Your Nickname: Sunny
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Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Other
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all:
Annie Enright (TWT/P)
Bethan Ellis (P)
Brynn Ellis (P)
Evelyn Grimlish (P)
Poppy Finnigan (P)

Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Full Character Name: Valerie Crowe
Character Birthday & Age: April 30th, 1993 – 17 years old
City & Country of Birth: London, England
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Muggleborn
House & Year: Gryffindor 6th year

Wand: Supple Poplar, Unicorn Tail Hair Core, 12 inches exactly.

Physical Description:
Valerie Crowe isn't as fussy as some, and never has been. She definitely has her insecurities (what teenage girl, after all, hasn't gone into mourning upon waking up with a shiny new spot on her nose?) but, all things considered, is happy with the way she looks and doesn't feel the need to dress up, cover up, or make herself up – at least not more than is deemed socially appropriate at any given time. It has nothing to do with a lack of self respect or with sending a message to the patriarchy. Val is simply okay with simplicity. Happiness is a good look on everyone.

Valerie's face shape is more oblong than round, with a short chin that features a very shallow dimple in the very center. To contrast, her forehead is much broader, but the creamy expanse of pale skin is often broken up by a few stray strands of her wavy, light brown hair, which she keeps medium-long. Though her hair is rarely done up in any sort of fancy manner, she keeps it clean and allows it to do its own thing, whether that means flaunting the spontaneous ringlet curls that occasionally manifest out of the blue, or letting the gentle, mussed up waves fall down her back. Like her hair, her deep set eyes are medium-dark in color, somewhere between hazel and brown, and a little too muddy to be the sort of color that anyone marvels over, or matches with an outfit. Her nose is a rather complicated thing, appearing large and round from some angles, but pointy and dainty from others. It has a great deal of character, and alternates between being her best feature and her worst. A set of ordinary lips sit below it, the top one thin and expressive, the bottom one much fuller – and frequently curved into a smile, because if Val is anything at all, she is a giggler.

She is a rather lanky girl, having grown very quickly when she was smaller. As a child she was often tall for her age, but her height leveled out considerably when she hit puberty and she has been solidly average ever since. Still, she maintains some of the original effects of having grown like a weed in the sun, including very knobby knees and elbows, and legs that are foal-like, considerably longer than her torso. Some may assume that she's skinny because she seems to lack the ability to spend an entire meal sitting at a table and can often be seen wandering around while nursing a banana at breakfast time. Even so, she isn't as quick moving and manic as the gryffindor house stereotype might suggest. She's a slow and steady sort who never seems to be in too much of a rush, unless she's been threatened with tickle torture, in which case she can certainly move! In essence, she's a human string bean.

There was a time when Val was young and first being introduced to the world of wizarding culture when she was so intimidated by the thought of wearing witch's robes that she chose to wear her pajamas for nearly a week instead. Having grown up mostly muggle, that's hardly a surprise. Even now, many years into her tenure as a witch-in-training, she has a certain fondness for her muggle clothing, even if that part of her wardrobe only consists of a pair of jeans and a few tops (mostly t-shirts), all of which she'd happily live in, given the opportunity. The robes she does wear, meanwhile, are the unpretentious, practical sort – nothing too heavy or too decorative, but with a touch of personal flair when she can manage it. She is happiest when she's comfortable and, for the most part, that means simply existing in her own skin.

Personality Description:
Haters gonna hate. Lovers gonna love. While Val definitely does possess a spark of the typical Gryffindor passion, she just doesn't have it in her to go out of her way to actively dislike people. For almost all of her life she has fit squarely into the category of 'outsider' for one reason for another, and she has a lot of compassion for difference. Her life circumstances have instilled her with a great deal of both empathy and insight, which makes her the sort of cordial person who is friendly to anyone who hasn't gone out of their way to offend her in some heinous, inexcusable way. Val is a buddy – the kind of person you wouldn't mind working on a school project with, because you know she's going to be decent to work with, gets along with most people, and won't drop the ball on doing her part. She's the potions partner who takes her work seriously but still finds a moment to crack a joke. Unless you're allergic to muggleborns or try-hards, being in Valerie's presence probably won't ruin your day. With that said, she seeks a certain kind of friendship that is deeper than the surface friendliness she shares with the world at large. She is hard at work building her own family from scratch, seeking close, lifelong relationships with people she genuinely feels she can trust. She won't spill her heart out or share her secrets with just anybody, but is willing to put her wounds on display and make herself vulnerable for the right people.

