NATALIA DELACOUR-BARDON: Who is the one person you’d follow to the ends of the Earth, no matter what?
“My father. He hasn’t led me astray so far, no matter whether or not I agree with his decisions and views, and he’s the most powerful person I know. I know he doesn’t feel the same way about me, but that’s normal, isn’t it? It’s typical for children to admire their parents, and for their parents to expect a lot out of them. I just… I wish I could make him proud, you know? And if, to make him proud, I had to follow him to the ends of the Earth, then I would.”
WREN VOLANT: What’s your favourite luxury?
“High-end clothing, I’d say. Or maybe perfume… Either way, something that has to do with the way I present myself, not only to others, but also to myself. Like, for perfume: sure, I want other people to appreciate it, but really, I’m putting it on so I’ll like the way I smell. I’m the one who has to spend all time with me, aren’t I? I have to make sure I’m fun to be with, and fun to look at. But it’s not only that with clothing, really… I just really love the way quality materials feel against my skin. I adore the way the colours look against my body, and the way it falls off my shoulders or my waist. It’s just so beautiful, and feels so pleasing to the eye. Not necessarily others’, but my own, mainly.”
LEANDER FINNIGAN-THOMAS: Who’s the best person (aka best at being a good person) you know or know of?
“I don’t know her all that well, but… Victoire. Victoire Weasley, I mean. Not that there are that many Victoires around, but… I used to really admire her back when we both attended Hogwarts. She was a year older than me, if I remember correctly, and we never really talked, but I always looked up to her. Not only because she was everything I wanted to be and wanted altogether, but also because everything she did just seemed so… Right. And I’ve seen her around with that kid of hers, and she seems like she’s got it all together, and… She’s amazing. I don’t know, maybe she’s hiding some dark secret, but I don’t care. She seems so wholesome, and I truly do admire her.” @itmeansvictory
alright, so! i was looking for some more motivation to read all of your amazing intros, and i thought! hey! why not create an ask meme inspired by all of the wonderful characters in this roleplay! and after asking the admins if it was okay, and them agreeing to let me do this, i started choosing characters at random (using random.org), and reading about them until i came up with a question inspired by them! okay, so, fact is, i can’t really read, so some of these may not make sense, but at least i tried? anyway, here’s the first batch of 22 questions based on characters from this roleplay! the next batch should be coming either today or tomorrow! also, fun fact: these ask memes will be updated around every two weeks to include new characters!
LEONORA FLINT: Which emotion do you have the most difficulty expressing?
VIVIENNE ‘VIV’ CHANG: Do you have a competitive side, and if so, in what kind of situation does it come out most?
NATALIA DELACOUR-BARDON: Who is the one person you’d follow to the ends of the Earth, no matter what?
CECILY SKEETER-ATLAS: What’s the most scandalous thing you’ve ever done?
WREN VOLANT: What’s your favourite luxury?
DENNIS CREEVEY: If you could change one of the key moments in your life that shaped who you are as a person, would you?
KATERINA ‘KATYA’ WOOD-KRUM: What role do you usually play in a team or a group?
AILYN WILKES: What is your stance when it comes to lying? Is lying ever acceptable, in your opinion?
MOLLY WEASLEY II: Do you think you’re strong enough for the war?
MAILAN PHAM: How far would you go for your family?
CLEO TRELAWNEY: Did your skills/gifts/talents come naturally to you, or did you have to work hard to acquire or control them?
OPAL TALKALOT: What do you desire most?
MANDOLYN ‘MANON’ MIDGEN: What’s the one thing you wish to change most about yourself?
JADE TALKALOT: Which side of the war do you think is the most powerful?
ROXANNE WEASLEY: What are you most proud of about who you are?
WILLIAM ‘BILL’ WEASLEY: What do you think is your greatest responsibility?
EZRA ‘Z’ DIGGORY: How do you feel about religion?
LILY POTTER: Which of the main four elements do you think represents you best, and why?
