ROSIER, Phaedra

NICKNAMES/ALIAS:  
Phae (for the brave)

AGE: 23 b.December 21st 2005

ALLEGIANCE: Pureblood Elitist

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Ex-Slytherin

WAND: Elm and walnut, dragon heartstring, 10 1/2 inches, rigid.

PLAY BY: Charlott Cordes


GENERAL APPEARANCE:
Her facial features are best described as 'elfin': high, round cheekbones, a straight, small nose, pointy chin, a heart-shaped face, and full pink lips that were well-inclined to petulant scowls in her younger years. Her eyes are entirely her grandmother’s, green and feline, and she has her mother's cinematic looks, with her arched brows, sharp features, expressive eyes, and glossy blow out. Her complexion is smooth and generally unblemished, with its propensity to tan during the warmer months conveying her Italian heritage. She has the kind of figure that invites meanness from other girls, eliciting jealousy and scorn: naturally svelte, slender and willowy with a narrow waist and lean limbs, moderate curves in the right places, her proportions near perfect. Her long legs and slimness have the effect of making her look taller than she is, though she comes in at a respectable 5"5, usually enhanced by the heels she prefers.

The word best encompassing Phaedra's demeanour would be elegant. Sophisticated and refined, in tastes, clothing and manners. She didn’t go through the clumsy awkward phase so many go through in their early adolescence, rather maintaining a graceful, poised demeanour throughout her teens and now into her early twenties. Her clothing is always fashionable, or at least stylish, and her manners are impeccable. She takes pride in appearing faultless at all times, seeing it as a social skill and an advantage in interactions. The only exception to this is her potions work, during which propriety is left to the side as she dons old aprons, clothes and face smudged with ingredients, hair flying out of the bun she prefers. At these times she has less of an formidable air about her and appears softer, less intimidating, or simply just less finicky. A smile beyond a perfunctory polite one is rare, and genuine laughter is exceedingly hard to draw out, but mirth transforms her face entirely from a cold intimidating beauty to something younger, sweeter and almost mischievous.


TRAITS:

+ Talented- Whether it is a natural gift or simply the result of a lifetime of study and practice, Phaedra's potions prowess has proven exceptional. She has a knack for the art with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of existing formulas and a flair for inventing new ones. Her approach is almost instinctive, honed by years of practice and careful precision. Given the chance to further develop these skills over the years, she has the ability to become a great potions master- if she can overcome her recent inability to practice.

+ Dedicated- This is applicable to few areas of her life, but to those that it is, it is unfailing. Once she chooses a goal or embarks on a course of action, there are few things that can deter her, and she remains steadfast in her vows and promises. Though not inclined to displays of devotion, she is committed to those she wishes to display loyalty to, but also can be undeniably staunch in her views and mindset, not easily changing course or purpose.

+ Confident- generally remains unruffled, not prone to bouts of doubt or insecurity. Cattiness of fellow pureblood society misses does not get to her, nor do petty insults or shallow comments pertaining to her appearance, intelligence, or breeding. The saying “if you know yourself you’ll not be harmed by what is said about you” is particularly true for Phaedra, who rarely grants others’ opinions importance if they do not have the power to physically or socially harm her in any way.

+ Practical- More so since losing everything- she’s had to become pragmatic and prudent in order to scrape by. A quality rare in pureblood young ladies, she is not prone to fits of fancy (or, at least, not any more) and is quite matter-of-fact in her approach to difficulties and situations. I wouldn’t go as far as to call her down to earth, but she’s definitely less unreasonable than she was before, and a whole lot more measured and sensible. Although she herself has yet to realise this, she actually does have a good head on her shoulders, which has allowed her to rise to the occasion thus far.

+ Playful- An unlikely unexpected aspect of her personality, but in the right circumstances Phaedra does have a capacity for mischief. Not just the polite banter social situations sometimes call for, but real warm mirth. Usually only witnessed by her immediate family and grandparents, the existence of a sense of humour within her often comes as a surprise to others. However, it's one of her more endearing traits and one she would benefit from displaying more often. It's also entirely unconscious, something only displayed in comfortable, familiar company and increasingly elusive nowadays.


