Sanchez, Maria Elizabeth

[Maria Sanchez]

Character Name: Maria Elizabeth Parker Sanchez
Age: 51
Date of Birth: 1 September
Former Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Background:


THE STORY BEHIND IT ALL
Jefferson Parker - He was said to be one of the most popular guys in school, especially among the young ladies. His family had never been bad off when it came to money; they had plenty of it, but they were never ones to share--at all. They were a stuck-up and stubborn family of rich snobs who had better things to do than worry about what was happening in the world. They cared about no one but themselves and made that obvious in the way they treated those around them.

When he was in school, none of his teachers thought that he would make much of himself. He talked a lot of smack, but he had a lot of big dreams that he didn't share with anyone, not even his family. He liked to keep his personal aspirations and goals to himself, especially since he knew that his friends and all the ladies would make fun of him. His dreams didn't consist of playing sports as he always talked about at school. He actually wanted to be a doctor. The only thing that was stopping him, though, was himself. He was too afraid to let people see who he really was, so he kept all of his personal wands hidden and went for what other people wanted, which flunked in the end.

When he graduated from school, he didn't go straight off to college. He actually stayed around with a lot of his big-shot friends and sat around playing sports with them. The group of them never really had it in their minds to do anything big. They all talked about scoring it big and landing themselves with some rich hot chicks; Jefferson talked about it, too, but he never actually meant any of it. In the back of his mind remained the aspiration to become a doctor. And finally, he brought it out in the open one day, only to find his friends laughing at him for making what they said was a stupid decision.

Needless to say, he lost a lot of friends. But when he went off to college, he made quite a few new ones. A lot of his friends had been in the same situation as him. They were born into wealthy families and lost a lot of friends for saying what they truly wanted rather than acting the stereotype that their parents had wanted. He had found that this was truly what he wanted and realized that he was better off where he was rather than back at home playing sports with the guys and checking out all the hot ladies.

Allison Johnson - She wasn't really the most popular of people. Her family hadn't been the wealthiest of the bunch, but they weren't bad off on money either. They had enough to make end's meet with only some left over to get what they wanted rather than what they simply needed. She wore a lot of hand-me-down clothes, simply because that's really all she could afford; besides, why waste money on new clothes when you can have decent ones given to you? Allison was extremely involved in her schoolwork as well as many extracurricular activities at school. If you checked on a list of club members, she was usually one of them. She was what many would consider a bookworm or a nerd.

She never tried to lie about who she was or what she had or what she wanted. Her voice was always true and honest, and she made sure that people knew her wants and needs. She was outspoken and extremely intelligent, always fighting for what she felt was right or the best thing at the time, regardless of who was against it. It caused uprising at times among the people she spoke out against, but that was all part of her reasoning for doing it. She liked hearing people argue about an important matter. That was actually how she managed to get her scholarship to go to medical school, free of charge.

She had wanted for the longest time to be a doctor, or at least manage to get herself on the track to becoming a doctor. Her family definitely didn't have enough money to pay for her college tuition; they barely had money to pay for themselves and the things they needed half the time. When she started high school and started to learn about the cost of post-secondary schooling, she started to give up her dream of ever becoming a doctor--at least until a scholarship was offered. But the scholarship was for boys only, since boys were thought of as much better doctors at that time. But, she fought against it. She had people sign a petition. And she won what she felt she should win: that scholarship.

She had gone off to medical school. The school was far larger than she had ever imagined, and the people there seemed so much more intelligent than she was. She felt a bit inferior, especially since all of the people there seemed to have a lot more money than her and because most of the people there were males. Nonetheless, she studied hard and tried to do her best when it came to her reports and tests and the like.

IT WAS LIKE LIQUID GOLD
Had they gone to the same high school, Jefferson and Allison would most definitely not have been paired as a couple (and if they were paired, it would have been as a joke). They were on totally different ends of the popularity spectrum, not to mention the economic one as well. I suppose we can suffice it to say that they were complements of each other; if you put them together, things would eventually even out and become balanced between the two: their popularity levels would balance each other as would their money status. That's just how different they were. But, as they said, opposites attract.

Despite their four-year age difference, Jefferson and Allison had more than enough time to see and speak to each other. Allison was a very intelligent woman and had easily been able to work her way up; her teachers had suggested that she be placed in higher level classes to challenge her more and bring her up to par with the boys. So, here she was in an advanced class with students three or more years older than her. To her it was like an honor and almost a complete privilege, especially since the class was primarily boy who were said to be of a higher level than she was. And that is where she met Jefferson, the very attractive man she was apparently destined to marry.

Allison spent a lot of time in her classes glancing across the room at Jefferson as he spoke with his more wealthy friends. She could see him glancing at her occasionally, and he and his friends would laugh about something or another. She always had a feeling that they were talking about her and trying to plot some rude prank to pull on her; she wasn't student like they probably thought she was and was more than prepared for it. But it never came. None of the boys ever walked over to her and pulled a prank on her, and none of them tried to humiliate her. But the day Jefferson had come to talk to her nearly caused her to faint.

Jefferson started to sit at her table rather than at the table with his buddies. He talked to her and tried to learn more about her; she was a bit too shy to actually speak, but she did when he asked her questions. In return, she, too, asked him questions. Soon, the two were like peas in a pod, close, and they were considered friends. And for once in her life, Allison felt like she really belonged somewhere.

Eventually the two started dating. Their relationship was nowhere near serious. Allison was new to relationships; the ones Jefferson had been in revolved around sex and money, which was not something that Allison really took to her mind. She had no money to spend, and she was not thinking about sex. Besides, she didn't want to have premarital sex; it was just against her beliefs.

After a few years of dating, Jefferson finally popped the question, and the two were married a few months later on August the twenty-third. Jefferson's parents did not like the idea of him marrying a "poor girl," but they loved him all the same, and only because they had to. Allison's parents liked Jefferson because he was polite and treated their daughter with respect. And that's really all anyone wants is respect, right?

SEPTEMBER THE FIRST
The first two years of their marriage had gone very well. They were still together and more in love than ever. Though they enjoyed each other's company more than anything else, they both felt that they were ready to take the next step up and to add on to their family of two. So, after a little more than two years of marriage, they tried to conceive a child and were successful.

Born on September 1, less than a month after their third anniversary, was a baby girl named Maria Elizabeth Parker, after both Jefferson's mother and Allison's. She was born bright and early in the morning between the hours of five and six; this would later foreshadow her early morning waking habits. She was a healthy baby, weighing in at eight pounds, nine ounces and was twenty-and-a-half inches long. She had a head full of darkly-colored curls and gray-blue eyes, which changed to dark brown after a period of time.

A NORMAL CHILDHOOD
As an infant and into her toddle years, Maria's parents tended to her and made sure she had everything she needed. They spent a lot of time with her, nourishing her and making sure she had all of the love and affection any baby would need. Since she was their only child, they were able to do that. They spent any and all of their free time taking care of their pride and joy--their little baby girl.

She grew and learned to walk. Once this happened, she was into anything and everything she could get her hands on. Maria was a very adventurous and ambitious toddler, especially when she had first learned to walk, and she was always into everything. Sitters were oftentimes worn out by the end of their time sitting her, and her parents were the same way, especially after a long day at work. Unlike anyone she was around all the time, Maria never really ran out of energy to run around and play with toys and the like. She was wired for most of the day. But when she slept, she really slept.

At the age of five, Maria was no longer an only child. Her parents had wanted to add on to their happy family of three. Allison found herself pregnant with their second child, which happened to be a girl that they named Rebecca. Unlike most stories, though, Jefferson and Allison did not dedicate all of their time to the newborn baby. Indeed, they had to give a lot of time and devotion to her, but they did not completely signal Maria from their minds or their hearts. They spent as much time with her as they could so she wouldn't feel too alone or unloved. Eventually, once Maria started at a Muggle school mostly, it evened out.

