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Biography |
Analiza Raven Snark
[Character Birthday & Age:] June 8th, 1972 / 35 (soon to be 36)
[City & Country of Birth:] Haarlem, the Netherlands
[Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn?:] Pureblood, (Although she has a Muggleborn grandfather)
[Alma Mater:] Hogwarts, Slytherin
[Job:] Head of the Department of Mysteries
[Wand:] 10 1/4 inches, Walnut wood with Chimera Scale, Rigid. Dyed a Vibrant emerald green.(It should be noted that this is her second wand. Her initial wand was Hawthorne with Dragon Heartstring, purchased from Ollivanders. It was broken when she was studying Egyptian magic in Africa. Her new wand was purchased in Egypt, hence the exotic wood and core. Ana believes it once belonged to a Dark Wizard and was dyed green to hide its age, since it seems too comfortable with dark magic)
[Physical Description:] | Name: Analiza Snark
Age: 36
Sex: Female
Height: 5' 7'' / 170 Cm
Weight: 110 Ilbs / 50 Kg
Measurements: 32-23-33
Build: Slim
Skin Tone: Fair/Pale
Hair Color: Red
Hair Style: Large curls that fall somewhere between her chin and shoulders
Eye Color: A very light golden brown that appears to be gold
Distinguishing Characteristics: Hawkish stare and large smile.
Analiza is one of those women who, aside from a few extraordinary features, are pretty average. She is of medium height, about 5' 7'', and has a thin, slightly pear-shaped figure (Pear-shaped as in her hips, thanks to childbirth, are larger then her bust. This isn't a huge difference, but Analiza is a bit insecure about it). She has what can be described as a cute and quirky face. It is slightly heart shaped, with a regrettably largish and somewhat hooked nose, and thin but expressive lips that, when she smiles, curve into a huge and toothy white grin. Her skin is pale and smattered with freckles, that she usually covers with make-up.
Her hair and her eyes are her distinguishing features. Her hair is a brilliant cloud of dark red curls that, in the right lights, make her appear as though she has been lit on fire. Since Gavin is the only one without the red hair, and the only one not born to an Osterdike, it has been decided that this trait is a recessive Osterdike gene. Most likely from their grandmothers Danish family members. Aside from her hair, |
the other major feature, and probably the most beautiful, are her eyes. Analiza was blessed with what can only be called Golden eyes. In reality they are really a very light brown that is flecked with enough gold to appear golden, but most people just refer to them as gold. Paired with her large, lash framed eyes and expressive brow, and you have a gilded gaze that has been often referred to as Hawk-like in its ferocity. This trait is obviously a dominant Snark trait since all the Snark's, including Ana's son Alex, possess this eye color.
Clothing-wise, Analiza is very image conscience. Her clothing is always top of the line, be it of muggle or wizarding design, and kept in perfect shape. She likes simple and classic lines with a futuristic touch. Patterns and excess details bother her, and she avoids them as well as light colors. Most of her clothes are reds, golds, greens, grays and blacks. She tends to wear heels a lot as well, so as to appear taller and more powerful then she is.
Ana also has a burn scar on her shoulder that is shaped roughly like a hand. It was made by dark magic and could not be completely erased. She is extremely shy about it and takes great pains to cover it up.
[Personality Description:]Analiza was born at 11:59 AM on June 8th, 1972. To most people, this means very little, but to astrologers, this means she was born with the Sun sign of Gemini, the Rising sign of Aquarius and the Moon sign of Aries. This dangerous combination of fire and wind signs means that Analiza is a woman of big ideas, little paitence and a temper as fiery as her hair.
Analiza is a woman constantly on the go. Her mind works a mile a minute, analyzing, studying and problem solving, and she is always looking for the next thing to keep her occupied. On one hand, this means that she is ambitious, intelligent and technically proficiant. She rarely admits defeat or faults, and will work tirelessly on those things important to her in order to perfect them. However, at the same time, this means her attention span is short lived and she has a tendency of being quite flighty. If something, or often someone, bores her, she has no qualms about dropping it or them in the search for the next little mystery to solve. Her intelligence, fueled by the need to prove herself, also gives her an sense of supiority that she doesn't hesitate to flaunt and she is known to be quite critical of those who cannot keep up with her. Knowing she can pull the wool over less intelligent eyes, Ana has been known to be quite cunning and manipulative. She calls herself a Realist, as in "The End Justifies the Means", even if it means throwing someone under the bus to achieve her goals.
