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| “ | You will never hurt anyone again... No one will find your body... Anyway, no one will mourn you. It's what your deserve. You're finished. | ” |
—Aimée Bienfaisance to an acolyte of Gellert Grindelwald, 21st January 1945 | ||
Professeure Aimée Bienfaisance née Baudelaire, L.d.H. (Chevalier), C.d.L., C.d.G., C.d.G.M. (\pʁɔ.fɛ.sœʁ e.me bjɛ̃.fə.zɑ̃s\; born 6 September 1923) is a Muggle-Born French witch, now employed as a Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, following a brief period of retirement after seventy years of working at l'Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons as a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Transfiguration professor, Head of the Transfiguration Department, and later Deputy Headmistress. She retired to a quiet life in Cornwall, UK, but having missed teaching greatly, she has returned to teaching at the native school of the land she has retired in: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Before teaching at l'Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons, she was a Transfiguration expert, often contracted by Ministries and companies to oversee large Transfiguration works or to correct complex accidents with Transfiguration. She also took great part in a resistance against the German occupation of France in the Second World War and the forces of Grindelwald in the Global Wizarding War. Through this effort, she met her late-husband Georges Bienfaisance and became a leader of his organisation, Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques, an organisation dedicated to the aforementioned efforts. By the end of the war, the pair would be decorated with war medals and awards by both the Muggle and magical governments of France.
Following the Second World War and Global Wizarding War, Aimée became a professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and later of Transfiguration, before working up the ranks of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic until becoming the Deputy Headmistress of the school.
In France, Aimée is well-known for her body of non-fiction works ranging from travelogues to academic textbooks to war memoirs. She has received multiple awards for her best-selling books and continues to write well into her old age. In England, the translations of her works are lesser known, but still cult-favourites among the Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts academic communities.
Early Life[]
Aimée Bienfaisance was born Aimée Baudelaire to two Muggle parents in May of 1923. Not quite poor but not quite rich, Aimée's parents provided her with a good, balanced upbringing - she was fed and clothed, but not spoiled or indulged. Through her childhood, her parents were subjected to a relentless onslaught of unexplainable and sometimes embarrassing bouts of magic from their young daughter. At the age of three, the girl had Transfigured the parents' marital bed into a hippopotamus, almost causing her mother a mental crisis. By the age of seven, she had caused great nuisance by transporting herself magically to the summit of the Eiffel Tower, having to be rescued by the pompiers (French fire service) as she clung to the top (likely kept from falling by her latent magic ability) looking over her home city of Paris.
At the age of nine in the year of 1932, the family went on a holiday in Devon, visiting the seaside town of Ilfracombe. For once, the magical intervention to their holiday was not caused by Aimée herself, as a Common Welsh Green dragon attacked the sunbathers upon the beach. Aimée watched on in awe as the Toke wizarding family thwarted the attack and proceeded to wipe the memories of the Muggles present. Not wanting to forget the wondrous sight she had seen, when a member of the Toke family advanced upon the Baudelaires to wipe their memories, she made a wall of sand rise between her and the Toke family member, leading them to summarise that this was a wizarding family, leaving them to continue their holiday in peace.
Unfortunately this was not so peaceful for her parents. Following the incident, Aimée's mother Catherine had suffered a mental break and was commited to a mental institution, leaving Aimée's upbringing to her father Pierre. Believing herself solely responsible, this haunted Aimée for much of her life. Soon enough, all these strange magical instances were explained by a visiting professor from Beauxbatons Académie de Magie, who explained that Aimée was in fact a witch and that she would be attending Beauxbatons as a student. Once the explanation sunk in, Pierre sought to bring Catherine back home from the institution, but the institution had in fact made her mental state ever more fragile, leading her to be left in the institution for her remaining years.
