In-Character
Full Name: Benjamin Duncan RossNicknames: Benji
Birthdate: June 14, 1849
Current Age: Thirty-Eight Years
Occupation: Head of the Department of Magical Transportation
Reputation: 9
He's faced slander now and then due to various issues in his department that were obviously of no direct fault of his own (but being the head of department, people are always going to point the blame on you).Residence: North Bartonburg, Hogsmeade, Scotland
Hogwarts House: Slytherin Alumnus ('67)
Wand: Beech, 12 inches, Demiguise hair, Supple
Blood Status: Halfblood
Social Class: Middle Class
Family:
Clara Ross (née Diggory), Wife [1861]Appearance:
Glenna Ross, Daughter [1884]
Mysie Ross, Daughter [1885]
Mungo Ross, Son [1886]
Henry Ross, Father [18XX]
Ainslie Ross (née -----), Mother [18XX]
Justin Ross (nn. "Ross"), Brother [1846]
Roslyn Ross (née Fisk), Sister-in-law [1859]
Elizabeth ----- (née Ross), Sister [1854]
Idris Ross, Nephew [1878]
Rhiannon Ross, Niece [1886]
Harold Ross, Brother [1861]
At five feet, nine inches tall, Benjamin is of similar height to the other men in his family and has never been particularly handsome in the eyes of society, but is not at all sore on the eyes. He has black hair that's cropped short and similarly-colored eyes, dark skin, and thick (yet clean!) facial hair. He has a notably well-built body with toned muscles from his outdoorsy hobbies. He prefers fine, well-tailored muggle clothes, but Ministry dress code demands he wear his work robes much of the time. He wields his wand with his right hand.History:
1849 | Benjamin Ross is born the second child and son of Henry and Ainslie Ross. Much of his time is spent in the company of a nanny, and he naturally has no memory of this time in his life.Personality:
1853 | At the age of four, Benjamin's first sign of magic makes an appearance. While attending a quidditch game with his family, Benjamin finds himself unable to see the action while surrounded by a few rude wizards in front of him. After beginning to throw a temper, the wizards find themselves knocked completely off balance and fall to the sides, allowing Benjamin the chance to watch!
1854 | The Ross family welcomes another addition, a daughter named Elizabeth. Five-year-old Benjamin doesn't pay her much mind, mostly because he's afraid that she'll break if he touches her.
1857 | Justin (or "Ross", as he now likes to be called), goes off to Hogwarts and is sorted into Ravenclaw.
1860 | Benjamin is finally allowed to go off to Hogwarts after receiving his letter and is promptly sorted into Slytherin. While he notably finds most of his friend group elsewhere (specifically in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw), he has an immense amount of house pride. While there aren't any classes he's specifically bad at, he enjoys Transfiguration and Potions more than others.
1861 | The Ross family welcomes one final child, a son named Harold. What an awfully boring name.
1862 | Benjamin adds Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, and Earth Magic to his schedule.
Spring, 1865 | He goes into career counseling at the end of his fifth year with the knowledge that he wants to work in the Ministry, but has little clue what department his strengths align with. While a spot on the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, the obliviator squad, or even the hit-wizard squad would allow him further sharpen his magic skills, it would give him little opportunity to do what he does best: handle the bureaucracy. With negotiation, writing, and problem-solving skills like his own, an office job would play best to his skills, and he decides that heading to a department other than the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would also allow him to build an identity free from direct association with his elder brother.
Summer, 1865 | His OWL scores arrive in the letter, bringing the expected news of near-perfect scores. With no specific needs for his future career path, Benjamin tailors his course load to his own needs, including the classes most frequently used in the world outside of school. After long deliberating, he decides on Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration — a full load for a high-aiming student, wherever he may end up aiming in the end.
Autumn, 1865 | Elizabeth joins her elder brother at Hogwarts.
1867 | Seventh year is a blur, which could easily be explained by the immense amount of studying that defined it. Rather than go into a NEWT-needing career, Benjamin finds himself working in the Floo Network Authority Office — not really a glamorous position, but one that definitely allows him a chance to understand the inner workings of the ministry. He aces his paperwork, though finds himself rather bored with the similar complaints and the mindless task of monitoring the restricted floo network between Hogwarts and... well, everywhere else. Still, never in a million years would he speak ill of his job; everyone who wants to get to the top needs to start at the bottom, and he knows he's more fortunate than some.
1869 | Two years into his position, he makes a radical move by switching to the Portkey Office. His motivation is a weak one, but one still important to him: connections, specifically friendly connections. While he's made little friends in the Floo Network Authority Office, the Portkey Office houses other men around his age who he chats with during lunch time. Perhaps a little company was all he needed to improve his work performance, as he finds himself immediately excelling in his new position.
