PANDORA LYONS.
24. SPELL RESEARCHER/BARTENDER.
PUREBLOOD.
RAVENCLAW ALUMNI.
Pandora Aurelia Lyons was born prematurely into a pureblood family. She spent the six months of her life in St. Mungo’s, with her family unsure if she would live or die. The next ten years of her life were spent in and out of St Mungo’s, for various issues, particularly respiratory. Because of this, her parents coddled her for a long time, and preferred for her to stay inside where she couldn’t be hurt. Because of this, by the time her letter from Hogwarts arrived, she had read many books, focusing particularly on magic and the history of spells. She was sickly as a child, although that never stopped her from sneaking out of doors in bad weather to hunt through the gardens for herbs she’d read about in her books. Her parents were concerned about sending her to Hogwarts, but knew they couldn’t keep her cooped up at home forever. The doctors at St Mungo’s said that she was alright to go, as long as she had frequent checkups in the Hospital Wing.
At Hogwarts, Pandora was placed into Ravenclaw. Both of her parents had been Ravenclaws, so this was expected. She wasn’t particularly popular, but she had a nice smile and could put people at ease, so she made her way through school without facing too many social difficulties. She excelled in certain classes, particularly Charms and Magical Theory, but lacked any interest at all in others, such as Arithmancy and Muggle Studies.
While her health had improved greatly from when she was a child, she wasn’t entirely healthy. In her 5th year, she had a relapse, and spent several months in the Hospital Wing under strict supervision. Other students took turns bringing her classwork to her and catching her up on the news, and it was during this time that she became good friends with Xenophilius Lovegood. She recovered, but they remained close, eventually becoming more than friends.
Pandora had great plans for her life after graduation. She would travel the world, researching alternate spell-casting methods and ingredients. She would alter existing spells to become more powerful and effective. She would write books on the subject and become known as a leading expert on the development and study of spells. Nothing could get in her way, not her poor health, her parents asking her to remain at home, or her inexperience.
Instead, less than a year after her graduation, the Muggle world learned about her world. Terrified and heartbroken, Pandora decided to continue her work, but knew it would never be the way she had wanted it to be. Her focus shifted onto making spells quieter and less noticeable. She studied old methods in books she kept hidden away, hoping to eventually learn of a way to make spells that Muggles would not notice happening. She was careful to keep this entirely secret, and did her best to keep it to a minimum, even writing her notes a code she devised. She got a job working at the Leaky Cauldron, in hopes that she would overhear a conversation about something not mentioned in any academic texts that could help her.
Pandora is determined to see the world and to learn things that no one else knows. There’s a universe of magical opportunities out there that no one is exploring, and she’s going to be that person. If only she didn’t have to live in fear of being caught by Muggles, she could be known as the brilliant wixen she is. For now, she’ll have to settle for doing what little work she can in secret. As long as she has that and the people she loves, she can figure out what to do.