leighton messner

Leighton olivia messner

a character study | #pottersarmyrpg

i. background
ii. magical info
iii. personality
iv. relationships

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introduction/background

Scott Messner had no idea that the woman he had fallen so quickly for had such a unique secret. Though when he finally was told, everything had only made that much more sense. The mystical aura that seemed to constantly swarm her like a cloud, and filled up every room she walked into, her enchanting voice— a whimsical presence was the best way to describe the young witch.

Their daughter was born on a warm summer day in mid-September making a two week early presence, the day of Leighton Messner’s birth unknowingly foreshadowed the girl’s radiant and passionate personality in store for her later years. Leighton’s mother was similar in this aspect, ever so charming and compassionate, while still being grounded by her morals and sense of justice. These traits would only cost the young mother in the near future.

Leighton’s mother was impassioned on the rights of those without pure blood, she made sure to reiterate the ideas of tolerance, acceptance, and using any form of privilege as a platform to speak out for those who cannot to Leighton from a young age. Though Leighton’s time with her mother would be cut short, these values would stick with her forever. Her mother was a known nemesis to those involved in the death eaters circle, strongly against dark magic and training as an auror on the side. Her decision to try and shelter her family by keeping the knowledge of the dangers that constantly lurked in the shadows of their illusion of safety would only make her death that much more shocking.

Leighton’s mother was murdered out of cold blood only a few weeks before Leighton’s fifth birthday. Her actions of not only marrying a muggle, but also birthing a half-blood child were seen as heinous by the extremists, and her role in defense against dark magic only made the target on her back bolder.

Ever since the news of her mother’s death, a dark cloud took hold of the Messner household, looming for years. The light and color once brought to the home by her mother was replaced with unsaturated emptiness. The air lingered with bitterness, and a cold atmosphere took permanent residence in the Messner home, contrasting the warmth of the late Spring.

Scott Messner resentful attitude directed itself towards many victims— towards those who ripped his wife away for politics he just couldn’t comprehend, towards his wife for shielding him so long and letting him naively believe she was safe and handling herself just fine, towards the magical world in general for taking away his once dream-like family.

Leighton’s father never outwardly resented his daughter, the one thing his late lover left to him could not be something he truly resented, but he could not deny the fact that she grew to be a constant reminder of the pain, and the anger. Leighton knew, her dad never explicitly stated it, and wouldn’t for many years, but every time he tensed up when she pulled out her mother’s old copy of Hogwarts: a History, every furrow of his brow when she tried on her mother’s old quidditch gear and shake of the head when she asked what her mother used it for, every stretch of silence that extended when Leighton begged to know more about her magical side; Leighton knew that in his eyes, she would always represent the thing he resented most: the magical world, never would she be seen as something better than a burden.

At eight years old, Leighton’s father remarried, and when at age nine, her first half-sister was born. The joy and clarity that filled her father at his second chance in life was bittersweet to witness, their house brightened once again, but the fact of the matter is Leighton would always be the looming cloud of his past.

Despite her burdensome presence, Leighton refused to lose her spark, maintaining her confident and passionate personality throughout her school days. Though the girl’s desire to be the light and happiness in just about all she came into contact with fulfilled itself easily through her outgoing and valiant personality, she knew that she could never be that for the person she wished to impress the most. Leighton knew the first rule of caring for others and it was to push aside her emotions to make room for theirs, her pain became something unseen by everyone except herself.

The day Leighton’s Hogwarts letter came was a shock to her and her father. They were so uneducated on the Magical world, and her father was never keen on trying to educate himself any further, not ever concerning himself with trying to find out how they even began enrollment in Magical schooling. Therefore a problem that they didn’t ever see coming arose in the household.

Leighton knew this was her chance— her chance to live up to her mother’s legacy and expectations, her chance to escape living every day as the burden to the household, her chance to experience a new life. The feelings Scott Messner had suppressed for so long came to life that evening at dinner when Leighton brought up the topic of her invitation, she didn’t know a lot about the magical world but she knew this opportunity was one she couldn’t pass up.

Her father did not conceal his disappointment and general anger in his daughter’s supposed “betrayal”, going on about how she could want to associate with the sorcery that killed her mother, but Leighton would not step down. Her desire to be somewhere she belonged, no matter outweighed any consequences.

Despite the lack of support and assistance from her family, Leighton made her way onto that train in late fall, waving goodbye to her father, step-mother, and now two younger half siblings. Her stubbornness and desire for exploration that could bring her closer to her mother sheltering her from the hidden thoughts of if she had made a mistake.

The placement into Gryffindor was not completely a surprise, but nonetheless an exciting feat for eleven year old Leighton. Her passionate and sociable personality made for an easy fit into the maroon and gold house, and she seemed to be making friends rather quickly with her witty remarks and blunt humor, especially since she refused to be intimidated nor nervous around just about anyone. For the first time in her life Leighton felt some weight lifted off of her shoulders. Despite the Hogwarts castle’s thick, stony walls, navigating through the castle felt like the first time she could take a breath of fresh air, she was home.

Naturally this fairy-tale like experience was far too good to be true, and did not last all seven years at Hogwarts, as not too long into her first few weeks, Leighton’s exposure to the existing prejudices of the Wizarding World proved the world was not as innocent as it seemed. The knowledge that her blood was considered dirty, or impure was obviously not thrilling to the now twelve year old witch, and was only beginning for the long battle that was ahead.

Leighton’s insecurity of not belonging and being unwanted had never stopped her before, and would not now. she stood up for her lineage, and those around her when necessary, making her less than popular with the school’s local death eater converts. That being said, she refused to be intimidated nor offended by their comments, typically brushing them off with a sarcastic comment about just how great they were at making friends, and her jokes about still meeting them for tea later typically would keep most off her back. Leighton’s stubborn personality was found quite charming to many, and she found herself making friends rather quickly.

