Full Name: Benjamin Redd
Nickname(s): Red, Ben, Bones, Weird Kid
Age and birthday: 16, December 28th
House and Year: Sonnier, Grade 11
Electives & Schedule: 1- 7:45-8:30 - Arithmancy
2- 8:35-9:20 - Defense Against the Dark Arts
3- 9:25-10:10 - Charms/Wandwork
4- 10:15-11:00 - Latin
5- 11:05-11:50 - LUNCH
6- 11:55-12:40 - Transfiguration
7- 12:45-1:30 - Flying
8- 1:35-2:20 - History of Magic
9- 2:25-3:10 - Divination
Wand: 13.7" Poplar with a Kneazle Fur core, Sturdy
Boggart: His father.
Patronus: The North American Porcupine. An animal symbolic of faith, intelligence, defensive magic, humility, trust, wisdom, innocence and the adventure of discovery.
Animagus Form: None.
Religious Affiliation: Atheist
Extracurricular activities: Quodpot Wide Receiver, Historical Society, Photography club, Yearbook, Honor Society
Family/Relationships
Parents: Michael Redd [Wizard, incarcerated] and Barbie Redd [Witch].
Extended Family: One brother and one sister, both younger--Brian and Erica, both attending CCI. Michael's parents died when he was a child, and Barbie's parents died about 4 years ago, about 3 months apart. He has Aunts and Uncles and Cousin's on his father's side, but they haven't spoken to his immediate family in over a decade.
Familiar: None
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Significant Others: Ben had a crush on one girl all throughout his time in the lower academy. In his freshman year he attempted to ask her out, and was bitterly shot down. Otherwise, none.
Appearance
PB: Richard Harmon Detailed Description: Ben is pretty tall (5'11), with unkempt black hair, and blue-grey eyes. An unpleasant scowl is his default expression, giving him an unsettling appearance. He is covered in scars, from the random cuts on his face, neck and chest from the time he crashed into a windshield, to the cutting scars on his arms he tends to hide with a certain amount of shame.
Out of uniform, he tends to wear long-sleeved, loose tee-shirts--even in the summer. Ben favours grey or black hoodies, cardigans, and simple black sneakers. He has no tattoos or piercings.
Personality
Likes: classical music, taxidermy, the cello, films made before 1950, classic literature, various flavored forms of coca-cola, Murder By Death (the band), black and white photography, musty-smelling text books, pre WWII forgotten or discarded Americana, herbology, animal skeletons, antique photos, pulp comics, American history (both muggle and wizard), abandoned buildings
Dislikes: idle conversation, rap music, most people with an I.Q. under 140, dramatic people, neon, the keytar, regret, nosey people, other snobs (ironic), Disney movies, cable TV, the evening news, anything with guava in it, pineapples, invasion of his personal space
Quirks: -Enjoys taxidermy and has a small collection of displayed animal skeletons.
-Would like to become a forensic pathologist or similar forensic specialist when he graduates.
-Has a rather fascination with death, the dead, and the process of decomposition.
-Always drags his feet while walking.
-Can't stand television.
-Addicted to caffeine.
-Vegetarian.
-Left-handed.
-Smells vaguely like Kiehl's Original Musk Blend No 1 and formaldehyde.
-Collects antique books and records, anything old.
-Takes photographs as a hobby, uses it as sort of a social crutch.
-Has an I.Q. of about 176, or high-genius level.
-Smiles very infrequently, but is prone to the occasional angry outburst.
Secrets: -Obsessed with actress Jane Greer.
-Used to be a cutter, and is pretty ashamed of his scars now.
-Not so much a secret, but his father is a dark wizard, and convicted murderer. This is probably common knowledge in the wizarding community, but he doesn't run around telling people about it.
-Terrified of becoming like his father.
What’s in your characters pockets? Specimen jar, plastic garbage bag, latex gloves, scalpel, his wand usually stays in his robes
Strengths: very analytical, photography, Magical Bio, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, trustworthy, loyal, generally great at mathematics, surprisingly good at Quodpot
Weaknesses: shy, abrupt, not a fan of sunlight, condescending, easily irritated, generally weird, tends to brood, easily lost in thought, daydreams a lot, takes things personally, Wandwork
Strongest subject in school: Herbology
Weakest subject in school: Wandwork
One thing he can't live without: Personal space.
Detailed personality At first glance, Ben comes off as very cold, and generally disinterested. He has a few friends, but avoided socialising for most of his time in CCI. He strives to change this, forcing himself into social situations he otherwise would not have put himself into. The results are often awkward.
His movements are generally slow, lackadaisical, and measured--as he is often lost in thought. Most often day-dreaming about another time, the idea is very romantic to him. Ben is also sort of a jerk, being that he's pretty condescending more often than not. Though he is trying to teach himself to be nicer, for the sake of making friends/having meaningful relationships, etc.
