Ryan Brennan

**Ryan Samuel Brennan** (b. December 12, 1992) was an American wizard of Irish-German descent and the No-Maj-born son of two American No-Majs, as well as the older sibling of two additional No-Majs. Born in the small town of Blackwood, Texas, he began displaying signs of magical talent at a young age and received his enrollment letter to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on his twelfth birthday. Due to his parents' strict religious beliefs, he was initially forbidden from attending, but the timely intervention of Headmaster Alister Breckenridge ensured his magical education and he began school at Ilvermorny the following August. Due to his upbringing, he was unaware of the Second Wizarding War, which was ongoing during three of the first eight years of his life.

He began attending Ilvermorny School during the summer of 2005, and was sorted into Pukwudgie House, after which he received his very own wand. During his first year, he became fast friends with Yanni Cadwallader, a pure-blood from Boston who had been sorted into Wampus House. The two quickly formed a rivalry, which became prominent when both became members of the Dueling Club at Ilvermorny. They also obtained a reputation throughout the next two years for being mischievous troublemakers. During his fourth year, he became acquainted with fellow Pukwudgie Dion Jones, a first year from California who became part of a trio with he and Yanni.

During his fourth year at school, he developed a romantic relationship with his friend and fellow student Oliver Cromwell, a member of Thunderbird House.

## Biography

### Family lineage

"*None of my family were wizards. They had a caveman's understanding of magic to boot; I'm not really sure how I became one.*"
—Ryan on his lineage[src]

Despite his insistence that his family wasn't magical, the Brennan family does have a history of magic. He is, in fact, descended from several wizards and witches on his father's side, having all originated in Ireland. After learning of his magical powers, his mother suggested that one of her close relatives had been a witch, but that her family didn't often speak about this witch.

Genealogy reveals that his earliest wizarding ancestors lived in Ireland, some of whom migrated to America during the colonial period. His ancestors eventually relocated to modern-day Alabama, before they moved into the Texas area, following its statehood. During this period of time, several members of his family married into the Cherokee tribe. Little is known about his mother's side, however, save that they immigrated to America from Germany after World War II, and only one of them was known to have had magical prowess.

### Early life (1992–2004)

"*My childhood? Not much to say, really. I was raised by No-Majs in a boring little Southern town, and wasn't very well liked because I could move things with my mind. Totally normal.*"
—Ryan about his childhood[src]

Ryan Brennan was born on December 12, 1992 — a mere six years before the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort. He was raised ignorant of the ongoing struggle with Voldemort and the eventual outbreak of the Second Wizarding War, and even of magic itself due to his parents being particularly religious No-Majs. Despite this, he began displaying magical qualities at a young age, citing his ability to move objects with his mind as one of the primary outward expressions of his latent abilities. His aunt in particular was known for making his life difficult, when he was young, because she feared his "otherworldly abilities" and considered them satanic.

When he reached the appropriate age, he was sent to the local elementary school to receive a traditional No-Maj education. He would later remember having a few friends there, but none that were particularly of note.

Then, on his twelfth birthday in 2004, he received a formal invitation to attend Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and to receive training in the magical arts. His parents staunchly refused, however, the reigning Headmaster Alister Breckenridge convinced them that Ryan's powers could become dangerous if he goes untrained. As a result, they begrudgingly let him attend the school, but told family and friends that he was being sent to a boarding school instead.

## Magical abilities and skills

"*For a wizard, he's not really all that special. In fact, in traditional magic, he's pretty average — not **bad**, mind you — but certainly not the next Harry Potter. The one thing he has going for him is his telekinesis — the magical power to move things with his mind. He's damn good at it, and his control over it makes him a very scary guy.*"
—Jacob Kingston about Ryan's powers[src]

Ryan was overall an average wizard, preforming reasonably well in his classes at Ilvermorny School. He was noted to be a skilled duelist, a skill he honed due to years of practice in the school's Dueling Club, and had a particular knack for advanced Transfiguration. Otherwise, his skills were passable for an adult wizard. Despite being sorted into Pukwudgie, he was praised by his teachers for his scholarly mindset, and he excelled in subjects such as History of Magic in America and Magical World History, leading him to pursue a career as a magical historian.

* **Telekinesis**: Ryan's signature ability was telekinesis: a magical ability which allowed him to manipulate objects and people with his mind. As a child, it manifested during angry outbursts, causing shockwaves which would push away anything or anyone nearby him; it could also cause objects to levitate and shatter when he was emotionally upset. After beginning school at Ilvermorny, he gradually gained control of his power, and use it more efficiently. With it, he could circumvent the use of the Levitation Charm, the Summoning Charm, and mimic a large-scale version of the Shielding Charm — a testament to his power's versatility. He could also use the power of telekinesis to preform a variation of unsupported flight, a rare ability among the magical community, as well as crush automobiles with a simple gesture. The strength of this power seemed to be determined by his emotional state. If he was angered, it tended to be violent and unpredictable. Likewise, if he was calm, he could more freely control and direct the magical flow of this ability. This power made him a "scary guy" despite his otherwise average magical abilities.

"*I hate spiders!*"
—Ryan Brennan[src]

* **Dark Arts Proficiency**: He is skilled in the use of the Dark Arts, particularly jinxes. His favorite jinx is *Arania Exumai* due to its spider-repellant qualities.

## Poessessions

* **Wand**: Like all wizards, Ryan received a wand shortly after he was sorted into Pukwudgie at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His wand was made of willow, a type of wood with healing powers. His wand's core was made of unicorn hair, which was said to produce the most consistent sort of magic. The wood itself was stained a cranberry color, which also happened to be one of Ilvermorny's school colors, and a brown handle was fashioned to it.

## Behind the scenes

* Ryan's article was the thirtieth article to be added to the wiki.
* Ryan shares his birthday with the canonical character Charlie Weasley. He also shares it with his author, Jacob Kingston, upon whom he is loosely based.
	+ Coincidently, he also shares his wand wood and core with Ron Weasley – willow and unicorn hair respectively – which is also the wand his author, Jacob Kingston, was paired to on Pottermore.
* Ryan's character is portrayed by a young American actor named Dane DeHaan. Originally, Sam Witwer was chosen to portray Ryan, however, Dane was chosen due to the abundance of images of him as the character Andrew Detmer in the film *Chronicle* — Andrew was a character who had gained telekinetic abilities, and thus there were a wide range of images of his character preforming those abilities, which is why he was eventually chosen over Witwer.

## References

1. ↑ *Willow* on Harry Potter Wiki
2. ↑ *Unicorn hair* on Harry Potter Wiki