Before you get to know Kazim, you need to understand that his life is divided into three periods:

1. Childhood, where Kazim began as a clever and adventurous boy with a dash of 'impressionable trouble-maker,' but became cut off from most of his friends and had to focus on his presumed future success.
2. Freshman year, when Kazim began to become the socialite Boy About Town he'd always wanted to be.
3. The Post-Saira Era, where, when Kazim once more felt his freedom threatened (this time by the arrival of his sister), he chose to quietly withdraw from the spotlight instead of fight. This is where we find Kazim now.

Your first impression of Kazim is probably that he's getting a joke you're oblivious to—his resting expression is a small smile that borders on a smirk, whether or not there's actually something amusing going on. Is there a joke? Probably not, but if there is it's unlikely that he'll let on. He guards his emotions relentlessly and rarely, if ever, grins or guffaws in public. He's put so much effort into guarding against tells to his actual emotions and opinions that he often seems to have no opinions at all, and to a certain extent this is true: he doesn't like to get caught up in drama or two-sided arguments, preferring to step back and let it play out without having to engage in the conflict. 'Neutral party' doesn't even cover it; he just doesn't want to be involved. At all. He's not the type to walk away but you'll probably forget he was there at all until the dust as settled and you notice him on the sidelines, listening the whole time while you were too caught up in the moment to notice.

Deep down, Kazim is bitter. Deep down, Kazim is paranoid. Deep down, Kazim wants to rebel against his parents and their wishes, and do whatever he wants... but he doesn't think he's brave enough. He tried to be himself in his freshman year and all that got him was a little sister to get all up in his business, so now his attempts to fight the man are reserved for smaller indiscretions—ones that are usually a result of his friendships. Despite claiming neutrality in most situations, Kazim is also a follower. He'll always join his friends' endeavours when asked without questioning their intentions or actual gameplan, which has led to some trouble in the past. ("A midnight walk in the woods? Sure, you know probably what you're doing.") Does he know that being so blindly amenable to others' ideas is an unwise strategy? Yes. He claims otherwise, but he takes advantage of the willful ignorance

Since he values his privacy he doesn't ask many questions of other people, either—and if he doesn't ask questions he can't claim to have been a crucial component in whatever the trouble-making of the week has been, whether it's out after curfew or sneaking an R-rated movie into the totally-haunted DVD player. 'Willful ignorance' is the name of the game, and he's an Olympic-level competitor. (Warning: Clichés Ahead.) This self-awareness means that, while he will go with the flow, he always seems to have an undertow of 'I've got my own thing going on.'

Kazim's laissez-faire attitude has seen him accused more than once of not giving a situation the solemn gravity it deserves. He's difficult to faze and delivers jokes with a deadpan quality, rarely 'letting loose' except in small, controlled situations (and even then he's not very animated or loud). Although quiet, he prefers to be in the company of people he'd rather be alone in a crowd than completely alone. He often studies in the Atrium just to have the comforting hustle and bustle of other people around him.

QUICK KAZIM FACTS:

• He had a lot of phases in sophomore and junior year as he tried to craft a Post-Saira Identity. Among them: Kazim Raza, Expert Camper (he turned out to be a middling camper at best); Kazim Raza, Seer (don't eat cheese before bedtime, kids); Kazim Raza, All-Star Athlete (at least Quidditch stuck?); and Kazim Raza, Rap Star (no. just... no.)
• Denizen of the Internet. His parents aren't computer-savvy so he can get away with saying "ohhh, but I'm doing research for a project" when he's really browsing Reddit for the entire afternoon.
• Plays the bassoon and the bass guitar. (Yes, as a kid he looked exactly as hilarious as you'd expect with his giant bassoon.)
• Doesn't drink alcohol, does occasionally smoke pot. Only in private.
• Has a tendency to get lost in books, usually fantasy or murder mystery novels.

Hassan Raza, father. Potioneer.
Noor Raza, mother. Unemployed.

