Welcome to Hogwarts School :: A Harry Potter RPG! It's 1970!

Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Leander Laskos

Pages: [1]
1
Archived Applications / Leander Laskos / Public Policy
« on: 11/12/2016 at 21:25 »


CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character name: Leander Laskos

Previous and/or Current Character(s) if applicable: Cosmina Laskos, Venadikt Borovsky, Lobelius Taberford, Vestalis Dauer-Montes, Cupidot Belizaire, Cypriana Wolverby, Mercutio Duke

Character age: Twenty-Six in September ‘49

Character education:
Leander Tareseos Laskos
CURRICULUM VITAE




Relevant Education & Employment
▰  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, Hufflepuff House Graduate 1941
▰  Completed NEWT level courses in Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology studies.
▰  Ministry of Magic, Junior Magiorinthology Research Assistant 1941 - current

Leadership Experience
Editorial Writer,
Spellbound Newspaper
1939 - 1941 Terms
Teacher's Assistant,
Care of Magical Creatures & Charms Courses
1939 - 1940 Terms
Prefect,
Hufflepuff House
1940 - 1941 Term
Co-Captain,
Undefeated Hufflepuff Two-Term Quidditch Champions
1939 - 1941 Terms
Counsellor,
Camp Loki
Summers 1940 & 1941
Archivist & Catalogue Author,
Department for the Control of Magical Creatures
1941-1948
Administrativist,
In charge of wand core and potion ingredient rationing during the War
1942-1945
Policy Author,
Proposing subsidized funding for a magical creature sanctuary development
1948-1949


Strength and weaknesses:
Leander had always considered himself a dedicated worker. It was not often he chose to leave his tasks unfinished and it was always a matter of guilt with him if he knew he had not put in his best effort. His unshakable philosophy (or burden, perhaps) was that if he was given a responsibility or was in a position to accomplish something, he owed it to himself to ensure it was done. Possessing a decently high level of comprehension, he was usually able to understand the best ways in which to get things done, even when his ability to do so was not always able of meeting his own expectations. But in this, Leander hardly took himself too much to task, so long as he knew in the end that the best effort was expended. He of course, did not expect himself to be perfect, by any means. Nor did he expect to be even particularly well-rounded. But of himself he knew that his hard work would compensate for much.

At school, his talents were at least at first outnumbered by those subjects for which he showed less ability. Alongside his interest in magical creatures, Leander excelled primarily in charms and transfiguration. For other areas, he had less aptitude. Potions, divination, and herbology were chiefly among them. However, wherever he found he could not easily excel, he devoted some time, secluded, studying what he could to make at least a passable attempt.

Physical description:
Of lankier frame and usually precise attire, Leander Laskos’ one particular quirk of appearance is his untameable mop of hair. His stature and features are not what one would call imposing, rather the opposite. Though he keeps limber by a regimen of calisthenics, it has kept him more trim than bulky. Leander’s expression is typically an inviting one, ready to enjoy a joke. Perhaps most expressive, is the easy way in which his brows knit and raise in response to his thoughts, even if unexpressed verbally.  Having grown up with his cousins’ family robe shop in the a basement of his father’s cafe, Leander considers himself to be knowledgeable enough not to commit fashion solecisms, however bolder some of his sartorial choices. When the weather permits, he has a particular fondness for sweaters and a vast assortment from which to draw.

Personality:
Leander maintains easy friendship with many people, being easily good-humored and readily witty, even at his own expense-- self-deprecation being at the heart of his humility. Sometimes, however, his humor is not to everyone’s taste particularly when at the recipient end of one of his pranks. Beneath his ready-to-laugh nature, Leander is a generally compassionate person. Having grown up as an elder brother to three younger sisters (triplets), he is rather used to being in positions of comparative protectiveness,  particularly towards those younger than him.

A willing listener to other’s problems and a quick defender of those who have been wronged, Leander believes everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect to their own lives. His childhood was largely colored by his family’s status as half-blood and muggle sympathisers, he had seen the divides it caused in their society, known the tough choices it forced people to make. The struggles of his heritage in their homeland mirrored much of the turmoil and uncertainty of the last decade. But through it all, Leander was assured of certain values and a certain worth of all people, wizarding and muggle. These values, he was not afraid to fight for and worked to subvert those toxic invasions of their society which sought to divide rather than bolster them.

