The Ottoman Empire, where his parents came from, didn't really have surnames and instead people went by their father's name with an -oglu added or a family nickname of sorts. When Kamil's parents came to England, they started using surnames as they were used by anyone. As such, they went for ‘‘Stambouli’’ which means ‘‘from Istanbul’’, since it was something most English people could pronounce (way better than anything ending with -oglu at least).Nicknames: Some friends might call him Kam. Camel was also used by bullies at school.
Birthdate: July 29th, 1862
Current Age: 27
Occupation: Medical Potioneer at an Apothecary (? or whatever you'd call someone who makes herbal medicine basically)
Reputation: 6 - he's the child of immigrants and he's currently involved with them communists
Residence: London
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Wand: Flexible, 10'', English oak and dragon heartstring
His parents only got him a wand because it was required at Hogwarts. In their part of the world, wands and Latin based magic isn't really a thing, but they really wanted their son to become a proper Englishman and do better. In any case, they couldn't afford to get him a wand that chose him so they opted for a second hand one. It gets the job done but it's not super comfortable. Kamil prefers to go wandless most of the time (see Other section for more info)Blood Status: Halfblood
Social Class: Working Class
Family:
Mehmet Stambouli, father (1834-1876)Appearance: Kamil is tall and he would look better if he put on some weight and muscle. His strong bone structure is even more evident. He has olive skin that tans easily under the sun. His hair is dark brown, almost black, and kept short. He has a pair of protruding gray eyes. Kamil has features that should comprise an attractive male face (namely, a strong jawline) but he looks somewhat goofy, really. He's right-handed and dresses in accordance to his social class.
Anastasia Stambouli, mother (1837)
Feyza Stambouli, sister (1865)
Hürriyet ‘‘Harriet’’ Stambouli, sister (1867)
History:
Mehmet and Anastasia eloped, seeing that they belonged to different faiths. But before we get to that, a little backstory on both of them.
Mehmet's family comprised of merchants and potion makers. They lived in a small, unspecified town near Istanbul but traveled there often for business. His family has produced many people with the Sight and generally practices the arts of Divination. They had a bit of a reputation even to some muggle women who needed help regarding relationships and the like. They weren't aware that they were witches witches, in any case.
Anastasia was born in that same unspecified town, though to a muggle Christian family. Their community was small, so when she started showing signs of magic, the women in Mehmet's family began to notice. In spite of their different faith, they both spoke Turkish and were generally on friendly terms. They guided Anastasia through her powers and taught her how to keep them under control. Her muggle family was none the wiser of their daughter's actual abilities, but they did think that she could break ‘curses’ such as that of the Evil Eye. For context: in Soph's part of the world people believe that you can jinx people you envy and that is called 'to be given the Evil Eye'. That usually manifests in headaches, weariness, and the inability to yawn. The curse is broken by someone who knows the special prayer, who says it while putting oil in water. Then the oil somehow defies the laws of nature and that proves that the curse is broken and that you were Super Evil Eyed. Soph actually believes this when she has her crazy migraines and she's not even ashamed of it.
Anyway, Anastasia could do that.
The 19th century wasn't the best one for the Ottoman Empire, seeing that everyone decided to have a war of independence. There was war, people weren't sure who they were supposed to hate because, for example, Anastasia's family were Christians and identified as Greeks but were also Turkish speaking so???
In any case, Anastasia and Mehmet fell in love and they decided to escape the brewing cauldron that was South-eastern Europe at that time and seek a better life in Great Britain. Mehmet's family would do business with merchants there, seeing that there was a market for potion ingredients and Divination related objects.
The two arrived in 1860 with enough money to open a small shop at a shadier place of Diagon Alley, which sold herbs, potions, talismans, Divination related objects and the like. They were by no means rich but it kept them in that lower middle class/working class cusp.
Even though they were proud of their heritage, they were impressed by their new modern home. The Ottoman Empire used to be an impressive state once but during their lifetime it didn't have the glory of the past. Their old home seemed medieval compared to Great Britain. As such, the two of them were overzealous of their children growing up in that new place and becoming proper Englishmen and having a better future. As immigrant parents do.
Kamil was their first child, born two years after their arrival in London. He is given a Turkish first name and a Greek ‘‘middle’’ name. The thing is, his parents don't truly get the whole middle name thing, but all proper English boys seem to have them, so they go for it. They also had two heritages to pay tribute to. Normally, a Christian woman would have to convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim, but neither Mehmet nor Anastasia care about those things, so they both do their thing. Kamil himself doesn't grow up to be particularly religious.
Two sisters joined the family, one in 1865 and one in 1867. Kamil was made to look after them, something that he didn't enjoy that much as a little boy.
His parents were really happy when he received his Hogwarts letter in 1873. They were determined to send him to the British magical school since they thought that it would give him a better future. They got him a second hand wand, seeing that they didn't really grow up with the notion of the wand choosing the wizard.
One thing Kamil remembers from his first year is feeling embarrassed that he didn't grow up in a wand using household. His own wand didn't really work that well in his hands. In his eleven-year-old eyes, his parents not owning a wand was a sign of poverty. There were kids who would boast about their Ollivander wands and their great wand woods and cores.
