Lyra Gamp
 | |
| Lyra Theodora Gamp (Nott) | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 20 January 1940, 72 |
| City of Birth | Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham |
| Current City | Godric's Hollow, UK |
| Blood status | Pure-blood |
| Physical Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Relationships | |
| Father | Cantankerous Nott |
| Mother | Augustine Selwyn |
| Extended Family | |
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| |
| Children | |
| Magical Characteristics | |
| Special Abilities | Legilimens, Metamorphmagus, Occlumens |
| Education | |
| School | Hogwarts |
| House | Slytherin |
| Class of | 1958 |
| Occupation | |
| |
| Character Information | |
| Playby | Famke Janssen |
| Kit | |
Lyra Gamp was last seen in the labyrinth on Level Nine. She is the metamorphmagus wife of Mortimer Gamp, the former and disgraced Head of the Department of Mysteries. She and Mortimer owned a house in Godric's Hollow but due to the Mischief Unmanaged plot, are both known criminals. She was apprehended on February 14th 2012 at St Mungo's hospital.
Physical Description
Lyra is a metamorphmagus. Her true form has white hair, hollowing eyes, and has lost much of her original beauty through a harsher life and experimental magic in the last year. Before going into hiding she maintained a tall (though two inches shorter than her husband at all times), slight build with long dark hair and dark eyes, preserving but enhancing the appearance she was born with.
She was taught not to demonstrate her face-changing skills to show off as a child by her mother. In later life she would only use her skills openly and dramatically through the purpose of teaching history, much to the adoration of her students. In reality, Lyra always used the skills to maintain her appearance and move amongst others without interruption when it pleased her to disguise herself. She has preferred to keep it to herself.
Her accent was schooled as a child with elocution lessons. She speaks with a more modern conservative British English accent, indicating class rather than her geographical background. Lyra unintentionally mimics the accents of those around her if she perceives them to be more to do than she is.
Personality Description
Lyra is a very focused, intelligent witch. Intensely driven by a wish to understand and master concepts, mathematics, potions and magic. She instilled the importance of education in her children and the children she taught, raising them to be observant, disciplined and question others. Raised in pureblood privilege, Lyra has rarely struggled financially or politically, enjoying a comfortable, secure life, especially once married.
Her shortcomings include becoming blinkered to the wider picture, especially of late when working alone in hiding. Her goals have become all-consuming and her regard to ethics has deserted her. She has seen the other side and the progress one can make when unhindered. She holds some extreme views, sympathising with some of Voldemort’s ideologies, even though she was not an open supporter during his rise to power in the 1990s. She shows decreasing empathy towards others, even her grown-up children who she now manipulates.
This has been a shift in her personality in the last three years, though publicly to family and friends, Lyra maintained the facade of honest school teacher, loving grandmother with high expectations and trusting, patient mother to her children.
History
Lyra was born a Nott, one of the sacred twenty-eight families. Her father, Cantankerous Nott was suspected to be the author of the Pure-Blood Directory in the 1930s. Lyra’s mother, Augustine Selwyn was his second wife, following the death of his first. She was a lot younger than her husband and passed on her metamorphmagus abilities to her daughter, Lyra.
Sorted into Slytherin, Lyra Nott enjoyed the lifestyle of a pureblood Slytherin daughter. Easily made friends with other purebloods, was curious at the origins the magic and deserving nature of muggleborns and experienced teacher favouritism. She was always an intelligent girl, though had great privilege. Lyra excelled at arithmancy and potions above all else, though was adept at charms, transfiguration, runes and defences.
Defying her father’s wishes to find her a suitable pureblood husband immediately, Lyra applied to and joined the Department of Mysteries. She began working as an administrator, though was quickly appointed a trainee researcher, moving from project to project, climbing the ranks. She would record results painstakingly for experiments and keep books upon books of numbers and patterns. Her excellence in arithmancy and potions shone through in her career, extending to more and more advanced alchemy and study of blood magic. In time this met Mortimer Gamp’s study of magical potential in humans.
