Hello everyone, and thank you for checking out this new story! Before you read the first chapter, I'm going to throw in just a bit of background information. The main character's name is Alexandria Crouch, and she is the daughter of Barty Crouch Sr. I plan to rewrite the entirety of the Goblet of Fire from her point of view as a student. It will be a behind the scenes look at what really happens with the Crouch family during the tri-wizard tournament. The story opens during the summer after POA, and before the Quidditch World Cup. And with that, I'll let you get back to the story. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1 – Family Ties
"Miss Crouch... it is time to wake! Miss Crouch! You must wake now!"
I stirred in my bed, trying to remember the dream I had been having. It was something to do with an owl, I think. It was flying somewhere close to the ocean. Or maybe it was a lake. No, that didn't seem right…
"Miss Crouch! Mr. Crouch has sent for you to be woken miss… you mustn't keep him waiting… not on a day like today…"
I reluctantly opened one of my eyes and stared up into the wide eyes of Winky, my family's house elf. I could sense the urgency in her voice, and now I could see it plastered all over her small face. My mind quickly wondered to what kind of death threats my dear old father had threatened her with to get me to come down to breakfast.
"Mr. Crouch has sent Winky to bring you to breakfast. I is to make sure you put on something decent of company, I is." Winky walked away over to my wardrobe, and began searching for an outfit worthy of whatever company she was referring to.
"Who's comin'?" I mumbled, my voice still thick from sleep. I pulled the blankets back over my head to try and block out the light pouring in from my large bedroom windows.
"Percy Weasley, M'lady." Winky was now busying herself removing the wrinkles from a long black dress. I removed my head from under my blankets and stared at the little elf for a long moment, trying to rid myself of the drowsiness I was still experiencing. Was I supposed to know why a Weasley would be coming to breakfast with my father and myself? And why would it be important enough to warrant my presence?
"I'm sorry, but why would—"
I was cut off as Winky hurried towards my bed to try and pull me out of it. Even though the weak arms of the elf would never be able to move me, I gave in and started moving in the direction she was pulling me. I climbed out of bed, and moved to where she had lain the dress and started clumsily pulling it on.
"Mr. Weasley is Mr. Crouch's new assistant, he is," began Winky. "He is coming here to get his first assignment. Mr. Crouch wants to make a good impression. Mr. Crouch wants Winky to make sure master's family is well presented to our guest."
"Of course he does," I thought aloud. 'Mr. Crouch' was always so set on presenting his family well—what's left of it that is. If only our family was ever presented in a way that showed what it truly was. But at the same time, I doubt it would go over very well with my father's new assistant if our family was presented as one who was harboring an escaped convict who was presumed to be dead. No, I doubt, 'Mr. Crouch' would like that family image at all.
"If you is ready, miss, we is already late to arrive", whined Winky. I took one last look in my full length mirror. The plain, black, knee-length dress did nothing to help my boyish figure, but I assume that's why Winky picked this out. It was definitely a dress my father would approve of, that was for sure. My long, wavy black hair hung in tangles over my shoulders, but I didn't care much about trying to fix it. My blue eyes were still a bit puffy, and you could definitely tell that I had only been awake about 5 minutes at the most. I threw on a long black robe over the dress, and turned away from my less than satisfactory reflection.
I followed Winky out of my bedroom, and closed the door behind me. As we walked down to the dining room, I could barely hear the sound of feet pacing back and forth a floor above my head. Barty must be awake, I should probably visit him for a while after breakfast. We descended the stairs quickly, and Winky and I parted ways as she headed in the opposite direction towards the kitchens. As I came closer to the dining room, I could begin to hear voices.
"…That's the same thing I was telling father just yesterday, you know. I told him that my boss, Mr. Crouch, had a differing view on the matter and he would be smart to acknowledge the opinion of a wiser man. But I daresay he doesn't quite understand..."
"Ahh, and here is my daughter, finally awake I see. Weatherby, this is my daughter, Alexandria. Alexandria, Weatherby." My father gestured towards Percy Weasley, whose face began to grow red as he looked at me. It took a huge amount of effort to not laugh out loud at the look on his face.
"Of course. It's so nice to meet you, Weatherby." I smirked at him as I moved forward to shake his hand.
