Name: Konstantin YeremeyevNicknames: Kostik or
KostyaAge: Fourteen
Birthday: 22 September
Sex: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Nationality: Soviet born immigrant with French descent
School Year :Fourth Year
Blood Status: Muggleborn
Hogwarts House: Gryffindor
Pet: A pale grayish-brown Ural owl named Mir.
Boggart: Konstantin's boggart presents itself as a faceless man with a gun pointed straight at him. Obviously this scenario would be panic inducing for just about anyone, but it immediately evokes his memories of nearly losing his father. When he uses the Riddikulus charm, the gun turns into a bunch of knotted balloons full of paint, each with the air being released from it. Not only is the flatulent noise amusing, but the balloons have the tendency to rush back into the face of the gunman, slapping him repeatedly and splattering the paint all over his otherwise featureless face.
Wand: A 12 and 3/4 inch wand of fir wood with a dragon heartstring core. Other than the rivets at the base for easier gripping, this wand is simple; practical really.
Favorite Lesson: A toss up between Astronomy and Muggle Studies. The familiarity of both subjects reminds him of home (and gives him a bit of an advantage as well). Muggle Studies in particular can be pretty amusing for him from time to time.
Least Favorite Lesson: Konstantin is no fan of Herbology. Try as he might, no amount of effort could make a green thumb out of him. For a person with an affinity for the outdoors one might think he would be a natural when it comes to nature. While that isn't necessarily false, his enjoyment of said nature is significantly hindered by the task of classifying and cataloging the entire experience.
Extracurricular Activities: Kostik maintains a busy timetable as he'd grown accustomed to at home. He is a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and spends a good amount of time on his stick developing his broomflying technique. Taking after his father, he's also an avid chess player and a regular member of the Wizard's Chess club. Beyond that, he leads dance and boxing lessons with the Athletics Club. They are open to anyone with interest, although attendance has been rather spotty since their initiation in his 2nd year.
Appearance: It could be said that Konstantin spends just as much time outdoors as inside, though despite this claim he still manages to sport a pale visage. His hair is a dark brown that frames his face neatly, his eyes bright; a sharp grey-blue. A straight, angular nose settles between his bright gaze, with thin lips hovering just under that. His skin is lightly adorned with freckles and, as is typical with teenagers, acne from time to time. He is admittedly self conscious about his smile, and generally won't smile with his teeth as they are notably crooked. Already having a fair amount of experience with growth spurts, he stands taller than most his age and having lead quite the active life thus far, his slender frame is subtly complimented by light musculature.
After his family's recent trip to New York City, Konstantin has taken a liking (read: borderline obsession) to American Greaser culture. When out of his robes, one might find him in a dark leather jacket paired with a neat white shirt tucked into a pair of jeans. He wears his hair a bit longer than most boys and squared off in the back. With his hands tucked away in his pockets and his gaze cast furtively into the distance, one might get the impression that he's an edgy rebel (albeit one with a cause).
Personality: Composed of strong will and good intentions, Konstantin is a driven young man with a big heart that he follows often. He is compassionate towards others, especially those enduring hardships. Justice is a concept that drives and belies a decent portion of his behavior. He believes in retribution and rarely shies away from delivering it himself when the situation warrants. He's impressively ambitious and focused, but this is largely in part due to a consistent need for approval. Beneath the bravado lies a boy who craves attention and validation at every turn. One who lies in bed at night feeling more alone than he can comprehend. A boy whose exuded confidence is easily stripped away when he is hurt, and a boy who has been hurt often.
Konstantin's greatest fear is isolation. Growing up an only child to two busy parents, he's always struggled with feelings of loneliness. His busy schedule has always been something that keeps the thoughts of loneliness at bay, but if idle for too long he can find himself all but consumed by them. Having been at the wrong end of more than a fair share of ridicule throughout his life, Konstantin is thin skinned and will take criticism and insults to heart. As such he has naturally assumed the role of protector, rushing to the aid of those who need it. In these situations, he acts firsts and thinks little of it until met with the consequences.
Many of Kostya's viewpoints tend to skew leftward; towards tolerance and compassion for others. In his Muggle life he was never taught to believe that strong morals stem from a need for a higher power, but instead that you can be a good person of your own accord. In his opinion, the only truly immoral acts are those that intentionally negatively impact others. Bigotry, oppression, outright manipulation. These are the things that make his blood boil and he finds it near impossible to respect anyone who feels that the only way for them to rise to success is to bring others down in the process.
Backstory: Having never realized his magical ability or any connection of his to the wizarding world, Konstantin had led a muggle's life until his visit from the Ministry, although it was always a very active one. Born to a French dance instructor and a Russian university professor, he was raised in a forested suburb of Leningrad an only child. His parents wanted nothing but the best for their son and did what they could to open up to him as many opportunities as they could afford. He grew up traveling often, frequently visiting palaces, monuments, and theaters. It was in the latter where he witnessed his mother in her element for the very first time, and watched wide-eyed as she gracefully flitted about the stage with a composure he'd never before seen. From that moment on he'd found himself practicing with his mother, who ecstatically began teaching him all that she could. Not long after, he began applying his techniques in another setting: gymnastics. The two combined disciplines worked to compliment one another greatly, but when the next school year rolled around, he and his interests were the subject of teasing. For two weeks straight he came home with a new set of scrapes and bruises from fist fights and bullying from other children. Fed up, his father delivered an ultimatum to Kostik's mother: Remove him from the classes or make time for him to be able to learn to defend himself as well. Having no intention to impede on her son's passions, his mother rearranged his schedule to accommodate for the new hobby. Weeks went by and the bullying continued, until finally Konstantin responded. He returned the months of beatings with little concern for much else but his idea of justice. Slowly, the bruises faded, but the memories were still fresh. They drove him to step into conflicts, and settle them deliberately, when other children were being bullied. This act in itself, along with a new found confidence, made Kostya a popular child.