1870 | His elder brother's promotion to assistant head of the investigation department leaves him feeling.... weird. He's definitely proud of him, and his emotions don't align with the description of resentment. Maybe he feels a little discouraged, or maybe he feels a little pressured to keep up with his brother's pace. Maybe he fears living in his shadow, or maybe he worries that, despite his hard work and effort, he'll never reach the top himself. Not that he'd ever admit to his self-doubt; he's too proud for that.
1874 | A crisis strikes the Portkey Office when mismatched paperwork sends fourteen witches and wizards to a completely remote area in the magical Scottish forests rather than the quidditch match they were scheduled to attend. While the employee responsible (not him, obviously) is heavily reprimanded for the incident, Benjamin proves his usefulness by making a personal effort to properly coordinate (none of that lousy bureaucracy bullshit) with law enforcement to help have the missing bunch recovered.
1875 | His one huge fuck-up in his mid-twenties happens when he finds himself relaxing a bit too much one evening at the gentleman's club. A simple game of cards turns into a drunken game of "who can make the most outlandish" bet, in which Benjamin bets his entire year's pay (with a poorly-worded and potentially catastrophic magical contract and all) that he can win the game. While the fuck-up proves less damaging — he does actually win, leading him to acquire a very small fortune overnight — the overwhelming guilt he's forced to deal with in the aftermath leads him to swear off gambling and liquor forever.
1876 | After years of trying to prove his worth, Benjamin is finally promoted to Head Co-Ordinator of the Portkey Office. His friendship with some of the employees is strained simply by his status as their superior, and is even further damaged when he makes the office environment far less laid-back than it had been.
1877 | The muggle riots and the subsequent mass resettlement of the magical population to Hogsmeade leaves his department with a lot of work to do. Between finding creative ways to help families move all of their belongings (and family members!) without catching the attention of muggles and going out of his way to assist with the offices he's not working in, he puts himself in a favorable position for later promotion.
1879 | Benjamin is promoted to the assistant head position of his department, much to his delight! He takes to the job well, serving as a liaison to the departmental workers while also assisting the head with coordinating events and tasks with members of the other departments.
1881 | His thirty-second birthday in June of 1881 marks the beginning of his his attempts to secure a wife. With a small fortune — though certainly enough to support a family of his own — under his belt, he entertains the possibility of courting a variety of young ladies. At least, that is, until he finds his eyes set on Miss Clara Diggory, a vibrant and elegant debutante with enough tact that he can lightly flirt with her without it coming off as too forward. While he doesn't put all of his attention on her, he does find himself paying more attention to her (and the men who also seem to have an interest in her) than the other available ladies.
1882 | His efforts to woo Miss Diggory aren't in vain, as he soon notices that she's put most of her attention on him. Their flirtationship soon becomes a courtship, and everything is smooth sailing from there.
Spring, 1883 | After almost six months of a flawless (almost unusually flawless, not that he pays any mind to that) courtship, Benjamin proposes to Clara in April. While he assumes that Clara (like most women) will want their dream wedding, it doesn't stop him from subtlety vocalizing his desire for a smaller wedding. Against all odds, she doesn't disagree, and they set the wedding date for September.
Late 1883 | Benjamin and Clara marry in September. While their marriage seems like a fairy tale to any outsiders at the beginning, Benjamin soon finds that much of Clara's original vibrancy has faded. He later assumes her pregnancy — which she announces to him a few months into their marriage — is to blame for this, and they go back into routine. While taking to the role of husband in a more traditional sense, he does see his wife as a trophy to be polished, and she frequently receives gifts whenever something catches his eye.
1884 | Two months into the year, Minister Potter is murdered, prompting an election to take place. The couple welcomes their first daughter (albeit a few weeks premature) as the spring comes to a close, and Benjamin suggests the Scottish Glenna as a choice of name — a choice she never even argues with, which seems odd at the time. He forgets about it, though, and they return to their martial bliss. During the period of his wife's recovery, Mr. Balthazar Urquart becomes Minister Balthazar Urquart, and appoints Benjamin's elder brother to a seat on the Wizengamot. Any jealousy he feels is only present for a moment, as Benjamin himself is promoted to head of his own department as the winter rolls around. Finally.
1885 | March rolls around and everything seems to be going smoothly, until something sparks an explosion in the Department of Mysteries. While Benjamin is completely unharmed, many aren't, and they're all stuck there for the the rest of the week. As a department head, he tries his hardest to reassure the members of his own department who are stuck there with him, as well as assist distressed and injured workers when possible. After handling press-related issues and internal chaos, the Ministry resumes its daily tasks... until chaos comes again in the form of escaped convicts from Azkaban. Good luck with that one, Ross. At least one good thing comes out of the year: Clara gives birth to their second daughter, whom they name Mysie.
