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Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Full Character Name: Eliza Meliora Burley
Character Birthday & Age: January 31, 1992 (17)
City & Country of Birth: Rochester, Kent (England)
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Halfblood
House & Year: Hufflepuff 7th Year

Wand: 9" Hazelwood, unicorn tail core, smooth, springy

Physical Description: Hair Color: Dirty blonde/light brown
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 120lbs
Build: Petite

Her look has changed with some of the major stages of her life. As a child and in her first few years at school, she was a plain Jane with long hair, glasses, pudgy cheeks and a happy-go-lucky smile. But during and shortly after puberty, Eliza sported a punk rocker style that was a means to help mask how awkward she felt at the time.

Now, she wears her hair in a shorter, more sophisticated cut that compliments the  bohemian-hipster style she has assumed. She has an obsession with vintage clothing and likes to experiment with patterns, fabrics and items that don't always go together in the minds of the more fashionably conscious. She has even dabbled in sewing her own clothes when there is something she is inspired by. She doesn't dress up often, but usually when she does, she calls the look classically chic. Despite the naysayers, it works for her  and she owns it because she believes it's an integral part of her identity.

Personality Description: The most obvious part of Eliza's personality is how artistically inclined she is in nearly every aspect of her life. She has considerable (prodigal even) talent which spans the visual, music and performance mediums. She has always had an affinity for the arts and using them to relate to her world and express herself. Her sheer desire to do art and do it well has compelled her forward, allowing her to be well rounded and talented across many mediums. Specifcally in regards to music, in her early years she was formally taught by her father to play many instruments, but as the consumate student of music, she has since explored more genres than what he exposed her to.

Though this affinity for the arts often does not translate to success in her general schoolwork, Eliza is by no means a horrible student. But she is easily distracted during class and on more than one occasion she has joked about how she won't need half of her classes to be a proper wrock star.

Eliza interacts well with her peers, but she can sometimes give off the vibe of a preoccupied or self absorbed artist who is unreachable except by those who know and understand the craft. To some degree, she does keep a wall up to strangers because she is so very passionate about what she does and there is a level of vulnerability that comes with it. She knows she is eccentric and to a certain degree, she is comfortable in her own skin and the identity she has made for herself. She embraces that she is different from the vast majority of her peers and marches to the beat of her own drum. But like any teenager, she still suffers from bouts of insecurity, self doubt and more recently, struggling to come to grips with what the future holds for her. All of these unsavory parts of her personality she unconsciously tries to to channel into her art instead of letting it manifest itself openly by some other means (outbursts of anger, frustration, etc.). She doesn't like it when she is overly sensitive or moody, even if she does admit that it might be normal.

Once she opens up, Eliza tends to wear her heart on her sleeve, ever a sweet natured Hufflepuff at heart with an old soul seeking peace and balance.

History: Eliza Burley was the product of a pureblooded English witch and a muggleborn American wizard. Though she was born and raised in the UK, she has spent considerable time in the States and elsewhere abroad due to the work of both parents. Her mother, Jayda, hails from the pureblooded Strange family and though many branches of the tree left for the states, Jayda's parents settled in Rochester (Kent, England), where the George homestead had lain dorment after the early death of its only male heir. Even so, the two branches separated by an ocean still remained close.

Jayda became a notable herbologist, potioneer and author following her Hogwarts schooling and she traveled extensively, with the bulk of her travels being a means of researching her areas of expertise. An ambitious former Ravenclaw, Jayda was also a feminist and not very interested in settling down any time soon.

In contrast, Aiden Burley was a muggleborn wizard who became a musician following his schooling at Salem. He also traveled and enjoyed his tours while playing jazz, blues and classical styles of music. For a while he was quite content living this bachelor lifestyle, but eventually he longed for more.

His muggleborn roots presented some difficulty for Aiden as he debated if he should try to remain in the muggle world or fully integrate into the magical one by marrying a witch.

Eventually, the decision was made more easily than he thought. As a longtime friend of Romulus Strange due to attending school together, Aiden was invited to a family picnic where he met Jayda who was visiting from across the pond. He instantly liked her and after an unusual courtship, they eventually married and he moved to the UK where they settled in Rochester.

They eventually had three children with Eliza coming first. Eliza often refers as her parents as the magical equivalent to Hippies and their lifestyle and beliefs have always been part of her life. Some of her earliest memories are of playing in the dirt with her mother and playing music with her father. And traveling. Despite having a family and considering Rochester their homebase, Jayda and Aiden still continued to travel for their respective professions whenever possible.

This did lessen as the children began to display magical abilities. By the time Eliza was invited to attend Hogwarts, her parents had finally ceased their nomadic wandering and only traveled during vacations.

At Hogwarts, Eliza naturally enjoyed and excelled in the subjects of Herbology and Potions but she was not overly academic. She began to spend much of  her freetime on her artistic pursuits with others who were interested in doing the same. By her fourth year, she had gained the nickname of "Eliza Doodle" due to her drawing and painting abilities. But she was also very much her father's daughter and had musical talents that she put to good use as part of a punk rock style band, The Lipstick Wrock Chicks. The band grew quite popular among the student body and it was a means for Eliza to navigate the angsty years of puberty. The band broke up by the end of fifth year as the members grew apart and went their own ways artistically.

Eliza continued to perform, but more as a solo act or part of sporadic pairings with other students who were interested in exploring new sounds. Her style is accoustic in nature, driven by the jazz, blues and classical influences of her youth and infused with a more folky sound.

