[hider=James Dalton]
Name: James Dalton

Gender: male

Age: 15

House: Gryffindor, borderline with Ravenclaw

Appearance: James is on the short side of average height, measuring approximately 5'6" with a slim, runner-like build, but don't let his size fool you; he is surprisingly strong for his small build.  He keeps his brown hair short and out of his face, which is round and fair-skinned and devoid of facial hair.  His eyes are leaf-green and alight with kindness and intelligence.

Personality: James is generally kind and fiercely loyal to those he cares about.  He is also very brave and adventurous, but also smart enough to know when something is beyond his ability to handle.  He likes games and puzzles that challenge his intellect and force him to think of things in new ways.

History: James was born to an accomplished wizard who had gone from a clerk at Flourish and Blott's to Undersecretary to the Head of Magical Law Enforcement in five short years, and a muggle professor of chemistry at a college in a small town in western England near the Welsh border.  He grew up in a small house in the country where his favorite pastimes included reading everything he could get his hands on and going on adventures in the vast woods and fields outside his home.  He discovered his talent for magic on one of his adventures when he was deep in the woods and ran into a large cat.  James was not an expert on the local fauna, but he was pretty sure there weren't any big cats native to his particular part of the country.  None of that mattered, though, as he was there, and the cat didn't look friendly.  James wasn't sure what to do.  He knew he couldn't outrun the cat, and he couldn't take the cat on, and the cat didn't seem to be the least bit scared of James.  James was rooted to the spot in a mix of fear and uncertainty, and suddenly the cat came forward.  James could never truly say what happened next, but one moment he was facing a large cat approaching him, and the next there was a harmless kitten scampering away from him.  He returned home to tell his parents about what had happened.  When his dad heard about this adventure, he swelled with pride and explained that he knew his boy would be a great wizard.  Like any young boy, James was naturally excited at the prospect of being a wizard, and from that moment, he would read anything he could about magic and Hogwarts and the Wizarding World.  He found his dad's old Hogwarts textbooks and began reading them, trying to memorize as many spells and potions from the books as possible.  During his outdoor adventures, he would often take a stick and pretend it was his wand and that he could perform great magic with it, even though he could hardly even control the outcome of the magic he did most of the time.  He finally got his letter from Hogwarts and all but begged his dad to take him to Diagon Alley right away so that he could get his stuff.  He had to settle with waiting until the weekend to go, but once he did, he got his robes, his textbooks, his wand (sycamore and phoenix feather, 10 1/2 inches, slightly bendy), and a pet (a barn owl named Jareth).  James was willing and excited to begin his education at Hogwarts.
On his arrival at Hogwarts, James proved to be a hatstall.  The sorting hat could not decide whether James's bravery or intelligence was his more important trait and waffled between sorting him into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw for a good ten minutes (his kindness and fierce loyalty also gained a brief consideration for Hufflepuff, but this was quickly rejected as his bravery and cleverness eclipsed his kindness and loyalty).  In the end, bravery won over intelligence and James was sorted into Gryffindor, but the hat admitted during the process that James could just as easily fit into Ravenclaw.  During his time at Hogwarts, James continued to pursue his passions of adventuring and learning and would be frequently found, outside of class times, either in the library or exploring the grounds, sometimes in places where he shouldn't have been, due to his thirst for adventure.  James worked hard and earned good marks in all his classes, but he showed a special talent for Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures, even writing an unassigned essay on phoenixes for the latter, to the jealousy of one of his Ravenclaw classmates.  In his third year, James elected to take Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures, which he excelled at.  Now in his fifth year he has been made Prefect for Gryffindor House (despite a slight tendency to break the rules) as well as Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, for which he plays as a Chaser.

Extracurricular Activities: James is Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and a chaser for the team.  He is also involved in Ancient Studies, Earth Magic, and Ghoul Studies.

Other: James is Prefect for Gryffindor
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