Basic Information
Full Name: Ophelia Ìsabel Rushden
Nickname: Lia
Age // Birthdate: 17 | October 31st, 1980
Bloodline: Halfblood

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Hogwarts Years: 1992-1999
Wand: Blackthorn, 10 ¾ Inches, Dragon Heartstring

Blackthorn, which is a very unusual wand wood, has the reputation, in my view well-merited, of being best suited to a warrior. This does not necessarily mean that its owner practises the Dark Arts (although it is undeniable that those who do so will enjoy the blackthorn wand’s prodigious power); one finds blackthorn wands among the Aurors as well as among the denizens of Azkaban. It is a curious feature of the blackthorn bush, which sports wicked thorns, that it produces its sweetest berries after the hardest frosts, and the wands made from this wood appear to need to pass through danger or hardship with their owners to become truly bonded. Given this condition, the blackthorn wand will become as loyal and faithful a servant as one could wish.

Patronus: Can produce an almost fully formed patronus. Takes the form of a Maine Coon
Boggart: A masked assailant trying to attack her
What do they see in the Mirror of Erised? Herself as a successful individual, clean of drugs and alcohol, with a functioning relationship with another human being, as well as her parents. A girl can dream...

Appearance
General: The first thing anyone would probably notice about Lia is how tiny she is. Standing at only five feet exactly, she certainly gets a few questioning and exasperating stares whenever she visits a bar, now that she’s of age in the wizarding world at least, much to her annoyance. Whenever someone has enough gall to make a joke about her height, she makes sure to make them extremely uncomfortable by her hazel eyed death glare which can be somewhat terrifying for such a tiny being, and usually ends in a nasty stinging hex and her middle finger. On odd occasion, even a drink over the head or to the face if she’s in a really bad mood. Never would she physically hurt anyone however, mostly due to the fact when it comes to physical strength, she is about on par with a cooked noodle. Her frame is very feminine, dainty, and it doesn’t help matters much that she smokes and doesn’t work out in any way to strengthen her muscles. So in other words, she barks rather loudly with her dark humor, strange facial expressions, odd body movements, and exasperated noises, but when it comes to the actual bite part? Unless it involves magic, she is pretty pants. Though that still doesn’t stop her from running her mouth, sometimes landing her in a bit of trouble.

Lia also purposefully carries herself in a very closed off manner. Sort of slouched, her face usually has a somewhat annoyed expression or what is in more modern times known as resting bitch face. That isn’t to say she doesn’t know how to smile or look cute, or even welcoming. Those kinds of expressions are just usually saved for those she feels truly deserve it. It’s safe to say she pleases equally as many customers in his customer service jobs as she pisses off. Actually, it’s probably more skewed towards the latter, but Lia doesn’t care. She can’t pretend to like someone if she doesn’t, it’s simply not in her nature. She also has an odd habit of resorting to strange behaviors like growling or biting at people in public if they are bothering her. Strange men asking for her number, when she clearly has no interest, for instance, will be on the receiving end of this behavior, among others.

However, regardless of all of this, Ophelia still tries to dress in somewhat cute and fashionable clothes. They just also have to double as comfortable. She also tends to mix and on occasion, not match her clothing. Yet somehow she manages to pull it off.

Also, she tends to come off as a little strange to those that don’t know her in her behavior. She likes this about herself though. It keeps away people who truly don’t matter. Her dark brown hair, which really borders on black, also adds to her somewhat dark demeanor and her skin tone borders on just a bit darker due to her hispanic heritage.

Finally, as far as distinguishing marks go, Lia has one rather large scar, obviously made with a knife, that runs from the back of her neck over her left shoulder. She doesn't like to talk about where she got it from, but maybe one day.

