Benton Whitcombe

Benton is a sixth year Gryffindor Prefect. He considers himself an artisan: his speciality is building small, charmed toys out of wood.

Early Life
Benton was born the third child to a highly unusual wizarding family. His parents were troubadours, members of a troupe of traveling musicians, performers and artisans. He spent his early years living a largely nomadic lifestyle, although the family did keep a modest home in Godric's Hollow. As he grew up, Bennie came to see the entire troupe as an extended family, and perhaps it was because of this that his parents were so permissive. They believed that children needed the freedom to learn, and even to make their own mistakes, so Benton never had to deal too much with silly rules like eating vegetables before dessert, going to bed at a reasonable hour, or not wandering off into the woods to explore. But for all his freedom, there was usually someone keeping a watchful eye on him, even if he wasn't always aware of it.

Being the youngest and an only boy put Benton at a serious disadvantage. His older sisters tended to oscillate between treating him like a living doll and ganging up on him. They taught him -- quite forcefully -- that he was supposed to be 'a gentleman', although they were never really clear on the definition of such: most of the time it just equated to doing whatever they said without complaint. Still, Benton took this to heart and has always aspired to be gentlemanly, even if he's not always entirely sure what that means.

Thankfully, as he got older, he began to veer away from his sisters' influences. A member of the troupe -- a Frenchman Bennie knew as Oncle Raymonde, although the man was of no actual blood relation -- noticed that the lad seemed to often be a bit at odd ends with himself, and so took him under his wing. It was from Raymonde that Benton learned how to create toys and crafts by carving them out of wood. The boy took to it quickly, and felt like he'd found his true calling.

Years at Hogwarts
Accustomed to being part of such a close-knit community, it was hard for Benton to go away to Hogwarts, although he also looked forward to the adventure of it all. He was sorted into Gryffindor without much hesitation. Although he quite enjoyed the social aspects of the school, he always felt a bit trapped there. After the first bit of excitement wore off, he'd start to get wanderlust and look forward to the summer when he could hit the open road again. But them sometimes… Well, sometimes it was nice having a constant in life. A place that he knew wasn't going to change on him, or disappear in the night. He always had a somewhat conflicted view towards the place.

He also struggled with the sudden change in lifestyle. He'd always considered himself a rather well-behaved lad, but now suddenly he was getting in all sorts of trouble, simply because he wasn't used to asking permission or not being allowed to come and go as he pleased. Until he got used to them, classes felt like an interminable chore, and things like curfews and boundaries were unusual concepts to him. But as years went by, he learned to tow the line -- at least enough that he wasn't getting caught nearly so often, although he still thought the rules were a bit silly, and didn't give students nearly enough credit.

Personality
Benton is generally quite amiable and easy-going. He's confident enough not to put a lot of stock in what other people think of him, and is content to march to the beat of his own drum. At the same time, he's not really one for making waves just for the sake of making waves, so he'll go along with something provided he can't see a good reason to go against it. He's a touch reserved, and is often caught up in his own thoughts, but he's friendly once approached, and those who do earn his friendship are treated with unwavering loyalty. Insults and teasing are like water off a duck's back with him, but if someone has a go at anyone he cares about, he will come at them with a vengeance.