At the Muggle school, Maria learned things that most five-year-olds learned. Though she was a very friendly person, she didn't make many friends. Most of the students were jealous of her intelligence and intimidated by it; even some of her teachers were intimidated by her intelligence at such a young age. On her report cards, most of them read that she was highly intelligent and that she would go far in the future; other comments included things about how she needed to keep quiet in class and let others answer questions. But that all soon changed....

THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER
About a month before she turned twelve, Maria received a letter via owl from a place called Hogwarts. It was a very strange letter and was signed with a very strange name. She and her parents questioned the letter as well as its realness, and it scared them in many ways. They weren't just going to say that it was all a lie and put it aside, though. So, they went to the place where the letter said Diagon Alley was and found that it was, indeed, real. They went into the Alley and saw many people in robes and going into these oddly named shops. It was then that they decided their daughter would go to this magical place; they assumed that it was the advanced classes or help the teachers had promised for Maria to receive. Just in case, though, they didn't ask the teachers or anyone about it in fear that someone thought them crazy. They just said that they were moving and went on with their lives.

AT HOGWARTS

Upon her arrival at Hogwarts, Maria, like all of the other first years, was sorted. When the hat was placed upon her head, it fell over her eyes. It had made her feel uncomfortable because she was most definitely not accustomed to such things. When the hat moved and spoke, she felt awkward. Once it had made its decision--Ravenclaw--Maria found herself a seat near another girl that had been sorted into Ravenclaw just before her. The two spoke briefly and learned each other's names. Both of them were apparently Muggleborn, and neither of them could help the other when it came to this new school and to this very interesting way of doing things.

Maria lived up to her sorting as a Ravenclaw. Much like her house buddies, she could oftentimes be found in the library reading books or doing her homework. She was a very studious girl and never wasted a moment of her time when she could be doing her work. She wasn't interested in Quidditch or boys; she had few friends and therefore felt little to no need to take time to devote to them. When it came time to watch Quidditch matches, she brought homework to work on, no matter how hot or cold, and worked on it. When the students took trips to Hogsmeade, she would sometimes go, taking her work with her, or else she would stay and work on her things at the school. During winter break, she went home and spent time with her family, but she always brought two or more of her schoolbooks to read through, only because she didn't want to get bored while her parents were working.

In her fifth year, Maria was made a Prefect. It had been such a great honor to her. She made sure that the students did as they were supposed to and referred any misbehavior to the headmaster or one of the heads of house. She never slacked on her job, being the serious and mature person that she was, but she never overused or abused her privileges as a Prefect. She took her O.W.L.s at the end of the year and passed most of them with flying colors, her specialties being Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration.

In her seventh year, Maria was made Head Girl. Again, it was an honor to her. She was surprised that the headmaster had chosen her, of all people, to be the Head Girl. But he had told her that she showed a considerable amount of maturity and responsibility in her studies and that that was the kind of person they needed to help direct her fellow students. Much like her Prefect duties, Maria never fell behind in her work on in anything else she had to do. She had a slight bit more authority and used it accordingly, but never abused it. When she took her N.E.W.T.s, Maria passed those with decent grades as well, her specialties again being Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration.

GETTING A JOB

While she was in school, Maria was told by several of her professors that she could get any job she wanted as long as she worked hard to get it and continued her education. Her parents had already told her that they wanted her to continue her education, whether magical or Muggle, and that they would not let her stop until she had reached the maximum.

Since she was a woman in the magical community, Maria decided that going to a magical university of sorts would be the best. The only problem was that she honestly had no idea of what to do. She had thought about being a professor because of her constant yearning and want to help people who needed it. Besides, her professors and even some of her classmates said that she would make a great professor someday. She had taken it into consideration, but was it really something she wanted to do?

Because she hadn't quite made up her mind, Maria decided that waiting until she did would be the best. So, instead of going off to a university and furthering her education, she decided that she would find a job and make some money on her own for a while. Maybe some ideas would spark from working. So, she found herself a job at Flourish and Blotts, where she worked as a little bit of everything. She helped recommend books to people who were there just to find a book to read for leisure. She helped shelf new books that were brought in by various authors. She helped sell books and prepare events at which famous authors could sign their works of art. Everyone that came into the bookstore loved Maria and tended to come in, sometimes just to speak or to ask her what the latest and best book there was that she could recommend. Maria couldn't exactly call these people friends, but she knew them well enough to know what their names were, what they wanted, and what they expected when they came in.

MEETING EMILIO

While she was in school, Maria was the kind of girl that was seen with many books and known as a "geek." While she was working in the bookstore, she was seen the same way, especially when she was on shelving duty. Had it not been for those books and her love of them, Maria would not have met the man that she was apparently destined to marry: Emilio Sanchez.

It was the middle of January and very cold outside. From inside the bookstore, Maria and her colleagues could see the people outside in the Alley trying to find a warm place to sit for a while--mostly men and women who were either off from work or on their way to work or picking up the usual things they needed from the Alley.

Maria had been on shelving duty when Emilio walked into the bookstore. As was usual when she was shelving books, her arms were stacked full of heavy books. She was, of course, trying to place them on the shelves between other books and was finding herself having difficulties. Indeed, she could have used magic to shelve them, but she didn't like using magic for such things. It made her feel lazy. As she had been shelving the books, Emilio came over to her and just took a few of the books from her arms. Their eyes met, and it was like magic (no pun intended).

DATING

Maria saw more of Emilio while she worked at the bookstore. He came in everyday after he got off work just to see her. His reasons for being there were not actually revealed until later. He walked in and would look around for books, or so he said. Maria would ask if he needed help, and he'd say yes, just so they could talk. He would oftentimes flip the conversation so that they were talking about each other or about themselves rather than books. His English wasn't all that great, and he had asked her one day if she would help him speak better. She agreed, but only on one condition: he had to teach her Spanish.

One day, after they had been helping each other for quite some time, Emilio asked Maria to join him for dinner. Though hesitant, Maria accepted his offer and joined him one evening for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. They talked a lot and really got to know each other.

Maria learned that Emilio was a pureblood born and raised in Spain and had attended school there. Because the universities in Spain were extremely expensive and offered little to no education that would help him have a future, he decided to move to England and leave his family there. He attended a university there and graduated after four years. He said that he and his family were extremely close and maintained a close connection even through they were a bit far apart.

The process continued. The two of them had agreed that they were officially dating and that they could get a little bit less distant from each other. Emilio had agreed, since he knew that Maria was extremely inexperienced in relationships, that he would take it slow and not make any moves until she said that she was ready. And he followed up with his agreement, which is exactly why the two of them never shared an actual kiss for the first two years of dating. Despite the fact that they had crossed the boundary and got a bit more close as far as intimacy went, Maria vowed that she would not have premarital sex, and Emilio respected her wishes even though he had already done the deed with some other woman before the two of them had ever met, which he did not tell Maria and never plans to tell her.

THE BIG QUESTION

During their years of dating, Emilio and Maria had both taken the time to introduce their families. There was a language barrier when Emilio took Maria to Spain to meet his parents and siblings, but it was easily overcome. Maria's parents loved Emilio, and Emilio's parents loved Maria. They were all in very close contact and had taken the time to sit and chat and meet each other.

After three years of dating, Emilio felt that he was ready to ask Maria for her hand in marriage. He did everything the old-fashioned way and went to ask Maria's parents if he could have their blessing. They agreed and gave him permission to ask her to marry him.

The night was well-planned and almost a perfection. Emilio had decided to take her to a fancy Muggle restaurant. They sat at a table for two with candles lit in the middle and wine. The setting was extremely warm and romantic. Maria had a feeling that he would be proposing. The two of them had never actually had a romantic dinner like they were. And, as expected, before they left, Emilio got down on one knee, took Maria's hand in his own, and proposed. She accepted without any hesitancy.

I DO

After a few months of simple but careful planning, Maria and Emilio were ready to be married. They set the wedding for September second, the day after Maria's twenty-first birthday. Maria had not really wanted to have it the day after her birthday, but that was one of the only openings the place they wanted to rent had available. They took the earliest availability and married on the second of September.

