The Women of House Burke
“If we were to judge every child on the sins of their parents then everyone would be a sinner. But perhaps we should judge their sins, just a little. Was it not the sins of my father that tried to poison me, and the sins of his father that poisoned him? My childhood was spent memorizing my ancestors, and in turn their sins. In the end only a few were worth remembering.”
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AMALTHEA BURKE (nee Bulstrode): Pureblood, member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Born to Charlan Bulstrode (nee Yaxley) and Eustace I Bulstrode. Reddish-blonde haired and fair skinned. Forest green eyes, and a round, soft face. Sorted into Slytherin, and made Prefect in her fifth year. She received four O.W.L.s, but did not pursue a career. Married to Rigel Burke II and together they had 3 children. It is said she was wise beyond her years, smarter than any of her companions and fairer, too.
“Some will say that Amalthea never wanted for anything, and that would be true. She had every comfort that money and blood-status could grant a witch. But it would also be a lie. Amalthea wanted companionship, and she didn’t find that in her husband or her friends.”
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ELIZABETH BURKE: Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Born to Amalthea Burke (nee Bulstrode) and Rigel Burke II. Red haired and brown eyed, with skin lighter than even her mother’s. A rather pointed face left her looking more intimidating than she truly was. Star Slytherin pupil, ending up as Headmistress of Hogwarts sometime before her thirty-fifth birthday. Notoriously horrid towards muggleborn students, and encouraged similar behavior from others in her house. Mother to none, never married. It is rumored her intimidating looks and cruel spirit drove away even the most willful of suitors.
“No one would make the mistake of saying that Elizabeth had a kind heart. In fact some wonder if she had one at all. Perhaps it was her cruelty, however, that drove her ambition and made her legacy a lasting one.”
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CASSIOPEIA FLINT (nee Burke): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Second daughter of Amalthea Burke (nee Bulstrode) and Rigel Burke II. Black haired and blue eyed, with the soft face of her mother and the fairer skin of her father. Sorted into Ravenclaw - to her father’s light displeasure - and made Head Girl in her final year. Received only two O.W.L.s, and did not pursue a career. Mother to 2, married to Garrith Flint. Her marriage was one of love, after enough time, much to the shock of their families, who’d thought they rather disliked each other on their wedding day.
“What her sister lacked in kindness, Cassiopeia made up for tenfold. What her mother’s marriage had lacked in love, Cassiopeia’s had in abundance. She was happy and content, and perhaps the luckiest of us all.”
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REILLE BURKE (nee Rosier): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Eldest daughter of Alyssane Rosier (nee Greengrass) and Roald Rosier. Blonde haired and blue eyed, fair skinned. Rumored to be part Veela, though the percentage is up for debate. Sorted into Slytherin, made Prefect in fifth year and Head Girl in her last. She earned five O.W.L.s and went on to work at Borgin and Burkes before becoming a professor for a short time. Married to Caractacus Burke. Mother to 5.
“Reille was every bit the outsider. The only Burke of her generation to get a job before marriage, she had ambitions equal to any man. Ambitions she graciously set aside to do her duty to her family.”
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LYRA NOTT (nee Burke): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Eldest child of Reille Burke (nee Rosier) and Archold Burke. Black haired and blue eyed. Fair skinned, with a single beauty spot above her left eye. As beautiful as her mother, and equally as cunning, too. Sorted into Slytherin, and received 7 O.W.L.s. Married to Amadeus Nott, mother to 2. Was known to be seen at all times with a book in her hand, her pursuit of knowledge something her husband supported with his whole being.
“It is said that Lyra's greatest ambition was starting a family, and that's why she chose Amadeus. Her sisters would say she only married him for his extensive library, as knowledge was her greatest desire.”
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CORINTHE BURKE: Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Second daughter of Reille Burke (nee Rosier) and Archold Burke. Blonde haired and gray eyed. Fair skinned, though so often in the sun she seemed naturally tanned. Sorted into Hufflepuff, and only not disowned due to her mother's insistence that it was alright. Achieved 6 O.W.L.s and got a job at a Potions Shop. Engaged to Tibolt Fawley, but fell in love with a muggle-born - with whom she eloped. Was then burned from the family tapestry.
“Corinthe sought happiness above all else, one of the many reasons she was in Hufflepuff. In this pursuit she got herself burned off the family tree. At least she was happy in the end, the many secret letters to her sisters will tell you as much.”
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IDELYA YAXLEY (nee Burke): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Youngest daughter of Reille Burke (nee Rosier) and Archold Burke. Black haired and gray eyed. Rumored to be her mother's favorite, and her father's too. Fair skinned and the most ambitious of all her siblings. Sorted into Slytherin, made Prefect in Fifth Year, and Head Girl in her seventh. Achieved 10 O.W.L.s but never got a job. Fell in love with Tibolt Fawley, who she was never able to be with, as Peter Yaxley was deemed a better fit. Gave him 4 children. Wrote secret letters to both her sisters.
“Hers was a sad life, Idelya's, full of denials. Denied a career, denied a loving marriage, and denied her sister's closeness. In the end she denied her husband a long life with her, and in that way she got the last laugh.”
