...
Name: Nicholas Bettencourt Stebbins
Gender: male
Date of birth: March 28, 1978
House/Year: Hufflepuff, 1989-1996
Blood status: Pureblood (his father is a first-generation pureblood, while his mother's family is one of the most ancient wizarding families in Portugal)
Sexuality: Straight.
PB/Avatar: Afonso Pimentel
Physical characteristics:
Relatively tall and slender, with beautiful brown eyes, dark hair and attractive features, Nick Stebbins falls into the definition of "pretty boy" that has also been used to describe Cedric Diggory - and he knows it. Rather than being offended (since the term is usually employed derogatorily) he took advantage of it by allowing people to believe he's nothing but a good-looking clown, and thus surprising everybody by showing he's smart and talented when they least expect it. He takes great pride in looking dishevelled on purpose, with artistically messed-up hair (sometimes shaped in a faux-hawk with the use of the wizarding equivalent to hair gel), a slight stubble, and designer robes and muggle clothes, casual-looking yet expensive, accompanied by small leather necklaces and bracelets.
Distant History:
Nick Stebbins was born out of wedlock to teenage parents. His father, Howard Stebbins (who was in the same year as the Marauders at Hogwarts, as seen by Harry Potter in the Pensieve) and his mother, Portuguese-born witch Gisela Bettencourt, met while on holidays in Italy. Even though both Howard and Gisela were of age when Nick was conceived, they were still students at their respective schools (which means Gisela had to interrupt her final year due to her pregnancy, resuming it the following September) and neither of them had the maturity or the discipline to handle a baby or to turn what had been "a mere summer fling" into a serious, committed relationship because of said baby, so Nick was raised by his paternal grandparents. When he became old enough, however, he began to spend his summers with his mother, now a well-known model in her country. Even though they became very close, theirs has never been the kind of relationship that a mother usually has with her son, as Gisela has never been the maternal type; instead, she's like the cool aunt that lets the kids do everything the parents (or, in this case, grandparents) would never allow, and who has no problem in buying them booze or condoms. The relationship with Howard is also more like that of brothers with a large age gap than one of father and son. Nick often jokes (and exaggerates information) about his birth and upbringing - thus disarming anyone who would be willing to use that information to make fun of him - and he seems to be proud of having cool, modern parents that he treats on a first-name basis but, deep inside, it upsets him that he didn't have what you'd call a normal family and parents that are more "parent-like". For instance, when Nick was a seventh-year at Hogwarts, his mother made a very audacious photoshoot for Playwizard magazine, which embarrassed him so much he used his new-found authority as a prefect and confiscated every issue he could find in the school before anyone could realize that was his mother.
The combination of the laid-back relationship with his parents and the strong values given to him by his grandparents (both strong examples of Hufflepuffs, which is also the house his father was sorted into) make Nick a very unorthodox Hufflepuff. During his school days, he was valued by his peers for his good heart, his kindness and his generosity, but is also seen as someone unable to take anything seriously. However, it's hard to tell how much of this indolence (and insolence) is intentional; Albus Dumbledore and Pomona Sprout both seemed to think he was good prefect material when they discussed the nomination of Cedric Diggory's replacement, and he became determined not to let them down. His approach when it came to studies and work remained as laid-back as possible, but he was always ready to fulfil his obligations and did them with inspiring dedication, being especially protective of the younger students. Besides, he was an impressively good student, even if he usually spent his time pretending not to care about what the teachers were saying. He received mostly Es and Os on his OWLs, with the exception of History of Magic and Potions - both subjects he dismissed early on as unimportant because of his low opinion of the teachers and incompatibility with their methods. His NEWTs later revealed themselves to be equally brilliant.
A member of Cedric Diggory's "inner circle", Nick was the clown of the group, always ready to goof off and make jokes about everything. Cedric's death was a blow, as he admired his friend and saw him as possessing the qualities he lacked. He didn't trust Harry Potter ever since the Goblet of Fire announced the Triwizard champions (in fact, he was one of the first people who started wearing the "POTTER STINKS!" badges, and only stopped - although with reluctance - after Cedric told him not to) and so it took him a long time to accept that the news given by the Daily Prophet after Cedric's death were nothing but lies.