The pair worked very closely together on the project to measure the magical potential of magical people, and predict the release of that potential as childhood magical accidents. Over the years they became closer, and things progressed. A year to their first ‘date’, Mortimer proposed to Lyra.
1969 - Marriage to Mortimer
Mortimer and Lyra married in 1969. Lyra took the Gamp surname. The couple established a family home is in Godric’s Hollow. Both continued to work closely in the Department of Mysteries for some years, happy to prioritise their careers and work over starting a family.
1975 - Orion born
Six years later, in 1975, their first child, Orion arrived. Lyra was 35, Mortimer 45. In the later stages of her pregnancy, Lyra moved into a less risky job. She stepped back from front-line collection, examination and experimentation and into analysis of data. Her most successful work was using her skills in arithmancy and potions to help develop new techniques to improve the shelf-lives and stability of potions for St Mungo’s. It was a little mundane. She missed getting her ‘hands dirty’ so to speak, but it was worthy work and gave her flexibility to bring up their son. Orion was embarking on a lifetime of mischief.
1977 - Cepheus Born
When Cepheus arrived, Mortimer offered to employ several house elves to look after the two boys. Lyra insisted that they would not allow for such folly. Instead, she switched to teaching and tutoring from their home in Godric's Hollow. The move greatly surprised her husband, especially as it meant departure from the Department they both loved to serve.
Lyra taught the sons and daughters of several magical families alongside Orion and Cepheus. It began at first with a few faces, and grew. One of the children, Nadine Pinn, was sent by her family. She got on well with Orion and Cepheus, and was the same age as Orion. She would become a future daughter in law. The Gamp household was filled with noise and supplied the boys with childhood friends for years.
At first hand, Lyra would recount the development of the young witches and wizards, in a far more intense experiment than they had been able to conduct when she and Mortimer had first worked together. She continued to school young children in their Godric’s Hollow home for other wizarding families in the years which followed, pursuing further knowledge on the subject.
Lyra was ever present through the childhood of her children, Mortimer making time for them as best he could around working on research. The house during the week was filled with increasing numbers of other children, and Orion and Cepheus thrived. They loved to have lots of friends and order other children around. Orion caused plenty of trouble, which his younger brother, Cepheus occasionally got the blame for. Orion was not always sensible.
Meanwhile, Mortimer continued to progress with more and more responsibility within the department, leading projects, writing proposals. Sometimes he would not come home if he was close to a breakthrough, other times he would have to go overseas for a few weeks to pursue possibilities. Lyra, having worked on Level 9, understood and trusted her husband. He trusted her enough to divulge that his research had to mirror hers. He had begun to focus on the possibility of stealing, or removing the magical potential of a witch or wizard. The pursuit was wrought with ethical issues. The Ministry meanwhile thrived under Millicent Bagnold's lead from 1980.
1981 - Birth of Andromeda & Death of the Potters
The arrival of the third child, and only daughter, Andromeda was quite a bit of excitement the boys, and both brothers took 'big brother' duties very seriously. Lyra was very glad of a daughter, as both sons had not inherited her gifts from the Selwyn line.
A couple of months later Voldemort murdered the Potters.
During peacetime the family would take holidays together in the summer, and lived very comfortably in Godric's Hollow. Sometimes Mortimer would not come home if he was close to a breakthrough, other times he would have to go overseas for a few weeks to pursue possibilities.
1986-1993 - Children at Hogwarts
September 1st was Mortimer’s birthday, so every year from September 1986 when Orion embarked from Platform nine and three quarters until Andromeda did for the last time in September 1998 it was overshadowed by sending one or more of the children to school. It wasn’t until they were all old enough to go, or had moved out that the couple could properly celebrate Mortimer’s birthday in the blissful peace of no charges to supervise.
Orion was first to Hogwarts in September 1986, sorted into Slytherin, followed by Cepheus in September 1988, into Ravenclaw. Orion was trouble at school, but nothing Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore couldn’t handle.