"Er—it's Weasley, actually... I…"
"Come now both of you, sit down, sit down. Let's eat, shall we? Winky!" The three of us sat down on one end of our long dining table—my father on the end, Percy and me on either of his sides.
As I sat down across from Percy, I couldn't help but to notice how shabby he looked next to my immaculately dressed father. His robes looked old and weathered, and his hair was sticking in every direction despite the fact that it was cut fairly short. His eyes kept looking between my father and me, and he looked as if he had begun to say something but then thought against it.
Percy Weasley really was as odd as I remember him being. Of course, I didn't have much to go on. The only true memory I had of him was him giving me a detention in second year for being out of the common room too late at night. But other than that, all I remembered was that he was a bit of a suck up, and that nobody seemed to like him. Which, that might have just been because he was a Weasley. Being in Slytherin house, you rarely heard the name 'Weasley' without a negative remark being attached to it.
I did know enough about him to know that he had just left his final year at Hogwarts, where he had been a Gryffindor. I thought they were all supposed to be brave and annoyingly confident? I was rather shocked at how nervous and awkward this poor guy seemed. I mean, I know my father could be intimidating, but I had never seen somebody be quite so fidgety. I watched as he removed his napkin to place it in his lap, and knocked his fork onto the floor in the process. Instead of calmly picking it up, like any normal person would do, he made a kind of screeching noise and dashed completely under the table to retrieve it. He then emerged uttering many apologies for his lack of grace. My father looked up as if he hadn't even seen the display, which I reminded myself, he probably hadn't.
Winky strolled into the dining room carrying trays of food. Sausages, buttered toast, and a small container of gravy were set on the table, and Winky disappeared to retrieve a pitcher of pumpkin juice. She started circling the table, filling up everyone's goblet with the drink.
I could not remember the last time that my father and I had had a meal together alone. Every time we had sat together at this audacious table, it was always because we had some form of company. My father was slightly obsessed with making the world believe that we had a normal, functional family. Any other time he was far too happy to leave me alone completely. A typical breakfast for me normally meant waking up somewhere around noon and going down to the kitchens to have a bowl of 'Cheeri Owls' alone.
My thoughts were interrupted as Percy knocked over his goblet of pumpkin juice all over the contents of his plate. I watched as the gravy mixed with the juice to make it resemble some kind of orange mud. I couldn't help but laugh while watching him frantically try to clean his mess. When I caught my father's eye, I quickly raised my napkin to my face and tried to pass my giggles off as a coughing fit.
"Not to worry, not to worry… accidents do happen. Winky!" The little elf came sprinting into the room as if she had been standing on the other side of the door just waiting to be summoned. Which I reminded myself, she probably had been. She quickly moved forward and started cleaning the mess on the table. When she had finished, she retreated from the room and brought Percy another goblet of pumpkin juice. He took the cup from her, his face as red as his hair, and muttered another quick apology.
My father cleared his throat, and gestured for Winky to leave. "No harm done, Weatherby. But if you will allow me, I believe we shall proceed to speaking about the business that I have invited you to hear. As I'm sure you know, there is much work to be done in the fight for international regulation. Tell me, what do you know on the subject of Cauldron thickness?"
ooooOOOOOoooo
The sun was shining brightly from the middle of the sky as I started walking down the familiar road towards my best friend's house a few hours later. I had just managed to sneak past my father and Weatherby as they were making their way into the sitting room after breakfast for tea. My father had forced me to remain at the table for far too long after I had finished eating while the two of them discussed the party that would soon take place.
Every year that the Quidditch World Cup had ever been held in Britain, a grand party was held between the teams, their families, and a select amount of people from their country's ministries who were deemed important enough to be invited. And as luck would have it, that included my father and me. This very party was taking place tonight, exactly a week before the Cup, and absolutely no part of me was interested in attending.
Growing up as a pureblood, parties such as these were something you got used to fast. And if your father was as high up in the Ministry of Magic as mine was, they came about even more frequently. I prided myself in managing to get out of quite a few of them, but this one would be different. There was absolutely no way I would be able to wiggle my way out with any kind of excuse, not when so much pressure was being placed on my father from the Minister. I would just have to grin and bear it. Before I had left the house moments before, my father had excused himself from his business with Percy and pulled me aside.
"Where do you think you're going?" He had whispered.
