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Courtney Crumrin
"I've met some pretty interesting people..."
The main protagonist of the series; Courtney's a middle-school student with a loathing for everything in the new town she moves to at the beginning of the series. Everything except her Uncle Aloysius, and the world of magic and monsters to which he introduces her.
Courtney Crumrin provides examples of the following Tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Initially ostracized by her fellow classmates for her family's poor social standing.
- Angst: Courtney finds herself plagued by loneliness which intensifies after her uncle fails to keep his promise to save Skarrow in Coven of Mystics.
- Badass Bookworm: Hates schoolwork — but loves studying her uncle's spell books.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Has great magical potential, but as previously mentioned, hates doing work.
- Athough Character Development, and having Ms Crisp as a teacher, have taught her the importance of diligence. She later advises Holly Hart not to cheat in school.
- Bully Hunter: Eventually, bullies learn to run the other way when Courtney walks home from school.
- Catchphrase: "Oh bugger..."
- Hates Being Alone: Despite having a general disdain for everyone, Courtney is just as susceptible to loneliness as any other person.
- Heart Broken Badass: Courtney, after Skarrow is killed.
- He Who Fights Monsters: After murdering Hector for killing Skarrow, Courtney begins fearing her own potential for depravity.
- I See Dead People: Courtney can see ghosts as a consequence of being magical.
- Jumped at the Call: Was eager to become a witch — completely undaunted by learning of her magical heritage.
- Kid with the Leash: Bounds Butterworm to service in the first issue and keeps him in line from there forward.
- Laser-Guided Karma: At the end of The Witch Next Door, the Coven Council discovers all of Courtney's abuses of magic (including the murder of Hector Hughes by Tommy Rawhead,) and orders her capture.
- Little Miss Snarker / The Snark Knight: Snark gets Courtney through life, sometimes more successfully than others. Part of being very young, though, means that she's secretly very idealistic and her snark results from very little being up to her standards.
- Lonely Together: Forms a bond with vampire Wolfgang over their mutual loneliness. Unfortunately, she's one of many girls he has done this with, and it almost ends disastrously.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: It's heavily implied by Aloysius that had Courtney trusted him and not freed Skarrow before he had a chance to return home, he might have been able to keep his promise and save the Night Thing's life.
- Pragmatic Hero: Revives Tommy Rawhead, a revered Hobgoblin capable of killing the greatest of warlocks, just to get revenge on a single politician who killed her best friend.
- Rage Against the Mentor
- After Aloysius fails to save Skarrow in Coven of Mystics Courtney's trust and relationship with her uncle takes a major blow.
- Again in Monster Holiday, after he refuses to help out a group of werewolf gypsies and a girl who loves one of them.
- Secret Art: Poetry reading works like an advanced way of spell-casting for Courtney.
- Socially Awkward Heroine: Doesn't communicate well with others her age. Originally avoided cute boys because she was uncomfortable with "how they made her feel."
- Signature Move: Courtney's only combat attack is called the 'Hand of Fire'. She makes the most of it.
- Took a Level in Badass: By the end of The Coven of Mystics, Courtney has cemented her status as this in the eyes of both her classmates and the reader.
- Tragic Keepsake: A very downplayed version. After breaking off ties with Holly Hart, Courtney still values what they had. She keeps and wears her jacket throughout the Final Spell arc (and sharp-eyed readers can see she didn't even peel off the nametag!)
- When She Smiles: Courtney almost never does this. So when she does, she really means it.
Aloysius Crumrin
"It's not even fair that old men like me are forced out of their comfortable sitting rooms and into the cold night. Life is often entirely unfair. But it beats the alternative."
"What alternative?"
"Exactly."
Courtney's uncle (or was it ''great'' uncle? Or great-''great'' uncle...) was a retired warlock who resided alone in his home in Hillsborough until he began to draw suspicion from the local Muggles. After inviting his unsuspecting nephew and his family to live with him under the pretense of his old age, Aloysius's heart is quickly melted by Courtney and he begins mentoring her in lessons of life and wizardry.
Aloysius Crumrin provides examples of the following Tropes:
- Above Good and Evil: Aloysius states that wizards and Night Things (such as werewolves) don't operate by the same standards of good and evil as mortals do.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: On his deathbed, Aloysius is confronted by the Dreadful Dutchess, who offers him an offer to extend his life for the sake of saving Courtney. The offer seems to be immortality attained through becoming a faerie and living the rest of his existence alongside the Dutchess.
- Badass Longcoat: Sports a black one..
- Batman Gambit: Aloysius is ordered by the Coven of Mystics to capture the wanted Courtney Crumrin. He complies, appearing to be completely in line with their reasoning and oblivious to their planned betrayal of them both — but in actuality he brings Courtney to court only to reveal that he was actually passing judgment on them, and plans to kill the council after they confirm his suspicions of corruption.
- Berserk Button: Snaps at Courtney and trashes his private quarters when he fails to save Skarrow from his coven.