Hopes and dreams. Why are you teaching at Hogwarts?:
Having since graduated Hogwarts eight years ago, Leander entered the working world feeling he had known what he wanted to do. He had worked towards his goal diligently throughout his last years at Hogwarts (the ones which really mattered), disappeared within the Library’s shelves to cram as much knowledge as he thought he could retain for his NEWTs, and achieved satisfactory results as necessary to gain a position at the Ministry of Magic’s Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures.

While he had originally thought the title ‘Junior Research Assistant’ in his chosen field of Magiorinthology would have guaranteed him the position and responsibilities he had envisioned, his actual career path had taken a much different turn. Seeking to assist younger members of society make the most of their opportunities where they can find them, Leander has offered himself and a curriculum to teach some of the fundamentals and import of civic participation and the importance of policy making for not only those looking to enter public service at the Ministry or Mungo's but also for those who realize the importance their own voice must be in making their wizarding world better for everyone in it.

Biography:
Born to the English branch of the numerous Laskos family, whose Greco-Turkish reputation for dirty blood and menial trade, Leander had grown up with a perspective of the magical world a little different than some. His family lived in Manchester and they formed their own community of immediate relatives. Greek and gregarious. Although his family name is known for their manufacture of fine flying carpets, his father and uncle ran a cafe which served thick Turkish coffee and sweet nut pastries, below which his mother, aunt, and cousins owned a fashion line of fine robes and enchanted embroidery. Following their family’s custom in Turkey to blur the lines between muggle and magic, they ran both businesses out of Manchester’s Chinatown neighborhood, better able to conceal strange goings on and elaborately dressed patrons. The family cafe at least, catered to muggle clientele, the braver of whom might enter the front of the shop and finding its ‘atmosphere’ to be what man described as ‘odd’. Wizarding folk were ushered to the privacy of the back patio.

Growing up in this duality, Leander gained a special lense into the muggle world, even if his glimpse of it was only tangential. And so when the law came down that every wizard and witch’s bloodstatus was to be registered, Leander could not understand what so separated those supposedly pure and those who had non-magical ancestry. He had hated the red little badge which he had been forced to wear all those years. He had wanted to challenge the looks strangers had given him on seeing it, the idea that they knew something, anything about him because of that badge which proclaimed that one of his ancestors five generations back had been a muggle. It was a law which had been abhorrent and unjust. But what hurt worse was the way it had divided him from others with whom he might otherwise have connected. It seemed like such an inconsequential thing by which to be judged.

However, at school, he had been told to keep his mouth shut, to not endanger himself or make any trouble. What might have been known to be true in his family did not mean it would fare well outside of it. So he found another outlet for his more rebellious tendencies. He participated in duelling and applied much of his quick thinking to other disruptions with his involvement in secret student pranking group D Squad. He thought in some ways he had found another home in his activities and the classmates with whom he was closest. A second kind of family where he was accepted as much as he was among those who shared his last name.

And then the war came.

Its shadow cast over everything. Leander, like many, found what sanctuary he could at school. He paid attention to his studies, he got a girlfriend, he spent time with his friends. And he did it well-- even coerced to join his house quidditch team (under pretense of being only a substitute) he was soon made interim co-captain and won twice. At Loki, he joined as counsellor and in his final year he was made prefect. He kept strong for the younger students, encouraged them to focus on living rather than worrying, and gave them confidence that there was a world beyond this war.

After graduation, Leander found certainty less easy to come by. There was less a structure to fill. Although usually a young man of direction, he found his footing less certain after graduating. It was another challenge which he took on to find his feet, this time all on his own. He reported to his position at the Ministry in the Department for Magical Creatures, believing he would be researching his chief interest, but the war and its interests took precedence. Not one to be so easily daunted, Leander did not take the affront personally, instead he found what projects he could apply himself. He had become chiefly involved in establishing a rationing system for wand core and potioneering materials and ensure the was a system in place to best apportion them.

There being little priority in organizing field expeditions for magical birds, Leander instead found himself bound to the Magical Creatures department archives. It had been a mass (some called trove, others trash) which had received little attention in organizing. There were pockets of course, where certain researchers had squirreled away their notes, but many documents had been only loosely filed by creature type and there was certainly no comprehensive catalogue to speak of. Uninteresting as the task appeared to be at the outset (and proved to be in the midst), Leander took it upon himself to comb through each document and folio and tome to assign them a place on the shelf and a reference card in the card filing cabinet. Through perseverance and with little compliant (there being hardly anyone who would have listened), he had finally brought it into a kind of order. The task which had been gruelling and to a certain degree thankless, Leander had taken as a learning experience all the same. In reading the journals and discoveries of the many researchers before, He had rediscovered his own thirst for adventure.

