- "Your Dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any — and see what that man chose to make of his own life!"
- — Albus Dumbledore regarding the last Crouch[src]
Crouch is the surname of a pure-blood wizarding family, and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They are related to the Black, Yaxley, Longbottom, Weasley, and other known pure-blooded families.[3] According to statements by Albus Dumbledore, the Crouch family is one of the oldest pure-blood families in Great Britain.
Family history
- "So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made. One moment, a hero, poised to become the Minister for Magic... next, his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonoured, and... a big drop in popularity."
- — Sirius Black on what he heard about the Crouch's misfortune.
Three members of the Lestrange family and Barty Crouch Jr on trial in front of the Council of Magical Law
The Crouches were a family of high status within the wizarding community. Bartemius Crouch Snr was a high-ranking and influential officer in the Ministry of Magic, and it was widely believed that he would have become Minister for Magic. The family's fortunes however took a turn for the worst when it was discovered that Barty Jr was a Death Eater. As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Crouch gave his son a life sentence in Azkaban, but fulfilled his dying wife's last wish which was to switch her with her imprisoned son with the assistance of Polyjuice Potion. Due to such bad publicity, the Crouch family's status plummeted and Crouch Snr was demoted and shunned aside.
The last two members of the clan was served by a house-elf named Winky, until she was dismissed when her guardianship of Crouch Jr was deemed unreliable. Bartemius Jr killed his father in 1995 and received the Dementor's Kiss as a result.[1] After his death, sometime in 1996, the Crouch family became extinct.[1]
Family members
| Wizard(s) | Notes |
|---|---|
| Bartemius Crouch Snr | A high-ranking Ministry of Magic official. |
| Mrs Crouch | wife of Barty Crouch Snr and mother of Barty Crouch Jr. |
| Bartemius Crouch Jr | Son of Barty Crouch Snr; known Death Eater. |
| Caspar Crouch | Husband of Charis Black. |
| Charis Crouch née Black | Wife of Caspar Crouch, sister of Callidora Longbottom née Black and Cedrella Weasley née Black. |
| Two unidentified daughters | Daughters of Caspar Crouch |
| Unidentified son | Son of Caspar Crouch |
| Unidentified grandfather | Grandfather of Bartemius Crouch Snr. |
Etymology
Crouch is an English surname as well as a verb, meaning "to bend down; to stoop low" or "to be servilely...to fawn; to cringe"[4], possibly referring to Barty Crouch Jr's role as a servant of Lord Voldemort. Furthermore, the River Crouch is a river that flows through the English county of Essex into the North Sea, the location of Azkaban, and Crouch End is an area of London known for having been the home of many writers in the fantasy genre.
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 36 (The Parting of the Ways)
- ↑ J.K. Rowling's website: The Crouch family became extinct along with the Black family.
- ↑ Black family tree
- ↑ Wiktionary Definition: Crouch
