Elizabeth Kathleen Howard

ELIZABETH KATHLEEN HOWARD

Full Name:      Elizabeth Kathleen Howard Nicknames:      Liz, Lizzy, Lizzers, Lizard… the opportunities are endless Date of Birth:      13 November, 1959 Hometown:      London, England Education:      Ravenclaw, Class of 1978 Blood Status:      Muggle-born Occupation:      Floo Network Officer Employer:      Ministry of Magic Wand Type:      Holly and Unicorn Hair, 11 inches

APPEARANCE

Hair:
     Liz's hair is naturally black and puts up a fight whenever she attempts to tame it. She prefers
Eyes:
     Large and blue
Height:
     5'6"
Style:
     Liz hates uniforms. Her parents are rather well-to-do types who sent her to posh private schools before Hogwarts and while the robes were interesting, she still absolutely detested them. She also disliked the fancy clothes her mother always bought her and opted instead for the street clothes that she could afford with her allowance. She likes to wear a lot of black but not exclusively, as she at the same time has a great fondness for bright and vibrant colors. She’s also a fan of accessories, large jewelry and unique hats and sunglasses. While she won’t admit it, her eyesight is terrible and only when she reads for an extended period of time will she break out her thick-framed glasses.
Etc.:
     Liz would have a pear-shaped figure if it weren’t for her broad shoulders. She has wide hips, a full bust, and long limbs whose largeness has always been a source of grief for the poor girl. Liz has a thick Londoner accent, one that's neither posh nor cockney, but rather a delicate breeding of the two. Liz is an average-looking sort of girl that many would call pretty, but there’s nothing about her that really makes her stand out in the crowd, something she's always hated about herself. She does her best to get your attention, whether it be by bleaching her hair, wearing loud clothes, or just by being loud in general.

PERSONALITY

Erised:
     Liz wants love, whether it be in the form of attention, affection or anything romantic.
Dementor:
     The smell of singed hair, the screams of her parents and brother which were swallowed by the flames that she escaped only because she apparated out of the exploding carriage on instinct. She was too numb after that to fight during the Battle of Hogsmeade, and she has vague recollections of the carnage that she witnessed.
Patronus:
     Finding out she was a witch. Her Muggle classmates had always accused Liz of being a little odd and when she realized that she was special instead of strange, Elizabeth felt true happiness. Her patronus takes the form of a swan, which she’s never understood, but appreciates as it's pretty.
Boggart:
     Fire
Likes:
     Pop culture, literature, Chanel, smoking, soda pop, pleasing people, bubblegum, junk food, her best friend, hot showers and baths, Ravenclaw, reading pretty much anything, receiving any sort of praise at work, keeping her desk at work and her flat at home clean and spotless and perfectly organized
Dislikes:
     Disappointing people (she has trouble denying anyone anything), violence, people who don’t read the news, mean-spirited jokes, cauliflower, stereotypes, being accused of anything, mornings, doing poorly in class, being ignored or overlooked, talking about anything that makes her sad or overly emotional
Basic Personality:
     Elizabeth Howard is an extremely absent-minded person. She’ll often shut off the lights when other people are still in the room or forget what she’s doing mid-activity. Much of this can be attributed to how little her family expected of her when it came to responsibilities, always doing things for her or having things done for her. Her mother often claims it’s a trait she inherited from her father, but Liz has had heard her mother ask, “Now, what was I doing?” too many times to believe her mother faultless. Her mind isn’t completely useless, however, as Liz is quite extraordinarily clever. She’s not a prodigy by any means, but she listens more carefully than most people do and is the self-disciplined sort who knows what it takes to get her work done. That is a trait her parents don’t often see at home, but her classmates and professors have always admired.
     Her roommates know Liz to be charming, a little moody, and a heavy sleeper, but what they have yet to discover is that Liz is a bit of a kleptomaniac. She likes to take little things or 'borrow without asking,' making use of her roommates’ shampoo or make-up without bothering with permission. She doesn’t even think of it as a bad thing, seeing as she wouldn't particularly care if anyone used her things. Liz doesn't want anyone to find out though, since she knows she’d still get into trouble if they did.
     Liz has always been lucky at cards, unlucky in love. Her first boyfriend during her fifth year mocked her incessantly. At first he did it as a joke, but in the end he turned out to just be mean and a bit of a racist. Unfortunately he dumped her before she could dump him, which set a horrible precedent. She’s yet to find a boy who treats her with much respect and has come to expect very little from her relationships, yet she still wants to be in one.
     Her best friend was a boy in her house and year at Hogwarts and she followed around everywhere. She still doesn't know how he can stand her, but apparently he's grown accustomed to her idle chatter, which is her nervous way of filling the silence he contributes to a conversation. She's been madly in love with him for so long that she can't remember not loving him, but she's too afraid to tell him because she suspects her feelings won't be reciprocated.
     With people she doesn't know as well, however, Liz tends to be at a loss for what to say. That doesn't mean she goes quiet, rather she tends to ramble incoherently until told to stop. She has an undeniable need to please people and doesn't like to say no to anyone, which has led to some rather poor decisions on her part. Her past isn't completely full of regrets and she has too much pride to admit that she's ever been taken advantage of, which she is often. She always puts up a fight when this happens, but she caves in the end.