Years at Beauxbâtons (1934 to 1942)[]
Aimée began her years at Beauxbatons in 1934, nearly immediately showing an aptitude for Transfiguration, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts in equal measure. These skills took her in good stead throughout her years of education. When she finished her first set of exams in her sixth year at Beauxbatons, she was already submitted essays and articles to Métamorpho-Hebdo and Transfiguration Today, on a variety of topics including a celebrated article published at the start of the Muggle Second World War titled 'Morals in Transfiguration - Why We Should Not Transfigure Adolf Hitler Into A Gerbil,' gaining her a great reputation as not only a skilled young Transfigurer, but also one very wise for her years. Inspired by her Muggle parents, many of her articles would concern wizard relations with Muggles, often directly countering arguments put forward by Gellert Grindelwald's more temperate sympathisers who actually managed to be published. By the time she took her baccalauréat de magie, she was receiving owls weekly from several publications asking her for her opinion on the latest Transfiguration question of the day. Before she left school, she took the baccalauréat de magie, for which she specialised in Métamorphose (Transfiguration), Sortilèges (Charms), DADA (Défence contres les forces du Mal), and Potions.
Fighting in the Global Wizarding War and Second World War (1942 to 1955)[]
Meeting Georges Bienfaisance (August 1942)[]
Known already as a prodigious Métamorphoseuse (Transfigurer) from her published essays within Métamorpho-Hebdo and Transfiguration Today, Aimée began working as a Transfiguration contractor, providing her expertise in Transfiguration to whomever could afford it. Le Ministère des Affaires Magiques were one particular customer, often contracting her to provide training on Untransfigurstion to their Bureau des Accidents et Catastrophes Magiques, or to handle particularly difficult cases involving Transfiguration.
One of her first jobs was on 29 August 1942 when, despite her moral protestations, she had been offered a great sum of money from the French Ministry to reverse the mass Transfiguration caused by a plucky young group of witches and wizards who had transformed all the Nazi banners and propaganda posters across Paris to depict an animated caricature of Adolf Hitler sitting upon a toilet surrounded by excrement. She accepted the money and aided in reversing the Transfigurations, knowing it would not be good for too many Muggles to notice moving pictures upon banners, but secretly left a number of propaganda posters in their transfigured - but unanimated - states, to give the Muggles suffering under Nazi occupation something to laugh about, at least. On this night, Aimée met the man who would soon become her husband, Georges Bienfaisance. He offered to induct her into his organisation, Le Front de Libération des Non-Magiques (The Muggle Liberation Front), which worked to fight against Grindelwald's attempts to further his doctrine of "The Greater Good", and to aide the Muggles also suffering under the simultaneous German occupation of France. It was an offer which Aimée declined at first.
Joining the resistance (November 1942)[]
In November 1942, Georges Bienfaisance informed her that Le Front de Libération des Non-Magiques had discovered that Aimée's mother had been one of many patients at a mental institution to have die of starvation due to the Nazi administration neglect. Following this heartbreaking news, Aimée joined Georges' organisation in earnest, working with the group to provide aide and assistance to Muggles throughout France without their knowing, while also fighting against Gellert Grindelwald's forces on the wizarding side of things.
A Marriage Amidst the Bloodshed (January 1943)[]
In part due to the uncertainty that comes with fighting in a war, Aimée and Georges married on 1 January 1943, in a quiet and private ceremony at a safe house of Le Front de Libération des Non-Magiques.
The Liberation of Paris (August 1944)[]
- Further information: Liberation of Paris (Wikipedia)
As August 1944 arrived, the greatest work of Le Front de Libération des Non-Magiques would come to pass. By this time, Georges and Aimée had managed to position a number of spies masquerading as Muggles within the top ranks of both the German military and the Allied forces. They had previously been informed by said spies that Adolf Hitler had personally ordered for Paris to be destroyed in the event of an Allied attack, and that an uprising was soon to be instigated by a Muggle organisation, the FFI, or Forces françaises de l'Intérieur (French Forces of the Interior). It was then that they were faced with a difficult choice - aide the Muggles rising up against the already retreating German forces, or work to prevent the Germans from destroying Paris if there was a revolt.
