Benjamin Blair

Backstory

Benjamin was a half-blood born in Scotland to a non-magic religious mother
and a father who was a former Beater of the Montrose Magpies,
a notoriously tough Quidditch team renowned throughout the British Isles and Europe.

His eccentric father didn't necessarily "introduce" his son to his Quidditch background,
so much as he "pushed" him into it without warning.
This led to many afternoons with Benjamin being trained (unsuccessfully) to be a Beater,
and even had several terrifying occasions where his dad made him play the deadly game of Creaothceann.

His mother was outraged by how roughed up her husband made their son.
She often found herself blaming her husband's magic as the reason why he was so unhinged in the first place,
a constant proclamation that made Benjamin a bit ashamed of his more wizard-oriented background.

Both his parents, combined with the bad weather and the fact that he lived in a country crawling with dangerous magical creatures,
helped turn Benjamin into one of the most anxious, worrisome, neurotic people in the UK.

Once he received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
Benjamin wasn't as ecstatic as other children his age.
Because his father was overjoyed that his son would pass on his legacy as the next great Beater,
something Benjamin couldn't be any LESS inclined to do.
Meanwhile, his mother practically pleaded with him to not go,
afraid that her little boy would either be killed or turned into an aggressive man like his father.

At first, Benjamin wasn't sure if he should go or not.
It would make his mother sad, his father happy,
and worst of all,
he'd have to leave his house,
the last beacon of safety he had in this world.
Then he'd be vulnerable to monsters, wild animals, dark wizards, dark magic, charms, curses, lightning strikes, train crashes, broom-related manslaughter, food poisoning, slipping and smashing his head on the toilets, ghosts, pages with particularly sharp edges, performance anxiety...

But finally, on July 31st that year,
after considering every possible, conceivable, horrible outcome of attending this alleged school,
he came to the realization that it would be worth it either way,
as it would get him away from his psychotic parents.

A month later, he found himself on the train to Hogwarts, and even looking forward to it once he saw the landscape outside the train window.
Even more surprisingly, he was making friends rather quickly,
hitting it off with a few other first-year students,
experiencing new spells, new pets,
and the excitement and worry they all shared for attending a place like this,
away from their families for the first time.

Later, in the Dining Hall, the first-years were being sorted into their houses,
and Benjamin was one of the first couple of kids to be called up.
Sitting awkwardly at the front of the hall,
the entire student body watched as his entire corporeal being shook violently from nerves.

Moments before they placed the sorting hat on his head,
he quietly pleaded for 3 things:
1) That he wouldn't get Gryffindor house, like his father did,
2) That the hat wouldn't eat him,
and
3) That nothing went wrong to give him even MORE unwanted attention.

Immediately, something went wrong.
Over a minute had passed, and the talking hat still couldn't figure out where to send poor Benjamin.
The hat kept complaining that the boy's head was "too empty,"
so it had to dig even deeper to find something, ANYTHING, of merit.

Children began to whisper in bulk.
Some even laughed, and said that he must be the school's new "hatstall."
He didn't know what a hatstall was, but the way the other kids were using the word,
it didn't sound very good...

Closing his eyes, he couldn't help but imagine all the humiliating outcomes of this situation,
the fears and ensuing panic rushed through his head,
and sitting on that stool soon felt like an eternity...

Miraculously, not one minute later,
the Sorting Hat sighed with an ominous bellow in its voice,
like it finally found whatever it was digging for,
before proudly shouting the boy's new house:
Ravenclaw!

Initially, Benjamin's face was beaming with excitement,
as he was relieved that not only was a decision finally made,
not only did he have a house that was different than his father's,
but he could hear a few of the students cheering at the decision,
even his new friends that he met on the train.

People. Were cheering. For him!
For the first time in his life.

Sadly, it didn't take long before things went wrong again.
As his new friends went up to be sorted, one by one,
his heart sank as he realized that none of them,
absolutely none of them
were going to Ravenclaw with him.
They went to all the other 3 houses,
but he was going to his new house alone.

Even worse,
as he walked over to the Ravenclaw students,
none of them wanted to speak to Benjamin at first,
until one of the prefects politely introduced himself
and offered to show him around the school as they headed up to the common room.

The prefect was kind enough to explain to Benjamin that the other Ravenclaws
are hesitant to accepting him,
seeing as the Sorting Hat's initial complaint was that Benjamin's head was "too empty,"
something no less than an insult to a member of Ravenclaw.

To recap, Benjamin was away from home, his parents, and even his new friends,
and stuck in a house where many members already disapprove of him for an entire school year.
There were worse outcomes that he had prepared for,
but he was actually less prepare for how... "lukewarm" his first introduction to Hogwarts was.

Over the course of a month or two,
Benjamin only saw his friends from the train in passing,
as they were able to make new friends in their respected houses.
Unlike him.
The way he saw it, any new friends he made
would most likely forget about him and move on to someone else,
just like these kids already did.

Thankfully, he was able to find the one place in the school
where he finally felt some sense of belonging:
the Hogwarts Library.

The head librarian, Madam Pince,
was an especially short-tempered and aggressively protective type,
especially when it came to her books.

Fortunately, Benjamin was just as worried of the condition of Pince's books.
He himself even went to great lengths to make sure that any books he touched in the library
were kept in excellent condition,
partially because he admired the posterity of books.
But mostly because he was terrified of Madam Pince...

After a while, she picked up on his attention to care with her precious books,
and found herself angrily sending Benjamin off on errands for her, all around the library.

Not only was Benjamin okay with this,
but he was happy that he finally found a place
where he felt like he belonged.
No Quidditch, no shame of his magical abilities (or what little he had),
no pressure or disappointment in meeting new people,
no darting eyes of judgment from his own fellow Ravenclaw members...

All he had now was some enjoyable organizational work to keep him busy,
and a nigh-infinite amount of stories for him to read any time he wanted.

At least until the library closed at 8 PM.
Then it was back to all the other terrible things...