Luminara Basurto | Professor of Herbology

【NAME】Luminara Verana Basurto
【NICKNAMES】Lumi, Vera, Nara
【BIRTHDAY】20th July 2002
【AGE】24
【SPECIES】Human
【BLOOD STATUS】Halfblood
【NATIONALITY】Mexican
【CITIZENSHIP】Mexico, U.S (Work-Visa in England)
【RESIDENCE】West Wittering, England
【POSITION】Professor of Herbology
【PATRONUS】N/A
【BOGGART】 being trapped
【AMORTENTIA】the ocean, lime, yucatán honey, sunny days
【ANIMAGUS】N/A
【WAND】32,3 cm cherry wood and snallygaster heartstring
【NAME MEANING】
• Luminara -> source of light, radiance, illumination
• Verana -> thruthfull, to see truth
• Basurto -> in the middle of the forest, admits the woods
【FACE CLAIM】Jessica Alba

【PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION】
Languages spoken: Spanish, English, Yucatec Maya, Swahili
Luminara – or Lumi, which pretty much everyone close to her calls her and which she prefers – is by no means one of those people who act like they have everything figured out at 24 years old. If anything, she is really trying to find herself more than trying to be an adult. This does not mean that Lumi acts immature, though some might see it that way, but that she has not unlearned to find joy in the little things and generally in life. When one comes across her, they’ll find out quickly that she’s the perfect mix of chaotic and put together. The kind of person who can never find matching socks in their wardrobe, the kind that slacks in resisting ice cream or someone who prefers a fun sunny day over a day spent studying. However, Luminara is also the kind of person whose purse is filled with „what if..“ emergency kits for every possible instance, the kind of person who has assignments graded in one day and someone who can see a problem in a rational, realistic and logical way. Someone you can lean on and be sure you won’t be left alone.
If Lumi were to try and describe herself in three words, she’d probably pick adventurous, independent and joyful, though those around her may add kind-hearted, loyal, empathetic, creative and caring in the mix. Her writer on the other hand prefers the word spirited; someone full of energy, enthusiasm, liveliness and courage. Someone radiating light.

【PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION】
If one tried to describe Lumi visually, the first thing that might pop into focus are her deep brown eyes that always seem to sparkle, especially when her lips pull into one of those irresistible smiles - that are often too contagious not to draw a similar expression from her opposite. Her hair falls in deep brown waves with blonde strands that have come from growing up in the sun, similar to the sun kissed complexion of her skin, which stems from genetics and years of running through nature. Luminara can often be found wearing a blend of bohemian, casual comfort and modern sophisticated clothing, which she feels most comfortable in as she has found a liking in the way muggles dressed, during her travels. Though some of that choice of clothing certainly comes from her mother.

【BACKSTORY】
As many stories start, this one begins with love. Luminara Verana Basurto was born during a beautiful July summer night, into the arms of Fernando and Cholena Basurto. Fernando stems from a Mexican halfblood family in the depths of Yucatán, while Cholena [née Hatahali] grew up in America in a Native American halfblood family. They met by chance when they were children, during a vacation Cholena went on with her family to Celestún, Mexico. The two children ran into each other and from that year on, Cholena was back every Summer. Vacations spent together became a constant exchange of letters and in the midst of impulsive young decisions, they bought land close to Valladolid - rather off-grid - at 18 and 20 years old, built a home and moved in.

Soon after, their first child was born. Luminara is the youngest of her siblings with about two years of age difference between each of the four children. She and her siblings grew up surrounded by nature, with large lagoons and animals all around them. There were close rural communities to come in contact with, where not only muggles but also wizards and witches lived. While Luminara never had many friends, she was never lonely. The four siblings were always close, always playing together and taking care of one another. While they did live in such an off grid environment, her childhood was never boring. There was always family to visit, family coming over, new spaces to explore in the nature reserve, things to learn, books to read or stories to hear from their parents.