With that said, she feels in her heart that she could never have been a Hufflepuff because her relationship with the subject of loyalty is complicated and unique. While she values loyalty, she is willing to transcend it for the right reasons, even when it might hurt her in the long run. On one end, that might simply mean that she's willing to be the tattle tale if it means keeping someone safe or out of trouble – she will not be the person who stands between stupidity and authority and does nothing. This tendency can – and has – gone beyond schoolyard foibles, however. She was the person who made the call that landed her in foster care because it meant getting her mother help, and though she was a child when it happened, it still remains one of her bravest acts to date. To this day she is still willing to do the dirty thing if it means a better outcome. She'll kneel in the mud, get herself covered in blood or vomit, or write that risky letter. It's not a hero complex so much as a very strong moral compass whose magnet tugs at her until she acts. Some may find her hard to trust because of it, while others are just happy to have someone looking out for them with her level of tenacity.

It's easier to do the right thing without emotions to bog you down, and while Valerie tends to wear her positive emotions on her sleeve, perpetually giggling and showing affection to those she appreciates, negative emotions are more difficult. Anger, sadness, disappointment, or frustration tend to lead her to retreat, and she has the tendency to internalize these feelings, often blaming herself even when the blame is shared, or is out of her hands entirely. She's an independent spirit who feels as though it's her responsibility to deal with her less savory emotions herself, even when there are others willing to listen. This does not always go well for her, as bottling things up and keeping them under pressure always ultimately leads to an explosion, such as in the case of her earliest incidence of underage magical incontinence. Fear, too, often gets hidden away. The whole 'fearless gryffindor' stereotype is occasionally quite damaging, since she is certainly not fearless. In fact, she fears things as acutely as others, if not more so. When it comes to emotional repression, her biggest fear is that she'll become a burden. She longs to get by on her own, and to have value. She longs to contribute. She really, really does not want to be that foster kid.

Thus, for the most part, the face that she shows to the world is a generally chill one. She's not prickly, not spiteful, not in a rush. She does what she has to do and she tries to do it with a smile, and doesn't go out of her way to flaunt herself or put on an act of bravado. She's a t-shirt and jeans sort of girl who is more interested in who you are than what you're wearing or who you're sitting with. She's also very affectionate. Her love language is, without a doubt, touch, and if you are willing to cuddle, she will be your cuddle buddy for life. She likes to feel close to people, and physicality (actually being close to people) helps with that. Need a hug? She will happily provide. She can often be found in the common room messing around on her acoustic guitar (yes, she is 'that girl with the guitar'), but keeps it in the background unless a spontaneous singalong is in order. Music is one of the biggest ways in which she has been able to relate to her current foster carers, and while she isn't classically trained (or even formally trained), it is the one language she shares with the women who have become her family. She sings with a rather unpretentious voice, and while she has messed around with song writing, she isn't convinced she's gifted enough to write anything worth listening to.

That belief isn't just limited to songwriting. She has a lot of doubts about herself and her abilities. At the same time, however, there is a definite chip on her shoulder that makes her really want to succeed in spite of her doubts. She wants to pay back the people who have helped her along the way and be the exception to the rule that suggests that she shouldn't be held to the same standards as everyone else. More importantly, she wants to succeed for her mother, whose own life challenges made it very difficult for her to achieve her own dreams, despite fighting to get as far as she did. While she's not naturally brilliant and it has taken her a lot of time to develop good magical instincts, she puts a lot of effort into schoolwork . She does not expect perfection from herself, but she does have minimum standards that she strives to meet. She has a good work ethic and a good knack for memorization, which tends to get her through when she's struggling. Though she's very unsure about whether or not she's bright enough, she hopes she'll be able to go into healing – perhaps even healing of the mind, which is a very personal issue for her.