Kazim is convinced his parents are trying to suck all the fun out of his life, however, he still lives in constant fear of disappointing them. His rebellions at home always begin small and inconsequential, but by the end of the summer he's sneaking out at night to see friends. To Kazim, Hassan and Noor are automatons that care only about his success in the adult world, putting emphasis on grades and connections and plans. He has yet to understand that they're humans with their own lives, histories, and passions who are simply trying to guide their eldest son into a life he would find comfortable and pleasant.

Saira Raza, sister. Coppertale junior.

Kazim and Saira have a fraught relationship. He believes she's sending intel back to their parents on how poor of a son and role model he's been, she believes he's having a great time and gets everything handed to him on a silver platter. Neither impression is correct, but that doesn't stop Kazim from guarding every interaction with her. He resents her for invading his happy place (Gooseberry) and is convinced he'd be living his life to the fullest if only she'd stayed at Lincoln Hall.

When Saira accepted Gooseberry's offer their parents told Kazim to look out for her. Kazim knows she that she can handle herself, and while he tries to live contrary to his parents' wishes, he often fails to fail. When everything's said and done they're still siblings and he simply can't leave her to fend for herself. He's protective of Saira... from afar. If you mess with her you won't know who hexed you to next Tuesday, but you'll get the impression that you shouldn't bother her again.

Kazim respects Saira's unstoppable drive and natural intelligence, but he'll never say it.

Shandar Raza, brother. Saira's twin brother. Attends Lincoln Hall, expert slacker. Kazim's time at boarding school has seen them drift apart and they have clashing approaches to pretty much every aspect of life. Kazim wishes Shandar was more like Saira, but he'll never say it.

CHILDHOOD.
Despite spending little time as Hassan and Noor Raza's youngest child, Kazim was doted on for his entire childhood. He and his younger siblings grew up in a Chicago Pakistani immigrant neighbourhood that consisted of a mix of nomaj and magical households, and their own upbringing was one of middle class and little excess. The emphasis was always placed on academic achievement, even if the youngest (Shandar) seemed to get away with aspiring to... precious little.

EARLY SCHOOLING.
Kazim was a clever and quiet child who abided by his parents' wishes in all matters — studying should be forefront in his mind, because his time at Lincoln Hall was really only intended to get him into a more prestigious school. He most enjoyed reading and exploring the city, which he accomplished within the bounds of his parents' directives by hopping from library to library. He was a gifted, if not exceedingly exceptional, student. He felt competitive toward his younger sister, Saira, whom he knew was determined to outshine him however possible. To be honest, he probably wouldn't have tried half as hard in school if he didn't constantly have Saira checking in to see how he was doing, where he was, or what he thought about a certain subject. As the older sibling, this led to something of a perfectionist streak. How would it look if his little sister constantly showed him up, when he was supposed to be family's 'golden child?' He learned to work in a deliberate, thorough, and cautious manner; to complete assignments in ways that left no questions unanswered. His best classes were the ones where he didn't have to provide an answer on the spot — he excelled in pursuits that required writing (in his own time), artistic projects, and critical thinking.

His parents constantly showered him in encouragement and told him he could 'do whatever he wanted!' because he was ever so capable, even though there were strong implications that 'whatever he wanted' should be something practical like apprenticing under his father as a Potioneer, or getting a sensible MACUSA desk job. The former has always been the assumption among family and friends as he never exuded someone with Big Plans, so grooming Kazim to take over the 'family business' just seemed to make sense. (Never mind that his father wasn't an independent businessman.)

The older Kazim got, the more concerned his parents became with his eventual professional success. They insisted on enrolling him in after-school programs near Lincoln Hall that he honestly didn't think he needed, but kept him inside and working on academic and musical pursuits (he played the bassoon!) for long after the school bell rang. Magical theory (even though the students were too young to use wands) and history were the two most common topics he was subjected to. On some level he knew his parents were only doing what they thought would provide Kazim with the best possible future, but he began to resent the activities — partly because they weren't his choice, and partly because they kept him from roaming the city like he enjoyed, separating him from most of the friends he'd made outside of school.