OPHELIA ROSIER: Who, or what, do you resent most?
VERONIKA ‘VERA’ WOOD-KRUM: What are you most skilled at, in your opinion?
MERCY BORGIN: What is something you’ve found out about your family, somewhat recently, that surprised you?
LEANDER FINNIGAN-THOMAS: Who’s the best person (aka best at being a good person) you know or know of?
“mm,” paris smiles, “can’t say i’ve ever been a jumpy sort of person. my grandfather, from what i’ve heard, probably turns in his grave at that suggestion.”
paris takes a sip of her own coffee, and pulls one leg up to cross over the other. she looks almost lazy, how comfortable she is in her own skin. how arrogantly she drapes into a seat, as though she’s constantly in control. “i wish i could say i expected better of the ministry than to have elevators that break down, but unfortunately… it’s the bureaucracy of it all.” she shrugs. “it’s about balance, you know. the world needs it. we, as humans, need it. i’d rather have tasks, have something to get through, than to be content all the time. i don’t know what that would even feel like.”
“Lucky,” Piper replied simply, but honestly. She wished she wasn’t so easy to surprise. Especially considering everything currently going on. It had always embarrassed her family, and by default, herself, which she hated.
“Hm,” she hums as she tilts her head to the side and thinks about what Paris said. She agreed, really, but it was interesting to hear someone else think similarly to her. Nowadays, disagreeing with the Ministry wasn’t the best idea, especially not in Piper’s situation, but it was what it was. “You’re right. And I guess that makes sense. Balance is key, most of the time. It’s hard not to wish only good things for some people, though, isn’t it? It’s easier to deal with balance when it comes to ourselves, but to see others unhappy... I find it a bit more difficult.”
psyche did not think the feeling running through her could exist, it was too powerful, too profound and pierced her soul in a way that was a beautiful agony.
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S ZODIAC?
Now, this isn’t accurate when it comes to her birthday, except for the sun sign, of course, but this is the arrangement that I thought worked best for Piper. First, let’s start with the sun and moon combination. I decided to go with Libra Sun and Taurus Moon because I found a website that gave the following personality traits for this combination: distinctive, attractive, generous, clingy, procrastinating and indecisive. And honestly, except maybe for the “distinctive” aspect, that’s basically Piper in a nutshell.
As for Libra Sun in and of itself, it’s really a matter of little things. Piper does believe in fairness and equality, but she’s so keen on pleasing her family that she looks over that to do whatever they wish for her to do. She avoids going on missions for the Death Eaters as much as possible, yes, but when she’s forced to, she often ends up as some kind of diplomat rather than a fighter, because that’s what comes naturally to her. Plus, she can pretend to see both sides’ arguments and therefore make herself feel better for being on the side she’s on.
I think the Moon in Taurus fits Piper very well due to her craving for security and comfort. It’s what she’s always wanted from her family (and never got), and it explains why she keeps on trying to please them so much when they do absolutely nothing for her. She’s also a very physical person, always needing touch and being very touchy-feely, so that fits very well as well.
As for her rising sign, well, Cancer fits quite well, in my opinion. Piper is extremely sensitive to the world around her and its emotions, and she does have pretty good intuitions. She also has a strong desire to nurture and support others, though that might be because no one’s ever done it for her, and she doesn’t want anyone to feel the way she has.
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S MORAL ALIGNMENT?
True Neutral. I hesitated a lot at first, because it’d be easy to consider Piper good, but I think that she needs to be neutral to be able to be part of the Death Eaters, no matter how much she tries to avoid really doing anything for the cause. The sentence on the website that 100% convinced me that this works for her is: “Most neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality.” It truly, truly is a lack of conviction when it comes to Piper. She’s quite weak-willed, and is very easily swayed. She doesn’t spend much time thinking about either side, but rather just goes with what will please people the most.
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S ENNEAGRAM?
