Basil Cassiel

[Basil Cassiel]

Application for Hogwarts School

→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.

Name:
Basil Ingram Archibald Augustus Birchgrove Cassiel.

Birthday:
September 15, 1938 (aged 12).

Hometown:
Nucet, Romania (lives in London, England now).

Bloodline:
Pureblood.

Magical Strength (pick one):
Charms

Magical Weakness (pick one):
Divination.

Year:
1 or 2 (Durmstrang doesn't necessarily require students to have turned eleven before September 1 like Hogwarts does, so he could have attended one year there already.)

Biography:
Born on September 15 in the year of 1938 into an ancient wizarding family of great wealth and impeccable lineage, Basil was born and raised in the northern parts of Romania at ‘The Dark Castle’ as the second child of Edward and Evona Cassiel and the younger brother Alastor. Once easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, by the the early twentieth century, 'Castelul întuneric’ had become every bit the bleak and forbidding sight its grotesque history suggested: A grim, decrepit, windswept old place with secret tunnels and passages running both around and beneath the building which carried an air of dark origin and intent. Only gradually did young Basil become aware that there was something strange, both about the manner in which he was raised and their parents’ marriage.

Haughty, blunt and domineering, behind their veneers of respectability, the Cassiels have traditionally in many respects been both a rather unprincipled and egotistical lot, and Basil's parents are anything but an exception to the rule, encouraging an environment dominated by fear and intimidation from their sons, using both corporal punishment and and a wide variety of unfriendly jinxes and hexes to keep their children in line. Never known for their generosity, Edward and Evona both lived largely by the principles of children being seen and not heard, tasking the servants with looking after the boys, whom they granted the free run of the castle in exchange for them being left largely alone to enjoy their library and well-stocked cellar in peace. Uncared for and feeling unloved, growing up in the lap of luxury in a castle with servants to heed their every whim was only a slight compensation.

That is not to say, however, they were completely absent from the children's life, whom they educated in reading, writing and simple maths right before burdening them with the expectations of upholding the family name from an early age. Forbidden from going anywhere near the nearby settlements for no other reason that they were comprised solely by members the non-magical community, the two brothers grew up spending much of their time under the strict gaze of his father, whom the Cassiel brothers would only dare to cross if the alternative was to cross their mother. Despite being independently wealthy with no need for work, Mr. Cassiel maintained that nothing was ever accomplished by ‘lounging’, resulting in some of Basil’s earliest memories being of him accompanying their father by Portkey to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, where he made Basil and Alastor both look on as those working there extracted blood and heart-strings of recently deceased specimens and hand it over to his father in exchange for gold, who intended to sell them to local wandmakers and apothecaries respectively. United almost exclusively by their shared fear of their parents, the bond between Basil and his brother is close, but not necessarily all that affectionate.

Regarding his brother as a snide, sarcastic fellow with little patience for the feelings and problems of others, Basil has very little in common with Alastor other than the distinct similarity in appearance that comes with being brothers. Perhaps because his accomplishments has gone unrecognized for so long, Alastor seem to feel the need to be powerful, boasting about his own capabilities to Basil’s face, even the petty ones and taking great pleasure in bullying his younger sibling.

Most notably, he once sent a check on a significant amount of gold to a local Hag in exchange for having her kidnapping little Basil, (aged five at the time), locking him inside a steel cage and pretend she was going to eat him, only to wave it away as an April Fool’s Day joke. About this, however, their parents was not amused. Alastor has still the marks after their father caned him, forever blaming Basil for not lying about where he had been for those six hours he had been missing.

