[OOC: PROFILE]
→ basics. ★
NAME ★ Barry Palmer
CANON ★ Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum; game-verse
AGE ★ 11
BLOOD ★ Half-blood
HOUSE ★ Gryffindor
YEAR ★ First Year
WAND ★ 8 1/2", mahogany, springy, billywig stinger.
→ personality. ★
If there were only one word to describe Barry, it would be perky. Always in a rush, Barry seems to have endless energy and is almost always seen running, whether it's from A to B or just a short distance across a room. He is exceedingly impatient - often telling people to do something within ten seconds - and has a tendency to miss details because he's in such a hurry to get started on his given tasks. Conversely, however, he has very high determination, and once he actually does get started on something, he'll finish it as quickly and efficiently as he can. He is not easily discouraged from his tasks at all, and is willing to even forgo his basic needs if it means accomplishing what he sets off to do. If he fails somehow, then he'll work hard to better himself and try again without hesitation.
Although, while he does have such high drive to do things he has (or more accurately, wants) to do, he has quite a short attention span when it comes to everything else. If he finds himself bored with something, it doesn't take him very long to drift off into la-la-land and start focusing on things he'd rather be doing. He also has problems with sitting still for extended periods of time, and would much rather be doing something active instead of sitting in class. For this reason, he's not a very good student, but he at least tries. He also has a tendency to be absentminded at times, sometimes forgetting exactly what he's doing if he's distracted somehow.
Apart from his lively nature, Barry is really quite cheerful and constantly has a grin on his face. He's got a lot of confidence in himself and has no trouble convincing himself of what he can do, but whether he actually can or not is up for debate - he has a tendency to be reckless at times. He's quite tenacious, though, and is a firm believer in "if at first you don't succeed, try try again". He's even a little bit egotistical, frequently reminding himself of how "awesome" he is, and he doesn't really realize it if he annoys people with this. Barry really doesn't care about what other people think of him, though if anyone wants to praise him or something, he'll take it without hesitation. In addition, he's got a quirky sense of humor and loves trying to make people laugh, even if it's just making weird faces at getting a bad-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.
He's got a good heart, though, and he does have a compassionate side. If someone's in trouble, he'll drop whatever he's doing in order to help them out. He's kindhearted and never intends to hurt anyone with what he does, and should that happen, he'll try his best to make up for it. During his moments of downtime, he'll become serious and handle a situation more maturely, but these moments are few and far between. If something does manage to discourage him, he'll pout and sulk for a while; it's best to just stand by and let him be in these situations, because he'll be back to his lively self in no time.
All in all, Barry's quite a character. He's highly energetic and tends to take risks without thinking of the consequences, but he always means well and tries his best to do anything he sets his mind to.
→ background. ★
Born in a small but closely-knit town on the eastern coast of the United States, Barry grew up completely surrounded by people and activity, which was a big contribution to his restless nature. However, from an early age, there was something missing from his life - his father. Unfortunately for Barry, his parents separated when he was five; his wizard father had many responsibilities back in his home country of England and moved back there to take care of them, and Barry stayed back at home with his mother. He didn't have much contact with his father over the next several years: there was the occasional letter, and he always received a packet of Lemon Drops on his birthday, but apart from that, they didn't talk to each other too much.
Barry idolized his father, however. He'd heard many things from his Muggle mother about how his favorite pastime was raising magical creatures and training them to battle with each other, and ever since the first time he learned of this profession, he aspired to do the same thing. He frequently dreamed about traveling to England some day to help his father train, or possibly even battle against him himself; the visions were so vivid in his busy mind that eventually, they overpowered all of his other dreams of being a superhero or things that other children his age wanted to be. The idea of training dragons and hippogriffs and sea serpents and so many other magical beasts... the danger posed by some of them, and the excitement of seeing two of them fight each other... it was all so appealing to Barry, and for years, he begged and begged his mother to let him move to England so that he could not only be nearer to his father who he so looked up to, but also so he might have a chance of seeing something so mesmerizing.
Eventually, when Barry turned ten, his mother finally consented, allowing him to pack up and move to London to live with his stepmother. Even then, his father was never home; he was always off somewhere else raising his creatures, and it didn't help that everything seemed so much quieter in England than it did back home, so Barry grew bored with life rather quickly.
All of that changed when he turned eleven and received an acceptance letter from Hogwarts, though.
This was the chance that he had been waiting for. He'd known from a young age that he'd had magical powers laying latent within him, thanks to the encouragement of his father, but now he actually had the opportunity to develop and focus them. He seized this opportunity without hesitation, and readily thrust himself into a world that would change his life forever, and hopefully set him on the right path toward his dream.