- Proud- Her blood, her social status, her dignity, her good name- these things mean everything to her. She has been raised with a full understanding of everything she can expect with a family name such as hers, and every determination to get it. At her best she is slightly conceited; at her worst, haughty and imperious. This is something that has been drilled into her and that no one has ever dared challenge. In recent years, her pride is almost all she has had left, and the thing that has driven her to keep her chin up and carry on regardless of what befalls her, determined to maintain appearances.

- Unforgiving- Over superficial issues, Phaedra rarely wastes her energy on anger and her rage is quickly forgotten. She does not get angered easily, nor is she very sensitive at all, but once she is wronged enough her fury is particularly dreadful and long-lasting. Her ability to hold a grudge is particularly impressive, though generally only experienced by those who have done her considerable material or social harm, or those who have significantly mistreated her. Towards these, she has somewhat of a vengeful nature, does not easily forget wrongs done to her nor is she particularly willing to let bygone be bygones.

- Caustic- Her cutting sense of humour makes her popular company and strangely charming, but many don’t realise that not all her biting remarks are jokes, and often she entirely means what she says. Though her manners are generally impeccable, particularly in polite company, she has mastered the art of subtle rudeness. She never completely breaches the bounds of propriety but manages to deliver underhanded insults and disparaging remarks nevertheless, all with a veneer of charm and social aplomb that often leaves people rattled and unsure of how to respond

- Repressive- Of her own emotions and words. While she was spoilt, she's also been brought up with a set of clear rules and expectations that are non-negotiable if she wants to be a successful part of the society she inhabits. As such, she carefully monitors her behaviour and is careful not to let the mask slip no matter how tempting the prospect. Part of this is also a result of her prideful nature, which refuses to allow someone else gain the upper hand or see any vulnerability in her. She is generally not forthcoming with her true thoughts or feelings to preserve a certain image that others have of her, and that she would like to have of herself.

- Dismissive- Those around her are never really sure whether she is irreverent about others’ needs and desires or just entirely ignorant of them. She’s not thoughtless exactly, just unconcerned. When she has a goal in mind, everything else, including the concerns of others, is secondary. This is particularly true in the case of strangers or distant acquaintances, though it applies to those she cares about too. It can make her come off as callous or unfriendly, but she just doesn’t take it upon herself to shoulder others’ burdens, not particularly feeling the need to take special care with people she does not know or care for, or those not important to her plans.

LIKES & DISLIKES:
+
autonomy
rain
marble floors
magical theory
foggy mornings
plush carpets
gargoyles
winter evenings
gillywater
well-tailored robes
diamond earrings
glamour charms
gardening
Latest Robes
Cooking (the idea of it, mostly. She’s never had a chance to try)
exploding snap (pretends to prefer wizarding chess)
security
company (though she’d never admit it)
black coffee
listening to the radio
watching quidditch


-
being patronised
forcefulness
loss (of both people and material things)
responsibility for others
bad liars
whining
fidgeting
nail-biting
empty rooms
seafood
humidity
petty behaviour
feeling indebted
sickness (in herself or others)
secrets
house-elves (not their enslavement. Them.)
freckles
the Daily Prophet
the MoM
wizarding chess
pureblood functions (a welcome illusion of normalcy, now)
uppity Gryffindors
uppity Hufflepuffs
uppity Ravenclaws
playing quidditch

GOAL:  
Invent the perfect poison
Invent the perfect cure
Regain her inheritance
Uncover her Uncle's motives
Absolve her guilt


FATHER:
Bevan Emilius Rosier; 50; pureblood; business magnate; deceased

In reality:

MOTHER:
Elisavetta Di Medici; 48; housewife; pureblood

SIBLING/S:
Caspian Giovanni Rosier; deceased at 14

Spoiler:

OTHER:
Evan Rosier; paternal grandfather; 76; deceased
Maxine de Montmorency; paternal grandmother; 76; deceased

Eirion Rosier; paternal uncle; 55
Eleanora Rosier nee Parkinson; paternal aunt by marriage; 54; deceased

Robert Rosier; paternal uncle; 52
Helen Bordreaux; paternal aunt by marriage; 59
Alexandra Selwyn nee Rosier; paternal cousin; 30
Nicholas Rosier; paternal cousin; 17

Gerardus Rosier; paternal great-grandfather; 98; deceased

(++the Blacks, Malfoys, and Lestranges)

SPECIES/BLOODTYPE: Pureblood.