- Came Back Strong: As dying, he accepts the Dreadful Dutchess's offer to become an immortal faerie and, alongside her, defeats the entire warlock government body in Hillsborough.
- Combat Pragmatist: Aloysius will do what it takes to win, regardless of whether or not it's the most impressive thing he could do.
- Cool Old Guy: Aloysius is old enough to be Courtney's grandfather and is a powerful warlock
- Flight: Of course he can fly, you nincompoop. He's a warlock.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Is given an elixir to extend his life after learning of a fatal heart condition, but uses it to save Courtney after she is bitten thrice by a vampire.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Calpurnia, they regularly go out for coffee despite her being young enough to be his daughter.
- He's also implied by Courtney's mother to be her only friend in Hillsborough - and, prior to Calpurnia's introduction, it appears he is.
- I Was Quite the Looker: He's not ugly by any means, but 'Portrait of The Warlock' shows he was definitely attractive as a young man
◊. - Jade-Colored Glasses: Aloysius, especially in light of hints that he was as idealistic as Courtney when younger.
- Kung-Fu Wizard: Turns out Aloysius is quite a skilled fighter on top of being a warlock.
- Lack of Empathy: Not to the point of being a sociopath, but being a recluse for so long, Aloysius has learned not to value many of his past connections to people, and fails to empathize even with those he does value.
- Locked into Strangeness: He gets a black streak in his white hair as he starts recovering from his heart failure.
- Long-Lived: Courtney's dad isn't even sure if he's his great-uncle.
- Magical Gesture: Has a habit of posing this way when using his powers.
- Master Swordsman: Decapitates Tommy Rawhead in one swift swing of his sword. The same creature which famously felled countless other warlocks before Aloysius.
- Mundane Solution: Aloysius is capable of the most bombastic and powerful of spells, but isn't one for showing off when not necessary, as shown when he must battle Calpurnia to capture Courtney. You'd expect the most explosive battle of the series thus far, but he opts for a simple Sleep charm. He uses the same to capture Courtney.
- Mysterious Past: We still only know so much about Aloysius Crumrin and his bad history with the Coven of Mystics.
- Obfuscating Disability: Aloysius is perfectly sound physically and mentally and doesn't need Courtney's parents to take care of him. He just tolerates them because they make his house less menacing and noteworthy.
- Old Master: Aloysius Crumrin looks like a frail old man, but, when needed, he can behead "The Worst Goblin That Ever Was" in one move. That's the wisdom of age.
- Papa Wolf: Even those who try to feed Courtney BS are in danger here.
- Parental Substitute: For Courtney's parents, who she has trouble connecting with.
- Secretly Dying: Of a heart condition.
- The Smart Guy: Boasts incredible knowledge of both magic and Night Things.
- Take This Job and Shove It: Passed up on an offer to join the Council after the events of Coven of Mystics. Much to their joy.
- World's Strongest Man: Aloysius is by far one the most powerful characters in the series.
- Wreathed in Flames: Scares off an entire pack of faerie-wolves by incinerating himself in blue flame.
Calpurnia Crisp
Courtney's school teacher and long-time friend of her Uncle Aloysius. A strict disciplinarian, Courtney initially wants nothing to do with Ms. Crisp until she learns that she too is a witch. Calpurnia slowly but surely becomes a beloved second mentor to Courtney.
So much so that upon a warrant being placed for Courtney's arrest, Calpurnia risks losing her magic and memories to keep her promise to Aloysius to protect her. For her efforts, she is defeated by Aloysius himself, and has her memories wiped by the Council of Mystics.
Calpurnia Crisp provides examples of the following Tropes:
- Charm Person: Uses a glamour spell to convince a family to provide hospitality.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Aloysius.
- Later, Courtney grows to see her as a friend and confidante. It's rather sweet.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Has her memories wiped and her magic revoked by the Council of Covens for aiding Courtney in her escape attempt.
- Aloysius wills her his home, complete with his magical spellbooks, and Fantastic Nature Reserve. She certainly has the tools to pick up magic again, and it's hinted that she may have enough memory left to recover it all...
- Mentor Archetype: For Courtney, along with Aloysius.
- Slipknot Ponytail: Her bunned hair gets increasingly disheveled as the final plot arc comes along - her hair's neatness is in inverse proportion to how much of her power she's displaying.
- Stern Teacher: She believes firmly that everyone ought to study hard, and - more importantly - have friends. And she works hard to drive that moral into Courtney's skull.
- Thinking Up Portals: Conjures up 'Faerie Roads' that allow her to drive through a solid wall.
- Wreathed in Flames: Is engulfed in an aura of purple fire whilst fighting Coven marshals and Aloysius.
- You Are Not Alone: After telling Courtney that she is wanted by the Coven Council for the murder of Hector Hughes, Courtney immediately assumes that due to her uncle's hospitalization, she has no one left to rely on. Crisp quickly shows her that she's wrong.
