Good to go!  -- Sparky

Your Nickname: Matthew
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? Web Search
If you have written other characters here: No
If Yes, list them all:
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary

Full Character Name: Ethan Irons
Character Birthday & Age: June 20, 1998 (age 11)
City & Country of Birth: London, England, UK
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Muggleborn
House & Year: 1st Year Hufflepuff

Wand: Oak, 10 3/4 inches, with a unicorn hair core. The wand has a depressed spiral pattern that grows shallower as the wand narrows to a point, and is slightly pliable.

Physical Description: Ethan's small for his age, topping out around 4'8" if he can get away with standing on his tiptoes a bit. He's not rail-thin, though, and his family's all big/tall enough that he knows he should end up much the same once he hits his growth spurt. He's got dark black hair that he typically keeps just long enough that his cowlick kicks in and sweeps it back across his brow, usually has a light tan that keeps his skin tone away from its naturally pale hue, and his dark brown eyes are just the right color to be hard to notice, especially behind his wireframe glasses.

As much as he loves learning magic and being at Hogwarts, he's still getting used to a lot of the cultural differences, including the uniform and wizarding wear. He's prone to changing into more stereotypical Muggle clothes after dinner and on weekends (although he's learned to avoid packs of purebloods while non-uniformed), and often messes up the dress code itself during the week. When out of uniform, he tends toward baggy t-shirts, dark blue or black jeans, and green trainers. His unorthodox attire calls attention to him on occasion, but when he's dressed like the rest of the students he has a tendency to blend into the crowd--there's nothing particularly dynamic about the way he carries himself, and he naturally takes up minimal space in public areas.

Personality Description: Ethan's core impulse is to be protective--of himself, of friends and family, and very occasionally of strangers. As that trait is manifesting itself at Hogwarts, he's wrapped himself up into a mental cocoon of sorts, not committing to anything or anyone specific. The side effect of this lofty-minded ideal is that it makes him considerably anti-social, even though he's not much like that back at home. The new environment throws him more than he'd like to admit, and he has avoided making either waves or friends for the entirety of his time thus far at Hogwarts.

The one character trait that has peeked through Ethan's non-confrontational demeanor thus far is his almost-rebellious dedication to acting as Muggle as possible. Largely because his experience with them comes from chance encounters and what he's learned of wizarding history for the last few years, Ethan's developed an instinctual avoidance of them; he prefers interacting with Muggleborns or halfbloods when possible, just to be safe.

At home, and when he eventually collects a handful of friends, Ethan is very different. In true Hufflepuff fashion, he's incredibly loyal to those he trusts, and values old relationships over new ones. Examples: as much as he loves magic and Hogwarts, he has no plans to ignore his Muggle heritage; assuming no dramatic betrayals, the friends he makes in his 1st year will probably be the ones he tries to hold onto for all those remaining.

History: As a Muggleborn student, Ethan was raised without any knowledge of magic. His parents, John and Isabel, are an accountant and a museum curator, respectively, and the family has lived in London's Islington neighborhood since before he was born. He's the youngest of four siblings (Tess, seven years older; Brandon, four years older; Grant, three years older), and had gotten used to the idea that his claim to fame would be just being the baby of the family--an idea which quickly changed after his eleventh birthday.

Not to say Ethan's life was entirely normal before then, of course. Despite otherwise inconsequential athletic skills, he was an incredible goalie on football teams in gym, almost always managing to block the goal  just in time, and he was more likely to find 50 pounds in the street than anyone else his family knew. But aside from the occasional spontaneous glass-breaking and , there wasn't much to suggest he was anything more than your average preteen.

Having a late birthday, Ethan had been all ready to move up to secondary school when a wizard showed up at his doorstep just after school let out with a letter from some place named "Hogwarts" and the unsettling and surprising news that Ethan was a wizard. He and his family didn't believe him at first, but after some demonstrations by the special messenger and thinking about the number of odd coincidences Ethan had been party to over the years, they begrudgingly accepted the idea.

Ethan himself was thrilled by the news. He'd never expected something like this to happen to him, and while he'd always been spoiled as the youngest child in the family, it was, to be frank, awesome to find out there was actually some validation for it after the fact. His family's reactions were fairly diverse--his sister stopped speaking to him out of jealousy over not being magical herself for several weeks; his father was more concerned with his missing "real school" than the magic at all--but for the most part they stayed supportive, although only his mother was eager to take him shopping in Diagon Alley for school supplies.

