Gareth

Portrayed By	Joseph Gordon-Levitt
House	Ravenclaw
Year	Second
Position	student
Sex	Male
Race	Pureblood
Age	12
Place of Birth	London
Date of Birth	3 January 1983
Mother	Amber Baker Conwy
Father	Ofydd Conwy
Siblings	Julian Legume (foster brother)
Marital Status	single
Children	none
First Appearance	When We Get Where We're Going
Last Appearance

Character History:

Gareth Conwy hails from an old Wizarding family, though unlike many others, purity of blood is not terribly important to them. In fact, it could be said his parents have a fascination with Muggles. His father, Orfydd Conqwy, was born in northern Wales, but he met Gareth's mother, Amber Baker, while at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They married shortly after graduation, and as Amber had secured a position with the Muggle Liason Office of the Ministry of Magic, they bought a small house in London.

Shortly after Gareth's birth in 1983, his father published his first piece of short fiction. More stories soon followed, all featuring Muggles in prominent roles. A few years later, he embarked upon his most ambitious project: a serialized novel appearing monthly in Witch Weekly about a young Wizard named Trent Emrys, a pampered and spoiled child whose greatest joy in life was Muggle-baiting. Expelled from an unnamed Wizarding school his first week, Trent is forced to attend a Muggle school called the Fulton Academy for the Exceptionally Ordinary. At first, he despises his classmates, and they in turn treat him very poorly, until it is discovered that he is rather talented at a game called football (that's soccer to the Americans). This is a truly bizarre game played with only one ball and, as Muggles cannot fly brooms, entirely on foot (thus the game's name). In time, Trent comes to find true friendship among his Muggle classmates, though he naturally has rivals as well, including the school's rather stern headmaster, who seems to have a particular hatred and suspicion of Trent.

Like most stories for children and adolescents, there are morals hidden amid the adventures, the main one being that for all their strangeness, Muggles really aren't bad people at all. Despite somewhat cautionary nature of the stories, they were wildly popular, and Wizarding children (and many of their parents) around Britain thrilled to read the monthly adventures. After two years, the first novel was finally complete, and it was collected and published in a single volume. Readers demanded more, and so Orfydd began a sequel. To date, four volumes have been collected, and new stories continue to appear every month in Witch Weekly.

Gareth, naturally, adores the stories, as he is always the first child in the country to read them. He also shares his parents' fascination with Muggles, and he has always been more than happy to accompany his father on little trips around London to study them. He particularly finds football matches interesting, and shopping trips among the Muggles are always an amusing treat. Like all Wizarding children, he was home schooled the first ten years of his life, though most unusually, it was his father, who worked at home, who took charge of his education. Perhaps that is why Gareth also has ambitions to one day write stories.

It was on a rather brisk December morning when, while poking about a toy shop in London, Gareth's magic first manifested. He's been separated from his father, who was engrossed in conversation with the shopkeeper regarding a chess set with unmoving pieces, when Gareth bumped into a pair of rather large Muggle boys a few years older. They were the worst sort of bullies, and they began pushing Gareth around for the fun of it. He was a bit frightened at first, being only six years old, but when one of the brutes took great pleasure in stomping his eyeglasses, Gareth was suddenly filled with rage. Suddenly, both bullies found their eyebrows singed from their faces, and they ran screaming from the shop. Gareth was quite pleased with himself, until he saw his father's rather disappointed look. He tried to explain later, but his father was quite firm - nothing excused harming Muggles with magic.

It was no surprise, of course, when Gareth received his Hogwarts letter, and he was thrilled to be Sorted to Ravenclaw House, for not only had both his parents been Ravenclaws, but his cousin, fellow first year Gabriel Baker (son of his mother's brother, the famous Randal Baker, Chaser for Puddlemere United) had also been Sorted to the House. His first year at school, he has spent a good deal of his time studying very hard, eager to prove the Sorting Hat had been correct in placing him. His best subjects are Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He looks forward to one day taking the elective courses in Muggle Studies.