Kamil soon discovered that he had an easier time in classes like Potions and Herbology. They were closer to the type of magic she was accustomed to at home. His own parents' shop sold herbs from their part of the world, so he had some knowledge of this already. The wand-based classes were the ones he had the most difficulty with, seeing that his wand didn't suit him that well. He also had difficulty with the Latin-based incantations. Some spells, like Wingardium Leviosa, had their own versions in Turkish and Arabic or people didn't use incantations at all for something as simple. He could get the job done and make something float and still be chastised for not doing it the proper way.
At the end of his second year, his father became ill. This put a strain on the family's finances, seeing that they had to spend a lot on his medicine. Kamil entered his third year with an impending sense of doom. He took Divination, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy as his electives.
In the summer between his third and fourth year, his father died. The family was lost without its head. His mother also discovered that they had some debt going back to the first days of the family's shop. Things were difficult but Kamil was able to return for a fourth year nonetheless. It was Feyza's turn to go to Hogwarts as well and thankfully there was a scholarship for first years so with that, combined with Kamil's hand-me-downs, they wouldn't have to worry about her for that year.
Now, some more detail on Kamil's academic performances. Even though he was a bright and intelligent boy, he had difficulty fitting into the molds of the educational system. He truly was a Ravenclaw, in the sense that he liked to experiment and learn things outside of the guidelines of the Department of Magical Education. He couldn't understand why he couldn't just do certain things in his way.
When the end of his fourth year rolled around, his mother had to make a difficult decision. In order to keep the shop going, they would have to cut on some expenses. Feyza had done well enough in her first year to earn a partial scholarship. Meanwhile, Kamil had none of that, so it was decided that Feyza could return but he— not.
Kamil was angry at himself. Feyza got to return to Hogwarts because she had earned it with her good performance. If he hadn't tried to play smart, he might have earned a partial scholarship himself. He had reached the well but not drank any water. In any case, at fifteen he didn't realize what a disadvantage in life he would have without OWLs.
He helped his mother around the shop. It was a struggle and, two years later, in 1879, they had to close it. His youngest sister couldn't return for her second year, seeing that there was no money or academic excellence from her part to earn her a scholarship. Meanwhile, Feyza had realized that she would have to rely on herself to finish school, so she earned scholarships after every year. In the end, only she managed to complete all seven years at Hogwarts.
Kamil started working various jobs, usually as a shop employee. He also tried his best to continue his education and continue learning new things and skills. He didn't want to be a shop clerk all his life but without even OWLs, there was little he could do. He began to practice wandless magic more. He also taught himself the fifth year's curriculum in Potions and Herbology. In the years to come, Kamil would use his free time to study various things in the library.
Kamil discovers the meetings at the Augurey Beak through the old manager at his parents' shop, Kieran Abernathy. The two had remained friends even after the shop closed. At the Augurey Beak, Kamil found other like-minded people. He made friends that he considers as close as brothers by now.
Kamil's life consists of activism and learning new skills. He works various odd jobs and currently works at an apothecary as a potioneer/pharmacist of sorts. He is somewhat frustrated that he can't get a better job seeing that he doesn't even have OWLs. He sees so many skilled individuals who aren't allowed a better life simply because they don't have degrees or connections. He believes that education should be accessible to all. He also believes that it isn't only titles that make someone educated and that there should be a system that encourages people to learn skills and not just be shaped into a mold. This entire song's vibe
Since late 1888 he has been writing books which are intended for an audience of ‘lesser’ education. For example, a simple potions book that's meant to be easy to follow.
Personality: To those close to him Kamil is a kind and cordial man. He's light-hearted and loves to laugh and make jokes. He's generous and likes helping others. In regards to politics, he can get a bit passionate and even militant. He can sometimes get really angry at the system. He's probably an anarchist and believes a lot in not fitting into molds and the system not turning us into sheep.
Other:
At its peak, the Ottoman Empire spanned across Europe, Asia Minor, and Africa. As it would make sense, there were many different populations and as such, many different magical populations. Wizards in the Ottoman Empire are mostly homeschooled, seeing that there are so many different ethnicities and religions that have different customs and traditions in regards to magic. In any case, wand-based and Latin-based magic isn't really the norm, unless someone has studied abroad. People use incantations from their own languages. (Greeks, for example, won't use Latin when they have their own Ancient Greek spells) Wandless magic is also a thing.
As such, Kamil is capable of using wandless magic, seeing that his parents would before him. The truth is, going to Hogwarts and being schooled in the wand-based type of magic was somewhat detrimental to his wandless magic progress, seeing that for a long time he had this idea in his head that ‘proper’ magic is only done with a wand and that wandless magic is best left to the super skilled. In recent years, he has gained appreciation from the magic from his parents' part of the world, even though it was his parents who wanted to see their boy become a ‘proper’ Englishman.
The thing with wandless magic in the Ottoman Empire, is that people would use it to the extent that it was needed for their lifestyle. So a farmer could use it perfectly for anything related to farming but he wouldn't be able to take out an auror in wandless combat. Similarly, Kamil can use wandless magic for his every day needs but he wouldn't really be able to duel or fight a dragon with it.
SKILLS/HOBBIES/INTERESTS:
- Wandless magic. Of the everyday simple magic sort. Aka he can make a cup float but not singlehandedly fight off five aurors.
- Potions, especially when it comes to medicinal ones.
- Herbology
- Magical theory which he researches a lot
- Writing
- Magical history
- Magical chess
- He does research on magic in other parts of the world and dreams of being able to travel to faraway places to research things first hand.
Age: 23
