early childhood
1877 - 1888
it is a tradition in my family to bless each child with a virtue, something our parents strive for us to be when we grow up. for my eldest brother, narcissus, it was regality - he was to be the future heir of the whole champagne empire and would inherit nearly everything when our parents passed on. then there was my brother, laurent, who was expected to be honorable, and i believe he shows this on and off the pitch, having adored quidditch since we were young and always making sure that the joy of the game is more important than the results. my brother, alexandre, on the other hand couldn’t be less athletic if he tried - he was a squealy, bashful little thing and our parents wished him to have valor. perhaps he’d get over his timid nature and be the kind of courageous hero type who’d win a series of duels... but mostly he stays cooped up in his room and prefers books to people and likely needs the fainting couch more than i. of course, one could not forget the baby, jean-marie, whom was given the virtue of peace - the sweetest boy, gentle as a flower, perhaps they learned after alexandre you cannot force a man to be brutal or strong if he does not wish to be. of course, there is me, elisabeth, the only daughter in the group of five children - i was blessed with the virtue of grace and i did not let my parents down in their hopes for me.

from the time i could walk and form sentences of my own, i was taught to have poise, grace, be able to walk with a book on my head, be sociable in company that wished me to speak and to hold my tongue when in company that did not. my mother had me on a strict schedule - etiquette lessons, piano, violin, voice, languages, and so forth - all to ensure i would someday be the kind of woman that would find a desirable suitor. i say my mother had me on this schedule, but that’s only half true - i was primarily raised by my governess as my mother was too busy being a socialite to really pay me much mind; especially as my father needed her to travel with him as he made business deals in other countries. but, my mother would have my governess’s head should she let me fall from my studies. my mother wasn’t all bad, though, as she prevented my father from betrothing me the moment i opened my eyes as an infant. she never had the choice of who to marry, as both maman and papa were betrothed to each other from a young age so perhaps she wanted me to have that.

life wasn’t all work and no play, either - just most of it was. my brothers and i would often play in the garden, hiding among the flowers and even helping squish grapes in the vineyard when the servants weren’t shooing us away. our cousins would come to visit during the holidays, bringing a kind of life to château de champagne that usually wasn’t there. things changed a bit when my brothers went off to beauxbâtons - narcissus believed he was too good for us now, especially as father now found him old enough to discuss business with. laurent was willing to play with me still, as he never minded my company, but the things he wanted to play, such as quidditch, were not appropriate for proper young ladies according to my governess and so he tended to stay with the other boys while i played with girls.



académie de magie beauxbâtons
1888 - 1892
by the time it was my turn to attend beauxbâtons for the first time, my eldest brother was starting the year he was to take his mid-level examinations, which he ultimately passed with ease, and laurent was finally moving past the beginner things and was getting quite the attention on the quidditch pitch. it often felt like i had a lot to live up to, though nobody really expects much from a lady - as long as she can serve tea and look pretty she can be a mooncalf for all anyone cares. nevertheless, i didn’t let this knock the wind out of me and i got right to work. at beauxbâtons, alchemy is taught alongside potions and it was something that came naturally to me. due to my experience in my family’s gardens, herbology wasn’t such a hard class either, though i didn’t quite like to get very dirty. while my transfiguration spells left something to be desired, my charms usually worked out well and i favored learning all of the beauty charms.

my fondest years, i believe, were the four years i spent at beauxbâtons and i shall never forget them. it was a time where i was free to, encouraged to learn all that i could and follow my dreams and ambitions. i don’t think i will ever make it to be as well regarded as monsieur flamel, whom the fountain on the grounds of the school is named after, but if i could just do one thing of note in the field of potions or alchemy, i think i’d feel at peace. my eldest brother always thought it was a waste of time, for you see, he believes a woman’s place is beside her husband, not hovering over a cauldron, and while laurent isn’t quite as blunt about it, he still believed i was getting in over my head. my father certainly thought so and so my summers were filled with more music lessons, etiquette classes, tea parties, helping with my mother’s charity projects, and so forth. things that were much more suitable to my station. while i really enjoyed doing these more feminine activities, i would be lying if i said otherwise, i didn’t enjoy what they represented within our society - inequality.