The wedding had been simple and quite small. It was held in London at the church that Maria and her parents had attended on a regular basis. There was an incorporation of Emilio's family's religion, Catholicism. Maria wore a simple dress, the one that her own mother had worn when she married Maria's father many years before. Emilio rented a tux, like most men do. The decorations weren't all that grand, but the reception went well. The bride and groom cut the cake and did the usual wedding ceremonies. The two of them then went on their honeymoon.


BABY ON BOARD, VOL. 1

Less than two years after they had married, Maria found herself pregnant with their first child. The pregnancy had certainly been an adventure for Maria and Emilio. Maria was sick for almost the entire pregnancy. She ate a lot of foods that she didn't generally eat. She was extremely fat when she went into her ninth month--but that's not unusual for women who are pregnant. She was a lot moodier than she usually was. Emilio had done his best to cope with his wife's needs and her complaints. He didn't try to let her become uncomfortable, and he never pressured her about anything he knew would stress her out. He was loving and caring through the entire situation, not to mention supportive.

Maria worked up until the time she could barely stand without her back or feet hurting. She then took maternity leave and sat around the house doing absolutely nothing, even though she desperately wanted to clean. She was always a neat freak before she got pregnant, but things had tripled by the time she reached her fourth or fifth month of pregnancy.

IT'S A BOY!

September second came. Since she was so far into her pregnancy, she and Emilio had not planned on doing anything for their second anniversary, which was probably a good thing since Maria went into labor around lunchtime. Emilio took her to the hospital where she stayed for several hours, shouting and whining pain of the contractions. Finally, the time came.

Maria gave birth to a baby boy. He was twenty-two inches long and weighed eight pounds, three ounces. The name had been an extremely difficult choice. Maria had wanted something unusual and unique. They chose something Arabic, since Emilio had Lebanese blood in him. They named their newborn son Nayib Carlos Sanchez. He had straight dark hair, extremely dark eyes, and somewhat tanned skin, all traits of his father. Even Emilio's mother said that he looked like Emilio did when he was born.

ADJUSTING TO A NEW LIFE

Her original plan had been to take a month off from work while Emilio worked in his position as an auror at the Ministry. However, she fell in love with her son and could not seem to find a single reason to go back to work. So she resigned from her job at the bookstore and decided to be a stay-at-home mother, which would later turn into her very new occupation--one that she enjoyed more than she did working at the bookstore.

A NEW JOB

The adjustment had not been all that complicated. The first month after Nayib was born had been used to get used to his presence and well as his crying. He worked on a schedule, though, and Maria and Emilio were both happy for that. He woke at almost the same time each night, wanted to be fed around the same time each day, and had to have his diaper changed like clockwork. Maria and Emilio could both take a very good guess as to the reason why Nayib was crying; most of the time they were correct in their guesses. Maria took pride in being able to take care of her son and make him happy, and she was glad that she had decided to "change" her occupation. Being a mother was the most important thing in her life.

LITTLE BOY GROWS UP

Like most children, Nayib learned to walk and talk and get into things. He was a very troublesome and mischievous child, and his parents had a hard time trying to keep up with him. He was full of energy and never seemed to run out of it. Maria spent most of her day chasing him around the house or around the park trying to make sure he didn't get into things. He was famous for trying to chase the dogs in the park or trying to climb on chairs in the house. He was like that up until the age of five.

As he grew, he gained more and more maturity. He was never actually mature, though. He acted quite immature for his age and tended to spend a lot of time getting into trouble, on purpose, just to hear his parents complain. For some reason, he thought it funny to hear them complain at them, probably because they both wore a not-very-well-hidden smile behind their voices and facial expressions that showed seriousness.

By the age of nine, Nayib knew right from wrong. He had very good manners, especially when it came to his parents. He was still an only child, which he didn't mind at all. Maria and Emilio spent a lot of time with him and had a lot of fun trying to play games with him like soccer or baseball. They were a very close and well-knit family.

THE ACCIDENT

An evening of what was supposed to romantic and fun ended in devastation and complications. For the twelfth anniversary, Maria and Emilio had decided to go to a play in London and then they would go have dinner at a nice restaurant. After leaving the theater, they made their way to the restaurant at which they at made reservations. As they drove, they were struck by another car that did not pay attention to the traffic lights. It ran a red light and struck their vehicle on the passenger side, which Maria happened to be sitting on.

The wreck overall was bad. The cars were completely totaled. The people inside were injured but not killed, which was a good thing. Maria, however, got the worst end of the deal of the three persons who were in the accident. The person in the striking car received faint head injuries. Emilio only had a few minor scratches. Maria, however, could not move her legs or feet or toes. When the ambulance came, they were careful to remove her from the vehicle and put her into the ambulance. She can easily recall feeling an electric taste in her mouth as well as a strange feeling through her body. But not being able to move the lower half of her body was not the least bit reassuring to her.

In the hospital, after the X-rays and all of her other medical treatments and procedures, she was told that she was paralyzed from the waste down. This news was devastating to Maria, especially since she had a son at home and because she had wanted more children. But the doctor said that there was a surgery that they could try and see if it worked for her situation. She agreed to the surgery. Lucky for her, it worked. The surgeons placed two metal rods on either side of her backbone to hold it in place. She could move the lower half of her body now, but she had to undergo extensive therapy to re-teach herself to walk and run again.

But her back wasn't the only thing affected in the accident. X-rays also showed that one side of her reproductive structures had been damaged. This would not bar her from being able to have children, since she still had the other half, but it would make things more complicated. At the time, she said that she was not really worried about having children or reproducing since she needed to focus on learning to walk again and learning to do things she was usually able to do before. She had also told the doctors that, if she ever did regain her ability to walk, she still had a chance to have children, so she wasn't too worried--at least not at the moment.

THE RECOVERY

Maria's recovery period took a little over a year. She had a physical therapist stay with her during the day to assist her while Emilio was away at work and trying to make sure they have enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table. When he was at home and not working, he helped Maria do things like bathe and cook and other assorted projects that she wanted to do but couldn't do all that easily on her own. He helped the therapist on therapy sessions while he was off. When the therapist left and Maria was extremely tired, she would ask Nayib and Emilio to go on a walk with her, at which time they would wheel her out of the house and down the street towards the park where they all liked to walk. Sometimes Emilio and her would go alone, and Maria would take time to sit and cry; oftentimes Emilio would cry with her, too. He probably cried more than she did.

After a while, Maria eventually relieved herself of all tears and could not find herself crying anymore. She was all cried out and dried up; no longer could she cry. She made herself stronger after the period of doubt she had had, and she had strengthened Emilio to do the same. Once the period of doubt was over, Maria tried harder than she had before and managed to gain some strength in her legs back. Within no time after that, she was able to walk, which she hadn't been able to do before. Though she could walk, she still took her therapy lessons until she was fully capable of walking and running at various paces without complaining too much about pain in her back.

She still goes to see the therapist for occasional visits when she starts getting pains in her back or legs. The therapist helps her exercise them and makes sure that she isn't suffering from severe discomfort. She also goes for a massage once a week, especially since she gets overly stressed at work and has muscle aches.

Though she's been healed for about eighteen years now, Maria still must be cautious, especially when doing a lot of excessive lifting or something that will strain her back. Should serious pain occur, a doctor's visit is an immediate reaction.

NAYIB GOES OFF TO SCHOOL

The year after she had managed to recover, Nayib received his Hogwarts letter. The letter read as all of the others did. Maria and Emilio sent him off to Hogwarts to get his magical education. There he was sorted into Gryffindor, which was a bit strange but not unexpected. He was a bit of a troublemaker and tended to have letters sent home to his parents in regards to his behavioral problems. A few times he was almost expelled but managed to remain in school. He received average grades, nothing spectacular like his mother or father, but well enough to be passing and getting him through school.