Conversely, he is pretty competitive in Quodpot, and quite vicious--almost violent, but just short of causing any real trouble.
Personal History: Ben is the direct descendant of Wilmot Redd, one of the Salem witch trial victims. She was well-known for her irritability and unpleasant nature. None came to defend her, and she received no visits from friends or family. She was subsequently executed on September 22nd, 1692, having been abandoned by the rest of the Redd family. No one came to claim the body.
Wilmot was generally viewed embarrassment and a danger, having hexed another woman in Marblehead in front of witnesses. At the time, the Redds were fishermen and merchants, making a name for themselves in the wizarding and muggle worlds alike. They simply couldn't afford negative attention to be called to them--even if she was just a senile old woman.
Over three-hundred years, the Redd family has evolved. Their small presence in the fishing industry grew into a vast enterprise. The Redds themselves are barely involved with the industry itself, now overseeing the business from their high offices. Wilmot became a sort of posthumous figurehead for the family, publicly revered as a victim instead of the nasty old woman that she was in life--a cautionary tale against ignorance.
Over the years, the family dispersed and spread to Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and eventually farther west. Some changed their name to Read. Some of the Redds remained in nearby Gloucester, and this is where Ben was born.
Ben's parents were high-school sweethearts. After graduation, they married and less than a year later, Ben was born.
Ben's childhood was not easy. Much as many of the Redd family before him, Michael was irritable, angry, and abusive. Barbie dealt with it as best she could, but she was in love. He would apologise, swear he could change, and a few months later the process repeated itself again.
Eventually Michael became incredibly distant. The fire in their marriage was gone, and it was obvious that he had started to look elsewhere. He spent inordinate amounts of time away from home--claiming he was going away on business. It was notable that his demeanour had much improved, so Barbie tolerated it, just like every other part of their marriage.
Ben himself was a quiet, shy child. He was deemed extremely gifted, and excelled in school from a very young age. Though it was clear from early on that he was not the happiest of children. He had trouble making friends and generally preferred to stay inside and read. When he did go outside, Barbie would always find him playing with dead animals or digging in the dirt by himself and she grew worried about her son.
When he was old enough, he attended CCI just like his parents did. He made a couple of close friends, but focused mainly on his studies. He grew very depressed, even at CCI he felt very isolated. He wasn't outgoing or social, and to be honest he felt pretty intimidated by the other kids. He mostly stayed in his room or went to the library while in school, isolating himself even more than he meant to.
Midway through his time in the lower academy, a familiar face graced the wizard newspapers. Ben stared at the front page of the paper, the image of his father glaring back--proud, stern, angry.
MUGGLE MURDER MASSACRE
Michael Redd, 41, is suspected of having raped and murdered up to 5 muggle women.
Ben didn't want to believe it, but as time went on it became more and more clear to him. His younger siblings and his mother kept heavy tabs on the the investigation and the eventual trial, but Ben somehow became even more withdrawn from the world around him.
The reaction was swift. Suddenly everybody knew who the Redds were again. Reactions ranged from teasing and bullying, to outright commendation from some of the more pure-blooded students. Ben wanted nothing to do with any of it. He hated his father, and now he hated CCI, too.
It was no surprise when he was sorted into Sonnier just like his father was. He was a smart kid with a bright future, but his father's history made it seem like a sort of sign of things to come.
Freshman year was a dark time for Ben. He spoke to none, not even his siblings. He began to cut to relieve the stress and anger, ashamed of himself for a multitude of growing reasons. Even now, his right arm is a mess of thin, parallel scars. This continued on for about a year until CCI's spring recess in his sophomore year.
Ben was struck by a car while crossing the street on his bike; the driver had been a muggle who wasn't watching the road--she was digging around the floor of her car for a CD she had dropped. Next thing she knew, there was a teenage boy crashing into her windshield.
He suffered a few broken bones, a concussion, and several nasty lacerations from the shattered windshield. Nothing even a mediocre healer couldn't patch up by the end of the week.
Even still, Ben felt something he hadn't before. Fear. Fear of death more specifically, but it made him realize something important. He didn't want to die. He really didn't want to die. Even with all the wallowing and self-isolation, he still very much wanted to keep walking around on the earth with everyone else. Cue teenage epiphany.
Upon returning Ben tried to pry himself away from his room, his cello, and his creepy little taxidermy projects and actually decided to spend more time outside with people. He tried out for Quodpot; something everyone felt was surprising, even more so when he made the team. He joined the school newspaper and actually... tried to make friends. Even if he did hide behind the camera the whole time. While this provided mixed results, and he didn't always like it, he felt that if he were to die tomorrow he like to hold much less regret.
