Ben Reyan

Benjamin Christopher Reyan (b. June 3, 1973) is a muggle-born wizard a master magus.  He was enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1984-1991 and was sorted into Slytherin house.  He was a mage student of Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Rolanda Hooch, and Poppy Pomfrey from 1988-1990.  After he completed his mage training, he returned to Hogwarts to complete his final year at Hogwarts.  Immediately after graduation, Ben travelled to Ilvermorny School in America to achieve his mastery in Defense Against the Dark Arts.  He completed this training in one year and returned to England.  Having experienced the mistreatment that muggle-borns faced in Albion--he had to travel to America because the Ministry of Magic does not recognize muggle-borns as valid masters--Ben founded and ran the Muggle-Born Advancement, Enrichment and Equality Initiative to fight for muggle-born rights.  Currently, he is engaged to Erik Bones, who he began dating in 1990.

## History

### Early Life

Benjamin Reyan was born to Joshua and Anna Reyan on June 3, 1973.  His elder sister, Malia Reyan, was two years older than him.  Growing up, the siblings were extremely close.  This was largely due to the strange occurrences that happened around them ranging from fires randomly igniting when Malia lost her temper to all the windows in Ben's classroom shattering when another student picked on him.  Their parents never made them feel different, though, and Ben grew up feeling extremely loved.

When Ben was nine, Professor Horace Slughorn came to his family's home to deliver Malia's acceptance letter to Hogwarts.  Discovering that magic was real and that everything he and his sister could do was it, was world-changing for Ben.  However, this was the height of the First Shadow War of Albion, and Slughorn advised the Reyans that it was too dangerous for the young Ben to accompany his sister to Diagon Alley.  Still, Ben eagerly read every book that his sister brought home and even stole her wand to attempt some spellcasting.  It was with a heavy heart that his sister left for Hogwarts that September.

Malia's first two years at Hogwarts were very difficult for Ben.  He missed her terribly, and the kids at school suddenly saw this as the opportunity to pick on him.  Still, Ben held firm to the knowledge that he was special as a means of coping with the bullying.

### Hogwarts Years

When Ben began Hogwarts in 1984, it was one of the most exciting times of his life.  His sister had told hundreds of stories about the school to him, and he was thrilled to finally be in attendance.  Unfortunately, his sister was thirteen and far too important to be hanging out with her eleven-year-old brother.  Therefore, he stayed in a compartment reading until he was met by Skye Johnson and Leo Fitz; a pair of first years who joined him and who he quickly became friends with.  He and Skye were both muggle-borns and were happy to tell Leo all about their home lives while he told them about the wizarding world.  For the first time, Ben made friends his own age.

Arriving at Hogwarts, Ben had certain expectations imparted to him by his sister.  First and foremost, she told him to beg the hat to put him in Gryffindor with her.  It was the best, she said, and all the people were fun and lively.  Also, she made it clear that he needed to stay away from the Slytherins.  Ben had been told all about the pure-blood supremacy nonsense, and he adamantly agreed with his sister.

When McGonagall called his name to be sorted, Ben did exactly as his sister suggested and begged to be in Gryffindor.  His new friend, Skye, had already been sorted there, and he wanted to be near both her and his sister.  However, he and the Sorting Hat argued back and forth on the matter for over six minutes before finally, the Hat placed him in Slytherin.  When this happened, the Great Hall was silent as he was the first muggle-born Slytherin in twenty-seven years.

This began one of the most difficult times in Ben's life as his dormmates made it clear that they didn't want him here, while the ones who didn't care followed the same example so as not to be ostracized.  Even worse was his Head of House, Professor Snape, who took every opportunity to belittle the energetic and enthusiastic first-year.  The constant bullying grated on Ben so much that he nearly wrote home and request to be removed from school.  Even his sister, though she was never mean to him, rarely saw him due to their different houses.