History:
Valerie's story begins with her mother who, as a very little girl, had been living with grandparents in the country, but was sent alone to live in London with a relative she'd never met. To make a long story short, the home was investigated, she was removed, and from that point on she was in foster care – technically up for adoption, but never formally adopted. She found some consistency eventually, in a home where her carers put a great deal of value on achievement and, despite the odds, managed to stay on track to attend University, where she dreamed of studying to become a nurse. Ultimately she aged out of foster care, found herself living alone in council housing, and did her best to stay afloat given her limited means and lack of support. She found herself in an Access course which, initially, she enjoyed, but as the course wore on she found herself struggling considerably. In hindsight, this would be the first soft sign that something was wrong. She was unable to complete the program, and never did apply to a nursing course – she did, however, discover that she was pregnant. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it's possible that, lonely and desperate for any kind of unconditional companionship, she'd been trying to get become pregnant. She was determined that she'd be a good mother to any child she had, wanting her baby to have the consistency that she'd lacked in her childhood. On the last day of April in 1993, her daughter Valerie was born, and she finally felt a sense of purpose that she hadn't felt since she'd abandoned her nursing dreams. She was thoroughly devoted to her child, determined to do well at this one thing. If making her child feel loved was the goal, then she certainly succeeded – but her success only lasted so long before it was out of her control.

Slowly it would become harder for her to think clearly, though the circle of people she interacted with was fairly small, and nobody was concerned right away. When she spoke, she didn't always make sense. She couldn't seem to focus on any one task for very long, her thoughts jumping from one thing to the next without much rhyme or reason. If she ever struggled with parenting then people blamed it on the obvious – she was a looked after child, she was very young, she was a single mum. There were a million excuses. The only person who truly considered that it might be mental illness was Valerie's mother herself, who was so terrified of the stigma and the possibility of losing her child that she did the best she could to keep anyone from suspecting it. It became harder to do once the symptoms became more troubling and became to resemble fully-fledged psychosis.

This was the home where Valerie grew up, with a very young, very troubled mother who loved her like nothing else in the world, but who couldn't always give her what she needed. Living in a council estate where many tenants were going through difficult times, and attending school nearby, Valerie wasn't the only child without an ideal home life, so she never really stuck out enough to draw attention to her situation – not when there were children coming to school black and blue. 

It wasn't always easy. Mum saw things that weren't necessarily there – things that frightened her – and there were times when she kept the both of them holed up in the bedroom with the door bolted. It was terrifying, not only for her mother, who couldn't trust her own senses, but for Valerie, who was still very young and prone to magical thinking. How could she learn to determine what was real and what was not when the person she looked to for guidance struggled more than she did? Sometimes she had to look out for herself. Developing a little bit of extra maturity in the face of her challenging home life was a must. 

When Valerie was seven, her mother saw demons where there were no demons, and would not come out of her room. There was very little food in the house, and though Valerie sat on the other side of the doorway promising that they were safe, playing the role of the adult better than some adults could have, her mother would not come out. It was Valerie who, terrified, found the phone and called the police and, very sensibly, told them that she thought mum needed help. That would be the day that she was removed from her home and placed into temporary foster care while her mother finally got the help she needed and deserved.

For a time she couldn't see her mother at all. She was told that she was in hospital getting help. When her mother was released into treatment, Valerie was moved to live with different carers entirely, but was allowed supervised visitation with mum, which made the transition to living with strangers easier to deal with. Eventually she was even allowed to stay with her overnight, which Val decided was brilliant, and she waited all week for her visit, packing her little bag so eagerly you'd think she was going on a tropical holiday. She truly believed that her mother was getting better. Things got worse before they could improve, however, and she was forced to switch back to supervised visits, which were reduced to once per week, and then stopped entirely. Mum wasn't doing well. She was hurting herself. When mum was moved into residential care, Valerie's foster placement was switched for a third time.

Though she may have been resilient and somewhat mature for her age, there was only so much that a little girl could take. Her new carers were also looking after babies – two of them – in addition to two other younger foster children - and it was a noisy, busy home where she never felt like she was getting enough attention. She missed her mother. For a while there were more bad days than good days. She'd come to school cranky due to little sleep, or missing homework, or just in a general funk, and she'd go off on her own during recess, brooding and muttering to herself and wishing someone would come ask her to play. On one particular afternoon she was drawing in the mud with a stick on the outskirts of the schoolyard when, feeling suddenly ornery, she lifted the stick up and, for reasons she couldn't have honestly articulated, muttered “I just want you to go away!” in the general direction of the play structure....