Over the summer, Ethan tried to learn as much as he could about the magical world, but what he learned surprised him. While Muggleborn wizards and witches were arguably common in the wizarding world, the culture seemed to reject  as much of the Muggle world as possible. Halfway through an almost-hilariously misinformed "Guide to Muggle Life" he'd picked up from Flourish and Blotts', Ethan promised himself that whatever he learned at Hogwarts, he wouldn't lose sight of where he'd originally come from.

Upon arrival at Hogwarts, he's mostly kept that promise, although he has been harassed by a number of pureblood upperclassmen already. Unsure of how to behave in this new life, he's stayed fairly introverted, and hasn't connected much with the other students in his year or house as of yet.

Classes:

Core Classes Astronomy Charms Defense Against the Dark Arts Herbology History of Magic Potions Transfiguration Flying

Electives No No No No No

How Do You Fit Into Your House?: Ethan is absolutely dedicated to protecting those he cares about, but he's significantly less dynamic and bombastic about it than a Gryffindor might be. He also has a level-headed nature that suits Hufflepuff well, and a passion for learning that almost steered him toward Ravenclaw or Slytherin. But it's that singleminded loyalty to those he deems part of his inner circle that made the ultimate determination.

Writing Sample: Sure, it was cliché to admit, but Ethan never saw the upperclassmen coming.

He’d been more focused on getting comfortable in the fourth-floor study room windowsill. It wasn’t nearly as cozy as the couches in the common room, but he hadn’t wanted to spend the Sunday afternoon in the basement of Hogwarts, even if all he’d be doing with his time was sitting in a sparse, moderately drafty study room that barely got used outside of finals, skimming through a bit more of Modern Magical History, Third Edition. Dead boring, to be honest, but unlike a lot of the other books he’d glanced over it didn’t take for granted you knew who Albus Dumbledore was, or Harry Potter.

He was riffling past an exceedingly dull chapter on intercontinental relations in the period between Wizarding Wars when the book was knocked out of his hands. Ethan looked up, furious, only to find a sneering, somewhat-greasy face in his way.

“What the hell are you wearing, you little wanker?”

Ethan blinked vacantly at the student in front of him, slightly registering the small collection of friends/underlings behind him, and then looked down to examine himself. Nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary—t-shirt, jeans, roughed up trainers. It wasn’t your usual Hogwarts fare, but you could catch even the snootiest of purebloods wearing something similar every once in a while. Then he looked at the t-shirt again. Yep. That’d clinch it.

“It’s a band,” he spluttered out, with more confidence than he felt. “The Beatles. They’ve been around since before our parents were born.”

The boy staring him down—a Slytherin, he noticed without much surprise—almost snorted with delight. “Like I know anything about your rotten Muggle bands. You are a Muggle.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’m a wizard.” Ethan spun his legs around fast, causing the posse to step back instinctively as he dropped to the floor. “I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”

By this point, the rest of the crew were all laughing, except for their leader. Ethan couldn’t figure out why, until he felt the blunt tip of a wand at his throat.

“I don’t like your tone, little boy.” He was leaning in close to Ethan now, whisper almost lost beneath the now-cruel laughter of his friends. He opened his mouth to say more, but another voice cut him off.

“Ignatius!”

The crew all turned, taking two steps away from Ethan as soon as they saw the prefect march through the doorway. A Ravenclaw boy, which meant the Slytherins were going to get off easier than if it’d been a Gryffindor or a fellow Hufflepuff.

Ignatius started to respond, but the prefect cut him off. “10 points from Slytherin. Don’t bother lying, it’ll just cost you more. Go.”

The Slytherins scattered, leaving Ethan and the prefect alone. Ethan looked at the floor, his momentary bravery replaced by an awkward uncertainty.

“Are you alright?” the prefect asked without much emotion. “I’m sorry about Ignatius. I’ve known him for years—our families have been attending the same functions since my grandfather was in Hogwarts—and he’s always been a prat. In fact—“

But Ethan had stopped paying attention. Purebloods. He’d expected as much, but…Well, it was just disheartening every time the books he was reading that talked about improving Muggle relations disappointed him.

“Thanks for your help,” he mumbled, bending down to get his book and walking away from the surprised prefect. One of these days he’d be able to prove he was as good as any pureblood, and he wasn’t going to get there any faster if he stood around listening to another one.


Sum up your character in one paragraph: A Muggleborn who never saw himself as more than the baby of a close, London-centered family, Ethan has found himself in a culture unlike anything he could have imagined upon his arrival at Hogwarts. In response, he's developed a fierce devotion to his Muggle heritage, and unintentionally closed himself off to making new friends in an attempt to intellectually understand his new life. With those he is close to, however, he's the typical loyal Hufflepuff, always willing to stand by their side and stand up to the crowd.