Perhaps the worst of all the “pranks” he ever pulled on his little brother, referred to simply as “the incident”, was when he once crept into the bedroom where Basil slept in the dead of night, setting off the entire package of secretly imported bundle of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks he had received for his birthday a few days earlier behind their parents back by an estranged uncle. Though he merely had meant for them to fly out from the bedroom window and wake up their parents, subsequently getting Basil into trouble, something went horribly wrong when one of them exploded prematurely, and would almost certainly have proved fatal to the youngest member of the family had not their pet Kneazle (to which Basil was strongly attached) leapt in the way, shielding the then eight year old sleeping boy from the impact. This is notably one of the very few times Basil has known his big brother to ever show genuine remorse and apologize for mischief. Although Basil never truly forgave him and seldom speak of it, Basil has discovered that whenever it is brought up within earshot of Alastor, he becomes quieter than usual and tends to tune down the malice for a day or two. However, while whatever remorse his big brother feels is undoubtedly genuine, Basil is still quite convinced that if it is brought up too often, Alastor just might start viewing it as 'a tool to make him weak' as opposed to a reminder of the one time he admittedly 'went too far'. As such, he wisely refrain from mentioning it too often for this second reason as well. However, when it comes down to it, due to their shared fascination with causing chaos, there is very little to choose between Alastor K. Cassel and Peeves the Poltergeist.

Having a great deal more common sense, subtlety and being by far the most emotionally grounded in his family, Basil was happier than anyone to learn his cousin Circe was still alive, even though he has never met her.

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

House Request:
Gryffindor.

Personality:
Understandably influenced by the prejudice and bigoted ways his parents have so vigorously advocated all his life, Basil Cassiel is haughty and highly opinionated, not to mention quite unafraid to speak his mind if he believes someone are in the wrong. This, however, is a good thing, as it means that he is as unafraid to stand up for others as he is to stand up for himself, should he see anyone treated unjustly. Though he admittedly maintains a quiet belief in the superiority of his own family and a cast-iron security in his own judgment, he will seldom let an opportunity to “put his foot down” slip through his fingers during verbal conflict, finding great joy in taking the moral high ground and making people who treat people badly feel stupid by finding flaws in their logic. Ultimately, he is not quite the pampered little prince Alastor were at that age, but by contrast, Basil is as normal a boy he could possibly be under the circumstances, occasionally forgetting that there even is such a thing as dignity in favour of just having fun, especially whenever Quidditch is involved.

(OOC note: I suspect that as he embarks on the journey of his magical education, he will for the first time get actual friends and playmates at Hogwarts, which will lead to him loosening up and becoming much more likable).

Appearance:
Basil  looks like a dark haired version of Alastor, had the latter been a preteen and gives an impression of being distinctly less vicious.

→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.

Option 2

Basil stood before the boy whose rat he were holding by the tail with a look of disgust, eying the boy's sleeve warily before clearing his throat and, resisting the temptation to call him a mean name as he did so: If he did, he would probably just tell on him and they'd loose house points or something like that. Extending his hand, holding up the rat, casually ignoring the squeaks, twists and turn the pitiful little creature made in an attempt to get free, and Basil smirked to himself as he saw the rat try to raise his upper body to try and bite his hand, only for its upper body strength to be insufficient, making it fall limp-like down again, dangling again.

"Is this yours?"

With his free hand, he took hold around the rat, closing his hand firmly, not hurting it, yet his grasp hard enough to make sure that if bitten, he would not simply let go either, and held it out to the other student. He had presumed it had either escaped or been smuggled out of the Transfiguration department, having heard from Alastor how some of the older students often had rats handed out in class by the teacher. It had been his hope that in delivering it to the staff room, he might have earned for himself a couple of house points, but when he spotted the his peer making a mess out of the flower beds, he had put two and two together and begrudgingly walked up to him.

"I'd use a handkerchief next time, if I were you, because that robe is not a pretty sight..."


→ ABOUT YOU.

How did you find us?:
Google.

[Anneka Ivanova]

Hi Basil!

Your application looks great. However, there's a minor change you'll need to make before we can accept your application.

This is an AU. We don't have any of the same characters at Hogwarts as there are in the books. In our universe, Peeves doesn't exist. You'll need to remove the reference to him from your bio. (While you don't necessarily need to change this, since Basil didn't see it himself, I'd like to point out that our professors come up with their own lessons - and not many of the Transfiguration ones in the past few terms have used rats in their lessons.)

Once you make that change, please post your entire revised application below and we'll be happy to take another look. Thanks!