September 1991 was all abuzz with the arrival of Harry Potter to Hogwarts. Lyra and Mortimer instructed their boys to treat him no different than anyone else. Andromeda had one final year at home with the other children her mother taught before she would attend from September 1992, sorted into Gryffindor. Finally, all three of them were at school, and Lyra was able to set aside some of her time to work on her research while continuing to teach for an income and a set of unwitting research subjects.
1993 - Orion’s Mistake
Their eldest child, Orion, was begrudgingly studying for his NEWTs, and a handful. By the time his final exams rolled round in 1993, his girlfriend (who he had met in his mother’s schoolroom in Godric’s Hollow) Nadine Pinn, was more than a little pregnant. It was an embarrassment for both families. Orion could hardly concentrate on his revision or the exams. Mortimer was furious, Lyra mortified such a thing could happen. They had banked on Hogwarts keeping Orion on the straight and narrow while he was not at home. Fortunately the majority of interest around Hogwarts was the basilisk business.
Mortimer and Lyra were firm that Orion had to 'do right' in the eyes of the old families. Their son married in early July 1993 after term ended. It was a small affair with just their tense parents there from both families. At the end of the month, Lyra and Mortimer became grandparents for the first time, as Ariadne arrived.
Despite Orion and Nadine still being teenagers, both parents were unexpectedly smitten. Nadine was an attentive mother, Orion an enthusiastic father. Everything seemed to be perfect despite their inexperience. Orion tasked himself with finding a job and somewhere for them to live. The pair were happy enough and stuck together. Soon they elected to spend time travelling and working, living on a house boat. Lyra had given up on expecting Orion to be conventional. At least if they were abroad, they were not under her feet.
1994 - Voldemort’s Shadow Returns
With just two children at home, their older brother out of the picture, Lyra could more easily concentrate on enjoying time with Cepheus and Andromeda. Cepheus went to Quidditch World Cup with friends. On hearing the news about the dark mark, Lyra was beside herself. She was from the Nott family, and knew very well what following Voldermort did to a family. She did not want her children wrapped up in it, or at risk of being led astray. Lyra kept Cepheus and Andromeda close for the rest of summer.
Mortimer and Lyra reaffirmed friendships with Ministry colleagues and other pure families. They participated in the social expectations of other pureblood families, gatherings, parties and events at key points of the year. Mortimer’s status grew in the Ministry, and it was not unusual for the couple to host on a weekend. It paid off to strengthen those bonds.
1997 - Fall of the Ministry
The late 1990s were dark years. The Gamps escaped the worst of the troubles of the war through their heritage and bloodlines, though some of the children who their mother taught vanished, the families with Muggle husbands and wives going into hiding, imprisoned, ridiculed or worse.
Within the Ministry, there was a new chain of power, and the accusations against Muggle Borns that they had ‘stolen’ magic from someone suddenly gave Mortimer’s earlier proposals the green light. He was able to research the possibility of taking magic from another and rendering someone without.
The Death Eaters were obsessed with the possession of magical talent, the possibility that they might increase their own by stealing from another, or even remove it entirely from their enemies. For those long and dark months from August 1997 until the Battle of Hogwarts in May Mortimer was flooded with candidates to experiment on, but he could never sleep easy at night. This was not how he had anticipated his proposal would be answered. Lyra agreed.
As Andromeda was the last at Hogwarts, her brothers implored Lyra and Mortimer to remove her, but Mortimer held a very difficult position at work, entirely unable to speak about his days. To remove Andromeda was perceived as a move against the occupied Ministry, which could result in them all being at risk. It was a horrible, wrenching decision to make which Lyra still regrets. It damaged her relationship with her daughter and put her life at risk.
1998-2004 - Restoration of the Ministry and Peacetime Life
Shacklebolt and Granger revolutionised the Ministry in the years that followed, and Moritimer's research was deemed highly dangerous and ceased immediately. His findings by this point had intrigued Mortimer too far by this point, though he accepted he had to keep it quiet in peacetime. With the ban on them using dementors, the rug had been firmly pulled out from under his feet. He voiced his frustrations to Lyra.
