Pottermore Stuff/Basic Stats
Jun. 6th, 2012 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smashingsAccount: NettleThorn3305
Name: Bruce Robert Banner
Age: 14
Parentage: Halfblood - Brian Banner (father, wizard, diseased); Rebecca Banner (mother, muggle, alive for a lack of a better term)
Pet: Brussel (Barn Owl, sandy brown)
House/Year: Gryffindor, Fourth year
Wand: Ash with Phoenix Feather core, ten and three quarter inches; unyielding
Subjects & Average Grades:
History: Most of Bruce's childhood is, unfortunately, not a happy one. Born to one of the greatest potion brewers in the world - Brian Banner - the tragedies in Bruce's life started at the age of five when he was attacked and bitten by a werewolf on the night of a full moon. Quickly diagnosed with lycanthropy, Brian then dedicated his work and research into developing a potion that would be able to cure this condition even though it has always said to be impossible. Still, Brian would never give up - he had created tons of potions once thought impossible to brew, and if he did manage this then it would be his greatest achievement of all.
Following that would be a long period of constant blackouts and spotty memories for Bruce, partly due to the lycanthropy but mostly due to the countless concoctions and brews that his father would make him drink. Knowing that it was for the sake of curing his condition Bruce couldn't refuse, but with each continuous failure the urge to simply say 'no' was there. More than just being unable to cure him, the countless variety of potions and brews that Bruce had to force down his throat had caused his lycanthropy to mutate, for a lack of a better term. Now it wasn't just the full moon that would make him transform - whenever he was angry, when he lost control of his emotions and temper, the beast inside him would burst out from him without warning and do nothing else but cause destruction and chaos.
Having noticed this change (for Bruce could only hide this for so long), Brian became more and more frustrated - as well as more paranoid, for he now believed he had created a monster out of his own son. That paranoia only increased as Bruce displayed signs of gifted intellect (along with magic) and it became so bad that he eventually tried to kill him - not using magic, but with a knife. Rebecca managed to intervene before Bruce could be harmed, but got injured for it and Brian, lost in his own anger and paranoia, brutally attacked his wife. Witnessing this scene right in front of him, Bruce lost full control of himself for the first time in his life and blacked out. He came to the next morning to find his father dead and his mother slowly bleeding out on the ground.
St. Mungo's was immediately called in then, and while ultimately they did manage to save her life they couldn't fully fix the damage that Brian had done to his wife's mental state. Her mental capabilities had been battered down all the way to no better than a child's, and there was no way she would be able to take care of Bruce any more. Following that, an investigation was launched by the Ministry of Magic (or more specifically, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes) which eventually came to an inquiry. After understanding the story of what had happened to the Banners, the Ministry decided that they would provide for any and all of Rebecca's needs at St. Mungo's, but Bruce would have to be adopted by another family since there was no way that his mother could provide for him.
With not much of an option, Bruce agreed and was soon adopted by his mother's relatives. While they were muggles, they had been aware of his father's identity as a wizard - but more importantly, of the way Brian had been treating his family. Certain that the magic was the cause behind Brian's abusive behavior, they only took minimal care of Bruce and mostly left him alone. During this time, Bruce constantly spent his days at St. Mungo's looking over his mom or would otherwise hang out with his cousin. It wasn't a good life, but it was at least better and calmer. On the days of the full moon, a Representative from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would come over and aid Bruce in regulating his werewolf form.
When the letter to Hogwarts came on his eleventh birthday, Bruce wasn't quite sure what to feel about it - finance wasn't an issue for him (Brian did have a rather substantial amount of money), but there was the matter of his condition which would pose quite a problem. Reluctant to go at first, it eventually would take a few rounds of talking with Headmaster Nick Fury before agreeable arrangements were made and Bruce amiable to come to Hogwarts for his studies. Much to everyone's surprise then, Bruce would find himself sorted into Gryffindor when he thought he would be in Ravenclaw - its not a matter of pride or anything, but it simply seemed like the most logical conclusion for him and everybody else.
Four years on now and Bruce still isn't quite sure why he's in Gryffindor, but things have been okay for him, so he certainly isn't going to complain.
Name: Bruce Robert Banner
Age: 14
Parentage: Halfblood - Brian Banner (father, wizard, diseased); Rebecca Banner (mother, muggle, alive for a lack of a better term)
Pet: Brussel (Barn Owl, sandy brown)
House/Year: Gryffindor, Fourth year
Wand: Ash with Phoenix Feather core, ten and three quarter inches; unyielding
ASH
The ash wand cleaves to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. This tendency is extreme if the core is of unicorn. Old superstitions regarding wands rarely bear close examination, but I find that the old rhyme regarding rowan, chestnut, ash and hazel wands (rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans) contains a small nugget of truth. Those witches and wizards best suited to ash wands are not, in my experience, lightly swayed from their beliefs or purposes. However, the brash or over-confident witch or wizard, who often insists on trying wands of this prestigious wood, will be disappointed by its effects. The ideal owner may be stubborn, and will certainly be courageous, but never crass or arrogant.
