December
"Big bones... the only thing that's got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur."
"Big bones... the only thing that's got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur."
GENERAL
Name: Alice Moon
Gender: Female
Birthday: January 13th - Capricorn
House: Hufflepuff
Blood Status: Mixed Blood
Wand: 10 3/4in | Willow | Unicorn Hair | Surprisingly Swishy
Wand Hand: Left
PERSONALITY
General: Alice Moon is a practical young girl with a good head on her shoulders, or so adults have said. She is responsible and reliable for her age, polite and disciplined, and exceptionally patient for a hormonal eleven year old. Alice is an intelligent and studious child who takes her lessons seriously, the type who does all of her homework and studying before she allows herself time to goof off. However, she is also the type who could easily give into peer pressure if the kids doing it acted nice enough. Alice puts a great deal of expectations on herself, most unrealistic, both academically and socially. All her life she's been compared to her much older and successful sister and now that she's in Hogwarts it feels as if she's in direct competition with her despite Silvia already graduating. Because of this, any praise she receives is regarded as a victory even if it's minor but the same is true for anything she perceives as a loss. In her mind, she cannot even afford an Acceptable grade as she would consider it a failure when compared to Silvia's Outstanding's.
Though she may not show it, and Alice is far from able to acknowledge it, all of the constant comparisons have made her rather bitter towards certain people and subjects. It's put a strain on her relationship with her sister and even pushed her away from her parents, though her mother moreso than her father. This is an extreme example, but it proves that Alice is capable of holding grudges in her every day life. It may not lead to her hating them, but if people show a dislike of her, she gets in trouble or criticized, then she will often go out of her away to avoid interactions with them and even being in their presence can be awkward and upsetting for her. On the contrary, if people are friendly and put their faith in her, Alice can thrive but also become rather clingy and needy for compliments. Her sister once described her as being like a puppy dog with this behavior, instantly becoming loyal to anyone who will "give her a treat". The old adage of "sticks and stones" does not apply to Alice, as words cut her very deeply. It isn't unusual for her to read too deep into things and reach a misunderstanding or even jump to conclusions, though she tries to keep negative thoughts to herself as best she can.
Whenever Alice is upset, the logical thing is for her to work through it and get better results. Unfortunately, Alice is a very emotional creature and logic follows behind despite how much she would like for it to be in the lead. Instead, her typical course of action is to mope and ostracize herself, have a cry, and then get to work. Unfortunately, this moping can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The best way to deal with her when she's in one of these funks is to give her space, but not too much, and let her know you're there if she needs you. A hug might be nice, too. Despite her emotional fragility, Alice is surprisingly guarded when it comes to talking about herself or explaining her emotions. This is mostly because she has trouble pinpointing exactly how she feels at any given time outside of the standard extremes (joy, anger, sorrow, and fear) but also because she doesn't want to bother anyone with her sob stories. In the grand scheme of things, she realizes her problems are minimal but they're still her problems and it doesn't make them hurt any less knowing there's people who have it worse than her. Because they're her problems, Alice feels like she should be the one to deal with them and so far it seems to be working for her. Maybe that's just because she hasn't given anyone the opportunity to listen and help her.
Habits: Most of Alice's habits are just that -- habits. They were started when she was young and blossomed to be a normal part of her life and routine. None of them are performed solely out of nervousness or coping, though her stress levels can certainly worsen them. First and foremost, Alice is a nail biter. She's had a lot of practice over the years to keep her nails clean. even without going to the trouble of filing them (she can't stand how that feels), and keeps control over her hangnails too. As of late, she's been more patient with her nails and allows them to grow out a bit before she bites them but this still leads to her having uneven nail lengths at all times. Due to all of the biting, her nails are very brittle and can chip or break easily. It also isn't uncommon to see Alice playing with her hair, usually without even realizing it. When she's reading, listening, or otherwise concentrating she tends to twirl a curl around one of her fingers, gently tug on one end of a curl and let it bounce back into place, or even just having a piece of hair in her hand and running her fingers through it. Thankfully, she never adopted her mother or sister's habits of chewing on their hair. Gross. Since she was young, it's always been difficult for Alice to sit still. Her father thinks she's restless, her mother thinks she's fidgety, whatever the case, even if she's completely comfortable, Alice always seems to start tapping her fingers or wiggling her legs after a while. It isn't necessarily boredom and the reason why it happens changes from day to day, place to place, any situation or emotion. Sometimes she does it because there's music stuck in her head, sometimes she does it because she's annoyed, others it happens on its own while she's concentrating. It does not happen while she's playing with her hair, however, as if it were a trade off.