PB: Aubrey Plaza

Personal
General: At first glance, Ophelia seems somewhat unapproachable due to her unfortunate habit of usually having a sour look on her face. But that's really not reminiscent of how she is as a person. Yes, she's vulgar, honest almost to a harsh point, sarcastic, and has a somewhat misunderstood, dark humor, but that doesn't mean she's unable to participate in normal social situations. It's just better to know her first, otherwise you might be a bit put off. Though she does have a filter when absolutely necessary, Lia likes to say what's on her mind, when it's on her mind, regardless of the situation. She loves to make dirty jokes, play pranks on basically anyone who she thinks deserves it, and do whatever she wants, when she wants it. That clashes a bit with the central authority of Hogwarts, and she usually finds herself in detention more often than not, but that doesn't necessarily equate to her teachers disliking her for it either. They usually sigh, roll their eyes, and say "Not again, Ophelia." She's good at making it up to them though. After all, rarely does she turn her homework on time either so she makes it a special project to be nice to teachers, especially the ones who understand her cynical humor and mannerisms.

To her closest friends, they do have to deal with all of the above, but they get a lot extra as well. Though she's not good at sharing with others what she's feeling, she's always there for any of her friends when they need it. Whether that calls for telling them like it is, or just being a shoulder to cry on, she usually tries to gauge the situation the best she can before jumping in. She's also willing to get in trouble for any of her loved ones, especially if she thinks they're being wronged. Lia isn't one to tolerate any kind of hatred, warranted or not, towards any of those she cares about, and is more than willing to get back at whoever hurt her friends or made them cry. That is, if getting back at them involves something not physical. Usually she's okay with spreading rumors, playing an embarrassing prank, or putting some kind of herb in their food when they're not looking to give them boils or make them vomit. Because if we're being honest here, Lia has a tough exterior, but she's pretty pants when it comes to physical altercations. She could probably take on another girl her size out of pure, thrashing feistiness, but if anyone bigger than her wanted to harm her, that's where her knack for running at the speed of light comes in.

Ophelia is also one to march to the beat of her own drum. Though she does well enough in school, she dislikes the fact homework is mandatory and they have to be in bed by certain hours. She's all for total freedom, doing what you want, so long as your aren't hurting other people. She's learning slowly to listen to what others tell her more, especially after what has been happening with her family life, but it's still a point of contention. She needs her friends usually to tell her she's being ridiculous and to stop being a baby. She likes it when they dish out all her harsh words back to her. She needs to hear it, really. But she also needs the caring and love of a true friendship, since she isn't very close to any of her family. In that sense, her friends are her family, and she will do whatever she can for them. She is more than willing to put every ounce of trust she has in those she cares about, but the minute it's betrayed, it's nearly impossible to get it back. She plays tough, but on the inside she hurts more than she probably should, and giving someone a second chance is a scary thing. It's like giving them a knife to stab in her back all over again, and she's not sure how she feels about that.

Finally, even though Lia isn't the best at paying attention, turning in homework, etc, that doesn't mean she isn't completely brilliant. She has a natural talent for defensive magic, a damn near photographic memory, is quick witted and extremely clever when need be, and she has quite the green thumb and an aptitude for plants in general. During the summer, if you can't find her indoors she is usually wandering deep corners of the woods (probably places she shouldn't be) and working in the greenhouses. She's been given special permission to grow her own little area of plants, so long as she doesn't do anything bad with them. Though what she terms 'bad' is probably open for debate.

Strengths: Herbology, DADA, her open-mind, reliability, quick thinking, flying, Quidditch, debates, mental altercations, Care of Magical Creatures, sarcasm
Weaknesses: Transfiguration, battles of physical strength, being on time, listening, drugs, alcohol, responsibility, Divination, swimming, knowing when to quit
Hobbies: Smoking cigarettes, annoying people, making dirty jokes, planting & cultivating, dueling people, thinking up crazy ideas to keep herself entertained, playing pranks, sleeping, eating, did she mention eating?, definitely eating.
Personality in 5 words: Merlin, you're friggen weird.
List three random facts about your character: She suffers from pretty extreme night terrors, she can drink most grown men under the table, even at her young age, and she basically gives the best gifts EVER.
Social life: Not everyone can manage to put up with Lia, and most thing she's pretty weird, but that doesn't mean she has no friends. Ophelia is extremely loyal, helpful, and downright sweet when she wants to be, it's just really buried and you have to be extra special to her. Also, as far as romantic relationships go, she's an absolute disaster when it comes to boys and girls.
Private life: Lia really doesn't talk about her issues much, like the fact she was assaulted the summer before her 6th year, or that she's been kicked out of her house, or any of that nonsense. She'd rather keep it all in, thanks so much.
Achievements: Over 200 detentions in her years at Hogwarts (this is an achievement, okay?), making Chaser on the Ravenclaw team, scoring top marks on her OWLs, even though no one ever saw her crack a book, fought in and... physically survived the battle of Hogwarts.

History
Mother: Monica Rushden
Father: Antonio Saucedo (d. 1997)
Siblings: Only Child
Extended Family: None that she knows or is extremely close to
Childhood: Lia's mom never actually wanted to have kids, and especially not with someone she found out to later be magical. Safe to say the entire thing scared the shit out of her, but for all of her negative feelings about the situation, Antonio very much loved his daughter and Lia grew up being much closer to him than she ever was her mother. While Monica shoved dance lessons and proper etiquette down her throat, Antonio taught her to play Quidditch, scarf down ice cream like a champ, and speak Spanish to her mother (which she didn't understand a word of) just to drive her insane.

It was safe to say, her mother and father never really got along, and more often than not the household Lisa grew up in was wrought with tension, but she learned to ignore it for the most part, and was most definitely a daddy's girl for as long as possible. Now most might ask why they didn't break up, and that was because Antonio was the one with the job at the Ministry, whereas Monica had no drive to work, and figured since Tony knocked her up, it was his responsibility to figure everything out while she lazed around the house with her martinis and barked orders where she saw fit.

However, the negative treatment from Monica eventually began to wear on her, and Ophelia's self esteem began to plummet at an alarming pace. Probably the only reason she managed to make it through until Hogwarts was with encouragement and affection from her father. When her letter came, she was practically chomping at the bit to get out of the house, to get out from under her mother's thumb, to stop constantly being told what to do. Of course, she knew that would still happen at school, but definitely not as bad as at home. Nothing in the world could ever be as bad as back home.

Monica fought hard as well, to get her not to go, but Antonio wasn't hearing no for an answer, knowing full well his daughter needed a healthy environment. Also, he refused to deny Lia her birthright. She as a witch, and that meant she was going to school no matter what. Monica refused to see Ophelia off at the train station, but that was okay with her. Or at least, on the outside it was, but she was eleven, for Merlin's sake. On the inside, it still stung like hell.


Hogwarts:

Hogwarts then, was her new horizon. It was freedom. It was a fresh start, and she wanted to make the best of it. Though that was difficult when you grew up in such a complex and dreary home situation. Her sarcasm and humor were dark, even at a young age. And she had a biting wit that sometimes turned people off to her attitude, thinking she was being mean over trying to be funny. But eventually she managed to rope in a group of friends who realized that she was a lot more kind and entertaining than she let on. Sarcasm and humor were her ways of coping with her world, and it seemed there was at least a decent amount of people out there that understood that.

The only downside though, was now that she was away from her house, her rebellious phase really began to take hold. Her mother wasn't constantly being overbearing, her father wasn't there to gently tell her no and although Lia was extremely gifted and bright, being sorted into Ravenclaw her first year, she didn't always live up to expectations. She liked to do her own thing, on her own time. She considered homework more of a suggestion than a necessity. Sure, she turned it in, but sometimes it was a day, or two, or three late. Her grades were always passing, but never above and beyond until the end of the year, when she sailed through finals. She missed class, she overslept, she got detention. And oddly enough, she loved it. She loved every minute of it. And most of all, she loved how much it infuriated her mother back at home when she heard about it. More than once she received howlers, more than once she was screamed at when she got home over the holidays. But she found it harder and harder to care because deep down, she knew there was no pleasing the woman, as much as she would have secretly liked too. She wanted her mother's love and approval, she did. She tried for a long time when she was younger, but eventually it just became too much, and going away to school broke that dam inside her. She was just over it. Done. There was no point anymore. All she cared about when going home anymore was seeing her father. He was the one who had to deal with the mother monster, not her, and she felt sorry for him. It broke her on the inside that he had to go through that and there was nothing she could do to free him of his burden except love him unconditionally and spend a large amount of time during her breaks dedicated to spending time with him.

Her first few years of school flew by, and she made some fabulous friends. She started prank wars, she started rumors, but only to someone she felt really deserved it. Never to anyone who was innocent. She liked to think of herself as fighting crime from the sidelines. If she saw someone being incredibly mistreated by a fellow student, she would promise herself to somehow get that person back in some way, or some form. But she had to be clever about it, because physical fighting wasn't her strong suit. She just wasn't built for altercations like that. Her mind was what she had to work with.

As she entered her fifth year, two incredibly monumental things happened. The first was she made the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as a Chaser. It was one of the proudest moments of her life, and even her mother gave a small nod of approval at her achievement, even if she didn't quite understand what Quidditch was. And though Monica didn't like sports much, she did realize how much hard work and dedication it took to achieve, and Ophelia got a congratulations owl a few days later, which she still keeps hidden away as a keepsake. Mother approval was awfully hard to come by, after all. It seemed everything was going great, and she was the happiest she had ever been. But by Christmas, all of that happiness had been crushed out of her.

Her father fell extremely ill, and by the end of February had passed away, leaving Lia completely broken and devastated. Not to mention this was about the exact point the wizarding world fell into warfare and started to crumble around her with the death of Dumbledore.

To make matters worse, when she came back for the summer holidays, Monica and Lia got into the fight to end all fights. Now that Antonio was gone, Monica thought it was the perfect time to talk to Ophelia about how much better off they were without him, and how Lia needed to get her life together and do exactly as Monica and her muggle family (who she barely even knew and cared little for) commanded in order to make their family proud. Immediately Lia flew off the handle, and before she realized what was happening there was a great deal of screaming, Monica hit her daughter rather violently, and her daughter pushed her over before leaving the house. She got an owl the next day telling her she was not welcome to return.

Thankfully for her, Antonio had been smart enough to leave his wealth to Lia and not his wife which probably prompted a lot of the ill feelings, but that did not include the house in which they lived and to be quite frank, Monica's family had enough money to care for their now single daughter.

But what he left was enough, and instead of contacting any of her other friends, mostly out of embarrassment and shame, Ophelia lied about her age and rented a tiny one bedroom for the remainder of the summer in an extremely seedy part of London. She spent most of it sitting in bars, drinking until she couldn't feel anymore, and sitting her in bedroom alone. There was one particularly bad night that she still can't remember completely, though she knows she was attacked, after waking up in a dark alley with a bruised face, barely any clothing, and multiple broken ribs and lacerations. It still haunts her, and she hasn't exactly told anyone about it, which only contributed to her reliance on any kind of substance.

When she returned to Hogwarts, it was completely different from what she once knew. The warm, open castle was plagued by Death Eaters and Snape was headmaster. People were dying left and right, and more often than not she was on the receiving end of some cruel curses for her blood status. But Ophelia wasn't one to give up, and she made it a point to stand up for herself, her friends, and anyone who was being bullied by the Carrows, which more often than not ended up with her in the Hospital Wing, but she got a few good licks in here and there. And though she wasn't a member of Dumbledore's Army, that didn't mean she ran away when the going got tough. She fought in the war, she watched her friends die around her, even injured and killed a few death eaters, which still haunts her, and received a few injuries herself. But she survived. Lia would always survive. That she was sure of.

In her final year, things had been getting better. Her attitude. Her drinking. Even her smoking. Lia is trying to look towards the future, and build something for herself, even if she's also fighting her inner demons as hard as she can.

Sample


Out of Character
Name: Maggie
Age: 23
Contact: email: maggie.kat1106@gmail.com AIM: maggie116910
Timezone: EST