Alice Fortescue

## Alice Longbottom (née Fortescue)

**Alice Longbottom** (née **Fortescue**)(born 14 August, 1960) was an English pure-blood witch, an Auror who worked for the Ministry of Magic during Lord Voldemort's first rise to power. Alice and her husband Frank Longbottom, were also members of the original Order of the Phoenix and fought against Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War.

At the end of the war in 1981, when their son Neville was only an infant, Alice and Frank were tortured into insanity by a group of Death Eaters. She and her husband were subsequently placed in the Janus Thickey Ward for irrevocable spell damage at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where they were residing until at least January 1996.

## Biography

### Early life (1960-1971)

Alice Fortescue was born on 14 August, 1960 in Pinner, Greater London, into the Fortescue family. She was the daughter of Ivan Fortescue, brother of Florean Fortescue, and Anne Fortescue (née Liddell). Pinner, where the Fortescues lived, is a town in Greater London, in the borough of Harrow, lying 12 miles (19 km) northwest from Charing Cross. It is within the bounds of the historic county of Middlesex, and located close to the border with the borough of Hillingdon.

#### Ancestry

Her maternal grandfather was Horace Liddell, of the Liddell family from Somerset. Her maternal grandmother was Tabitha Liddell (née Goshawk). Tabitha's parents, Phineas and Rowina Goshawk (née Shepley), were parents to nine children, of which Alice's grandmother was the third oldest. Through Rowina Goshawk (née Shepley), Alice is a descendant of Baldo Shepley and Dulcibella Shepley (née Prince).

### Hogwarts years (1971-1978)

Alice received her Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1971. Before attending, she purchased a wand made of aspen and unicorn hair at Ollivander's Wand Shop at Diagon Alley. Garrick Ollivander told her it was a very good wand for duelling. She boarded the Hogwarts Express on 1 September, 1971, and later that night, she was sorted into Gryffindor House. She ended up sharing a dormitory with Marlene McKinnon, Lily Evans, and Dorcas Meadowes.

### First Wizarding War (1978-1981)

"*The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.*"
—Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy
After graduating, Alice became a well-respected Auror, as did her husband. At the time, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were growing increasingly powerful. In response to this Alice and Frank joined the original Order of the Phoenix to oppose them. The Order was a secret society established by Albus Dumbledore in order to contain the present threat. It can be assumed that Alice and her husband played a vital role in the Order. In time, Frank and Alice earned the wrath of Bellatrix Lestrange by virtue of the fact that they were very efficient, and was responsible for a lot of captures, arrests and imprisonments of their Death Eater enemies throughout the First Wizarding War.

Alice gave birth to their only child, Neville, on 30 July 1980. Moments after his birth, Neville was able to magically adjust his blankets so that he was swaddled more snugly, but no one witnessed this remarkable feat. The midwife who attended the birth assumed that Frank had tucked the newborn boy in more tightly.

As Aurors and Order members, Alice and Frank defied Lord Voldemort himself three times. This made their son one of the two young infants who was the possible subject of a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney about the person who could defeat the Dark Lord. The other infant was Harry Potter, son of Order members James and Lily Potter. Trelawney's prediction was overheard by Death Eater Severus Snape, who informed Voldemort. The Dark Lord targeted Harry, perhaps because he was also a half-blood, and was defeated for the first time on 31 October, 1981.

#### Permanent incapacitation (1981-present)

**Augusta Longbottom**: " *Again? Very well, Alice dear, very well — Neville, take it, whatever it is… Very nice, dear*"
**Neville Longbottom**: "*Thanks, Mum.*"
— Alice gives her son a gum wrapper
Shortly afterward, Alice and Frank were attacked by Death Eaters Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, and Bartemius Crouch Jr. They were captured and tortured extensively with the Cruciatus Curse, and although the Death Eaters were caught and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for their crimes, their victims would never recover. Alice was deemed insane, and lost her capability to function in society. She and Frank were placed in the permanent ward of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where they would reside for the rest of their lives not being able to recognise their son.

Because of Alice's inability to care for her son, Neville was raised in the care of his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, Frank's mother. Neville regularly visits his parents for Christmas and other holidays. Though his parents do not overtly recognise Neville on these visits, Alice customarily gives her son chewing gum wrappers, which he keeps. Neville was taunted about his parents' state by one of their attackers, Bellatrix Lestrange, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Neville witnessed the death of Bellatrix at Molly Weasley's hands during the Battle of Hogwarts.

## Physical Appearance

Alice is a round-faced woman with short hair, and her son Neville resembles her quite strongly. By the mid-1990s, however, her face became thin and worn, and her hair had become white, wispy and dead-looking, which was most likely due to her insanity from the Cruciatus Curse along with older age.

## Personality and Traits

Alice was a well-respected Auror and member of the original Order of the Phoenix. It is said that she and her husband were much beloved among the wizarding community. After they were tortured into insanity, Alice was not able to specifically recognise her son, although she relates to Neville as someone she is fond of.

## Etymology

The name *Alice* is derived from the French name *Adelais*, which is in turn derived from the Germanic name *Adalheidis*, from the Germanic word elements *adal*, meaning "noble", and *heid*, meaning "type".