As her sixth year progressed, Eliza continued to delve into expressing herself artistically and with so much happening during the year -- from werewolf attacks to Ava Grosvenor's death -- she discovered that her art had the ability to touch others and help them to cope and make sense of the world at large.

With seventh year at the school looking to be emotionally, politically and socially charged, Eliza plans to continue to use her art for the greater good and explore ways to make a career of it post-Hogwarts.


Classes:

Core Classes No Charms No Herbology No Potions No No

Electives Study of Ancient Runes No No No No

How Do You Fit Into Your House?: Eliza's middle name, Meliora, means "Ever Better" and it was her father's way of encouraging her to always strive to do her best. Eliza admits that she hasn't always managed to live up to her potential, but like most Hufflepuffs, she is a hard worker and she aspires to be "ever better" in the areas of her life that she feels aer most important. This includes being a good daughter, a loyal friend, and someone who will contribute something significant to the world at large.

Writing Sample: See Myrni Levartian

Sum up your character in one paragraph: Eliza is a teenager still dabbling in the art of who she is and who she wants to become. She's content to be the only one walking a certain path (marching to the beat of a different drummer) or using her voice to say what needs to be said. Just as superheros are encouraged to use their powers for a greater good, Eliza knows that her art can be used for something, even if she can't completely define what it is yet -- like helping to raise awareness of issues in society that need advancement. Even the magical world needs a good social movement or two, fueled by artistic expression and the artists daring enough to put those ideas onto a canvas or in a song or on a stage for all to see.

Accepted! -- Sparky

Character Name: Eliza Burley
Title Applying For: Wizard Art Appreciation President
Link to Accepted Biography: http://www.absitomen.com/index.php?topic=10778.0

What Experience has Prepared You For This Honor?: Eliza has been a member of the Art Club since its creation and would have actively contributed to its activities from day one seeing as she has a deep love for all forms of artistic expression. Initially, her involvement was in an effort to explore her craft with other artists and be able to learn more and make herself better. But eventually she would have started to be more of a leader in the group, contributing ideas and just being more involved and helpful to the previous president (Fauna Blake).
What Do You Think the Most Important Aspect of This Job Is:? Eliza will take the position quite seriously and in fact would want to extend what Fauna did the previous year, taking the club itself in new directions if she could.  In the past, she may have been inclined to stay out of the spotlight or not bother with people who didn't get the point of hers or someone else's art. But now she feels a special responsibility to be an ambassador for all art and what it can do to enrich a person's life. One project she would like to work on is another mural project commemorating the Tetra Wizard Tournament. Towards the end of last year and early this year, she overheard some younger students talking about graffitying some walls with special mediums and spells and instead of having that be a secretive thing, she'd like to make see it be something the whole school will get to enjoy.
Tell a Story From Your Past That Has Proven Your Mettle:  Eliza climbed the stairs to Hufflepuff tower laden down with her books, her bin of art tools and her portfolio containing the current art pieces she had been working on. It was a struggle for the petite seventh year, as the large portfolio kept nicking the stairs and adding to her slight frustration.

She finally hobbled into the common room and bent to set her art items on the floor as she blew some air from her mouth to help the stray strands of hair that had fallen in her eyes (despite the headband she used to keep them in place) resettle out of her view. The green orbs immediately spotted a few ickle first years sitting at the table in the room with their heads bent over a few textbooks. Their little faces filled with wonder coupled with their airy whispers were so adorably cute. Her curiosity was piqued and she shrugged her bag from her shoulder and let it hit the floor with a thud.

Two of the little ones looked up and Eliza recognized their expressions as being frought with guilt. Haven't yet learned to hide it, she mused to herself.

"Alright you pipsqueaks," she said in her best faux authoratative voice as she flounced over to the table and pulled up a chair. "What kind of trouble are you getting into now?"

Though she wasn't a prefect, Eliza did realize that by virtue of being an older 'Puff, she had the younger ones who often looked up to her. And, she did remember what it was like to be an ickle firstie and how often no one wanted to pay very much attention to you. Eliza never minded taking the time to nurture them a little, even if she was busy with her studies and a million other extra curriculars.

The girl named Venora, who Eliza had often heard called Ven or Venny by her peers, still looked a bit shy as she covered the parchment paper she and her cohort had been consulting. She looked at the older girl with skepticism, as if wondering if she could really trust her or if she was just going to tell on them if what they were doing was against the rules.

Eliza arched a brow. "Is it art?" No answer. "Well, you know I love art, right?" Still no answer. Any other seventh year would have given up and left by now. Not the ever patient Eliza. Especially when it was art related. Then she had all the time in the world.

Eliza tapped her fingertips on the tabletop for a moment, considering her next move carefully. She didn't want to press too hard because sharing one's art was sensative. Personal. She knew that better than anyone, it seemed. With a playful grin tugging at her lips, Eliza made her fingers walk across the space between them until they reached the edge of the paper. She paused to watched their faces before she gave a gentle tug.

Reluctantly, Venora let go and after staring at its contents, soon Eliza realized that she was looking at a fairly intricate plan for a mural project. She was impressed.

"Are you going to tell on us?"

Eliza looked up, stunned at the question. "Tell on you? For what?"

"Well...its graffitti..."

"Right, but it's art," Eliza reassured them. "And if you do it right, and talk to the right people in the right way, there's no reason why you couldn't do it...."