[Basil Cassiel]

Application for Hogwarts School

→ CHARACTER INFORMATION.

Name:
Basil Ingram Archibald Augustus Birchgrove Cassiel.

Birthday:
September 15, 1938 (aged 12).

Hometown:
Nucet, Romania (lives in London, England now).

Bloodline:
Pureblood.

Magical Strength (pick one):
Charms

Magical Weakness (pick one):
Divination.

Year:
1 or 2 (Durmstrang doesn't necessarily require students to have turned eleven before September 1 like Hogwarts does, so he could have attended one year there already.)    Per message from Basil, 2nd year is 1st choice, 1st year is 2nd choice. - A.I.

Biography:
Born on September 15 in the year of 1938 into an ancient wizarding family of great wealth and impeccable lineage, Basil was born and raised in the northern parts of Romania at ‘The Dark Castle’ as the second child of Edward and Evona Cassiel and the younger brother Alastor. Once easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, by the the early twentieth century, 'Castelul întuneric’ had become every bit the bleak and forbidding sight its grotesque history suggested: A grim, decrepit, windswept old place with secret tunnels and passages running both around and beneath the building which carried an air of dark origin and intent. Only gradually did young Basil become aware that there was something strange, both about the manner in which he was raised and their parents’ marriage.

Haughty, blunt and domineering, behind their veneers of respectability, the Cassiels have traditionally in many respects been both a rather unprincipled and egotistical lot, and Basil's parents are anything but an exception to the rule, encouraging an environment dominated by fear and intimidation from their sons, using both corporal punishment and and a wide variety of unfriendly jinxes and hexes to keep their children in line. Never known for their generosity, Edward and Evona both lived largely by the principles of children being seen and not heard, tasking the servants with looking after the boys, whom they granted the free run of the castle in exchange for them being left largely alone to enjoy their library and well-stocked cellar in peace. Uncared for and feeling unloved, growing up in the lap of luxury in a castle with servants to heed their every whim was only a slight compensation.

That is not to say, however, they were completely absent from the children's life, whom they educated in reading, writing and simple maths right before burdening them with the expectations of upholding the family name from an early age. Forbidden from going anywhere near the nearby settlements for no other reason that they were comprised solely by members the non-magical community, the two brothers grew up spending much of their time under the strict gaze of his father, whom the Cassiel brothers would only dare to cross if the alternative was to cross their mother. Despite being independently wealthy with no need for work, Mr. Cassiel maintained that nothing was ever accomplished by ‘lounging’, resulting in some of Basil’s earliest memories being of him accompanying their father by Portkey to the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, where he made Basil and Alastor both look on as those working there extracted blood and heart-strings of recently deceased specimens and hand it over to his father in exchange for gold, who intended to sell them to local wandmakers and apothecaries respectively. United almost exclusively by their shared fear of their parents, the bond between Basil and his brother is close, but not necessarily all that affectionate.

Regarding his brother as a snide, sarcastic fellow with little patience for the feelings and problems of others, Basil has very little in common with Alastor other than the distinct similarity in appearance that comes with being brothers. Perhaps because his accomplishments has gone unrecognized for so long, Alastor seem to feel the need to be powerful, boasting about his own capabilities to Basil’s face, even the petty ones and taking great pleasure in bullying his younger sibling.

Most notably, he once sent a check on a significant amount of gold to a local Hag in exchange for having her kidnapping little Basil, (aged five at the time), locking him inside a steel cage and pretend she was going to eat him, only to wave it away as an April Fool’s Day joke. About this, however, their parents was not amused. Alastor has still the marks after their father caned him, forever blaming Basil for not lying about where he had been for those six hours he had been missing.

