The Elements of Ilvermorny: The (Hu)Mane Eight - Character Profiles

So, following up on the announcement of The Elements of Ilvermorny (something that's been in the works for a while), I've decided to create a post detailing the character profiles of the main cast; a basic rundown of their personalities, their houses*, blood statuses (something I find an unfortunate and oftentimes problematic element in the Harry Potter series, admittedly, but it's a necessary evil that is used to deliver the series' anti-prejudice message), and wand types + wand cores. So without further ado, here they are, the (HU)MANE EIGHT!

Name: Twilight Sparkle

Age: 11 (first year)

Ethnicity: Japanese

Blood status: No-Maj-born

House: Horned Serpent

Wand type: Acacia

Wand core: Dragon heartstring

Personality: Much like canon, Twilight is an inquisitive, bookish sort who, before coming to Ilvermorny, is mostly an asocial sort - unlike either pony or canon!SciTwi, this Twilight did have at least a small circle of friends; namely Moondancer, Lyra, Minuette, and Twinkleshine (who in canon Twilight treated as casual acquaintances at best until "Amending Fences"). However, once she is of age and whisked off to Ilvermorny, Twilight develops not only a camaderie with several of her fellow first years (Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie) but a few older students as well (Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Flash Sentry). Unlike the vast majority of Potterfics, Twilight is a protagonist already well-aware of the magical world - after all, when your brother's girlfriend (who's also your ex-babysitter) is a half-Veela and incidents seem to happen from nowhere, you tend to put things together incredibly quickly.

Name: Pinkie Pie

Age: 11

Ethnicity: Pennsylvania Dutch

Blood Status: No-Maj-born

House: Thunderbird

Wand type: Sycamore

Wand core: Jackalope antler

Personality: Pinkie Pie is probably the most exuberant of the eight, viewing Ilvermorny as "the funnest place ever!" Her childlike personality and seeming ditziness, however, hide a quick mind; a metamorphagus by birth, Pinkie Pie also has an uncanny skill for divination and "feeling" other peoples' emotions. These abilities, combined with her natural talents in magic, make her an incredibly dangerous foe...ESPECIALLY if you break her Pinkie Promises - they may not be Unbreakable Vows, but you'll wish you could die before Pinkie gets to you.

Name: Applejack

Age: 11 (first year)

Ethnicity: Mixed race (Native American/Black)

Blood Status: Pureblood

House: Thunderbird

Wand type: Apple (initially), black walnut

Wand core: Unicorn tail hair

Personality: Applejack comes from a Weasley-esque line of purebloods (and may even be distantly related to said family); like them as well as Sunset Shimmer, she does not believe in the idea of "blood purity". If anything, she believes anyone is capable of magic if they put a little hard work into it. As such, calling her a "blood traitor" or calling any of her friends "mudbloods" acts as a MAJOR button for her. Applejack is loyal and brave through and through, and won't abandon anyone regardless of wrongs committed or danger to her life.

Name: Rarity

Age: 11 (first year)

Ethnicity: Anglo-Russian

Blood status: Half-blood

House: Horned Serpent

Wand type: Chestnut

Wand core: White River monster spine

Personality: Unlike the rest of her friends, Rarity was born and raised in the United Kingdom until she was around 9 or 10; she was destined for Hogwarts until unforseen circumstances forced she, her parents, and little sister Sweetie Belle to immigrate to the United States. As such, Rarity initially has a difficult time adjusting to American customs and figures of speech (for instance calling No-Majs "Muggles"). She, like the rest of the group, develops an intense rivalry with school bully Trixie Lulamoon; for Rarity, however, it's because Trixie also had failed dreams of going to Hogwarts or possibly Dumstrang (Trixie is inconsistent with this), and she irrationally sees Rarity as a cause with barely any concievable evidence.

Name: Fluttershy

Age: 12 (second year)

Ethnicity: Gaelic

Blood status: Half-blood

House: Thunderbird

Wand type: Willow

Wand core: Wampus cat hair

Personality: Fluttershy, as in canon, has an affinity for animals; which wouldn't be so bad if Ilvermorny were not on the border of a forest that is as dangerous as, if not moreso than, the Forbidden Forest in Britain. Unlike canon, however, this incarnation of Fluttershy is more assertive and determined in her goals to befriend all creatures...which ultimately kicks off the plot when she discovers the titular Hecate Witches (while completely disregarding Professor Chrysalis' orders to not go into what is termed the "Black Forest").

Name: Rainbow Dash

Age: 12 (second year)

Ethnicity: Italian-American

Blood status: No-Maj-born

House: Horned Serpent

Wand type: Cedar

Wand core: Rougaru hair

Personality: Rainbow Dash describes herself, and is shown to be, "tough as nails" since she had to grow up in a poorer neighborhood in Brooklyn. Rainbow has a knack for Quodpot, and this lands her a position on the Horned Serpents' team. She is, ironically for her House, not the best student, and clearly has a different way of learning through observation and perceptions. Rainbow can be brutally honest and arrogant to a fault, but that doesn't stop her from being there for her friends when they need her the most.

Name: Sunset Shimmer

Age: 13 (third year)

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Blood status: Pureblood

House: Horned Serpent

Wand type: Red Oak

Wand core: Horned Serpent horn

Personality: Sunset Shimmer, in The Elements of Ilvermorny, resembles a blend of her pre- and post-reformation selves: the "lovable alpha bitch" in trope terms. The daughter of Deputy Headmistress Celestia and Congressman Sombra, Sunset, on the surface, resembles the sort of popular girl you might find at Hogwarts: of pure bloodline, obscenely rich, manipulative and has almost the entire school in her thrall...yet she is probably one of the kindest, most trustworthy people in the world - in fact, her establishing character moment involves her beating Trixie up for derogatory comments towards half-bloods and No-Maj-borns. She quickly develops an almost sisterly bond with Twilight, and it's (mostly) thanks to her that the group can get away with what they do.

Name: Flash Sentry

Age: 13 (third year)

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Blood status: Half-blood

House: Pukwudgie

Wand type: Ash

Wand core: Thunderbird tail feather

Personality: Flash is ultimately the same quiet nice dude he is in canon, and (unlike canon) is still dating Sunset here. The son of an Auror and a No-Maj woman, Flash inherited his dad's wand; an exceedingly difficult weapon with seemingly a mind of its own, Flash is able to cast powerful magic with it yet has to learn to get it under control.

*Houses in this incarnation of Ilvermorny are more akin to sororities and fraternities - the reasoning is twofold: 1) House systems like Hogwarts' don't exist in America for the most part - the closest analogue are those found in some colleges; Ilvermorny's "house" (which resemble fraternities) system is therefore based on the one found at the California Institute of Technology. 2) It addresses (both in- and out-of-universe) concerns about students engaging in intercourse and the consequences that arise from that. Thus, the houses are separated by gender - Horned Serpent and Thunderbird are female-only, while Wampus and Pukwudgie are male only.