Madeleine/Backstory

For as long as wizardkind can remember, the French monarchies, muggle and otherwise, coexisted in peace. They exerted equal control over the populace, often interchanging as one of the pure-blooded royals ascended to the throne. On the horizon approached an age of struggle, though. As the 18th century drew to a close, France's expensive involvement in the American revolution - coupled with the extravagant spending by King Louis XVI - left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Royal coffers depleted, two decades of poor harvests, drought, cattle disease and skyrocketing bread priced had kindled unrest among peasants. Many expressed desperation and resentment towards the monarchy, who imposed heavy taxes without providing relief, by the means of looting, rioting and striking.

During fall of 1786, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, proposed a financial reform package that included a universal land tax from which the privileged classes would no longer be exempt. To garner support for these measures and forestall a growing aristocratic revolt, the king summoned les états généraux - an assembly representing France’s clergy, nobility and middle class. The meeting was scheduled for May 5, 1789; in the meantime, delegates of the three estates from each locality would compile cahiers de doléances to present to the king. Moreover, in the lead-up to the May 5 meeting, the Third Estate began to mobilize support for equal representation and the abolishment of the noble veto – in other words, they wanted voting by head and not by status.

While all of the orders shared a common desire for fiscal and judicial reform as well as a more representative form of government, the nobles in particular were loath to give up the privileges they enjoyed under the traditional system. On June 12, as the National Assembly continued to meet at Versailles, fear and violence consumed the capital. Though enthusiastic about the recent breakdown of royal power, Parisians grew panicked as rumors of an impending military coup began to circulate. A popular insurgency culminated on July 14 when rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure gunpowder and weapons; many consider this event, now commemorated in France as a national holiday, as the start of the French Revolution.

Few royals foresaw the events leading and following the storming of Bastille, but those that did went into hiding, seeking safety from the wave of revolutionary fervor and widespread hysteria that quickly swept the country of France. Revolting against years of exploitation, peasants looted and burned the homes of tax collectors, landlords and the seigniorial elite. Known as la Grande peur, the rural insurrection hastened the growing exodus of nobles from the country and inspired the National Constituent Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789. As they bore witness to the rising tensions in the country, the royals of magical blood fled muggle land. They needed a new place to call 'home' - the muggle world was a losing fight, they knew, and thus poured their efforts into a new, unexplored world; one befitting wizardkind.

For as long as they had known, French wizards coexisted peacefully with their moldus counterparts, but this had begun to change, their relationships evolving in unison with the growing discomfort towards the French crown. In what is now known as the magical sector of France, hidden behind a statue in Paris, a select group of wizards tried founding what would have been known as the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France, based on a motto akin to their moldus siblings': Incanté, Envouté, Conjuré. Unfortunately, the government was structurally weak and had little support. Not long before it was established, it collapsed in itself, as the populace were unable to thrive under a government clouded by uncertainty. This led to the implementation of the French Monarchy, under King Charles XI.

Wanting to make it clear their rule would be nothing like their counterpart, which found itself in shambles at the time, Charles declared the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen a general - very loose, as well, solely to fit the idea of a Monarchy - basis for their ideals. In what modern-day historians argue was a highly controversial thing to do, however, the King extended these human rights to everyone - man, woman and child. Furthermore, certain attributes of the muggle crown remained in place - a council of twelve noble families, selected from the pure-blooded population, each with a specific task to oversee. While the council has evolved over time, the general idea has transcended time. While it was something French wizards weren't initially keen on, they recognized it was better than the turmoil in the non-magical world.

Over time, the magical crown distanced itself further and further from the non-magical world. There came a point where, while not outright prohibited, many wizards found it 'taboo' to interact with molduses, making their community one of the purest out of all magical societies. Furthermore, now living in an era of prosperity under King Louis XVII, they've become much more inclusive, and has become more common to see their own marrying into moldus families and living in their world.

### written by moi

Most royal children grow up in a bubble. Well-fed, wealthy, with a large number of siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins, all more or less loving and supportive. Some of them think that their life is hard, that the constant pressure, as they like to call it, is destructive. Some love the feeling of power, of control over the country. It is not absolute authority, of course, but still more than the average mortal will ever experience. Others believe in making their country a better place. It's a choice every kid born in a royal family makes.

Princess Lucinde of France wasn't given that choice. She couldn't have been. The second offspring of Princess Catherine (and Prince Auguste- or at least that was what everyone thought) was born under particularly bad circumstances. She was suspected to be an illegitimate child. As such, she was a disgrace in the royal family. Her mother and even father wanted her to stay and be raised with her older sister, but that couldn't come to be. Rather extreme voices appeared in the House of Valois, and it was only a matter of time before action was taken.

And so, shortly after the princess' first magical accident (levitating an apple) the more radical members of the family had come up with a plan- a rather cruel, but fairly easy to execute plan. A trip to the coutryside was prepared for little Lucinde. Of course, neither she nor her parents could have known anything about the idea to get rid of the girl. As such, they were completely unprepared for their own relatives to actually try such measures. The six-year-old was taken away, given some sweets and assured everything was great. Then she was driven to a faraway village on the southern coast of France. There, after two weeks of "holidays" an adoptive family was found. Princess Lucinde Séphora Modeste of France no longer existed, she died- or at least that was what her parents and siblings were told. From now on, she was replaced by Madeleine Beaulieu.

The royals' plan was excellent in but one aspect: they failed to remember that Lucinde was old enough to see at least *some* of the reasons behind it. She obviously couldn't understand the "illegitimate child" business. However, she had seen enough to know that her own relatives gave her to complete strangers and left. The Beaulieus were fairly pleasant people, although very busy with fast-paced, absorbing jobs. Thus, not unlike her biological parents, they couldn't spend much time with their daughter or give her all the affection she needed. She grew up feeling a desperate need for appreciation and love grow inside her, stronger and stronger with every year.

All the time, Madeleine wondered what caused her rejection from the royal family. She researched, she looked for details, she revisited every memory over and over. Nothing helped. The only result of this obsession- because yes, it became a regular obsession later on- was a deep hatred for the House of Valois- and monarchy in general. Perhaps if her life was a movie, Madeleine would throw darts at the royal crest. In reality, she didn't, despite probably wanting to. It was in her teens, at school, when she created the person she is today: seemingly very nice, somewhat controlling, obsessively wanting to do anything and everything to bring the royals down.

When she heard Beauxbatons Academy was looking for an Etiquette professor, she knew it was one chance in a million. There, she could influence young minds. Essentially, she could teach them about the very code of morality. And of course among them would be the next generation of House Valois. They could be molded into a desirable shape... or taken care of, if the situation was desperate.