Patrick "Pat" Hackney VII

Patrick Hackney VII, with the inevitable nickname of Pat Seven, is a fan-created character from Roentgen's The Hallowed Halls of Fielding. He is a sophomore student at Fielding along with his best friend Tom Sloane, Daria Morgendorffer and Elsie Sloane. He is the only child of Patrick Hackney VI (Pat Six) and Aster Hackney. The Hackneys are billionaires and Pat Seven's family's assets exceed those of any other family at Fielding.

Background

Pat made his first appearance in Part 3 of the series, where he would state his crush on Quinn Morgendorffer, something that would become a defining character trait. (Before Quinn, he was going out with Sue Bentley and seriously regrets doing it.) While his affections for Quinn seem genuine and the two become a steady couple, she doesn't have the same level of feelings for him and was primarily interested in his status. As this became clearer, Pat became increasingly disgruntled with the relationship, though rarely showing this to anyone: by Part 124, he would wish that Quinn would stand by him as he did by her and muse "I want to be needed, by someone, anyone."

Physically, he is quite gawky and wears glasses. He is above average height with light-textured straight blond hair and a round chin. In personality, he's an upbeat, flamboyant chap who is known for making grandoise speeches and gestures — in one part, after telling Quinn he'd visit her at a summer camp, he actually did so despite the masses of security (including vicious guard dogs that roamed the grounds) he had to get past to do it.

He speaks in a distinctive, eccentric style with many seemingly coined expressions. He would once, after finding out something about Quinn, ask Tom if his mannerisms made him a joke to people — he only asked briefly, received no answer, and never brought it up again.

Apparently, the Hackneys and Sloanes have known each other for a long time. Pat Six and Angier Sloane graduated from the same class at Fielding. Pat hangs out either Tom Sloane or Terry Wicklemore or both.

Aside from his characteristic devotion to Quinn — calling her 'fairest', 'dearest', etc. — he is an accomplished sailor, having served on his father's racing yachts. He owns his own car but it is not stored at Fielding, he is an accomplished driver. Occasionally, Pat Seven will tie one on, through liquor obtained illicitly either on- or off-campus; Terry Wicklemore serves as his drinking buddy on some excursions.

At Fielding, Pat Seven is the definition of a 'C' student; he once told Quinn that he could set her up with a service that could provide term papers and other assignments on demand. He makes frequent use of the Fielding Morgue, an on-line database that serves as a bank of test questions and written essays. However, Pat Seven is not without intelligence and has shown business acumen, making money at LauraJeanne NorthChase's party through wheeling and dealing of his own.

Family relations

Pat Seven calls his father 'pater' and 'mater', the Latin forms of "father" and "mother". His father sailed the America's Cup and is a hard-driving, dominating man who is disappointed in his son (although never at the level of Mad Dog Morgendorffer) and who believes that Pat's relationship with Quinn is doomed. Pat Six appears to find Quinn interesting at some level and even attended Quinn's play along with his son.

Pat's mother, Aster, appears to be a low-functioning alcoholic that spends most of her day in a blissful torpor, usually non-functional by noon. Pat Six and Aster have been shown arguing with each other; Pat Seven has not commented about his family life.

In other series

Pat also makes appearances as Tom's friend in "God Save The Esteem" and "Ethan Yeager in Lawndale".