SOCIAL STATUS: Upper class, formerly wealthy.


EARLY YEARS:



The story goes that Phaedra Rosier was born in 2005 on the eve of the winter solstice to Bevan Rosier and Elisavetta Di Medici after a very brief courtship and an even briefer marriage. Her first few years were comfortable, with the kind of privileged upbringing most people only dream of, on the grounds of the main Rosier Estate. From a young age, she proved precocious and intelligent, well-behaved but with a hint of charming childish mischief, and her parents doted on her.

Her grandmother was her favourite person growing up, and the two shared a special bond. Maxine de Montmorency, of those Montmorencys, was the one who first sparked her interest in potions. The tales of their family history and Martine’s own cabinet full of vials of all colours and sizes entranced Phaedra, who had a natural probing curiosity that was uncommonly aroused by her grandmother’s stories. When this became clear, her doting parents lavished gifts of potion kits, books, and other objects perhaps not suited to a child her age upon her, encouraging her interest. They went as far as to procure house-elves upon which she could test her creations, making clear that there were no bounds to her seeking of knowledge, but Phaedra’s natural aversion to the creatures made such attempts infrequent.

Her close relationship with her grandmother, of whom her great-grandfather was exceedingly fond, led to her achieving a special status in his eyes too. The two aging warlocks enjoyed spending time with her and as a result her upbringing was less solitary and distant than other pureblood children. Along with nannies, tutors, and house elves, she had her grandmama and great-pere, who often took her on outings or to society events, lavishing attention on the young girl. Her uncles, too, were present, though the eldest, her Uncle Eirion, was never particularly forthcoming with affection. She never gave it much thought, assuming natural reticence, or perhaps sorrow at not having children and heirs of his own, ensuring the estate went to his younger brother when it could have been rightfully his.

She grew up coddled, then, and the secure, loving upbringing produced a remarkably confident and balanced girl, who had none of the insecurities and parental complexes so common in her peers. When her brother was born 5 years later, she doted on him the same as everyone else, happy to have a playmate, glad for company nearer her age.

Her brother’s birth only increased her confidence- in their games, she led and he followed. Later, when he grew older, they shared the spotlight, but for as long as they were together she took it upon herself to play the role of his protector, teaching him the ropes as she felt an older sister should. He didn’t share her interest in potions, nor her easy social nature, but the confidence she had was present in him, too, albeit more quietly.

By the time her Hogwarts letter arrived, the two siblings had grown apart in that all their time was no longer spent together. They’d both cultivated different interests, Phaedra preferring to spend her time in the library or the greenhouses, while Caspian whiled away the hours on the grounds playing quidditch, or with their father training for the role of Rosier heir.


HOGWARTS YEARS:

When the time came, she sat primly on the hard oak bench, long caramel hair brushed out behind her, new shoes gleaming. She was not nervous, neither awaiting nor dreading the Sorting Hat’s decision, but expectant. She watched as those of lesser blood and poorer breeding fidgeted and whispered, flushed with excitement or pale with anxiety and felt nothing towards them. Neither disapproval nor disdain, but perhaps a modicum of pity. She’d never allow a tatty old hat to make her feel anxious.

"Rosier, Phaedra!"

Hmm... a Rosier. It's been a few years since the last. Slytherin would be the traditional choice, I believe.
A good choice.
And the expected one, of course. I can see the cogs turning. Here is a mind that wants to exceed. The question is, how far will it take you? There is talent here, but darkness too.
Thank you.
You would do well in Ravenclaw. You could be great.
Slytherin?
A house for cunning and ambition. The former will serve you well, while the latter necessitates wisdom, too. And yet, you have no doubts about where you belong, do you?
No.
Well then, young Rosier. The traditional choice may be a comfort in the doubt of years to come come. Yes, I think it must be-

“SLYTHERIN!”