Type 5, The Investigator, is what I think fits Piper best. Type 5 are the kind of people who are willing to alter their beliefs to fit in with the majority, and I think that fits quite well with who Piper is. Though it’s not to fit in with the majority, but rather with her family, she does alter her beliefs and forgoes the things that matter to her to make them proud. At the same time, she also fears that she doesn’t have enough inner strength to face life, just like a lot of Type 5s. Still, she’s sensitive, and sometimes, to protect herself, tends to put a bit of distance between herself and others whichever way she can. She’s also developed a somewhat minimalistic lifestyle, which can be seen in the way her apartment is arranged, as she fears feeling overwhelmed. All in all, it may not be a perfect match, as is often the case with those personality things, but it’s the one that fits Piper best.
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S MBTI?
ISFJ, The Defender. For this, I mostly went with the strengths and weaknesses of the type, as I feel like most of them fit Piper down to a t. ISFJs are universal helpers, and as someone who’s very supportive of everyone in her life, I feel like this applies to Piper very well. She’s also very reliable and patient, which makes her a very good friend, though she’s lost most of her Hogwarts friends since joining the Death Eaters due to... Reasons, you know. She also uses her imaginative side to put herself in other people’s shoes and try to picture what they might be going through. Add that to the fact that she’s observant, and she’s quite good at understanding how other people are feeling. Piper also has very good practical skills, which means that she can apply her beliefs to real life. Which has been quite complicated lately due to the fact that she doesn’t exactly believe in the Death Eaters’ cause, but still. Problem is, she’s a bit too humble and shy. She doesn’t take pride in her accomplishments, which might have to do with the fact that, no matter how well she did when she was younger, she never managed to make her family proud. The shyness wasn’t that present when she was at Hogwarts, but around her family, she’s as shy as can be. Not only with them, but also with whoever’s around them at that moment. She also has a tendency to take things too personally, and therefore always feels like she’s bothering other people, no matter how they reacted to her in particular. Piper also tends to repress her own feelings, making others’ pass before hers, and putting her all into others rather than herself. To avoid those feelings, she has the instinct to overload herself with things to do, and so she tries to avoid addressing her own feelings that way.
WHAT ARE YOUR CHARACTER’S ARCHETYPES?
60% Caregiver. “Friendly, sincere, and compassionate, the Caregiver finds their reward in helping others. No one could ask for a better best friend.” I just... Copy-pasted the lil description because that’s Piper in a nutshell, really. It also says in the longer description that Caregivers need to learn how to help when it’s truly needed, and I feel like that’s something that really does apply to Piper.
30% Tastemaker. “The Tastemaker is always on top of the trends—or starting their own. Their sense of style is second to none and their taste, impeccable.” Though Piper follows pretty classical fashion, she does have a good sense of style, and finds her appearance and the way she presents herself to others very important.
10% Intellectual. “The Intellectual is the ultimate dinner-party guest. Engaging questions and thoughtful debate are their trademarks.” Whilst Piper may not actually be all that into debating, she does love stimulating conversations that address various different things that she either knows a lot about or wants to learn more about.
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S TEMPERAMENT?
The Melancholic, I think. I hesitated a lot between that and The Phlegmatic, but I feel like the melancholic might fit Piper a little bit better. Especially because of the thoughtful and sensitive traits. The website also mentions that melancholics can be quite romantic, and as Piper is a romantic at heart, and very bad at hiding it too, I thought that it fit especially well. Also, I think that the following sentence is 100% Piper when it comes to romantic connections: “You may long for a deep soul-mate, but you are cautious when it comes to opening up to people.”
WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S SOUL TYPE?
Helper, I’m pretty sure. Helpers take a practical approach to things, and help keep the world running. They’re there for others, in various ways, and I think that that fits really well with the way Piper acts. It’s important for helpers to find something to dedicate themselves to, like a cause or a person, Piper has yet to find that for herself, but with my plans(tm) for her, I see that happening in the future. Also, like most Helper types, Piper isn’t the type to seek out a leadership role. She’s content following and assisting in whatever way she can, rather than make be decisions and possibly be blamed for negative outcomes. She also rarely lets herself get carried away when it comes to her emotions, which fits well with this specific soul type.