Personality

Studious	Like most Ravenclaw students, Gareth takes his studies very seriously, and much of his free time is spent surrounded by heaps of books. His homework is always done on time, and he usually manages to get top marks in most of his classes. His best subjects are Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He looks forward to one day taking the elective courses in Muggle Studies.

Inquisitive

“Wit beyond measure is Man’s greatest treasure,” as the quote attributed to Rowena Ravenclaw goes, and Gareth has taken this to mean that knowledge is meant to be sought in any nook and cranny it may be hiding. This can lead to trouble at times, as he doesn’t let things like rules or regulations get in the way when he’s seeking some arcane bit of information. His inquisitiveness tends to be of the academic sort, and he’s sometimes insensitive to what others might think of his quest for knowledge.

Muggle-Fascinated	His mother works for the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Muggle Relations, and his father writes children’s stories about a Wizard trapped in a Muggle school. Gareth shares his parents’ fascination for all things having to do with the non-magical world, but like many Wizards, he’s just as clueless about the true use for most Muggle devices.

Naïve

Even for a twelve year old, Gareth can be amazingly naïve. Girls are an utter mystery to him, and oddly, not one he’s eager to solve. Sex is a meaningless word that older kids toss around to make each other giggle, or that adults talk about in mysterious terms. As far as he’s concerned, babies are delivered by storks, but only if an owl can find it with a letter of request from the parents. Storks can be very elusive, you see, and they usually ignore requests sent by children asking for younger siblings.

Talkative	Although a bit shy on first meeting someone, once he opens up, a flood of speech is likely to overwhelm those around him. It isn’t unusual for him to ask dozens of rapid-fire questions, especially if someone demonstrates the slightest knowledge of anything relating to Muggles. He’ll also rattle on and on about his family, his parents’ work, and especially his father’s rather popular.

Modest	Though the popularity of his father’s writings have made the family a fair bit of money, Gareth does not flaunt this modest wealth. Truth be told, though he’s very proud of both his parents, and like most children, thrilled by the adventures of Trent Emrys, he’s a little embarrassed by his father’s celebrity.

Description

A rather thin boy of around eleven years, he has the darker skin of his Cymric ancestry. His dark hair falls to shoulder-length, parted in the middle, but often on the messy side and tucked behind his ears, causing them to stick out prominently. Pale grey eyes peer out at the world, inquisitive and intelligent, but also guarded. A pair of tiny, rectangular spectacles are perched on his small nose, the frames rather thin and fragile looking.
He's dressed in a uniform befitting the school dress code. A black cloak, bearing the Ravenclaw House badge, covers a grey sweater with corresponding blue and silver trimming the neck, hem, and cuffs. A white dress shirt, complete with blue and silver tie, are visible beneath the sweater. A pair of long grey pants, buckled with a black belt, and black shoes complete the uniform.

Family

Name	Relation	Notes
Ofydd Conwy	Father	Ofydd (pronounced Ovith) is a stay-at-home dad who writes popular children’s stories about the adventures of Trent Emrys, a young Wizard expelled from school and forced to attend the Muggle Fulton Academy for the Exceptionally Ordinary. These stories are published the third week of each month in Witch Weekly, and they’re very popular with younger Wizards and Witches. Though he prides himself on his research into the customs of Muggles, his knowledge isn’t really that much better than any other Wizard.

Amber Baker-Conwy

Mother

Amber works in the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Muggle Relations. Though much of what Muggles do still baffles her, she is one of those rare Witches who have mastered the fine art of dressing like a Muggle properly. Though naturally fascinated with the non-magical world, she also manages not to appear overly curious or even mystified by the behavior of Muggles.

Gwyneth Conwy

Grandmother

Gwyneth Conwy is a venerable Witch of advanced age (it would be impolite to say how old she actually is). A widow, she lives alone in a rather large cottage in the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogocuchaf, on the Isle of Anglesey. Yes, that’s a real name. Pure blood from a long line of Witches and Wizards, she claims that both she and her late husband descended from the famed Welsh Wizard of antiquity, Gwydion ap Don, though there is no proof of this. There’s no disproof either, so no one bothers to dispute the claim. Gareth is her only grandchild, and she dotes on him terribly, sending him weekly letters at Hogwarts, with small packages of sweets, including his favorite Chocolate Frogs.

