on his lessons. His lessons consisted of basic potions skills and some of the more basic potions for younger students to learn about.

At the end of that school year, Duncan used his qualification to land him a permanent teaching role at the same wizarding elementary school. Word from the younger students he taught had gotten out to their parents, some of whom had approached him for private tutoring opportunities. At first, there were only one or two older students who needed extra help with Potions but eventually, the numbers grew and he found himself earning better money through the private tutoring than he did through the elementary school he worked in. Because of this, Duncan quit his job to focus on tutoring full time.

His next proper job came in the summer of 2092, where, upon hearing of a vacancy in the Potions department at Ilvermorny, Duncan applied. With some bragging and mild flirting, he landed himself the job of Potions Master and, along with Melanie’s help, secured the task of heading off to Hogwarts for the IMPS Competition. Thank you, Mel.

ⅶ personality

There are many areas to Duncan’s personality with the most obvious being a studious nature and the least obvious being of a cunning disposition. Intelligent, dedicated and meticulous are words often thrown in when describing Ilvermorny’s Potions Master but stubborn, brutally honest and often slippery in nature are also words that have been thrown into the mix as well. You never really know where you stand with the man. Even those that are closest to him have to be careful not to slip up around him or betray him in any way. Frankly, he has very little time or patience for other people’s shortcomings.

His loyalty shines when it comes to his family; he would do almost anything for his mother and twin sister, whether it’s going against his own rules and guidelines or, even, murder. “Any means necessary” is often a thought process that’s running through the man’s mind when he’s about to fulfill a task. Every task, whether it be big or small, have to be completed to the best of his abilities and Duncan isn’t afraid to use other means to get this done. According to him, as long as the task is complete, that’s all that matters.

Feelings and emotions fit into the creative spectrum in which the man knows nothing about, aside from personal relationships. Frankly, he doesn’t see how sparing someone’s feelings could do them any good. Brutal honesty and a letting them know the real deal from the get go is far better than a sugar-coated version of events. A lie is a lie, after all.

ⅷ likes

Potions, Melanie, his mother, Dunkin donuts, any donuts in general, the rainbow sprinkles are the best, camping, winning a debate, coffee, travelling,

ⅸ dislikes

Lies, being lied to, elitist purebloods, people who get upset easily, losing a debate, losing in general, iced tea, sharks, anything with raisins in them,