PHOENIX
This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.
Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.
LENGTH & FLEXIBILITY
Many wandmakers simply match the wand length to the size of the witch or wizard who will use it, but this is a crude measure, and fails to take into account many other, important considerations. In my experience, longer wands might suit taller wizards, but they tend to be drawn to bigger personalities, and those of a more spacious and dramatic style of magic. Neater wands favour more elegant and refined spell-casting. However, no single aspect of wand composition should be considered in isolation of all the others, and the type of wood, the core and the flexibility may either counterbalance or enhance the attributes of the wand’s length.
Most wands will be in the range of between nine and fourteen inches. While I have sold extremely short wands (eight inches and under) and very long wands (over fifteen inches), these are exceptionally rare. In the latter case, a physical peculiarity demanded the excessive wand length. However, abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized (many small witches and wizards are chosen by longer wands).
Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair - although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique.
Subjects & Average Grades:
- Transfiguration (Exceeds Expectations)
- Charms (Outstanding)
- Defence Against The Dark Arts (Acceptable)
- History of Magic (Outstanding)
- Herbology (Exceeds Expectations)
- Astronomy (Exceeds Expectations ~ Outstanding)
- Potions (Outstanding)
- Care of Magical Creatures (Outstanding)
- Ancient Runes (Exceeds Expectations ~ Outstanding)
History: Most of Bruce's childhood is, unfortunately, not a happy one. Born to one of the greatest potion brewers in the world - Brian Banner - the tragedies in Bruce's life started at the age of five when he was attacked and bitten by a werewolf on the night of a full moon. Quickly diagnosed with lycanthropy, Brian then dedicated his work and research into developing a potion that would be able to cure this condition even though it has always said to be impossible. Still, Brian would never give up - he had created tons of potions once thought impossible to brew, and if he did manage this then it would be his greatest achievement of all.
Following that would be a long period of constant blackouts and spotty memories for Bruce, partly due to the lycanthropy but mostly due to the countless concoctions and brews that his father would make him drink. Knowing that it was for the sake of curing his condition Bruce couldn't refuse, but with each continuous failure the urge to simply say 'no' was there. More than just being unable to cure him, the countless variety of potions and brews that Bruce had to force down his throat had caused his lycanthropy to mutate, for a lack of a better term. Now it wasn't just the full moon that would make him transform - whenever he was angry, when he lost control of his emotions and temper, the beast inside him would burst out from him without warning and do nothing else but cause destruction and chaos.
Having noticed this change (for Bruce could only hide this for so long), Brian became more and more frustrated - as well as more paranoid, for he now believed he had created a monster out of his own son. That paranoia only increased as Bruce displayed signs of gifted intellect (along with magic) and it became so bad that he eventually tried to kill him - not using magic, but with a knife. Rebecca managed to intervene before Bruce could be harmed, but got injured for it and Brian, lost in his own anger and paranoia, brutally attacked his wife. Witnessing this scene right in front of him, Bruce lost full control of himself for the first time in his life and blacked out. He came to the next morning to find his father dead and his mother slowly bleeding out on the ground.
St. Mungo's was immediately called in then, and while ultimately they did manage to save her life they couldn't fully fix the damage that Brian had done to his wife's mental state. Her mental capabilities had been battered down all the way to no better than a child's, and there was no way she would be able to take care of Bruce any more. Following that, an investigation was launched by the Ministry of Magic (or more specifically, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes) which eventually came to an inquiry. After understanding the story of what had happened to the Banners, the Ministry decided that they would provide for any and all of Rebecca's needs at St. Mungo's, but Bruce would have to be adopted by another family since there was no way that his mother could provide for him.
With not much of an option, Bruce agreed and was soon adopted by his mother's relatives. While they were muggles, they had been aware of his father's identity as a wizard - but more importantly, of the way Brian had been treating his family. Certain that the magic was the cause behind Brian's abusive behavior, they only took minimal care of Bruce and mostly left him alone. During this time, Bruce constantly spent his days at St. Mungo's looking over his mom or would otherwise hang out with his cousin. It wasn't a good life, but it was at least better and calmer. On the days of the full moon, a Representative from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures would come over and aid Bruce in regulating his werewolf form.
When the letter to Hogwarts came on his eleventh birthday, Bruce wasn't quite sure what to feel about it - finance wasn't an issue for him (Brian did have a rather substantial amount of money), but there was the matter of his condition which would pose quite a problem. Reluctant to go at first, it eventually would take a few rounds of talking with Headmaster Nick Fury before agreeable arrangements were made and Bruce amiable to come to Hogwarts for his studies. Much to everyone's surprise then, Bruce would find himself sorted into Gryffindor when he thought he would be in Ravenclaw - its not a matter of pride or anything, but it simply seemed like the most logical conclusion for him and everybody else.
Four years on now and Bruce still isn't quite sure why he's in Gryffindor, but things have been okay for him, so he certainly isn't going to complain.
