Celestina Warbeck's Application

This is an application for an Extra -- a character mentioned in the books without much information or background given, or a character created by the admins to fill a certain role (such as a Prefect). Celestina is a book Extra. This was approved in February, 2005.

Celestina Enochia Warbeck was born in 1975 to parents Christine and Dale. She was the eldest, and three siblings followed--Odette (21), Banner (16) and Lila (12). Her parents had their pure blood to their name, and not much more; and while the family is now comfortable (or well-off, in Celestina's case), she and her sister Odette can remember the scraping early days of her

As with Feature characters, Extras when no longer played are returned to the pool and can be applied for by anyone. New players can reinvent their backgrounds, but must incorporate such information as was revealed on camera during the time the character was previously played. Celestina's age had previously been established by a former player.

parents' attempt at family-making. Dale was just establishing himself as the owner of a magical cleaning business, while Christine made a bit of money around the care of her children by blending her own perfumes and potpourris. Celeste's early life was marked by some privation (though the Warbecks owned a comfortable house in Leicestershire and the children never wanted for necessities), but she was happy. She was taught by her mother (as have been all the Warbeck children) in the basics, as well as piano and guitar, and spent her free time wandering about in the woods around their home like a tramp.

When her father's business finally began to make money, things got much better in the Warbeck household. It just seemed like the atmosphere was lighter and that laughter visited more often. When she was seven, and the family had some money to waste on incidentals, her father declared that she should have singing lessons. Now, Celestina had been born with a beautiful natural voice, but she had no innate need to show off and was rather shy. It took half an hour of coaxing to get her to sing to her family after supper. So she went to lessons in Leicester kicking and screaming. Still, she learned, and her talent only grew--her voice became louder, purer, and more lovely. In the time before she went to Hogwarts it was her father who dragged her to every talent competition, every amateur day, and every performers' pub night in the Leicestershire vicinity, occasionally threatening her when she became particularly recalcitrant. Despite all this--and the genuine love she had developed for music because of her training--she never got used to performing, never enjoyed it, and barely remembered what conspired on stage because of the stage fright she experienced while standing on it.

In 1986 she got some reprieve--she was sent to Hogwarts, where she couldn't continue her lessons on a weekly basis. It was there that she regained some love for singing in and of itself, for she did find pleasure in humming a tune to amuse herself or even warbling an amusing ditty for the close friends she developed in her house of Hufflepuff. That was the one form of entertainment she always liked to provide-a joke, a funny story, an interesting tidbit. She liked to read the Daily Prophet to her table at breakfast. She had no ambitions of stardom, however, and was a pleasant, but diffident student who never truly stood out in any regard. She did very well in her charms and transfiguration coursework, and tried out for the Quidditch team two years in a row without making it. She took the electives of Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies in third year (being interested in Muggle music) and was forced, by her father, to take Fine and Performing arts in her sixth year. There she stood out a little, whenever she could be compelled to sing as part of a presentation, practice, or recital, but as her dad wasn't physically there, well, he couldn't make her star in every production. Ha. He got her back by dragging her to try-outs for an in-house amateur singer for the WWN program 'The Witching Hour' in the summer of 1992, a position which she won. She thus stayed the summer in London, performed weekly on the air, and fell in love with the city. She developed a great admiration for the wireless, as well, for it allowed her to perform-and enjoy it!-without being physically in front of a ton of people.

Information revealed in the books must also be incorporated smoothly into an Extra's background. Here, Celestina slips in the information from Chamber of Secrets.

She graduated in 1993--thankfully, before all that dreadful stuff happened at Hogwarts. The basilisk in her last year was bad enough. She got Es and As on her OWL and NEWT tests. She returned home for a spell, not keen on setting out on her own until she knew exactly what it was she wished to do--also, her mother had a lingering illness, and with the rest of the Warbeck children still in school, appreciated Celeste's care. Her father, naturally, did not take kindly to her 'sitting about' and urged her to go out and audition and showcase her talent. He so infuriated Celestina, who wanted a normal life, that once her mother was well she packed her things and stalked off to London, moving in with a school chum. Of course, the world is cold when you've no money, and school chums don't like it when the rent is late, so one night after working her three jobs Celestina set up in the Leaky Cauldron with her guitar and her hat, trying to make some extra money. And she did. Quite a bit. She was soon playing her original compositions at any place that would have her, and attracted a small 'cult' following, which got her the attention of a record producer, which lead to a timid first record, which resulted in stardom.

It's been a roller-coaster ride from there. Miss Warbeck, the 'Singing Sorceress,' has since released two more best-selling albums. Early in her career she returned to The Witching Hour, and performed a number for them at least weekly, which resulted in household recognition for her and improved ratings for them. Since the retirement of its former host, she has taken over the show and thoroughly enjoys discussing the news, amusing tales, and sharing celebrity guests with her listeners. Her favorite charity is St. Mungo's, and she has recorded her own version of the Puddlemere United anthem with proceeds going to it. She is weeks away from releasing her fourth album, which includes her own versions of 15 classic/historic songs of British wizarding culture--it stands to be accepted well, given the conservative flavor of the times. She went through her flashy teenage pop phase, but her sound is now that of a diva or chanteuse--big ballads, lots of love songs, etc--with an occasionally harder edge. While she is enjoyed by housewives, young people also listen to her (although more 'alternative' souls may find it fashionable to sneer at her 'mainstream' fanbase and her talk show).

But perhaps the best thing to arise out of her stardom is that, when she huffily confronted her father one day after receiving her first big paycheck and asked him how much of a cut he wanted, he laughed and said, "I did it for you, poppet, and because now I can have your voice whenever I want it." She's not yet quite over the emotions surrounding her 'stage dad', but her relationship is much warmer with him now. Her personality is that of a...regular sort of girl. She's very down-to-earth, hardworking, loyal, and moral. While she can occasionally come across as serious or intense--especially while working--she likes to laugh and to have fun. When upset she tends to silently grouse until she blows up or undertakes some definitive display (like leaving her home). She still experiences terrible stage fright. She enjoys all sorts of music, theatre, and art, though she's not a huge reader or very 'academic.' Like many celebrities, she likes to lend her face to causes, though so far these have been uncontroversial--St. Mungos, cloaks for needy children, etc. Because of her early life she is very thrifty, so while she enjoys buying her mother an expensive set of robes, she's likely to wear much more ordinary things, herself. She now has a nice house in London, but it isn't huge, and she saves quite a bit of money monthly, expecting that her fame will be fleeting. She's always gracious with her fans, but slightly shy around them, for she considers herself nothing special. She /does/ expect people to be honest, forthright, and noble, however, and detests cheats and bullies. She has her elf owl, Daisy, and her greyhound, Ebenezer, to keep her company.