FAMILY HISTORY

Parents:
     Maxwell Howard (b. 19 November, 1927 - d. 24 June, 1978) and Charlotte Howard (b. 2 February, 1928 - d. 24 June, 1978)
Siblings:
     Rebecca Jane Carlson (b. 25 September, 1954), Charles Alexander Howard (b. 17 July, 1963 - d. 24 June, 1978)
Spouse/Significant Other:
     N/A
Children:
     N/A
Other Family:
     She's got an aunt that lives in Chelsea that she never talks to, plus a number of other cousins and such that she's never been close to.
Pets:
     Bernie, a beautiful tawny owl that’s as absent-minded as she is
Biography:
     The Howards are a very wealthy family who have long lived in London. They own a rather large townhome on Landsdowne Road in Holland Park, an affluent part of London near Notting Hill and Hyde Park. Maxwell Howard owned a PR firm that he inherited from his father, and his wife was a socialite with a devotion to charity. Six years ago they donated enough money to add a new wing to the hospital where Charlotte's mother passed away.
     Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Charlie Howard were as different as any three children could be. Rebecca, the eldest, married a businessman from America and now lives in Manhattan with him and her three year old daughter, Isobel. She is very much like her mother, heavy into society but with a good heart and a dedication to charity. Charlie Howard was a bit of a mess - irresponsible, inappropriate, but very smart and the most charming of all three of the Howard children. He studied Eton and made his family extremely proud by earning a spot in the Eton choir as a second tenor. Elizabeth Howard, often called Liz or sometimes Lizzie (her best mates love to call her Lizzers) is a bit more difficult to label. She's definitely smart and very rarely disappointed her parents in her academics, but she has this insatiable need to please people that has led her to do some really stupid things, things that she knew better than to do at the time.
     When Elizabeth turned eleven she received her Hogwarts letter, and the world suddenly made sense to her. It was strange and frightening to be called a witch; her initial reaction was to be insulted by being called something other than normal. However, Professor Dumbledore visited with her and her family a month after she received her first letter and explained to her what Hogwarts was and what it meant to be a Muggle-born witch. He was strange, wore unusual clothes and had the longest hair and beard she'd ever seen on anyone that wasn't wearing a costume. And yet she thought he was wonderful, and any school where he was headmaster couldn't be so bad. Maybe there the things that made her stand out at school would make her normal by their standards.
     Part of her was greatly relieved that school at Hogwarts wasn't too different from her Muggle primary school. Kids were still kids, homework was still homework, but Liz found herself much more dedicated to learning than she had when attending French class back in London. Transfiguration was easily her best subject, and during her fourth year she earned Ravenclaw a heap of house points for her creative project of turning a tiny duckling into a beautiful swan. She owed a lot to the story, though.
     Liz is quite the party girl but she frequently opts for staying in over going out. She's a bit and flirtatious and is known for being a rather slutty drunk. She's good at making friends and has more or less achieved what she longs for the most in her life - a sense of being unique without being 'that strange girl.'
     Her family's carriage was one of the first to explode during the Battle of Hogsmeade that took place after the Class of 1978's graduation ceremony. She instinctively apparated to a spot twenty feet away before she could suffer terrible burns, but her parents and her younger brother were all killed. She froze with shock but made it out with nothing but a few second degree burns and twisted ankle. That summer was the bleakest of her life, especially when confronting her older sister about why the rest of their family were gone. Rebecca resents Liz for their deaths, but the sister's were never very close, so Liz doesn't count it as much of a loss. Still, she carries the guilt with her even to this day, even though it wasn't her fault that they were attacked, aside from the fact that they wouldn't have been there in the first place if she hadn't invited them to graduation, if she hadn't ever been a witch in the first place.
     During the four years since graduation, Liz has stayed in good contact with her friends, who have become her surrogate family and to whom she is incredibly loyal and protective. She continues to work at the same job at the Floo Network Offices, but she has high hopes for a promotion in the near future. She lives in London in a flat she can afford largely due to the money her parents left her, and over the years she's had a number of roommates who have either gotten married or found someone else they'd rather live with.

PLAYER INFORMATION

Name:
     Becks
Payment:
     10 from everyone except James and Christopher
Comments:
     Here we go again