Her first year passed at a leisurely pace. From the first Potions lesson she attended, it became clear that the subject was where her prowess lay. Her elderly Potions professor, gleeful with disbelief, buzzed with excitement at having finally been presented with the talent he’d spent so many years attempting to cultivate in countless students already brimming over in this small, pointy-faced slip of a girl. He would often bemoan her sorting, questioning again and again the hat’s decision to place her among those thirsty for empty glory rather than a house valuing knowledge above all else. Unfazed, Phaedra excelled to an extent even those who knew her could not have predicted. She herself showed no surprise at her talent- it seemed natural, after all, that a child reared in a society of wiles and a household of secrets would prove proficient at the most complicated, yet underhanded art there was to master.

This excellence would mark out the course of her remaining school years. While she managed to maintain a steady social circle of fellow purebloods and family acquaintances, it was her studies that took up most of her time. Her parents continued to be encouraging, proud but also secretly glad of her interest being something becoming for a witch of her status, rather than having ambitions for a more rigorous or demanding career in the Ministry or some such equivalent. For her part, Phaedra never displayed more than a passing extra-curricular interest in other subjects, though she excelled to a lesser extent in Charms and Astronomy, also cultivating a proficiency at dark magic outside of school.

Having been moved up a year in Potions during her second year, she completed both her OWL and NEWT early, the former in her fourth year and the latter in her fifth, achieving O grades in both. Her sixth year coincided with the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship, which she entered as a representative of the British school. She won the championship but at the expense of some of her other NEWTs, at which she under-performed due to this dedication. While she did not find this a matter for particular concern, her professors disagreed, and with the consent of her parents the apprenticeship for which she'd been headed the coming year was postponed until graduation, though this was no deterrent from her continued personal study of the subject. It was also around this time that she developed her main goal for her potions work in future, dedicating her efforts to the invention of the perfect poison, one that evaded cure or detection. Her brother's arrival at Hogwarts also occurred during this year, though her other commitments during his first year meant they had little time together on school grounds. This was something she wasn't unaware of, but assuming all the time in the world ahead of them, and being pushed to make up her NEWT grades over the second year, this absence continued into the next year.

In the midst of all this study and excellence, something rather curious was occurring in the cloisters of the Rosier family. Her Uncle Eirion, never a family member to whom she'd been much endeared, nor one she knew much of, moved away rather suddenly and with no explanation. His wife dead and his line heirless, her parents assumed he'd gone in search of another pureblood wife who could provide him with a coveted son. The disappearance unsettled her father, though Phaedra assumed this was concern over what would happen if Eirion succeeded, as the only thing entitling him to the Rosier Estate, as a younger son, was the heir Bevan had and his elder brother lacked. The threat of losing the manor and all it entailed was one Phaedra did not give much thought to, assuming that if the lines of inheritance changed, her grandmother or great-grandfather would ensure they did not lose all of her father's hard work.


ADULTHOOD:

Graduation found her taking up the apprenticeship position with Aiden Hayes, which, though she embarked on it with her customary focus and dedication, was something Phaedra saw as part opportunity for improvement and part curious diversion. This was not least due to Aiden's less than exemplary pedigree and status. While her parents- seemingly inexplicably- had agreed to her benefiting from the tutelage of a halfblood and blood traitor, Phaedra knew many of her interests would remain unexplored by virtue of his own noble nature. So, she took it upon herself to continue her pursuit of the perfect poison alone as a private project, taking whatever useful things she learnt with the potions master and using them to further her own goals. This worked well for two years, over which time she had gained a grudging respect for the man, whose expertise was undeniable. Still, it did not deter her from continuing the small deception she was pulling, rationalising that her personal affairs and hobbies were no concern of his.

2025 was the year that changed everything and the beginning of all the woes that were to follow. In April of that year, her father fell sick with what was later named the Welsh Green Itch, an illness only affecting purebloods. They did not see cause to worry at first, assuming a cure would soon be found, but his death by the following month led to the first stirrings of anxiety as to the source and severity of the disease. May saw her ageing grand-mother and great grandfather succumb to the illness, and June saw her brother finally contract it. At this point, with her mother displaying the first symptoms of the disease, her uncle returned to the UK rather unexpectedly.

