Crouch is the surname of a pure-blood wizarding family. They are related to the Black, Yaxley, Longbottom, and Weasley families.[1]
The Crouches were a family of high status within the wizarding community. Bartemius Crouch Sr. 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 worse when it was discovered that Bartemius Crouch 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. Bartemius Jr. killed his father in 1995 and received the Dementor's Kiss as a result.[2]
After his death, the Crouch family is likely to have become extinct, as Barty Jr. had no siblings or children of his own.
Known Family Members
- Bartemius Crouch Sr. — a high-ranking Ministry of Magic official
- Mrs. Crouch — wife of Barty Crouch Sr. and mother of Barty Crouch Jr.
- Bartemius Crouch Jr. — son of Barty Crouch Sr. and a 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 sisters — daughters of Caspar Crouch.
- An unidentified son of Caspar Crouch.
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"[3], 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.