Chapter Text
1960-1971
Kassandra Desdemonia Crouch was born on January 1st, 1960 to pure blood wizards Bartemius and Amaltheia Crouch. She inherited the recessive gene of emerald green eyes from her mother, and the dark brunette hair and bronzed pale skin of her father.
Her father had been the heir to the ancient and noble pureblood house that was Crouch. The ancient family was part of the long established legacy named, The Sacred Twenty-eight; a group of families whose blood was “pure”, meaning they only originated from only wizarding ancestors, didn’t have connections with muggles, muggleborns, or blood traitors, and upheld this legacy and honor.
Then, a year and a half following the birth of the young Crouch daughter, on July 21st of 1962, Kassandra’s younger brother, Bartemius Crouch Jr, who was named after his father was born. He too, was destined for greatness. But even more so due to the fact that he was the heir.
From the day she was born, young Kassandra’s life was thus far planned out for her; her being the sole heir and as being born into a magical family meant she would attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry the summer following the day she turned 11 years old. And once she finally graduated and was now seventeen years of age, she would find a job at the Ministry of Magic, where a fine spot was already secured for her with her pure blood ancestry and her fathers high rank in the ministry -the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement-
As the years passed and the two children began to grow older, the expectations for them grew; and education was a prominent factor.
The day Kassiopiea turned three years old, the house elves began to teach the small Kassandra the basics, like the alphabet and holding things such as a wand. And as she got older, the girl learned to read, write, and speak properly.
She also learned many simple spells and potions under the orders of her father. Old Bartemius Crouch didn’t care that they would learn all the different charms and spells they were being taught at Hogwarts. He wanted his children to be ahead of the other kids that would be in their year. But there was a defect; there was a strict policy that any wizard or witch under the age of seventeen could not perform magic outside of their school. But Kassandra’s father didn’t care one bit; and being the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he had the power to let his children perform magic nevertheless that they were underage.
The Crouch children took exams and tests on the things they learned regularly. And when they weren’t learning or testing, they would either be studying, reading, or practicing magic; except for the occasional times they would be outside flying on their broomsticks.
The Crouch children’s mother, Amaltheia, believed there was more to learning and life than just brains and wits, as when she was younger, she was an exceptionally talented beater for the Ravenclaw quidditch team. She taught her children how to fly rather than letting them figure it out themselves, as she aspired to create a real and lasting bond with her children, much unlike her husband, who merely cared for their success. Amaltheia’s ways of parenting deeply contrasted to Barty Sr’s. She taught her children manners, muggle ways of doing things, and how to treat other people. Old Barty focused specifically on his kids' education and one other thing.
Rules.
As the years passed, Barty’s rules grew more and more strict. Earlier curfews, less leisure hours along with increased work, and who the kids talked to.
He was never much a blood supremacist, in the sense that other families, like the Blacks and Carrows were. But he certainly had pride in his heritage. He restricted his son and daughter from muggles, muggleborn children nearby, and even occasionally halfbloods. He did not much for the sake of his offsprings views on others, but rather to save face. He refused his children to be known as blood traitors, a term used for those of pureblood heritage who disobeyed their bloodline and interfered with muggle practices and people.
Bartemius was rarely seen around the house, due to his job at the ministry. And during the times he was home, he would be locked in his study the entirety before returning back to work. He never paid his children or even his wife much mind, other than their education.
Other families would often gossip about the family, for any thought it seemed unreal for a bright and cheery woman like Amaltheia to settle for a stuck up workaholic like Barty. Others took note of how the kids were raised.
It wasn’t uncommon for pureblood families (specifically those part of the Sacred Twenty-eight) to be ridiculously harsh on their children, but there were a small handful of families within the Sacred that were to a higher magnitude. Families like the Rosiers, Abbots, and Prewetts were certainly blood supremacists, kept their children away from muggles and blood traitors and taught them all about blood supremacy. But for the most part, their children lived relatively normal lives as kids. Depending on the family, most would play around like normal children did, learn the basics of life, and begin to establish small friendships with others. But families like the Crouchs and most notably, the Blacks, were extraordinarily hard on their children.
The Black family was presumed by many; the worst and despotic pureblood family when it came to their social and familial ties. They were by far, the most extreme blood supremacists, made use of the unforgivable curses (this was just a rumor but no one doubted it), and were particularly stuck up and snobby. The entire family was also highly inbred, more so than other pureblood families. Many pureblood families were, however, as there were few pureblood families in the magical world; so in order to keep their bloodline pure, many were forced to marry different cousins and others.
And as the years went by, specifically nearing the time Kassandra would star school, Amaltheia grew horribly sick. She had an unknown disease and couldn't move around the way she used to. Her body constantly felt weak, she would always be coughing, and as time went on the symptoms grew worse.
Barty was only seen if they were lucky, once a week by his children, Barty Jr was growing more defiant, and Kassandra was keen on following the rules and trying to make her parents proud.
While young Barty was becoming more and more rebellious, specifically towards his father, talking back, avoiding studies, sneaking off on his broom, Kassandra tried her best to be the “good girl”. She knew she was their heir and she had made a promise to herself that she would never dishonor her family and uphold the Crouch name. She did it for her mother - Kassandra knew she was sick and perhaps even dying; she wanted to make her mother proud of her and keep her happy until she died. And she did it for her father in hopes that if she accomplished enough- maybe she would finally get the attention and recognition she so longed for. Every shout from her father felt like a bullet and every mistake made her seem like a failure - which kept her up most nights.