Perhaps the worst of all the “pranks” he ever pulled on his little brother, referred to simply as “the incident”, was when he once crept into the bedroom where Basil slept in the dead of night, setting off the entire package of secretly imported bundle of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks he had received for his birthday a few days earlier behind their parents back by an estranged uncle. Though he merely had meant for them to fly out from the bedroom window and wake up their parents, subsequently getting Basil into trouble, something went horribly wrong when one of them exploded prematurely, and would almost certainly have proved fatal to the youngest member of the family had not their pet Kneazle (to which Basil was strongly attached) leapt in the way, shielding the then eight year old sleeping boy from the impact. This is notably one of the very few times Basil has known his big brother to ever show genuine remorse and apologize for mischief. Although Basil never truly forgave him and seldom speak of it, Basil has discovered that whenever it is brought up within earshot of Alastor, he becomes quieter than usual and tends to tune down the malice for a day or two. However, while whatever remorse his big brother feels is undoubtedly genuine, Basil is still quite convinced that if it is brought up too often, Alastor just might start viewing it as 'a tool to make him weak' as opposed to a reminder of the one time he admittedly 'went too far'. As such, he wisely refrain from mentioning it too often for this second reason as well. However, when it comes down to it, due to their shared fascination with causing chaos, there is very little to choose between Alastor K. Cassel and a Poltergeist.

Having a great deal more common sense, subtlety and being by far the most emotionally grounded in his family, Basil was happier than anyone to learn his cousin Circe was still alive, even though he has never met her.

→ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

House Request:
Gryffindor.

Personality:
Understandably influenced by the prejudice and bigoted ways his parents have so vigorously advocated all his life, Basil Cassiel is haughty and highly opinionated, not to mention quite unafraid to speak his mind if he believes someone are in the wrong. This, however, is a good thing, as it means that he is as unafraid to stand up for others as he is to stand up for himself, should he see anyone treated unjustly. Though he admittedly maintains a quiet belief in the superiority of his own family and a cast-iron security in his own judgment, he will seldom let an opportunity to “put his foot down” slip through his fingers during verbal conflict, finding great joy in taking the moral high ground and making people who treat people badly feel stupid by finding flaws in their logic. Ultimately, he is not quite the pampered little prince Alastor were at that age, but by contrast, Basil is as normal a boy he could possibly be under the circumstances, occasionally forgetting that there even is such a thing as dignity in favour of just having fun, especially whenever Quidditch is involved.

(OOC note: I suspect that as he embarks on the journey of his magical education, he will for the first time get actual friends and playmates at Hogwarts, which will lead to him loosening up and becoming much more likable).

Appearance:
Basil  looks like a dark haired version of Alastor, had the latter been a preteen and gives an impression of being distinctly less vicious.

→ SAMPLE ROLEPLAY.

Option 2

Basil stood before the boy whose rat he were holding by the tail with a look of disgust, eying the boy's sleeve warily before clearing his throat and, resisting the temptation to call him a mean name as he did so: If he did, he would probably just tell on him and they'd loose house points or something like that. Extending his hand, holding up the rat, casually ignoring the squeaks, twists and turn the pitiful little creature made in an attempt to get free, and Basil smirked to himself as he saw the rat try to raise his upper body to try and bite his hand, only for its upper body strength to be insufficient, making it fall limp-like down again, dangling again.

"Is this yours?"

With his free hand, he took hold around the rat, closing his hand firmly, not hurting it, yet his grasp hard enough to make sure that if bitten, he would not simply let go either, and held it out to the other student. He had presumed it had either escaped or been smuggled out of the Transfiguration department, having heard stories how some of the older students often had rats handed out in class by the teacher. It had been his hope that in delivering it to the staff room, he might have earned for himself a couple of house points, but when he spotted the his peer making a mess out of the flower beds, he had put two and two together and begrudgingly walked up to him.

"I'd use a handkerchief next time, if I were you, because that robe is not a pretty sight..."


→ ABOUT YOU.

How did you find us?:
Google.

[Anneka Ivanova]

Mr Cassiel,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Term begins 01 May 2017. Currently, students have gathered at Camp Loki. Your admission is joint for both the school and Camp Loki, and we encourage you to spend your summer there. Should you choose, you may also visit our Elsewhere board via the Floo Network to visit or purchase school supplies. We look forward to seeing you at the Castle.

Sincerely,


Headmistress