Maud Prewett

"*Now* *Maudie, she's smart- the kind of smart that can brew you a Euphoria Elixir when you ask. Restricted stuff, she gets it for the Order. And I'm not just talking about that stuff they put in Giggle Water.*"
—Bill Weasley describing his cousin's better qualities to Aquila Black
**Maud Prewett** (born 17 April, 1973) was an English pure-blood witch, the only child of Gideon Prewett and his wife Dahlia, the niece of Arthur and Molly Weasley (née Prewett), and the cousin of Bill, Charlie, George, Ron, Ginny, and the late Fred Weasley. Her father was killed when she was eight years old during the First Wizarding War, and afterwards she was raised by her mother.

She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from September 1984 to June 1991 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. She became the Captain of the Duelling Club in her sixth year and played Chaser on the Gryffindor team from her fourth year until she graduated. She was in the same year at school as her cousin, Charlie Weasley.

During the Second Wizarding War, Maud was a member of the second Order of the Phoenix and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, arriving with reinforcements during the final portion of the battle. She was also present when Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort once and for all.

## Biography

### Early life (1973-1994)

Maud Prewett was the only daughter of Gideon and Dahlia Prewett (née Fowler). She was born on 17 April, 1973, in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. She was a child during the height of the First Wizarding War. In the fighting, her father, Gideon, as well as her paternal uncle, Fabian Prewett, both members of the Order of the Phoenix, were murdered fighting Antonin Dolohov and four other Death Eaters. Maud was eight years old at the time. The Wizarding World became peaceful again (for a time) after Lord Voldemort's first defeat on 31 October, 1981. For a short time following the death of her father, Maud and her mother lived with her aunt Molly and her family- the Weasley family.

Maud briefly lived in the Burrow on the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole in Devon, England. She was home educated by her aunt Molly in reading, writing and simple maths, like her cousins Bill, Charlie, and Percy. When she was ten years old, Maud and her mother moved to the nearby wizarding village of Chudley, in Devon. Her mother became employed by the Ministry of Magic, working for Magical Maintenance.

Maud's family, the Prewetts, as well as the Weasleys, were not wealthy compared to other wizarding families. Many other pure-blood families, particularly the Malfoys, disdained them for their "*blood traitor*", pro-muggle beliefs and their lack of wealth. Her mother tried their best to make up for this with her love, though she was frequently working long hours to support them both. Maud spent time at her aunt Molly's home as well, until she was sent off to school. She received her letter in the summer of 1984, and before term began inherited her father's wand, made of fir and phoenix feather. She was told to treat it very carefully and it became one of Maud's most treasured possessions, although it did not work as well for her as her own wand might have.

#### Hogwarts years (1984-1991)

On 1 September 1984, Maud started her first term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Gryffindor House like the rest of her family, and was in the same year as her cousin, Charlie Weasley. By the end of their second year, Charlie became the Seeker of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Maud was incredibly jealous but did not reveal it. He greatly excelled in the position.

Apart from Charlie, Maud became friendly with Kirstie Davies and Frances Mallory, two girls that she shared a dorm with. She joined the Hogwarts Duelling Club in her second year, then headed by Professor Flitwick, and learned how to duel. In her third year, Maud elected to take the Care of Magical Creatures class because her cousin Charlie was in it. She took another elective, Muggle Studies, because her uncle was very interested in muggles and worked for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic. It also had very cheap course materials.

In her fourth year of school, she tried out for the empty spot of Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and got the spot. She was extremely excited and had been saving her pocket money since she was twelve to buy a used Cleansweep Five. She also reportedly tutored other students in Potions for money.

In her fifth year of school, her cousin Charlie made Prefect. Maud was disappointed because Kirstie Davies had been chosen instead of her, but she knew that it was because of her marks, which weren't as high as theirs. She had the sudden ambition to buy a new wand, but since she had spent all of her pocket money on a broomstick, she couldn't.

When she finally turned sixteen, she had a summer job in Chudley, working in a muggle bakery. It was her first job and her muggle coworkers reportedly thought that she was a bit strange, seeing as they had to teach her how to properly count the money at the till.

