Personality & Background
Finlay Figgins grew up on the edge of a cliff on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He was raised in near-isolation by a cold, distant woman named Maeve. She never called herself his mother, and he never asked. Whispers around her hinted at a forbidden affair with a powerful wizard that ended in scandal and death. Some say Finlay is the only good thing that came of it. Maeve never confirmed.
Maeve taught him to speak with animals, to heal with his will, and to survive the untamed. One stormy night, she handed him a Hogwarts letter and said simply, “You need to go.” No explanations. Just that the world beyond the Isle was calling, and her protection had run its course.
Now, Finlay carries the weight of salt air, earth magic, and unanswered questions. He is quiet, observant, and curious. He doesn’t always understand other people, but he deeply wants to. He is earnest in a way that makes him vulnerable, but there’s something in him, something ancient and waiting.
His wand is maple with a phoenix feather core, 10.5 inches and quite bendy.
Story
Finlay’s quiet demeanor hides a first year full of extraordinary events. Sorted into Ravenclaw with Caoimhe Keelan and Otto Noxley, he couldn’t afford his potions textbook until Otto generously covered the cost. This was the beginning of a lasting friendship. When Elias Flint unleashed invisible snakes in Potions class, Finlay stepped up alongside his new friends to save the day.
His gift with nature magic proved invaluable. He calmed a ranting talking bush named Ferd during their research into Crying Roots: Ethical Alchemy, and his Infirma Cerebra spell became the group’s secret weapon, successfully confusing Grimbella Thistlepin in the Forbidden Forest and Tamsin Greaves during a nighttime heist of The Restricted Section.
In The Deepwater Convergence, Finlay’s quick thinking solved the merfolk’s riddle, winning the competition and claiming Lyra’s Wake, a magical ring that grants water walking and breathing. His sea-glass marble, carried since childhood, helped him bond with a shy Antipodean Opaleye dragon hatchling in Seylon’s Tower.
The journey north through an ancient portal brought new dangers. After nearly being killed by an Ice Widow spider and fighting off a polar bear outside Frostwell Village, Finlay joined his friends in solving the Circle of Eight puzzle, only to be petrified by Oleg Mirnov’s sudden betrayal.
After surviving a wight in the ancient dungeon, the party discovered a ring hovering over frozen water. When Katya tried to claim it, a water elemental attacked. Finlay watched helplessly as Katya was dragged under and killed. As the cave collapsed, he escaped with his friends through a hole in the ceiling with help from his friends.
On the surface, Death Eaters ambushed them, demanding the ring. Thinking fast, Finlay swallowed it to keep it hidden. When the Death Eaters tortured Otto with the Cruciatus Curse, Finlay stayed silent. Otto’s quick thinking with a decoy ring saved them, until Aurors Tobias Crane and Rafael Santos apparated in to stop a killing curse.
Back at Hogwarts, the party was placed under constant escort. June’s Midnight Market was shut down after Callum revealed it under questioning. Over summer, Finlay stayed at Otto’s estate researching Seylon Vane, discovering he was Callum’s ancestor. They commissioned a blood-locked jewelry box to protect the ring.
When they returned to school, Professor Wizzlethorpe revealed he knew about their adventures and asked them to continue exploring Seylon’s Tower, explaining that only children could perceive it for what it truly was. The party remains suspicious of his true motives.