Molly Carpenter

Margaret Katherine Amanda Carpenter, called Molly, was a human wizard, now the Lady of the Winter Court of the Sidhe; she is the daughter of Michael and Charity Carpenter. Molly first appeared in Death Masks. She is first mentioned as Michael's eldest daughter in Grave Peril.

Biography
Molly is the first child of Michael and Charity Carpenter.

During Death Masks, Molly is fourteen years old. By this time she developes a rather Goth scene look in clothes, piercings, and make-up when not at home, but changed back to conservative clothes in the treehouse before going home.

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 a panic, 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.

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.

Personality
Molly is a balance of selfish and unselfish character traits. She is a loving daughter and big sister, and a hard-working, well-organized apprentice to Harry. She also has a tendency to ignore or manipulate limits she does not agree with - from her school clothing in Grave Peril, to her friends' free will in Proven Guilty , to Harry's own dictates in White Night and beyond. According to Harry's discussion of mind-control and its effects on both the user and the used in Proven Guilty Molly's personality may have been permenantly damaged by her actions in that book.

Harry nicknames her "grasshopper" (Kung-Fu TV show reference) or "padawan" (Star Wars), both references to her promising apprentice status. But even after coming under the Doom of Damocles she has on at least one occasion (Turn Coat) used 'tiny bits' of Black Magic when she thinks it could quickly help the situation, despite the threat this poses to both her and Harry's life. Her judgement is suspect; she's still unaware of her own limitations and hotheaded, occasionally putting herself in danger she can't handle. She unwisely volunteers to come to Chichén Itzá, despite her unsuitability for combat.

Molly has a serious crush on Harry and has hit on him (without success) a few times, and has soulgazed Thomas Raith, expressing a great deal of empathy for his inner pain.

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

In Small Favor, it's mentioned that Molly is extraordinarily sensitive when it comes to various magical energies. It's what makes her so good at: psychomancy and neuromancy.

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

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.

After she put a dozen or so Big Hoods to sleep way too easily—with neru—Harry thought that what she had done was hard and something to be expected only from a White Council wizard.

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. In "Ghost Story" she reveals a few more.

Magical strength

 * Veils
 * Verisimilomancy
 * Psychomancy
 * Holomancy
 * Neuromancy

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty, 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.

Ghost Story
In Ghost Story, six months after the fall of the Red Court, Molly is in her mid-twenties and has become jaded and cynical, and perhaps a bit insane. She is potentially an official warlock and is currently wanted by the Wardens because, with Harry gone, the Doom of Damocles falls and her death sentence becomes reactivated from her trial. Molly acts as the Ragged Lady in the hope of keeping Chicago safe by creating a reputation similar to the one that Harry once had—to make the bad guys think there was a White Council wizard still in the City. 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. She became the "Ragged Lady" under Lea's training," occasionally switching places with Lea.  Molly used illusions to trick a Fomor Servitor—who had kidnapped a little girl, and a corrupt cop—that the Servitor paid off in gold to look the other way, into killing each other.

Two child ghosts brought Molly to Harry by the Big Hoods and Corpsetaker's hideout. He needed her to open a way for him and the ghost army. She reacted strongly when Harry said: "You're one hell of a woman, Molly." Corpsetaker and Molly soulgaze and do mind battle—Molly's complex mental defneses resemble the the Enterprise star ship. Harry followed Corpsetaker into Molly's mind. Just before the battle was about to end, Harry sent out an SOS and then reclaimed his memory of who really ordered his murder and realized how that damaged Molly. Uriel showed Harry how Mortimer helped free Molly of Corpsetaker.

Cold Days
{1↨Main|Cold Days}} In Cold Days, Molly has begun to get her life back together. By this time, she's a full-fledged adult and, Harry notes, as capable as any White Council member (though renegade). She has also confirmed that she's still in love with Harry.

Following the death of Maeve, Molly has become the new Winter Lady.

External References

 * Kung Fu (TV series) - Wikipedia
 * "Kung Fu": Frequently Asked Questions: "why is Caine called Grasshopper"
 * Pilot (1972) - Quotes - IMDb
 * Padawan - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki
 * Padawan - Star Wars Glossary - What is a Padawan