Recent History:
When Nick was in his seventh year (shortly after the Playwizard incident) his mother got pregnant from her then boyfriend - a nouveau rich idiot her son did not approve of, and who dumped her as soon as he got the news. The moment Nick left Hogwarts, he went to Portugal in order to be with his mother when the birth occurred, and to make sure she'd fulfil her responsibilities this time. Because of this, when the war broke out, he was away from the trouble and busy with his baby sister Anita. However, news travel fast; and so, knowing that many of his friends were now in danger, he convinced his family to help smuggle some of them out of Great Britain, hiding them in the Bettencourt estate in Algarve. Nick's grandfather, Marcelino, an ageing but energetic wizard with enough brains and cunning to make Salazar Slytherin proud, and being utterly bored with the peace and tranquillity brought by his fortune and old age, became rather excited with this task and helped to finance the escape of many more muggle-borns and their families. As the Bettencourts are one of the most ancient wizarding families in Europe, hailing back to the 12th century, the Death Eaters never suspected anyone from that family would ever be responsible for such a scheme, forgetting the fact that the Bettencourts have always abhorred the concept of blood purity and that they had been responsible for the creation of the Maria Faia Society for the Defence of Squibs, in the late 18th century, as a tribute to Gustavo Bettencourt's childhood sweetheart, who had been killed by her own father after she was discovered to be a squib.
Apart from occasionally collaborating with his grandfather's plans, therefore, Nick's life during the war was a peaceful one, separated from the horrors that were taking place in Great Britain. It was only recently, after the death of Marcelino, that he decided to return to his own country. Anita is a grown girl now, and since Gisela has now married to a good man (a muggle, it should be pointed out) Nick approves of, he feels like his presence in his sister's life is no longer as necessary as before - though this doesn't mean he'll ever wish to distance himself from her life.
Current employment status:
Nick jokingly calls himself a "professional celebrity." Having recently inherited his maternal grandfather's fortune, and without possessing a particular inkling for any career, he dedicates himself to a life of leisure, attending parties and doing occasional modelling jobs - not enough that he might consider that to be his career, but enough that people know him and make him a name frequently sought by the readers of Teen Witch Weekly. His life is not as irresponsible and hedonistic as people might think, however, as he also manages the businesses of the Bettencourt estate, which is to go to Anita when she becomes of age, since she is the one who will carry the family name.
Personality:
Had he been raised by his mother or by any of the other Bettencourts, kind-hearted and generous as they are, Nick would have become a spoiled and insufferable brat. Luckily for him, his education was his charge of the Stebbins side of the family - who, apart from his somewhat immature father, were all model Hufflepuffs, responsible, stern and hardworking, and tried hard to give him solid values. In spite of his tendency to indolence and (apparent) inability to take anything seriously, something of the Stebbins side must have rubbed in, as the Sorting Hat had no problem in making him a Hufflepuff as well.
This, of course, allowed him to befriend Cedric Diggory, who would also play an important part in Nick's emotional development. Nick might be good-looking, smart and charming, but Cedric was even better-looking, smarter, more talented and much more mature, charming and pleasing. However, instead of being jealous of his dormmate, Nick actually hero-worshipped him and tried hard to emulate his example, though that only became conscious to him after Cedric's murder, when Nick was appointed prefect and began to act according to a question: what would Cedric do? Of course, this way of thinking would prove to be a rather painful way of leading his life (besides being difficult to follow at times, as sometimes it would make Nick act completely against his own nature), though it did help him cope with the loss of his friend.
In spite of these positive factors, Nick is far from perfect, as some of the most negative traits of his Bettencourt inheritance are strongly evident. For instance, most of his hard work is geared towards his own self-gratification and the admiration of others (particularly girls) rather than for his own self-improvement. And, although he can be generous to a fault and sacrifice himself for those he loves (his mother and sister especially) he can also be extremely selfish and egotistical, and will sometimes become rather childish when things don't go the way he wants them. His own pleasure, in other words, gets priority over anything else apart from his family.
His greatest weakness, it should be noted, is women. Even as a young boy, he was fascinated with girls, and did everything in his power to attract their attention and, if possible, to steal a little kiss. By the end of his third year, when he began visiting Hogsmeade, he had already managed to get his own (unofficial) table at Madam Puddifoot's - though it should be pointed out that sometimes he showed up by himself, just to get a nice cup of his beloved cinnamon tea. Nowadays, he is seen as one of the wizarding world's most eligible bachelors, and seems to be in the company of a different witch (or witches) every time he goes to a social gathering. However, in spite of his adventurous love life, he is a romantic at heart, and his Casanova ways are just an attempt to try and find real love. This hasn't happened yet, however, and because he's searching for it the wrong way he will probably have no idea of what to do when it does happen. We shall have to wait and see.
