[Poly] App
[nick / name]: Kristi
[personal LJ name]: likeabulldozer
[other characters currently played]:
Dean Winchester :: Supernatural:: dude-imbatman
Buffy Summers :: Buffy the Vampire Slayer :: whattingawhat
Lucy Locke :: Original Character :: mghtbconcussed
Rose Tyler :: Doctor Who :: iam-thebadwolf
Tim Riggins :: Friday Night Lights :: dillonrockstar
[e-mail]: writer@allengames.com
[AIM / messenger]: rageiscute
[series]: Harry Potter
[character]: Lily Evans Potter
[character history / background]:
Lily's History
[character abilities]:
Lily has all of the standard magic in the Harry Potter world along with a few extra special bits:
Control of under age magic: At a young age Lily demonstrates control of her magic which is unusual.
She is an excellent potions maker
She is talented at charms
She is good with defensive magic, having gotten in duels and escaped Voldemort three times before she was killed by him
She has some skill with transfiguration
She is considered by all to have been a talented and brilliant young witch.
[character personality]:
Lily Potter is a character we see almost entirely through other people's memories. She has been described by many people in several ways. Most everyone agrees she was brilliant, cheeky, funny, kind-hearted and pure of heart She was brave in both the little things and in the big. This bravery is seen when she stands up for her friend, Severus Snape, when the marauders pick on him but the ultimate show of bravery comes when she stands up to Voldemort, not once but four times. The last time she loses her life when she throws herself between Harry and Voldemort. She does this knowing that Voldemort will kill her this time and yet in a show of bravery and unconditional, sacrificing love, she makes the choice to save her son. It is very important to note that in the book she is given the choice. Voldemort tells her if she will step aside, he'll spare her life. We don't know why he would do this but it's a major part of Lily's character that she made the choice.
Lily has no tolerance for bullying and this is part of the reason it hurts so bad when Severus calls her a mudblood. He knows how she feels about that sort of thing as it's gone to his advantage time and again. It's a betrayal and in a way a sort of loss of innocence. Severus was her constant in the muggle world. He understood her when she was considered a freak by her sister at the very least. When he turns against her, calls her a mudblood, regardless of how in the heat of the moment it may have been, it shatters something inside of her that has to do with faith, innocence and she learns at that moment how tenuous relationships can be.
When Lily makes a decision about what is right, there is very little that sways her. She's confident in her decisions. For example, she doesn't care what others think of Severus either at home or at Hogwarts. He is her friend and that is what matters.
She wants people to think well of her because of her abilities, her character, her personality, her work ethic and her decisions but she has her priorities and when it comes at the cost of a friendship or the misfortune of another, she will cast off her regard for another person's opinion of her. She befriended Remus when he wasn't popular and canon implies that she knew about his condition and didn't care. He was her friend. This was very controversial at the time because being a werewolf or the friend of a werewolf could get a person killed. She also befriended Peter Pettigrew when everyone knew of his cowardice.
Lily has a strong sense of right and wrong. This is demonstrated by her decision to join the Order of the Phoenix at the age of eighteen. It's a strong stance to take at a young age when many people are still figuring out where they belong. It plays heavily into her decision to die to protect Harry. Yes that's about love but it's also about what is right. If she were to submit to Voldemort and bargain for her life over that of anyone's life then she's not any better than a deatheater. When Lily makes a decision about what is right, there is very little that sways her. She's confident in her decisions. She defends people that others wouldn't and makes friends with outcasts. This could be because in some way, she feels a bit like an outcast as well. Hogwarts is a double edged sword for her. It is the only place she feels like she belongs but at the same time she's a mudblood and tensions are high when it comes to mudbloods. There are people at Hogwarts like the Malfoys who care about lineage. Lily stands up for herself and others because she's capable of doing so and because it's the right thing to do. It is an early indicator and an early stance against Voldemort's beliefs.