"Umm… I was just going to go see Cecelia for a while. I haven't been over there yet this summer." His hold on my arm loosened slightly.
"Very well… but you be sure to be back here early enough to make yourself look presentable. The World Cup party is tonight and we are expected to be at Malfoy Manor promptly at 7. I expect you to not embarrass me," he narrowed his eyes at me for a moment, and then dropped my arm as he headed back into the room where Percy was standing waiting awkwardly.
It was common knowledge in our household that my father was disappointed in the majority of things I did. You'd think after the problems he had out of his other child that he would see me as a joy in comparison, but obviously that wasn't the case. My father prided himself on being the face of a rule-abiding citizen, and he wanted his daughter to be just as pompous and perfect in all of her endeavors as he seemed to be. If anything, the failure of his first born child had instilled a feeling in my father that caused him to expect me to be twice as successful to make up for it. Even though I was one of the most talented witches of my year, my father still wanted more from me. Sometimes I felt as If I could be appointed as Minister of Magic at the age of 14 and still be considered a disappointment in my father's eyes.
I rounded the corner of our lane, and continued on my way to Cecelia's house. Cecelia Selwyn was from another pureblood family almost as old as the one in which I belonged. We were in the same year at Hogwarts, and were also dorm mates. She had been my close friend while we were growing up, due to the fact that our homes were the only two in the area that were really within walking distance of each other.
Just about every pureblood family owned a manor in this same area of Britain. It was a place of beautiful rolling hills, patches of forest, and even a gorgeous river that flowed closely behind my house—which had always been one of my favorite places to get away from my father and brother over the summer holidays. Even though the majority of purebloods lived here, their individual manors were spaced far apart. Privacy was a valued trait among these people.
I was now close enough to the Selwyn's land to see the tall home start to peek out from behind the trees. Not much had changed about the old manor since I had been a little girl playing in the yard with Cecelia and her younger sister, Anneliese. I walked up the narrow path towards the house, and when I got up to the door, gave three loud knocks with the serpent-shaped knocker.
Cecilia's mother came to the door and pulled it open quickly. When she saw me, the fake smile she had plastered to her face faltered slightly, and then went back to being perfect. I could tell that I was not who she was expecting. Her short, blonde curls bounced slightly as she nodded towards me saying "Ohh hello dear, I wasn't expecting to see you here today. Shouldn't you be home getting ready for the party"?
"I won't be long. I just wanted to talk to Cecelia for a while, if that's okay?" I looked at the woman closely, trying to gauge what she was thinking. I often felt as if she didn't approve of the friendship I had with her daughter.
"Of course, dear. She's just upstairs getting ready." She ushered me inside, and took another long look down the pathway leading up to her door before she closed it and turned back to me. "Why don't you go on up"?
I walked past her up the spiral staircase towards Cecelia's bedroom, as I had done loads of times in the past. The house was quite a bit smaller than the ancient house in which I lived, but it was decorated far more luxuriously. There was detailed molding along the edges of the ceiling, and delicate designs were painted on the walls of the landing as I walked along towards my destination. I guess it was what came of having a woman's touch around to do the decorating. It had been a long time since my mother was around to decorate for us, and it definitely showed.
"Alex!" Cecelia had heard me coming down the landing, and was now skipping towards me. She caught me in a bone-crushing hug, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Lacking any family other than a distant father and a brother I wasn't allowed to be around meant that I wasn't used to such displays of affection. "I haven't seen you in ages, how has your holiday been?"
"It's been fine, I guess. I was hoping I'd catch you. You're mum said that you had already started getting ready for the party. Isn't it a bit early?" I peeked around her into her bedroom and saw a huge display of makeup on her large vanity.
"It's never too early when beauty is concerned," Cecelia said with a giggle. "Speaking of beauty, did you just come from a funeral?" She eyed my long, plain, black dress and robe with a disgusted expression.
"Er—no. You know how I have to look when my father's around," I answered.
"Yeah, like a nun," Cecelia laughed at her own joke. "But really, it's not even that early. You do realize what time it is don't you? You're going to be late. I assume you're not wearing that to the party."
I grimaced as I looked at the clock over by her bed. I really was pushing it on time. But I honestly didn't care what I looked like to go sit with my father's friends all night and be ignored. It's not like it matters what you look like if nobody looks at you. "I'm sure my father would love if I showed up late. He already managed to tell me not to embarrass him once today."