Gender: male
Date of birth: March 28, 1978
House/Year: Hufflepuff, 1989-1996
Blood status: Pureblood (his father is a first-generation pureblood, while his mother's family is one of the most ancient wizarding families in Portugal)
Sexuality: Straight.
PB/Avatar: Afonso Pimentel
Physical characteristics:
Relatively tall and slender, with beautiful brown eyes, dark hair and attractive features, Nick Stebbins falls into the definition of "pretty boy" that has also been used to describe Cedric Diggory - and he knows it. Rather than being offended (since the term is usually employed derogatorily) he took advantage of it by allowing people to believe he's nothing but a good-looking clown, and thus surprising everybody by showing he's smart and talented when they least expect it. He takes great pride in looking dishevelled on purpose, with artistically messed-up hair (sometimes shaped in a faux-hawk with the use of the wizarding equivalent to hair gel), a slight stubble, and designer robes and muggle clothes, casual-looking yet expensive, accompanied by small leather necklaces and bracelets.
Distant History:
Nick Stebbins was born out of wedlock to teenage parents. His father, Howard Stebbins (who was in the same year as the Marauders at Hogwarts, as seen by Harry Potter in the Pensieve) and his mother, Portuguese-born witch Gisela Bettencourt, met while on holidays in Italy. Even though both Howard and Gisela were of age when Nick was conceived, they were still students at their respective schools (which means Gisela had to interrupt her final year due to her pregnancy, resuming it the following September) and neither of them had the maturity or the discipline to handle a baby or to turn what had been "a mere summer fling" into a serious, committed relationship because of said baby, so Nick was raised by his paternal grandparents. When he became old enough, however, he began to spend his summers with his mother, now a well-known model in her country. Even though they became very close, theirs has never been the kind of relationship that a mother usually has with her son, as Gisela has never been the maternal type; instead, she's like the cool aunt that lets the kids do everything the parents (or, in this case, grandparents) would never allow, and who has no problem in buying them booze or condoms. The relationship with Howard is also more like that of brothers with a large age gap than one of father and son. Nick often jokes (and exaggerates information) about his birth and upbringing - thus disarming anyone who would be willing to use that information to make fun of him - and he seems to be proud of having cool, modern parents that he treats on a first-name basis but, deep inside, it upsets him that he didn't have what you'd call a normal family and parents that are more "parent-like". For instance, when Nick was a seventh-year at Hogwarts, his mother made a very audacious photoshoot for Playwizard magazine, which embarrassed him so much he used his new-found authority as a prefect and confiscated every issue he could find in the school before anyone could realize that was his mother.
The combination of the laid-back relationship with his parents and the strong values given to him by his grandparents (both strong examples of Hufflepuffs, which is also the house his father was sorted into) make Nick a very unorthodox Hufflepuff. During his school days, he was valued by his peers for his good heart, his kindness and his generosity, but is also seen as someone unable to take anything seriously. However, it's hard to tell how much of this indolence (and insolence) is intentional; Albus Dumbledore and Pomona Sprout both seemed to think he was good prefect material when they discussed the nomination of Cedric Diggory's replacement, and he became determined not to let them down. His approach when it came to studies and work remained as laid-back as possible, but he was always ready to fulfil his obligations and did them with inspiring dedication, being especially protective of the younger students. Besides, he was an impressively good student, even if he usually spent his time pretending not to care about what the teachers were saying. He received mostly Es and Os on his OWLs, with the exception of History of Magic and Potions - both subjects he dismissed early on as unimportant because of his low opinion of the teachers and incompatibility with their methods. His NEWTs later revealed themselves to be equally brilliant.
A member of Cedric Diggory's "inner circle", Nick was the clown of the group, always ready to goof off and make jokes about everything. Cedric's death was a blow, as he admired his friend and saw him as possessing the qualities he lacked. He didn't trust Harry Potter ever since the Goblet of Fire announced the Triwizard champions (in fact, he was one of the first people who started wearing the "POTTER STINKS!" badges, and only stopped - although with reluctance - after Cedric told him not to) and so it took him a long time to accept that the news given by the Daily Prophet after Cedric's death were nothing but lies.
