"I know this scares you. It scares me, too. But everyone else, they... they think I'm strange. I don't want to be. I have to try and be a whole person before it's too late."
MadamMegaera Chloris Mortan (née Alder) (b. 30 October – 7 July) was a Scottish half-blood witch and Maledictus of the Alder family, the eldest child born to Oakley and Chloris Alder (née Amadis). She was also the stepdaughter of Prudence as well as the younger sister of Myrick. From a young age, Megaera suffered from a vast range of health problems, ranging from mild allergies to severe night terrors. This included the same blood malediction that would one day turn her into a beast permanently, leading her to become incredibly frail and introverted throughout her youth.
Megaera attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the year below Sasha Thorn and Lily Leander, where she was Sorted into Slytherin House. Throughout her early education, she was generally regarded as a timid and friendless girl who was ruled by her thoughts and insecurities. Her lack of confidence strongly impacted her magical capabilities and she went either bullied or unnoticed by her peers. In her third year, she was approached by Damien Culvateur, in whom she found allure through his promises of power. Megaera consequently joined the Knights of Abaddon and learned how to exploit her ability — transforming into a panther at will — for their benefit. Her desire for retribution and resentment at having been bullied thus caused her to inflict terror upon Hogwarts and its inhabitants whilst in animal form, leading to her becoming known as the Beast.
"You were right to be scared. You haven't seen the things I've done, the things I'm capable of. I have to take responsibility for what I am. I'm not normal."
— Megaera to her father about her magical abilities
Potions:
Care of Magical Creatures:
Literacy skills:
Indomitable willpower:
Love:
Maledictus abilities[]
"There is something really wrong with her, and it's dangerous, and she can't control it, and I can't help her!"
— Linus after Megaera endures an involuntary Maledictus transformation
Maledictus transformation: Megaera was able to transform into a large panther at will, identical to the ability of an Animagus. This transformation could under certain circumstances be involuntary. Primarily, she abused this ability for cruel and surreptitious purposes, such as terrorising the students of Hogwarts at night and intimidating those who had bullied her; however, it seemed that Megaera genuinely felt more comfortable in animal form, and it was this skill that made her a key asset to the Knights of Abaddon. In her early twenties, it appeared that she had her transformations fully under control, though her late adult years presented a vastly different context: Megaera's blood curse was dangerously close to taking over and confining her to panther form permanently, something she was continually forced to suppress through a combination of potions and extreme willpower.
Enhanced senses: Like all panthers Megaera was informed with acute senses of hearing and smell, as well as a field vision of over a hundred degrees with excellent depth perception. A panther's sensitive whiskers are also another important facet of tactile sensory perception, assisting in night-time navigation, danger detection, and gaining a sense of where the best place to bite its prey would be for an effective kill.
"It's better looking at your prey up close, see what you're dealing with. You learn a lot about an animal when you surprise it. You can see where it's weak."
— Megaera's predatory nature as a Maledictus
Enhanced speed and agility: Whilst in panther form Megaera was an agile and stealthy predator, able to race up to sixty kilometres an hour, leap over six metres and jump up to three metres vertically. Her spine was capable of becoming flexible enough to curve whilst she ran, enabling her to hurtle easily around obstacles and leap great distances in order to ambush her prey. Panthers are also skilled climbers due to their powerful hind legs, and so Megaera was capable of resting on tree branches and descending from trees headfirst.
Combat skills:
Night vision:
Possessions[]
"The most valuable things in life are usually the most helpless, so they need people like us to protect them."
— Megaera regarding her treasured possessions
Rosewood wand: Megaera's wand was manufactured by Orland Ollivander and purchased from his shop in Diagon Alley prior to beginning her magical education. It was eleven and a quarter inches long, made of rosewood with a strand of merfolk hair as its core. Rosewood has been prized for its visually pleasant timber and sweet smell, having been commonly used in furniture and instrument-making. Following her death, Megaera's wand was buried resting in her hands.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Parents[]
"You need to know, she never did this to hurt you. She loves you. To hurt you is the last thing she wanted."
— Megaera's love for her father
Myrick Alder[]
Prudence Alder[]
Linus Mortan[]
Megaera: "With Linus, I'm someone different. I'm not a monster at all. He knows what I am, better than anyone. How could he ever look at me the same way again?"
— Megaera and her father discussing her bond with Linus
Daughter[]
Mortan family[]
Damien Culvateur[]
"It felt like Damien was the only person to see me, really see me. He taught me to hide and that's what kept me safe. But he taught me worse things, too. Sometimes I'm not sure where his idea of me ends and the real me starts; whether I'm just learned behaviours, bits and pieces of Damien's vision."
Daya Devdhar: "He's big and he's awfully strong, but Megaera, there are more dangerous things out there than big strong boys who can't tell their lefts from their rights. There are more dangerous things out in the world than this."
Megaera: "You don't know him, Daya. Not like I do. You don't understand what he's capable of."
Megaera was the name of one of the three Furies in Greek mythology. The name is the Latinized form of Greek Μεγαιρα (Megaira) which was derived from μεγαιρω (megairo) "to grudge".
In Greek mythology, the name Chloris (meaning "greenish-yellow", "pale green", "pale", "pallid", or "fresh") appears in a variety of contexts. Some clearly refer to different characters; other stories may refer to the same Chloris, but disagree on details. One of these includes the minor goddess of vegetation, who was also the goddess of spring. The name is thus the Greek equivalent of Flora. It was used by the Roman poet Horace for one of his loves, and was used by Augustan poets of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The surname Alder is a type of tree in the birch family, and a typographical English surname for someone who lived near alder trees. It derives from the Dutch surname that means "son of Aldert"; Aldert means "old, noble and strong".
Quotes[]
Megaera: I don't dream. I only have nightmares. They're so real. I can't tell when I'm awake or asleep.
Linus: I was hoping you'd think I have an honest face. Megaera: I've seen honest faces before. They often come attached to liars.
Megaera: You haven't known horror until I've shown it to you.
Megaera: The devil is real, and he isn't a small red man with horns and a tail. He can be beautiful because he's a fallen angel and he used to be God's favourite.
Megaera: True love is loving the unlovable.
Megaera: I think that I believe in a place between heaven and hell. Between the living and the dead. A place with rebirth, maybe even salvation. Do you? I think there's a price to pay for that passage, though, like all things. I just hope that we can pay it easily.
Inny: You tell a soul in this family, and I swear I will cut you. Megaera: I don't need a knife to stop me telling secrets given in confidence.
It is a matter of honour.
Megaera: Violence is a disease, and you can't cure a disease by spreading it to more people.
Notes[]
Megaera's theme song was Howl by Florence and the Machine.
