Patricia Rakepick

Madam Patricia Rakepick was a British witch in the employment of Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London. Educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during her formative years, she was remembered by her former teacher Albus Dumbledore as an exceptional student who, according to Rubeus Hagrid, always was in trouble but always on top of her class. After she left school, she went on to become a famous Curse-Breaker, being celebrated by many as the world's most accomplished occupant of said position, having even been named Head Curse-Breaker by the goblins who ran the bank. By 1985, a book about her had been published.

Said to have had first-hand experience with the Cursed Vaults during her formative years, she was invited back to the school by Dumbledore to help putting an end to the threat posed by the Cursed Vaults during the 1987–1988 school year.

Early life
Patricia Rakepick was born somewhere in the British Isles in late 1955 to 1956, into a wizarding family of unknown pedigree.

Hogwarts years
Patricia Rakepick received her magical education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which she attended from 1967 to 1974. A gifted student, she quickly proved to be the most outstanding student of her year and always was at the top of all of her classes. While Professor Albus Dumbledore found her to be an exceptional pupil, she was nevertheless greatly disliked by most of her professors for her rebellious streak, a sentiment that did not improve when she, rather than being a good role model to her younger peers as she grew older instead became mentoring them in the art of trouble-making. Other teachers include Filius Flitwick and Rolanda Hooch. Patricia was a firm believer during her time at school that the Cursed Vaults existed, but the faculty did not heed her warning.

In her third year, she chose at least two elective subjects; Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy. Either the same semester or during one of her remaining four years of schooling, she inquired the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Silvanus Kettleburn, how to enter the Forbidden Forest without being seen. When he asked the reason as to why she wanted to do that, Rakepick told him she meant to explore the forest and study the creatures that dwelled within it, expressing a desire to become a Magizoologist upon leaving school. Accepting this explanation, the professor explained that the easiest way for students to enter the forest unseen was by broom, revealing secrets about the forest he had learned from numerous years spent exploring it himself. Afterwards, she reportedly spent quite as much time in the forest as she did in the castle. According to Rubeus Hagrid, the school's Keeper of Keys and Grounds during her student years, she more than once disappeared from the castle for days at the time.

Given that she always was on top of her class, its reasonable to assume that she achieved good results in her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s examinations, being more than qualified for her future career.

Working for Gringotts
After leaving Hogwarts, Patricia Rakepick went on to work for Gringotts Wizarding Bank as a Curse-Breaker, having apparently been taken in by the allure of a 'challenging career involving travel, adventure, and substantial, danger-related treasure bonuses '. Quickly proving herself to be very efficient and gifted employee, it soon became glaringly obvious that the job for which she had been hired was one at which she was very good. In the years that followed, she would embark on a number of daring expeditions to sites of historical sorcery from where significant treasure might be obtained, reveling in the fresh challenges and exotic scenery to which her profession had to offer. Having dealt expertly with a wide variety of enchanted objects, magical creatures and, as she was known for her fierce competitive instinct, rivals alike.

Over the years, several articles was published in the Daily Prophet about her many curse-breaking adventures, among them one that claimed that she at one point killed a Sphinx with her bare hands, and one stating she once allegedly ripped the tail off a Manticore, both of which would would ultimately leave many who knew her only by reputation with the impression that Patricia Rakepick not was someone to be crossed. Burnishing herself in both status and ability, she eventually came to be regarded as the top Curse-Breaker of the bank, and was even promoted to the position of Head Curse-Breaker by the Gringotts goblins. By the mid-1980s, she had come to enjoy a rather illustrious reputation as one of the foremost experts in curse-breaking that her field had to offer.

In the 1986–1987 school year, Dumbledore spent time searching for her. He found her working at the Brazilian wizarding school, Castelobruxo where she was exploring newly discovered ruins underneath the school. He invited her to join him at Hogwarts the next school year and look into the Cursed Vault problem which kept occurring at the school, which she accepted.

Returning to Hogwarts
By the 1987–1988 school year, Professor Albus Dumbledore had invited Patricia Rakepick back to Hogwarts due to her firsthand experience with the Cursed Vaults, and introduced her to the school after the Start-of-Term Feast. Patricia was surprised to be invited back, since she thought she had created trouble for Dumbledore when she attended the school, and warned everyone not to search for the next vault and meddle with her job. She was apparently working in some capacity as a temporary member of the staff, as she was granted the power to give and dock house points, giving Jacob's sibling twenty house points for their success in learning the Shield Charm.

Physical appearance
Patricia Rakepick was a proud, haughty-looking witch with long, red hair and blue eyes. She wears a blood red shirt, brown trousers, black boots, and black robes with an Eye of Horus pin on it. She also wears two brown belts across her waist, onto which it was attached a sheath-like holster to hold her wand.

Personality and traits
A self-professed daredevil with little regard for rules or restrictions and a strong sense of entitlement, Patricia Rakepick was a woman that often eyed those with whom she was conversing with a look of gleeful smugness, yet could demonstrate a sudden temper or disdain towards those of whom she did not think very highly, such as Ben Copper, whom she condescendingly singled out during her evaluation of a group of students from which she wanted to pick an assistant for her sanctioned search for the Cursed Vaults. Happy to be in the thick of the action, she is not someone to shy away from a dangerous situation, with even Rubeus Hagrid believing that her to be completely fearless. Known to take immense pride in her status as a world-renowned Curse-Breaker, she was not a particularly modest person, shamelessly flaunting her position of trust and prestige, even to her peers, to place herself above them. She also had a devious streak, actively encouraging students to be ruthless in the manner they dealt their rivals by telling them to ignore the restrictions that their professor otherwise would have put on duels, and recruiting students to participate in searching for the Cursed Vaults despite Headmaster Albus Dumbledore expressively forbid them to do so.