On 15 August 1944, they learned that a total of 2,200 Muggles had been transported to German concentration camps. The following day, they received news that the Germans had managed to gun down a number of their comrades who had tried to attend a secret meeting of the FFI, who had been betrayed by a Gestapo double agent. By 17 August 2017, when they were informed that the German forces were placing explosives around the city of Paris, Georges and Aimée made their decision, and divided their own forces in two. While Georges led half of the organisation in provoking and aiding in the uprising, Aimée led the other half in neutralising the German garrison stationed throughout Paris.
Over the following days, Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques mobilised in force. As the Muggles pasted posters calling citizens to arms, Georges recruited swiftly and heavily the majority of the wizarding community of Paris to take up their own arms in the uprising - an easy task, as many witches and wizards had also been affected by the German occupation. Meanwhile, Aimée led a team of skilled witches and wizards in removing the explosives that had been placed across the city and weakening the Germans strongholds in Paris. While this was happening, Aimée's own Transfiguration professor from Beauxbatons, a woman named Professeur Fautbattre, led the entire faculty of the school's Transfiguration department in transforming every single piece of Nazi propaganda across the city into messages of support for the resistance. It all came to a peak on the night of 22 August 1944, as Georges and Aimée led their entire amassed forces to join the Muggles in fighting back the German army. Fighting continued until 25 August 1944, when despite the insistant orders of Hitler that Paris "must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete debris", the German garrison finally surrendered, aided in no small part by some magical assistance from Georges and Aimée's spies still stationed in the garrison.
Considering the uncountable Muggle witnesses to magic being used in the battle, Georges and Aimée feared that, as leaders of their organisation, they would face severe punishment from Le Ministère des Affaires Magiques. Luckily for them, they were now seen by the magical population of Paris as nothing less than war heroes, and came to an agreement with Le Ministère that so long as Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques collaborated with them as they continued to fight against their remaining enemy Grindelwald, they would receive no recompence for their efforts to aide the Muggles against the German occupation.
While the majority of Ministry workers were forced to mobilise the largest spate of Memory Charms across Paris, the French Minister for Magic of the time was obliged to keep their new Muggle counterpart informed of what had happened. Thus, as Charles de Gaulle, President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, arrived at the French War Ministry on Rue Saint-Dominique, he was informed of Georges and Aimée's great efforts. Following a strong drink to ease the rather intense enslaught of revelations, he asked the French Minister to invite the pair to join him on his victory parade the following day before leaving to address the public from the Hôtel de Ville of Paris.
| “ | This duty of war, all the men who are here and all those who hear us in France know that it demands national unity. We, who have lived the greatest hours of our History, we have nothing else to wish than to show ourselves, up to the end, worthy of France. Long live France! | ” |
—Charles de Gaulle, 25 August 1944 | ||
The next day, Aimée and Georges joined Charles de Gaulle in his march down the Champs Élysées, cheered on immensely by their comrades who had come out to celebrate the well-earned liberation of Paris and France. Later, in a private ceremony, both Aimée and Georges were each made Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur and accorded the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 and the Croix de l'ordre de la Libération by President Charles de Gaulle.
Turning their eyes to Grindelwald (September 1944 - January 1945)[]
In the following months after their successful mobilisation amidst the Liberation of Paris, Georges and Aimée led Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques in collaboration with Le Bureau des Aurors of Le Ministère des Affaires Magiques in fighting the building Global Wizarding War. Knowing where their strengths lied, they concentrated mainly on matters within France. Between attempting to place spies in Grindelwald's camp and preventing attacks on Muggles and wizardkind alike by Grindelwald's acolytes, Aimée wrote intensely for France's leading newspaper Le Cri de la Gargouille in an attempt to reduce support for Grindelwald's message and incense the general public into fighting against him. It was a difficult task for as many witches and wizards who supported Aimée's message due to her status as a war hero, there were just as many who believed that - seeing the disgusting effects of the Muggle's Second World War - Grindelwald had reason to say that those without magic should be ruled by the wizarding community. Nevertheless over time, a majority of France would come to denounce the concept of "The Greater Good."