Nayib was more worried about girls and fun and games in school. He didn't really care about his grades or about his homework; he put play before work, which was something both Emilio and Maria had discouraged greatly. But he never listened. It was amazing that he managed to pass and not flunk out of school.

AND SO DOES MARIA…

Maria still didn't know what she wanted to do, but she decided to go back to school since Nayib was out of the house and Emilio was working. It would give her something to do during the day so that she wasn’t sitting around the house bored and doing absolutely nothing. She took day classes at the university that Emilio had attended and managed to receive some of the topmost marks on all of her papers and tests and such. Those were just her required classes, though.

Over a period of time, she spoke with other adults that were there trying to discover something that fit their work preference. She spoke with people that had already chosen and asked them about the jobs they wanted and the courses they took. She took an interest in several courses but found that she liked the idea of a magical law course the most. So, she decided to take courses that dealt with magical law and other things. And then she had a place where she could work: the Ministry of Magic.

She worked hard and excelled in her classes, finally earning her a college degree. Her son and husband were both very proud of her. The only thing was: what was she supposed to do now?

HER NEW, ACTUAL, JOB

Maria went out and found herself a job. It wasn't really that hard of a task, especially since the Ministry of Magic seemed to have a shortage of people when it came to secretaries. She became the Minister's secretary and was in charge of taking his memos, filing papers, and informing him of important dates. It was a very close position to the Minister, and she was able to see how things really worked, especially when he invited her to meetings that he had to attend (he hated taking notes and asked her to do it for him).

In the meantime, Emilio had gone on to bigger and better things. He had previously worked as head auror, but that job had become quite dull and boring and started to drag. Besides, there were a lot of much younger gentlemen who were in search of a position such as that. So, he gave up his position and got a spot in the Wizengamot. He was only a minor member, though.

PLAYING SLOT MACHINES

While Maria was in school for four years, she and Emilio made several attempts to conceive another child. Each time they tried, they found that Maria wasn't pregnant. Maria and Emilio said that they were playing slot machines because they kept putting quarters into the machine and got absolutely nothing. It was quite upsetting, and Maria was starting to wonder whether or not she should go back to the doctors that had helped her a few years previously and ask about that surgery they had mentioned to help her obtain the other half of her reproductive organs. And that's exactly what she did.

She had the surgery about a month after talking to them. The surgery was successful. Now all she and Emilio had to do was see whether or not their could work their magic like they had with Nayib (no pun intended, again).

BABY ON BOARD, VOL. 2

A few months after the surgery, Maria found herself pregnant with her second child. Unlike her pregnancy with Nayib, she wasn't all that sick after her first trimester, and she wasn't all that big when she got far into the pregnancy. She ate a lot of the same things; with this one, though, she found herself eating a lot of pineapple, which she hadn't eaten at all when she was pregnant with Nayib.

Again, Emilio was supportive of her and didn't upset her--or at least he tried not to. He helped her do things that she wanted to do and offered to give her frequent food and back massages, which she accepted with absolutely no hesitancy in her voice. There were many nights where they both fell asleep on the couch while he massaged her feet. Nayib was absent for two-thirds of the pregnancy.

IT'S A GIRL!

Maria gave birth to their baby girl on December fifth at seven-twelve in the evening. Nayib was not present for the birth since he was still at school; he didn't get to see his baby sister until almost two to three weeks after she was born.

The baby girl, which they named Emily Marie after both of her parents, was twenty-one inches long and weight six pounds, eight ounces. She had a head full of dark curled hair and dark eyes; she looked very similar to her mother and had many of her qualities including her pale skin tone. She was Maria and Emilio's pride and joy, as Nayib had been when he was born, and they loved her for it. She was special, though, because she was born fourteen years after Nayib had been and because she had been born after many complications. But they didn't love Nayib any less by any amount.

TURNING BACK TIME

Having another baby in the house really turned back time and made the clock tick backwards for Maria. She took a two months for maternity leave--a month before the baby was born and a month after. She did not resign from her position, though. Emily really made her think back to the time when Nayib was a baby and running around the house. She couldn't help but bring out the camera and the photo albums. She loved to mark each moment in her life and that of her children. She was going to make sure she took pictures and kept them.

READJUSTING TO LIFE AGAIN

A month after Emily was born and adjusting to Emily's presence in the family, Maria went back to work. She did not hire a sitter, though, nor did she ask that Emilio stay home with her. Actually, she set up a very small section of her work area and made it like a nursery and took Emily to work with her. The Minister had allowed it and actually took a special interest in Emily, especially since he loved kids.

Maria had no trouble at all adjusting to her life as a "new" mother. Emily was a quiet child, and it caused no problem to bring her to work. When she did happen to cry, Maria was able to quiet her easily without having to take her elsewhere.

When Emily grew older and started to become more mischievous, Maria hired a sitter and had a sitter watch her while she and Emilio were at work. During her breaks, Maria made visits home to eat meals with Emily and to give the sitter a break for about an hour or two. As she aged, she showed much more maturity than Nayib and had a lot more respect and appreciation for her manners. Maria wondered how both of her children turned out to be somewhat opposite, but she supposed that it was the fact that one had XY chromosomes and the other had XX chromosomes.

EMILY GOES OFF TO SCHOOL

Emily received her letter to Hogwarts when she was eleven, three months shy of twelve. Much like her parents had done to Nayib, they sent Emily off to Hogwarts to be educated in the magical world. There she was sorted into Ravenclaw, like her mother. She showed many of the same attributes, too, especially when it came to studying and doing her schoolwork. She wasn't one to waste much time. She is now going into her third year at the school.

NAYIB'S BIG NEWS

After the start of Emily's first year in Hogwarts, Nayib announced that he and his girlfriend were going to be married. His girlfriend, who was also an auror at the Ministry, had accepted his proposal. Being the woman that Maria is, she was a bit skeptical at first but eventually warmed up to the idea. She wanted nothing more than her son to be married and to have a family of his own. Though she was upset at the same time, she couldn't help but be amazingly ecstatic about the entire situation. After all, her son was getting married.

THE SCHOOLING FINALLY PAYS OFF

Shortly after Emily started school at Hogwarts, the Minister of Magic resigned from his position. He had been discussing it for a long time now, for the past year or so, and Maria was the first to hear about it. He hadn't really told her directly that he was thinking about resigning, but she had heard him talking it over with a few of the other colleagues that he was in close relations with. Maria thought of this as the perfect opportunity to go for the position. And she did.

WHERE IS SHE NOW: AN OVERVIEW

Maria has been the Mistress of Magic for going on two years now. Before her appointment, Emilio was made Head of the Wizengamot, a title that he was proud to receive from the previous Minister of Magic. Since her appointment, Maria has gotten rid of a lot of the people in the Ministry who were not doing their jobs with the help of the heads of departments and her husband. Emily is about to start her third year at Hogwarts; she is looking forward to it but not wanting to leave home all the same. Nayib and his wife are doing well and are expecting their first baby in about five months.

Personality:

ONCE A RAVENCLAW, ALWAYS A RAVENCLAW
I'm sure you all know the Ravenclaw stereotype: intelligent bookworms who don't have anything else better to do than their homework. This is most certainly true for Maria Sanchez (or at least it was during her school years). The woman is extremely witty, intelligent, and resourceful. Like any typical Ravenclaw, she put her studies before her free time, simply because she was more concerned about her grades than anything, and managed to receive some of the topmost marks in her class. She spent a lot of her time in the library reading, mostly because she wanted to and not because she had to. During her school years, she was married to her work and made sure that she dedicated any and all of her time to that, leaving little to no free time for herself. But she was fine with that, especially since she really had nothing better to do than her work. At the time, boys were one of the last things on her mind, well, sort of. She had her eyes on certain handsome young men, but she never really spoke to them, or anyone for that matter. She remained in her little shell--just her and her work.

