1974

The Crouch family dining room descended in a shallow silence. The girl was glaring hard at the table as she visibly shook while the boy stared death in the face.

"Bartemius, he didn't mean anything by it-" Mother tried.

"Yes, I did," the boy snarled.

"Father, don't-" a girl said.

"Do you wish to be with your brother too, girl?" Father asked venomously.

"Yes," she snapped. "If it means we can get away from you, then yes!"

There was a startled pause. Mother's eyes were shining and wide, a hand clasped over her mouth while the other clutched Father's arm. A silent plea.

"Go to your room," he ordered, jaw ticking.

The girls' fingers curled around the edges of the table. "Not without-"

Her breath hitched as a hand snapped over the table and roughly grabbed her face, blunt fingers digging into her jaw. "I did not ask you, girl! Now go to your room before you make it worse for yourself."

"You're a vile creature," she spat, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her heart was thudding against her ribcage but she still found the courage to stare back.

"Gwen," her brother spoke softly. "Just go. I will see you tonight."

As soon as Father ceased his hold on her, Gwendolyn did. And it might have been the biggest regret of her life.

1976

Gwen was not ecstatic to return to Hogwarts, not by a mile, but it was a stretch to the feeling she got when she was at home. At home she had Mother, possibly the only person she could say she truly loved anymore since her brother left. She made it easier to be around Father. He was softer - still a harsh and demanding man, but feeling her Mother's presence nearby made it easier to bear.

She had her luggage hauled over her shoulder as she said her goodbyes to her parents.

"Goodbye, my love." Mother was tearful as she held her daughter's shoulders and looked up at her. She was a short frail woman, her long hair always pinned in a neat bun. "I'll see you for Christmas break."

"I'll write to you as often as I can," Gwen said with a genuine smile.

She pulled away to meet the stern face of Bartemius Crouch. "I expect great things from you, Gwendolyn," he said, hands clasped stiffly behind his back. "I do not wish to receive more letters from Dumbledore informing me of your transgressions, nor do I want you failing your classes like last year."

"Yes, Father."

"It's a new year, my girl." His lip twitched. Into a smile or a grimace, she couldn't tell. "Fifth-year is the time you will decide what you want to do."

Mother gently nudged Father's shoulder. "Come on, darling," she said. "Let her catch a seat on the train."

The man cleared his throat. "Right. Of course." He tried for an actual smile this time. Mother was the only person he listened to besides his superiors at the Ministry. Despite her general quietness, she always spoke up if Father was being too harsh with Gwen. "I'll see you in a couple of months, my girl."

Gwen nodded and hugged her Mother one last time before turning to board her train.

Father was right, though she hated to admit it. This was the year she needed to choose what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Father always insisted she join the Ministry and follow in his footsteps despite her clear hatred for it, but he softened his dedication for her future at the end of fourth-year. She suspected Mother had a word with him about pressuring her since Gwen could never live up to her brother no matter how hard she tried.

Since Barty's departure, the expectation of continuing the family legacy fell to Gwen. She knew through late-night conversations that her brother never wanted to work in the Ministry, nor did he really know what he wanted to do until the moment he left.

Until he realised he wanted to work for Voldemort.

Gwen despised him for it. At the end of her third-year and his seventh, he told his family over dinner that he wanted to leave and work for him. Over dinner, with no warning to Gwen. She barely even got a goodbye.

'I'm doing the right thing, Gwen. You'll see. It might take you a while but you'll see.'

She hadn't seen him since that night over a year ago.

Gwen was early as she always was due to her Father's particular routine, and there were few people aboard the train. Most students, first-years especially, were still with their families doing last-minute shopping before they would leave for Hogwarts.

She was walking through the narrow passage of the train when she bumped into a group of Slytherins.

Malfoy and his group of twats. Of course.

Not wanting to be bothered on her first day, she considered spinning on her heel and sharing a carriage with the second-year Hufflepuffs. She nearly did, nearly, but then the blonde opened his mouth.

"Well if it isn't the blood-traitor." He chuckled. She rolled her eyes and attempted to move past him but he was quick to block the way. "My parents met your dear brother during the holidays." Gwen's eyes hardened, which only widened the blonde's smirk. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see him but I have heard some interesting things." Lucius leaned in as though he was sharing a secret. "I hear he's a Death Eater now."

Gwen's gaze snapped to his and she could feel blood rush to her face, an angry redness creeping onto her cheeks. "Get out of my way, Malfoy," she bit out.

He only grinned. "Or what, Crouch? I'm sure you don't want to be written up on your first day," he said.

"You think I care if I get written up? Seeing your pretty hair covered in blood would be worth it." She scoffed, feeling her hands shaking. "Just let me through and you can bother me during class. Think up some insults on the way."