It was only thanks to his close friendship with Leo--now a Ravenclaw--and Skye--in Gryffindor--that he started to enjoy school.  Just like at home, he was a diligent and talented student who constantly wanted to learn.  Constantly combative, when everyone told him that he was unworthy of Slytherin, he made it a point to get better grades than all of his housemates.  Quickly, he proved himself to be one of the most gifted students in the school.  Admittedly, he had quite a bit of difficulty with potions and therefore began tutoring sessions with Edward Pendragon, King of Albion, as his teacher.  With Edward's help, Ben quickly became the top of Snape's class, too.

### Mage Training

During the summer of his fourth year, Ben was offered the chance to begin mage training under the tutelage of Professors McGonagall and Sprout and Madams Pomfrey and Hooch.  For Ben, who loved to learn, it was a dream come true.  As he began his training, Ben developed an affinity for non-lethal and healing magicks.  For this reason, he became very close to Madam Pomfrey as she taught him about healing.

Toward the end of his mage training, Ben began a relationship with Erik Bones.  This relationship continued even after they completed mage training and into Ben's final year at Hogwarts.

### Post-Hogwarts

Hogwarts is a bubble far away from the realities of the real world, and Ben quickly realized that.  Though he was gifted at Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was forbidden to achieve a mastery in it in Albion due to his blood status as a muggle-born.  Further complicating matters was his discovery that he would be unable to obtain a high-level position in the Ministry of Magic or any large wizarding companies simply due to his blood status.

For Ben, who was close to many pure-bloods and half-bloods from his time in both Slytherin and mage training, this was both infuriating and galling.  He knew that he was more talented than most and more powerful than nearly all.  Yet, Albion law forbade him achieving real success in any field he might choose.

### Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Luckily for Ben, Poppy Pomfrey was also a muggle-born, and she understood the difficulties facing him as he entered the workforce.  Unlike the rest of the mage trainers and teachers at Hogwarts, she knew that he would not succeed easily in Albion, and helped him get in touch with an old friend of hers in America.  Though Albion law forbade muggle-borns achieving masteries in any subject, America held no such prejudice.  Madam Pomfrey helped him get an apprenticeship under the Defense Against the Dark Arts Mistress and professor at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Willow Summers

Ilvermorny was a huge change from Hogwarts, and Ben did not expect it to be as different as it was.  Whereas Hogwarts was steeped in traditions and prejudices, Ilvermorny had a statue of its muggle founder at the front entrance.  No one judged him for his cloud status, and in fact, no one asked about it at all.  For the first time, Ben was being recognized by both his peers and his teacher solely for his talents.

Ben only needed a year to complete his Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery; he had studied the subject extensively during his final two years at Hogwarts, and he was faced with a dilemma.  If he wanted, he could remain in America and build a life for himself there.  He had no less than a dozen job offers lined up in both the MACUSA and in American companies.  Yet, he deeply missed Albion and the life he had there.  His sister was still living in Albion, and Erik was there.  The two communicated through owl post for the year he was away, but Ben knew that the relationship would end if he moved to another continent.

The deciding factor for Ben was the bigotry facing Albion.  With the way the country currently was, Ben would never be able to make a decent life for himself.  Yet, Ben was never one to run from a challenge.  More than anything, he did not want more muggle-borns to face the same persecution that he did.  He wanted to change the world.  To do that, he decided to return to Albion and really try to make a difference.

### Muggle-Born Advancement, Enrichment, and Equality Initiative

The Muggle-Born Advancement, Enrichment, and Equality Initiative was the solution that Ben created for the pandemic of muggle-born mistreatment.  An organization designed to better the quality of life muggle-borns experienced in Albion.  Through it, he met with the politicians and noblemen who created the laws, expanded the Muggle Studies curriculum at Hogwarts, mediated with businesses to help muggle-borns get jobs, etc.  Though there have been a lot of problems--chief among them being no one taking him seriously--Ben works nearly around the clock to try and better the lives of muggle-borns and promote equality.