Now that she's an adult and has managed to make a small name for herself in her third home called Hogwarts, Maria's Ravenclaw ways have altered themselves. She now has a family and has learned that not everything can be about work. She puts her family first and foremost in her life, especially when she's actually at home. When she's at school, her colleagues become her family. She is usually in a higher status than most, but she treats them with the same amount of respect that they give her. She never acts too businesslike, especially when she is just having a general conversation with someone. She loves her work, still, and commits herself to her work. On occasion, she can be found in the staff lounge room reading a book of sorts, rather than doing necessary paperwork. But one can't work all the time.

THAT'S MRS. SANCHEZ TO YOU
Now, when it comes to names and what people can and should call her, Maria really has no preference. She settles for almost anything, as long as it is appropriate and nothing vulgar that will offend her, of course. She settles for things such as "Mistress" or "Madam." Though it is far more polite to call a Mistress by her title or by her last name, Maria does not mind if people address her using her first name, or even her middle name at times. Some have gone as far as to give her nicknames, which she doesn't mind. They just have to be polite when using the nicknames and make sure that they do not offend anyone at all, especially Maria, since she's the one who has to be called the names. Among her preferred names are: Mistress, Mistress Sanchez, Mrs. Sanchez, Madam, or Maria.

WORK BEFORE PLAY
Again, tying into the Ravenclaw attributes and the fact that Maria is a Ravenclaw, she always puts her work before play. And because she does this, she also encourages all other people to do the same. Though there is always time for play when working, Maria feels that the actual work should get done first. Failure to finish one's work leads to problems in the long run, and she is trying to prevent unnecessary problems from being brought about.

She knows that not all people will actually follow her preferred philosophy of "work before play," but she at least tries to enforce it. People take to it fairly well and do as they are asked without hesitation or complaints. She is glad that most people can cooperate and find themselves on the same page as she is.

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
One thing Maria absolutely despises is lying. She understands that lying is part of life and that everyone does it, including her, but some people lie too much for their own good. She can understand an occasional white lie to keep your ass out of trouble, but there are people who just lie to lie. She cannot understand reasons as to why people lie just to lie, but she is trying hard to figure it out, though it's proving to be a very complicated task indeed.

Maria encourages people to tell the truth because honesty is the best policy, or so they say. She tries to tell the truth as much as possible because it makes her feel better inside and out, and it shows other people that you don't always get into trouble for being honest. Sometimes it can actually get you out of trouble, if the truth is told at the right time and in the proper manner. You don't tell people the truth because that's what they want to hear, you tell them the truth because that's what you want to do and that's what you want them to hear. It's a matter of what you want and what you think is right. This is where integrity plays a really big part in Maria's life and that of others.

For the most part, the woman is an honest person and does her best to be honest. As said before, she tells an occasional white lie, but she always makes sure that the lie isn't too large and expanded that it's too hard to come back from, should someone find out that it is, indeed, a lie.

Another reason why Maria tries to be so honest is because lying is a sin, at least to her. She believes in God and believes that He, in a way, condemns liars. Of course, many would say that she has a pure soul and that she is not going to Hell, but she doesn't want to risk and take any chances of hurting her possibility of actually going to Heaven.

MOTHER KNOWS BEST
Being a mother of two has brought a lot out in Maria that wasn't there before she had her first child. After she had Nayib, she had a whole different perspective on the world. Before all of her desires had been inanimate things or money. Once Nayib came along, she realized that her greatest desire all that time had been to be a mother and raise a child. Granted, she was only twenty-three when she had him, but she was still able to care for him with her husband even at a young age. But, to be honest, she wasn't really that maternal when Nayib was a baby and a kid. She had motherly ways about her, but she didn't know much about parenting, so Nayib turned out to be a wild kid, oftentimes getting into things. She had taught him manners but never really reinforced them, thus leading into problems later. He got into quite a bit of trouble and had been deemed a trouble-maker at school.

When Emily came along, she became a lot more motherly, mostly because she realized what had become of Nayib. Nayib wasn't a bad kid; he was just a little bit more hyper than most; maybe it was ADHD? But anyway, Emily brought out a much more maternal side of Maria. Emily had helped her to realize that there was more to being a mother than just raising the child and sending him on his way. Rather, Emily had taught her various things that she had not learned with Nayib and had not done with Nayib. Age had also given her a bit of this information and a bit of that knowledge, but Emily helped her really to use it and let it settle in.

Now when she is around people, she tends to do those little motherly things that annoy their children. She will wipe food off your mouth or tell you to fix your hair. She will tell you that your tag is hanging out of the back of your shirt or tell you that you need to brush your teeth before you go to bed. It doesn't matter who you are, Maria is one to act motherly to anyone any everyone. It's become a natural and frequent part of her life, and she uses it everyday all day. No matter where she is or who she is with, whether younger or older, Maria shows her maternal side in the simplest of ways, whether by a touch on the shoulder or a spoken sentence.

FRIENDS ARE HARD TO COME BY
When it comes to friendships, Maria takes them very seriously; she's a fierce friend. When someone befriends her, Maria does her best not to ruin that friendship. She tries to keep the bond between she and each friend strong and close. Friends are really hard to come by, as they say, and she knows this very well. She doesn't try to endanger her friendships with anyone, simply because friends are always good to bad, especially when you're going through a hard time.

She is a very loyal and honest friend. She doesn't try to keep secrets between she and her friends. She tells her friends nearly all of her secrets that are not all that personal. And she doesn't force her friends to tell their secrets. She wants people to know that she is trustworthy and that they can trust her. She also wants people to know that they can talk to her if they need to talk to her.

SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER
When you really don't know a person, the only thing you can really do is listen to what they have to say in order to start getting to know them. When people listen to Maria, they will hear a lot of different things. Some things are quite profound while others are a bit strange. Maria, like almost every other person on this planet, has a tendency to be strange. And the only thing you can do when this time comes is say: what the hell?

Sometimes Maria has the tendency to talk a lot. It all depends on her mood as well as the topic of conversation. If you get to the point where Maria is actually talking and talking a lot, it may be best to change the topic or cut in. When she gets to talking, she talks for a very long time and doesn't usually let anyone butt in easily. She will talk for hours on end about the same thing, repeating herself a lot of the time. Sometimes she describes things in the strangest of ways with the oddest of details. The best thing for you to do is run away, and run very, very fast.

Sometimes Maria tends to be a bit nosey, too. You see, she likes listening to the things around her; conversations oftentimes attract her attention. She doesn't always mean to listen in to what other people are saying, but she does. When she hears conversations, she has the tendency to either jump in or go talk to someone else about it. So if you sense that dear Maria is around, the best thing to do is just keep quiet until she's gone or go somewhere else where you can talk in a bit more privacy.

CLEAN UP, CLEAN UP...
I'm sure you all remembered the song your parents used to sing in an attempt to motivate you to clean, right? Well, Maria doesn't have to sing a song to clean up around her house. She does it voluntarily and will actually volunteer to help clean around someone else's personal space if it's messy and they want it clean. If there's one thing she can't stayed, it's a mess. She has to have the places that she inhabits spotlessly clean and completely organized or she goes insane. But, you see, Maria isn't just your average neat freak. I mean, no one likes cleaning, but she does. Strange, huh?

If something gets moved out of place, Maria goes completely insane. She has to have everything in a particular and very specific order. If something is out of place, she has to rearrange everything. That's just the way she is. She's a very strange woman when it comes to her things and clean; her husband and children worry about her sometimes, but they've come to realize and understand that it's just one of her many quirks.

When Maria cleans, she doesn't use magic. She refuses to use magic in her home, simply because she thinks things get done better without the use of magic. Her husband thinks she's crazy but lets her do things her own way, because he knows how she gets if he interrupts her in the midst of doing something. Her children have become the same way, even though Nayib has taken to purposely moving things out of place just to see her in a tizzy. But a tizzy isn't always a good thing, you see....

