McAlarney, Adelaide - Muggle

[Adelaide McAlarney]

Accepted! Welcome to Hogwarts: The New Ages!

Full Character Name: Adelaide Victoria McAlarney
D.o.B./Age: 10 August 2013/15 yrs
Place of Residency: London, UK [school year]; Liverpool, UK [Summer, Winter Holidays]


Position Requesting:
Student (Muggle) at London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art


Credentials: 

• Auditioned for and was accepted to London Academy (2027)
• Leading roles in A Midnight Clear: The Musical (Maria/Penelope/Noura: 2024-25, St. Clare's School, London); Long Ago: A Grim Fairy Tale (Rose/Briar Rose: 2025, St. Clare's School, London); Much Ado: A Shakespeare Adaptation (Beatrice {B Cast}: 2026, St. Clare's School, London); and Heathers: The Musical (Veronica: 2027, St. Clare's School, London)
• Supporting roles in The Other Stepsister (Wicked Madam Geroux: 2024, St. Clare's School, London); 12th Night: A Shakespeare Adaptation (Feste, the Joker: 2025, St. Clare's School, London); A Midnight Clear: The Musical (Elisabeth/Sabah: 2025-26, St. Clare's School, London); Nineteenth Century Woman (Fanny Price: 2026, St. Clare's School, London); and A Christmas Carol: The Musical (Emily: 2026-27, St. Clare's School, London)

History:

Birth
10 August 2013
Adelaide Victoria McAlarney was born in Adelaide, Australia while her diplomat father was stationed there. As Special Consult to Great Britain from Australia, Lewis McAlarney already had a son, Bryce McAlarney , with his wife Jane Ellison McAlarney. Perhaps it helped that Jane was Special Consult to Australia representing Great British interests! Addie grew up between her father's station in Adelaide and her family's home in Brisbane.

Childhood
2013-2017
Adelaide began recording her memories in a children's diary given to her on her second birthday by her Uncle Christopher. Uncle Christopher and Aunt Lianna lived in Perth and regularly took over parental duties when Lewis and Jane were away on business. Having two children of their own, Uncle Christopher and Aunt Lianna raised their son, Tristan, and daughter, Trudy (Gertrude), as extended siblings of Bryce and Addie. In 2017, Lewis McAlarney was promoted to Australian Ambassador to Great Britain, and the McAlarneys moved from Australia to the Lake District in Northern England. Addie's diary from Uncle Christopher became a very important item - one that she would cherish for many years to come.

2018-2023
With the family now including three children - Bryce, Adelaide and Sydney McAlarney (born in Sydney, Australia in 2016) - the McAlarneys required more space to move around while not being too far from the Australian Embassy for Lewis. He never seemed to mind the commute to London from Northern England, but his absences left Jane to care for her three children, all under 10 years old. As the family was now better positioned in relation to the Ellison family, Jane called upon her brother, Calven, and sister, Joanne, to help out. Aunt Joanne and Uncle Matthew Howard were like extensions of Uncle Christopher and Aunt Lianna McAlarney: their three children - Anne (born 2008), Percy (born 2010), and Marcus (born 2014) - got along very well with the three McAlarney children. Adelaide and Anne became very fast friends, though they had five years between them. Marcus took it upon himself to be Sydney's protector, to the young girl's great distress! Even though Adelaide made annual trips back to Australia with her family, her transition to British life was chiefly seamless. In 2021, however, Anne Howard entered secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland, and suddenly her spare time to spend with Addie was stolen away by studying and football. Anne took to writing to Addie, and on some occasions when her club was in York or Chester, the girls would arrange a get-together. But mostly their lives had changed. Addie had taken a major interest in acting (her parents were really good at pretending to be in love, after all) and her interest led her to spend more spare time seeking roles in the community. She never landed anything very big among youth theater, but she got a break anyway when she sang "On My Own" (from Les Miserables) at a community talent show (loosely modeled after the TV show, "Britain's Got Talent"). Soon thereafter, a recruiter touched base with the McAlarneys inviting Addie to audition for admission to St. Clare's School for Dramatic Arts in London!

2024-present
Professor Jeannette Wade became Adelaide's personal mentor and adviser upon her acceptance to St. Clare's. A Cajun-American recruit, Professor Wade's relationship with Addie was closer than some of her other advisees: they could relate to each other being recruited and being from abroad. Professor Wade helped Addie develop her raw talent and expand her scope of talent from only musicals to stageplays as well. Addie's initial success - getting cast as the main antagonist Madam Geroux in a St. Clare's original The Other Stepsister - served as a foundation to build on. With Professor Wade's tough guidance (she didn't go easy on her advisees), a year later, Adelaide landed her first leading role as a protagonist in another St. Clare's original stageplay, Long Ago: A Grim Fairy Tale (she played the Extraordinary teenager Rose, a real world Briar Rose from the fairy tale, "Sleeping Beauty"). In the Spring of 2026, Addie won the lead role of Bea in Much Ado: A Shakespeare Adaptation in the B-Cast production (a traveling production cast), further earning her interest from the amateur theatre community. In 2028, she plans to begin enrollment at the London Academy for Music and Dramatic Arts, following her application and acceptance to the school, supported by Professor Wade.