Being intellectually focused, Analiza finds it hard to deal with her emotions. They are irrational and fleeting, and in all honesty, she likes to avoid them. You can't be hurt if you don't let yourself fall in love, that is her credo. Because of her lack of loyalty and her extreme flightiness, Analiza has a hard time keeping relationships, platonic or romantic. The only emotion she does not seem to have difficulty showing is anger. She has a hair trigger fuze and her temper is legandary, as is the biting and often vicious wit that she uses to belittle those who incite her rage. Since she has had to endure harsh criticism and emotional distance from her parents for her entire life, Analiza has a low self-esteem and is extremely sensitive to any form of criticsm. This makes her even more prone to blowing up when people dare to criticize or disrespect her in any way. She likes to portray the impression of a strong willed, intelligent, and collected woman who knows who she is and what she wants. Though this is somewhat true, those who know Analiza say that she is stubborn, overly critical, impulsive and moody.
Analiza isn't without good qualities. She can be, in the right company, a very enjoyable conversationalist. She can be charming, witty and humorous, and with her ability to talk eloquently a mile a minute, she can always keep you on your toes and convince you of almost anything she wishes. And even though she isn't the best when it comes to love or relationships, she is capable of being a loving person to those that are close to her, such as her son. As a mother, Analiza tends to flucuate between being a harsh disciplinarian and a friend. She expects the best out of Alex when it comes to grades, but otherwise, she lets him do whatever he wants, a choice that has bitten her in the rear more often then she likes to admit. But don't dare to tell her this, she will react just as badly to criticism of her loved ones as she does to criticism of herself.
[History:]Authors Notes: The Snark family history is one of Drama, Drama and did I mention Drama? It is huge and detailed, but in order to not bore you senseless with all the little details, I am saving that for future use. Instead, what you are about to read is just a tiny taste of what really has happened to the Snark family in the last 50 years.
About 36 years ago, in a little town outside of Amsterdam named Haarlem, a pair of twin witches were born to Gustav and Gizela Snark, a British Auror and a dutch heiress respectively. Gizela would describe the birth as excruciating, and claimed the girls fought to be the first out. This jest would prove to be true, since the twins would spend the next 36 years of their life fighting to be on top. Aurelia Snark was born first, a couple minutes to midnight on June 7th, followed by her sister Analiza shortly after midnight on June 8th. Though they are only minutes apart, Analiza has never been able to shake the feeling of being in "second place" to her sister. This feeling of inferiority would drive the sisters apart over the course of their adolescence. At the time of their birth, they were living with their parents and maternal grandparents in Holland, but when they were barely a year old, their fathers old partner Omar was paralyzed in an attack when trailing a couple ex-Death Eaters. This hit close to home and Gustav fought hard to move his family to London and out of the stifling grasp of Gizela's overprotective mother and suspicious father. He won in the end, but earned the hatred of his mother-in-law in the process, a fact that would come back to bite him later. They moved back to his childhood home in Richmond on Thames in London in 1973 with his widowed father Mortimer. Not quite 2 years later, Mortimer died and left his son a substantial amount of money. This allowed Gizella, who was 3 months pregnant with the couples third child, to live in the luxury she was used to, although Gustav returned to his previous job as an Auror for the Ministry. Six months later, their third child and son Augustus Snark was born on a sweltering August day.
During this time, the twins were beginning to come into their own personalities and the rift their differing birth times caused grew much larger. Aurelia learned quickly that being quiet and obedient meant she could manipulate her mother into giving her whatever she wanted, while Analiza was far too curious for her own good. Because of this, Analiza was generally blamed for any problems the pair caused. At first, this was perfectly understandable considering most of the trouble making the girls did was incited by Analiza, but over the course of a couple years, Aurelia came to discover that she could get away with
anything and blame it on her sister. This lead to Analiza being constantly criticized and punished for her sisters wrongdoings, as well as Gizela comparing the two on nearly a constant basis. By the time the girls neared the age where they were to attend Hogwarts, Analiza had come to distrust and hate her sister. At the same time that the girls were coming to hate each other, Greta (Gizela's meddling mother) was finding herself less and less approving of Gus and Gizela's relationship. In 1982, Hans (Gizela's father) was implicated by Aurors (And in Greta's mind, Gustav is to blame for this) in a Dark Artifact Smuggling ring. He was confronted and in the struggle, he was killed. Proof was discovered that he was also a former Death-Eater. Greta hated Gustav for being an Auror but also feared him discovering that she too had a hand in the Dark Lord's army. She set out to destroy the remains of Gus and Gizela's relationship in hopes of hiding her crimes.