"Sounds like the Barty Crouch I know," Cecelia said, as she went back to doing her hair at the vanity. "I'm surprised he even let you come over here. Even my mother has been a mess today worrying about that party, and she's not got near the pressure on her as your father does. I can't imagine a more important time for the head of the department of international cooperation than the Quidditch World Cup. Mum just works for the animagus registry. I don't even know why we're invited really…"
"Right. Was your mum expecting a visitor today?" I asked, trying to keep the amount of curiosity I felt out of my voice. "She acted a bit disappointed when she opened the door and saw me."
Cecelia snorted. "Probably her new 'boyfriend' I expect. She won't tell me who it is, but I can tell that she's been seeing someone. She's as transparent as water". Cecelia's dad had died long ago in an accident with the department of magical law enforcement. Since then her mother had dated her fair share of men, but none of them had stayed around long enough to get to know Cecelia or her sister very well. Cecelia didn't act like it, but I was always able to tell that it bothered her. "You know, I'm almost done with my hair and makeup. Want me to do yours"? She gave me a look as if to say I had no choice in the matter. I scowled at the thought of it. "Ohh come on, Alex, I'll be so much faster than you'd be and I'll do a better job at it too. That way all you'll have to do when you get home is put on your dress robes."
I sighed, but then nodded reluctantly. I knew this was a fight that I would never win. As much as I didn't value looks, Cecelia was the opposite. And she was not about to be seen at a party such as this with someone who didn't match her in fashion. "Fine, but do not make me look like a prostitute. Keep it semi-natural."
"Sure thing," said Cecelia, but I could tell by the wide grin that stretched across her face that she didn't hear a thing I said. I sat down in front of her mirror and readied myself for the onslaught. "Wait," she said at once, "turn away from the mirror, I want it to be a surprise!"
"Fine…" I did not like the way this was going.
She worked on me for a few minutes in silence. I felt many differently sized brushes and liquids moving all across my face as she concentrated hard on her project.
"I can't wait to see everyone dressed up. It's been so long since we've been invited to a party, and I don't think I've ever been to one as extravagant as this one will be! I wonder who all will be there. And what the decorations will look like! Ohh and I really hope they have a…" I let her go on with her excited rant for a few minutes, only halfway listening. The whole time I was willing her to stop applying stuff to my face.
She eventually moved on to my hair, and I could feel her struggling against the stubborn knots. "I do hope there are some good looking guys there. I mean, we do get to meet the entirety of the Quidditch teams! There's nothing better than an athlete. But then again, I doubt any of them will be as handsome as Draco is bound to be. I wonder what he'll wear. And if Pansy will be there! Ohh, I hadn't thought of that…"
"How's Oliver?" I asked her pointedly. Oliver Pucey was her longtime boyfriend, and was in the same year at Hogwarts as Cecelia and me. I always got the feeling that their relationship was more political than romantic, especially since Cecelia loved to brag about how she was dating him. He came from a very wealthy and old wizarding pureblood family, and his family had a lot of power at the ministry.
"Ohh… he's fine. He's spending the holiday with his parents in Greece. He's been trying to get them to let him come back early for the Cup, but I doubt he'll be able to." She tugged hard on my head, trying to tame the impossible mess of hair. I couldn't help but wonder if she would be glad if he didn't come so that she would be free to flirt with one of the players tonight.
"That's too bad, I know how much he loves Quidditch." I remembered back to when he tried out for the Slytherin team in 2nd year, but Malfoy beat him to the spot of seeker because of his dear old dad. Oliver still held a grudge against him, and rightfully so. I would too if a less talented player beat me out of being on a team because of his power.
"And with that, I think you are finished! I have to admit this is some of my best work," she sprayed my hair down with some kind of sticky spray.
"What is that?" I coughed out to her.
"It's called 'hairspray'. It's something that muggle women use to make their hair stay in place. It actually works pretty well. It's a trick mum taught me." She spun me around so that I could finally see myself in her mirror. I couldn't help but gasp a bit. I barely recognized myself. My makeup was a little heavier than I would have liked, but I couldn't help but admire how polished it made my skin look. She had made my eyes very dark and smokey, and my lips were red. The color stood out beautifully against my pale skin. My dark hair was twisted back into an elaborate waterfall of curls that flowed down my back.
