Professor Binns

[witch6]

I am planning to write a fic about a younger (much younger) Professor Binns and I need some help with his character.



His house. I know it hasn't been mentioned anywhere in the books so what do think it could be?

What time period do you think he lived in? His first name was planned to be Cuthbert (source), so does that give you any idea?

As we know very little about him, how you always perceived him? Any thoughts or ideas? Anything you think I should keep in mind while writing him?





I need all the help you can give, so please write whatever you want to, even if it isn't asked in the questions above. Thanks a lot!

[lupins_girl2006]

Well, for the house he was in I would say he was a Ravenclaw because he liked cold hard facts. He doesn't strike me as a Gryffindor or a Slytherin. Nor does he strike me as a Hufflepuff. So, to me Ravenclaw would be the best house for him.

Since his name was suppose to be Cuthbert, strange name :/, I would say he was probably alive in the 17 or 1800's.

I hope I helped.

~Allie (huggles because she's bored and feels like it. )

[bluemoon13]

His house. I know it hasn't been mentioned anywhere in the books so what do think it could be?
I think he would a Ravenclaw. He would have to be smart to know all that history, and he prefers hard facts to anything else. From the way he dismisses legends in CoS, I have always imagined him to be a bit like Mr. Gradgrind from Dicken's Hard Times - someone who only believes in something that can be supported by fact. From what we've seen of his personality, none of the other houses seem to fit, but I think if it can be justifed, you could place him in any house.

What time period do you think he lived in? His first name was planned to be Cuthbert (source), so does that give you any idea?
Well, we know that wizards live longer than Muggles, although it is unclear as to how much. Perhaps early 1800's?That would make him well over a hundred years old, even acounting for time he spent as a ghost.

As we know very little about him, how you always perceived him? Any thoughts or ideas? Anything you think I should keep in mind while writing him?
I think he would have been very studious and bookish. I can see him as a bit stiff and formal- perhaps a prefect or Head Boy. I think he would have someone who stuck the rules. I can also see him as the type of person who had to have everything exactly and followed the same schedule every single day, and would hate anything that broke his schedule. He would have a plan for everything and would never do something spontaneously or try new things.

Hope this helps
~Shivy

[Inverarity]

His house. I know it hasn't been mentioned anywhere in the books so what do think it could be?

Ravenclaw is the most obvious choice. Since we know so little about him, you could make an argument for any of the others, even Gryffindor. Maybe he was much more energetic and adventurous as a young man. (A story in which we learn that Cuthbert Binns actually fought valiantly in the Croatian Goblin Wars or something, and then decided he'd had enough of goblin-fighting for a life time and decided to retire to a more peaceful occupation, would be kind of cool.) But if you want him in the House that is the most obvious fit, as is the case with most Harry Potter characters, it would be Ravenclaw.

What time period do you think he lived in? His first name was planned to be Cuthbert (source), so does that give you any idea?

He's a rather Dickensian character, as someone else has pointed out. His teaching methods are characteristic of that era. So mid to late 19th century, maybe early 20th century (out of the Victorian era and into the Edwardian), but no later, and almost certainly not earlier.

As we know very little about him, how you always perceived him? Any thoughts or ideas? Anything you think I should keep in mind while writing him?

Obviously, he's a creature of habit. He likes everything to follow a predictable routine. He doesn't like change, or surprises, and he doesn't care for interaction or feedback. We never see him socialize with anyone in the books -- not the other teachers, not the other ghosts, and certainly not the students. Of course, it could very well be that he does socialize outside of class. You can always fill in details that are never hinted at in the books. Maybe he gets together every evening with Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar and the Bloody Baron to smoke ghost-cigars and play bridge with ghost-cards. But the impression we get from the books is that this is a man who hardly even noticed he'd died.

Interesting ideas to explore: does he really realize that he's dead? He must on some level, of course, but maybe, as ghosts often do in (non-Harry Potter) stories, he's not completely aware of the fact that he's no longer among the living, and he just sort of "blanks out" when he's not in class.

Nick told Harry that only those who were very unhappy in life, or very afraid of death, become ghosts. So what caused Binns to stick around? Was he, underneath his droning, professorial facade, a sad and lonely man? Did he harbor a secret fear of death? Did something happen to him, earlier in life, to leave him in that state? Rowling never gave us any of the answers, so you can make up your own.

[weasleywannabe47]

His house. I know it hasn't been mentioned anywhere in the books so what do think it could be?

I would imagine Ravenclaw, but, if you want a good plot twist, put him in Slytherin.

What time period do you think he lived in? His first name was planned to be Cuthbert (source), so does that give you any idea?

Ummm, I'd say early 1500s or late 1400s.

As we know very little about him, how you always perceived him? Any thoughts or ideas? Anything you think I should keep in mind while writing him?

I imagined him with red hair and blue eyes, and, though he didn't know it, handsome.
My only advice is: Don't give him a friend who is a ghost....