Analiza and Aurelia entered Hogwarts in September of 1983. Both girls were slated to join Slytherin, but the hat sensed both girls wishes to not be in the same house, and placed Aurelia into Ravenclaw instead. The houses proved to fit the pair, much to the former Gryffindor Gustav's dismay, and for a short time Ana and Aurie were able to live in the same building without trying to kill each other. That is, at least MOST of the time. They still cursed each other silly the moment they were within a close vicinity. This peace, however, was short-lived thanks to the drama going on back at home. Greta had managed, through underhanded means, to convince Gizela that Gustav was cheating on her with his female partner. Though the claims were unsubstantiated, Gizela was easily swayed by her mother and filed for Divorce in March of 1984. The girls were informed through letters and spent the last couple months of their schooling trying to concentrate on anything but their devastated family life. It can be said that during this period, Analiza and Aurelia reverted back to their old relationship and were closer then ever. At least, until it came time to decide where to live.
Analiza had never been close to either of her parents. Though her fathers emotional distance alienated her, her mother's constant criticism and favoritism towards Aurie made him the better of the evils. She chose to stay with him in London and to continue attending Hogwarts. Aurelia, who was the Osterdike Heir and Gizela's favorite, naturally chose to move back to Haarlem with her mother. Augustus had the hardest time though. He felt as though he was betraying his father by leaving, but at the same time, he felt as though he was the 'man of the family' now. In the end, he chose to return to Haarlem. The next fall, when Analiza returned to Hogwarts, Aurelia begin schooling at Beauxbaton. Their brief unity as sisters quickly dissolved and the two went back to hating each other. The only good thing, in Analiza's mind, about the whole mess was that her godmother Tulpin Creedish decided to leave the Osterdikes to move in with Ana and Gustav, bringing her daughter Ava with her. To this day, Analiza believes that if it wasn't for Tulpin, she would have been much more worse for wear then she is now.
Analiza's years at Hogwarts were fairly uneventful next to her family life. At school, her abrasive and judgmental personality, as well as her aggressive ambition to be the best, left her with few friends and a plethora of enemies. She stuck mainly with those in her house, and a few Ravenclaws (But only those who did not remember/like her sister). While she worked hard to keep up the appearance of a superior person with a wonderful life, her real life was falling apart piece by piece. This downfall was marked by the quick dating and remarrying of both her parents. Her mother was quickly introduced to an ex-Death eater by the name of Delphineas Tate, who would seduce and marry no less then 3 years after she divorced Gustav. If this wasn't bad enough, they had another child in 1989 by the name of Dorian Tate. Analiza immediately hated him, since he represented everything bad in her life (That being her mother, her broken family, and most of all, her dwindling inheritance).
To make matters worse, about the same time as her mother was cavorting with the dark side, so was her father. He met 28 year old Grace Mulciber, of the infamous purist Mulciber family, and promptly fell head over heels for her. Just as he had ignored his first wives purist ideals, so did he ignore Graces. The two were married shortly before Analiza graduated Hogwarts in 1990. During these traumatic times, Analiza took solace in the arms of a fellow Slytherin by the names of James Davis. He was a dashing young man known for being a lady killer, but Analiza was convinced she could tame him. She was also convinced she loved him and that he was the only good thing in her life. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that 3 months after she left Hogwarts, Analiza announced that she was pregnant with James' child and intended fully to run off and elope with him. Unfortunately for Analiza, James had a different idea. He disappeared soon after the announcement, leaving Ana to face the pregnancy and childrearing alone.
