Maria-Belinda (Bindi) Jael Tabitha Raquel Damiana Unai was born in 1918 in the Basque region of Spain, immigrating to the United States when she was four. Her parents both worked in very office-oriented jobs in the American Department of Magic, Office of International Affairs. Despite this, young Bindi had an almost instant love for all animals, both magical and mundane. Her older sister, Maria-Josephina, recalled that as a child, her little sister, Bindi, would often bring creatures into the house. “One time” she recalled, “she even snuck a half-dozen salamanders into her room in a shoe box, nearly burning down part of a city block.”
Her love of magical creatures only grew during her years at the Salem Witches Institute, known for its breeding program for winged horses. While at Salem, she earned all O’s in all of her Care of Magical Creatures classes, along with several dozen blue ribbons in Winged Horse shows. Upon graduation, Ms. Unai was offered several positions in both the Department of Magic in the Office of Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts and the Office of Being Adaptation and Integration. However, never being one to enjoy stability of any sort, so choosing to forgo any formal employment in favor of travel across the United States. Before she was twenty years old, Ms. Unai had traveled the entire Western Hemisphere, and eventually, in her later years, the whole world.
Ms. Unai has often said that her research has been just as much about people as it has been about creatures. Upon arriving in a new location, she would immediately seek out the native locals and begin inquiring about the creatures. She was especially those in mythology, which, in her words, always had their foundation in truth. “Members of the non-magical community,” she would say, “are given far too little credit for their knowledge of the magical world. A great many new and wonderful things could be discovered, along with a wealth of ready information. If only one would take the time to listen.” And taking her own advice on many occasions, Ms. Unai was able to add a wealth of information to the academic world in her first few years of travel.
But during World War II, Salem’s Care of Magical Creatures teacher was called to duty when dragon reserves all over Europe were invaded by Nazi troops, and the creatures had to be constantly relocated, so as not to draw Muggle attention. In 1943, the headmaster at the time, Englebert Winkler, came to Ms. Unai, who was living in Peru at the time, on bended knee, begging her to take up the then-temporary position. Even though Ms. Unai was still quite young at the time, and many parents believed she had no relevant experience, she agreed and took post at the Salem Witches Institute, believing she would only be there for a few years at most.
What Ms. Unai didn’t count on, however, was what a popular teacher she would be. All her travel stories made for some of the most fascinating lectures in the school, and Ms. Unai, always a believer in hands-on learning, was soon producing classes of nearly all perfect scores and students who graduated knowing nearly as much about magical creatures as those who had spent their whole lives studying them. Ministries all over the world were soon lining up to have Ms. Unai’s students working for them, and after the former Care of Magical Creature’s professor was informed that he would not be hire back, he was never heard from again. Speculation dictates that he was consumed by a Lethifold, while others believe he is merely hiding in some tropical jungle in Brazil.
Even though Ms. Unai never imagined herself as a teacher, no educator has yet to do more for their field than she has. She wrote most of her own textbooks, most of which are still used in most American curriculums today. Once every five years, though, she would take a one year sabbatical to go off exploring the world, much like in her younger years. In 1982, Ms. Unai’s contributions to the magical community were recognized when she was awarded the second class of the Order of Merlin.
In 1989, Ms. Unai retired from her long teaching career to her current home in the Grapevine Mountains in California. For many years now, she has lived there with her husband, Lander Conner, and with what she refers to as “a menagerie of creatures”. Ms. Unai’s three children all live nearby, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all pursuing careers involving magical creatures.