When Maria is really upset or really angry, she goes on a cleaning frenzy. It's like her stress reliever. If she's mad, she does some extensive house cleaning, not like there's ever any to do since the place is always clean. That's when she purposely makes things dirty just to have something to clean. When she's upset and sad, she does the same thing. She's a strange woman, as said before, but it's just one of those little quirks of hers that makes her more like Maria and less like anyone else.

HERE COME THE APRIL SHOWERS
Tears can be brought to Maria Sanchez's eyes, sometimes in the simplest of ways and sometimes not in the simplest of ways. To really know what makes Maria cry, though, one much known her and understand the things she does and why she does them. But, anyway, what really makes Mrs. Sanchez cry?

One: her monthly cycle. If you're a female, I'm sure you can relate to such feelings. There are just times when Mrs. Sanchez can't help but get a little bit teary for no reason, though sometimes it is out of frustration or stress. Most of the time that's the reason why she cries, at least during that time. When not out of frustration and stress, her tears are just to cry. Sometimes that's all a lady needs is to cry, just to relieve some very well-hidden and unresolved feelings. Crying makes you feel a whole lot better, you know?

Two: her family and friends. If you have a family and friends and care for them greatly, I'm sure you understand this one. Maria devotes her life to her family and friends and wants to see only good happen to them and for them. She doesn't want them to get into a spat and happen to die. If something happens to a family member or friend, it affects Maria. She will cry, possibly in hopes that her tears will stop it from happening and worsening. It's an emotion called love that causes her to do this.

Three: profound conversation. Maria like to talk, especially when things are in-depth and profound. She tends to allow herself to get lost in the conversation and allow her emotions to become part of the conversation. If the conversation is deep enough, and it's about something she can really relate to, one can see tears welling up inside her eyes and fogging her vision. It's not that hard to see, especially if she's looking at you.

Four: childhood troubles. She hates seeing children going through hard times. Children are innocent and should not have to suffer from the things adults have to suffer from. When hearing a student, or even a young adult, speaking of his or her troubles, it upsets her. She can't help but get teary and start crying. It hurts her to know that people much younger than herself are hurting. Some may see this as a bit too caring, but that's just who she is.

A PASSION FOR MUSIC
Music has always had a large influence on Maria since the day she was born. Her mother used to sing her to sleep at night when she was a baby and even when she was a little girl; her mother had a very soothing and calm voice, which was always able to relieve any and all tension away from Maria's body. Her mother's songs and voice always seemed to take her to an entirely different world than the one she really lived in.

Fortunately, Maria inherited her mother's beautiful voice. Indeed their voices are most definitely not alike, since her mother's was always a few pitches higher than hers, but they are both able to sing and carry a tune nicely. They both have a natural born gift, for which they are thankful. They both use their gift to the best of their ability and never put it to waste or overuse it in a way that may make them seem snobbish. Maria really enjoys singing, but she doesn't sing just too hear her voice. She sings and doesn't realize she sings; sometimes she sings because people ask her to sing. Singing is also a stress-reliever for her, mostly because it releases all the "hot air" that was building up inside her.

Not only does she sing, though. She also plays guitar, piano, and violin. Here favorite instrument of the three is the guitar, simply because she can remember when her father would play for her when she was younger. He was the one who taught her how to play and showed her all the tricks to playing. When he passed, she was given his guitar, which she still has and cherishes. She loves to play and sing along as she plays because, again, it relieves stress. She's quite a musical person and isn't scared to admit it. It has influenced her greatly and sometimes even gives her a different perspective on things around her, simply because some real-life situations are put into song.

Not only does she enjoy singing, but she also enjoys dancing. Her father taught her to dance when she was young, probably five and six years old. He showed her simple salsa and tango steps and even showed her how to improvise if she forgot what to do. She can dance very well and oftentimes uses it when she is wanting to relieve stress and sometimes when she is in a flirtatious mood around her husband.

Music and dance, for Maria, are like expressions of what she is thinking and feeling. And expression is important to her.

[Maria Sanchez]

Personality (con't):

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN
We hear all the time that silence is golden. Is there really such thing as silence? Maria doesn't believe in complete silence, because she knows that nothing is ever truly silent because there are noises all around. If you listen carefully, you can hear the noises. Maria is one to sit and actually listen for the noises, just to hear what is around. She loves sitting in silence and trying to figure out what is going on around her. Of course, she doesn't like sitting in silence for too long because it becomes quite eerie and frightening.

Maria usually sits in silence when she is in a somber mood and wants to be alone, which is somewhat rare. She will sit alone and listen to the silence around her in an attempt to hear the faintest of sounds. She usually breaks before she feels like submerging herself to people, though, so she tends to start singing; if she has an instrument with her, she will play that as well. Silence is a refuge for her when she's feeling down. And when silence does happen to fall, she takes advantage of it and puts it to the best possible use.

Physical Appearance:

HAIR
I'm sure that you ladies can relate when I say that hair can oftentimes be a complete and total disaster and has the tendency to be a menace at times; even some of you gentlemen may be able to relate as well. Everyone, regardless of who you are, has had a bad hair day one day or another, maybe more frequently than you would like it to be. Maria Sanchez is no different. She's had her fair share of bad hair days that she very much wishes hadn't happened, especially since they had ended in complete and total humiliation for her.

Even though she really does love her hair overall, her natural curls tend to get the best of her. When she was younger, her curls used to be extremely tight and frizzy; she couldn't brush them without them going crazy on her. Now that she's older, and her hair has had time to learn that its owner doesn't appreciate it being loco and that she doesn't like all that many curls. And, amazingly, the curls have become a little less curly and a bit more loose and at the bottoms of her hair, rather than throughout her entire head. For that she is greatly appreciative.

Her hair isn't all that long at the moment, though it was at one point in time before she cut it. She prefers longer hair because it makes her feel younger than she actually is, mostly because she sees a lot of people her age and older wearing their hair short and in very boring styles. Before she cut her hair, it actually reached down to her waist; now her hair reaches an inch or two past her shoulders. The ends of her hair look a little bit uneven, simply because it's grown since she cut it, but she doesn't mind the uneven ends. It makes her hair look a little bit more natural. And she likes looking natural.

Her hair has a bit of natural curl to it, but not too much. The bottom half of her hair has loose curls in it and looks as if it was curled loosely with a large curling iron. She doesn't mind the curl because she thinks it looks nice, but there are times where she takes time to actually straighten it or pull it back into some plain and slightly stylish style. The curls looks nice, if worn right, but she doesn't like wearing her hair the same way everyday.

The coloring of her hair has changed during the fifty-one years of her life. When she was born, her hair was extremely dark and black. It remained that color for the most part until she started going outside a lot and playing with her sister and all of her friends. Her hair started to lighten a bit until it was a deep shade of brown. It remained that color for a very long time, alternating between the appearance of brown and black, depending on what season it was and what type of light she was in. Recently her daughter has had her dye her hair so that she "stopped reminding people that their Mistress was getting old." Maria didn't like the idea, and refused to change the color of her hair. She doesn’t mind the gray roots. Besides, what's wrong with getting gray hair?

When it comes to styles, Maria is not into the overly dramatic of extravagant. She prefers simple and easy, especially when she is in a hurry. Her hairstyles are not all that interesting, since they are common, but she really doesn't care. She will either wear her hair down, back in a bun, in a braid, or in a simple ponytail--that's when she's going out somewhere, or maybe even around her house. When she's just trying to get it up and out of the way when she's not out in public, she'll just throw it back into some sloppy style and not give a second thought about what it looks like. She just does whatever she wants with her hair, simply because she can. The most common of her hairstyles as of late is a bun, mostly because she has to go out into public and wants to look professional.

EYES
Maria Sanchez's eyes are probably her best asset; if they're not her best asset, then they are most certainly one of the best. Her eyes are a very intriguing and captivating shade of brown. Sometimes they can appear to be so dark that they look black and appear to have no end in depth; and at other times they are so light that they appear almost yellow and hawk-like. The color of her eyes is, of course, a common color, but that does not take away from them at all. If anything, it adds to them. The various shades of brown her eyes can become show that the color brown has much more depth and hue to it, rather than just "brown."