“I think that she’s someone that many could admire. She believes in certain things, and doesn’t stray away from those things. She’s extremely consistent, and goes after what she wants. And though I don’t agree with her, I can’t take that away from her. Dolores scares me, to be honest. She says she cares about family, about blood, but I know that she’d sacrifice me, or even my father or brother, if it was necessary for her to do so. And she wouldn’t blink doing it. I think being scared of her is what makes most sense, really. If you’re not scared of her, then you’re not paying attention. She may not be violent, not directly anyway, but she’s definitely one of the most dangerous people I’ve ever met. Be careful if you ever have to deal with her; she won’t hesitate to do what’s ‘needed’, according to her own values and principles. She knows what she wants, and you can’t take that away from her.”
❝ - huh ? oh – let me look … ❞ antigone had been on a much needed break / the volunteer nurse resting their feet for only a moment before they had to go back as soon as their little magical version of a pager rung. amber eyes scanned piper’s face, quickly painted lips turned to a soft smile. ❝ no, you’re completely fine. more than fine even – ❞ a glance to the guy in question, ❝ he’s probably just checking you out, if he’s bothering you i can go ask him to y’know … stop. ❞
“Thank you so much,” Piper responded with a smile at the brunette before shaking her head at Antigone’s question. “I appreciate it, I do, but... Please don’t. I don’t want to cause any trouble, and if he wasn’t checking me out, then I’ll just feel embarrassed.”
Thing was, even if he had been checking her out, Piper didn’t want him to know for sure that she wasn’t interested. She really wasn’t, but she was scared of how he’d react if he knew that. Would he get mad, or would he get sad? Either option was one that the brunette would rather not have to deal with, especially not in front of so many people. The poor man; he’d end up looking like a fool, and the youngest Umbridge didn’t want to be responsible for that.
“I love what you’re wearing, by the way,” Piper added after a moment, respectfully looking Antigone up and down. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this piece before; where did you get it?”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s not like I’m a big believer in our cause, but… It feels like the right thing to do. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done that has made my father proud of me, and I’m terrified of what my brother would do to me if I ever started working for the other side. I’ve seen his cruelty in play in the past, and I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of it. Plus, I doubt the other side would ever want me. Even here, I’m barely any help, but I know I could never fight my family. Some Death Eaters I don’t know all that well, maybe, if it’s asked of me, but my family? … I don’t know if I could do that. I think I’d let them kill me before I hurt them.”
WHERE: An Art Gallery in Hogsmeade.
WHEN: Sunday, February 25th, 2024 @ 22:58.
WHO: Maria Fortescue. ( @mfortescue )
Piper furrowed her brow as she tilted her head to the side and looked at the painting in front of her. It was moving, yes, but... Not in the way she was used to paintings moving. It was like the painting was completely unaware that it was hung up in a gallery full of people, and Piper couldn’t help but wonder if, perhaps, its occupants were merely pretending not to notice the swarm of socialites and art enthusiasts who passed by it with various glasses filled with different kinds of alcohol. All had been offered to Piper when she entered the gallery, but she had settled on white wine. It was made my house elves, she was pretty sure, but Piper had never really thought about what that meant for the elves, and tonight wasn’t the night she would start doing so. Maybe the next day. Maybe...
Turning around to ask a waiter a question, she noticed that he was gone and that Maria was now standing where he had been. Smiling, she tilted her head to the side again — a bad habit, really — and wondered what the other woman was doing in the gallery. She was almost 100% certain that the brunette was a Hogwarts teacher, and she was quite confused before she remembered that, of course, teachers weren’t students; they were allowed to leave. Just because she had never been able to attend art exhibitions as a Hogwarts student didn’t mean that it was the same thing for teachers. Therefore, her surprise quickly evaporated away. Smiling, she let out a small laugh.
“Think they’re pretending not to see us? Or that they’re that absorbed in their own little painting lives?”