But the world was not always so full of opportunities. With the end of the war and the new presence of the Hexenreich, Leander found that perhaps there was a greater reason to stay in London than to leave it. He joined the Resistance as a cryptographer, aiding in transmitting messages between members embedded in the Ministry and those outside of it. In this, his fairly innocuous position worked best to his advantage. However, with their influence waning, the archives catalogued, Leander has begun seeking out a new enterprise, encouraged by his closest friends. Having begun (what he hopes to be the last) an administrative project seeking the subsidized funding for a Magical Creatures sanctuary, Leander has been applying himself elsewhere, hoping to see where his efforts will take him next.


SAMPLE ROLEPLAY

Roleplay Response:
During his attendance at Hogwarts, he had never had much occasion to visit the Headmistress’ office (even despite the numerous riotous activities in which he participated anonymously). Generally, Leander had been one of the students well able to distinguish where exactly the line lay and was careful not to cross it too conspicuously. Apparently he had done so well enough to have been elected a House prefect in his final, seventh year. That, however, he wondered how much he might have chalked up to a certain person’s influence rather than his own merit.

But overall, his record had been fairly spotless. Unless perhaps the professors had known more than they let on. But if they had seen more in him than he had let on, they had never voiced such opinions to him directly.

With Headmistress Ivanova he had never much opportunity to get a sense of her (other than it was better not to try and cross her). However, he would have been surprised to have discovered she had any thoughts of him at all. What was one former Hufflepuff who had become only a productive member of society to a Headmistress of Hogwarts who had seen many of her students go on to greatness?

He supposed his name must have crossed her desk at least a few times without raising any alarms, and once again it was under her consideration as part of his application to be a Professor at his former school.

Leander took this position no less seriously than he did anything (truly, at heart, despite his sometimes carefree humor) and so had arrived forty-five minutes early to the Castle, to account for any additional travel time from Hogsmeade or unforeseen hazards. What he had not predicted (divination having never been his strong suit), was that he might have been accosted by a particularly worked up ghost who seemed quite intent that he knew him for surely the son of some wizard he had onced duelled or had had some rivalry against. The ghost having apparently spent much time determining what such a person might look like when they came back to the castle was convinced that Leander was in some way responsible for an apology. This he had given, however, not to a satisfactory level of sincerity.

Ghosts by definition, he confirmed, were reluctant to let matters go.

Waylaid for half an hour in one of the corridors, and causing something of a scene as he denied that he was this person’s descendant and giving a whole hereditary list of his forefathers and aunts and distant cousins did not seem to placate the spectre until Leander was in fact run out of plausible or even fabricated explanations. The ghost, on the other hand, had eventually trailed off in the reason for having interrupted him in the first place, and had begun to think Leander had been trying to prove some relation to him.  In a what turned out to be a perplexing twist, Leander proclaimed that he had now only ten minutes to make it to the Headmistress’s office for a very important appointment, the ghost had responded with some consternation before disappearing, “Well, that, my boy, is at least a fifteen minute distance even if you were to run.”

Before entering, the hurried dash to Ivanova’s office (thankfully where he had remembered it) had been enough to remove the scowl from his brow, but insufficient time to determine an explanation for the Headmistress as to why in fact he was late. Having exhausted all his excuses with the ghost, he simply ran his hand through his hair at her censorious remark and hoped he did not look like a scolded schoolboy.

Straightening his shoulders, he bowed slightly in acknowledgement, “Yes, I’m deeply sorry, Headmistress Ma'am. I was overcome by nostalgia this last half hour, I am very honored to be invited back. May I still come in?”

It wasn’t quite the truth, however, he felt the truth would have felt too much like a lie. 

2
Archived Applications / Re: Leander Taraseos Laskos
« on: 26/08/2013 at 12:53 »
Sure, ain't  no thang!

Changes below will be reflected above.

Quote
A great listener, empathetic friend, and lively sense of humor made it easy to strike up conversations with his fellow students and housemates and endear himself to anyone. Owing to his affable nature, Anders (or Andy, as his peers call him) is generally well-liked.  And with his dark curly hair, olive skin, and rich brown eyes are generally well-liked among the girls of Hogwarts as well

3
Archived Applications / Leander Taraseos Laskos
« on: 26/08/2013 at 02:25 »
Application for Hogwarts School



→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.


Name: Leander Taraseos Laskos (called Anders and Andy by his friends and peers)
Birthday:19 September, 1923 on the Virgo/Libra cusp
Hometown: Manchester, UK
Bloodline: Halfblood

Magical Strength (pick one):Charms
Magical Weakness (pick one):Divination

Year (pick two): Preferably year five or six

Biography: Born the elder son of an expatriated Turkish father and a third generation English Cypriot mother in Manchester, Leander grew up in much what you might expect from a Wizarding Greek Immigrant home. He spent as much time at the mercy of fussing aunts, running errands for demanding uncles, and picked on by elder cousins, as he did from his own mother and father. And although for many years he was an only child, the Laskos home was a hub for many of their numerous relations. Leander’s family ran a dual business in the heart of Manchester’s Chinatown district. Plenty of cover for strange things in the window and people disappearing around corners. Street access welcomed wizards and muggles alike to a turkish cafe with an enclosed patio for wizarding clientele. And accessible by a side alley door  to a specialty robe shoppe where Leander’s mother and several of his aunts and cousins designed and embroidered  specialty robes for those witches and wizards looking for more elaborate attire than your average set of robes. His aunts had never been more pleased than when a review in Witch Weekly of Ozimagi Kit and Kaftans featured his cousin Eupheginia’s line of enchanted slimming robes.

It wasn’t often a member of their family did anything particularly notable- they were a half-blood family and of what some might consider the worst sort, many of Leander’s relatives had mixed blood with not only muggles but also a few werewolves and one even a giant had been brought along to the family reunions. This was mostly due to the lines of the family who lived in Turkey and rural Greece. While most of Leander’s direct relatives had made comparatively  more conservative choices (generally the average witch or wizard), one or two (and a second cousin once) had chosen a muggle.

Having spent his formative years in such a busy environment with occasional visits to the homeland, Leander’s definition of family is fairly broad and tolerantly inclusive. But also made him somewhat defensive of his time spent alone, usually seeking quiet moments by himself, usually engrossed in some personal project.

And so, the transition into life at Hogwarts was fairly easy for Leander- he gained friends and even two nicknames as an wooly sweater picks up lint. A great listener, empathetic friend, and lively sense of humor made it easy to strike up conversations with his fellow students and housemates and endear himself to anyone. Owing to his affable nature, Anders (or Andy, as his peers call him) is generally well-liked.  And with his dark curly hair, olive skin, and rich brown eyes are generally well-liked among the girls of Hogwarts as well  And with his dark curly hair, olive skin, and rich brown eyes are generally well-liked among the girls of Hogwarts as well. But however friendly he is towards girls, none have so far been successful in asking him out. For though he’d never admit it, before he’d even stepped foot on the platform for the Hogwarts Express, even at age eleven, Leander had fixed his interest on one particular girl whom despite all their years at Hogwarts he hasn’t managed even a full conversation with her.
 
But now entering his fifth year and currently anticipating his O.W.Ls, Anders has a more determined look in his eye when studying. Though he took his career at Hogwarts fairly seriously, Andy was never much of a worrier. In general he was the sort for whom things came easy- and if they didn’t, well then Anders was simply easy-going about it. When in his first year he found he could never quite keep balance on a broom and that his experience of quidditch would forever be from the stands, he accepted it with equanimity and cheered his house team on with all the more admiration. In Charms, however, Leander had found his forté, as they came as naturally to him as breathing. Jinxes, hexes, and the minor curses taught in Defense Against the Dark Arts were more of a challenge, his skill being more that of an adequate student. In that subject he excels only as the result of diligent study and practice; more than once he’s gotten on the nerves of his dormitory mates. After the past year at Hogwarts, Anders has been thinking more and more about pursuing Magizoology after graduating. Not surprisingly, Care of Magical Creatures is where his passion lies, particularly when dealing with magical birds. Unfortunately, his studies in Herbology are less than satisfactory-- and he generally avoids making eye contact with the professor.



→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

House Request:Hufflepuff preferred

Personality: Leander is the sort to take genuine interest in those around him and finds it hard to ignore when he notices a fellow student isolated and not joining in the fun that may be had. It is this quality that makes him a particularly good team leader in duelling club, as well as his skill in showing the younger students better techniques of casting spells. And Anders quite enjoys helping out granted he’s not involved in some other activity of his own.
 Leander is a very goal oriented person and for him it generally is a simple matter of deciding on something and setting his mind to it. Thanks to some innate talents, he faces little difficulty in his school work, but for those subjects which cause him more trouble, Andy will often spend nights studying in a quiet corner of the common room studying late after everyone else has gone to bed in order to avoid looking uncool and a study bug. He much prefers the impression that his skill is natural. Though he can become easily engrossed in studying or charms practice, if a friend should manage to get his attention with some other fun scheme, he will easily abandon his project and join his friends.
[/color]


→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.

Option I:
Blimey, the Great Hall was packed. It seemed like everywhere a guy looked there was some clown waving around a House banner or yelling about the game.

'Can you believe it?' 'No way!' 'This must be the biggest upset in Hogwarts Quidditch history...'

Stupid Quidditch.

James flopped into an empty seat at the end of the table, shoved an empty plate out of the way, and let his head sink onto his crossed arms, squishing his freckled nose down flat against the tabletop. He wasn't sure why he'd even bothered to come here, since he definitely wasn't hungry. He'd probably never eat again, in fact. He didn'tdeserve to eat. He hadn't stopped in the locker room to change out of his muddy, sweaty uniform after the game either, because he was pretty sure he probably didn't deserve to be clean too; and anyway he couldn't stand to see the looks on his team mates' faces after he blew their chance at winning one of the biggest games they had ever played.

Just one lousy shot. That's all it would have taken. If he could have just got that one stupid foul shot to go through that one stupid hoop, they could have won and he wouldn't have been the biggest blockhead in the entire school.

As if to prove the point, half the people at the next table suddenly broke into a loud victory chant. James pressed his face further into his arms to hide the bright red blotches he could feel creeping up his cheeks. That was it. He was just going to have to run away and move to Nova Scotia. He'd just cost the three-year-in-a-row Champions the Quidditch Cup! How do you ever live that one down for crying out loud? He was only a second year and he was going to spend the rest of his life as 'that dumb cry-baby kid who dropped the Quaffle!'

It felt like every set of eyes in the room was boring into him, and James couldn't stand it anymore. He jerked himself back up from the table and stomped right back out of the Hall the same way he had come in. As he stormed into the quieter hallway outside, he could hear footsteps somewhere behind him. James rounded on the sound and began to shout, his brown eyes shining with tears. "WHAT! Haven't you ever seen a loser before? Why don't you just take a picture!"

Response:
It had been a triumphant game, something about the Quidditch Cup that really got the school fired up. Even though he was fairly disappointed his house had not made it this year, it had still been an exciting event. The whole school cheering, filling the stands surrounding the quidditch pitch and the winds swirling in the aftermath of whizzing brooms and whollopping bludgers. For someone who had never really gotten the knack of flying, he had always found the sport impressive. 

Walking back from the pitch to the school, surrounded by his riotous classmates Leander laughed along as the exciting moments of the game were recapped as if it all hadn't just happened only moments before.

"I mean did you see that formation after they scored the third point? Brilliant!"

"I can't believe Phineas can hit a bludger that far, I didn't think he could aim at a troll standing three feet in from of him."

"Well he wouldn't have made it as a beater if he couldn't hit anything, would he?" Leander rejoined, ever the pragmatist. "I bet you just can't get over the fact that he hurled that bludger towards Patricia Smidgeton."

"Yeah, and everyone knows you fancy her, Finchley!"

Their group erupted in boisterous laughter as Finchley chased Moira up the path to the front gate, calling her a liar and vowing to make her eat slugs.

They eventually made it to the Great Hall where a prefect was trying to restrain Finchley from hurling chocolate frogs at Moira. The rest of the students were also filtering in, their raucous mirth filling the Hall. The rest of Leander's group jostled him amongst them as they made their way to their usual table. A group of second years from the winning house pushed past, screaming a chant for their victorious team, knocking Leander into another student leaving the Hall. The boy was dressed in quidditch robes and his hair still windswept from the match.

“Oi! Sorry, mate!” Leander apologized, his voice still carrying a note of mirth.

“WHAT! Haven’t you ever seen a loser before? Why don’t you just take a picture?” the boy seethed, his eyes brimming with self-disdain.

Leander put his hands up in the air, “Mea culpa!”
There was an odd stand still between the two of them in the quiet hallway. It seemed to Leander that the boy didn't know where to go after that outburst. After a moment, Leander began to laugh gently, realizing too late that it  was probably not the best thing he ought to have done at that moment. Getting himself under control, he took a few steps closer to the boy and offered his hands out in apology.”Look, sorry about that! ‘S just funny energy, you know. Look, hold on, ok? Were you that kid up there today? You had some pretty brilliant flying. You know, shame about that last point- such a close game. But then you know they should have been calling way more fouls than they did- any game but the Cup. Probably didn't want to slow it down since there was such a turnout. Don’t take it too bad, lad!”

Pages: [1]