Skirmish at Rue de Narbonne (21 January 1945)[]
on 21 January 1945 when Georges and Aimée were caught in a duel with a group of Gellert Grindelwald's sympathisers. The duel lasted hours, each side greatly injuring each other, until the two of them stood before a single opponent who struck Georges with the Killing Curse, prompting Aimée to finish the killer brutally in immediate revenge, Transfiguring his dead body into a wimple which she wears to this very day as a reminder not only of her late husband, but also of the dark forces she would soon encourage her students to fight and resist. Aimée would never tell a single soul the truth of how this duel ended, prefering to keep some secrets close in her much published life.
Living to See the End of the War (January 1945 - Summer 1945)[]
For the remaining time of the Global Wizarding War, Aimée would take over from her late-husband in leading Le Front de Libération des Non-Magiques in their fights against Grindelwald. It was in these final months of the war that it became bloodiest. Aimée herself personally survived a total of 13 assassination attempts by Grindelwald's Acolytes until Albus Dumbledore succeeded in defeating Gellert Grindelwald in their legendary duel of 1945. Following this duel the subsequent end of the Global Wizarding War, Aimée disbanded Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques at a final meeting at the Griffon Buveur, a popular wizarding pub in the secret wizarding community of Paris. The meeting was attended by many members of the organisation, where Aimée gave a rousing speech, before the meeting soon turned into a celebration of the end of the war.
| “ | We have lived through the darkest years that France has ever seen, both in our magical world, and the Muggle world. Now, those years are over, but the real fight is not. The fight between those who seek to do harm to those who are weak, and those who strive for the liberty, equality, and fraternity that our great country stands for. Remember that. Remember that when the dust settles. Remember that when Paris has been rebuilt. Remember that when your grand-children, one day, grow to fight their own battles. I am sure that I will never forget. | ” |
—Aimée Bienfaisance, Summer 1945 | ||
Shortly after the end of the Global Wizarding War, Aimée would be accorded Croix de Guerre Magique by Le Ministère des Affaire Magiques for her efforts throughout the war, as well as accepting the same award, posthumously, for her late-husband Georges Bienfaisance.
The Quiet Years (1945 to 1955)[]
Following the tumultuous years of war, Aimée returned to her work as a Transfiguration expert, this time taking her services around the globe as she travelled the world in search of knowledge and solace. In the course of these years, she published her debut novel detailing how Transfiguration differed around the world, before following up with a similar book which told of the different ways people duelled in the many different cultures of the world.
Beauxbatons (1955 to c.2020s)[]
Professeur de la Défense contre les forces du Mal (1955 to 1964) — Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor[]
In 1955, having garnered a great reputation as fighter for the forces of good in the Global Wizarding War, and having published two bestselling books and nearly two hundred articles in both Métamorpho-Hebdo of France and Transfiguration Today of the U.K., Aimée was offered a position as professeur de la Défense contres les forces du Mal, in lieu of a position teaching Transfiguration as none of the present professors were due to retire for a while. She taught DADA with a strong practical side, often being credited by her students and colleagues for creating a cohort of young witches and wizards who could take on any adult in a duel.
Professeur de la Métamorphose (1964 to 1982) — Transfiguration Professor[]
Following the retirement of one of Beauxbaton's Transfiguration professors, she was finally offered a role teaching her best subject. She would have a strict, but fair method of teaching, offering her students an equal balance of the theory and practical side, owing to the exact skill needed for Transfiguration. It was during this time, in 1970, that Aimée would be the only witch to be invited to the private funeral of Charles de Gaulle, as other Compagnons de la Libération were.
Responsable du département de la métamorphose (1982 to 2010) — Head of the Transfiguration Department[]
By 1982, Aimée would rise to became the head of the Transfiguration department, owing to her great experience in the field, many years of great examination results, her academic essays, and published works on Transfiguration, including the beloved practical guidebook to Transfigurations for the every day witch or wizard, 'le guide quotidien de la métamorphose'.
