Penwick

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Backstory
Arun Malik grew up in a wizarding family in western India, where his parents both worked in magical academia. As a student attending Mahoutokoro's, Arun showed an exceptional aptitude for academia, following in his parents' footsteps, eventually specializing in magical treaties and comparative magical history. After graduating, he spent years working with magical archives and academic institutions abroad, helping translate and preserve older magical texts.

That work exposed him to how frequently history is simplified, romanticized, or quietly altered to serve institutions and governments. It also, however, led him to meet his wife, Priya, a magical anthropologist specializing in goblin-wizard relations.

Penwick eventually recruited him to teach Lore & Language Studies after he taught a series of guest lectures at Sigerth University nearby. His family currently lives in Brynwell, and his eldest daughter attends Penwick herself, much to her dismay.

Appearance
Professor Malik dresses sharply and practically, favoring dark coats, pressed shirts, and fitted waistcoats. He wears the same scarf almost every day, even in June. Silver strands thread through his dark hair and beard, giving him a distinguished appearance that contrasts with the permanent exhaustion around his eyes. Arun has a strong, steady voice and an intense gaze that tends to make students feel as though they are being academically evaluated at all times.

Personality
Professor Malik is reserved, disciplined, and perpetually grumpy. Despite this, he has a dry sense of humor that emerges unexpectedly, usually in the form of quiet remarks under his breath.

He dislikes unnecessary noise and has very little tolerance for dramatics. Students often assume he dislikes people altogether, though this is not entirely true. His wife and children are among the few people capable of teasing him openly without consequence.

While gruff and difficult to impress, he is fundamentally fair. He listens carefully before making judgments, rarely loses his temper, and treats his students seriously. Arun has little interest in being “liked” as a professor, but a strong interest in his students becoming thoughtful, capable people.

Though not openly affectionate, Arun is dependable to a fault. While he has earned a reputation for being difficult and irritable, even students who dislike him usually admit they learn a great deal in his classroom.

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Where to find Professor Malik

Lore & Language Classroom (Very Common)
Arun spends much of his time here grading essays, annotating books, or writing endlessly into thick leather notebooks at the front lectern. Students often assume he is preparing lessons, though nobody seems entirely sure what exactly he is working on.

Brynwell Scholar's Row
Professor Malik spends most weekends in Brynwell with his family, occasionally seen browsing bookshops or in a discussion with a Sigerth professor. While noticeably less severe in town than at school, he still maintains the permanent expression of a man enduring a minor inconvenience.

Faculty Wing Lounge
Arun tends to occupy the same corner seat whenever possible, occasionally participating in conversations with dry commentary from behind a newspaper or book. Other professors have learned that his complaints about students, curriculum standards, or historical inaccuracies are strangely affectionate in their own way.

Avoids:
The Divination dome, school dances.

Teaching Style
Professor Malik's classes are dense, discussion-heavy, and heavily focused on interpretation rather than memorization alone. While students are certainly expected to know dates, terminology, and historical events, Arun places far greater importance on understanding context, recognizing bias, and identifying how language shapes historical narratives over time.

Arun has a habit of interrupting weak arguments mid-sentence, demanding clarification, evidence, or more precise wording before allowing students to continue. He rarely gives students direct answers immediately, preferring instead to challenge assumptions until they arrive at stronger conclusions themselves. This makes his classroom intimidating for some students, but deeply rewarding for others.

Though known for difficult essays, harsh grading, and relentless feedback, Professor Malik is fundamentally fair. Students who put genuine effort into improving will find that he notices, even if his version of praise amounts to saying their work was acceptable "this time.”

RP Hooks
1. Professor Malik is notorious for covering returned essays in aggressive amounts of commentary, corrections, and irritated marginal notes.
2. Arun occasionally assigns additional reading to students who complain that class material is “boring.”
3. Professor Malik will only engage with students who cross him in Brynwell if he enjoys teaching them.

Sample Dialogue
“That sentence contains six assumptions and one fact. Try again.”
“You are not being graded on confidence. Fortunately for you.”
“You keep using the word ‘primitive.’ I do not think you understand what that word means."
“You would all perform significantly better if you read instructions with the same intensity you read gossip.”
“No civilization in history has ever believed itself biased. Keep that in mind.”
“An argument is not stronger simply because you say it louder.”