Maud finished Hogwarts with nine O.W.L.s and eight N.E.W.T.s. She accompanied her cousin Charlie to Ollivander's when an unidentified magical creature made off with his wand in the Forbidden Forest, and was able to purchase one of her own, made of laurel and unicorn hair, for seven galleons.

#### Employment (1991-1996)

Maud eventually decided that she would like to become a Potioneer, as she was the only one in her class to get an Outstanding on both her O.W.L.s and her N.E.W.T.s under Professor Severus Snape, who was a notoriously intimidating teacher. She began brewing Potions for Slug & Jiggers Apothecary at first, while she gained experience and studied further. She then applied for a position brewing medicinal potions at St. Mungo's, and started working there in 1994.

### Second Wizarding War (1995-1998)

When Albus Dumbledore reconstituted the Order of the Phoenix to oppose Lord Voldemort, Maud joined alongside her family. While her cousin Bill returned to England from Egypt to better serve the Order, Maud's cousin Charlie remained in Romania and was assigned to recruit foreign wizards to the cause. Maud was the eyes and ears at St. Mungo's; though she did not see patients, she recognised what Potions she was having to brew. She communicated with Severus Snape, her former professor, to pass information. She never visited Headquarters while it was located in London, similarly to Charlie. She supplied the Order of the Phoenix with Polyjuice for the Battle of the Seven Potters after Severus Snape left the organisation in 1997, as well as for the use of Harry Potter himself at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

#### Bill and Fleur's wedding (1997)

In the summer of 1997, Maud once more returned to the Burrow to attend her cousin Bill's wedding to Fleur Delacour. When the wedding was broken up by Death Eaters in the wake of the fall of the Ministry of Magic, she was questioned alongside her family, but was safe. She presumably returned to work at St. Mungo's brewing potions.

#### Battle of Hogwarts (1998)

"*They heard uproar from the distant boundary of the school as what sounded like hundreds of people came swarming over the out-of-sight walls and pelted toward the castle, uttering loud war cries.*"
—Reinforcements arriving during the second half of the final battle
While the rest of Maud's extended family answered Neville Longbottom's call to arms to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts, Maud did not join them immediately. This was possibly due to being in London at the time. During this time, her cousin Fred was tragically killed during the first half of the battle. This was something Maud was initially unaware of, as she was not present during the one-hour armistice.

However, she did arrive toward the end of the battle alongside her cousin, Charlie, who had arrived from Romania, and Horace Slughorn. Charlie and Horace lead hundreds of reinforcements including Maud, as well as the residents of Hogsmeade and the friends and family of all the Hogwarts students who had chosen to stay and fight Voldemort and his Death Eater army. These reinforcements changed the tide of the battle in the favour of the Defenders of Hogwarts.

## Physical Appearance

Maud was conventionally attractive, with auburn hair and blue eyes, like the rest of the Prewett family. She was of a medium height and build, and lacked freckles, unlike her cousins, the Weasleys. She somewhat resembled an older version of her youngest cousin, Ginny.

## Personality and Traits

Maud was described by her cousin Bill to Aquila Black as "*smart, the kind of smart that can brew you a Euphoria Elixir when you ask. Restricted stuff, she gets it for the Order. And I'm not just talking about that stuff they put in Giggle Water."* During her years at Hogwarts, Maud was a Gryffindor, and prone to following the rules. However, as Bill said here, it is possible that since joining the Order of the Phoenix she loosened up a little.

Maud lost her father when she was eight years old, in a brutal attack that reportedly took five Death Eaters to take him down. She most likely knew of the Order or at least some part of what her father was doing when she was younger, or else was entirely clueless for most of her childhood. She likely had a realisation and still decided to join the organisation that got her father killed, which shows her bravery and self-sacrifice.

## Etymology

Maude (approximately pronounced "mawd" in English), is an Old German feminine given name meaning "powerful in battle". Her surname, Prewett, is Welsh in origin. It is derived from the Middle English word *prou*, meaning "brave" or "valiant", and the suffix "*-et*", which implies smallness. Thus, it is believed to be derived from a nickname for someone small, but brave.