Luckily, Grace also became pregnant at the same time and she promised to be there for Analiza and her child. She even offered to take Analiza's son and raise him as hers so that Ana could have a normal life. This offer warmed Ana's heart to the woman and soon the pair became very close. So close in fact that their sons were born within two days of each other, with Grace giving birth to Gavin on April 4th and Analiza giving birth to Alexander on April 6th. Analiza didn't take up on Grace's offer to raise her son right away. She waited a whole year, trying to raise the boy on her own, before she couldn't take the stress any longer. In Mid-1992, Analiza announced that she intended on getting a job at the Ministry of Magic as an unspeakable, knowing full well it would keep her from having to deal with her small family. Not too long after this, Gustav was informed that his son Augustus followed in Analiza's footsteps and knocked up his girlfriend. It was meant to be a christmas surprise, but no one in the family was all that pleased, aside from Augustus himself. His daughter Arielle would be born in July of 1993.
A couple months before her nieces birth, Analiza was givin a chance to travel the world as an trainee to a full fledged Unspeakable. She didn't hesitate for a moment to jump at the chance, announcing to her father and step-mother that she would be gone for an upwards of 7 years, with one year on each continent, and left the not yet 2 year old Alex in their hands. Her personal life was pretty uneventful for the next 5 years, at least, uneventful compared to her families life. The most incredible thing to happen to her personally was in 1995 when she was traveling through Africa, and made the mistake of trying to break the curses on an Egyptian tomb (as part of her research). The subsequent attack is still hazy to her, since she was badly wounded from it, but she remembers waking up in the hospital with a Dark magic burn in the shape of a hand on her right shoulder. Her wand was also shattered in the attack, forcing her to purchase a new one. Since Ollivanders was far away, Analiza had to buy one from a local vendor. He told Analiza that her wand was new, but Analiza has come to suspect that it was once owned by a dark wizard and died green as an attempt to hide the age. She didn't say anything, however, since the wand proved to be excellent for the type of magic she was interested in practicing, which would help her down the road.
Meanwhile. The Snark, Tate and Osterdike families were going through quite a time. When Voldemort resurfaced in 1994, Delphineas finally managed to convince both Greta and Gizela to join the Death Eater ranks. While they were not in the inner circle, they did provide a safe house for dark artifacts and a financial backing for the growth of the Dark Lords army. At the same time, Grace realized that the Dark Lords return meant her family would be expecting her to join them in following him. While she still held some of the purist ideals true, she loved her son and husband enough to not want to risk their lives. Instead, she begged Gustav to send to her and Gavin to Italy for safe keeping. He didn't understand why at the time, but reluctantly agreed in the end. Her safety did not last long however. Somehow the Death Eaters discovered her attempt to flee and managed to track her down (Gustav believed that Gizela had something to do with it). She was tortured and killed in front of her son moments before Gustav was able to get there. He did manage to save Gavin and brought the traumatized boy back to London to live with him and Alex. He thought that he could keep Gavin and Alex safe, but then, on May 20th of 1998, he was called into battle.
1998 was the busiest and most painful year of Analiza's life. She was in the remote ruins of the Mayan tombs when she got the owl about the Battle of Hogwarts. Her father had been amongst the 50 killed, protecting his young trainee who, by some sick twist of fate, was Beatrix Snark, Auggie's young wife. She also died. Analiza put her trip on hiatus in order to return for the funerals, only to find that Grace had also been killed, a fact her father had not been able to inform her of. Analiza realized that Alex and Gavin needed at least one parent, and with Grace and Gustav dead, she had to step up to the plate. Turning down the chance to return to her studies, Analiza reluctantly returned to the Ministry as an Unspeakable. She took over custody of not only her son but her half-brother as well, raising the two 7 year old boys the best she could. Shortly after the last battle, when the Death eaters were being rounded up, Analiza found out that her mother had indeed betrayed Grace's position in Italy. Through this discovery, Analiza found out that her mother, step-father and grandmother were all fugitives. She promptly had them arrested and thrown in Azkaban, much to her siblings dismay. It is rumored that she was so angry with her mother that during her mothers trial, Analiza had been forced to leave the courtroom because she wouldn't stop screaming profanities and attempting to curse her.
The next couple years were busy and quick. Dorian, now virtually orphaned, was quickly adopted by his Aunt Gerda, Gizela's little sister who had long since been disowned for marrying a muggle by the name of Henrik Turpin. Dorian was renamed Freddie Turpin, and all the Snark children were forced to take an unbreakable vow that they would not tell him of his origins. A year later, in 1999, Augustus was fired from his position as a beater on the Montrose Magpies team due to his depression at his wifes untimely death. He would move to London with Analiza, bringing his 6 year old daughter Arielle with him. Aurelia was working as a designer for Taffit and Twillings at the time, in France, and was fired when the news of her parents and grandmothers crimes reached her boss. She decided to make her own line, Couture Magique, instead. Meanwhile, Analiza was slowly but surely working her way up the ranks of the Unspeakables.
