Germaine/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

The current king of magical France, Louis XX, has six kids. His fourth child, and third son, is Prince Antoine of France. Since his wedding with Princess Éliane, the couple had two daughters. The elder of them and twelfth in the line of succession is Princes Germaine. As such, she never experienced the stress of preparing to ascend the throne, but certainly saw how it affected her relatives since she was little. Germaine'd always wanted to help ease the constant pressure any way she could. This became her main drive very early on in her life.

In fact, she was so absorbed by this goal that it affected her first magical sign. When Germaine was six years old, she saw her mother in an unusually worrying situation. Éliane was sitting at the dining table alone, tears in her eyes. The little girl wasn't able to understand the reasons behind this. In fact, even if she could- and for that she'd have to know all about fights between married couples- she wouldn't try to look for solutions. She just wanted to be there. While walking up to her, quite embarrassed, mom, she unknowingly made a flower float from a neraby vase and onto the table in front of Éliane.

Germaine served her purpose well for the next years. When she first arrived at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, it was to no one's surprise that her Silver Arrow appeared in the color purple. The house Papillonlisse was always home to the kindest, most altruistic students. Those sorted into this house were also known to be keen artists. However, this was only partially true in the princess' case- she did enjoy playing the piano, but it was never something that absorbed her too much. She fit in well with her classmates and made many friends. Few could dislike such a supportive and unassuming individual.

When she was about fourteen, Germaine experienced something different than before. Namely a crush- a crush not on boys, like before, but on a classmate who identified as bigender. Had they been female, the princess would just classify herself as bi and move on. However, she had to research what was her sexuality in this case. Finally, when she turned to her favourite (and openly gay) aunt, princess Marinette, she was told about the concept and meaning of pansexuality. At last, she knew who she was, and was not surprised when she was later attracted to girls as well. She decided to come out as soon as she knew for sure that she was pan- since her aunt and at least one cousin did it, why wouldn't she?

Another very significant, yet much darker event in her life occured during her sixth year at Beauxbatons. Germaine was attending a rather wild end-of-term party with her yearmates, exactly as she did the year before. However, it didn't go as pleasantly as planned, to put it mildly. The dancing, music and flirting were great- but not for long. When Germaine went to the bathroom to fix her makeup, a classmate- a female one, that's all the girl can now remember- slipped some sort of pill into her water bottle (yes, water- she was sixteen and not desperate). Germaine later learned that a friend had to rescue her unconscious self from the attempted rapist. This incident left her shaken, but sure that she couldn't bother anyone with it. All she had to do is stay away from the assaulter, right? There was no reason to bother and worry anyone- and that's what she told her savior-friend.

Despite all the internal explanations, she was affected by this more than she would admit. The world was not nearly as pure and good as she once thought- not naively, just optimistically. The supportive role she'd played all her life was suddenly hard. She needed someone to talk to, but who would help her? She was always the one to do that.

As of now, deep down Germaine knows it's a matter of time before all the insecurities she's supressed will get out, whether she wants them to or not.