...at which point a sink hole opened up and swallowed it whole, climbing children and all.

Needless to say, it was an act of underage magical incontinence that drew some attention – namely, attention from Accidents and Catastrophes, and all of the obliviators necessary to make things right. When they discovered that the little perpetrator, who'd just recently turned nine years old, was in care, it complicated things. It definitely wasn't a permanent situation, and there was some debate as to whether or not the statute of secrecy allowed temporary foster carers to know the secret. Thus, since she wasn't exactly Harry Potter, the ministry found her some new carers on their side.

She didn't even have to leave London. Erin and Julia lived together at Madam Dorothea's, where two years earlier they'd acquired a roomy flat with an extra bedroom, hoping they might be able to take in a child who needed looking after. All Valerie knew about them was that they were witches... and all Valerie knew about witches was that they lived in candy houses and ate children. She arrived at their home with only her school uniform on her back, bawling inconsolably for her mother and terrified that they two women she was being sent to live with would be long nosed, wart-covered, and cackling. All she saw when she stepped through the door was the big cauldron. She would not stop apologizing, swearing over and over that what she'd done had been an accident. She was convinced that this was a punishment. She cried herself to sleep, woke up in the night, and hid under the blanket until the sun came up.

Erin and Julia were not long nosed, wart-covered, or cackling. They were professional witches in their late twenties, and very kind. They laughed a lot, even when things were clearly frustrating, which reminded her of her mother – making her both less homesick, and more. Without electricity, the building was both darker and quieter than she was used to at night, and until she felt comfortable enough to tell them she was petrified, she barely slept. She was grumpy and tired and quiet... right up until the day she was given a night light. A little light in a jar was all it took to improve her mood. She slept all night, and finally felt secure enough to act a little more like her giggly self.

She learned about magic by living it, getting an early preview of the wonders of her new world that most muggleborns would not be privy to until they received their Hogwarts letter. The more she learned about magic, the less scary it became. She met the other tenants in the building – a revolving door of interesting characters, many of whom couldn't wait to spoil her a little bit – and it wasn't long before she felt as though she had the run of the place. Her new carers were supportive, and made it very clear that they weren't trying to be her mother. They had a great deal of friends who were also witches, who often got together to make music or share meals. Some lived together like Erin and Julia, others lived on their own – but all of them became like a coven of aunties, who made sure that Val was well taken care of on holidays and always had interesting places to spend a night or visit for a fun weekend.

Almost all of them played an instrument or sang – or both! - including Julia and Erin, who included her whenever possible. She learned over time, and never in a strict, formal sense – there was no playing scales, only cuddling on the sofa and singing along to records, or practicing guitar chords in front of the fire in her pajamas. They shared magic and knowledge and their home, but she would always be the most grateful that they'd also shared music, because the acoustic guitar she received for Christmas is like her right arm.

During the day she flooed to the home of one of her aunties for tutoring. Once she turned ten, a boy her age moved in upstairs, and she loved running up there, knocking on the door, and instantly having a playmate at her disposal. By the time she finally received her Hogwarts letter she'd been living with Julia and Erin longer than she'd ever lived anywhere other than at home with her mother. There was some worry that, if she went to Hogwarts, she wouldn't be able to come back and stay with them – but they put that fear to rest immediately. They'd become her second family, and they wanted her just as much as she wanted them.

At Hogwarts she was sorted into Gryffindor, where she was excited to finally learn to use her brand new real magic wand and do real spells. She was happy to be surrounded by other children her age, and to make friends with just about anyone who would have her. She learned fairly quickly that she liked flying, but not quidditch (too violent!), found the kitchens (and, subsequently, the majority of her friends), played her fair share of annoying common room concerts, and discovered a love for the greenhouses. Most importantly, she never felt lonely. Hogwarts allowed her to be as independent as she felt on the inside, and her experience with taking care of herself certainly helped her to succeed where many of her classmates struggled during their first stints away from home.

