User Profile

about you.
NAME: Lena
AGE: 18
LJ USERNAME: eraeos
EMAIL: lenajade9@yahoo.com
INSTANT MESSAGING: Jabber (MSN); thedawnrose@localhost (thedawnrose@hotmail.com) [main client: iChat]

about your character.
NAME: Dirk Cresswell
AGE/BIRTHDATE: 16 years old/February 4, 1960
HOUSE/YEAR: Ravenclaw/Sixth Year
BLOODLINE: Muggle-born
WAND: 12 1/4 inches, rowan, dragon heartstring
PET: an owl named Agathon
BOGGART: Having his mind taken away
PATRONUS: Finch

FAMILY: Dirk comes from a respectable, middle-class family of six. He is the third child of Bertram and Sylvia Cresswell. His father teaches economics at a local university, under the firm belief that magic is not sufficient to complete his second son’s education without a good, healthy dose of mathematics, science, economics, and political science. Although his parents cannot even begin to fathom what their son learns at a mysterious boarding school in the middle of nowhere in Scotland, they are, nevertheless, proud of his achievements. Dirk is close to his elder brother, who married straight after attaining his bachelor’s degree, and elder sister, who is studying biology in a university, but shares a strange relationship with his thirteen-year-old sister, with whom he often exchanges mocking banter.

BIOGRAPHY: Being born and raised in London has made sure Dirk is, in essence, a city boy. However, the yearly summer family-mandated outdoor trips has instilled him an appreciation for nature, even if he cannot fly into rapture about it. If it wasn’t for the influence of their mother, Dirk and his siblings may have been subjected to a rigorous education starting from the age of three by their father more or less equivalent to what John Stuart Mill had been. Like any other ordinary muggle schoolboy, Dirk attended primary school. But Dirk was a precocious child, and so his father delightedly put him alongside his equally precocious (if not more so) elder sister for extra lessons normally taught in grammar schools. And yet, it was not the marks his father most valued in his children’s education, but whether or not they understood the importance of the inquisition and application of various branches of knowledge. So from the start of his life and despite his muggle background, Dirk had been schooled in the principles of Ravenclaw.

Dirk’s mother hailed from a decently populated seaport city in Wales, and unlike her parents, was too fiercely attached to stability and security at hearth and home. She had no love for the sea or for traveling, but Dirk’s grandparents and numerous uncles and aunts had, and would oft take him sailing. His youngest uncle, in fact, traveled extensively around the world and came back telling fantastical tales that Dirk, in his childhood, listened to with enchantment, though, now, he is unsure whether or not they were true. Dirk’s thirst for travel — to be exposed to different cultures and languages — was nurtured. Combined with his eagerness for challenges, he would, later on, set out even to master Gobbledegook.

From both sides of the family, there is a sense of strong clannish loyalty and pride. Although thinking differently from the family is tolerated, ultimately going against what it means to be a Cresswell or a Bowen can be seen as an act of betrayal. Although Dirk was not able to absorb this mentality (being too independent-minded and valuing his freedom and ability to choose in his own right too much to do so), he believes one of the most important things one should do for their loved ones is to stay by their sides.

Family and school all aside, Dirk is an avid fan and player of football, fond of running/jogging, gymnastics, chess (particularly wizard’s chess), card games such as poker, and debating. Even after being exposed to the magical world, he continues to maintain the belief that Quidditch cannot hold a candle to football in any way, and couldn’t give a damn about whether or not Ravenclaw wins the Quidditch Cup. In addition to being active in a few small clubs that fulfill Dirk’s obscure magical interests in Hogwarts, he is also a member of the Slug Club (being another favorite student of Professor Slughorn).

PERSONALITY: Even with his rich yet constructive imagination, pragmatic Dirk is more of a realist than an idealist. His ironic humour (and occasional sarcasm) can be easily misinterpreted if taken seriously, and his teasing is usually inclusive and tempered by kindness. He is witty, amusing in a vein of humor that can be contrary or sometimes ludicrous, and is even given to light flirtations. Dirk tolerates Slytherin mind games, however aggressive, well enough to occasionally enjoy them, and consequently is humiliated at thought of being manipulated.

Despite being a clever student and a talented wizard, independent Dirk earns the ire of faculty members who dislike being challenged and his somewhat lackadaisical attitude towards assignment and tests in certain classes. Knowledge is important to Dirk, but he does not feel the need to always show it. Still, Dirk is a likeable fellow in his own right, as he is usually amiable with a sense of compassion that isn’t readily noticeable. His lack of sensitivity works as a double-edged sword. Although he can be bluntly and even cruelly frank (to those he finds uninteresting or hopelessly stupid, he simply falls silent and lost in his thoughts or attempts to make fun of them to their face without them realizing it), Dirk isn’t reactionary: he can treat snide comments with amusement without jumping to conclusions or overanalyzing.

APPEARANCE: Dirk is tall, his frame characterized by health and good physical condition. If one looks close enough, his face is dappled with small freckles, the four noticeably dark ones aside. He is jokingly nicknamed by some family members as “brown boy” due to his light brown complexion, dark brown hair, and brown eyes.

PB: Mael Dalla Zuana

credits: journal layout (cartonage); header (eraeos)