Even though the coloring of her eyes makes them most intriguing, the depth and things that can be seen within them also make them more interesting and intriguing. If one looks into Maria Sanchez's eyes, he will see the emotion she is feeling and perhaps what she is thinking, simply because her eyes show just about anything and everything a person could want to know. Her eyes hide absolutely nothing, especially her emotions, so it's easy to tell when she's upset, angry, or in a decent mood.

Her eyes are of a regular shape, though they have the tendency to look a slight bit odd, depending on how she has them. There are times where her eyes look thin and Chinese-like, though she's not really sure as to why this is. She assumes that she has a slight amount of Chinese ancestry in her blood, but this isn't a proven fact. She doesn't think she does.

Along the edges of her eyelids are long and very dark eyelashes. She appears to be wearing mascara even when she's not; that's just how long and dark her lashes are. Above her eyes are finely arched and well-done eyebrows. Both her eyelashes and eyebrows give her face a very feminine and adult-like facial appearance, which she is grateful for.

Though it's not really visible unless you're standing up close next to her, Maria has wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. The wrinkles aren't all that large or dark when she is wearing a normal expression, vacant of a smile or squinted eyes. When she smiles or squints her eyes, though, the wrinkles are extremely visible and add a decent amount of age to her face. The wrinkles are among some of the things that have changed about her over the many years of her life; she doesn't hate them, though, since she knows that wrinkles are given with age. And let's face it: she isn't exactly young anymore either.

NOSE
Although she really does hate to admit it, Maria has a fairly large nose. She has her father to thank for this, simply because he, too, had a large nose that took up a large amount of his face. Her nose isn't all that wide, but it is a bit long, and it's apparent when she stands to the side that her nose is large. When she was younger, her nose was wider rather than long, but that obviously changed over the fifty-one years of her life. Unlike her father's nose, however, hers is not pointed at the tip, but rather, rounded nicely. And as much as she hates her nose, she doesn't mind that she inherited her father's nose, because it's really the only thing that she did inherit from him genetically.

MOUTH
Located beneath her amazingly large nose is a thin and beautifully shaped lips, which she inherited from her mother. Her lips are somewhat wide and thin. Her lips are a delicate shade of pink and appear as if they have pink lipstick on them, even though they don't; they are just that color naturally. Rarely will Maria Sanchez be seen with lipstick on her lips; if she is wearing lipsticks, it's not dark at all and almost appears to be her natural color.

Most of the time Maria's lips are curved gently upwards into a slight smile; it's just how she naturally stands when she's just standing around. If someone sees her, she wants to look inviting, so she tries to keep a sign of a smile upon her face. When she allows herself to really, really smile, her smile takes up half of her face. Her smile, however, does not appear to be overbearing like some may think it is.

At the corners of her lips are slight dimples which she inherited from her mother as well. Accompanying her dimples are a nice set of wrinkles, too. Much like her eyes, the wrinkles were acquired with age. She knows that they'll happen and isn't trying to stop it, even though she would prefer looking younger than she really is.

Behind her thin set of lips is a nice set of teeth. Her teeth are fairly straight, though there is a small gap between her top two front teeth. The gap isn't very large, but it's noticeable when she smiles and shows her teeth. Her teeth are also fairly white for the most part. She brushes them two to three times a day and doesn't smoke or eat a lot of unhealthy foods. This has kept her teeth in good shape and has allowed her teeth to remain fairly white for the most part.

FACE
Her face, along with the rest of her body, is extremely pale and almost ghostly white. Her face is probably more pale that the rest of her body, though, and appears to be the color of porcelain. If it wasn't for the wrinkles that form around her eyes and her lips, she would probably look like a porcelain doll in some way or another. But, since she has wrinkles, she most certainly does not look like a porcelain doll.

Though her face is extremely white, Maria's cheeks have a faint tint of rosy pink in them. Her cheeks are naturally tinted with that pinkish color; when she blushes at comments, compliments, or embarrassment, her cheeks shine an even brighter pink and sometimes turn really, really red. Her cheekbones are somewhat high, especially when she wears a large smile. When she smiles, her cheeks become quite puffy, almost like a child's cheeks that a grandmother would want to pinch just because they were so cute. But, of course, if someone pinched her cheeks, she'd probably smack him or her.

Beneath her right eye is a small mole. Some people may see it as a beauty mark; that's actually how Maria looks at it. Sometimes she feels a bit conscious about it because people tend to stare if they notice it; but she also feels that it identifies her as her own person--the mole, that is. She's gotten used to stares, though, and she's also manages to feel less conscious about it.

HANDS
Man hands. Those are the first two words that come to mind when seeing Maria's hands. Even though she is very womanly in just about every other way, her hands are manly in appearance. Sure, her hands may be small, and her fingers may be long and thin, but her hands look like they've been worked like a man's hands have been. And, in some ways, it's true. She does a lot of house chores by hands, such as cleaning and the dishes, and her hands have become somewhat worn from that. But despite that, her hands are still really soft-feeling, mostly because she uses lotion and puts it on her hands after showers, just to make sure that her hands remain soft as most old women's hands are.

At the tips of her fingers are manicured fingernails. She does not bite her nails. But she does not always go to get her hands manicured either. When she does, she gets her fingernails done, though. She does not get acrylic nails put on, but she does have them done in a French manicure to make her hands look at least somewhat feminine.

The only piece of jewelry she really wears on her hand is her wedding ring or another ring that her husband may have given her. She likes things that symbolize something, so she usually just wears her wedding band on her left hand just to show that she is married and to show the sign of a symbol. It's just something about her. Everyone has their quirks; that's just one of Maria's.

FEET
Feet are feet. There's no doubt about that. They get you to where you need to go, maybe in a longer period of time than you really want, but they get you there. But regardless of who you talk to, it is almost guaranteed that his feet are hideous and ugly. That's how Maria feels about it anyway. She doesn't think that feet are attractive in any way, though some men think of feet as some sort of sex symbol (how, Maria has yet to figure out). She knows that her feet are hideous, no matter how "regular" they are. If anyone says otherwise, she will seriously argue it out with them. And if her husband ever said that her feet were sexy or attractive, she would probably just have to hit him.

BODY
When she looks in the mirror, Maria sees herself as simply another average woman. She is happy with what she sees, for the most part, as far as her body goes. She stands at no more than 5’2” and weighs about 133 pounds or so, depending on what she eats and how much she gets out and exercises. Her weight is about average and probably lies a bit over the average “perfect” weight for a person of her height. She appears quite thin, but there is a recognizable amount of fat on her stomach. If she wears something that is fairly form fitting or something that shows her shape in any way, the amount of fat, or “pudge”, on her stomach is visible. She does not feel fat, even though she may look it, nor does she let it bother her. She figures she has a reason for it anyway: two kids. But really, that's no excuse because there are women who have a lot of kids and remain amazingly thin.

When it comes to curves, Maria was fairly blessed in that department, which can be a burden at times; her husband tends to be one of those admiring freaks who just stares at her (lol). It’s not that she necessarily minds, but she hates when he does it in public places. That’s when she has to say “No PDA.” Her husband isn't one to go around groping on her, but there are times when he tends to get a bit touchy-feely, more so in their home than in public.

Her chest is of an average size for her body. When she was younger, before she had her children, her chest was nonexistent--like, zip, zilch, nada. However, that is not the case anymore. She has a chest and it’s noticeable with most, if not all, of her clothes.

Though she wishes she didn’t, Maria has both hips and a butt. Her hips and butt are both fairly large and greatly curved. This makes things a bit complicated come time to try on pants.

ATTIRE
Maria is, in no way, a trendsetter. When it comes to clothes, she wears what she feels like wearing. Most of the time, her outfits are Muggle attire. Her clothes are not really flaunty because she would prefer to keep to herself in a sense of her body. She knows that, by keeping herself covered, it shows a sense of respect. Besides… she doesn’t need guys staring at her in places that make her feel uncomfortable, especially since she has her husband to do that.

