Tina was born in the wee hours of a cold December morning to Philllipe and Madeline Dantes, an Auror and a homemaker, respectively. .Although her family never had much money, Tina’s early years were happy. She was a precocious child who learned to read at an early age. She had an especially close relationship with her father. Whenever he had to leave for a work assignment, he would bring her back a stuffed animal (hence her collection). But that all changed.

Shortly after Tina’s sixth birthday, her dad was killed in the line of duty. Tina, despite being too young to fully understand what happened, tried to help her mother around the house and make her happy again, but Mme. Dantes was ill-equipped to handle her husband’s death and a child with budding magical abilities. After the death of her mother three years later, Tina, having no other living relatives, was sent to Chateau Croyance, a home for orphaned French wizarding children. The home was run by Andre Evremonde, a former Beauxbatons professor, and his family, who helped Tina work through her anger over her situation and introduced her to the arts. Although they were kind to her, Tina never truly felt she belonged there.

On her 11th birthday, Tina was accepted to Beauxbatons. She looked forward to going to school, learning magic, and making friends. She was sorted into Bellefeuille and discovered a love for quidditch. She played Beater in her 2nd-4th years, and although Tina never wanted power, the title made her feel important for the first time in her life… but all good things come to an end.

During her time at Beauxbatons, Tina met a boy named Cassius Rosier, who was two years ahead of her. Despite their different backgrounds, the pair became fast friends and were inseparable for three years. At the start of Tina’s fourth year, Cassius was made prefect, and she started to notice a change in her friend. Things came to a head at the end of the year when Tina learned of a prank Cassius and a few of the other student leaders had planned. She tried to stop them, but she was too late. The culprits ran, and Tina got blamed. She expected her friend to vouch for her, but instead Cassius claimed she was behind the prank; the others backed him up. When Tina confronted him about it, Cassius said he lied because taking the blame would hurt his chances of becoming Head Boy.

Tina was stripped of her quidditch position as punishment for the prank, and having lost her friend, her good reputation, and her validation, she decided there was nothing left for her at Beauxbatons and reluctantly transferred to Hogwarts.