Stonebridge Family
Heraldry
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Family Crest:  |
Family Motto: Ad Serviendem Bono (To Serve Righteousness) |
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Family History and Description
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The Stonebridge Family's deepest roots are shrouded in the mists of time, but carefully kept family records show they were around at least four hundred years after the construction of Stonehenge. The venerable family made a leap in power with William the Conqueror in 1066, as one of the first Saxon families to support the new Norman king. Stonebridge Castle was renovated and enlarged in 1067 and finished in 1071 as most of the cost was borne by the king in return for the Stonebridge's allegiance. However, the families roots in the wizarding community go back even before Arthurian times, when the family, behind their head Sir Aelfric of the Fire and his sister Lady Aethelu, supported good King Arthur and his councilor, the famous Merlin. However, while the family was prosperous during Arthur's rule, once Merlin disappeared, Morgan Le Fay was able to bring about a final curse to the family, to suffer numerous and untimely deaths for all time. This curse has lasted until the present day, with numerous attempts to lift it, all to no avail. In 1141, even the famous witch Hatti Lestentedus was unable to break the curse, though she did discover that the key to lifting it would depend upon one family member pure enough of heart and filled with honor and courage, who carried the letter A to begin their name...the Scion of Aelfric. Thus began the naming convention of the family, which continues to this day. The Stonebridge family still lives largely in Herefordshire, England, in Stonebridge Castle, though it was mostly converted to a manor house in 1668, with the proceeds the family had been given by a grateful populace, when they had helped the area avoid the majority of the plague that ravaged the nation at that time. Unfortunately, the curse still continues as strong as ever, and as individuals, the Stonebridges are a serious, zen-like lot in the majority, seeing life as a quest to find the greatest good for those around them, always hoping that one of them will become the humble, honorable braveheart that will heal the family of its centuries-old curse.
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Family Members
Aelred Stonebridge
 Name: Lord Aelred Stonebridge
A bit more in depth: Aelred served as an Auror, tasked mostly with foreign duties throughout his career, which is how he met his wife Lucerne Lavigne in the Bordeaux region of France. It truly was love at first sight for them, and theirs was a strong, passionate marriage, both dedicated to each other and their family. Once he had lost his keen reflexes with age, he moved into the position of instructor for new aurors, and earned a fierce reputation as one of the toughest, most exacting trainers the Ministry had ever employed. He trained both his oldest son Aelfred and his son's husband Sutherland, both of whom he regards as outstanding examples of stout English gentlemen and excellent, skilled aurors. After losing his wife to complications of the birth of his youngest son Adalmund, and years later an adult Adalmund, his wife Temerita, and all but one of their children--their youngest son, Aelfric--he lost much of the glow of life he'd possessed earlier in his life. While still an honorable, consistent, respected member of the English nobility, he became ever more focused on finding a way to remove the centuries-old curse on the Stonebridge family. He retired from his position as Master Trainer, and began to plan for the future...actually the future life of Aelfric, whom he saw as the Scion, because of the prophecy his seer wife spoke just before her death. To this day, after the death of his grown twin son and daughter, and two more grandchildren, he has only become more dedicated to molding Ric into what he needs him to be--the savior of the family. But, as honorable and devoted as he is to his family, he is actually sacrificing Ric's own freedom and individuality in order to make an attempt at a possible removal of the curse--there is no actual guarantee that Ric is the Scion, or that he will ever know what is necessary to remove the curse. Aelred is too focused on the possibilities to see the damage he is doing to his near-grown grandson, who he loves as dearly as the son he lost, but usually fails to express it in meaningful ways. A note on Aelred's magic skills: Aelred is a master of dueling, wordless magic, charms, and hexes. He despises wandless magic, considering it both dishonorable and unmanly to fight without a wand. His broom-riding skills were legendary as a younger man, and he still retains enough agility to outride many younger men and women. He is very traditional and conservative over magic and its history, but exceedingly liberal on most other matters, such as his full acceptance of the sexuality of his eldest son Aelfraed and his husband Sutherland. |
Lucerne Lavigne-Stonebridge
 Name: Lady Lucerne Lavigne-Stonebridge
A bit more in depth: Lucerne's family, the Lavigne's, are a more moderate pureblood French wizarding family. She met Aelred when they were both working with the French Ministry of Magic. She, like her daughter Aethelwith, was an Unspeakable. |
Aelfraed Stonebridge
 Family position: Eldest son
A bit more in depth: Fred is a perfect example of the kind of men that the Stonebridges produce: Strong of mind and body, honorable, hard-working, humble, and possessed of leadership skills that induce others to seek out his council and guidance. He met his husband Sutherland Burrows after they both had become aurors. Sutherland was the one to pine after Fred, but their relationship did not begin for almost ten more years. Now a devoted couple, their strong bond of love produces a valuable pair of talented men for the good of the family. Both are tireless seekers of justice, and they spend much of their free time searching out any additional information they can find on removing the curse from their family. |
Sutherland Burrows
 Family position: Husband of Aelfraed
