█ g e n e r a l

Name: Inês Benjamín Van
Nicknames: Benji
Age: 16
Birthday: December 8th, 2015
Gender: Female (she/her)
Ethnicity: ¼ Portuguese, ¼ Spanish, ½ Vietnamese
Height and Weight: 174 cm (5’9”) | 62 kg (136.69 lbs)
Blood Type: O
Blood Status: Muggleborn (Muggle father, squib mother)

█ m a j i k s

House: Gryffindor
Year: 5th
Pet: succ
succ was a farewell gift from her Castelobruxo pals... the lower-case 's' is extremely important.
Wand: Rowan | Coral | 11" 1/4' | Pliant
Electives: Study of Ancient Runes | Care of Magical Creatures
Extracurricular: Magical Cooking

█ p e r s o n a l i t y

+ levelheaded ▽ light-hearted ▽ dedicated ▽ honest ▽ chivalrous
- vain ▽ arrogant ▽ selfish ▽ impatient ▽ envious

Easily amused, Benji's light-hearted nature means that she tends to take most things with a pinch of salt and in her stride. Yet with regards to the things she holds dear, she can be incredibly defensive, ready to jump in and protect at a moment's notice. Combined with her honest nature and desire to stay true to her beliefs, she can be rather brazen even in the face of authority; a trait that undoubtedly results in a loss of house points due to disrespectful behaviour. Other than on these occasions though, she tends to be rather quiet in her real-life interactions, preferring not to make a big scene. On h00t though, she's a little less reserved than usual.

This strict moral code that she holds herself to can be seen especially in the chivalrous behaviour she prides herself in. Always ready to help someone else in need, Benji values honour, courage and justice above all else, and her levelheadedness allows her to stay calm in most situations. However, the ease at which she is able to navigate situations has made her arrogant and thus impatient when it comes to dealing with other people who may not see her views immediately. She tends to have an over-inflated sense of self-worth, and doesn't see the need to forge real bonds with those she sees as inferior.

A very vain creature, Benji cares deeply about her outward physical appearance, and is completely capable of staring at her reflection in the mirror for hours. This slight preoccupation with her looks has given her a pretty envious streak, and she's prone to comparing herself with other people, judging them based on her own assumptions. In a sense, her dedication to other causes seems to have also stemmed from her commitment to up-keeping her looks.

tl;dr: Insta-thot who'd hold the door open for you +*+*+

Likes: STRENGTH | BRAWN | fashion | watermelon | trampolining | plants | building ikea furniture
Dislikes: history of magic | wasting time | sloppiness | being unglam | insects | tardiness | gender norms

█ h i s t o r y

The squib daughter of a halfblood and a muggle who'd settled down together, Benji's mother Ileana grew up in Curitiba, Brazil, happily living a muggle life without much knowledge of the wizarding world. She and James met through mutual friends, clicking easily and eventually getting married and settling down in a nice neighbourhood like the average couple.

i. childhood
When the Second Witch Trials took place, Benji was only 2 years old, but the news made her half-blood grandmother and only close magical relative, Noêmia, worried about the state of affairs between both communities. Not wanting to cause unnecessary stress, she and her husband decided to move into the same neighbourhood as Ileana's family, and thus took on a more active role in their grandparent duties.

And so, Benji grew up with loving parents, doting grandparents, and absolutely no knowledge of the magical world, living life as a muggle child. 

That is, until she had her first bout of accidental magic. Frustrated by the boys at school who wouldn't let her and a bunch of girls play with them in the playground, she'd lost her temper at them and turned all their hair pink. It was sheer luck that her grandmother happened to be there to pick her up that day and turn everyone's hair back to their natural shades and cast a memory charm-- but while that event was easily forgotten about, it seemed like a long day ahead for the family. Dinner that night was a somber affair, with Noêmia deciding that it would be better to come clean now, prepared to take Benji under her own wing if the family had a negative reaction of any sort.

Thank Merlin though, that despite their initial shock, the family warmed up to the idea pretty quickly, and continued to raise Benji just like they would any other child. Everyone in the family agreed that their goal would be to make sure the family stayed safe and intact, especially as news of the US shutting their boarders and Ilvermorny closing due to conflicts reached Brazilian shores.

Thus, like any other Brazilian witch, Benji entered Castelobruxo when the time came and began her magical studies there, eager to follow in her abuela's footsteps.

ii. castelobruxo → hogwarts
Benji's little sister Mónica was born to their family one hot summers day in 2024, and her birth was celebrated by everyone. At the age of 4 (2028), Mónica started showing signs of magical ability, the first example being growing her hair back after a bob haircut she didn't like. However, while such a show of power would likely have made most magical families gleeful, tension set in amongst the Vans as they wanted Mónica to be able to live a normal life but also protect her from any hurt. After a while though, it seemed as though Mónica wasn't likely to show any signs of magic, so the family relaxed and sent the young girl off to muggle pre-school just like they did with Benji.