Directrice adjointe de L'Académie de Magie Beauxbatons (2010 to c.2020s) — Deputy Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic[]
In addition to her roles within the Transfiguration department, Aimée became the directrice adjointe (Deputy Headmistress) of L'Académie de Magie Beauxbatons. She served in this role for many, until the previous director/directrice retired and the Board of Governors elected someone else leading her to retire in protest of the slight.
Retirement[]
Quiet Life in Cornwall (c. 2020s to 2026)[]
After her many years of teaching, Aimée sought out a quiet life in in the West Country of England, where she had often holidayed as a child with her family. Settling in a little cottage by the sea, Aimée continued to write her memoirs and Transfiguration studies.
Hogwarts (2026 to Present)[]
Professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts (2026 to Present)[]
With the quiet years of retired solitude proving too boring and unfulfilling for the war veteran, Aimée returned to teaching by taking up a post as Professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts School starting in September 2026.
Physical Appearance[]
| “ | She was an undoubtedly severe-looking woman, who seemed to exude an incredible aura no matter if inside the classroom or without, that made each person in her vicinity feel as if they would receive ten lashes if they dared to open their mouth in front of her. She was covered nearly from head to toe, apart from her face and neck; a large white wimple hid whatever hair she had left at her age, and a large white dress covered her all the way to down to her ankles, where it fanned out rather wide. Her face itself was wrinkled as much as one would expect of a woman aged over a hundred years old, but there was a certain twinkle in her eye that added a touch of warmth even when she was at her most strict. | ” |
Personality[]
Aimée Bienfaisance is a woman who on first impression would seem to be simply a stern and strict woman, seemingly fulfilling without exception the stereotype of an elder French teacher. While she is an indomitable presence on first meeting, her silencing aura faded with exposure soon enough however, and it soon became clear to each person that encountered her that she was in-fact a warm woman to those who managed to gain her favour. Unsurprisingly, as a woman who has personally fought against the hateful ideologies of both Gellert Grindelwald and Nazism, Aimée holds equality, freedom, and goodness to high esteem. While appreciating politeness, decorum, and good work from her students, she makes note particularly of students who go the extra mile to help their peers and who fight for what is right. From time to time, she is known to have a bit of a comedic side, even to be slightly mischievous and fun. She is not a woman to be crossed - if she is faced with an enemy who opposes her beliefs or wishes to do harm to those who she is responsible for, she can be vicious, like a protective lioness.
Magical Abilities and Skills[]
Transfiguration[]
Even at her centenarian age, Aimée is still considered to be France's leading expert in Transfiguration. Practically, she is unflappable when it comes to Transfiguration, even in such high-stakes and fast-paced situations as duels and combat situations. She has a long history of utilising Transfiguration as a martial magic art, having honed her ability to use Transfiguration under pressure in her youth as a combatant in the Global Wizarding War.
Defence Against the Dark Arts[]
As previously detailed, Aimée is more than accomplished in defending herself and others against dark magic. While her specialty is mixing the arts of Transfiguration and Dueling, she is also well-versed in protective charms, curses, jinxes, and the like.
Charms[]
While not matching her skills in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, Aimée is well adept in employing when required a number of wide variety of complex and obscure charms that she has picked up over the years.
Apparition[]
Aimée is able to Apparate with great ease.
Dark Arts[]
While never practicing dark magic, Aimée would be quite capable of doing so if her nature was such that she would. She possesses a great knowledge of the darker sides of magic, having researched it intently through her life in a constant effort to ensure she could continue to fight against it without being blind to its powers.
Warfare[]
Aimée took great part in co-ordinating the efforts of Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques in furthering the resistance against the German occupation of France, and following her husband's death, took the reins of the organisation and lead them in resisting against Grindelwald's forces and aiding against the horrors of the Global Wizarding War.