WHERE: St Mungo’s.
WHEN: March 4th, 2024 @ any time.
WHO: Open to all adults.
“Is there something on my face,” Piper asked suddenly to the person sitting beside her in one of St. Mungo’s waiting rooms. Lowering her voice, she added: “That man over there won’t staring at me and looking completely horrified, and it’s starting to terrify me in return.”
“sorry to er,” paris drops off, looking for the right word. it’s not scare, it’s not frighten, not even surprise. then it comes to her with a smirk, “startle you. much as i do like to keep people on their toes, i hardly want to seem like a dick.” the blonde smiles as the other woman accepts her drink - what was her name again? pepper? no, not quite. she’s an umbridge, paris knows that much at least. powerful family. then it hits her. “you’re more than welcome, piper. i’m glad we’re here under better circumstances than missing a trillion and one meetings because of some ruddy maintenance error.”
she shrugs. “i don’t know - there’d be no enjoyment of the summer if we didn’t have to endure a bit of rain, sleet and snow. besides - it makes me feel a little less bad about missing out on being outside so much. i kinda miss those hogwarts summers, where there was nothing left to worry about in the world.” she smiles. “but you’re right - on days like this, i am sorely missing the tiny bit of sun we’re like to get.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Piper smiled. “I get startled way too easily. It’s a bit ridiculous, actually.”
“Why, yes. These are much better circumstances than being stuck in a lift,” she chuckled, and took a sip of her drink before slightly tilting her head to the side. “I guess it is harder to realize just how happy you are until you’re not that happy anymore. Kind of sad, though, isn’t it? It’s like we can’t truly appreciate anything until we’ve experienced worse. Makes sense, though, I guess. There has to be at least one downside to always being content.”
Nodding about Hogwarts summers, Piper pretended to be able to relate. She had spent her summers being forced to study, study and study by her father, until she had memorized all the important parts of History of Magic by heart. Of course, she always forgot them as soon as she went back to Hogwarts, and so every summer got worse and worse, up until she wasn’t attending Hogwarts anymore. Even when she hadn’t been studying History of Magic in her sixth and seventh years, she had been forced to study History. She never got to experience much when it came to Hogwarts summers, but she understood what they must have been like for people with less... intense parents.
WHERE: The Leaky Cauldron, London.
WHEN: Sunday, March 2nd, 2024 @ 11:08 in the morning.
WHO: Cecily Seeker-Atlas. ( @ofglorys )
Piper had always prided herself on her skill at associating faces with their names, no matter how little she might know the other person. She had always been that way, and always felt satisfied when someone seemed agreeably surprised when she remembered them or even just knew of them. Therefore, when she saw Cecily, she was a bit disappointed that her name didn’t come to the forefront of her mind at first sight. It came a couple of seconds later, sure, but Piper liked being on top of those things. Still, it was true that she had been quite pre-occupied lately, what with everything that was going on in the Ministry of Magic and with her fellow Death Eaters, and so she couldn’t be too harsh on herself — not that that had ever stopped her before.
Thanking the bartender as he handed her her butterbeer, Piper looked around for a place to sit before furrowing her eyebrows as she realized that all the tables were spoken for. Everyone seemed quite at ease, already involved in conversations, and the ones who weren’t? Well, Piper didn’t recognize them. That is, except for Cecily. Racking her brain to remember how she knew of the other woman, she walked over to her table. Standing awkwardly in front of the blonde’s table for a few moments before she was noticed, Piper smiled somewhat hesitantly and gestured to the empty chair facing the other woman.
“Hi, Cecily. Mind if I sit down? It’s pouring rain outside and the inn’s too crowded to get a table with bothering anyone. Not that I think it’s okay to bother you, of course. I just... I swear I’m a good table companion?”
WHERE: Twilfitt and Tatting's, Diagon Alley.
WHEN: Sunday, March 2nd, 2024 @ Early afternoon.
WHO: Open to all adults.
