Appearance
Alan is a small, thin boy with light skin. Freckles sporadically crawl up his arms, ending in a delicate ring around his throat. He has a thin face, wide, hazel eyes that dart from place to place, and a thin nose, slightly perky at the end. His hair is black, tied back when dealing with Potions, Herbology or careful wandwork (more out of imitation of Alan's mother, his idol, than any practical reason.), but let to run in unkempt waves in other situations.

Mental Description

"He's always been an excitable young chap,"

his grandfather once told his mother. Excitable wasn't the half of it. Interchangably called 'Curious', 'Oblivious' and (more often) 'That Little Bugger', Alan had a knack for finding himself in trouble. Not causing trouble, exactly. Often, Alan was just being himself and he'd find himself hopelessly lost. He had a habit of following woodland creatures into forgotten glades, only to be found by a very disgruntled-looking Ms. Shuzbeke. Or, he'd be racing through the streets, eyes glued to shop windows and find himself talking to some Very Bad Men (as his grandfather put it), only to be pulled away by a concerned passer-by. Alan just kind of went.

Biography
Alan was born to Ms. Ellie Shuzbeke, a Muggle woman. His father, a Wizard, had met her while conducting research. He had an interest in Muggle Studies, and hoped to a Professor at Hogwarts one day. He'd never get the chance. Ellie, being a Muggle, had never been fully told what had happened to Alan's father. The Ministry had merely passed her off with a standard 'Our Condolences' card and a leaflet for her to read.

Alan had been raised as a Muggle for the most part. Some of his father's friends had visited infrequently, and they shared stories of the Wizarding World. Alan had even stayed with one of these friends for a week in Hogsmeade. There, he saw his first real taste of magic, and his first glimpse of Hogwarts.

He knew, of course, that there was a high chance he'd show the same ability his father, a Muggle-born himself, had. He knew one day he might get to attend Hogwarts as a student. He spent every day of his life afterwards waiting for his first hint of magic, and with it the certainty of Hogwarts.

First Instance of Magic
Alan couldn't lie - he'd tried to make his magic happen. He concentrated so hard one day he nearly burst a blood vessel. When his mother had found him, bright red and curled into a tight ball, she'd initially thought he'd had a seizure. Once Alan had told her his plan, she just laughed and told him he couldn't make magic happen without a wand. He just had to wait.

For all his trying, his magic came when it happened to be the last thing on his mind. He was lost... Again. Wandering blindly at 9 years old, lost in a forest they were visiting with his father's parents, a good-natured Witch and Wizard living in the rural areas near Hogwarts, Alan had started to cry. He wailed and sobbed, and yet nobody came.

When the tears had stopped, thoughts of his mother filled his mind. He thought of her hugs, the smell of warm cinnamon and the taste of her shepherd's pie. He let them fill him, until he could believe she was there with him. He closed his eyes and let the feeling take over.

A small, eager light made its way from his sternum, and hovered in front of his face. Seeing the prick of light through his eyelids, Alan opened his eyes. The light started moving. Alan followed it, through a trail that grew rapidly more familiar with every turn. In no time, he was home.

His family were on the lawn, of course. Shouting, screaming his name. His grandparents had their wands in their hands, the tips lit to give some light in the almost-complete dark. They fell silent when they saw Alan and the light. It disappeared when Alan reached them.

After the hugs, the sobbing, the terrified anger, they asked him what the light had been. All Alan could tell them was that he had made it. He didn't know how, but it had come from him.

His grandparents had been so proud. They wept anew and hugged him tight, told him how proud they were. They were so excited for him. His mother seemed less thrilled. She was smiling, but it looked... Sad? Alan couldn't understand, and he hadn't asked. He was magic. He was going to Hogwarts.