Social Networking[]
In partnership with her husband, and later alone, Aimée succeeded in recruiting a great number of witches and wizards to Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques, including the entire faculty of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic of the time. Aimée continued to use her great social networking ability throughout her life and career as she became a larger figure in France's academic and literature circles. Bienfaisance even continued to remain in contact with Muggle French President, Charles de Gaulle, until his death in 1970, notably being the only witch invited to his actual private funeral, along with her fellow Compagnons de la Libération, while the French Minister for Magic of the time had to make do with the public memorial service at the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Awards and honours[]
Aimée Bienfaisance has received several awards and honours in the course of her life, both for her efforts throughout World War II and the Global Wizarding War, and for her services to literature and education in France.
- 1944: Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, awarded by President Charles de Gaulle for extensive work towards the French liberation from German occupation.
- 1944: Compagnon de la Libération, awarded by President Charles de Gaulle for services to the French liberation from German occupation.
- 1944: Croix de Guerre 1934-1946, palme en bronze (bronze palm) awarded by President Charles de Gaulle for fighting with the Allies against the Axis forces in the course of World War II.
- 1945: Croix de Guerre Magique 1927-1945, awarded by Le Ministère des Affaires Magiques for fighting against Grindelwald's forces in the course of the Global Wizarding War.
- 1950: Livre de l'année (Book of the Year), awarded by Le Cri de la Gargouille, for Transfiguration Around the World (original French: La métamorphose dans le monde).
- 1954: Livre de l'année (Book of the Year), awarded by Le Cri de la Gargouille, for How the World Duels (original French: Comment le monde se battre en duel').
- 1972: Livre de ménage de l'année (Household Book of the Year), awarded by Le Cri de la Gargouille, for The Daily Guide to Transfiguration (original French: Le guide quotidien de la métamorphose).
- 1982: Manuel de l'année (Textbook of the Year), awarded by Le Cri de la Gargouille, for The New Manual of Transfiguration (original French: Nouveau manuel de métamorphose).
- 2024: Biographie de l'année (Biography of the Year), awarded by Le Cri de la Gargouille, for France's Battles Against Grindelwald (original French: Les baitailles de France contre Grindelwald).
Relationships[]
- Georges Bienfaisance †: The relationship between Aimée and her late-husband was that of intensity, romance, and danger. Brought together by war, and torn apart by war, Aimée first and only marriage instilled in her the great disgust she has for violence and darkness. Aimée and Georges fought together both in World War II and the Global Wizarding War, with Georges dying in battle in the latter. Before his death, Georges was the founder and leader of Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques, a great sympathiser for Muggles like his wife, he founded the organisation in response to the great sufferings he witnessed Muggles experience under the German occupation of France and the efforts of Grindelwald's Acolytes to promote his message of "The Greater Good." For her entire life, Aimée would remember and honour the sacrifices her husband made for their country.
- President Charles de Gaulle †: Having been honoured by the French President for her efforts in the Second World War, Aimée kept in contact with Charles for the entirety of his life until his death in 1970. In their letters, which Aimée has kept for posterity and never even considered publishing, Aimée and Charles discussed everything from the politics of the time to their daily lives. In particular, Charles would often ask of the state of things on the "other side", meaning the magical community of France. After his passing, Aimée would be invited to the private funeral of Charles de Gaulle, as a Compagnon de la Libération.
- Catherine Baudelaire †: Having lost her mother to a mental institution at a very young age, Aimée does not have many happy memories of her mother, the most prominent memory being the traumatic way she learned of her passing.
- Pierre Baudelaire †: While he was alive, Aimée had a rather mixed relationship with her father. He was a good father, she could never deny that, however a small part of Aimée always blamed her father for the fate that befell her mother in the mental institution. Before his death, however, they parted on good terms.
- Professeur Fautbattre †: Throughout her life, Aimée kept in contact with her Transfiguration professor at Beauxbatons. A formidable and righteous woman, she shared many of Aimée's beliefs and also inspired a great deal of them. When the time came, Professeur Fautbattre aided Aimée in rallying the faculty and alumni of Beauxbatons to join Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques in resisting the German occupation of France and the Global Wizarding War.
