+- Knockturn Bound (https://knockturnbound.net)
+-- Forum: Applications (https://knockturnbound.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=53)
+--- Forum: Archived Applications (https://knockturnbound.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=70)
+--- Thread: Student Application: Joshua Francis Henley (/showthread.php?tid=411)
Student Application: Joshua Francis Henley - Joshua Henley - 08-31-2025
![[Image: hogwarts.png]](https://knockturnbound.net/images/logos/hogwarts.png)
General Information
Character Name:
Joshua Francis Henley
Age:
11
Date of Birth:
May 25th 1909
Blood Status:
Halfblood
Residence:
Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England
Family:
Mother Adelaide
Grandma and Grandpa
Father Major Henley (muggle, deceased)
Three older adult half-brothers from his father’s first marriage (one deceased, two estranged)
Personality & House Preference
Personality:
Joshua has lived the first 11 years of his life with a mixture of very different influences, so it might be of little surprise that he is still trying to figure out exactly who he is.
For the first 9 years of his life, Joshie lived knowing nothing of the magical world, it’s brilliance, wisdom, intensity and perplexities. He grew up in a muggle military family where traditional views on how young boys should behave were installed in him from a very young age by his father and older half-brothers, with frequent sports lessons, archery training, and toy soldiers to play with, but he also has a mother who has introduced him to the world of literature and encouraged his imagination to grow.
Since coming to Ilkley to live with his grandparents, learning about magic and starting a new school, Joshua has been trying to figure out who he is and how he can mix his previous muggle life at the large Henley estate with his new life with a most definitely not well-off family on the outskirts of the wizarding world. He is a thinker and an observer and can often come across as quiet and shy, but will open up when he finds a friend he trusts.
Joshua is kind and caring and his biggest loves are books, animals and nature. He is loyal to his friends and family, but will call them out if he believes they are in the wrong, especially if they are doing something to harm an animal.
He is curious about learning and is especially eager to know more about the wizarding world, but he also has a love for fantastical story books with a bit of magic in them. If a topic catches his interest, he will work hard to learn more about it, like he does when exploring the new-found magical areas of herbology and magical creatures.
History:
Born into the well-off Henley family as the only child of Major Henley and his young second wife, Joshua spent his early childhood under the watchful eye of his mother and various house staff, while his father led his men around the nearby military facility like he led his family, with a firm hand and a close look to traditional ideals of the early 20th century.
It was here young Joshua spoke his first word, took his first steps, lined his toy soldiers up in neat lines, and watched his older half-brothers as they followed their father’s footsteps around the estate, through games of sports, into hunts and finally for the older two, into the military world.
It was never a question for Joshua that this was where he would go too, when the day came and he grew big and strong. He loved his father dearly, like a young boy would, with a mixture of respect and intimidation, and thus he knew he should follow in his every footstep too, and he would do what he could to please him and loved nothing more than a well-earned nod of acknowledgement or a word of praise.
Except maybe… maybe he loved the daily reading sessions with his mother as well. Hours spent together exploring the worlds of favourite books like Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan and The Secret Garden. Here he could dream and imagine, think of a world opened up far beyond the land of the estate. A world full of creatures and people with all sorts of interesting stories.
These early years for Joshie were filled with family and traditions, peace and quiet, hunting parties and games of sports, parties in the grand hall, straight backs, tired feet and looks snuck through half-closed doors at pretty costumes and tables overflowing with delicious food.
Things, however, changed drastically for the family when the War broke out not long after Joshie’s fifth birthday. Where his father had spent evenings and weekends at home with his family, keeping up with the running of the family estate and taking the older boys hunting or practising their sports, work and his company took more and more of his time until he went off to France and then never came back.
The same fate met the oldest of the Henley boys. One day Laurence left with his new uniform and a salute, and never again was he seen by the family. Patrick left two years later, and though he came back again, sometimes Joshua wondered if that really was so great at all.
Things had changed and by November 1918 and the end of the Great War, Joshua had turned 9 and the memory of his father had begun fading into the distance as a new world was taking shape around him, one that including healing and reconstruction, not only for the greater world and England, but also for his family.
