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General Information
Character Name:
Benji Henry Laurence
Age:
14
Date of Birth:
04 April 1906
Blood Status:
Pureblood
Residence:
Arundel Castle, West Sussex, England
Family:
Benji Laurence (formerly Cuddrun) is a member of the aristocratic Laurence family, based out of West Sussex who hold the duchy title of Norfolk. Recently adopted, along with his sister Kathryn, he is the only son of Julia and current heir to the family ducal seat, currently held by his uncle, James.
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 & House Preference
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.
House Preference:
Hufflepuff (because that's what he's been but I can work with anything)
Gryffindor
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Year Preference:
4th
Roleplay Response
Prompt 1:
Prompt 2:
Benji was never late for lunch. Or dinner. Especially not breakfast. He was never late for a snack. In fact of all the things that Benji could be late for - and regularly was - food was never it.
Helping himself to an enormous bite of his sandwich, Benji closed his eyes, happy to have the delicious flavors of bacon, mayo, tomato, lettuce and toasty bread filling his senses. Nothing was better than a BLT, and you couldn't tell him otherwi -
“OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, you will NEVER guess what just happened!”
Jesus Christ.
Benji liked Elodie, but there was a reason he rarely sat at the Hufflepuff table. They were all excitable, bouncy types, and while he could be as well - he'd like a little peace while he was indulging his taste buds. The girl's shout made him jump, lodging a chunk of tomato in his airway, and he coughed, pounding on his chest, willing the damn thing out.
“Ok, like… Ok. So! You know Peter and Sarah have been on again off again? I mean EVERYONE knows that, but yeah. Well it seems that PETER thought they were off again, but SARAH thought they were on.”
He was choking to death. Benji could see stars in front of his eyes as he willed the deadly tomato out of his throat. Air, sweet air. He just needed one good breath.
“So, I just walked in on Peter and NAOMI snogging! NAOMI! Sarah’s best friend! THEN SARAH walked in and all hell broke loose. If we hurry, we may be able to see the aftermath if you want to go watch.”
He did want to go watch! Benji loved a love drama as much as anyone else, but first he had to survive his sandwich. He pounded on his chest again, coughing as hard as he could. Finally, with a thrust of his belly against the table, the weapon flew out of his mouth and landed in front of Elodie.
The group went silent and Benji took a deep breath, letting his lungs recover, before looking between all his friends. "Well?" he asked, grabbing the rest of his sandwich and hoisting himself up from the table. "What are we waiting for?"