Not long before he turned eight the family emigrated Westward to England, where his father took up work at another university. Leaving all of his friends from Soviet Russia to start what felt like an entirely new life was difficult for Kostya. His predominately Russian accent stood out among other students and the fact that he spoke strangely became something that more unpleasant boys tended to focus on. He did as his father taught him, but frequently found himself in heaps of trouble for his aggression. Konstantin felt more comfortable in the gym or dance studio than school. In those halls of effort and achievement people could care less about the way you spoke, so long as your experience was suitable. Throughout the transitioning period, he found himself growing much closer with his father as well. Always having spent the majority of his time with his mother, when Kostya began struggling in school, the tutoring from his father helped to strengthen the bond they shared. Once a weekend they took trips into the woods, hiking to a certain point then working on studying strategies for his success. In the open environment, Konstantin felt more relaxed, more receptive. During one such trip the pair experienced their first notable clash with magic.
Father and son pressed through tall grass on their way through a clearing, when a shot rang out in the distance. Suddenly Konstantin found himself leaning over his father as blood spread rapidly across the forest floor. A bullet intended for a deer some ways away struck the man through the shoulder and continued. Konstantin watched in horror as his father clutched at the gushing hole and fell, the blood already oozing into the dirt. They both screamed; one in agony, the other pure terror. Frantically looking back and forth, Kostya screamed for help, though no one responded. He looked to his father for advice, but the strong Russian man only groaned in pain. Somehow in the following moments with the build up of panicked concern manifesting, a miracle occurred. Konstantin placed a ginger hand over his father's, still clutching at the bullet hole, and instantly the bleeding ceased. The wound itself slowly closed, until all that remained was a disfigured lump. The pair stared on at one another in a mixture of disbelief and relief for quite some time, shocked into silence.
It wasn't something any of them understood. They weren't a religious family, but no one could deny that a legitimate miracle took place that day. The infamous "ah-ha!" moment came with the delivery of the invitation to Hogwarts. After seeing how magnificent of a gift magic could be firsthand, his parents were wholly supportive of this endeavor. With this introduction to the wizarding world Konstantin embarked on a path of all new, incredible possibilities. In the past three years at Hogwarts he has performed exceedingly well in his academic studies, though he's faced a few disciplinary problems in the wake of overt displays of discrimination and prejudice he's faced in his tenure thus far. The head of house, Professor Dumbledore, has had to intervene on multiple occasions. As he's explained it, among students and professors alike, the negativity they endorsed was bred from fear, fear fueled by a willful ignorance of the world around them. Blood purists were thoroughly misguided in their idea of Muggle blood making for a lesser wizard and even further so with the idea that Muggles themselves are a lesser species. However, to affect a change in their thinking, which would greatly benefit all of mankind, we ought to be exemplars; beacons illuminating and exposing the unsound, unethical, and unjust paradigms that form such thought. There certainly was a place for violence when protecting others, but ideas ought to be combated through vastly different means.
Extra: Kostya's greatest strengths lie in physical activity. Dance, gymnastics, and boxing have been more than hobbies for him. These skills lend him a rather finely tuned sense of awareness spatially along with impressive endurance, both mentally and physically. Musically, he plays the piano skillfully. Being trilingual has its perks every so often, but it can also serve as a particularly debilitating trait when trying to express and understand foreign concepts. He comes from three entirely distinct worlds, Muggle Soviet Russia - his homeland, Muggle England - his home, and the wizarding world - the new world. This entailed learning three distinct cultures, three distinct languages, and eventually finding his own sense of identity somewhere in between.
Konstantin aims to transfer to the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts (W.A.D.A) after completing his fifth year at Hogwarts. There he hopes to continue developing his art and his passion for it. If he can use dance as a platform to represent Muggles in the wizarding world, he'll have fulfilled what he feels to be his true calling.
NPCs: Alexander Yeremeyev - A Russian born astrophysicist, Alexander gave up research for teaching when he discovered his wife was pregnant. He is already in his early fifties, but still has a young vigor about him. He is a remarkable instructor; strict, but patient, charismatic, and both well educated and well informed. Mr. Yeremeyev founded the very same intense work ethic within his son, that his father developed in him. The man speaks 5 languages, excels at piano, and is a widely recognized chess expert. The virtue he values above all others is that of persistent self-education, second only to independence, the aspiration toward freedom of self-expression and the finding of oneself in it.
Delphine Yeremeyev - A former ballerina who performed on many famous stages, Delphine is a beautiful French woman who has aged exceptionally well. Now in her early forties, though she looks to be no older than thirty, she teaches various dance styles to advanced students at a major dance studio. She carries herself with a certain dignity, self-assurance maybe, that makes her stand out in a crowd. She's brilliant, cultured, and full of passion for life. Somehow, she manages to convey all of that and more when she's dancing. Some breathtaking, awe inspiring thing takes hold of you when you see it. She has always been wonderfully supportive of both her son and her husband, but still manages to maintain her own interests as well. She is a musician as well, having fallen in love with the violin at a young age and she speaks 4 languages. She is very well organized and passed on her exceptional time management skills to her son.
