Benji Laurence

Benji Henry Laurence
Gender	Male
Nicknames	Ben, Benny
Born	04 April 1906
Died
Family	The Laurence Family
Bloodtype	Pureblood
Social Class	Nobility
Hogwarts House	Hufflepuff
Graduation Year	Class of 1924
Occupation	Student
Residence	Arundel Castle, West Sussex, England
Wand	Spruce Wood, Billywig Stinger, 12 1/2 inches, Unbending
Patronus	Raccoon
Parents	Julia Laurence, Maddox Barlowe
Siblings	Kathryn Barlowe, Jude Barlowe, Evander Barlowe, Morgan Barlowe
Significant Other	Ruth Elliot
Children
Friends	Matilda Nordstrom, Alice Ravenstone, Cassian McCormick, Rosalie Laurence, Evander Whistler, Ren Al-Sayeed, Oilibhéar Ó Coigligh
Status	Alive

Overview

Benji Laurence (formerly Cuddrun) is a member of the aristocratic Laurence Family, based out of West Sussex who hold the duchy title of Norfolk. Adopted in 1920, along with his sister Kathryn Barlowe, he is the eldest son of Julia and current heir to the family ducal seat, currently held by his uncle, James Laurence.

The wider family includes his aunt Edith (James and Julia's widowed sister-in-law) and her daughter Adira, James's wife Amelia and their daughter Claire. Beyond that he has several second cousins - including , Rosalie, Thomas and Matthew Laurence and their parents and grandparents.

Personality

Benji is the type of kid you think you already know at first glance. Smirking while he hits you with one-liner after one-liner. Quick to pull pranks, quick to tell big stories to get a rise out of you. Always in trouble, always looking for the next thing he can scramble.

But beneath the veneer of a troublemaker, Benji is incredibly introspective with a heart of gold. He cares deeply for the people who show him any kind of love or loyalty and offers his friendship sometimes a little too easily.

He's impulsive, quick-thinking and hot-headed. But at the core of it all, Benji is just someone who wants to feel a sense of belonging, family and home.

History

There wasn’t much the world expected of street kids. Benji Cuddrun may as well have been born in the gutters of Richmond Road, the way London society saw children – especially boys - like him.

Benji’s parents, Harry and Liza Cuddrun were generally apathetic about their wayward boy. Harry, a pureblood and war veteran, ran a wizard pub a few streets from their home. He worked long hours, and when he was home, he often sat in silence, reading his books and pretending his wife and children didn’t exist. He had been much like his son, a wayward young man with not much promise or much to offer the world, and despite his military service (or perhaps because of) that hadn’t changed with age.

Liza, a pureblood witch had come from a decent, middle-class family that encouraged hard work and the importance of family. Much to her family’s dismay and confusion, she had gotten involved with Harry, and all that had flown out the proverbial window. She spent much of her time staring at the tele and not much else. Occasionally, she would muster the strength to shout at her two children when she couldn’t hear her programs. If they stayed out of her hair and didn’t ask her for much, or bring complaining neighbors to her door, she really didn’t care what they did. When they did cross her, things became extremely violent for both Benji and Kate.

Raised in the poor Hackney borough of London, Benji rarely stayed home and even more rarely attended school as he should. At the young age of only eleven, Benji seemed as street-wise as the older teenaged boys he ran around with most days. They hung around on door-stoops, shouting rude words at passersby, or riding their skateboards around the neighboring boroughs. They knocked over bins, graffitied random back-alley buildings, smoked cigarettes and generally caused a nuisance wherever they went.

Benji loved every moment of it. It was an escape from the monotonous, lackluster and cold environment of his own home. The other boys gave him a sense of belonging and family, in a way his own never did. He felt cared for when one of the older kids would steal him a fizzy from the corner store, or when they’d give him a pair of their old shoes, knowing his parents would never buy him new ones. It was natural to him that he’d do everything in his power to impress them, or do whatever they asked him to. The fact that strange, almost magical things happened around him occasionally only made him more well-liked amongst them.

The only thing Benji loved more than being a part of his band of misfit toys, was his little six-year-old sister Kate. While he would never admit it to his friends, Benji took special efforts to ensure Kate was cared for. He got up every day and made her breakfast from what little food they had, helped her comb her hair and walked her to school. If she really pleaded, he’d stay and attend school as he should have. He always walked her home, got her a snack and made sure she was safely entertained in her bedroom, before he’d run out the front door again.

His first two years at Hogwarts centered around Benji really trying to understand his trauma, how it had affected him and the people around him. He fell into the wrong crowd for awhile, trying to find something that felt like the friends he had back home. He struggled hard with his alcohol addiction he'd been nursing since he was nine - a habit he'd picked up from the older boys to stop the pain after his mother's beatings.

During this time, Benji and his sister were both removed from their parents' custody and placed in an orphanage for magical children.

In his third year, Benji got clean, under the help of his future adoptive mother, Julia and reconciled with the original friends he'd made in first year. He spent all of third year getting to know who really was, what he liked, what he didn't and the kind of friend he wanted to be to people. Over the summer, he and his sister were both adopted into the Laurence family - one of the most powerful Pureblood aristocratic families in Britain, and he is the current heir to the estate and ducal seat.