Over the years she only grew. Willing to put in effort to see that she stayed on top of her classes, Valerie developed into a dependable student and a fine witch. She tried to collect friends from every corner of the school – friends for studying and working on schoolwork, friends for snacking near the kitchens, and friends for spending afternoons out by the greenhouses. Unlike the average Gryffindor, she wasn't much of a troublemaker – she was more concerned with keeping people out of trouble and safe. When the time came to choose electives, she was determined to choose something she'd enjoy, so she went with Care of Magical Creatures (for the potential cute animal factor) and Runes, which she later dropped due to lack of interest. She had to make up her mind about where she stood on certain issues that she'd never considered before, like the rights of werewolves (something she's still a little bit conflicted on, to tell the truth), and even whether or not she thought enough of herself to enter the Tetrawizard Tournament (a solid, albeit giggly, 'no'). She took, and scored fairly well, on OWL exams, and decided on a selection of NEWT courses that would put her on track to potentially work in the medical field, assuming she kept up her marks. Without a doubt, she has exceeded the expectations that most would have for her after having heard her story.

She would turn seventeen toward the end of her sixth year and, as a qualified witch, would technically cease to qualify for foster care at that point in time – but Erin and Julia would not throw her out on the streets. As long as she kept her marks up, worked for her own pocket money, and pursued employment, she'd be allowed to stay with them until she day when she felt ready to strike out on her own. Seeing as she was in school nine months out of the year, it wasn't exactly a hardship – plus, she'd grown up in their care, and they loved her. Even so, she has not forgotten her mother, and knows that now she has every right to go seek her out and attempt to reunite with her. She's frightened, however. While she is the person who Val loves and misses most in the world, the last time she saw her she was having trouble distinguishing the real from the imaginary. Could she go right up to her and introduce herself as a witch? How could she share things about her life and leave out that essential piece of the puzzle – the piece that had ultimately made her whole? But how could she be whole without her mother in the picture? Whatever she decides, she's going to have to make the choice soon, because she only has one year left of school before she can no longer delay her inevitable adulthood.


Classes:

Core Classes No Charms Defense Against the Dark Arts Herbology No Potions Transfiguration No

Electives No No Care of Magical Creatures No No

How Do You Fit Into Your House?:
If something difficult needs doing, you can rest assured that Valerie Crowe will step up. Hers is a simple, unpretentious sort of bravery which consistently places the long term safety and happiness of others ahead of her own needs in the moment. She won't walk by trouble and pretend she doesn't see it happening right in front of her, even if her tactic is not necessarily to engage. If she is anything at all (other than easygoing, friendly, and ready to snuggle at any moment), she is chivalrous, and would have made an excellent Lady Knight. Could her dedication to others have made her a good fit for Hufflepuff? Absolutely – and, in fact, many of her good friends come from there, and she's proud to call them her mates. It was, ultimately, a complicated relationship with loyalty that disqualified her from joining them in the cellars herself. Sometimes the best way to do the right thing is to act against your loyalties – to break a promise when you recognize that the foundation of that promise is weak and rotting. She may not be boisterous and trigger happy, and she may be more focused on magic's ability to heal than on bangs and smells, but she is absolutely prepared to go to war for the causes that mean the most to her, and therein lies her lion's spirit.


Writing Sample:
N/A

Sum up your character in one paragraph:
 'Valerie' seems like an appropriate name for the average Gryffindor, and this knobby-kneed muggleborn has shown valor in a hundred different ways since she was a child, albeit none that were particularly loud or even noticeable.  Having been involved with both the muggle and magical foster systems, this independent spirit does what she needs to do in order to be sure that those around her keep their heads above water - while struggling to keep her own head dry. Life has taught her to go with the flow, but also to act when it's clear that she's in a position to make a positive difference, even if it's challenging, messy, or might change the opinion that others have of her. A solid, dedicated student, she makes up for natural brilliance with hard work, and strives to enter the field of healing, even if her insecurities have kept her from believing she might ultimately make it that far. Musical, cuddly, and perpetually full of chuckles, Val is a pal to many – but close friends are considered kin. She is slowly but surely building her own family as she prepares for the day when she is finally ready to strike out on her own and embrace the thrilling, terrifying world of adulthood.