GETTING INTO GOOSEBERRY.
Kazim knew that his parents never intended him to graduate from Lincoln Hall — he may not have had any grand aspirations for himself, but they sure did. All those years of frugality finally made sense when they spread a handful of pamphlets in front of him, organized from 'most prestigious' (and thus most acceptable) to 'less most prestigious' (and thus not quite as ideal). In the middle of the pile Kazim found the pamphlet for Gooseberry Alternative High School. Going to high school in the woods? Outside the Apparition Zone? Out from under his parents' thumb? Away from the constant urgency to not be outshone by his sister? Yes please. He was accepted based on his academic achievement and musical talent (having some musical talent, and playing the bassoon in the school band) and was awarded a scholarship so nominal that it's only an honour in theory; really, it feels like a gold star.

FRESHMAN YEAR.
Freshman year was great fun — Kazim threw himself into the social life and took full advantage of the opportunity to craft a new persona for himself. Free of his family's interference and expectations, Kazim made the best of it: he went to every party, participated in every stupid stunt, attended every event, and made out with... a whole bunch of people. His grades may have dropped from 'impressive' to decent,' but he was having a great time so he wasn't particularly bothered by it.

During the summer after his first year his parents shared troubling news: his sister Saira—the ambitious one—had applied without their parents' knowledge or permission. And she'd been accepted. And she'd received a full ride. And she'd be attending in September, and could he speak to her about Ebonhide and try to convince her that his house was the right choice? (He did not.)

Kazim was despondent. He tried to apply for Hogwarts exchange despite the deadline being long since past but his parents shot down that idea because now that Saira was attending his school, he had to 'keep an eye out' and 'make sure she stays out of trouble.' He knew for a fact that she could take care of herself, but his parents insisted.

Gooseberry was supposed to be his time to ~break away~ and ~be himself,~ but now that his upstart little sister came to join the party, he knew his honeymoon phase with the school was over.

SOPHOMORE YEAR.
Kazim did a 180 in Sophomore year. His participation on the party scene became much more (literally) sober and his involvement in stupid hijinks dropped to a minimum. He still felt the need to rebel but knew he had to do it in a style that wouldn't make its way back to his parents (which he was positive would happen if Saira heard about anything he'd done). He began to remodel himself as Saira's deliberate opposite, taking extracurriculars he figured she would never go for and taking courses she had little interest in.

• Instead of the boisterous newbie he had been, Kazim became much quieter, even sullen.
• He spent a lot of time reading novels and avoiding the library.
• He even decided to try out for Quidditch solely because he knew Saira held no interest in the sport, and to everybody's surprise, he made it onto the reserves.
• Although he played bassoon in Music, his need to Rebel Against His Parents in pointless ways saw him dedicate more of his spare time to practising the bass guitar, which he saw as a much cooler instrument. He'd begun to learn it on the sly at the age of twelve when librarians back home had taken him under their wings. They let him reserve one of the music practice rooms three times a week and one of the librarians gave him their (ancient) bass guitar, providing daily lessons while Kazim claimed he was working on homework. The guitar came with him to Gooseberry, disguised as a suitcase full of books.

JUNIOR YEAR.

• After Quidditch tryouts, where once more he tried out as a Beater, he's made a full member of the team... as a Keeper. He had no idea why the captain decided to make him a Keeper but it turns out he liked it a lot more..
• Met with Ms. Thrussell at the beginning of the year about changing instruments. Kazim drops the 'oon' and played the bass (guitar) instead. One day he will drop the bass and be a DJ. (Okay, no, he actually splits his time between the two instruments but that joke was too good/bad to pass up.)

SENIOR YEAR.
There's a corny cliché: "The light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train." This is not inaccurate for Kazim—he's been avoiding any discussion of what he'll do after school, and the pressure is starting to build. He doesn't want to apprentice as a Potioneer under his father. He doesn't want to work a cushy desk job. Really, he doesn't know what he wants to do, but he also knows that he needs some kind of a post-graduation plan. He'll figure it out, you know, eventually.