With new, somewhat more ethical projects to conduct, Mortimer threw himself behind other research, though the possibility of stealing magic from another and rendering someone without still nagged at his curiosity, and Lyra’s. Her schoolroom gradually refilled with those who had survived, but she found herself wondering if she should return to research and finish what she had started with her husband.
The pair began to talk more and more of their old research, Lyra dedicating increasing amounts of time to the work. They established a hidden room in the house’s cellar to contain their work away from prying eyes.
When the news came that Dante Ward would be stepping aside, Mortimer declared his interest amongst the unspeakables, and had colleagues propose and second him to the Minister. He had stood aside for too long with the younger ones taking up the reins, and now felt that it was time to oversee. His role would now allow him access to see what other projects were being undertaken, and if he could, perhaps rekindle that research that had both unsettled and fascinated him since the second wizarding war.
All it took to fulfil their research plans was a contact. Edwin Glass put them on to Ira Almasy, who in turn hired Lawrence Musgrave to push the first domino. Together, they portkeyed half a dozen teenagers from a merry Hogsmeade weekend into the labyrinth of level 9. Lyra and Mortimer conducted their bloodiest experiments overnight on Valentine’s Day. Blinkered by their extreme desire to find the answers, they were almost both apprehended at Godric’s Hollow following the escape of their subjects.
Mortimer ensured Lyra’s escape, with a portkey and what remained of the magical potential drained from the teenagers.
Feb 14th 2011 - Jan 2012
Lyra went into hiding. Immediately changing her appearance significantly. The pair had planned for such an eventuality, to escape. Anticipating the research might be a suicide mission due to the high risk, they had sought out other potential sponsors. Unfortunately as Ira Almasy’s reign of terror began to crumble, so did possibilities. Lyra remained focused on the plan, monitoring any mention of Mortimer, and covertly following her adult children for information. She had clearly been wasted as a school teacher and should have remained an unspeakable.
With time, focus and grim determination to succeed, Lyra was much more successful than her husband’s first foray into absorbing the magic of others through blood magic practice. Despite her age (now in her early seventies), the practice brought new energy to her, though it remained a struggle to maintain and contain the extra. It was as if filling a jug to overflowing, if carried, the excess flowed out.
As the new year arrived, Lyra began to formulate a plan to liberate Mortimer so he could join her in hiding. She preyed on Orion’s remoteness, posing as a new friend, persuading him to attend a meditation retreat on a whim to review for Devia Orbis. Her son would not understand how he had come to spend so long there, later writing to his brother Cepheus Gamp about the unusual occurrence.
Jan 2012 - Feb 14th 2012
Lyra, disguised as her eldest son, returned to London, integrating with Cepheus and Andromeda, and returning to the old house. She held her disguise well, even attending Witch Weekly's valentines blind dating where she was paired with Josie Flint. She took advantage of Josie, siphoning her power with blood magic in Josie's flat for several days to build her powers.
Meanwhile, while disguised, she had presented to Sandy Misslethorpe, Mortimer's healer at St Mungo's to arrange a time to visit on Valentine's Day. When the visit was withdrawn, Lyra attacked and took the identity of Healer Misslethorpe, continuing her mission to find Mortimer.
Her plan is foiled through a series of small errors which lead to suspicions from Andromeda, Cepheus, Nadine and even Yavin Morgenthau and a battle ensued in St Mungo's spell damage ward, leading to Mortimer transfiguring himself into an umbrella permanently, and Lyra becoming captured by the Ministry at last.
Expertise
Lyra is in hiding, researching blood magic and magical potential while plotting to reunite with her husband and liberate him from St Mungo’s solitary confinement.
Her expertise is a life of research, study, analysis as an unspeakable and a private researcher, combining her efforts with her unspeakable husband’s.
