Belladonna "Bella" Barret was born to the Barret family in mid-2012. She grew up on the outskirts of Brighton and Hove, off the main road where neighbors were far and few between. Despite her family being lower class, Bella grew up getting whatever she wanted. The catch is that she didn't really want much. She had two wonderful parents and an extensive network of relatives who always popped by on special occasions and sharing was common among the Barrets as well as the extended family. As far as her parents are concerned, there were no bumps on the road of Bella's development and she was well-prepared to attend Hogwarts.

By all means, Bella should have ended up a happy-go-lucky child. But personalities just don't work that way. Bella was always a quiet kid, outshined by basically all of her cousins. As she grew older, that quietness turned into a sort of gruffness. It stemmed from interactions with people her age. They stared up at her because she was a bit too tall. They whispered about her because her clothes weren't bought but sewn from cheap fabrics. They laughed at her because she preferred to kick around in the mud by herself instead of playing with them.

Bella had a friend once. Pretty and proper, so unlike her. She was the girl's 'ride or die' as they call it. But the girl didn't feel the same way about her. The two and their families were invited to a get-together of wizarding families in the area and some of the children, including Bella and her 'friend' wandered off to play around one of the many tributaries of the River Adur. They were standing along the banks and as usual, the whispers started up. Bella didn't know if it was about her scrappy dress that matched her hazel eyes or her mother's botched hair care potion that made her blonde bob frizzy, but she did know that the whispers made her angry. So angry that she imagined one of the girls in the group falling into the river. And then it happened. She had somehow been pushed by some unseen force into the shallows of the tributary, dirtying her posh dress. Bella had a laugh and thought her friend would too. Instead, the friend told the parents that Bella had pushed the other girl into the river, and from then on, the friend would no longer be at Bella's side. Instead, she would be with the group, always whispering.

Since then, Bella became closed off to meeting new people or making friends. She has decided to go through Hogwarts without focusing on making surface-level connections. All she wants is to come out the other side without being betrayed like that 'friend' betrayed her. And to do that, she has adopted a rough and laconic behavior. She is always curt with others and can come off as rude or mean.