- Living members of Le Front de Libération des Non-Magiques: Aimée still remains in contact with her comrades she fought with in the course of the Global Wizarding War, often consulting them when she has an issue. When her memoirs of the times they all shared were published, she invited all still living members of Le Front to her private launch party where they once more shared all their old war stories and re-bonded over old times.
Possessions[]
Over her many decades of life, Aimée has collected a great collection of magical artifacts, the most useful of which she keeps at her disposal in her office. In particular, she possesses a Pensieve, a basin which can be used to store and review memories, which she uses mainly when she is feeling rather nostalgic, or when she is trying to deduce things that are particularly troubling and difficult.
Another prized possession of Aimée's is her private library, containing her own original handwritten manuscripts and journals, as well as letters she had kept throughout her life, such as those exchanged with President Charles de Gaulle. For each and every day of her life, since the age of 13, Aimée has written a journal entry detailing the events of her life, and her thoughts and feelings at that particular time, which she has often used to aide in her writing. Aimée can often be found consulting her journals of many years ago, when not reviewing her own memories in her Pensieve.
Four possessions which Aimée holds quite dear are the war medals awarded to her late-husband Georges Bienfaisance in the course of World War II and the Global Wizarding War, the Legion d'Honneur, the Croix de l'ordre de la Libération, the Croix de Guerre 1934-1946, and the Croix de Guerre Magique 1927-1945, all of which she keeps stored in their original cases under lock and key.
Aimée keeps a rather large but aging male Eurasian eagle-owl named Reblochon, which she uses for all her postal communications. While he is getting a bit old, Reblochon still proudly accepts and completes any and all trips that Aimée requests of him. His favourite treat is the cheese after which he is named.
Publications[]
Popular books[]
- La métamorphose dans le monde (Transfiguration Around the World)
- Published in 1950, Transfiguration Around the World, was the debut novel of Aimée Bienfaisance. It tells the story of her years travelling the world learning of the variety of ways different cultures utilise Transfiguration.
- Comment le monde se battre en duel (How the World Duels)
- Published in 1954, How the World Duels, was Aimée Bienfaisance follow up to Transfiguration Around the World, this time detailing the varying dueling techniques seen around the world on her travels to various wizarding communities around the globe.
- Le guide quotidien de la métamorphose (The Daily Guide to Transfiguration)
- Published in 1972, The Daily Guide to Transfiguration by Aimée Bienfaisance provides a comprehensive overview of Transfiguration magic a witch, wizard, or wyxen may need to use in their daily life. Giving instructions on everything from household repairs to recycling old clothing, the book has been loved by many a French house-wife or house-husband and re-published in updated editions often.
- L'art martial de la métamorphose (The Martial Art of Transfiguration)
- Published in 1974, The Martial Art of Transfiguration by Aimée Bienfaisance details the requisite techniques for using Transfiguration within a combative setting. A niche tome, this book is considered a masterpiece by those within its field, but is often the least profitable book in the Bienfaisance back catalogue. The republished edition of 2026 features an excerpt of her later work France's Battles Against Grindelwald which details the 1945 duel which resulted in her late husband's death (a retelling which ends just short of revealing how the duel ended, with Aimée only admitting "by my writing this novel, it should be evident who survived that duel").
Academic textbooks[]
- Nouveau manuel de métamorphose (The New Manual of Transfiguration)
- First published in 1982, A New Manual to Transfiguration is a set of school textbooks detailing all the requisite spells and knowledge required for the study of Transfiguration in each year at Beauxbatons Académie de Magie.
- A New Guide to Transfiguration is divided into the following levels:
- Nouveau manuel de métamorphose du débutant (The New Manual of Beginners Transfiguration).
- Nouveau manuel de métamorphose intermédiare (The New Manual of Intermediate Transfiguration).
- Nouveau manuel de métamorphose avancée (The New Manual of Advanced Transfiguration).
- Nouveau manuel de métamorphose supérieur (The New Manual of Superior Transfiguration).
