Your Nickname: Erika
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Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Primary
Full Character Name: Corentin "Corey" Benjamin Gaubert (pronounced Gaw-bear)
Character Birthday & Age: September 1, 1991 - 18 (making him the oldest student in his year).
City & Country of Birth: Calais, France (Calais Proper/Calais Nord)
Pureblood, Halfblood or Muggleborn: Muggleborn
House & Year: Beauxbatons 7th Year
Wand: black palm (for nature), kelpie mane hair core, springy, knobby
Physical Description: Corey is tall (6’2”), athletic and slender with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin from spending so much time out of doors. There are also several scars and tattoos that are hidden when he wears clothing.
In his most basic form, Corey is rugged and manly, having shed any remaining boyishness early in his sixth year. He has always seemed advanced at everything and for a long time he loomed over most of his classmates. More recently, they’ve caught up and he looks less out of place height wise, but he’s still built like a muggle athlete and still makes for an unlikely wizard. He lacks refinement and many wonder if there is any French in him at all. But there are moments when looking at him gives off the impression of prettyness.
The way he looksis often a reflection of how he’s feeling. When he wears his hair longish and sporting a soul patch or generally being unshaven, he’s in his rebellious mode and refusing to conform to everyone else. In the structure of Beauxbatons, he’s testing the boundaries of what he can get away with. But when he’s clean shaven and well dressed, Corey is feeling some sort of connection to the world that he lives in.
Personality Description: Corey has an unending desire for adventures and it’s a surprise that anyone’s managed to keep him still long enough to learn anything inside of a classroom. He's never claimed to be the smartest person around, but he's a sponge when it comes to hands on learning and he will work hard to apply himself and when surrounded by the right people academically, they can be a good influence on him. But contrary to what he gives himself credit for, Corey is quite intelligent and capable, especially in the more naturalistic subjects like Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Potions; he is simply painfully modest.
He is easy going and he tries to be optimistic, but some of that is a facade. He tries to maintain his distance from most of the people he comes across and even those he appears close with, there is still a bit of himself that he refuses to reveal to him for fear of what it might cost him in the long run. He believes he would rather be lonely and lessen the pain of anyone or thing being lost to him. There is a darkness and loneliness about him as many of his innermost thoughts and concerns he rarely voices. He has never wanted to be a burden and has rarely asked for anything in all of his 18 years. He tries to hide all of these things but even he admits that it’s hard to keep from being vulnerable in some way. To those he is close with, he lets down his guard, smiles, and even enjoys himself a little.
He’s protective over his close friends, especially female ones. Despite not growing up with manners and the like, he has a real sense of chivalry. But he does still, silently doubt motives of those around him and he constantly feels out of place in the world dominated by rich purebloods.
History: Many generations back, the Gaubert Family was an ordinary but respectable one in the French Wizarding world. They did not come from money, but were pure and that was enough for some people to be happy, along with attending Beauxbatons and becoming decent members of society. Eventually, they began to mingle and mix with the muggle world and during the time of the Dark Lord’s first rising, several branches actually left the magical world entirely in attempts to get away from the turmoil. Essentially, they faded themselves into obscurity.
Fast forward to more present times, Christophe Gaubert was the product of this defection and thus he grew up entirely in the muggle world. He was also the product of a line of squibs so it was no surprise when he did not showcase any magical abilities himself. It made the seemless transition into muggle life all the easier. Christophe went to school and eventually university, studying international relations. After graduating, he began to work as a liason to the British Embassy. He extensively traveled to the UK as well, spending time in London at the French Embassy there.
While in London, he met a lovely Irish woman, Bronwyn O’Shea, attending university. She was studying to become a teacher. They fell in love and married. Christophe was hoping to return to France with her to introduce her to his family. They had plenty of news to share besides their marriage. They were also expecting a child!
Unfortunately, on their return home, they had to stop in Calais due to complications with the pregnancy. The child, named Corentin, was born early and though he was relatively healthy, the mother never would be again. Bronwyn died not more than a year later. Christophe returned to his family in France with the boy. He never fully recovered from the loss of his wife, but he continued to provide for his family. For the most part, Corentin (nicknamed Corey) was cared for by his grandparents.
Corey was only a small child when his father came to pick him up one day from his grandparents home and all three were killed in the crossfire of the re-emergence of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord.
He was too young to understand what happened, but what he did know -- or what others now told him -- was that he had become an orphan overnight. In the following years, he was shuttled around to various foster homes and though he was never a problem child, he was a bit more sullen than most prospective parents wanted to deal with. There were also many unusual occurances involving Corey which left even the most caring foster parents baffled and wary of keeping him for too long.
As his 10th birthday drew near, Corey began to think that he would never be adopted and started to withdraw all the more from his peers and caretakers. He dreamed of the day when he could be free and run away to the circus or become a caretaker at a zoo, for he loved animals and was eager to talk to them whenever he was given the chance. A few months after his birthday, Corey was visited by an unusual man who informed him that he was special. Never in his life had Corey felt special so this was news to him. He was invited to attend a school, the man said. One that would help him to hone his special abilities.
Unbeknownst to Corey, his enrollment in Beauxbatons was not without its controversy. Many staunch purists were not in favor of it nor of a proposal that would use public funds to assist him. Some even thought that they should leave well enough alone and let him get lost in the muggle world shuffle. But those who had a conscience (and common sense) spoke out on how Corey should not only attend the school but be paid extra attention and care given his circumstances.
Thus, Corey became the special project of some notable French Wizards and their families. Several served as foster homes to him but as with his childhood in the muggle world, he rarely stayed in one place for long. For the most part, he didn’t have to, seeing as everything he needed was at school.
But even there he felt like an outsider from the very beginning. He was clearly different than most of his classmates and as much as he tried to do what his ancestors did -- fade into obscurity -- he stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. He didn’t dress like they did, he didn’t act like they did and for the most part, he didn’t have the same interests scholastically as they did. Corey was the oldest and usually the tallest in his year and overall he had a different air and look about him. He also excelled at different subjects than most of his classmates. Early on he found an aptitude for the more naturalistic subjects, even if they were not stressed or revered because they were not thought as being refined. Still, some professors were attentive and pointed him in the right direction, essentially helping him channel his talents and find a means to pursue them.
Corey dutifully performed in the other courses -- even the ettiquette, arts and refinemets that the school was known for. He knew he would never fit in, but everything has been a means to an ends for him. He is patiently biding his time so that he can get where he wants to go.
On his 17th birthday, Corey was more than happy to have reached the adult age and given chance, he decided not to return to “home” to his last foster care on his vacation time. Instead, he traveled and while the rest of his classmates gushed about the upcoming Tetra Wizard Tournament in the UK for the fall of his final year, Corey was more excited about the chance to travel throughout Eastern Europe to intern with dragon experts.
Why Was The Student Allowed/Permitted To Attend The Tournament??: Even a school known for their prim and proper ways must admit that they need someone like Corey around. He is strong and athletic and is one of the most skilled in his class when it comes to working with magical creatures and raw materials (herbology and potions). Corey has no qualms with that. He has no grandiose notions that winning will change his life in any way. And he, unlike some of his classmates, has very little arrogance regarding his school’s place at the top of the standings. He’s simply along for the ride because it appeals to his wandering soul.
Writing Sample: See Myrni Levartian
Sum up your character in one paragraph: Wandering soul struggling to find peace. He’s a wandering soul struggling to find peace. He’s an outsider and a scrapper who has learned to survive with very little and he treds a fine line between opening himself up and closing himself off.
Corey Gaubert: Beauxbaton Seventh Year