Nikolaj ([AV] Nikolaj Fletcher)

Nikolaj Fletcher had an elder sister, a younger brother, and his mom. The four lived in the suburbs of Surrey, in a lovely British neighbourhood. Surely, he’d have a dad as well, but Niko didn’t recall having him in any of his childhood memories - he was a working man, who valued his work more than anything. Perhaps that’s why his mother stressed so much on being a diligent person in her teachings. Nothing frustrated him more than uncontrollable, emotional people, and if working hard was what kept his mom sane and him out of trouble, he’d gladly do it. He did, however, wonder what sort of man his father was to make his mom fall for someone she hardly ever got to see.

Another thing he recall were his parents focusing on his sister’s accomplishments, and spoiling his younger brother with attention. Oh, how amazing his sister is, with incredible academic excellence! Oh, how adorable his little brother is, he must grow up to be an admirable man! As long as he could remember, he was the plain, uninteresting, unflatteringly talentless middle child. As a child, he was bitter. He too, wanted attention.

It wasn’t long before he tried different methods to reach his goal. The easiest way, of course, was getting into trouble. It was a piece of cake, but after seeing his mother go hysterical over a short talk with his neighbours, he decided that he did not want to relive that experience.

So he stopped. Instead of physical fights, he got into verbal ones - which, still got him into occasional trouble; but there was no visible evidence that he had initiated the fight (other than the occasional bruise, which only helped Niko frame himself as the victim).

Niko’s acceptance into Hogwarts arrived by owl mail, like it did for his sister. With his father’s alma mater being Hogwarts, there was no other school the family wanted their children to attend. His father, for the first time in his life, spent an entire day with Niko, going around Diagon Ally to purchase everything he needed for his classes.  

It was only then that he learnt the reason why his father had been absent for the majority of his life. Mr. Fletcher apparently worked for the Ministry of Magic at the department of mysteries -- and after learning what the department did, Niko asked no further. That night, he went home thinking about how cool his father was, and how it would feel to work at the Ministry.

Life at Hogwarts was more interesting than he expected, but now with a stronger motivation to do well at school, Niko pushed his limits in his studies - even if it meant carrying out questionable acts for better results. His methods attracted himself a small group of followers, and although he enjoyed the attention at first, he learnt that it was not something he wanted for a prolonged period of time - for people started to talk about him, which eventually turned into rumors, and soon enough, it became something uncontrollable, something that without proper evidence, could prove him innocent.

In the second semester of his second year at Hogwarts, Niko got a detention for the first time.

His mother went ballistic.

Needless to say, that was enough “attention” that Niko needed to last a long while. Rather, it was enough to stop him from pursuing it anymore. Instead, he now saw being in control, being stable, keeping the status quo... as something desirable.

Tired of dealing with people, something that was clearly out of his control, he decided to tweak things that he had jurisdiction with - himself, starting with his electives. As he progressed in school, he chose subjects and clubs that seemed to require minimal contact with people for good grades. He shut himself from people, leaving only a tiny trap door - after all, life’s too short to learn from your own mistakes. With proper distance, he learnt from others.

Other than the occasional feast or special occasion, life at Hogwarts became quite uneventful for Niko.

And that was fine.

All he needed to do was control what he could - study diligently, and hopefully, graduate with grades good enough to land him a position at the Ministry.

Jacob Fletcher,  Father - Half-blood
Despite not seeing his father much, Niko has developed a sense of admiration towards his father. Now that he’s attending Hogwarts, they send each other an owl every now and then.

Madison Fletcher, Mother - Half-blood
Niko might be terrified of his mom’s tantrums, but he loves her very much. He admires how tough she is, seeing how she raised all 3 of them single handedly.

Natalie Fletcher, Elder sister
Dotes on Niko a lot, but he finds it patronising rather than heart warming. Deep down, he is appreciative that his sister cares about him.

Norman Fletcher, Younger brother
Niko is closer with Norman than with Natalie. Other than regular owls, he’d also send his brother a sweet or two from Honeydukes.