Lightly running her fingers over the fabric of the clothes, Piper couldn’t help but smile. Textures had always been something that made her happy. She remembered when she was very little, three or four years old, and her mother would bring her food shopping with her. In one of the shops they always visited, there was a rack with little bags filled with spices, and Piper had always loved playing with them and feeling the different textures underneath her fingers, with only a small bag separating the spices from her. At her age now, it didn’t seem as appropriate to play with spices, but clothes were a pretty decent replacement in Piper’s opinion.
Finally, she stopped at a robe covered in crushed velvet. It was a beautiful deep red, and Piper sighed as she took it out of the rack to look at it more closely. Oh, wow, she thought, realizing that that robe was screaming her name. There was black embroidery of flowers arranged in a subtle but beautiful way all over the edges of the robe that all snaked together in a complex but minimalistic pattern.
Problem was, it was red. And whilst she could get away with wearing regular clothes in that colour, she very much doubted that a robe for special occasions would pass if she were to wear it at a Death Eater function. Then again, blood was red, and her colleagues did enjoy bloody things, didn’t they?
Still, Piper didn’t want to take a chance. She was already getting some looks from certain people due to the fact that she had yet to go on what would be considered a big mission, and she thought it better not to try her luck. If word were to go back to her family that she was a disappointment... Well, she would rather not think about that.
Walking over to the first person she saw in the store, she gently tapped on their shoulder, and smiled as they turned around to look at her.
“I’m awfully sorry to bother you, but have you by any chance seen an employee around? Or know where they’re hiding? The service in this place is meant to be impeccable, and it usually is, but today, it seems like they’re all hiding from me,” she laughed lightly, transferring all the weight of the robe to her left arm as she used her right hand to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as it was getting in her eyes.
where: hogsmeade
when: 4 march, 2024, midday
who: open to anyone @ hogsmeade
most of the time, paris makes a point of being a fly on the wall - well, not exactly a fly on the wall. a physical presence in every room: a palpable watcher. some information is useful when others don’t know you’ve got it. but more useful is the ability to influence others. to be known. to be visible. besides - she has always enjoyed watching people react to her. so being public has never been an issue for her - she imagines, if she’d been a muggle, she’d have dreamed of being an actress. a performer. so she has no problem with the way she struts down the street, throws money carelessly towards a cashier, and orders a pair of coffees: then struts back over the street, into someone’s personal space, into an empty seat at a table. she smirks at the occupant, and holds one out. “you look awful broody today. caffeine for your thoughts?”
It’s tough sometimes, having so little to do outside of work, but it’s the way Piper prefers it. Whilst she loves being at work, her free time often means being pressured to go on missions with her fellow Death Eaters, and every free moment spent not doing that is a good moment according to Piper. It’s not that she dislikes being a Death Eater, per se. It’s just that, well, she doesn’t exactly like it. Thinking about that, Piper can’t help but frown slightly. Not liking something means disliking it, doesn’t it? That makes everything a little more complicated than she’d care to admit, and so she’s in the middle of sighing when she gasps as someone suddenly enters her little bubble of solitude. “Oh, thank you,” she smiles after her initial shock, taking the coffee offered by Paris. Should Piper be more careful with what she accepts? Probably. But Paris and her did get along that one time they were stuck in an elevator together, didn’t they? And who would want to hurt someone they once got along with?
“Hard not to be broody with this weather; I simply cannot wait for summer. The end of winter is always the worst, isn’t it? It’s all fun and games in December, but come March... Well, let’s just say I’m very eager for the sun and warmer weather to arrive.”
maybe today it’ll get better. i heard what you say, we’re in this together. now i’m starting to see, hoping and praying, we’ll never win, win without playing.