"Muggle" versus "Witch"
2020
Though they always had their differences, Addie and Bryce got along very well for a brother and sister. Bryce did spend a few years away at boarding school in Switzerland - at their mother's suggestion/insistence - and distance made the heart grow fonder, for sure. Addie hated to see Bryce leave and she loved to see him return. They could and did tell each other everything! They established trust with each other very early on, and Addie held Bryce to it when he began to notice that he was different: he described an ability to do things that seemed just unthinkable - magic things! the stuff of fairy tales! - and Addie trusted that he was telling the truth. Bryce always had a fanciful way of talking about personal things that were, for him, shrouded in ambiguity. Addie thought this was one such thing. And then she noticed how her parents changed their attitudes toward him. The words, "magic", "magical", and "wizard" were thrown around conservatively and always in whispers as if someone invisible were listening in. In what would be Bryce's final year of boarding school, Addie felt a distance grow between them: had she underestimated him? Had she breached their unspoken Trust Pact?

2021
On the day that the owl arrived and delivered a fanciful letter with Bryce's name on it and a wax seal with a lion, badger, eagle and snake behind a large H, Addie's fascination overtook her. She read and reread the letter with Bryce, unsure what to make of it (but excited nonetheless). It seemed that a school for magic had accepted him (she didn't know he'd even applied) and that he was due to start in September. Once more, their parents appeared most apprehensive, though their dad was quicker to be supportive. Whereas "magic", "magical", "wizard" and now "Hogwarts" and "witch" were words thrown around in whispers, now they were spoken in plain daylight. To Addie's mixed delight and horror, it appeared that a world of magic did exist; that it was closer than she had dreamed it to be - believing it to always be bound to "a long time ago in a land far away" - and, most shockingly, not only did her brother belong to it but so did her father and a few uncles and aunts. Though she was initially happy for Bryce, the revelations had long lasting effects on her that would take a few years to process.

December 2021 - the end of Bryce's First Year
Regrettably, Addie only had a few months to pester her dad with questions about his world. Most of the time he deferred his answers using the all too familiar parenting phrase, "I'll explain more when you're older." He never got the chance: on Christmas Eve, 2021, Lewis McAlarney took ill suddenly and, with her uncle Marcus Ellison (also a Wizard) and aunt Anessa Giry (also a Witch) at their home, her father died. In the intervening months between Bryce's return to his new school, Hogwarts, and the summer holidays, Addie blamed him for their father's passing. Her actions were supported by their mother, who found many chances to place blame on this strange Wizarding world. Uncle Marcus and Aunt Anessa did their best, all the same, to be present for questioning from Addie, but it seemed that their answers were not enough. All they resulted in was confirmation that some form of magic had killed Lewis McAlarney. When Bryce returned for the holidays, Addie plagued him with questions, greatly testing their Trust Pact.

2022-2025
With Bryce's help, supported by Aunt Anessa, Addie came around to the fact that some Witches and Wizards were "Dark" but not all of them had malicious intent on their minds. With Bryce, she felt that his world was, in fact, a marvelous place that existed in a time loop from the mediaeval times, and when he stepped into it, he was allowed to use magic, but when he stepped out of it, he was just her brother again. He brought back some really great stories about things that had happened at school - including a violent-sounding sport called Kwid-ditch - and as she listened to him, she realized that they lived remarkably similar lives, even though his included magical spells and charms.

And curses too. Just when it seemed that her apprehension with the Wizarding World had evaporated, Bryce and another boy at school got cursed by a little Georgian sorcerer that had been adopted into the McAlarney's home in Bryce's third year. It wasn't until after the fact that Addie learned about it, and from her brother as well, so she knew he survived. But her apprehension returned when he described the awful things he'd seen while in a magical coma. From that point on, Addie was touch and go with magic and the Wizard World; she even had a difficult relationship with her own labeling as a "Muggle". 

2026
Magic seemed to have no end game for Addie. Its close relationship with death struck not once or twice but four times in 2026. Its first two victims were the ex-wife, Sarah Wickham, and girlfriend, Kate Greene, of her uncle Peighton McAlarney. Neither of the women were Witches themselves, but for some reason they were killed for their association with her magical Aunt Anessa - a mystery never fully explained. The third victim was Aunt Anessa herself (an event to which Bryce was witness along with his girl-friend Pru Young). Finally, as if three murders weren't enough, a freak plane crash claimed their mother's life and, to everyone's horror (though it was a mistake) the life of Bryce and Addie's sister, Sydney. It would be several months before the truth about Sydney's survival would reach the family, and in that meantime, Bryce shared with Addie his fears that Sydney was like him. By the time Sydney did return home to Great Britain, Addie had given up on magic and trying to figure out Bryce's world. She dove into her own theatrical world to escape the chaos of the other worlds around her.