The millennium came upon them and as the wizarding world calmed down, so did Analiza's life. Alex and Gavin went to Hogwarts in 2002 and were sorted into Slytherin (at no surprise to Analiza), Augustus finally came out of his depression and joined the Falmouth Falcons in 2003 and was promited to Coach of the team in 2006, Arielle joined her cousins at Hogwarts in 2004 and Aurelia moved back to London in 2005 to start her own Boutique in Diagon Alley. Finally, in 2006, Analiza was promoted to the Head of the Department of Mysteries when the previous head died in an obscure spell backfire. There is no evidence to substantiate it, but many feel that Analiza had something to do with it. She has spent the last couple years happily denying any wrong doing, all while reaping the benefits of being a powerful figure. Finally, there seems to be some peace and quiet in her life.
[What is your job description? How do you go about your job?
How did you get your current job? How does your past and abilities justify your current position?:] Analiza heads up the Department of Mysteries, and has done so for the last 2 years. Unspeakables research and develop some of the most powerful and unknown magic in the universe, and it is Ana's duty to not only ensure that they are focusing on projects that will further the wizarding world, but to research these magics herself. Over the last couple years, Ana has also helped develop the use of Unspeakables for Criminal investigations alongside Hitwizards and Aurors, which greatly increased their workload. Ana worked as an Unspeakable for 13 years before she was promoted, 5 years of which she spent traveling around to various foreign countries in order to gain a better grasp of their magic. When she returned, she worked tirelessly in the Spell Development division and delved extensively into the darker magicks. Many have accused her of less then savory means of advancement, but it was her dedication and discoveries that lead to her being promoted to head at the tender age of 34, when the previous head retired.
[Writing Sample:]It was 8 O'Clock A.M and Analiza Snark was just settling down into the warm comfort of her leather desk chair. It had an air of well-used antiquity that just radiated the power of those who sat in it at one time. Laying her head back into the groove formed by dozens of department heads before her, Analiza sighed. She was finally here... She achieved her dream. She would have respect now whether people liked it or not. Closing her eyes, she smiled at the thought.
Her peaceful thoughts of world domination were shattered before she could get to conquering the America's when a frantic knock echoed through the room. Sitting back up, Analiza blinked wearily and took a sip of her coffee before waving the door open with her wand. Standing outside was an old colleague of hers, one Marietta Grimlish. It wasn't a good sign when the sallow faced witch ventured out from her office down the hall. She usually was working on some of the most deadly dark magic and her appearance was akin to that of a ghost appearing to muggles. Analiza stiffened in her chair. “Ah... Grimlish, what can I do for you?” Analiza said, sipping her coffee and sorting through some papers on her desk as though she wasn't at all terrified by the dark figure in front of her.
“There is a report of a prophecy being made in South Kent... Taylor has already headed there to record it, but he wanted me to tell you that he might need your assistance with the seer. He said, I quote, She is getting quite rambunctious and might be a problem.”
Analiza mentally sighed in relief. She thought for a moment that Grimlish had found some terrible new way to turn someone inside out like she had the week before. It hadn't been a pretty report. Standing, Analiza nodded. “Thank you Grimlish, I will head there now... You may go.”
Watching her leave without a word, Analiza shook her head. Strange woman that Grimlish, not very socialable. Analiza wondered if the woman ever left the ninth floor or if she just lived in her office, forever studying the fabric of magic. Deciding after a moment that the woman's private life was hardly THAT interesting, Analiza grabbed her overrobe and tossed it on. Grasping her wand, She headed towards the entrance hall to Floo to Kent. She was being rambunctious? He had better be being sarcastic.
[Sum up your character in one paragraph:] Analiza is a force to be reckoned with. A woman with a temper as hot as her hair and a wit as sharp as her gaze, she has battled, back stabbed and, according to rumors, bedded her way to the coveted position of the Lead Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries. With her rather questionable morals, turbulent family life and flair for causing drama, Analiza is someone who will always have one foot in every door and a finger in every pot.
Analiza Snark: Former Headmistress of Hogwarts