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SUZANNE BURKE (nee Selwyn): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Daughter of Marta Selwyn (nee Carrow) and Oliver Selwyn. Brown haired and blue eyed, with fair skin dotted with freckles. A kindred soul, demure and polite, but with a good heart. Sorted into Slytherin and received 2 O.W.L.s. Married to Roger II Burke, to whom she'd been engaged since her birth. Rumored to have been madly in love. Mother to 3. Her children's favorite parent, always around to nurture them.
“Suzanne single handedly achieved what Corinthe could not. It was her quiet defiance of pureblooded beliefs that planted a seed of compassion in the minds of her children. That seed grew with her children, as did a defiant spirit.”
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HALLEY MACMILLAN (nee Burke): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Daughter of Suzanne Burke (nee Selwyn) and Roger II Burke. Black haired and blue eyed, fair skinned with the freckles of her mother. Slytherin, achieved 9 O.W.L.s, but did not pursue a career. She had a heart of gold and nerves of steel, which was a perfect defense against her husband's temper. Married unhappily to Arnold Macmillan, mother to 1. Raised in her children the same ideals her mother raised in her.
“Halley was brighter than anyone would have thought possible given the darkness that was always around her. A light in the ever growing darkness of her generation. Darkness that swallowed her whole.”
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BELVINA BURKE (nee Black): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Daughter of Ursula Black (nee Flint) and Phineas Nigellus Black. Light brown haired and gray eyed, pale skinned. A perfect example of blood purity in everything she did, perhaps encouraged by her professor and then headmaster of a father during her time at Hogwarts. Slytherin, Prefect in fifth year and Head Girl in her last. Achieved an incredible 11 O.W.L.s but never pursued a career. Married her school sweetheart, Herbert Burke. Had two sons and a daughter.
“Belvina was wicked. She came into the family and she tried to destroy the kindness her husband's mother had fostered in him. Perhaps it was her pushback that only solidified a quiet kindness towards muggleborns in the next generations.”
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DIANE LESTRANGE (nee Burke): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Only daughter of Belvina Burke (nee Black) and Herbert Burke. Black haired and gray eyed. Fair skinned. Quiet and cautious, with simple ambitions and a large group of friends. Sorted into Slytherin, but did not get Prefect or Head Girl, to her parent's disappointment. Was smart, but didn't try hard in school. Received 1 O.W.L. and married before she finished school. It is said her husband had more affection for her then was good for him. Especially since she may not have loved him at all.
“Diane was exceptionally strong-willled and smart, though she found school so dull and lacking that she purposefully failed most of her classes. She passed her love for the out of the ordinary to her children, though her kind ideals did not do the same.”
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FAWN BURKE (nee Shacklebolt): Pureblooded. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Daughter of Trinity Shacklebolt (maiden name unknown) and Andrew Shacklebolt. Blue eyed and brown haired, with a tan complexion. Loud and bubbly, with an unusual lack of disdain for muggleborns. Sorted into Ravenclaw, made Head Girl in her final year. Awarded all 12 O.W.L.s - a perfect score. Bright eyed and full of kindness, she swept Gregory Burke off his feet for good reason. The two married secretly during their sixth year, though they had an official ceremony a year after graduation. Mother to 2 sons and no daughters.
“She was a breath of fresh air, a sign of spring at the end of a horribly bleak winter. Strong enough to shield her children from the chill, but not strong enough to thaw the cold entirely.”
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TARROW BURKE (nee Abbott): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Daughter of Samantha Abbott (nee Fawley) and Henry Abbott. Blonde haired and brown eyed, fair skinned with a light smattering of freckles. Kind as her mother in law and beautiful, too, though more demure than anyone else in her immediate family. Slytherin, made Prefect in fifth year. Received 7 O.W.L.s and pursued a job at a pet store in Diagon Alley. Married Finley Burke, and tried for two decades to give him children. Birthed one son at the age of 43, an age most thought impossible for her to have children at.
“Tarrow's life was an unusual one. Despite his family's disappointment in their lack of an heir for the longest time, her husband was supportive. More than can be said for most men in the family, more than can be said for her son.”
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KATHERINE BURKE (nee Travers): Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Daughter of Frederique Travers (nee Prewett) and Edward Travers. Black haired and blue eyed, with fair, almost ghostly skin. Sorted into Slytherin. Rumored to have been close to and had a secret relationship with Remus Lupin (unconfirmed.) 9 O.W.L.s though no job, instead staying by her husband's side as the war began. Married to Nigel Burke, mother of 2. Died in childbirth of her second child and only daughter.
“Katherine kept her home organized but warm and nurturing against the war that raged on. She died a few days after the war was won, happy in the knowledge her children would grow up in a better world.”
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RHIANNON BURKE: Pureblood. Member of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Only daughter of Katherine Burke (nee Travers) and Nigel Burke. Black haired and gray eyed, with pale yet fair skin. The first of her more recent ancestors to grow up without a mother. Sorted into Slytherin, but friends with people from all different blood statues. Not friends with the Golden Trio, but not unfriendly either. Rather quiet, but confident and ambitious. A life still left to live and history thus unwritten.
“I am the product of all who came before me and thus I have to fight against all the negativity of my past. It's a hard fight but there's no other fight I'd rather be in.”
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“Some of them were wicked, vile people, but they've left me a lot of lessons to learn. Learn them I have, and I've got more to go. But I'd like to think not all the lessons are negative, and if one thing has been passed down through the darkness it would be empathy. Empathy and Kindness. Perhaps that's worth remembering, even if some of my ancestors aren't.”