Naturally, due to growing up surrounded by such a diverse ecosystem and wildlife, Luminara developed an interest for all beings, plants, herbs and trees early on. She also learned to find magic in all that surrounded her. This trait only sharpened furthermore when she attended Ilvermorny, where she found herself beneath gifted wizards and witches, striving for her own magical abilities to exceed. She especially enjoyed Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Potions, DADA and Transfiguration.

However, due to Luminara‘s stronger graving for purpose and the feeling of outgrowing her secluded part of the world, graduation marked the day she broke free from the depths of the wild life resort that she grew up in. At 18, her bags were packed and she followed wherever the wind took her. That led from Mexico to America, to Canada, to parts of Europe, Africa and Asia which concluded about 1 year of travel with longer stays wherever she felt most comfortable. In the ending months of 2021, she ended up in Lesotho, South Africa where she met an English Healer and Mediwizard helping in a program for less fortunate magical folk with poor access to healing magic.

At the time, many parts of the muggle world were still largely affected by Covid and Luminara found herself a little stuck in her travels (though it had often been far more difficult throughout the past year). She began talking to the English Healer and while she had never thought of a career path in the medical field, she stayed. Luminara began studying and learning under the wizards' lead, helping in the program where she could. It was there that she learned to speak and understand Swahili and began to love the culture. They stayed there a few months, before they ended up back in England. Here she applied at St. Mungos to study as a Trainee Healer for a year, before becoming an Intern and then continuing to work as a Healer. Throughout her training, she learned how to stomach what she thought she never could, how to care for patients, healing magic in many fields, how to find out what a patient needed, how to deal with injury, death and pain.

During her training, her mentor and trainer led her through a variety of injuries, sicknesses and cultural differences in healing. When she graduated the training, she participated in programs in other countries, helping where they could. Truthfully, it was not only a way of helping others for Luminara, but also a way to keep on seeing the world. Around the end of 2025, she ended up back in England once again. There, Lumi continued working as a healer in St. Mungo, starting the pathway to Master Healer. Back in the cold weather with a continuing career path, she emerged herself in the English wizarding world.

During her training and travels, Luminara expanded her love for Herbology and the healing properties of Plants. She started studying more about them, far more than what she had already learned growing up, through education and her healer training. Not only did she study plants already available in the English training books, but also ones that were native to other parts of the world, including a lot of muggle plants that were used for medicine. It became somewhat of a hobby, as her apartment slowly filled with more and more plants, which she actually enjoyed caring for.

Only that Luminara found herself feeling a bit lost and without a solid ground, perhaps even as though there was something missing in her life, something that the rainy London couldn’t give her. Despite that, she stayed until one particular rainy morning in the break room. There had been a newspaper in one hand, coffee in the other, when she stumbled up on a position that had just opened up at Hogwarts - the Professor of Herbology Position - and after pondering on about it and spending too much time reminiscing in memories of her school years, her application was sent in.

【FIRST INSTANCE OF MAGIC】
Growing up in the eastern region of Yucatán Peninsula, there was rarely ever a day that Luminara spent inside. There was too much to do, too much to see, too much to experience. However, on a particularly pretty day while Fernando was cooking dinner and Cholena was attending to a newborn and toddler, 4 year old Lumi thought it would be a wonderful idea to walk into the woods by herself. Small as she was, getting lost was no sorcery and she found herself stuck between trees and nature sounds that were perhaps a bit too unusual for the ears of a lost child.
Luminara began to cry, darting from path to path to find her way back as she called out for her family. Her parents' voices carried through the woods to her but Lumi‘s small cries weren’t loud enough out of fear a creature might hear her, instead of her parents. She had gone impossibly quiet when suddenly her voice grew loud at the last „Mamá, Papá!“ as if someone had held a megaphone to her lips. Fernando and Cholena could locate her instantly and brought her back home, where both a lecture and happy smiles at her first instance of magic were in order