Alina Michaels | Second Year | Ravenclaw

Basic Information

Full Name: Alina May Michaels
Age: 12
Birthday: March 18th, 2009
Species: Human
Wand: 25.7cm Walnut Wood and Phoenix Feather
House: Ravenclaw
School Year: Second
Patronus: n/a

Additional Information

Birthstone: Aquamarine
Zodiac Sign: Pisces
Zodiac Year: Ox
Favorite seasons: Late autumn/early winter and early-mid spring
Favorite holiday: Christmas (Halloween is a close second)
Favorite Quidditch Teams: Pride of Portree and The Holyhead Harpies

Pre-Hogwarts History

Reducio

Alina was born in a Muggle chapel in Whitchurch, England in the county of Buckinghamshire. Hers was a surprise birth, sudden and unexpected and far from any Muggle hospital. Delivered in a room with only four other people—her mother, Hope, her father, Tobias, the Muggle priest who’d taken them in, and her maternal grandmother, who had Apparated to the village after receiving Tobias’ panicked second-hand message from a Muggle acquaintance—Alina’s non-magical delivery seemed a portent for her childhood years.

But, as an infant, Alina’s life was as full of happiness as could be. She first displayed signs of magic in her maternal grandparents’ home while playing with her favorite toy—ornamental, frosted glass bells. Hanging from a silver hook inside the kitchen, near the back door, the delicate trio of glass bells were strung from a silvery ribbon and, though entirely non-magical, would ring and tinkle like fairy music. The adults would take turns holding her up (for Alina’s enjoyment far outlasted the strength of their arms) as she carefully and gently, ever so gently, touched them with her tiny fingers, fascinated with the sounds they made and the light as it played across them. She loved the bells so much, in fact, that one late night the adults (investigating the previously-fussing child’s concerning silence) found her fast asleep in her crib with the very same glass bells clutched in her little hand; the bells having magically found their way into her grasp without the assistance of any other person in that house, much to their collective perplexion—and then their delight, when they realized.

But this happiness was not to last. When Alina was only three years old her mother vanished in a magical incident. (’An accident,’ the Ministry had called it.) Grief-stricken over this traumatic loss, her father, Tobias, moved the two of them north to the town of West Bromwich, stepping away from both the magical world and the unwelcome memories it held, if only for a time.

Growing up in the Muggle world, Alina was aware of the magical world but not part of it—not to the same extent as typical wizard-raised children, at least. Neither she nor her father visited her mother’s family very much, particularly not after her maternal grandmother’s death. Alina attended Muggle primary school, had Muggle neighbors, watched Muggle films and cartoons, played Muggle games, and visited Muggle places. She even grew up amongst Muggle family members—her aunt Leila having married into a Muggle family who accepted Alina and her father as their own. Magic was seldom used at home and was rarely of a flashy nature, for her father generally did things the Muggle way—when she could see him, at least. They did not use broomsticks or Floo Powder or other methods of magical transport, save for officially-sanctioned Portkeys when necessitated by Quidditch games. Even the chess set used to play together in the evenings was utterly mundane.

But, here and there, magic found its way into her childhood. In addition to an interest in Quidditch—borne from the local games her father brought her along to observe, as well as her first attendance at the Quidditch World Cup in 2014—Alina’s unique upbringing involved whispers of the magical world, here and there, even when she did not realize it. Her bedtime stories, for example, were a grab-bag of Muggle and wizarding tales; Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan, Babbitty Rabbitty and The Princess and the Frog, The Wizard of Oz and The Tale of Three Brothers... Her midnight snacks included things like ginger biscuits and pumpkin pasties. Her favorite blanket was always warm, no matter how long it had been left sitting unattended. Small things, subtle things, as precious as they were special. While Alina grew up primarily in the non-magical world, magic still managed to remain a fixed background element in her life.

Aside from occasional Quidditch games, Tobias did not bring Alina along to wizarding locations, as he rarely ventured there himself, so it was not until Alina’s Hogwarts letter arrived that she fully stepped foot into magical spaces once again; the first time since her mother’s disappearance eight years prior. The letter was a pleasant surprise for Alina but not a complete shock. Though her father did not speak of his school years much, Alina knew of Ravenclaw from the patch on his old school robes, she knew of Hogwarts from the old trunk he kept upstairs, and she knew from his confirmation that one day she, too, might be going there as well. On August 23rd Alina made her very first trip to Diagon Alley and it was nothing less that absolutely magical.

Appearance

Alina has dark hair which hangs long and loose past her waist, the locks gathering and falling together like soft, inky rivulets. Her hazel-green eyes are deep but soft, piercing yet unintimidating—the color she shares with her maternal uncle and grandfather, while the gaze is unique to herself. She is of average height but on the smaller side, with an unobtrusive presence that seems to take up less space than she physically occupies

Personality

Quiet and a bit shy, Alina is soft-spoken with a sweet, yet genuine, demeanor. She is an easy person to be around, and might be described as the type of person who is ‘friendly to all yet friend to none’.

She has a natural aptitude for most areas, and a likeness for them all the same—however, this is offset by the fact that she doesn’t have a particular passion for anything. Her easy-going nature in all respects is a double-edged blade, because her lack of interest, passion, or obsession leaves her adrift. She does her best in each task and adapts to the ebb, flow, and storms of life, but without any direction or destination. As a result, she is the type who feels as if she almost doesn’t even truly know herself, because she has never really defined herself with specific interests, hobbies, major goals, or other identifying factors. This can make it difficult for others to become close to Alina and bond deeply with her, for while she has a grounded personality there is still an ephemeral transience about her.

Despite Alina’s lack of obsession over various hobbies and interests, she is particularly good at chess—both the Muggle and wizard varieties—and enjoys it, but not competitively. She plays it a lot with her dad and it’s something she really cherishes as a result.

Family

Reducio

Hope Summer – Mother; Half-blood
Tobias Michaels – Father; Half-blood
Laila Orser – Aunt, Tobias’ half-sister; Non-magical
Martin Orser – Uncle, Laila’s husband; Muggle
Nathaniel Orser – Cousin, Martin and Laila’s son; unknown magical status
Lars Orser – ‘Grandfather’, Martin and Marie’s father; Muggle
Celina Orser – ‘Grandmother’, Martin and Marie’s mother; Muggle
Marie Lutens – ‘Aunt’, Martin’s sister; Muggle
Christopher Summer – Uncle, Hope’s brother; Half-blood

By the non-extremist definition, Alina is a Pureblood since her mother, father, and both sets of biological grandparents were all magical. Her paternal grandparents were both Muggle born; her maternal grandfather and grandmother were Muggle born and Half-blood, respectively. All but her maternal grandmother—who passed away when Alina was six years old—died before Alina was born.

After Laila’s marriage to Martin, Alina and her father were unofficially adopted into Laila’s in-laws’ family. As a result, Alina grew up considering Lars and Celina her grandparents and Marie her aunt.

Alina loves and adores her dad with every ounce of her being (and vice versa). They’ve got a wonderful relationship. She considers him her best friend in that she can always talk to him about anything and shares or credits most of her interests to him.