Hobbies: The subject of Divination is something that's always enthralled Alice and, come Third Year, she is intent on taking it as a course. Until then, she's settled with self teaching and has learned a lot about the theory behind it all but is still having difficulty putting it into practice. The easiest thing for her to do thus far is Dream Interpretation, which quickly became her favorite both because she found it the easiest to jump into but also because of how terribly interesting it all is. She isn't sure whether any of it's true but would certainly like to think so. Ever since she began researching it, Alice has kept a dream diary for herself. Since attending Hogwarts, she's began an entirely new one. Though she isn't very good, if someone would let her, she might like to try and analyze another person's dreams for a change.
Magical creatures and animals of all variety have always fascinated Alice. Anything and everything from the lamest flobberworm to the fearsome dragon. Alice isn't so naive as to think even the most dangerous of creatures are misunderstood or that they all just get a horrible rap and if they were treated nicely there'd be no problems -- both their listing as an XXXXX creature and their presentation within the book series showed her that is clearly not the case -- but at the same time, she feels very sorry for them and they've become a favorite of hers in terms of creatures. The idea that so many creatures aside from humans in this world are not only sentient but sapient and capable of communication sends her heart and mind a flutter. With rumors of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, it just makes Alice that much more curious. Perhaps, one day, she can help bridge the gap between human and creature to see that they all get a fair shot in life. Or, at least, she can hope.
Likes: Animals, chocolate frogs, Winter weather and holidays, lots of sweet and salty snacks, reading (she's an avid fan of the series!), Wizard's Chess
Dislikes: That she couldn't bring her dog even though he's cat sized, loud and sudden noises or high pitched shrills, the smell of alcohol and smoke, those tiny tangles in hair that hurt the worst, sour and bitter flavors, slimy textures
FAMILY
Mother: Alannis Moon - 51 - Ravenclaw - Half Blood - Magical Law Enforcement (secretarial position)
Father: Morgan Moon - 57 - Ravenclaw - Muggleborn - Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office of the Ministry of Magic (low position)
Siblings: Silvia Moon - 22 - Ravenclaw - Mixed Blood - Floo Network Regulator (in training/internship)
Extended Family: Pet - Phelan - 2yrs - Male - Welsh Corgi
Grandfather - Corin Moon - 92 - Muggle - Retired
Grandmother - Ambrosia Ackerly - 84 - Pure Blood - Beauxbatons - Estranged
Relationship with Family: As the only Hufflepuff in the immediate family, Alice feels some disappointment from her parents and sister. Whether this is true or not is difficult to say, but their reaction to her sorting was less than enthusiastic. She has, however, always had a decent relationship with both parents and a complex one with her much older sister. Due to the large gap in age, they were both able to get along with fewer problems than most siblings as well as have more complicated issues with their interactions. Alice has always been the baby while Silvia was the shining beacon of maturity and success that she should aspire towards. Her mother in particular held Alice to a comparative standard with Silvia when it came to behavior and grades. Alice writes her parents regularly and sometimes sends them well graded work, but she rarely sends anything to her sister unless prompted by her parents or Silvia herself, under the guise that she doesn't want to bother her busy sibling.
HISTORY
General History: Raised in a fairly rural area of Aberdeen, Scotland, Alice Moon has lived a rather mundane life for a young witch. Her parents were loving, she had a decent relationship with her sister, and, despite the tight rope kept on her studies, things were nice. Alice had always been interested in animals and found larger, more intimidating ones to be cute rather than the smaller variety most people tended towards. Her interests outside of academics leaned towards animals and magical creatures and she had quite the imagination when she was younger. However, this often lead her to daydreaming and being easily distracted, which her mother in particular didn't approve of. As her sister was exceptionally studious and intelligent, every successful year at Hogwarts was met with ample celebration. She would often come home to Alice with many stories about the creatures supposedly living on the land of the school and in the Forbidden Forest. It was no surprise that when she discovered there was a book series all about it, Alice snatched them up and read through them all dozens of times. Her parents were elated that she had taken such an interest in the school but worried the books and flights of fancy might affect her grades. They reached an agreement that she wouldn't bring the books with her when she attended and that was fine with Alice -- after all, she would be living it!