❝ Do you think it’s possible that some people are born to give more love than they will ever get back in return? ❞ LILY COLLINS ? No, that’s actually PIPER UMBRIDGE. Only TWENTY-SIX years old, this RAVENCLAW alumni works as an EMPLOYEE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AT THE BRITISH MINISTRY OF MAGIC and is sided with THE DEATH EATERS. SHE/HER identifies as a CISWOMAN and is a PUREBLOOD who is known to be FEARFUL, RESENTFUL, and WEAK-WILLED but also LOYAL, ROMANTIC, and PROTECTIVE. { SAM, 24, EST, THEY/THEM }
Click here for Piper’s about page and here for her pinterest board.
TWs: Death, parental death, grief, child abuse (depending on the definition) & food.
PARENTAL DEATH, DEATH. Piper’s father was, and actually still is, Dolores Umbridge’s brother. He married a French pureblood woman out of necessity, rather than love, and he was fifty-two by the time Piper was born. His wife was much younger than him, and was a soft soul that couldn’t have survived in the world of pureblood supremacy, no matter whether she was a pureblood or not. Therefore, when she died when Piper was only four years old, he didn’t shed a tear.
PARENTAL DEATH, DEATH, GRIEF. Piper clung to her mother a lot when she was little, and her mother clung back just as hard to her only child. Therefore, at the age of four, Piper simply didn’t understand why her Mummy wasn’t around anymore. No matter how much she cried and screamed, she wouldn’t come back, and Piper couldn’t understand why. She got locked in her bedroom a lot, which, considering the size of it and the amount of toys she had, wouldn’t have been a punishment for some children, but Piper didn’t want to be alone. She wanted her mother. The one who held her close when her father screamed at the house elves or the staff or even her mother. The one who snuck her sweets when she put her to bed, and who always, always read out loud until Piper fell asleep.
Finally, it was her Auntie Dolores who was able to get her to calm down, by scaring her more than even her father could. Piper had never met her before, which she later understood was a conscious choice from her mother, and her first meeting with her aunt is something she still remembers to this day.
Her father was never proud. When she accomplished something, he’d say “And you’ll do even better next time”. That was, if he even bothered noticing his daughter. She hadn’t been a boy, she wouldn’t carry on the family name if something were to ever happen to her older brother, and so she wasn’t worth much in his eyes. Problem was, Piper was constantly seeking validation from her family. The kind of validation her mother had given her. She never got that validation again, but that didn’t stop her from trying.
In school, even though her best class was Herbology, she wasn’t allowed to continue on with it at N.E.W.T. level. Her family considered the subject worthless, and even though she loved it, she didn’t continue on with it just to please them. It was the other way around with History of Magic. She hated it, and never managed to get more than an “A” in it, and it greatly disappointed her father who forced her to study wizarding history all summer long when she was on school break.
She joined the Death Eaters for them. She knew it’d please them, and it truly did. For the first time in her life, her father told her he was proud of her, and so Piper finally felt like she had done something right. Still, she avoided going on missions as much as possible, always finding excuses not to do the horrible things other Death Eaters were doing. She had always been pretty neutral on the pureblood status and what not, afraid of what reactions she’d get from her family if she formed a true opinion of it all for herself. Fact was, Piper was a compassionate person, and she knew that if she were to honestly pick a side, it wouldn’t be the Death Eaters.
Her brother and her were never close. He was ten years older than her, had a different mother (a muggleborn), and had even more to prove than Piper. Therefore, he became brutal, cruel and ruthless. He scared Piper even more than her father did, but she still wanted him to validate her. She wanted her family to be proud of her; it was that simple. She didn’t want them to hate her; she had seen what they did to people they hated, and she was terrified.
At Hogwarts, she could be herself much more than anywhere else, and since she didn’t have to pick a side there, she found herself making a lot of friends. She was a pleasant person to be around, and she was loyal to the core. Plus, she was always willing to help or tutor others when it came to classes (except for History of Magic), and she was well appreciated, both as a person, a prefect and a Head Student (if that’s possible based on when she went to Hogwarts). She was known as a kind and gentle person there, and so, it came as quite a shock to most of her friends when she joined the Death Eaters. Thing was, it hurt to lose them, but it didn’t terrify her the way her own family did.