A bit more in depth: Suth looked forward to being an auror from a very young age. His family was primarily civil service jobs in the Ministry, or small shopkeepers in Coventry and the surrounding villages. it is virtually impossible to get Suth down. He exudes a fervent lust for life, and takes joy in assisting others to let down their guard and enjoy life as they are, in the moment. His personality was the perfect match for his husband Aelfraed, and they are inseparable. Suth loves his nieces and nephews intensely, and spends a particularly large amount of time with Ric and Lithie, though he also continues to work on Thella, as he understands her personality change, and refuses to give up on helping her return to her former, compassionate personality. |
Aethelswith Stonebridge-Gumery
 Family position: Eldest daughter
A bit more in depth: Thelsa is a mother, a wife, a daughter, and a sister, but most importantly, she is a caring soul, and has dedicated herself to the service of others, focusing on the welfare of the unfortunate and downtrodden as the co-director, with her husband, of a charity for both muggle and wizard families afflicted by poverty. She is almost obsessively protective of her children, whether biological, or adopted. Her behavior has caused some strain between her and Ric, but it is her relationship with her eldest daughter Thella that has become worrisome. Thella, seeking her own independence, has virtually cut her mother out of her own heart, resenting her for her smothering tactics. Thelsa herself is in denial of all of it, and this will only cause the situation to get worse. Thelsa is deeply in love with her husband D'Arielle. He swept her off of her feet when they first met. He'd been a rogue and somewhat of a player, but at first sight and sound of Aethelswith, he was brought low, and has never looked admiringly at another woman since--she is the rising and setting sun in his eyes. For her part, Thelsa has always been tickled pink at landing such a dashing and handsome Frenchman--it was a secret fantasy of hers as a teen to be wooed by such a man, and her dream came happily true. |
D'Arielle Gumery
 Family position: Husband of Aethelswith
A bit more in depth: Darrell met Thelsa while she was vacationing in Gascony and she immediately changed his life from a dashing rogue to a dashing suitor, then husband. He is absolutely loyal to his wife, but that twinkle in his eye and tone of flirtatiousness have become the fire of joy at being a husband and father. D'Arielle works primarily as an inventor and researcher of potions, which he is exceedingly good at. He finished tops in his class in potions his last three years at Beauxbatons. Other than that, he assists Thelsa with running her charity. He is a kind, forgiving, and self-controlled man, virtues that put him in good stead with Aelred when asking for Thelsa's hand in marriage. |
Aethelu Stonebridge-Gumery
 Family position: Granddaughter
A bit more in depth: Thella has very effectively blocked out virtually all possible emotional ties to anyone, including her family, and now shows little or no qualms over using others for her own ends. Somewhere within her lies the formerly loving, happy girl who adored her younger brothers so much, but right now it seems that part of her died with them. However, amazingly, she clings to Lithie as her only emotional tie to her former personality. More amazing than that is the kind and gentle way she treats her younger sister, and the ferocity with which she protects her rather pure and emotionally defenseless sibling from harm of any kind. If there is any other person in her family which she tolerates, it is Suth. He's been known to give her opportunities to go places, or sit down and talk with her. She's closer to him than her own parents. Thella is a singer--no, to put that more correctly, Thella is gifted with an angelic voice of great range, and moreover is a soprano tessitura, the highest of all female voices. Her singing sounds effortless and rings so cleanly that it might at first appear that it is coming from a synth machine--until she does a three-octave run and leaves the listener agape in amazement. She enjoys all kinds of music, but her favorite three are opera, dubstep, and gothic metal. She plays piano, but primarily uses it for writing music--she's a singer through and through, and has no interest in being an instrumentalist. And while she is remarkably intelligent, particularly in transfiguration (she entertains dreams of being an animagus), her life's focus is truly on singing as a career...any and every kind of music she feels inclined to record. |
Ailith Stonebridge-Gumery
 Family position: Granddaughter
A bit more in depth: Lithie has the humble title locked down in a family of those who make humility a virtue to live by. She makes no claims on others, seeks to assist anyone she can, makes time for anyone regardless of popularity at the JWA, and neither brags nor rolls her eyes if someone compliments her looks--she just thanks them, and moves on, showing no interest whatsoever if she is attractive or not. Lithie plays the flute, but her primary instrument, like her sister, is her voice. She sings just a few notes lower than Thella's soprano tessitura, making the two sisters a very rare combination of singers at the highest possible register of the female vocal range. They have entertained the possibility of forming a musical duo or group together--they've already sang as a pair numerous times, and here and there with other musicians, mostly in France. One of Lithie's biggest dreams is to play quidditch once she reaches Hogwarts. She is already an accomplished broom rider, particularly with changes of direction and altitude--she's as slippery as an eel on her firebolt when she plays broom tag at home with Ric and Thella. At her size she's pretty much pigeonholed as a seeker, though she'd be happy to play chaser, or any position, as long as she was on the team. |
Adalmund Stonebridge
 Family position: deceased, youngest son
A bit more in depth: Dal was a wizarding historian, and one of the reasons Ric took to history so well. He courted Temerita for the last two years they were at Hogwarts. Survived the Battle of Hogwarts. Died of injuries sustained when knocked unconscious from his broom while battling three dragons at altitude.
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Temerita Stonebridge
 Family position: deceased, youngest son's wife
A bit more in depth: Temma abandoned the Ffellowes family in order to marry Adalmund--they were Slytherin, but she was sorted, like Dal, into Gryffindor. She died trying to unsuccessfully protect three of her children when a dragon attacked Stonebridge Castle.
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