All seemed well, until one day (2030), Ileana and James received a call from Mónica's elementary school to come down quickly and pick their child up. As it turns out, some upper year bullies had mercilessly picked on the girl, causing her to lose her temper at them and accidentally set one of their clothes on fire. Such an incident spread quickly though, and with no magical officer on the scene, there was no way to change the outcome of the matter.

With other families slowly avoiding the Vans and rumours circulating around the small (muggle-dominated) neighbourhood regarding their involvement in witchcraft, living and working where they stayed became extremely difficult for the family. Long-time friends shut their doors in fear as tensions rose, and with Scandinavia's borders closing, the threat of severe conflicts affecting them seemed all too possible.

As such, the family made the tough decision to seek refuge overseas, to find a community where muggles and wizards lived together in harmony so they could raise their youngest and not be concerned about their family's wellbeing. Through the connections Noêmia made in her auror days, they eventually found safety in England, amongst like-minded people who had come together regardless of their magical powess, to live and raise their families in peace.

For Benji, this meant leaving behind the community of friends she'd built up back home in Brazil, but she understood that it was nothing compared to the life her parents and grandparents were leaving behind for her and her sister's sakes. After all, they could always keep in touch as pen-pals right? And of course, through muggle social media during summers? And well... really, getting to attend a school with just as much heritage and in another country altogether? She's getting pumped just thinking of it!!!

Ergo, her excitement to start her fifth year in Hogwarts. And to be sorted into Gryffindor no less! She hopes she'll be able to forge some good friendships in her three years here!! :^)

iii. views
Having spent most of her formative years in the muggle community, Benji once saw the best in muggles-- after all, her parents were basically muggles, and living a non-magical life clearly didn't go too wrong for them. However, after the hate received by her family from previously trustworthy muggles, she's starting to question this belief. Her magical friends had never hurt her non-magical parents in any way, despite some of their ignorance, had never cut ties from her just because of her lineage. So why did the muggles she'd grown up with shun her so easily? Yet the community she lives in now in England has shown her that it's perfectly possible for muggles and wizarding folk to live together in peace and harmony--- so why is there even a conflict? 
Overall, she's just tired of the fighting and really wants it to stop so she can just live her life in peace.

█ e x t r a

Trivia: 

- Current Concern: Hogwarts... doesn't have access to online shopping does it... :""""") Damn why must summer be over.
- Benji's Hoot: @benjllnes
- Reference with flat colours
- Her parents picked both masculine and feminine names for her and decided not to know her gender until she was born... but neither wanted to give up the name they'd picked... so they used both names.
- Benji used to do trampoline gymnastics, and her flexibility was what earned her the nickname Benji; her friends realised punning 'bendy' with her middle name was an opportunity too good to miss. Her parents call her Inês though.
- She played as a Beater back at Castelobruxo so she's hoping to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team!! 
- Like many Castelobruxo students, Benji excels in herbology. She hopes to work as a magizoologist in the future!!! (The rest of her subjects are pretty average...)
- Speaks fluent Portuguese and English, with a very small smattering of Vietnamese and Spanish.
- She's very excited to use Hoot.
- Laughs with small snorts and chuckles... but at a particularly good joke she'll let loose rambunctious peels of laughter that can probably be heard 

Family: 

- James Van ; Father | 39 | Muggle
Well built and athletic, this nurse isn't someone you'd like to cross. He and Benji share good times playing ball and working out together.
- Ileana Van née González ; Mother | 37 | Squib
A beautician who used to run her own beauty parlor. She helps Benji dye her hair and fuels the latter's love for fashion. She loves hearing from her daughter so Benji makes sure to owl her as often as possible!!
- Noêmia González née Azevedo ; Grandmother | 72 | Castelobruxo Alumni | Halfblood
A retired auror, she fell for a man she saved on a mission and exchanged her life of wizardry for domestic duties. Benji adores her abuela and sees her as a role-model.
- Mónica Valentín Van ; Sister | 7 | Muggleborn
Young and cute and chubby... Mónica loves dressing up in Benji's clothes and Benji loves humouring her. It's a symbiotic relationship.

Relationships: 

^@ ^^

RP methods: i'm almost constantly dying from school so hcs/short lit rps are prefered!! please feel free to hmu on discord (you can find me in the group as lau) or run a google doc w me