2027-present
Because St. Clare's was nestled in the older neighborhoods north of Central London, Adelaide spent a lot of time with her magical cousin, Caleb Giry, to whom she could relate best as he was starting to find his place in the cadre of young professional actors in the UK. As he was also a Wizard, he was in the best position to help Addie understand his world better, and his gentle nature made it easier for her to approach him with questions. Through many conversations, Caleb was able to show Addie that the Muggle world was far more dangerous that the Wizard world, but that both were vulnerable to the whims of people, nothing more and nothing less. He spoke in terms she could understand, and before long Addie began to change her views on magic and Magic Folk. Without taking into account recent events in the Wizarding World, Addie continues to look at the two worlds with an open mind.

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Personality Description: {at least 2 good sized paragraphs}

Addie likes to laugh and have fun. Friends like to have her at parties and gatherings because she lightens the mood. She's not afraid to approach new people and make them feel like they're old friends, so the younger students at St. Clare's have gravitated to her in the last three years of her enrollment there. Her innocent nature is infectious, even though she isn't naive herself. She enjoys people who have an optimistic outlook on life, but she can get very short-tempered with people who choose to be pessimistic or like being downers. She's been taking tap dance lessons through St. Clare's since she was recruited to the school, and she likes to go dancing wherever jazz and swing music plays.

Despite being a very social character, Addie is very serious about her aspirations to be an actress. Whenever she has some free time, she devours plays like drugs. Her spectrum of interest ranges from modern works to Shakespeare and Marlowe. She's tried her hand at adapting novels to stageplays, but so far she hasn't accomplished much in play-writing Still, her determination to succeed in show business has spurred her on to continue trying whatever creative process she can until one or more fit. 

Physical Description:

Height: (can be metric or unit) 5'6"
Weight/Build: Average build
Skin Tone: Tan-white
Hair Color and Style: naturally brown but currently dyed blonde for a role, usually tied in a braid in the back
Eye Color: hazel-green
Personal Scent: morning dew

Adelaide looks like a younger version of her late mother. Everyone in the family agrees that if she were a natural blonde, they would be looking at Jane Ellison as a young woman. Jane, they tell her, was a dancer at Addie's age and when Addie taps on stage, they see the resemblance even more. That said, Addie responds to life more like Lewis, her father. Her clothing style reflects her positivity and casual outlook. Often Addie chooses bright colors to compliment her fairer skin and natural brown hair, and when the weather is good, she can be seen in sundresses just about all the time. In the colder months, she chooses heavier clothing but mostly plaid cotton dresses. Her favorite plaid design to wear is the Ellison family tartan. She likes to step outside these designs at times, but she has had to learn how to sew in order to feed her interest in fashion. Like all teenage girls, Addie's fashion changes, but she tries to make the modifications gradual. Her best friends at St. Clare's - Anne Blaney, Hannah Goodrich, Morgane Blevins, Salima Rushad and Llenora McClure - sport a wide variety of fashions: Anne and Llenora like to wear empire-waist dresses that suit their Victorian styles well; Morgane is a very proud Welsh-Irish woman, so her style fluctuates from Welsh to Irish and back; Hannah is very experimental with the clothes she makes (being a gifted seamstress) and sometimes her ideas and designs are really modern and exciting; and Salima always looks very alluring in her hijab (she likes light blue, light yellow and black scarves to use as her head-covering being from a Pakistani Muslim family), and her saris and flowing skirts inspire Addie to reconsider some of her own traditional choices for clothing.

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Likes: {at least List 3}
Favorite Colours

• Ruby Red
• Purple and Orange (combo)
• Electric Blue and Pink (combo)
• Autumn leaves Orange

Favorite Times of the Year

1. Christmas/Yule!
2. Early Spring (when it's rainy and overcast but warm)
3. Autumn!!!

Favorite Times of the Day

1. Early Morning (before dawn, when there's a stillness as the natural world wakes up)
2. Early Tea (because she's a social person, and Early Tea is so much fun!)
3. Sunset (Orange is a favorite colour, so...duh!)
4. Twilight

Favorite Foreign Foods (not including sweets)

• Tofu and Vegetables with Green Curry Paneer
• Chinese Eggplant with Mushrooms and Bamboo shoots
• Jambalaya (nothing beats some good Cajun cooking)

Favorite Domestic Foods (not including sweets)

• Bangers and Mash!
• Lamb Pasties
• Shepherd's Pie

Favorite Activities

• Socializing
• Laughing
• Working together with other thespians on creative theatrical projects

Loves

• Bryce McAlarney and Sydney McAlarney
• Caleb and Ben Carroll-Giry (step-cousins)
• Uncle Calven Ellison
• Nate and Jenna McNamara (cousins)
• Anne, Percy and Marc Howard (cousins)

Dislikes: {at least List 3}
Least Favorite Colours

• Light Brown
• Sandy Yellow/Beige
• Lime Green (yuck!)