1886 | After two consecutive pregnancies, Clara becomes pregnant again, prompting Benjamin to have yet another thing to worry about. He's more concerned about her surviving childbirth this time, as her body hasn't had adequate time to recover from the last. He has nurses hired to check on her constantly, and he finds himself being far more attentive than he usually is. The year's end rolls around and she gives birth to a son! After pondering on name choices (which he hadn't gotten around to doing until the babe's birth), he decides on the Scottish Mungo, and Clara agrees.
1887 | It seem the god of plotting realized 1886 was far less dramatic than 1885, and as such decided 1887 was the year of the reckoning. As the Hogwarts school year comes to a close, the Hogwarts Board of Governors (for some unfathomable reason) decides that the way to deal with a few wayward half-breeds is to ban them all from attending the school. What the fuck. Apart from that issue (which he really doesn't have any concern with work-wise), the muggle and magical governments reconcile, which is decidedly a good thing. Sadly from there, shit goes downhill until the end of the year. In the midst of all the half-breed debates, Minister Urquart's daughter is revealed to be a werewolf (again, what the fuck) and he resigns. This prompts an election, and Benjamin's elder brother Ross decides to run. While that's all fine and dandy, it's Ross' brother-in-law, not Benjamin, who is appointed his campaign manager. Benjamin never brings up his displeasure, but there was undoubtedly some tension in the weeks following that announcement. After all is said and done, Ross wins the election and becomes Minister Ross. His election prompts the Hogwarts Board of Governors to completely reverse their ban. Everything is good. Life is just great... for now.
1888 | The beginning of the year apparently marks a new era to the Wizengamot, as the former Chief Warlock, Herschel Dawlish, finds himself six feet under. Any hopes that more progressive leader would take his place is crushed when Lucius Lestrange is appointed the Chief Warlock. His worries more lie with his brother's agenda; there's no way a Lestrange is about to make life easy for Ross.
Other:DIPLOMATIC | DISCREET | FRIENDLY | PROUD | CAREFUL | PLANNER | DISCREET | FORTHRIGHT
Those who look for stereotypical politician traits in him are bound to find them, but those who look at him as an individual are likely to find a friendly, conscientious, if not a little serious man who prides himself in maintaining a healthy work-home balance. While not nearly as present in his family's lives as a modern father might, he's far more active in their personal affairs than the average middle class father is in his time.
His notable flaw is his valuing reputation and the appearance of morality over actual moral behavior, though no one who knows him would consider him immoral by any standards. However, he's willing to befriend anyone who's capable of hiding the dirt they have, and has no qualms about hitting the delete button on a friendship if the tie proves a danger to his reputation. Nevertheless, he is a trustworthy friend and a discreet confidant; he probably hides a dozen of others' secrets at any given point, and has long forgotten others he was supposed to be keeping. He's too smart to give out his own secrets, though.
A planner through and through, Benjamin's modus operandi is to prevent accidents or mistakes before they can occur, and to have damage control in place just in the event that something does go wrong. He is susceptible to becoming overwhelmed, especially when something happens that he could never have prevented or planned for. Undetected natural disasters? Cross-department crises? Unforeseeable poor life choices by family members? All are his worst nightmares.
While not particularly inclined to romance — or rather, displays of romance — he knows how to be an attentive and affectionate lover when he perceives his wife needs it. The same thing works with his children: while not particularly a sensitive parent, he can turn into one when he notices his child is upset or otherwise in need of guidance that only he can offer. His love is often showed through physical affection or gifts.
PATRONUS
☛ A black panther.
TRANSPORTATION
☛ Despite working at the Portkey Office for years, he feels more comfortable apparating or using the floo network. He was never well-adjusted to the feeling of using a portkey, which has resulted in multiple cases of him feeling sick to his stomach.
POLITICAL OPINIONS
☛ Slightly more conservative than his elder brother, but still solidly progressive.
☛ Beliefs align more for what’s best for greater society than the individual, which means favoring stricter control of the werewolf population and non-human beings that can prove harmful or disruptive to magical (or muggle) society.
☛ Has no issue with half-breeds. Sees the whole hysteria as just that—hysteria.
☛ Believes reconciliation was a good idea. There are many ways that the muggle and magical governments can learn from and assist one another if they only try.
☛ Has a more tradition view of male-female gender roles, but by no means considers women incompetent, specifically in the workforce.
Out-of-Character
Name: BreeAge: 18
Contact: PM for Skype/Discord
Other Characters: All of them.
How did you hear about us?: I migrated with the flock.
☙ Post Log ❧
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