Lysander Burke

Lysander Burke is the current head of the Divination department at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

## Appearance

Lysander is a handsome man in his late 40’s that straddles the line between ‘dapper’ and ‘hipster’. Standing about 190cm and fairly slim, he wears his shoulder-length, more pepper than salt hair back and product-less, often held back with a black plastic headband or tied in a ponytail, unless he’s at an important event like a dance or ceremony, in which case he lets it hang down. He maintains a well trimmed beard and moustache at all times, its color more salt than pepper. His light blue eyes are piercing at all times, and his expression, while fluid, often leans towards playful, but somewhat insidious… like you would picture a trickster god.

He often dresses in comfortable, posh, ‘hipster’ attire. Suspenders, sweaters, black acrylic glasses, dress shirts and slacks. He can almost always be found with his iconic ‘moustache’ and ‘beard’ themed coffee mugs at any given time, drinking his ‘hot bean juice’, as he likes to call his coffee. In the colder months, he happily throws a black, insulated cloak on to be able to keep warm, but **never** teaches in it. As a proud Slytherin Alum, he always tries to incorporate green into his outfits.

## Personality

Lysander is as close to ‘trickster god’ as one can find. He’s plucky, playful and clever… sometimes dangerously so. He has no problems with students hurting each other for the sake of a joke or a lesson, so long as they take responsibility for their actions. If he laughs, he may even let them go without losing house points… but it better be good! He, himself, has been known to use corporal punishment on occasion, though always carefully enough that he never gets caught doing it.

He is also **very** eccentric, mostly attributable to his unique ‘Sight’. Lysander has an eidetic memory for music, has perfect pitch and is a bit of a genius with musical instruments. His ‘visions’ take the form of spontaneous songs that come to his mind… and having mastered the art of silent spells, wandless magic and a mastery of Locomotor Instrumentum, can make almost any song spring to life, **particularly** within the confines of his office. In a pinch, the professor can make due with a piano or the acoustic guitar Lysander carries with him at all times. This leads to… *interesting* moments in class, where he will break into song… sometimes about students or faculty... hopefully pleasant ones, like “Happy” by Pharrell Williams and not “Coming Undone” by Korn. His library of songs is… **vast**.

## Background

Lysander Burke, born to Lexington and Katherine Burke, had an interesting life. He was raised in a Blood Purist house, with both of his parents active members in Voldemort’s Death Eaters through the entirety of the First Wizarding War. Lysander, for his part, remained **fairly** neutral when it came to the matters of ‘blood purity’ for someone raised in such a family, neither squashing muggles and muggle-born, nor searching them out to give them safe haven. He was a strange boy, who probably would’ve registered somewhere on the autistic spectrum (if such a spectrum existed at the time), spending most of his time practicing charms, defensive magic and in the music room, happily learning instruments both contemporary and ancient. He wasn’t a standoffish child, but simply preferred to play in his own little world than in anyone else’s. It wasn’t until puberty and what that brings that he learned of two things: his interest in relationships and his uncanny ability to ‘hear’ music in his head, the lyrics directly relating to events that later would occur, either to himself or his friends or the school.

Lysander was officially identified as a prospective Seer in 1981. He accurately predicted that his parents would burn to death at the hands of Lord Voldemort after refusing to force their boy to join the Death Eater cult, playing Blue Oyster Cult’s recently released song “Burnin’ For You” for 5 hours straight in the music room. He was found later by the music professor that day with bloodied fingers from playing the guitar far too long.

Lysander would graduate Hogwarts later that year, entering a dark period in his life where he floated from city to city, blowing his parents’ small fortune and selling their mansion for various drugs and other pleasures, eventually finding himself homeless and penniless. His life changed when thrown a lifeline by Roger Gallo for a musician’s gig and a permanent room at The Wampus Den in Knockturn Alley. Lysander took to the position like a fish in water, rebuilding his life and making important friends while there.

After a few years, he managed to make the right connections to get into a few London Seer groups to be able to hone his craft, still occasionally taking music gigs to supplement his income and keep himself sharp. Years later, an opportunity to work with one of his dearest friends, Friedrich von Schreiber, presented itself at his Alma Mater. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, he happily made his way back to Hogwarts, excited to see what kind of trouble he could get back into (within school guidelines, of course).