Margaret Katherine Amanda Carpenter^[1], called Molly, is a human wizard; she is the daughter of Michael and Charity Carpenter. She first appeared in Death Masks.

Biography

Molly is the first child of Michael and Charity Carpenter.

During Death Masks, Molly is fourteen years old.^[2] By this time she used to wear different clothes, piercings, and make-up when not at home, but changed back to conservative clothes in the treehouse before going home.^[2]

Molly first manifested her magical power about two years before the events of Proven Guilty, when she instinctually created a veil. After coming home from school she had entered the house while still wearing her Goth clothes, confident her mother was out. When Charity, who had stayed home sick, happened onto her in the living room, Molly, in shame, unconsciously veiled herself. Shocked to discover her mother did not acknowledge her, she went to her room to change her clothes, now aware that she might have magical talent.^[3]

Molly was arrested for possession of marijuana and ecstasy, which she was caught holding during a police raid at a party, and sentenced to community service. Her father thought her apparent repentance was enough, but her mother insisted on further actions and restrictions. In the spring before Proven Guilty the familial situation escalated, resulting in Molly leaving home and dropping out of school.^[1]

After attempting to help cure her friends, Rosanna Marcella and Nelson Lenhardt, of their addiction to drugs through magic, Molly was found guilty of breaking one of the Seven Laws of Magic by the White Council in Proven Guilty. Harry Dresden spoke in her defense and pleaded for her to be sentenced to the Doom of Damocles instead of a capital execution, accepting her as his apprentice, and both were placed under the Doom with Dresden being held responsible for the future actions of his new apprentice.^[4]

Six months after Changes, Molly is in her mid-twenties and has become jaded and cynical. Under Lea's training, she became a figure known as the "Ragged Lady" occasionally switching places with Lea. She is potentially an official warlock (and is currently wanted by the Wardens) due to her use of illusions to trick Formor servitors and corrupt cops into killing each other. She acts as the Ragged Lady in the hope of keeping Chicago safe by creating a reputation similar to the one that Harry once had.

The other members of the Chicago Alliance have tried to have an intervention for her, but she used her illusions on them and have most of them too frightened to even be in the same room as her.

Abilities

Compared to those of her mentor Harry Dresden, Molly's magical abilities are more sensitive, finely tuned and delicate, though less powerful,^[5] allowing her to easily perform many fine magical tasks, such as veils,^[6] while making much more difficult for her to perform combat magic, due to her lesser brute magical strength and greater sensitivity to magical energies.

After training under Lea, she has become capable of shielding, adept at using illusions, and tricking enemies into killing each other. Molly also has a sleeping spell that can safely incapacitate several people at once.

Unlike her mother Charity, Molly has been noted to possess very poor cooking skills; though she is very good at making coffee.^[7]

Spells

Main article: List of Molly Carpenter’s spells

As of Changes, Molly has at least one named spell, Hireki, which is used to reveal anyone under a veil. She is also able to cast what she calls her "one woman rave," a display of dazzling light and sound.

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Proven Guilty, ch. 10
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Death Masks, ch. 15
3. ↑ Proven Guilty, ch. 41: "I walked home from school one day about two years ago and it was raining, so I ran straight inside. It was errands day, and I thought Mom was gone." "Ah," I said. "Let me guess. You were still wearing the Gothy McGoth outfit instead of what your mom saw you leave the house in. "Her cheeks flushed pink. "Yes. Only she wasn't running errands. Gran had borrowed the van and taken the little ones to get haircuts because Mom was sick. I was in the living room and I hadn't changed back. All I wanted was to sink into the floor so she wouldn't see me." [...] "I closed my eyes. Mom came in. She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV, and never said a word. I opened my eyes and she was sitting there, three feet away, and hadn't even seen me. I walked out really quietly, and she never even glanced at me. I mean, at first I thought she'd gone crazy or into denial or something. But she really hadn't seen me. So I snuck back to my room, changed clothes, and she was none the wiser."
4. ↑ Proven Guilty, ch. 47
5. ↑ White Night, ch. 3: "She’s not as strong as me, but she’s got a gift for the more subtle magic. Especially mental and emotional stuff."
6. ↑ Small Favor, ch. 1: "The grasshopper[Molly] might not be able to put up a decent shield, but she could do veils like they were going out of style [...]."
7. ↑ Small Favor, ch. 35: "It turns out that Molly wasn't her mother's daughter in that respect. Charity was like the MacGyver of the kitchen. She could whip up a five-course meal for twelve from an egg, two spaghetti noodles, some household chemicals, and a stick of chewing gum. Molly... Molly once burned my egg. My boiled egg. I don't know how. She could, however, make a mean cup of coffee."