Araminta Lestrange

## Araminta Lestrange (née Gamp)

**Araminta Lestrange** (née **Gamp**) (7 September, 1906 - 17 December, 1981) was a pure-blood English witch who attended Hogwarts from 1 September, 1918 to June of 1926. She was the wife of Faustus Lestrange II, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Lestrange from 1958 to 1960, at which point he met his death, and the mother of Cyrus Lestrange, who was Head of the House of Lestrange from 1960 to 1979.

Araminta was the daughter of Hector Gamp III and his wife Eglantine Gamp (née Rosier). In her childhood, she had two younger sisters, Ermintruda and Floretta. In the year 1918 a tragedy befell the Rosier family, of which her mother was apart of. Her mother and two sisters, along with a cousin, aunt, and uncle, died in a cursed fire in Paris when she was still very young.

Apart from being married to the Heir and later Head of House Lestrange, Araminta was also the last living member of the House of Gamp in the male line. She married her maternal first cousin, Faustus Lestrange II, in January 1926 and had one son with him, Cyrus Lestrange, but before she did that she took careful responsibilities to preserve her father's fortune.

Though she was a female and could not take on Head of House responsibilities, Araminta remained possessive of family artifacts and the house in King's Lynn, hoping one day she might pass it on to her son, Cyrus, who would absorb the wealth into the House of Lestrange.

However, her son predeceased her by two years, and in her last will and testament left what remained of the Gamp family's wealth to her second-favourite maternal cousin, Arcturus Black III, who survived his brother, Regulus Black III, Araminta's favourite, by a few decades. Araminta died on 17 December, 1981, at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

## Biography

### Early life (1906-1918)

Araminta Gamp was born on the Gamp family estate in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on 7 September, 1906. The Gamp family estate was unplottable and had been built by her third great-grandfather, in the year 1749. Her father was Hector Gamp III, the Head of the Ancient House of Gamp, and her mother was Eglantine Gamp née Rosier, a member of the Noble and Ancient House of Rosier.

She had two younger sisters, the first of which was born when she was two years old, and the second of which was born when she was four. The first was Ermintruda, who everyone called Tulie. The second and youngest was Floretta.

In her early life, Araminta enjoyed flying horseback riding on the Gamp estate, and playing chess with her sisters. Araminta was rather logical for a child, and though her father expected she make Slytherin, wondered if she would be a Ravenclaw.

#### Ancestry

Araminta and her sisters were the paternal grandchildren of Hector Gamp II and Miriam Gamp (née Selwyn). Her grandfather, Hector, had been Head of the Ancient House of Gamp from the age of nine years old, after his mother, Araminta's paternal great-grandmother, Marian Gamp (née Prewett) was suspected of poisoning her great-grandfather, Hector Gamp I.

On her father's side, Araminta had a total of twenty first cousins. This was because Araminta's father had a large number of siblings. She enjoyed spending time with Regulus Black III, the son of her father's sister Hesper, as well as his older sister Lycoris and her other cousin Boudica, the daughter of her father's brother Millicent.

Araminta and her sisters were the maternal grandchildren of Octavius Rosier and Alvina Rosier (née Volant). Her grandfather, Octavius, was a member of the English branch of the Noble and Ancient House of Rosier. Her grandmother was a French pure-blood witch of the foreign House of Volant.

Through the sister of her mother, Araminta was a niece by marriage of Faustus Lestrange I, Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Lestrange. She had three cousins through her aunt Melesina, including Faustus II, Romilius, and Cassius.

#### Hogwarts years (1918-1925)

Araminta Gamp received her Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1918. She bought a wand made of hawthorn and dragon heartstring at Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley, some time before starting her first year at school. She boarded the Hogwarts Express on 1 September, 1918, with her cousin Regulus, and they shared a compartment with his older sister Lycoris and their cousin Boudica Tremblay.

That night, Araminta was sorted into Slytherin House with her cousin Regulus, and for the first month of school, she was very happy. She had befriended a girl called Serafina Yaxley and was enjoying her classes. But in this same year, a tragedy befell the Rosier family. Her mother and two sisters, along with a cousin, aunt, and uncle, died in a cursed fire in Paris when she was still very young.

She became extremely close to her first cousin, Regulus Black, over the years. She spent a lot of time at Grimmauld Place over her holidays, as her father had never re-emerged from his state of mourning, and Sirius Black II and her aunt Hesper almost became something of second parents to her. It was also rumoured that Sirius Black II had attempted to arrange Araminta and his son Regulus to marry, but her aunt Hesper had refused, citing that the relation was too close by degree.

#### Engagement and marriage (1926)

Araminta instead was interested in her and Regulus's friend Faustus Lestrange. She thought that they would make a good match, and Faustus had said that he was interested as well, and persuaded his father, Faustus I, to allow him to court her. The courtship was not negotiated by Araminta's father, Hector, but rather, Sirius II, who stepped in on Araminta's behalf.

Her relationship with her father began to deteriorate from there. She married her first cousin, Faustus Lestrange, in January 1926 at the age of nineteen, and together they had a son together, Cyrus, named in part for the similarity it had to Sirius, after Araminta's beloved uncle. She made her cousin Regulus godfather and her cousin Boudica godmother, and they fulfilled their roles well.

### Later life (1927-1981)

Though she was a female and could not take on Head of House responsibilities, Araminta remained possessive of family artifacts and the house in King's Lynn, hoping one day she might pass it on to her son, Cyrus, who would absorb the wealth into the House of Lestrange. Her husband became Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Lestrange in 1958, elevating her son to the status of Heir.

She was widowed in 1960 when her husband, Faustus II, died.

Her son Cyrus predeceased her by two years, and in her last will and testament left what remained of the Gamp family's wealth to her second-favourite maternal cousin, Arcturus Black III, who survived his brother, Regulus Black III, Araminta's favourite, by a few decades. Araminta died on 17 December, 1981, at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

## Personality and traits

Araminta suffered tragedy at a young age, and it is no surprise that she occasionally suffered bouts of depression. For quite some time in her younger years, she was a rather sad individual. She could be sometimes brought out of sadness by her close friends and family, and many people kept an eye out for her, including her cousin Regulus.

Her cousin Regulus was her childhood best friend, and they grew even closer when they got older. Araminta loved him and saw him as a brother, and her aunt and uncle as second parents. Araminta was a blood purist and a Slytherin, and though believing in pure-blood supremacy made her somewhat of a bad person, it was the way that she was raised and she was never given an opportunity to correct herself. However, her personal trauma and tragedy did not allow her to become bitter, and many others likely would have.

#### Appearance

Araminta Gamp as a young girl had dark hair and heavy-lidded eyes. Though not blonde, she had many traits of the Rosier family. Her mother too had curly hair, and her dark brown hair came from her father. She had brown eyes too.

## Etymology

Araminta is a rare feminine given name, a cross between *Aminta* and *Arabella*, meaning prayer and protection.

Gamp is a colloquial, primarily British, term for an umbrella.