Least Favorite Times of the Year

1. The Bleak Midwinter (February, basically)
2. December 26th and January 2nd (they're such let-downs!)
3. Whenever someone she loves has to go away (so, August 31st is a sad day)

Least Favorite Times of the Day

1. "A" Period at school (Everyone's a pessimist when the day begins! It sucks!)
2. 14:00-15:00 (Energy is really low at this time, even though it coincides with Early Tea)
3. Immediately after supper

Least Favorite Foreign Foods (not including Scottish foods)

• Haggis (okay...had to put that down despite the disclaimer about Scottish foods)
• Blood pudding (oops...also Scottish!)
• Calamari 

Least Favorite Domestic Foods

• Liver
• Fois Gras (oops...that's technically French)
• Coffee! 

Least Favorite Activities

• Writing book reports
• Working with unnecessarily anxious people
• Working with pessimistic people

Hates

• Bullies
• Wizard-/Witch-haters
• Terrorists

Special Talents: {at least 1 good sized paragraph}

Addie is a sweet girl, regarding everyone she meets as a potential friend, but along with her sweetness and her openness, she is vulnerable to naivete. One example comes from her mishaps with romance, choosing her co-star from Long Ago: A Grim Fairy Tale, Nate Sattson, as an off-stage boyfriend. Nate, it turned out, was into boys as well, which didn't bode well for their quick romance! True to form, Addie is still friends with Nate and his boyfriend. Her sweetness has also lost her some potential leading roles in plays and musicals. In casting 12th Night: A Shakespeare Adaptation Addie was asked in callbacks if she liked the spotlight. She replied she liked being seen, but that she thought her friends Vanessa James and Christine Macumber were better suited to play the leads. She also said she felt bad taking a lead role from an upperclasswoman like Macumber since Christine was due to graduate that spring. As a result, she didn't get the lead roles (Viola went to Vanessa James, and Olivia went to Christine Macumber), even though the casting director thought she deserved either one! 

RP Example: {at least 2 good sized paragraphs}

The theater was buzzing with activity: stage crew were building the movable sets, the materials crew were busy working on costumes and chatting excitedly, and the music director had a group of the leads clustered around the piano. Addie made her way over to the group at the piano, waving to the stage crew and diverting a moment to set down her own material pieces with the sewing circle. "Gonna join us later, Addie?" Hannah, one of the seamstresses called out brightly. Addie nodded with a smile and adjusted her side bag as she joined the leads at the piano. They were just warming up, so Addie joined in after setting her bag down. Nate winked at her from across the circle, and she considered winking back, but considering the drama he'd put her through, she had no intention of encouraging his flirtation. She wasn't even sure he knew that he was gay, but she hadn't been cast into the role of revealer for him; he needed to make that discovery on his own. Morgane Blevins - standing next to her - suppressed a giggle though. Addie had tried to tell Morgane that Nate wasn't her type...or rather that she wasn't his type...but it hadn't gone well. In the interest of avoiding conflict, Addie had let it go, but she cared about Morgane enough to want better for her. 

They sang through the leads' songs and then moved on to character development with the music director. Addie was going to have a meeting with her later to discuss adding her character development into her songs, but that meeting was set up for another day. After the music director let them go, Addie joined the sewing circle and attempted to finish her costume. Nate kept to the background, just within her vision, which annoyed her despite her sunny disposition. The theater emptied and got quieter as crew members finished their work and seamstresses finished their pieces. Finally, Hannah set down her sewing and turned to face Addie directly. "So...." She began. "So what?" Addie asked. 
"So you and Nate aren't a thing anymore? Rumor has it."
Addie sighed. "We have differences of opinion. It wasn't supposed to work for very long."
"But he'd like the cutest guy at school!" Hannah gushed. Finally she sighed. "Were you jealous that other girls were noticing him?"
Addie smirked. "No. It wasn't only girls though was it?"
Hannah gaped. "No!!! But Nate's not...."
Addie sighed again and set down her sewing. "You promise to keep it secret? It's not my truth to tell."
Hannah nodded, though Addie was skeptical. Nevertheless, she sighed again. "Okay," she began weighing her words.

How You Found Us (Optional): I write Bryce and Sydney McAlarney as well!