The three remaining Rosiers had heretofore been reluctant to leave the country, anticipating a speedy cure and fearing carrying the disease abroad, ever mindful of the importance of preserving even foreign pureblood lines. That is, until Caspian succumbed to the illness. In that week, her uncle's motivations for returning also became clear, as he made moves to seize the estate, with no patriarch or heir remaining to challenge him. While this was in occurrence, she also received the news that the pureblood to whom she'd been betrothed that year had broken off the arrangement, citing an unforeseen change of circumstances. Not one week later, with nothing left to hold them back and running out of options, Phaedra and her ailing mother managed to use their few remaining connections to floo illegally out of the country and seek refuge at the Di Medici estate, remaining there until the epidemic passed over. Phaedra was reluctant to do so, sensing some secret problem was the cause of her mother's refusal to take this course of action earlier rather than mere misguided pride, which was uncharacteristic of Elisavetta.

Almost immediately after their arrival in Italy, the doubts began. Having dedicated all her previous potions study to the invention of the perfect poison, her father, and later her brother’s sickness had shifted her goals entirely to the more altruistic. She had become obsessed with discovering the perfect cure, something that would fight any illness, alleviate any symptom. Weeks of study and experimentation in the recesses of her laboratory and she finally had what she believed to be this substance. Her father already dead, she'd fed Caspian the potion with all the confidence with which she approached every aspect of her life. Not one week later, of course, he was dead. And for the first time in her life, Phaedra was plagued by doubt. She was racked with suspicions, the worst of which being that she’d managed to achieve her previous aim instead, actually poisoning her brother. With no way of ascertaining the truth, crippled by guilt and uncertainty, her passion became a source of pain. She found herself unable to continue her studies, abandoning the art for all the years since.

What was meant to be a swift summer sojourn became a 4 year exile as in an unforeseen turn of events, the British ministry fell to pieces and political instability took hold of the country. On the bright side, she supposed, their lines had been proven to be purer than pure, as the Rosiers had been disproportionately affected by the outbreak of the disease. Though she supposed, with the more illustrious pureblood families of the Blacks and Lestranges already gone, the remainder weren’t much to contend with. Phaedra remained an extra year in order to avoid the marriage law, then again in order to ensure her mother's recovery, then again to accumulate some money for the journey back. And then finally, on the fourth year, she was free. Packing her bags and taking minimal funds from her mother’s family, she is finally returning to England, where her birthright lies.

Unbeknownst to her, her uncle has ensured the continuity of her exile by seizing and warding off all the remaining Rosier properties and vaults, leaving nothing in England for her to return to. Though she believes her biggest challenge in returning to England will be wrestling with the demons surrounding her brother, there are more troubles in store for her than she can imagine.


ALSO KNOWN AS: Alyssa

RP EXPERIENCE: enough

HOW YOU FOUND US: -

MAIN CHARACTER: Maddie McKay

I believe this is done!

I only have two things on this:

Be careful not to make her too over-powered when it comes to potions. I know it's a time-earned thing and that she's failed before but just, for future reference.

Also, RE: The Hayes fam-

Everyone knew that Aiden was a pureblood; it was Bridget who was assumed to be a Muggle. So it's not a big deal really as he was still considered a massive blood traitor, but I thought I'd clarify that. She wouldn't have know that Keiran wasn't a halfblood, though. So that part's fine. When she moves in with Bridget we can have her and Keiran clarify that for her.

Do you want her as a Death Eater or not? The Allegiance part wasn't clear.

That said, I'll get her sorted so you can start claims and we can figure out a starter for them

Yeah, no worries about that! Part of her character arc is the whole failure thing and then having to re-think her overconfidence (which it is), and she'll now recognise that more clearly. Plus, waaay out of practice.

And yep, the blood thing is going off her assumptions and prejudice. Just another thing to work out XP

Nope, not a DE, and thank you!