Half-brothers and stepchildren as they were, the older Henley boys had never seen in Adelaide and Joshua what Major Henley had, and it soon became clear that there was no space for the grieving widow and her rather odd child at the estate. By the time Christmas came around that year, Joshua and his mother had moved to live with his grandparents in Ilkley, a village far north from the estate in West Devon and full of people 9 year old Joshua had never met before.
It was also then that Joshua first learned about the Magic that runs strong in his mother’s side of the family. A magic which suddenly explained the little odd things which often had followed young Joshua around and which had both frustrated and annoyed his oblivious older brothers. A straight ball suddenly curved away from the goal Joshua was guarding, a downtrodden flower perked up again, muddy footsteps disappeared where they had surely been a moment before. ‘Odd’ they’d said. ‘Freak’ they’d whispered.
Living with his grandparents opened up a whole new world for Joshua. A world of magic and fantastic beasts, of dishes that dried themselves and drawers that opened when you asked them nicely, of herbs that healed and potions that brewed in cauldrons. There was so much to see and so much to explore. He had attended muggle school while living at the estate and continued doing so in Ilkley, but every free moment he had, Joshua spent seeking out knowledge of this new world of magic. After over a decade of not using her magic much at all and with grief still running through her veins, Adelaide was not of much help to her son on his quest, but his grandmother showed him household spells and his grandfather explained the magic he worked on common pieces of furniture, which he sold to the wizarding folk from his small shop in Ilkley.
As for everything else he wanted to know, Joshua read.
House Preference:
I can see traits in Joshua’s personality fitting in both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, or perhaps even in Gryffindor. Surprise me!
Year Preference:
First
Prompt Response:
“That’s disgusting. Move it away!”
Joshua looked up from the table where he’d been slowly eating his scrambled eggs and bacon, eyes eagerly flicking between the plate and his current project spread out on the table in front of him. He hadn’t noticed anyone come over. Hadn’t expected anyone yet, to be honest. It was early and it was Sunday, most other students seemed to fancy a lie in and later breakfast. Not this girl, it seemed.
“I’m sorry?” Joshua looked from the older girl and to where her eyes were currently trained. He couldn’t help the way his back straightened slightly despite the disgruntled look on the girl’s face. He’d done well this morning. Not only had he managed to find a bit of heather in a secluded part of the gardens as well as some lavender, but he’d also found some Meadowsweet down by the lake. Granted, none of these plants were remotely rare here in Scotland, but he always thought it exciting finding the things he had been reading about in books.
He knew heather was an antiseptic, had read about it in one of the Herbology books from the library in Ilkley, but he still wasn’t quite sure if putting it in tea was enough to get an effect. Perhaps…
“Can’t you hear? Get those weed off the table. Are you a complete heathen?” The girl was still standing there, arms crossed and a scowl on her face, impatiently waiting for his reply.
Or rather, for him to do as she’d ordered.
“It’s just flowers,” Joshua muttered as he lowered his gaze, quickly gathering his treasures into the basket he’d placed under the table and closing his Herbology textbook. He didn’t see what the big fuss was about. It wasn’t like he’d uprooted a hole bush and put it on the table with dirt and all. It was literally just a few flowers. Still, if anything, his Father had taught him to respect his elders, and he guessed that included grumpy, fussy older students, too.
He bet she’d be eager enough to use a potion if she ever had a cold or a headache, though. And those had plenty of herbs and flowers in them!
Pushing down the temptation to stick his tongue out at her, Joshua straightened back up, table now free of flora. “Better now?”
Miscellaneous
Other Characters
NA
How did you find us?
Referral by Hera Redcliff
Student Application: Joshua Francis Henley - Gideon Blackwood - 08-31-2025
Joshua Henley,
We are pleased to announce you have been accepted into this coming term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry!
We look forward to seeing you around, however in the meantime feel free to check out the Summer Facility.
Signed,
Gideon Blackwood