Professor Penelope Bell

## Early life/Hogwarts studies

Penelope Bell was born to Samuel and Martha Bell.  Samuel was from a Pureblood Ravenclaw family, and Martha was a muggle mathematics teacher.  They had a very happy life, with Penelope quickly discovering she had an apt mind for the mathematic and scientific arts. A bubbly personality was forming rapidly.

Turning 11, Penelope was sent to Hogwarts, nervous, but excited.  She had been homeschooled until then and had never really had any friends.  Getting sorted into Ravenclaw made her appreciate the few friends she made, with the same interests as her: learning.

Her first few years were excellent for Penelope: she excelled in most subjects (especially Potions), had a close-knit friend group and was genuinely happy being a student.  She could never see why people complained about their homework, as she always found herself enjoying the research she had to do.  The library became her favorite location apart from her common room, and she began pondering whether a librarian was her chosen career path.

Becoming a librarian lost all importance when her father was killed during her fifth year.  Penelope almost quit Hogwarts to go home to her mother, but a voice in the back of her head told her to continue - to grow stronger and avenge her father's death.  It took her three months to catch up to her school work, but everybody around her could notice she had changed.

Penelope became more determined, more focused on her studies, and tried to shut out the few friends she had gathered.  None of them let her shut them out, however, and continued to be there for her, whether she wanted it or not.

She studied alchemy and the dark arts intensely during her last year, so much so that her professors were frightened by her skill and determination.  After graduation, she disappeared, leaving one last phone call to her mother that she wouldn't return home until Samuel's death was avenged.

## Disappearance

The day after she graduated from Hogwarts, Penelope seemed to disappear.  She fled from the school and the place she had called home all her life, in search of the bastards who had murdered her father.  Knowing little of the investigation, she took matters into her own hands and began sending owls to witnesses and neighbors anonymously.  Eventually, after three years of searching, she found the name of the wizard that had taken her father's life.  It took her another year of dark alchemy and magic to seek out his location, but she did it.

After seeking him out, Penelope asked him why.  Why did it have to be her father, out of all the wizards at the Ministry of Magic?  The answer she got was a taunting laugh and a spell to the face, ruining her right eye.  "He had a little bitch like you with that filthy muggle", she was told then, sending her into a fit of rage.  Her wand forgotten in her boot, she held her hands out, sending a flash of lightning from one and a fireball from the other, obliterating the wizard.  She could return to her mother, victorious.

As she stumbled into the house she had once called home, Penelope fell to her knees and cried, alerting Martha.  She was taken to St. Mungo's, where they restored her sight, but could do nothing about the scarring.  One of the doctors had known Samuel and took care of Penelope's recovery, and she spent two months there before she was discharged.  Penelope began to wear her hair to cover her eye, as no makeup could hide the reddened, damaged skin.  Three more months she stayed with her mother as she tentatively began to reach out to her old professors, seeking their advice, but not expecting any letters in return.  It surprised her massively when they offered her a position as a professor in Alchemy, the subject she had loved for so many years.

## Hogwarts career

Her first week back at Hogwarts was tough, as she felt she didn't fit in as a Professor.  She was harsh against her students, and many House Points were deducted as unruly students asked her about why she kept her hair the way she did.  However, having been introduced to Persephone Petalthorn, who she felt she could connect with, changed a lot.  She began to slowly open up and even went to both the Death Day party and the sleepover, thanks to Persephone's persuasion, and Penelope found herself actually enjoying both events (even if she would deny this later).

Her attitude towards her Alchemy students may be overly brisk and harsh, but she means well in teaching them how to correctly treat the subject.  She comes off as cold, but is just a little broken and damaged and tries to hide it.  Being so young, she still has a little youthfulness in her and has a sense of humor that shows itself rarely.  Penelope also tries to be lighter on the younger students in the classes she is a substitute for, but she has her limits on how much she can handle at once.