Leighton’s desire to prove her father wrong about the magical world, and to live up to her mother’s legacy, led to Leighton’s drive in her schooling. Leighton wanted to learn everything she could about magic, and therefore she worked hard in her studies, earning her grades that any father would be proud of, or so she thought. Her success in school only furthered the strain between Leighton and her father though, as not only was his daughter learning magic, but she was good at it as well.

Her success in the social and academic scene wasn’t Leighton’s main goal in her attendance at the school, as she still desired to know everything about her mother’s time in the magical world, and more specifically, who led to her ultimate demise. She tended to talk to her professors to gain more insight on her mother’s time in the magical world, and it brought the young witch a lot of pride learning her mother’s participation in the fight against dark magic.

Leighton’s realization that her mother died in the defense from dark magic was one that gave her both pride and grief, and sharing the knowledge of the reality of her mother’s death with her father caused the biggest fight to date. Though she was trying to convince her father that most wizards were not dark, and that was not the reality of the wizard world, he refused to hear her, and both of them said many harmful things to each other, confirming many of Leighton’s insecurities as the burden of her father.

Going into her fourth year after the fallout with her father, Leighton’s confident aura never faltered, but her newfound interest in the party scene could be jotted down to the insecurities brought by her father if anyone looked hard enough. The fallout with her father quickly followed by a fallout with her best friend took a toll on Leighton, but with her rule of maintaining her tough persona and avoiding emotions left her with only one solution and that was to suppress her insecurities and pain with boys and alcohol.

Throughout the later years, leighton grew better at handling her pain, mostly thanks to having Drew Ambrosi by her side. The girl did not give up attendance in the party scene, but began to direct her energy towards guiding the younger half bloods and muggle borns around her. Her desire to stand up for others and take care of them inevitably led her to the decision to attend hogwarts in her seventh year, hoping to defend her friends, and her home.

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magical info

Education: Attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1991 to 1998.

Blood status: Half-blood— her father a muggle whilst her mum of witch descent.

House: Gryffindor

Wand: The summer of ‘91, Ollivander paired the then eleven year old Leighton with a wand of redwood and phoenix feather core, 13 inches and of supple flexibility. Wands of redwood are known to lean to wizards who hold the admirable ability to fall on their feet, to make the right choice, and to snatch advantage from catastrophe… an ode to Leighton’s relentless positivity and ability to push forward despite her harsh upbringing.

Loyalty in War: Hogwarts, The Order

Patronus: Leopard—if one looked closely, Leighton Messner’s patronus reflects the own girl’s personality quite well, specifically in combat. Leopards tend to be rather mysterious, independent and graceful (the latter questionable in reference to the gryffindor). They are self-assured, aggressive, and somewhat intimidating— though not common for Leighton, these traits are applicable when she, or anyone the girl cares for, is threatened.

Amortentia: the scent of citrus immediately overwhelms her senses as the young leighton messner catches her first whiff of amortentia. freshly squeezed oranges and lemons dancing their way through the mist that if she shuts her eyes she can almost see the warm summer days of making lemonade and orange juice with her mother. the smell reminds her of her innocence, so pleasing it pushes back the thoughts of how quickly the simple days were stolen from her.

the next scent seemed to sneakily replace the first, as all of a sudden the girl’s mind was brought to sandy beaches and crashing waves before the smell of a sea breeze came over her. with the openness of the ocean always intriguing and exciting the young witch, this scent came least shockingly to her. with her adventurous spirit the sea had the perfect elements of uncertainty and beauty that captivated the girl from a young age, while still having an unusually calming aura that brought leighton both comfort and bliss.

the final wave came over her more slowly, a warmer vanilla scent with a hint of peach shampoo combining for an aroma that could be attributed to none other than leighton’s best friend. drew hazel ambrosi was typically accompanied by a peaches and cream-like scent that leighton would recognize instantly at any given point in time. naturally though, the naive gryffindor denied her own mind this knowledge for years, constantly trying to convince herself that either the smell had nothing to do with the other gryffindor girl, or that she was smelling something different all together. it would be many years before leighton would finally address the truth regarding the enchanting potion, but deep down leighton knew that the final scent was the one that captivated her most.

Mirror of Erised: If Leighton were to glance in the Mirror of Erised, she’d be met by the gaze of three familiar, yet equally unfamiliar, people in her reflection. The first of hazel eyes, belonging to none other than herself, smiling with a look of foreign innocence washed over her features. Behind her own reflection would stand her parents, her hazy memory of the two together suddenly as fresh as newly cut grass. Her dad, smiling warmly at her, sharing the same gaze she catches him giving Claire and Leila. In his hand, he clasps tightly to a tall brunette, a face Leighton now can only recall from faded photographs. Cool hazel-green eyes would crinkle as a smile full of evident pride would paint her mum’s features. Charlotte Messner would share a knowing nod to her daughter, as if to say “You are me, and more darling.”

Boggart: In the fall of ‘93, Leighton discovered in Professor Lupin’s Defence against the Dark Arts class that her boggart feeds off of none other than her fear of being utterly alone— something that should’ve been so painfully obvious. When the old wardrobe was twisted open with a flick of Lupin’s wand, eerie fog flooded from within and in moments, surrounded the thirteen year old in a misty veil giving the illusion of complete and total isolation, faded voices there but out of reach. in a moment of uncharacteristic weakness for the girl, hot tears pricked her eyes for only a mere seconds before muttering “ridikkulus”, the fog dispersing into fluffy clouds and the far-away voices melting into shrieking laughter as little leprechauns jumped to and fro, leaving rainbows in their path.