According to Horace Slughorn, Lily is charming, cheeky and very funny. She would have to be to hang with the marauders the way she does. She is more serious than any of the marauders but that doesn't mean that she's without a sense of humor nor does it mean she doesn't tease her friends and make jokes but it's a good deal more kind natured than James' teasing usually is. She is very kind, giving gifts to those that she cares for and respects, befriending students who no one else would have. She dislikes seeing anyone else in pain or hurt in any way.
She touches people in such a way that when Minerva McGonagall hears of her death, she weeps. Lily isn't just a student to her but someone she cares for.
She is ambitious. One does not become head girl at Hogwarts without a great deal of ambition and dedication. Yet she seems to have escaped the curse of arrogance that Gryffandors as well as head students often fall under. In fact, James' arrogance and cruelty is one of the reasons she puts him off for so long, never returning his romantic feelings until he manages to lose some of the ego and stops tormenting others for fun. She is confident because while she's not arrogant she is aware that she's talented but she would attribute it more to hard work than to a gift. On the side of flaws, she may have escaped the curse of arrogance that Gryffandors are known for but she does have a bit of self-righteousness. It can be seen in her defense of Severus as well as the way she allowed the rift between herself and Severus to remain after he insulted her. It can be seen when she abandons him because of his decision to take Voldemort's side. It can also be seen a bit in her refusal to date James until he'd matured a bit. She doesn't accept people as they are but demands they live up to their potential so to speak. She won't be cruel or belittling but she they won't necessarily win her friendship, much less her heart, until they at least try to live up to their potential.
She is not easy to impress. She values character and kindness over an affinity for magic. She is loyal, remaining good friends with Severus until she feels he insults her. She trusts easily, putting her trust in Peter Pettigrew with something as important as the secret location they're staying at. She is a happy, content girl. When she is seen in photographs she is always smiling and waving. She seems to see the best in people and this can certainly be said of her relationship with both Severus and James. They both had large flaws and Lily managed to see beyond those to the people they could be. In Severus' case, it took her death for that man to be fully realized but Lily always saw that in him.
Lily's personality wouldn't be complete if her maternal side wasn't addressed. Early on this maternal side could been in her friendships and her defense of them. It's no surprise that she makes a great mother who is completely aware of and willing to sacrifice her life for Harry. She adores James but her love for Harry is something pure, immense and ancient. It is something that protects him from beyond the grave.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Just post death
[journal post]:
[Lily has been having a bit of a time adjusting to her unlife in the City for a variety of reasons. She's taken to haunting the stacks in the library more to have something to do than anything. The video comes up on her seated at a table with stacks of books in front of her but she's not reading. In fact she's writing furiously with a quill and a bottle of ink.]
[Private Off Network]
It's fascinating what one can get accustomed to and what one can't. When I first arrived I thought my death would be harder to live with, to move on with every day. And while it is difficult-you'd be surprised how loud a heartbeat can be when you haven't got one-it's far from the most difficult. I think...I think that the knowledge that so much time has passed in my world is the most difficult. It is what I wanted, for everything to continue, for Harry to live but I was supposed to stay dead and not have this feeling of having missed so very much. I've missed his entire life, the lives of my friends and the world has changed, my world has changed, so much since I died.
Of course I'll cope with it. I haven't much of a choice and in the end, I suppose things turned out just as they were meant to.
[She looks up at the device and lays her pen aside with a small smile.]
I think it's the bits of familiarity we find in the City that keep us from going batty. Like this library. I suppose I've spent a great deal of time here. It's a brilliant library. Still...I should get out more.
Anyone care to go flying?
[third person / log sample]:
Lil hadn't ever wanted to be involved in a war. In fact, all she really wanted was to marry James, start a family, see their children go to Hogwarts and work for the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps something in muggle relations. The war or more to the point, Voldemort, twisted all of that and in some cases took it away entirely.
Because of Voldemort, because of the war, Lily lost her best friend. Yes, Severus had made his own choice and she lays plenty of responsibility for that on his shoulders, but without Voldemort, there wouldn't have been a choice. Voldemort took her best friend and turned him into her enemy. Because of Voldemort, she and James were raising Harry in secret, moving from place to place and living with the constant fear of being found out, of being killed or worse being tortured. It was no way to raise a child.