"Wow, Cece, I almost look good." I looked up to her and beamed. "Thank you, I owe you one."
"Yes you do," she laughed, "you have no idea how hard it was to get your hair to do anything."
"I better head home and change," I said as I glanced over to the clock. Even with Cecelia's help I'd be pushing my luck on time.
"Okay, I'll see you there! Don't ruin my masterpiece in the meantime." she gave me a stern look before disappearing into the bathroom to finish getting ready herself.
I quickly left the room, and went down the stairs and out the front door. I sped home as quickly as I could, trying not to move my head too much and ruin my hair. I knew I was pushing it already hoping that this muggle 'hair spray' would last until I made it to the party.
When I finally made it back home, I was alarmed to see that the door was slightly ajar. I pushed it aside, and eased into the house. Nothing seemed wrong, but still. I knew my father would never leave the door open and unattended in that way, and Winky would know better than to do it herself. I started making my way through the house, and checked all of the rooms on the lowest floor. Nobody was around.
"Father?" I called as I walked up the stairs to the second floor. "Winky?" The second floor landing was dark, and it was as quiet here as it was downstairs. I looked in my father's bedroom and found it empty. I moved on up to the third floor, now getting slightly more nervous and reaching to be sure that my wand was still tucked away inside my robes. Winky, who slept in a small closet-sized room at the end of the third floor landing, was also not in her room. "Hello?" I called again.
It was then that I heard a cry of pain. It was a high pitched, ear splitting scream. I froze instantly, looking around in shock. I quickly realized the direction in which it was coming from, and turned towards the distant room where my brother was kept. When I entered the room, I saw three figures inside: my brother, cowering in the far corner, had an oddly content look on his face; my father was standing in the middle of the large room over a crumpled, smaller figure on the floor at his feet; the small figure, I then noticed was Winky. She was weeping into her hands, laying in almost a fetal position on the floor.
"Master… Winky is so sorry, master… Master is right to punish Winky, sir. I should have known not to leave young Mr. Crouch alone, sir… please forgive Winky," the elf wept, and used what little strength it had to crawl towards my father's feet. She then reached out to touch him, but before she could reach him—
"Crucio!" Winky shook on the floor, her huge eyes bulging wider than they normally were. The ear splitting scream rang in the old house again, this time even louder. She continued to writhe on the floor, my father looking over her with no amount of pity for the house elf. After a few more seconds, Winky stopped moving. I presumed that she had passed out from the pain.
I looked over to my brother, who was watching me intently. It had been a long time since I had been in this room. Normally, the only times I saw him was when I would sneak up here to talk to him while my father was out. He smiled at me softly, completely not affected by the scene he had just witnessed, and casually mumbled "Hey, Alex."
My father looked over to me, and his eyes narrowed. He then walked over to my brother, and kicked him hard in the stomach. As he fell to the ground with a groan, my father rounded on me again. I thought he was going to punish me next, and for a wild moment I even thought he might tell me what had happened with my brother and Winky. But I knew better than that. My father was not one to explain his reasons to us. As he looked at me, his face quickly changed from one of cold fury to the one of polite indifference that he normally had.
"Alexandria… go and get dressed in something nicer," he told me. "Something appropriate. I want to make a good impression on the Irish and Bulgarian Ministers. We're leaving soon." Then he walked by me out of the room, holding the door open for me to follow. I reached down to pick up Winky, and carried her in my arms out of the room. With one quick look behind me at my brother, who was still smiling up at me, I let my father lock him in behind us. Still carrying Winky, I walked quickly to my bedroom to finish getting ready for the party, and to slip back into the role that I was so used to playing.
Well, how did you all like the first chapter? I know it wasn't the most exciting, but it included a lot of important background information and character development that I wanted to get out of the way. The next chapter will be much more action packed, and will cover what happens at the Quidditch World Cup party!
I am for sure going to write the entirety of GOF from Alex's point of view, and depending on how it turns out, also plan to rewrite the last 3 books as well. I already have the entire GOF portion mapped out, and I'm so excited for what I have planned for her!
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this chapter, and I hope you stick around to find out what happens with Alex! I've already started on the next chapter, so it should be up in just a few days at the most. In the meantime, I would love a review! This is my first ever fanfiction, so I need all the helpful criticism you can think of. (: