Hogwarts School: A Harry Potter RPG

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character name:
Alexander M. Valentine

Previous and/or Current Character(s) if applicable:
James Knight, Jacob Scarborough, Ryan Ward, Callum Winters, Gilroy Locke

Character age:
36 | 08 October, 1917

Character education:
Hogwarts Class of 1936

Strength and weaknesses (details please):
Alex's strength has always been deeply rooted in Charms, but namely the hexes and jinxes. It was part of what made his work with the AMRS so successful, as he had spent a great deal of time learning their applications, counters and reversals. And with almost twenty years of experience on the job, that particular area of magic is just as sharp as ever.

He has some flair for the arts of Summoning/Conjuring leftover from his time at Castle as well, and his own personal interests had aided him down the path of creation that came with it. However sometimes he fails to realize his own limits and miscalculates the power of his conjurations, but can proudly attest to the fact that he hasn't accidentally leveled a house in some time now.

(The one time he did had been entirely on purpose.)

And while his knack for Transfiguration isn't anywhere near that of his wife's, if there was any one area of magic that Alex never fully grasped - it would have been Divination. He knows the edges of it and the theories, but some part of him never truly got it.

Outside of magic, and if one was to consult his wife about him, the worst part of him would have to be - unequivocally  - his stubbornness. But the years had changed that to a degree, even if it could be hard to make out at times.


Physical description:
Tall, dark and tired. At Thirty-Six, Alex still retains some most of his old vigor, but the years and children have taken some of its toll on him. Age has peppered his brown hair with some small dusting of grey - with stresses bringing the rest - but his blue-grey eyes are still sharp with intelligence. And while he is loath to admit it, the drop in physicality has began to give him somewhat of a dad bod. He still favors to dress as sharp as ever, but there are days when you can catch him slipping into something more casual.


Personality (nice, rude, funny etc. Paragraph please.):
Originally, Alexander was generally cold at first, but gradually warmed up depending on how people acted around him. He preferred the company of books more than people, but when he was forced to interact, he had usually took to doing so by trying to talk circles around others until they left him alone.  Enter Isabelle and the rest was history.

(Play nice, she had said.)

Now after being married for nearly twenty years and raising two kids - six if you count the animals - Alex has softened considerably from the hard, straight-laced antisocial intellectual he had started off as. But while his edges have softened, he still takes his job seriously and has low tolerance for nonsense when it need not apply. Sure, some nonsense can be afforded when it comes to magic and the learning of it, but not when it comes down the actual grit of it. When you need your magic.


Hopes and dreams. Why are you teaching at Hogwarts?:
After all of these years, all of Alex's hopes and dreams have been mostly fulfilled. While a part of him still wonders what might have been - with Esme and the dark secrets she had whispered to him, a promise of power - he never could have traded his family, as small as it had been at the time, away for it.

Now he just wants to grow old with his wife and their mountain of a dog, and watch as their children grow up. Hopefully into right and proper wizards, though he'd still cherish them all the same if the path was lightly skewed.

He came to Hogwarts to help further some of that nurturing, but also because a small part of him felt it only seemed right to come back to the place that helped shaped him,  in the event that some of his experience might help mold the next generations. Even if that means cracking the mold a little in the process.


Biography (500 words minimum. There is never such a thing as too much.):
Life After Graduation:
Having graduated from Hogwarts with decent (Or better than decent, if he was being honest with himself) grades, Alexander moved on to working at the Ministry during the summer following graduation. Having accepted a job from Spencer Malthus, Department of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Justice, Alex worked as his Junior Assistant for an undisclosed amount of time and oversaw the work of the other interns also working in his department over the summer.

Towards the end of the summer, however, Alexander decided that kind of work had not been for him, and eventually came across something that appealed more to his taste: A entry level position in the Department of Magical Accident and Catastrophes as a Junior Member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, or AMRS for short. Alexander continued working for Spencer Malthus until he was hired for the position he applied, spending a fair few months in training as he learned his new position and everything that came with being a member of AMRS.

Meanwhile, between his working as a Junior Assistant to Spencer Malthus and joining AMRS in the Summer of 1974 1936, Alexander had became engaged to his girlfriend of two years, Isabelle Atkinson, after she had stumbled across the ring he had brought her when she was cleaning the apartment they shared. Alexander had originally planned on giving the ring to her after the girl's 18th birthday, but things never really go as planned when it came to her.

Soon after that, in the Fall of 1974 1936, Alexander had received permission from her father, Tom Atkinson (a minor worker at the Ministry of Magic), for her hand in marriage, but a date has yet to been set. Or well, he had yet to have an idea. What ideas Isabelle had were another matter.

It was near the end of Fall 1974 1936 that Alexander had completed his basic training as a member of AMRS, officially becoming a Junior Member of the squad in the beginning of the Winter months.

The pair of former Ravenclaw’s eventually married the following summer once Isabelle had finished school, with the small attendance of their friends from school (excluding one Lysander Elwood-Luxe) and family gathered around them. They moved from the small apartment that Alex was living in above the Warbling Rogue, to their more permanent home in Hogsmeade once the honeymoon had concluded, and enjoyed the newlywed life.

Fast forward nearly two decades, a small question in regards to Alex’s actual blood purity, a war ( in the world at large, the wizarding community, and on the homefront of the Valentine Estate),  two kids and several animals, and Alexander is still married to his Hogwarts sweetheart. His employ in the Ministry has remained largely unchanged - save for no longer being a junior member of AMRS - and he had little intention of changing that.

However, following his eldest child’s - Eleanor - acceptance into Hogwarts and his wife’s own career shift, Alexander wrestled with the idea of returning for a short tenure of professorship. It was only after some some prompting from his wife, and a slight begrudging approval of his daughter, that he surrendered himself to the idea of returning to his alma mater.


SAMPLE ROLEPLAY
(Please respond to to this in third person past tense. Do not write the other characters' reactions. Only your own.)

It was the largest office in Hogwarts and, perhaps to students and newcomers, the most intimidating. The shelves were filled with various odds and ends, with a place of honor for the Sorting Hat, and the walls held all the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses.

In the middle of the room sat a large desk. Everything was in order, for the current occupant had always despised a messy desk. It was the sign of a messy mind, and she had always favored neatness.

A clock sat on the desk, which currently showed the time to be 2:05. The meeting was supposed to begin at 2:00 precisely.

Along with order, Anneka valued punctuality. She was a very busy woman these days. Even during the summer, she had a number of matters to attend to. Interviewing and hiring staff was only of those matters. The newest potential member of her staff wasn't making a good impression.

She paced the room, black heels clicking against the stone floor. When the door finally opened, Anneka turned, her expression reminiscent of a Russian winter. "You are late."

Explain yourself was what her face said.

Roleplay Response:
"You are late."

"I was bribing a portrait," Alex said with a resigned sigh, waving off the comment as he settled into the seat across from Anneka. He was holding a warm cup of black coffee, and held it up as if it explained his tardiness. An Alexander, his namesake leftover from his time in Ravenclaw. 

(Tracking down Eloise after all this years had been another story. But her cart was there, as always.)

Sure, it was no excuse and he usually wasn't one for making them, but after all these years the withering look that he received had all but glanced off of him. He had given worse, he figured. Even if he usually caved after a while, at least with his kids.

"Nice to see you again too, Professor Ivanova. Or Headmistress, rather." Amusement glimmered brightly in his eye as he remembered the last time they had been sat together like this. He had been half tempted to reach into his wand holster and steal away the words of his resume - as he had with his evaluation decades past - but thought better of it.

Instead Alex simply smiled placidly at the woman over the rim of his cup. "Let's get this over with, yeah? Max will be out of daycare soon, and Iz was lost in her thesis writing last I saw her, so it'll be my turn to collect him since I took the day off."

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Alexander Maxwell Valentine
Gender: Male
Age: Nineteen (October 8th)

Education: 
Hogwarts; Ravenclaw Class of '74

Residence:
Apartment 3C above the Warbling Rogue, Diagon Ally; London, England

Occupation:
Junior Member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad

Do you plan to have a connection to a particular existing place (for example: the Ministry, Shrieking Shack) or to take over an existing shop in need of new management?
Department of Magical Accident and Catastrophes in The Ministry of Magic

Requested Magic Levels: His Graduated Levels

• Charms: 11
• Transfiguration: 7
• Divination: 7
• Summoning: 11

Do you wish to be approved as a group with any other characters? If so who and for what IC reason?
Aside from already being in The Order, I have no idea at this point.

Please list any other characters you already have at the site:
Jacob Scarborough, Karis Wolfram

Biography: (300 words minimum.)
Life After Graduation:

Having graduated from Hogwarts with decent (Or better than decent, if he was being honest with himself or proud as a Ravenclaw), Alexander moved on to working at the Ministry during the summer after graduation. Having accepted a job from Spencer Malthus, Department of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Justice, Alex worked as his Junior Assistant for an undisclosed amount of time and oversaw the work of the other interns also working in his department over the summer.

Towards the end of the summer, however, Alexander decided that kind of work had not been for him and eventually came across something that appealed more to his taste: A entry level position in the Department of Magical Accident and Catastrophes as a Junior Member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, or AMRS for short. Alexander continued working for Spencer Malthus until he was hired for the position he applied, spending a fair few months in training as he learned his new position and everything that came with being a member of AMRS.

Meanwhile, between his working as a Junior Assistant to Spencer Malthus and joining AMRS in the Summer of 1974, Alexander had became engaged to his girlfriend of two years, Isabelle Atkinson, after she had stumbled across the ring he had brought her when she was cleaning the apartment they shared. Alexander had originally planned on giving the ring to her after the girl's 18th birthday, but things never really go as planned when it came to her.

Soon after that, in the Fall of 1974, Alexander had received permission from her father, Tom Atkinson (a minor worker at the Ministry of Magic), for her hand in marriage, but a date has yet to been set. Or well, he had yet to have an idea. What ideas Isabelle had were another matter.

It was near the end of Fall 1974 that Alexander had completed his basic training as a member of AMRS, officially becoming a Junior Member of the squad in the beginning of the Winter months.


Roleplay:
It was impossible for Dianne to stay out of trouble. It wasn't that she was looking for trouble, it's just that trouble always managed to find her. Today she wished she could find something equally familiar but more comforting.

The five-year old girl hugged her puffskein closer to her and brushed her face in its soft fur for comfort. She had named him herself and he was always her special pet. No she was certain she had never gone down this side street before. Her anxiety increased every second as darkness fell as she walked down the road. A loud noise came to her left and she buried her face in her pet's fur completely. The scared girl bolted the opposite way slamming the both of them into the wall of the nearest building. Tottering back a few steps she found a door a few feet to her right and ran to open it. What light there was inside spilled out into the darkness and she spilled into the room.

Once in, she was caught between the impulse to curl her cloak up more tightly around her and loosen her grip on it. She wasn't alone anymore but she was now among strangers instead, which was nearly as terrifying. Her puffskein had recovered from the shock of the wall and now was purring contentedly as the girl hugged it, causing a mildly calming effect on the girl. Gathering her courage, she marched up to the nearest person, pulled on the nearest clothing hem and blurted out in a loud voice:

"I'm lost and it's dark and I wanted to know where I am but I'm not scared but I am worried that Sambundeakin is scared because he's little and needs something to eat and wants to go home."

She paused to draw a breath in her nearly never-ending sentence, "He misses my and his mommy."

To explain the scared girl held up the custard-colored puffskein. Sambundeakin the puffskein, however simply purred as if nothing on earth was wrong in the world.

Roleplay Response:
It was a cold November evening and a thin dusting of snow had already covered the cobblestone streets of Diagon Ally. Alexander wrinkled his nose since it meant the roads were slippery, so his eyes were ever astute as he navigated the streets and stayed wary of any possible patched of black ice that could lead you him face-planting in the middle of foot-traffic. Tugging at his scarf, Alex pulled it up to cover his nose, popped the collar of his trench coat and pulled his hat down closer to shield his eyes against the chill in the night air.

The reason Alexander was out and about tonight was because he had ran out of groceries the day before, forcing him to leave the apartment to head to a corner store in Diagon Ally in order to restock. He would have just eaten downstairs in the Rogue, but Alex had long since grown sick of bar food, wishing instead to just make something simple, grab a book and curl up in bed with... The Herbster. He wanted to be with Iz, but the girl was still off at Hogwarts in her last year doing Merlin knows what. Freaking out about NEWTS, probably. Hopefully. He trusted her. It was pretty much everyone else that he didn't.

Not long after he had reached the building and stepped inside to look for a basket to hold his purchases, the door behind him had flown open and Alex's instincts soon kicked in as he made a note of where his wand was in case he had to use it. Turning, however, made him spot a shocked little midget girl cowering nearby, clutching some manner of creature close to her person.

Then the little girl saw Alex and he froze like Lysander hexed by the Cursu Inhabili spell he had learns in his last year of Advanced Charms. The little girl proceeded to march up to him, tugged on his coat and blurting out a mouthful in a single breath. "I'm lost and it's dark and I wanted to know where I am but I'm not scared but I am worried that Sambundeakin is scared because he's little and needs something to eat and wants to go home." A pause for effect. Or air. Whichever.  "He misses my and his mommy." She then proceeded to hold up Sambundeakin, but the puffskein looked far from scared.

Stars and Stones. Alex had a headache and wanted to rub his head, but he feared that his quest for food was over and now began the hunt for this girls mom. He almost wished Iz had skipped a day to come stay with him, since she was better at dealing with... these things kids. "Right," he started, trying hard not to sigh as he put down his basket, "Let's go find your mum then. My name is Alex and I work at the Ministry, so there is no need to be scared." Iz would be proud. Or swooning. Whichever. He held out his hand for her to take, since kids liked that, right? As long as she didn't start crying things would be fine. Right? Right.

OTHER
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I've been here all alonggggg //hit

THE BASICS
Name: Alexander Valentine, but will go by Alex if he is close to you.

Former Character's Name (if you had one): N/A


CHARACTER DETAILS
House Request:
Alexander fits well with either Ravenclaw of Slytherin. Why?  He is a resourceful guy that is able to think quickly on his feet. He is an intelligent and sometimes vain in his own abilities, and if given a chance, he won't hesitate in demonstrating his mental prowess to try and prove it. His biggest weapon, besides his magical abilities, is his wordplay, as biting his snarky quips may be.

Year:
Fifth or Sixth, but preferably Sixth

Bloodline:
Half-Blood, but more like 3/4th Blood

Magical Strength (pick one):
Charms

Magical Weakness (pick one):
Divination

Biography:
Alexander's father, Maxwell, was the black-sheep of the Valentine family; A family that was highly valued their pure bloodline and had raised countless Slytherins. He was considered such because he had been far too interested in Muggles for his own good, often receiving  punishment from the older men of his family due to his curiosities. Specifically his bother, Matthew; and his father, Magnus.

Despite this, Maxwell's interest in Muggles never swayed, however he had only became less open about it when he was around his family. He eventually graduated top of his year from Hogwarts, where he had be a sixth year prefect and then Head Boy in his final year. He had also eventually fallen in love with the woman that was to be Alexander's mother, who had also been a Prefect along with Maxwell. The woman, Elizabeth, had been in Ravenclaw, while Maxwell had been in Slytherin. She had also been a Half-Blood, which eventually led to the pair eloping from the magical world when she was with child.

The move had pleased Maxwell greatly.

After nine long months and a labor that seemed to last forever, Alexander had been born on All Hallows Eve. However, Elizabeth had passed away after birth and Maxwell had become crestfallen due to losing the only woman he had ever truly love. In a final selfish act, Maxwell had informed his family about both the pregnancy and the marriage, leaving Alexander on their doorstep before joining his wife in the there-after.

It was only natural for the Valentine's to take the news badly, but it was only because of Matthew's wife accepting Alexander that prevented them from sending him away. Or worse. He was received as a blight on the family name, since he was not pure of blood.

A taint on their once perfect bloodline.

Alexander had only been six when he had first heard them refer to him as such. He was heading to the washroom late one night and accidentally eavesdropped on some of his relatives as they whispered to one another behind closed doors. It was what children did, but the family had no clue that someone was listening. Much less the one they had been talking about.

Alexander was still much too young to fully understand the meaning of what they were saying, but it didn't take a genius to know how much they scorned him by they way they spoke. He was treated as if he was a house elf. No, probably much worse than a house elf. It was the first time he had truly wept for anything since he was still a baby. It had also been the last.

Through the years that came after that, Alexander had struggled to prove that he was much better than what they claimed him to be. His adoptive father and uncle, Matthew, showed indifference whenever he presented him with what he learned, while his adoptive mother/aunt would secretly praise him for how he progressed through his studies. Alexander was quick study of things, like his real mother and father, and highly intelligent compared to the rat that was his cousin. Alexander sometimes wondered if there was anything in the other boy's head, but generally kept his thoughts to himself out of fear of punishment.

That changed greatly over the years as well, when Alexander grew more confidant in himself and less caring of how his family treated him. He knew they would never fully accept him, but he used their own dislike for him against them. As well as his sharp mind and the arsenal of witty, yet biting, remarks that came along with it. He had a lot of practices with that as well as a child, since he would often engage in the only things in the house that his family considered his equal, The House Elves.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Personality:
Alexander tends to act cold at first when interacting with other people, but generally acts more decent as he warms up to them. He has the tendency to make snarky quips whenever possible, while tending to be speak more harshly when people rub him the wrong way. However, he still remains snarky to people he has warmed up to, just at a lesser degree than before and chooses less biting, yet still witty, remarks. Alexander is also generally more comfortable being by himself, but will still engage with other people when the situation demands it. Study sessions is another matter entirely.


Appearance:
Alexander is tall for someone his age and stands at the height of around five-foot-ten. He has broad shoulders and a squarish jaw, something that he had inherited from the genes that belongs to his mother's side. 

He had also been somewhat on the skinny side when he was a young boy growing up, but Alex had started to exercise more as he matured to fill out his body; His muscles are considered more compact, rather than bulky. He didn't like the thought of being too lanky, since his cousins that usually played "rough" with him and he hated losing to them.

Alexander has blueish-grey eyes and a dark brown shade of hair which he normally keeps short, mainly since he never liked the way longer hair looked on members of the same sex and figured it looked better on girls.

Additionally, because of his upbringing, Alexander has some signs of physical abuse, but has never claimed it as such. It has mostly faded away by now, but the evidence of it is still there. How he feels about it is a bit of a mystery since, while not proud of it, he doesn't let it show when others see it.


SAMPLE ROLEPLAY
Option II:

“Oh, come now!"

Astrid Bixby’s voice carried down the corridor, the tall blonde girl not far behind. Her interviewee – or victim, depending on perspective – turned a corner and she frowned. They were always so elusive when she needed them. Sure, they would talk as if there was no tomorrow during class, but once she actually needed them to say something, they were nowhere to be found. Gryffindors.

Flustered, Astrid stopped in the middle of the corridor and stared, her parchment hanging limply from her hand. She was a good reporter, really, and she always did her best to make sure that everything she wrote was accurate. She glanced down to the quill, eying it with disdain. It wasn’t her fault if her quill misquoted. How was she supposed to know? It made for interesting articles, at least, and if she had misquoted the Head Boy last term as saying he had a love for stuffed animals, then that gave him personality. Astrid sighed.

A pout formed on her lips as she turned away, discouraged. The corridor was mercifully empty, though the doors to The Spellbound – the school newspaper – were ominously closed. Corbridge was a mercifully sweet editor, but Astrid was terrified of disappointing her all the same. She had to come back with quotes.
Her eyes, blue, trailed her surroundings before choosing a new path, and she turned down a new corridor. A figure was ahead, and her eyes lit up, an impossibly rosy smile blossoming across her lips.

“Hey!” Astrid called, her voice light and singsong. She trotted to catch the person, her shoes clicking on the stone floor. “Wait up! It’s for the paper!” Her legs aided her admittedly poor running, and Astrid gasped as she came closer. “What do you think about serving frog legs at lunch? Some say it’s a delicacy, but others think it’s plain gross.”


Sample Roleplay Response:
Truth be told, the last thing Alexander wanted today was be interrupted as he made his way to the library. He had a Potions exam coming up and wanted to pour over his notes again, even though he had already completely memorized all of the formulae. They had always been his forte, after all. But the young man had just wanted an excuse to get away from everyone else. No better place to go than the library.

So when he turned the corner and saw one Astrid Bixby heading his way, Alexander was about to turn around completely before she had a chance to shoot off her question. Sadly, the dark haired teen was too late to avoid it. The girl always seemed to have the most peculiar of questions and this timed didn't seem any different. Though, in some cases, Alexander found himself amused by the articles she had penned, like the one about he Head Boy one term prior. He greeted her with a half smile and already pictured her butchering everything he said with that blasted quill of hers.

"Frog legs?" Alexander repeated, the words echoing slightly in the hall as the two were the only ones actually occupying it. His face twisted in disgust at both the idea of having to eat them again and the fact that his voice bounced off the walls, repeating his response even though he had only spoken once. Lord knows how the quill would phrase that one. It would probably quote him asking like a broken record, but he was digressing.

A sigh escaped him and he continued his response, "I'll have to agree with the latter. Why anyone would want to eat them is beyond me. I'd much rather stick to what is already served at lunch, but to each their own I suppose." After he told her his thoughts, the male brushed past her since he didn't want to be caught for her too long. Alexander would probably be caught by another question and her eager quill, but maybe she would give up if she followed him long enough with him not responding. Either that, or he hoped someone else would capture her attention.



Optional: Referred by Juniper Kedding.