PROLOGUE
A BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
May 31st, 1971
Today was the day that she had been waiting for. From the moment that she had learned about being a witch, Elspeth Crouch had been counting down the days until it was finally her eleventh birthday. This birthday was a milestone year for her because on this very day, she would get her letter to Hogwarts, the school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Elspeth had been dreaming of Hogwarts since her mother had first told her about the school. She had dreamt of the gorgeous castle, where she would spend seven years of her life, the Forbidden Forest, where magical creatures lurked in the shadows. Elspeth had grown up on her mother's stories, and she hoped that one day, she would be able to do the same in the future.
But she couldn't dream anymore until she knew for certain that she was going to get her letter.
She had yet to show any magical ability, which was rare for a child of a witch and a wizard, but it was not unheard of. Elspeth shuddered at the thought of being a squib. She had nothing against them, but she did not want to see the look on her father's face if she did not get her letter.
Once again, Elspeth, you have disappointed me. She had heard that phrase so much that she replayed it over and over in her head. She never meant to disappoint her father, it had just seemed to happen. She could envision an event that had occurred when she was only seven. She had drawn her father a picture of their family, and she could not deny that the picture was not the best, but she had put her heart into that drawing and she could only hope that her father would smile and tell her that he loved it. But that was not the case. Once again, Elspeth, you have disappointed me. That was the first time her father had ever spoken those words to her, and unfortunately, it would not be the last. Those were the words that would always come out of his mouth when he chose to acknowledge her.
There was only one thing that Barty Crouch Sr. was good at and that was ignoring his children. Elspeth could never remember a time when her father hugged his children or told them that he loved him. Her father just wasn't the loving type. He was cold and distant. There was only one person that he ever dared to show any affection and that was his wife, Adora, and even than that was limited.
Elspeth had always wondered how her mother could have married a cruel man. Adora Crouch was loving and kind, a complete opposite of her husband. She was the light to her husband's darkness. Her father would even tell Adora that she was his light in the shroud of darkness that was sweeping its way across the wizarding community.
She could go through the lists of reason why she adored her mother more than her father, but she had other things to do. She needed to go downstairs and see if her letter had arrived from Hogwarts yet. Elspeth looked at her clock, which told her that it was exactly 9 o'clock, an hour later than when the post came in the morning. She hurriedly pushed back the covers and hopped out of bed. She waited a moment and began to wonder if she should change out of her pajamas, but her clothes could wait. She was on a mission, and nothing could deter her from it.
Elspeth reached for the door knob, readying herself to fling it open and bound towards the stairs, but as she opened the door, she saw her little brother standing in the doorway, his tiny fist raised as if he was about to knock. At the sight of him, Elspeth smiled. Barty's blonde hair was a tousled mess, strands sticking up every which way. He had looked like he had just gotten out of bed, but Elspeth could smell a faint trace of orange, which meant that he had just come from the dining room.
"Good morning, Barty! It's a lovely day isn't it?" she asked. Barty gave her an odd look at the excitement that dripped from her voice, but he chose to ignore it.
"Mum wants you to come downstairs and eat, Ellie," said her brother. He opened his mouth, and Elspeth believed that he was going to continue, but he yawned instead.
She waited a few moments to see if that was all he was going to say. "Is that all?"
"That's all Mum told me to tell you," he answered. He shifted his weight from one foot to another and Elspeth knew that he wanted to go back to his room.
"Did she say if I had gotten a letter?" she asked. Her voice dripped with hope and whether her brother realized this or not, he chose to ignore it.
"I don't know, Ellie,' he shrugged. He turned to go and he left her standing in her doorway.
She took a deep, steadying breath and she made her way towards the stair. As she took each step, she said encouraging things in her mind. Everything's going to be okay Ellie. Mum might have not told Barty if she had gotten her letter or not. She might have wanted it to be a surprise. But those encouraging words didn't stop the dread at the back of her mind. What if she didn't get her letter? What if she really was a squib? What would her father say about having a daughter that was a squib?
But she pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind. She had reached the dining room, and Elspeth saw that all of her favorite dishes had been made. Her mother was sitting down, a plate of eggs in front of her, and reading The Daily Prophet. The post had arrived than, she thought to herself as she took her seat across from her mother. Adora folded the newspaper and set it to the right of her eggs and she folded her hands in her lap. Her eyes searched Elspeth's face and it was almost like she could see how worried her daughter was.
"What's wrong, love?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.
Elspeth sighed and looked down towards her empty plate. "I'm worried about my Hogwarts letter, Mum. What if it doesn't come? What if I'm really a squib?"
A silence fell over the two and Elspeth waited for her mother to say something. She wanted to hear her soothing voice tell her that everything was going to be okay. That she would still love her if she was indeed a squib. After a few more seconds, Adora spoke.
"You mean this letter?"
Elspeth's head snapped up and her eyes widened at the sight of the letter that her mother was holding. She quickly reached across the table and grabbed the letter, her eyes taking it in. She couldn't believe it. It had actually arrived. She was indeed a witch, there could be no doubt surrounding that anymore.
"I'm going to Hogwarts," she said in disbelief. "I'm actually a witch."
She was finally going to the place that she had dreamed of going to since she was young. She was finally going to be able to call herself a witch.
She was finally ready to make her father proud.
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading the prologue to Blue Velvet! I hope you guys like the story so far and I hope that you will like what I have planned for this story. Now the next chapter is going to be when Elspeth is going to Hogwarts, but after that chapter, we will go forwards in time to her sixth year. I am so excited to be writing this story because the Crouch family has always been intriguing to me, and I hope that I can depict just how much Barty Crouch Sr. ignored his family. I also have a cast for who I think should play certain characters, so if you would like to see that, please comment below. Thank you all so much for reading this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! All rights belong to J.K. Rowling! I only own Elspeth Crouch and any other characters I choose to create!