ALESSANDRA “ALICE” LESTRANGE
28 who works as a AUROR. They are a PUREBLOOD who currently sides with the ORDER. Their pronouns are SHE/HER and look like IVANA BAQUERO.
Negative Traits: headstrong, opinionated, single-minded, presumptuous
Positive Traits: conscientious, generous, idealistic, curious
They went to HOGWARTS and belong in HUFFLEPUFF.
Extracurriculars: Hufflepuff Beater
Best Classes: Muggle Studies, Herbology, Potions
Worst Class: History of Magic
Once she had produced an heir and a spare for her husband, as was her duty as a pureblood wife, all that Astraea Lestrange wanted was a daughter she could raise just like her mother raised her. Unfortunately, she only got half that wish. Alessandra Lestrange was a beautiful baby, there was no denying, and that fact filled her mother with hope. But as Alessandra grew older it quickly became obvious that she had no interest in being the perfect daughter her mother wanted her to be. For one thing, almost as soon as she could speak she insisted on being called Alice instead of the beautiful, lyrical Italian name her mother chose for her. Another thing that frustrated Mrs. Lestrange to no end was Alice’s habit of abandoning her lessons in etiquette and music to play out in the garden or, far worse, sneak off the Lestrange estate entirely to explore the nearby Muggle village.
Yes, it turned out that little Alice was nothing like her mild-mannered English mother, something Devonshire-born Astraea blamed on the Scottish highlands the Lestrange family claimed as their ancestral home. There was something wild in Alice that, try as she might, Astraea simply could not tame. Alice was happy enough with her dancing lessons, excelling at both ballet and ballroom styles, but when the time came to sit down and be still she found herself gazing longingly out the window at the rocky landscape. Worse still, Alice was never very good at being quiet, refusing to follow her mother’s edict that little girls should be seen and not heard; she was forever pestering Astraea and her brothers with questions and inserting herself into adults’ conversations.
By the time she turned eleven there was one thing everyone who knew Alice was sure of, she was a born Gryffindor. Her mother lamented it, her brothers teased her for it, and she looked forward to it, but the Sorting Hat had other ideas. It whispered in Alice’s head to remember that it knew best, and promptly declared her a Hufflepuff before she had any opportunity to argue. At first Alice was utterly baffled by her sorting, and her mother heartbroken. In Astraea’s eyes the only thing worse than being a Gryffindor was being a Hufflepuff, but she resolved to make the most of it, hoping that the house of patience and loyalty would help to curb her daughter’s defiant temper. And it did, but it also didn’t. Yes, being in Hufflepuff taught Alice the importance of kindness, something rarely valued in the Lestrange household, but it also unlocked her latent passion for fairness and justice.
As a child Alice had always questioned the rules her mother laid out for her. What makes Muggles different from us? Why are they bad? But if muggleborn wix have magic then what’s wrong with them? Astraea never gave her daughter satisfying answers to those questions, but her fellow Hufflepuffs did. The first time Alice asked a prefect if it was okay to have children of mixed heritage share a dorm, something she was sure her mother would never approve of, they quite cheerfully told her it was perfectly fine, and even went so far as to explain why. What Alice learned in her Hogwarts house made so much more sense to her than what her mother had always said, and the older Hufflepuffs gave much better answers to her many questions about the world than simply, “that’s just the way things are.”
So Alice was happy to settle into Hufflepuff and make friends with her classmates regardless of their last name or blood status and she especially loved when her muggleborn friends would patiently explain the workings of their world. She was positively giddy to sign up for Muggle Studies as one of her electives and many of her friends were relieved that she would finally have a professor to ask her questions of. At Hogwarts Alice discovered the thrill of flying, joining the Hufflepuff quidditch team her third year, and also that learning could be fun, if the topic was interesting enough. She excelled in hands-on classes like Herbology and Potions, but sometimes struggled in the more technical courses like Charms and Transfiguration. Defense Against the Dark Arts was fascinating, but History of Magic was deadly dull, and Alice couldn’t wait to get rid of it after her OWL.
Of course all was not sunshine and roses for Alice, even at Hogwarts. While she was generally well liked and quite popular, there were those at school that Alice simply couldn’t get along with. Some people looked down on her and her housemates as weak, while others mocked some of Alice’s closest friends. Her housemates had taught her the importance of turning the other cheek and giving the benefit of the doubt, that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar and it’s easier to change someone’s mind if you haven’t insulted them, but nothing could completely quench the fire of Alice’s temper. She was willing to give second chances, but third ones were hard to earn. Alice found herself getting into fights and starting arguments that lost her house points and saw her sent to detention more times that she should strictly be proud of, but she was never ashamed to stand up for what was right, no matter the consequences.