Her older sister left Hogwarts in her seventh year with a long list of things Alice was expected to aspire towards; she had been a Prefect, Head Girl of her House, most of her class and exam grades nestled firmly between E's (Exceeded Expectations) and O's (Outstanding), and was well liked by most of her teachers. This left Alice a very large place to fill in the minds of her parents as well as herself. As the time for her own attendance drew closer, her relationship with Silvia became tense. She began comparing herself to her sister, seeing all of her meager childish accomplishments as pointless compared to Silvia's and these expectations were reflected from her parents. Meanwhile, Silvia was getting busy picking out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life and began sampling job opportunities and available internships which left her less and less time to be a supportive sibling. Alice felt like she shouldn't bother her sister because she was doing very important work, both for herself and the family, but that didn't mean she didn't miss her sister and wasn't hurt by her absence. The two grew apart as Alice subconsciously distanced herself and moved to taking herself more seriously. She was desperate for the recognition her parents gave to Silvia, but the only way it seemed possible was to do even better than her. With these lofty thoughts, Alice's self esteem plummeted and she stamped out her own flighty imagination. She had to be realistic about this if she ever wanted to succeed.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Sorting: Alice came to Hogwarts expecting to be a Ravenclaw. She was raised as one even before she could walk. Her parents taught her how to read and write as early as they could, introduced her to the wonders of magic and the technology of muggles. When her name was called, she was nervous from all of the eyes on her but felt impatient since she thought it was already decided. The Sorting Hat chuckled at the thought and Alice clamped up. It told her she was a silly one for thinking everything was assured, then began analyzing each insecure thought as it crossed her mind. Worries arose. Her mother told her the stereotypes of the other Houses but she lacked understanding that each house had its own strengths and weaknesses. After an agonizingly long pause, the Sorting Hat laughed brazenly and shouted "Hufflepuff!" Alice felt her parent's disappointment in that moment and she quietly scuttled to the Hufflepuff table. As soon as she was seated, older students offered her some of the surrounding treats, patted her back and welcomed her. She swam in relief for the rest of the dinner.
Boggart: Complete darkness. If confronted with a Boggart, the entire area would go so dark as if she were blind. Within that darkness, sounds and ominous feelings would surround her. It isn't quite the dark that scares her, it's what could be lurking inside of it. Convincing her to use the Riddikulus charm would take a great deal of effort, as when confronted with total darkness her immediate reactions are to shriek and curl into the fetal position, then stay as quiet as possible while on the verge of tears. Once it's managed, however, the darkness would clear and the cause of the eerie sounds and feelings would be revealed as small, chubby, completely harmless creatures from dopey looking baby birds to flobberworms.
Mirror of Erised: Recognition. The only thing Alice wants is to be recognized for her own personal strengths, for people to see and judge her for who she is instead of comparing her to her sister. This would be shown in the mirror as a reversal, with herself as the older sibling and Silvia looking on in childish wonder while her family and friends celebrate her own accomplishments instead.
EXTRA CREDIT
Patronus: A big guard dog, most likely a Doberman as it has both a protective and comforting side. It's the type of creature she's always wanted by her side and used to pretend that her own small dog was..
Manner of Dress: "Business Casual" is a good way to describe it. She often wears plain looking clothing that could fit many occasions but may not be the best lounge or play wear. Alice is more partial to skirts than pants but feels uncomfortable with shorter lengths and showing too much leg so she tends to wear very long socks or full stockings. There isn't much done in the ways of accessorizing and the most she'll be seen wearing of jewelry is a single necklace, ring, or bracelet but even that is a rarity and reserved for special occasions.
Favorite Class: Care of Magical Creatures, or at least it would be if First Years were allowed. Until then, it's Herbology because she still gets to interact with magical plants, some of which she would consider creatures such as the mandragora.
Worst Class: Transfiguration, especially when they have to transfigure animals. It's rather complex magic and her wand doesn't seem fond of it, sometimes refusing to produce any result.