Magical abilities and skills
Patricia Rakepick was described as an exceptional student by Albus Dumbledore. She was stated to be a gifted witch who was always in trouble, but also always at the top of all her class. Some also described as devious and dangerous, and an individual one would rather have with you than against you.
 * Defence Against the Dark Arts: An academically gifted student, who was always on the top of her class. Patricia Rakepick must have excelled in the subject and received top marks on her schoolwork. A remarkable feat, considering what would be likely to have been varying competence of the ever-shifting teachers in the subject who taught her. She was said to have spent as much time in the Forbidden Forest during her time as a pupil once she knew how to enter undetected, her skill in the subject undoubtedly was of great help in keeping the dangerous creatures that dwelled therein at bay. In adulthood, she was in seen by many as arguably the finest Curse Breaker in the world, which served as a further testament to her ability of fending off Dark Magic, particularly in regard to breaking through curses. She also is skilled at defensive spells, teaching Jacob's sibling to use the Shield Charm to great effect.
 * Martial Magic: Highly confident in her own combat skills, Patricia Rakepick was known to be a dangerous witch, and not without good reason; An advocate for violence and unafraid of using it herself, Rakepick was a self-professed no hold barred fighter that had never believed in putting restrictions on duelling, encouraging students to use curses, charms, transfiguration, potions, and even resort to Muggle duelling if that was what it took to overcome an adversary, and even went as far as to admit that the Blasting Curse, a spell she herself described as being "quite dangerous, and oftentimes deadly", had served her well against rivals in the past.
 * Dark Arts: While not famous for her practicing Dark Magic, she was willing to use magic of lethal effects against her rivals, such as the Blasting Curse, a spell that would blast anyone struck with it directly to pieces. She also taught the same spell to students and encouraged them to do the same.
 * Physical combat skills: Madam Rakepickwas known to encourage the infusion of physical combat into one's dueling style, stating she has never believed in putting restrictions on dueling, which implies that she either had done so in the past or at the very least was willing to if she deemed it necessary to overcome an adversary. She also once allegedly killed a Manticore with her bare hands and supposedly ripped the tail off a Chimera, both of which would, if true, be truly remarkable feats of physical prowess indeed.
 * Curses: Since her job consisted in large part of breaking curses, she had a high level of knowledge on their applications, and was willing to use them herself when she deemed it necessary. While testing a group of students to determine which of them would become her assistant, she professed that the Blasting Curse, a spell of potentially lethal effect if used against another living being, had served her well in dealing with enchanted objects, creatures and rivals and later encouraged them to follow her example by including curses in their repertoire for combative magic.
 * Charms: Stated to have been a gifted student and always on the top of her class, Rakepick had a talent for charmswork and even encouraged students at Hogwarts to use charms in duels, suggesting she did so herself.
 * Transfiguration: Albus Dumbledore, the school's Headmaster and former Head of the Transfiguration department, remembers her as having been an exceptional student back when he was still teaching. She also encouraged students at Hogwarts to use transfiguration in duels, suggesting she did so herself.
 * Potions: As a pupil, Patricia excelled in potion-making, being top of her class in the subject. In addition to the fact that there are potions that can help victims of curses and that it would be likely Madam Rakepick knew how to prepare such brews to have on hand in the case she or one of her colleagues were to fall afoul of a curse in the course of their duties, she also encouraged students to have potions useful in dueling such as medical concoctions like the Wiggenweld Potion at hand during dueling, suggesting that she herself would brew and have at the ready potions that could help her not succumb too easily to the effects of unfriendly spells in the case of a combat situation.
 * Care of Magical Creatures: Remembered by Silvanus Kettleburn as his most gifted student during her time at Hogwarts, Madam Rakepick was on top of her class and had a good relationship with Professor Kettleburn. Informing him of her desire to become a Magizoologist following her graduation, whom she once asked him for help to enter the Forbidden Forest so that she could explore it and study the creatures therein, to which he agreed despite the fact that students are not allowed in, telling her the easiest way to enter the forest undetected was by broom.
 * Arithmancy: Since becoming a Curse Breaker required at least an O.W.L. in Arithmancy, it is reasonable and logical to deduce that Rakepick was skilled in this subject.
 * Flying: Madam Rakepick must have been a very proficient flier, as she often sneaked into the Forbidden Forest during her formative years as a student at Hogwarts, which she accomplished by broom. Notoriously massive and treacherous, it required a high level of control to not only be able to fly into/through it, but also to land safely. When Jacob's sibling learned how Madam Rakepick had managed to enter the forest, the individual in question resolved to do the same, but had to improve their abilities as a flier to do so safely despite being among the most talented fliers in their year, which highlighted Madam Rakepick's skill on a broom.
 * Languages: Given how Rakepick worked closely with goblins at Gringotts Bank, it is highly likely that he spoke Gobbledegook.

Behind the scenes

 * Despite being world-wide famous, Penny Haywood and Jacob's sibling did not recognise her by appearance prior to Dumbledore's introduction.
 * Rubeus Hagrid did not seem to have a high opinion about her, and warned Jacob's sibling to watch out for her. Severus Snape's opinion of her is even lower, as he does not trust Rakepick at all and only tolerates her due to Dumbledore and he even asked Jacob's sibling to bring anything that proves she cannot be trusted to him.
 * Since she wore the Eye of Horus, she might at some point in her career have worked in Egypt.
 * Depending on their months of birth, Patricia and Narcissa Black may have been in the same year.

Notes and references
Патриция Рейкпик