For the first time in Alice's life, Roderick Lestrange took notice of what his daughter was doing. Of course he was askance, being sorted into Hufflepuff, openly fraternizing with mudbloods, and picking fights and getting detention was not the Lestrange way. Every summer when she came home from Hogwarts Alice would be punished for her behavior the year before, but negative attention is still attention so she just leaned into it. Long lectures from her father were opportunities to ask more questions, share what she’d learned, and practice arguments she could use on her classmates back at school. She knew if she could stump Roderick Lestrange, then teenagers parotting their parents’ opinions would have no chance. Astraea took a more punitive route, cutting Alice’s pocket money, selling the racing broom she’d saved up to buy, and even intercepting Alice’s correspondences. Instead of allowing herself to be cowed Alice took matters into her own hands, posting her letters from the nearby Muggle village and even making an email account at its internet cafe.
There were several years where mother and daughter were at an impasse. Each attempt Astraea made to shape her daughter into who she should be was met with failure and Alice resisted her mother’s influence at every turn. Eventually it became almost habit for Alice to do the opposite of what Astraea wanted, an instinct as much as a choice. Things reached a tipping point when Alice arrived home from her fourth year and Astraea announced her daughter’s engagement to the rest of the family. It was a last ditch effort at control on the mother’s part, and it completely blindsided Alice. Arguments between Astraea and Alice were not uncommon, but the one that resulted from the proposed engagement was of truly epic proportions. Things were said that couldn’t be taken back, and even Roderick took notice and put his foot down.
Looking back, Alice does not entirely remember all the details but before the evening was over she’d hastily packed her school trunk with her books, an assortment of clothes, and a handful of jewelry she hoped to be able to pawn for quick money. Typically, Alice liked to be prepared for things and have a plan for how to accomplish her goals, but that wasn’t what happened when she left home. She suddenly found herself alone with no backup plan and no place to spend the night. At her wits end, she showed up at a friend’s doorstep with nothing more than her trunk and a sob story. Luckily for Alice, both her friend and their parents were happy to take her in. They became her new family, giving her a place to stay when she wasn’t at Hogwarts and the kind of love and acceptance that she’d never found with her birth family.
When the time came for her graduation, Alice knew exactly what she was going to do. She’d gone into her fifth year career consultation knowing she wanted to do something where she could change the world, making it a better place. Her head of house had recommended the Wizengamot, and that became Alice’s goal. She liked the idea of writing laws that would shape the world for years to come. She started out small, just one of many all but anonymous clerks, but she was a Hufflepuff to her core; she wasn’t afraid to put in the hard work it would take to achieve her goals. Alice spent two years working for the Wizengamot after graduation, but as the war got worse and worse, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wanted to do more. So she quit her job and signed up for the auror training program.
The career change was a shock to many people, both those who didn’t know Alice and those who did. Despite getting in trouble for fighting at school, she’d never been a terribly aggressive person, and she certainly didn’t look like an auror. Short and curvy with soft features and a baby face even at the age of twenty, Alice was not intimidating but her fellow trainees quickly learned to underestimate her at their own peril. She’d always been athletic, excelling at any physical activity from ballet to quidditch, and it showed in her dueling. Alice put as much effort into excelling at her auror training as she had working for the Wizengamot, putting in extra hours and usually one of the last to leave the office. By the time she completed her training Alice was one of the most promising new aurors.
Alice found being an auror far more fulfilling than working for the Wizengamot, but it still was not enough. Never a rule follower by nature, Alice chafed under the restrictions of working for the government. It was after a few years of being a full-fledged auror that she was invited to join the Order of the Phoenix. Finally, Alice began to feel like she was doing absolutely everything she could to make the world a better place. Once again she found herself having to earn her place as many of the other Order members were reluctant to trust a Lestrange, but once again she worked tirelessly to wear down all doubt. These days when she isn’t fighting the war officially as an auror she’s fighting it unofficially with her fellow Order members. It leaves her exhausted sometimes, but it’s more than worth it.
The Doubter: Alice is a Lestrange, and a Hufflepuff, and an auror. As a result, most people don’t know what to make of her and this character would be someone who doesn’t trust her because of any number of these things.
The Almost-Fiance: The catalyst for the argument that resulted in Alice leaving home; this character could be someone who is or is not aware of their role in Alice’s disownment.
The Life-Line: when Alice’s parents kicked her out, one of her friends from Hogwarts took her in. This character would be someone Alice was already close to, and now sees as a surrogate sibling.
The Mentor: someone in the auror department who’s taken Alice under their wing. This character would be someone who saw Alice’s potential when she first joined the program and helped her work to reach it.
Frank Longbottom: (can be edited depending on the Frank player’s preferences) since Alice moved to the auror department they’ve become close and Alice has come to consider Frank a good friend. She’s been keeping her more-than-platonic feelings to herself for fear of ruining that.
Snippets from canon and admins
Alice’s job in canon is an Auror, if you feel you wish to change her occupation please explain why in your app.
Alice’s surname is added by the admins and it can be changed to suit the player.
Alice is currently TAKEN and played by BREE.