Cover of the French edition of Les baitailles de France contre Gellert Grindelwald
Biographies[]
- Les baitailles de France contre Grindelwald (France's Battles Against Grindelwald)
- Published in 2024, France's Battles Against Grindelwald by Aimée Bienfaisance tells her own true story of fighting against Grindelwald's acolytes in the Global Wizarding War, while also touching on the aide given by the wizarding resistance forces to Muggles suffering under the attacks of both Gellert Grindelwald and Adolf Hitler. The publication of this novel gained much media attention in France, particularly due to the shocking revelation that a woman known mostly for her academic publications and teaching of the country's young wizarding population had quietly concealed the fact she was one of France's war heroes, a fact which had long been forgotten by all but the sage old population that had lived through it too.
| “ | I never believed Grindelwald could win, and luckily I was right. Our friend from England, Albus Dumbledore, managed to defeat him, and everyone in Paris was happy but I did not have the strength to enjoy happiness while my husband, who had died for the cause, could not enjoy it with me too. | „ |
| ~ Aimée Bienfaisance on Gellert Grindelwald, Les baitailles de France contre Gellert Grindelwald, 2024 |
Selected academic works and newspaper articles[]
- Baudelaire, A (1939). La morale de métamorphose - pourquoi il ne faut pas métamorphoser en gerbille Adolf Hitler. Métamorpho-Hebdo, 1484, p.5.
- Baudelaire, A. (1939). Morals in Transfiguration - Why We Should Not Transfigure Adolf Hitler Into A Gerbil (Translated & Reprinted). Transfiguration Today, 1868, p.3.
- Baudelaire, A (1940). Métamorphose - pourrait-elle nous aider contre la guerre?. Métamorpho-Hebdo, 1501, p.5.
- Baudelaire, A (1940). Transfiguration - can it help us against war? (Translated & Reprinted). Transfiguration Today, 1904, p.3.
- Baudelaire, A. (1941). Sortilèges ou métamorphose: pourquoi pas les deux?. Métamorpho-Hebdo, 1564, p.4.
- Baudelaire, A. (1941). Charms or Transfiguration: why not both? (Translated & Reprinted). Transfiguration Today, 1942, p.21.
- Baudelaire, A. (1942). Comment reconnaître un métamorphomage?. Métamorpho-Hebdo, 1614, p.15.
- Baudelaire, A. (1942). How to Recognise a Metamorphmagus? (Translated & Reprinted). Transfiguration Today, 1992, p.12.
- Bienfaisance, A. (1943). "LE PLUS GRAND BIEN" n'est pas pour le bien de personne!. Le Cri de la Gargouille, 24th February 1943, p.4.
- Bienfaisance, A. (1943). "THE GREATER GOOD" is not for the good of anyone! (Translated & Reprinted). The Daily Prophet, 26th February 1943, p.19.
- Bienfaisance, A. (1943). Il faut nous libérer des ténèbres. Le Cri de la Gargouille, 16th March 1943, p.3.
- Bienfaisance, A. (1943). We must save ourselves from the darkness. The Daily Prophet, 17th March 1943, p.9.
- Bienfaisance, A. (1946). Métamorphose humaine - ne faut-il que pour des déguisements ou plus?. Métamorpho-Hebdo, 1652, p.11.
- Bienfaisance, A. (1946). Human Transfiguration - is it only good for disguises? (Translated & Reprinted). Transfiguration Today, 2030, p.2.
Etymology[]
Bienfaisance's name can be considered to be a nod to her slightly hidden warm and friendly nature. Her forename, Aimée, is derived from the feminine past-participle of the French verb aimer, meaning to love, while her surname, Bienfaisance, translates into English as beneficence or benevolence.
Behind the Scenes[]
Aimée Bienfaisance is a character portrayed by Jack Nimble in the virtual world Second Life® @ Mischief Managed, a devotional sim created by Anya Ohmai and voluntarily maintained by various creative Administrators and players. You can find out more information here: http://mischiefmanagedsl.net
See also[]
- Le Front Libération des Non-Magiques
- Beauxbatons Academy of Magic
- Global Wizarding War
- Gellert Grindelwald
- Liberation of Paris
- St. Jours family