Finnigan Cross, played by Hugh Dancy.
Finnigan Ivo Cross was born in Varna, Bulgaria under the name of Sergei Lazarov on May 13th 1973. There is much about Finnigan that he doesn't know, including his childhood prior to his transfer to Hogwarts in his seventh year. He doesn't know his parents, aside from his very loving foster parents, the Crosses.
But as far as Finn knows, he's had a happy childhood, does quite a bit of sailing and struggled in his classes during his time at Hogwarts except for classes that did not require spells. He is seen as a prankster, his first lesson was about creating prank items that could be created or improved on with potions. And one of them involved pranking the students' friends and even the Professor's colleagues.
Vampirism[]
Countless years ago on St Patrick's Day, a sale from Knockturn Alley promised the drunk and impressionable 27 year old a chance to hear and interact with his students. Through the process of "blood transfusions." The source of this blood was discovered to be from a vampire. For a hefty price, Finnigan agreed to supply himself with enough transfusions to last the full transformation. For a month, Finnigan was in agony, arriving to his lesson hungover, becoming distant from his students and colleagues. And finally, on Good Friday of that year, Finnigan was declared dead. And he stayed dead until that Easter. No, it didn't "fix" his hearing. And now he is a creature of the night because he tried to fix something that wasn't broken in the first place. And it was because of how he got his deafness.
Ask him how long he's been 27, I dare you.
Deafness []
Finnigan's birthmother contracted an illness while she was pregnant (possibly Rubella) that caused Finn to be deaf at birth. Currently, he does not use hearing aids or cochlear implants, seeing as both modern devices are electronic and would not work in the Wizarding World, Finn underwent strenuous speech therapy to speak and read lips. He relies on his sense of touch to alert a person's presence to him when his back is turned. Vibrations.
There were types of hearing aids that were not electronic, but they would possibly come in these forms:
These are all obviously unattractive alternatives. That, and Finn was quite comfortable with his deafness. He didn't feel like he needed to be changed.
Hogwarts Life[]
Finn was quite a loner prior to his transfer to Hogwarts from Durmstrang. No one knew how to use English or Bulgarian sign languages, so he used a pen and pad to communicate. He knew how to read lips, but he had not undergone speech therapy yet. Despite this, he made many friends and his pranking nature blossomed.
For 25 years, Finnigan Cross held the positions of Potions Master and Head of Gryffindor, but after the final battle, from what is presumed to be stressed, many students' favorite teacher stepped down.
Relationships[]
Finn has never stayed in a romantic relationship for two long, preferring one-night stands over long-term commitments. That being said, he is currently in a long-standing polyamorous relationship with two other men whose names shared publicly would bring much scandal.
As for friends, he considers his colleagues at Hogwarts his closest, with Headmistress Lilliana Devane as his best friend and partner in crime. Finnigan is not above having favorite students, which is not exactly linked to doing well in his class. However, he's not the type to provide special treatment for these students.
Lilliana Devane - Best Friend and Partner In Crime
Former Students - Kids of student age and as old as 27
Identities Concealed - Boyfriends
Former Classmates - Pretty much every adult between the ages of 32 and 40 that formerly attended Hogwarts.
All other relations are completely open to suggestion. Please owl or reply to (future) thread if interested.