Recent History:
When Nick was in his seventh year (shortly after the Playwizard incident) his mother got pregnant from her then boyfriend - a nouveau rich idiot her son did not approve of, and who dumped her as soon as he got the news. The moment Nick left Hogwarts, he went to Portugal in order to be with his mother when the birth occurred, and to make sure she'd fulfil her responsibilities this time. Because of this, when the war broke out, he was away from the trouble and busy with his baby sister Anita. However, news travel fast; and so, knowing that many of his friends were now in danger, he convinced his family to help smuggle some of them out of Great Britain, hiding them in the Bettencourt estate in Algarve. Nick's grandfather, Marcelino, an ageing but energetic wizard with enough brains and cunning to make Salazar Slytherin proud, and being utterly bored with the peace and tranquillity brought by his fortune and old age, became rather excited with this task and helped to finance the escape of many more muggle-borns and their families. As the Bettencourts are one of the most ancient wizarding families in Europe, hailing back to the 12th century, the Death Eaters never suspected anyone from that family would ever be responsible for such a scheme, forgetting the fact that the Bettencourts have always abhorred the concept of blood purity and that they had been responsible for the creation of the Maria Faia Society for the Defence of Squibs, in the late 18th century, as a tribute to Gustavo Bettencourt's childhood sweetheart, who had been killed by her own father after she was discovered to be a squib.
Apart from occasionally collaborating with his grandfather's plans, therefore, Nick's life during the war was a peaceful one, separated from the horrors that were taking place in Great Britain. It was only recently, after the death of Marcelino, that he decided to return to his own country. Anita is a grown girl now, and since Gisela has now married to a good man (a muggle, it should be pointed out) Nick approves of, he feels like his presence in his sister's life is no longer as necessary as before - though this doesn't mean he'll ever wish to distance himself from her life.
Current employment status:
Nick jokingly calls himself a "professional celebrity." Having recently inherited his maternal grandfather's fortune, and without possessing a particular inkling for any career, he dedicates himself to a life of leisure, attending parties and doing occasional modelling jobs - not enough that he might consider that to be his career, but enough that people know him and make him a name frequently sought by the readers of Teen Witch Weekly. His life is not as irresponsible and hedonistic as people might think, however, as he also manages the businesses of the Bettencourt estate, which is to go to Anita when she becomes of age, since she is the one who will carry the family name.
Personality:
Had he been raised by his mother or by any of the other Bettencourts, kind-hearted and generous as they are, Nick would have become a spoiled and insufferable brat. Luckily for him, his education was his charge of the Stebbins side of the family - who, apart from his somewhat immature father, were all model Hufflepuffs, responsible, stern and hardworking, and tried hard to give him solid values. In spite of his tendency to indolence and (apparent) inability to take anything seriously, something of the Stebbins side must have rubbed in, as the Sorting Hat had no problem in making him a Hufflepuff as well.
This, of course, allowed him to befriend Cedric Diggory, who would also play an important part in Nick's emotional development. Nick might be good-looking, smart and charming, but Cedric was even better-looking, smarter, more talented and much more mature, charming and pleasing. However, instead of being jealous of his dormmate, Nick actually hero-worshipped him and tried hard to emulate his example, though that only became conscious to him after Cedric's murder, when Nick was appointed prefect and began to act according to a question: what would Cedric do? Of course, this way of thinking would prove to be a rather painful way of leading his life (besides being difficult to follow at times, as sometimes it would make Nick act completely against his own nature), though it did help him cope with the loss of his friend.
In spite of these positive factors, Nick is far from perfect, as some of the most negative traits of his Bettencourt inheritance are strongly evident. For instance, most of his hard work is geared towards his own self-gratification and the admiration of others (particularly girls) rather than for his own self-improvement. And, although he can be generous to a fault and sacrifice himself for those he loves (his mother and sister especially) he can also be extremely selfish and egotistical, and will sometimes become rather childish when things don't go the way he wants them. His own pleasure, in other words, gets priority over anything else apart from his family.
His greatest weakness, it should be noted, is women. Even as a young boy, he was fascinated with girls, and did everything in his power to attract their attention and, if possible, to steal a little kiss. By the end of his third year, when he began visiting Hogsmeade, he had already managed to get his own (unofficial) table at Madam Puddifoot's - though it should be pointed out that sometimes he showed up by himself, just to get a nice cup of his beloved cinnamon tea. Nowadays, he is seen as one of the wizarding world's most eligible bachelors, and seems to be in the company of a different witch (or witches) every time he goes to a social gathering. However, in spite of his adventurous love life, he is a romantic at heart, and his Casanova ways are just an attempt to try and find real love. This hasn't happened yet, however, and because he's searching for it the wrong way he will probably have no idea of what to do when it does happen. We shall have to wait and see.