She would say that Voldemort had taken away her choices except that would be giving him too much power and herself not enough. The truth was Lily has always made her own choices. Even now, moments before her death when it felt as if she had no choice, there was still a decision to make, a decision that not everyone could make. There was the easy way and there was the right way: her life or Harry's. She could say that it isn't a choice but that is a betrayal to Harry, to herself and to James who has already made his own choice.
She looks to Harry, leaning in one last time to kiss his forehead. “Be brave”, she whispers against his baby soft skin then turns to face Voldemort, shoulders squared and chin up. She's made her choice. It was made years ago the first time she stood up for someone weaker than herself. Now she's standing up for her son and the life he will have.
Be brave.
[Additional 3rd person sample because I know the first one is very introspective rather then showing how she interacts with others.]
“I'm sorry. I can't seem to get it.” The quiet apology comes from a mouse of a girl named Pelgrina with soda bottle thick glasses that keep sliding down her nose.
“No. It's alright. Try it again. You've just got to get a little more swish on it. Charms are all about the swish.” Lily offers a small smile and demonstrates yet again the motion Pelgrina needs. In response her patronus flares to life, a doe prancing daintily across the grass.
“Lils! Come on! The party in the common room has already started!” The plea comes from behind her. Lily turns to find James, Sirius, Remus and Peter gathered in a group. They're still several feet away but are approaching fast. In response, the doe fades away.
“Go on. Thanks for helping me.” Pelgrina's words are murmured and so rushed together Lily can hardly make them out. She shakes her head in response, perhaps to James' cajoling or perhaps in response to Pelgrina's murmur.
“Go on without me. I'll be there in a little while,” Lily tells James then turns back to Pelgrina and really she shouldn't be surprised when James protests. She and James aren't dating but that hasn't stopped him from being persistent.
“Lily, leave the dumb, little mouse to her own devices and let's go have fun.” James is crouched on his heels, just behind her.
She turns sharply, glaring at James. “I'm having plenty of fun here with Pelgrina but I do hope you enjoy the festivities on your own.” Her voice is curt and a bit cold.
James cuts an ugly look to Pelgrina then back to Lily, attempting to cover his annoyance with a crooked grin. “You'll have more fun with us and it doesn't look like Pelly here is getting it anytime soon.”
“Her name is Pelgrina and she's doing just fine. Go.”
From behind him, Lily hears Sirius utter “Leviousa” and Pelgrina's glasses begin floating off her face. She makes a wild grab for them and Lily turns her wrath to Sirius.
“Sirius Black, leave her alone.”
“Or what, Evans?” Sirius dares her, a smirk sprawled across his face.
“Do you think you're the only one who can cast a charm, Sirius?” There's a direct challenge in her voice and the way she tilts her chin up a bit. James is still a foot or so away, smirking and clearly enjoying the little confrontation he's orchestrated.
Pelgrina's glasses have settled back on her face but her hair is twirling and twisting around of it's own accord at the moment.
“Leave her alone.” This is directed at James. She knows he's really the only one she's got any chance of influencing.
“Or what?” James returns Sirius' mocking little challenge but she responds differently. She considers him carefully, chin still tilted up, spine still straight. Threatening James won't yield any results and besides it's not a tactic Lily really likes to employ.
“Leave her alone, go to your party in the common room and I'll join you later. I'll sit next to you.”
“Sit next to me at lunch and dinner for the rest of the year and I'll make sure no one messes with her again.”
Lily thins her lips, turns her head a bit to the side then casts a glance to the little group a few feet from them. She finally looks to James and nods.
“Fine but leave her alone for the rest of our time at Hogwarts and no, I won't promise to sit next to you for two years. You'll have the rest of this year to earn that one on your own.
That gets a grin out of James and he stands up with a new bounce in his step. “Come on, guys. Lily's gotta play professor for a while.” He winks at her and turns to walk away. “See you later, Professor Evans.”
Lily rolls her eyes at James then she smiles back at Pelgrina, her expression softening.
“All right, we were talking about the swish right? So swish, cast and really mean it.”