Her casual Muggle attire usually consists of a regular shirt and pair of blue jeans or a skirt. She doesn’t like jeans that are too tight for her, but she doesn’t really want them amazingly loose. She tries to get them so they fit her figure but have a bit of comfort to them. Her shirts are of various styles and colors. She doesn’t try to get low-cut v-neck shirts or sweaters, nor does she try to get something that’s going to be a bit showy. She’ll wear any color, but she prefers to wear black since it’s more professional and makes her feel more comfortable in her own body.

Because she is Mistress of Magic, Maria chooses not to wear the robes unless she absolutely has to. She usually wears women's dress/business suits and maintains a professional appearance through Muggle attire. When she absolutely has to wear robes, she wears form-fitting robes that are in no way vulgar and chooses whatever color she wants, except white. She doesn't wear white robes.

When the occasion calls for it, Maria will dress nicely. She doesn’t want to look like trash, obviously. If it’s something really formal, Maria will allow more skin to show than usual, just because some of the modern dresses show more, but she doesn’t let everything ‘hang out’ (if you get my drift). She likes looking nice and being presentable, even if cleavage is necessary.

Maria doesn’t really like shoes. She has a few pairs, but that’s about it. She has her heels, her tennis shoes, and her flip flops. She likes her flip flops the most because she likes being able to have her feet open and free, despite their ugliness, and she likes being able to kick her shoes off at any moment if she feels the need. She likes that kind of freedom. She is usually found wearing heels, though, since she's always working. She wears heeled shoes to make herself look taller than she really is, because, let's face it: she's short!

ACCESSORIES
Maria doesn’t over-accessorize. She will wear earrings. She’ll wear necklaces and bracelets occasionally, but she doesn’t flaunt herself using jewelry. She thinks that jewelry, depending on how it’s worn, makes a person look snotty and stuck-up. She is not that kind of person and refuses to be perceived as one. For that reason, she sticks to minimal jewelry--minimal jewelry being her wedding band and a pair of earrings, along with an occasional necklace. On occasion she wears a ring that her husband got her. It looks like two rings but is actually two, and it's very nice--white gold and diamonds.

Sample Role-play:

One thing that Maria Sanchez hated more than anything else was coming to work mad or upset about something. She tried to keep her personal life out of her professional life, and the other way around. The previous night, however, she and Emilio had had an argument of sorts. The argument was probably really unnecessary, but Maria was easily irritated and couldn't take jokes very well, especially after a long day at work.

Maria and Emilio had been talking about which days they'd both be working over as well as their evening plans for the week. It seemed that the entire week was nothing but work, work, and more work. It was mostly on Maria's end of the spectrum, because she had a lot of paperwork, what with the rise in the use of dark magic that had been tracked. The Ministry was still somewhat vacant on ideas in regards to who could be causing this use of dark magic. They had each made their own assumptions, including the Mistress of Magic, but none of them had really shared. Emilio had said that she worked too much and needed a day off; Maria had agreed, but she couldn't and wouldn't just take a day off and leave all of that paperwork lying on her desk to be done when she felt like going back. It made her look bad and put everyone behind, not just her. She couldn't do that.

Their argument had continued for several minutes, each arguing his or her own side. When they argued, their voices remained at normal intervals. They raised their voices slightly when necessary and lowered it when necessary. This was with every argument they had, not just this one. That had gotten Maria in a bad mood over dinner regardless of how small or large of an argument it was; her shower hadn't even helped to calm her nerves from their discussion. What had actually had her a bit upset was what Emilio did when she was trying to go to sleep. He did it all the time, after almost every argument. And every time he did it--well, most of the time--Maria brushed him off and pushed him away. He should have been used to it, but it was obvious that he had yet to learn, which wasn't good.

After she had dressed herself, brushed her hair, and gotten into bed, he had been all lovey-dovey. She asked him kindly and quietly to just lay off it and go to sleep, that they both had to get up early in the morning. Hardheaded, he continued. And the more he continued, the more Maria got fired up. When she had had enough of his playing around and being annoying and not listening to her, she threw the covers back, grabbed her pillow, and went down the hall to Emily's room without another word. And that was where she had slept.

Her sleep hadn't been all that great. She could never sleep when her nerves were shot and something was on her mind. She knew that she had overreacted a bit, but she wasn't really concerned. Emilio should have been able to read the signs; they had been married for thirty years now, and he knew her far better than anyone else, probably even better than she knew herself. To have him continue was basically saying that he didn't pay much attention to her and hadn't been at all since they had met. That was probably was really upset her the most.

Sleep hadn't found her much that night, so she had gotten up far before Emilio did and went into work really early. She had been there since about four or so, which was about four hours before everyone else started to arrive. She had been working heavily on paperwork with the help of seven cups of coffee before anyone else had a chance to arrive. After everyone had arrived, she was still drinking coffee. If she had kept count correctly, this would be her twelfth cup, and it was only eleven in the morning. That definitely wouldn't be the end of her coffee addiction; lunch was only an hour or two away, and Maria was going to be taking her lunch break when she got the chance. She hadn't had breakfast, so she was hungry.

The woman remained in her office for the better part of the day; she didn't want her mood to get in the way of everyone else. Thankfully she didn't have any meetings --at least none of which she was aware. The only think she had planned was paperwork and lunch. And if she felt like it, she would go home on time today, since she worked entirely too much and didn't want to hear Emilio complaining about it. She was trying to save them both the drama of having another argument. But she wasn't going to spare him her bad mood. He had, after all, given it to her.

The woman found herself reaching a stack of letters as she finished up on the most important paperwork. She looked at the front and realized that it was in an unfamiliar handwriting, which just so happened to belong to the headmistress of the school. She opened it and read over the note and what it said. The headmistress had politely requested and asked if some aurors could be stationed at Hogwarts. The woman sighed and laid back against the seat and rubbed the area between her eyes under her reading glasses. She barely had enough aurors to send on missions or to give assignments when she needed them. How the heck was she supposed to find aurors to station at Hogwarts?

But then she thought about it. Emily was there. Emily needed to be safe. And the headmistress had specified that safety was a necessity and that aurors could help. Maria would have to see what she could do.

The brunette placed the letter down atop a small stack of papers and removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes a bit tiredly. She had been up almost all night and working since before sunrise. She needed a break--a real break.

Running a hand through her curls, which she hadn't bothered to straighten or pull back, the woman stood to her feet. She slid her small feet into her heeled shoes and looked around momentarily and down at the papers. She'd take her break and deliver these papers to those who they belonged to. But about the time she managed to gather all of the papers, there was a knock at the door. The woman looked up at the door and then at the schedule for the day. Beneath the eleven-fifteen section was written the name Ronald Weasley. She blinked and sighed, falling purposely, weightily, and heavily down into her seat.

"Come in," she called from behind her desk, sitting. She used each foot to kick off each of her shoes. She set the papers aside and hid the note from the headmistress. She didn't know whether or not Ronald Wealsey knew of the headmistress's plea for aurors, and he didn't need to know if he hadn't already been informed. When the time came, the Mistress would let him know. But not until the time came.

Anything else? Sorry my application is in two posts; it won't fit in just one.[/blockquote][/font]

[The Admin]

Woah, this is a record-breaking app. XD;
Awesomely developed character here. :3

There's just one thing I need to clarify... Why do they have a car? And did she receive her treatment from a Muggle hospital?

[Maria Sanchez]

1. Maria is Muggleborn, lives in the Muggle world, and visits her parents quite a bit (and they're obviously Muggles, too). Besides, she likes traveling Muggle ways more than magical and does so when necessary and when she wants.

2. Yes, she received treatment in a Muggle hospital.

Is that a problem...? O.o

[The Admin]

Nope, not a problem at all.
Just needed to clarify that. ;]

Welcome to ParaPara Hogwarts!
You've been accepted.