Oh, Sansa invests so much of herself, gives away her heart in spades and when she’s left with a losing hand she crumples, sinks into the empty concave of her chest and tries to remember to b r e a t h e . She just wants her happy ending, isn’t she allowed?
(there is a saying, about being in love with the idea of love and mayhaps our little dove holds expectations that cannot be met— mayhaps the songs are just that.
She’s lost in the woods and has dirt under her fingernails, exiled by the bitter and the old who looked into her like she was a mirror and could not stand the sight. Her hair is long and curls beneath the sun like a crown. She sleeps the poison sleep and dreams of flying free. She loves, wholly and unashamed, so deeply that she thinks it might consume her. She knows in her heart that this is what makes her mighty, and she will fight tooth and nail for it; she will use every dirty trick in the book, she will use magic and lips painted pink and the beauty and wisdom given her by a long line of wild queens. She is noble, by birth and nature, and birds come to her call, for all the creatures of the wild, all the true, unsullied beings of the earth adore her for the delight and desire alight in her soul. She is defined by her love; but it is she who defines what her love is, and what she would do with the vast power of it. She will come in from the wild, into the palace - perhaps hand in hand with her prince, perhaps standing tall and alone - and with her grace she will reignite a kingdom.
§ fifteen years old; fourth year § pureblood; lineage traced back to merlin’s era. § hazel, ten inches, veela hair core; reasonably supple § unstable, inconsistent and non-corporeal patronus § freshly fallen snow, lemoncakes and rosemary Amortentia § a raven to send mail; no other pets § compassionate, polite, bright, curious, § easy to temper, stubborn, traditional.
History
Sansa Stark doesn’t talk about her family and she likes it that way. She is a foreigner, coming into Hogwarts with a slightly thick accent, wearing furs instead of robes and tying her hair in elaborate styles not usually seen on this side of the channel– hell, not seen in this decade. Sansa Stark comes into Hogwarts and immediately starts on her fourth year.
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After the second wizarding war, it’s not unusual to have students transfer or return to Hogwarts to complete their education. However, it’s been a long time since a transfer like that took place. This term, this term brings with it a highly unusual student from Durmstrang. It was quietly arranged– the castle shifting to accommodate her: an extra bed, a slightly expanded dormitory, a private sorting ceremony in the Headmistress’ office. Though there may be surprise at her being a Ravenclaw, no one said a word. Hogwarts is keen to include her in its folds and she is more than happy to run away from her past.
Additional Info
§ she can speak German § despite being fifteen, she’s in her fourth year due to “incomplete education” § her favorite subjects are charms and astronomy § she’s a little weak in transfiguration and defensive spells § she’s been thinking of joining the duelling club § she used to have a pet wolf in Winterfell. § extended family background & biography here
In continental Europe, there are few places that haven’t heard the name Stark. It’s said to be one of the great wizarding houses, with a lineage that could be traced back to the time of the First Men. They’re a proud family, one that upholds their traditions while maintaining honor and upholding the family reputation. Even as the world turns and civilizations rise and fall, the Starks remain true to their ways.
It is this bone deep conviction that led them to becoming passive sympathizers to the Dark Lord during the first wizarding war. They were not followers, they had no need to fight a fight they cared little for– but the Starks understood, through their borderline isolationist ways, the need to maintain purity, to ensure the community and population at large remained undiluted. They could even respect him. But only in the fantastical way one respected great figures of history for the dark lord was not a man of honor and for that, they turned their noses at him.
It was a slight not easily forgotten for when Voldermort was resurrected, he had the head of the house, Rickard Stark and his eldest son killed. Mayhaps, if he had wiped the whole family line, he would have spared himself the trouble; but he allowed the second son, Eddard Stark, to live. He had thought mayhaps that this show of leniency would sway them to him. The only thing he succeeded in doing was to turn House Stark away.
Though very little was known of the continental battle immediately after the end of the second wizarding war, much has been written about and circulated, though not all texts were translated. The Starks, amongst the other great Houses, played a large role in crippling Voldermort’s reserves hidden across the channel. They were lauded as minor heroes.
Not everyone felt the same way.
Not the traditionalists, not Voldermort’s supporters and sympathizers, not even those who had allied themselves with the Starks prior to Voldermort. Ill-feelings abound, is it any wonder that Eddard did not live long enough to see his children grow?
Sansa Stark was born in the years after the second wizarding war, in times of great chaos but peace. The second child and the first daughter, she was a balm to her old man’s scarred soul. Sweet, demure and so very clever, Sansa was like the winter rose that bloomed around their great keep.
As a Stark, she was privileged and sheltered from the war. Stories became legends and her father spoke so little of it, it was almost impossible to believe it had been just a few years ago. She was told little, and only good things, reassuring whispers and celebratory songs. Sansa grew up believing danger was buried deep underground and Harry Potter had saved them all.
As per tradition, she was enrolled in Durmstrang Institute, following the footsteps of the Starks before her. The place may be surrounded by darkness but Sansa did not dim in its presence, rather she seemed to shine even brighter. Her future seemed inevitable, its course set for happiness and contentment. Which was why her father’s brutal murder was like a freezing spell, stopping the world on its axis and throwing her off its surface and into the den of lions.
Ambition can drive great houses to war and though evil did not rise in the form of a snake-like ghost, man was just as capable of cruelty. What followed was a harrowing few months in captivity, a battle gone five ways and desperation clawing at the throat of a mother wanting her daughter back.
In the end, Sansa returned home, still a great beauty but without the rose colored glasses she had left with. Rather, she was quiet, unwilling to open up and bloom, a shirking rose that did not feel safe in the arms of winter. That day, her mother sent a raven to Hogwarts.
It returned a week later carrying a sealed letter of acceptance.
okay but real talk, modern verse teen!sansa would be into the pop acts like justin bieber, selena gomez, one direction and taylor swift. she would go to concerts and buy their cds and stuff. YOU KNOW SHE WOULD.
001. what they smell like: a light dash of something citrus with hints of cinammon
002. how they sleep: on her back, turned slightly to the left.
003. what music they enjoy: she tells herself she doesn’t care for them now, music and the like.
004. how much time they spend getting ready every morning: sansa used to spend a lot of time getting ready. she enjoys the process of trying out new dresses and styles and doing her hair in different ways but slowly, it loses its charm, delays the inevitable. alayne still enjoys the process but its an infinitely more lonely one. a bastard girl does not have handmaidens, after all.
005. their favourite thing to collect: stories, tucked into the marrow of her bones, into the crevices of her pumping heart. stories like cautionary tales and highborn wishes. dreams and nightmares and a whole new world, a better world.
006. left or right-handed: right.
007. favourite sport: …does being a spectator count?
008.. favourite touristy thing to do when travelling: visiting museums!
009. favourite kind of weather: a gentle winter
010. a weird/obscure fear they have: she wouldn’t call it fear but it’s a severe dislike for small spaces.
If you perused a list of best rom-com films since When Harry Met Sally, chances are, Sansa’s already watched it, fallen in love with h o w they fell in love and memorized the climatic confession scene.
lbr tho, in highschool, sansa constantly got text messages from unknown numbers because bOYS ARE GROSS SERIOUSLY WHY DOES SHE HAVE BROTHERS IF THEYRE SO USELESS, R O B B DO SOMETHING.
(mostly its cause that one time her facebook profile was public and she had her number on it, oh you sweet girl, this is what happens when you use windows vista).
