Leander family

**Leander** is the surname of an old wizarding family who were previously pure-blood, now half-blood. They commonly live in Godric's Hollow in West Country, England. The Leanders are related to many other wizarding families; they are also not opposed to marrying Muggle-borns, which has lead to their current half-blood status. Members of the Leander family have been been Sorted into Gryffindor House, though this tradition has changed over time.

All Leanders are known for their acceptance of non-wizarding folk and lack of prejudice based on blood purity, although they are still considered a respectable family. Their respectability stems from their accomplishments in the wizarding world, such as their founding of the company Leander Broomsticks. The latest generations of the Leander family have strong connections to the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army, clearly opposing notions of pure-blood supremacy.

## Family history

### Early history

"*Leanders are always the underdogs, but built with all the makings of a hero. You shouldn't underestimate your worth. I've certainly learned not to.*"
— Professor Sentiatla to Sirius Leander
Throughout early history, Leanders never associated with Muggles (something that transferred to recent history, as even the fourth generation of Leanders were unfamiliar with Muggle culture), although they did not consider themselves superior to others because of their blood status. Their neutrality on this issue, combined with the magical talent that they rarely showcased to the open world, earned the family the epithet of being the "underdogs". Even though they were not always initially labelled as the most memorable, they had a history of often proving people wrong and coming out on top.

The Leanders also had a tradition of being Sorted into Gryffindor House for several generations, though this seemed to end after Atticus Leander married Ophelia Meriwether, a Slytherin. Coincedentally, their son Moses was Sorted into Gryffindor while their daughter Piper was Sorted into Slytherin. This dual trend ended with the fourth generation (with the esception of third generation, where both children were Gryffindors), with Sirius  and Lily  being Sorted into Slytherin whilst Odysseus  was placed in Hufflepuff, making him the first Hufflepuff in the Leander family. This possibly could have mirrored his mother Lattice, who was also a Hufflepuff.

### Recent history

Atticus Leander was an English pure-blood wizard who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was traditionally Sorted into Gryffindor House like his parents and ancestors. While at school, he met and began dating a Slytherin by the name of Ophelia Meriwether. Shortly after graduating from Hogwarts, Atticus and Ophelia married. Due to their history of sitting on the fence, Atticus and his wife were not members of the Order of the Phoenix. Some time during their marriage, Ophelia was tortured until she was swayed to join the Death Eaters of the Second Wizarding War, leading to her eventually killing two Muggles. She kept this a secret until the birth of their children, when the truth was revealed quite a while after Lord Voldemort's defeat and she was sentenced to life in Azkaban.

Atticus and Ophelia had two children: Moses and Piper. The two never knew their mother, though there was tension between the siblings as Piper was a Slytherin and Moses Gryffindor. While at Hogwarts, Moses became close with families such as the Thorns and the Potters; no longer content with sitting on the fence, the Leanders' views led to their support to the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army during the Third Wizarding War. Some time during the war, Piper was murdered. The family was deeply saddened by this loss and Moses expressed a desire to have known his sister better.

After graduating Moses took up a career as a broomstick maker, founding the company Leander Broomsticks and making sales which quadrupled the family gold. It became extremely popular in Britain and became favourites for Puddlemere United and the English National Quidditch team. Moses then married Wilma Tanglewood, a Muggle-born Gryffindor whom he became close with during the Yule Ball, and later had two children: Rue and Jedidiah.

Both Gryffindors, Rue and Jedidiah were pampered due to their increasing family wealth, though they were surprisingly humble. Rue was a popular Metamorphmagus who later married a fellow Gryffindor in their year, Bartleby Hortus. Jedidiah was much more clumsy and introverted, concerned with his ineptitude with magic. However, in his later years, he showed that he possessed great courage and perseverance: he became an important member of Dumbledore's Army, and even demonstrated a talent in creating various spells.

After graduating, Jedidiah served as an Auror and a guest lecturer for Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts. He later married Lattice-Malfoy-Potter and they moved toLeander Cottage, where they started their family of three children: Sirius, the eldest, and twins Lily and Odysseus. When the twins were six, Jedidiah died when demonstrating one of his own spells. Lattice then looked after her three children alone and stepped down from her position as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, finding new work alongside her first cousin Ginevra Potter at the Society for Distressed Witches, which was a society that helped witches that were impoverished, emotionally troubled, or otherwise down on their luck.

Sirius began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Slytherin House. Lily was also sorted into Slytherin three years later. The exception was Odysseus who was sorted into Hufflepuff House, thus making him the only one in his immediate family who was not in Gryffindor or Slytherin. As none of them were Sorted into Gryffindor, as Leanders always were, this marked the end of a tradition that lasted for generations.

## Leander family crest

The family crest pays homage to Gryffindor House, as many members of the Leander family have been sorted into Gryffindor all throughout history. This is clearly shown through the gold colours and image of a roaring lion.

## Family members

### Main family

Tbc.jpgAtticus LeanderTbc.jpgOphelia Leander
(née Meriwether) †Tbc.jpgPiper Leander †Tbc.jpgMoses LeanderTbc.jpgWilma Leander
(née Tanglewood)Rue LeanderTbc.jpgJedidiah Leander †Lattice Leander
(née Malfoy-Potter)Tbc.jpgSirius LeanderTbc.jpgLily Cauldwell
(née Leander)Odysseus Leander

### Leander relatives

 Lily Luna Potter
 Corvus Mortan
 Harry Malfoy-Potter | Half-blood Gryffindor wizard and middle child of Lily and Scorpius. Younger brother of Astoria and older brother of Lattice. Brother-in-law to Jedidiah.

## Etymology

The name **Leander** is a Latinised form of the Greek name Λεανδρος (*Leandros*), derived from λεων (*leon*) meaning *"lion"* and ανηρ (*aner*) meaning *"man"* (genitive ανδρος). In other words it simply means *"lion"* or *"lion-like man"*, a meaning of which could be cleverly attributed to the history of Leanders being sorted into Gryffindor House. In Greek legend, Leander was the name of a lover of Hero. Every night he swam across the Hellespont to meet her, but on one occasion he was drowned when a storm arose. When Hero saw his dead body she threw herself into the waters and perished.

## Notes

* The name Leander literally translates to *"lion-man"*, linking to their family history of being sorted into Gryffindor.
* The Leanders, like most magical families, also usually reused the names of parents or grandparents when naming their children.
* All members of the family, perhaps excluding those who married in, were in the basics (reading, maths, spelling, grammar) by a parent or a tutor before they went to Hogwarts.
* A significant trait in this family was said to be their blue eyes.
* The Leanders have always been tied closely to the Potter family; Moses and Lily Luna Potter were best friends while at school, and the same is applicable to Jedidiah and Lattice, though the latter both married.