Pavlo Ponikarovsky

[Prof. Pavlo Ponikarovsky]

PAVLO PONIKAROVSKY*
Forty-three years old, CoMC Professor
represented Durmstrang, bearing a 13.25", springy blend of
apple & maple, with a crup tail core wand

His name might mean small but Pavlo is anything but small. At 6'6" he was the butt of many half-giant jokes growing up. If you look close enough you will notice a variety of scars on his tanned skin as a result of a lifetime of working with creatures. He has a slight accent still that gives away his Eastern European roots. You'll notice he is frequently shadowed by his crup, Kari(kaw-ree), even during some lessons.

Pavlo tends to be laid-back and friendly but may seem quiet until he's comfortable around someone. Should you ask him for his opinion on something then be prepared for honesty. He isn't one to mince words and doesn't expect it from others. That said, he never goes out of his way to be rude and will normally keep his thoughts about any personal situations he hears about to himself. The quiet guy will disappear quickly though if you bring up something he is passionate about.


History
Pavlo was born and raised by wizarding parents in a mid-size muggle city in the Ukraine. Unlike most pure-blood families, his parents did their best to integrate their family into muggle life because of how few other wizarding families there were nearby. He and his older brother went to a muggle school until they were old enough to attend Durmstrang. They lived in an apartment that looked like a typical muggle style apartment with a television and phone. Both boys were taught early on that they couldn't mention anything about the magical world to muggles no matter how much they wanted to. Of course, that doesn't mean they didn't slip up sometimes. Their muggle friends just never took them seriously(lucky for them).

Adjusting to life at Durmstrang was hard on the young wizard at first. When he attended Durmstrang muggle-borns were not allowed and any association with muggles was frowned upon. Support for Voldemort was also very common at the time. His older brother quickly taught him the story he used of their family not being very social in their muggle city and that the brothers had pretty much played only with each other growing up. It was years before he ever even mentioned his muggle friends to a couple of his closest friends from school.
Life at Durmstrang wasn't all bad though. It was at school that Pavlo got the opportunity to work with magical creatures and find his calling in life. As was fitting for Durmstrang's darker roots, they also got the chance earlier in school to work with more dangerous creatures. He found he loved learning about and trying to understand a creature most people feared.
The first creatures he worked with on a regular basis was the small herd of thestrals that his professor had tamed. He was one of the few students who could see them & he took a liking to them during their first lesson with them. They were different and even though he knew the reason he could see them was bad, he couldn't help but feel special.

After he finished at Durmstrang, Pavlo was fortunate enough to become an apprentice to a magizoologist who traveled the world looking for new creatures. Pavlo and a small group of others spent a little over a decade slowly traveling through North and South America in their pursuit for new creatures. Their trip proved fruitful and many of the creatures they discovered are now finally being listed in magical creature books around the world.

He returned the year after Voldemort was defeated to find things already drastically changing. His old school was going through a rather large change after many former professors had been outed as supporting the dark lord and he was offered the position of magical creatures professor. He spent well over a decade teaching at and helping reform the school while spending his summers traveling to work with other creatures or spending time with his family back home.

Over two years ago he submitted his application to Hogwarts after hearing they were looking for a new care of magical creatures teacher so as to lighten the load on the aging Hagrid. After a few interviews and even a few meetings with the old keeper of keys and grounds himself, he was approved for the position. He enjoyed his first year at the school and is looking forward to many more years to come.

alias: Anna, Winifred Gwyllt
how did you find us?: I helped bring you to life.