not all the men in my life were awful, mind you - i had a few male friends i was allowed to associate with in my younger years and there was my cousin, dorian. his mother is my aunt ophelia and they live in the wizarding village of hogsmeade, located in scotland. like me, he was a natural at potions and while hogwarts did not teach alchemy the way beauxbâtons did, he was made to study it by his parents and found he enjoyed it as well. the two of us often exchanged letters, theories, ideas, and so forth about our shared interests and he was one of the few men who didn’t make me feel lesser for being a woman and in fact always encouraged my ideas. of course, i do wonder whether or not he would ever support women’s rights in a more public setting, as he is the heir of his own family and if there was anything i understood while observing narcissus, it was that heirs were to follow strict rules and couldn’t think or speak for themselves.

it was very difficult knowing my fourth year at beauxbâtons would be my last as i had enjoyed it so much and i wanted to be able to earn credit for my mid-level exams as my elder brothers had and as alexandre and jean-marie would in the future. but, mother made it clear that at the end of the summer i would be attending académie bellerose pour jeunes filles, a finishing school for half-blood and pureblood witches in paris, france. so, i spent my final year at beauxbâtons studying all that i could and enjoying my time with friends of mine that would not be joining me at bellerose for various reasons. at least, being sweethearts, alexandre and dorian both said they’d send me articles, books, and other things to study while i was away at finishing school so i wouldn’t miss being at beauxbâtons too terribly.



académie bellerose pour jeunes filles
1892 - 1893
if i ever thought my mother was strict in what she taught me to act like when i was young, it was nothing compared to how we were meant to conduct ourselves at bellerose. the first few months were exactly how i imagine hell to be described - many girls would curl up in their blankets at the end of the night to weep until they were too exhausted to stay awake because they missed a curtsy or spoke out of turn. we were told it was to weed out the ones who would never make it, as there was only so much space at bellerose and many ladies both foreign and local wanted to attend. but, it still seemed to be a very harsh system that made me yearn for the peace of beauxbâtons.

i was often punished, myself, because i am told i am far too outspoken and don’t know when to hold my tongue, but i think i have gotten better at it. it is much better to keep silent while you think those wretched thoughts in your head - at least you can plan for retaliation instead of impulsively doing something foolish. one of the times i spoke out of turn was defending my roommate and my dearest friend at bellerose, lucille. lucille was one of the ones who didn’t do so well in the beginning and was constantly punished; i was one of the few who seemed to have the lack of decorum to call our instructors out about it. she once told me that my friendship with her was the only thing keeping her from going back home to her parents in tears - as sad as that was to hear, i cherished that sentiment and protected her.

we grew close over the year and would often help one another whenever we thought our instructors were being particularly rough on us. but… perhaps we grew a bit too close and it’s the truth to why i was thrown out of bellerose, not whatever story my father tells to keep my reputation clean from sin. i have to admit i don’t understand much about love or romance, as while i think my father may love my mother and my mother may love my father, they never had been overly affectionate with one another to my observation. my brothers aren’t of courting age yet and anything beyond that is, of course, inappropriate for my delicate sensibilities to be hearing about. but i knew i cared deeply for lucille and it was in a way i don’t think i had felt before, at least not toward another lady, and that is why the eve of the coming out ball for the graduating class of bellerose, i kissed her. perhaps i was wrong before about letting down my parents.

i could not tell you how long the kiss lasted, only that we had been laying side by side on my bed when we were pulled from each other and found ourselves in the office of our headmaster being yelled at for deviancy. our parents arrived not long after and it was then we were both informed we had been expelled from bellerose. lucille cried as her parents told her that we’d never see one another again and i cried as my father blamed my mother for everything - she coddled me, allowed me too much freedom, didn’t punish me for my fanciful ideas, and so on. in the end, my father made a deal that i would be quietly removed from the school and if anyone asked, it simply was not a fit for me, nobody would know about what we had done. my reputation would not be stained and as for lucille, her name would be wiped clean by my father’s money if only to protect me, but otherwise we were never allowed to associate again, not even by letters.



pendergast school for young roses
1893 - present
judging by how my brothers treat me, i don’t think they know the truth about why i am leaving home to stay with aunt ophelia rather than going back to bellerose. my mother only frowns when she sees me though, and my father decided that my mother was wrong to not have me betrothed, so he found me a match with one of narcissus’s older friends. i have not met him properly, but already i worry that he will never love me the way i need to be loved. nevertheless, i am doing my best to enjoy my summer. my aunt ophelia’s family came to stay for the summer, which is nice. i will be going back to wellingtonshire, hogsmeade with dorian come july in order to get accustomed to living there. then, when the term starts again, i shall be going to the pendergast school for young roses with a stern warning that i am to behave myself, a locket from my mother, cuddles from little jean-marie, and a terrible stomach ache. we shall have to see, won’t we?