Character Summary: Max Kraden<br/><br/>Name: Kraden, Maxwell "Max"<br/>Lineage: Muggle-born<br/>Gender: Male<br/>Age: 17<br/>Class Year: 1st<br/>Dorm: Sheep<br/><br/>NEWTs Earned:<br/>Potions-O<br/>Herbology-O<br/>CMC-E<br/>Arithmancy-E<br/><br/>Notable Strengths:<br/>In technical skill, Max is at his best. Things like potions and herbology, where he can learn a list of instructions, or develop his own, are areas in which he can excel, and has even made a breakthrough or two to surprise even the world's experts. He's a strong reader and writer, but really stands out as a chef, which is what he was famous for while residing in the Muggle world. In addition, he often relies on his willpower to reach nigh-impossible deadlines and surpass expectations.<br/><br/>Notable Weaknesses:<br/>In terms of actual magical skill, Max is found lacking. The wand waving, the incantations... It's unclear as to why, but he barely got passing grades in DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration. In addition, he has a tendency to be very helpful to people, even to the point where they might walk all over him. He is also a bit too trusting, in that he always expects the best from people and being double-crossed or lied to will surprise him every time.<br/><br/>Notable Possessions: Nothing out of the ordinary but a book of recipes, which usually appears to be a book of desserts, some of which clipped out of papers, some of which are handwritten. However, after a Revealing spell (and this took him months to work out, whereas it took others mere days) it shows itself as a book of powerful potions, both collected and handwritten.<br/><br/>Description: 1.6m tall, weighing 120 pounds, he's not exactly intimidating. He has medium-long blond hair which he's always blowing out of his face, as his hands are usually busy in some potion or another. His slender glasses are often sliding down his nose, at an optimal angle for his soft blue eyes. With a slightly rounded face and upbeat demeanor, he appears almost childlike. However, when he begins talking passionately about a subject or is working diligently on an assignment, his maturity shows itself.<br/><br/>Background: Max is a born American, but moved to Britain 4 years ago to investigate its greater variety of magical herbs. This made him one of the precious few transfer students in Hogwarts, and something of an anomaly among his classmates. Despite his friendly personality, he found himself in the midst of pre-formed cliques, and wasn't always able to make few friends. In fact, he was often picked on due to his stature and lack of magical talent. To this end, he developed several potions to bring about resistance to magic, and increased speed and strength. With this, and a little martial arts instruction, he never became a fearsome force, but was at least safe at school. He then arrived here with the intention of further developing potions while exploring its links to herbology and magical creatures.<br/><br/>Adult Limits: Same as o/o, but while the offs are set in stone, one never knows when they'll find a new "on", right?