Gwen tried barging past him but he grabbed her arm before she could dash to the next carriage.

"You dare speak to me like this? Threaten me?"

"Let go," Gwen warned. His fingers were a vice, pinching her skin. "Assaulting a student can get you written up."

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"Would you like to find out?" she sneered.

His icy eyes narrowed. "You-"

"Oi, Malfoy," a new voice spoke up from behind Gwen. "Don't you have kittens to torture? Let the bloody girl pass."

Lucius closed his eyes momentarily in irritation, before opening them to coldly greet their new guests. "Potter," he gritted through his teeth. His fingers flexed around her arm and she winced. "Lupin. This does not concern you."

"It bloody well does if you're in our way," Potter said. "For piss sake, have a day off! You're holding up other students."

Lucius grumbled something and it seemed like he wasn't going to heed his advice, until he looked behind the two boys to see that there were in fact a couple of students waiting to pass.

He snarled and roughly pushed her away. She grunted when her back hit the wall.

The malicious glint was directed at Gwen a moment later, with a smirk curling his lip. "We'll continue this conversation later, Crouch."

Gwen felt like she couldn't breathe, even when he returned to his compartment out of sight. She hadn't realised her hand was clasped around her wand and was quick to let it go.

Don't get written up, Gwen. Don't get written up on your first day.

It wasn't until warm brown eyes filled her vision that she blinked back tears. "Are you okay?" Remus asked. He looked genuinely concerned. "Here, why don't you come with us and sit down for a minute?"

Gwen shook her head. "No." Her voice cracked on the syllable. She opened her mouth to say something else, she didn't know what, but no words came out.

She pushed through the gathering mass of students and entered the compartment of second-year Hufflepuffs instead. They went quiet when she slammed the door shut behind her, staring with wide-eyes. Still, one of them was nice enough to move her bag so she could sit in the corner.

She pulled her hood over her head and watched the students mill around as Lucius' words swam around her head.

Death Eater.

Remus was tackled in a hug by Sirius and Peter as soon as he entered their compartment, despite seeing the two only a couple of weeks ago. James' parents were always accommodating to them, especially after finding out Sirius had to stay with his vile family during the holidays. They spent a week together at the Potter household and it was probably the most fun Remus had in the whole year.

They settled and chatted idly for a bit, catching up on their tail-end of the holidays when James brought up Malfoy.

"Saw him tormenting the Crouch girl in the middle of the bloody passage!" he complained.

"Crouch girl?" Sirius echoed with raised eyebrows. "Gwendolyn Crouch? And she didn't castrate the twat?"

Remus couldn't help but snort.

Gwendolyn wasn't necessarily a troublemaker, but to call her a good student would be a stretch. If she didn't turn up to classes late then she simply wouldn't attend at all. She still got the work and studied - Remus had seen her numerous times after class getting work from Professors and sitting in the library with her textbook open. He was unsure if she actually studied or pretended to, though judging by her grades she wasn't very good at it if she did.

Remus heard rumours that she had a free pass of some kind from Dumbledore himself, essentially letting her skive off whenever she wanted to. He also heard that she always got off the hook because of her Father being the Minister for Magic, and that Dumbledore was intimidated by him.

He also heard that she was Dumbledore's and McGonagall's secret lovechild, and Bartemius Crouch Sr. gave his word he would look after her like she was his own, so Remus often ignored word of mouth.

"I think he said something weird to her. She was real quiet," James said. "Looked like she was gonna bloody cry when Moony asked if she was okay."

Remus raised an eyebrow at the look Sirius gave him. "Just because her brother works with you-know-who doesn't mean she does, too."

Sirius shook his head. "You give people the benefit of the doubt way too often," he muttered.

Peter spoke up. "She's the one you dared me to ask out to the Yule Ball, isn't she?" he asked.

Ah yes, the night their best friend was threatened by Gwendolyn before she stole half of his winnings with the promise she'd go with him, only to ditch him on the night anyway. While it was embarrassing for Peter at the time, they quickly found amusement from the whole ordeal.

"At least you got some Galleons out of it," Sirius pointed out. "Well, you got half. It was a win-win, really. You got money and didn't have to take her to the Ball."

"Sirius," Remus said.

"What? You see her cry once and suddenly you're defending her?" his friend objected. "Her brother and dad sympathise with my parents, Remus. My family. You know, the people who want all Muggles dead?"

"Come on, guys," James interjected. "We're not even an hour in and we're already arguing? Let's not let Crouch ruin our first day, eh?"

They agreed, though Remus was sure they'd continue their discussion tonight.

But still, as Remus talked and laughed with his friends, the girl lingered in the back of his mind and his smile was quick to fade.