Owen Conwy

Uncle

Owen is Orfydd’s older brother. He and his partner, Glen O’Connell, met while students at Hogwarts, and after graduating, they bought a small farm in the foothills of Snowdonia, where they live quite happily together away from the public eye. Though their relationship isn’t openly discussed, both Owen and Glen are always welcome at family gatherings. Gareth has no idea that both aren’t his actual, blood-related uncles.

Randal and Gwen Baker

Uncle and Aunt

Gareth’s mother’s brother, Randal Baker, was a Chaser for Puddlemere United, a Quidditch team, and is now a sports commentator on the WWN. He was married to Gwen Baker, a Muggle doctor, but they’ve been divorced for some time, though amicably. Gwen and their son, Gabriel, now live in the small town of Bibury, where she’s a private physician. Randal and Gabriel occasionally visit the house on Marylebone Road, but Gwen is normally too busy with her practice to make the trip.

Gabriel Baker

Cousin

Gareth and his cousin are very close to the same age, and though they weren’t terribly close while growing up (as Gabriel’s parents divorced, and Gabriel lived with his Muggle mother in the small town of Bibury), the two have grown nearly inseparable since coming to Hogwarts. This may simply be due to them sharing the same House and classes, or it may be a family bond strengthening. Gabriel tends to be more outgoing than Gareth, and though he’s just as inquisitive (if not moreso), he’s also more sensitive to the feelings of those around him.

Julian “Bean” Legume

Foster-Brother

Bean, as he is more commonly known, due to his very small stature, is something of an enigma to Gareth. It is only recently that he has taken much notice of the young Slytherin. Having ‘been lost’ by his parents, Bean apparently grew up alone and homeless on the streets of London (a concept Gareth doesn’t fully grasp), and the Conwy’s have petititioned the Ministry to become his foster parents. Gareth is still trying to come to terms with suddenly having a brother, and he isn’t really sure what to make of Bean yet.

Friends

(Gareth has friends, which I will be adding soon, I hope)

Quotes

"Skirts are really just half-robes, so I don't see the problem. My Uncle Owen wears skirts all the time, mostly really long ones. He says they keep his knees warm." Of course, Unlce Owen lives in a little cottage in the middle of nowhere with Uncle Glen, but there's no reason to bring that up.

Trivia and Notes

Gareth's father is Ofydd Conwy, author of a series of stories about Trent Emrys, a young Wizard sent to a Muggle school. The stories are very popular with younger Witches and Wizards, appearing once a month in Witch Weekly. If you're a Hogwarts student, you may be a fan of the series, which has been published in serialized form for years. Or you may not, as they portray Muggles in a relatively positive light.

Timeline

1995-07-05: Boys And Quidditch	Thecookiemomma gabriel gareth harry julian quidditch sirius
1995-05-23: Brothers	Thecookiemomma egbert gareth jackson julian perpetua
1995-05-15: Muggling Through Current Events	meridianfey fred gabriel gareth jackson kalleigh mason
1995-05-04: Bits and Bobs	emurphy egbert gabriel gareth mei melissa
1995-05-10: When We Get Where We're Going	ke4peo amber egbert gabriel gareth ginny harry julian keegan kelti melissa ophelia perpetua rene siobhan

Other Information

Memorable Quotes:

"By the splinters in my thumbs,
Something wicker this way comes."

Trivia and Notes:

Gareth's father is Ofydd Conwy, author of a series of stories about Trent Emrys, a young Wizard sent to a Muggle school. The stories are very popular with younger Witches and Wizards, appearing once a month in Witch Weekly. If you're a Hogwarts student, you may be a fan of the series, which has been published in serialized form for years. Or you may not, as they portray Muggles in a relatively positive light.