During this time, Erik and Ben became engaged.  Though there is no set date for the wedding, Erik has--through Gringotts--become a silent backer for the organization without Ben's knowledge, and he established the first real success of Ben's organization by starting the Muggle-Born Preparatory Schools on the Bones Family Lands.

## Magical Abilities

Ben is an accomplished and gifted wizard with a vast array of skills.  As the top of his class, he has wide and detailed knowledge of magic.  He is a Master Magus on the power scale, making him one of the most powerful magical beings in Albion, and enabling him to master three mage specializations.

* **Defense Against the Dark Arts**: Ben's Defense Against the Dark Arts skills are prodigious.  He obtained a mastery in the subject at nineteen: the youngest in history.  This means that he as both a wide scope of knowledge and magic, as well as outside the box thinking and understanding of complex curses, hexes, jinxes, rituals, spells, and creatures.  In particular, Ben's Mastery has a focus on Dark Magic and the Combat Thereof.
* **Dueling**: Hogwarts held a duelling club for all seven years that Ben was at school.  Between his fifth and seventh years, Ben consistently won the school-wide competition.  Furthermore, during mage training, he honed his skills in combative duelling against all of his mage trainers and his fellow students.  Furthermore, his time at Ilvermorny allowed him to compete and win in both their school duelling competition and the North American competition.  Ben is considered by many to be one of the most gifted young duellists of his age.
* **Magical Mastery**: Ben took both Magical Theory and Spell Creation while at Hogwarts, and he has a deep understanding of how magic works and functions.  This understanding allows him to apply complex theories and formulas to any spell or ritual in order to discern the result.
* **Mage Healer**: The first Mage Specialization that Ben chose was Mage Healing.  Though he is naturally a very combative person, and he is a gifted duellist, Ben is not actually violent by nature.  Instead, he studies healing for its practical purposes both in helping others and in combat scenarios.  Mage Healers of Ben's calibre are capable of both healing enemies and exacerbating existing injuries to debilitating proportions.  Furthermore, for a mage healer of Ben's level, he is able to naturally generate a protective aura around himself that weakens offensive spells thrown at him to keep himself safe while duelling.
* **Ward Mage**: Much like his status as a Mage Healer, Ben chose to become a Ward Mage both for the protective uses and combat scenarios.  As a Ward Mage, Ben has a deep understanding of protective enchantments, he can often use this understanding to fortify wards around his home.  In combat, he is able to both swiftly create wards and remove opponents wards at speeds that ordinary witches and wizards would be unable to accomplish.  Furthermore, the ability to see wards and their purposes is useful when studying the Dark Arts as he has.  Spells and curses that would otherwise take w wizard by surprise are readily visible to him to be taken apart or disabled.
* **Soul Mage**: Soul Mages are highly perceptive individuals capable of vast feats pertaining to souls, thoughts, and emotions.  As a Soul Mage, Ben is capable of seeing the depths of someone's soul and reading them accurately.  His skill at this practice is so advanced that he can even discern what each stain on the soul is from--whether it is murder, bullying or mockery.  His ability to see souls allows his to determine the depths of someone's passions and feelings.  Furthermore, Soul Mages are capable of both feeling and affecting the emotions of those around them.  In Ben's case, he often uses this to predict how people react to what he is saying about M.B.A.E.E.I. and adjust his own phrasing of things to compensate.  As a rule, Ben is morally opposed to using his power to control the emotions of those around him.  Soul Mages are also highly skilled Legilimens, and Ben is no different.  Though he rarely tries, he is capable of seeing into the memories of those he makes eye contact with without difficulty.  Considering his power level, even the most skilled occlumens have difficulty keeping his out of their heads.  Finally, as a result of his soul gazing abilities, Ben is capable of seeing through any magical forms of concealment.  Glamours do not hide the soul, and therefore Ben can see straight through it to the source.