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G.W. 'Rocket' Binns is a fictional character played at Hogwarts Express MUSH. His IC background is as follows:

Few people who hear 'Rocket' Binns, either on the radio or over the PA at pro Quidditch games, would ever realize he came from rather humble beginnings. Born to Derry and Meara Binns, the middle child in a whopping pack of eleven, George William Binns was pretty much average in every way right from the get-go. His father, a third-generation wizard whose great-grandfather was a Muggle, worked on the Comet assembly line, and his mother, whose lineage was murky at best but definitely mixed, waited tables part-time at a local pub without revealing her magical nature. Living in Ballybunion, Ireland, the Binns family was neither wealthy nor impoverished but rather somewhere in the middle, despite the near-dozen children, all of whom would eventually attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

George earned his nickname at the tender age of four, when he filched his father's broom out of curiosity, and 'took off like a rocket', according to his Mum. Right into a tree, damaging the broom and his own left arm, though it didn't discourage him from wanting to fly. On the contrary, he quickly developed both a desire to fly and a need for speed, and he snuck out on Da's broom twice more before he was finally presented with his own secondhand clunker on his fifth birthday. It didn't fly very fast, nor did it get all that far off the ground, but it worked well enough for Rocket to learn the basics of flight.

At the age of nine, Rocket found himself the oldest sibling outside of school, and while it commanded a certain respect among his younger brothers and sisters, it also demanded a certain amount of responsibility. In the interest of earning some spare cash with which he might someday purchase a new broom to replace Old Bessie, he presented himself to the local golf course for the occasionally dangerous job of ball retriever on the driving range. It was quite the learning experience, and while he didn't escape entirely unscathed, his smallish stature and natural quickness helped a great deal when it came to dodging incoming missiles. These lessons were supplemented in the summer with spare time spent on the beach, where he hung around in his older brother's lifeguard shadow and tried to learn how to be cool.

In due course, he received his letter and was shipped off to Hogwarts, where he surprised everyone (including himself) by being Sorted into Gryffindor. While not the first of his family to be Sorted thusly, no one expected it from the scrawny, unremarkable George, who'd never shown much of a penchant for bravery. It was at Hogwarts, however, that he first discovered Quidditch, the sport that would be a huge impact on his life. His first impression: Seekers are cool! Indeed, the Seeker position seemed to have everything that Rocket wanted: glory, speed, and an undeniable cool-factor. Denied his chance at fame and fortune in his first year, however, the boy had to content himself with watching the games from the stands, listening half-heartedly to some unknown Hufflepuff commentator. By his third game, he was familiar enough with the rules to make comments of his own, which went over well with Housemates seated in the stands, and on a whim he volunteered to announce one of the games himself. To the surprise of many, he took to announcing like a duck to water, and followed it up with a well-written article in the Hogwarts Herald, which was the first appearance of his byline 'G.W. Binns'.

The summer following his first year, Rocket had finally saved enough money to almost pay for a new broom, and his parents loaned him the rest. Trotting out to the Quidditch pitch bright and early on tryout day, his brand-new Comet in hand, he lasted precisely thirty seconds before a well-aimed Bludger knocked him clean off his broom and well out of the running for making the team. This would be the case for the next three years, and Rocket's hopes of becoming a famous Seeker grew slimmer and slimmer, even as he refined his talent for announcing along with his journalistic skills. In his OWL year, he gave up trying in favor of studying for the exams and looking into a career in journalism. Which turned out to be for the best, since that was the year he learned about a whole new kind of rejection: the dating kind. By the time he'd reached seventh year, Rocket had been turned down by practically every eligible girl in the school. This doesn't mean he had no friends, and in fact he was fairly popular, particularly in-house, since he spent most of his time around the Quidditch players, he just couldn't get a date to save his life.

By a freak stroke of luck, the recruiter who turned up to the last game of his seventh year was also a commentator on the pro circuit, and he suggested that Rocket look into announcing professionally. He even went so far as to set Rocket up with his first gig, announcing for the Montrose Magpies against the Holyhead Harpies. The young wizard's style was such a hit that he had offers from both teams to announce for them full-time, and the next two years were spent slowly making a name for himself as a pro commentator. At the age of twenty, he submitted a test article to the Daily Prophet, and had to turn down an offer to join their staff, though he still submits every now and again, freelancing as a journalist in addition to his announcing. The real turning point to his career, however, came when he was offered a radio spot on the WWN, a weekly show that gained instant popularity among fans and non-fans alike (the format is similar to 'Monday Night Football' and other sports shows one might see on tv). 'Rocket's Quidditch Report' has been on the air for nearly two years now, and while his face still isn't instantly recognizable, anyone who's heard him can identify him as soon as he talks. He no longer announces for the Magpies, instead traveling 'round the country and abroad as a freelance announcer, and he's commentated the last two World Cups. And while the Daily Prophet has a sportswriter on staff, Rocket's freelance articles routinely bump the guy back a page whenever he submits them.

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