Authors note: I had taken this fic down with the intention of rewriting it, but honestly I think it's about time I let Cass and her story go and let Blood Magic simply be. Maybe I will come back and rewrite it eventually, but I don't see that happening until I finish a few of my current fics.

Anyways, this story is not representative of my writing right now. I didn't even use proper grammar when writing dialogue (shuddering just thinking about it, actually). But, I do think hidden beneath cringey writing and god awful grammar and dialogue, is a story worth telling. So, I'm republishing all the original chapters in their original state.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you don't hate this writing as much as I do lol.

musical mood: seven - taylor swift

Not many people in Stromness, Scotland, knew of Bartemius Crouch Sr. 's existence, but those who did had nothing good to say about him.

He was a strange man, seemingly very wealthy despite not having a job in the town. He wore weird clothes, had a thick French accent, and always kept blinds over all the windows in his manor, as if he was hiding something.

Bartemius Crouch didn't attend church, he didn't have friends, or even leave his house. He was incredibly rude - by the rare chance he had exited his large home, and someone attempted to speak to him, he would simply walk right past them with his head down and avoiding their gaze, as if they didn't exist. Or, others may argue, as if he didn't want to exist.

He had moved to Stromness near ten years ago, alone except for an infant daughter, with no indication of a wife or who the mother may be, which caused a ring of gossip surrounding the eccentric man. In the small, religious town, a bastard child was nearly unheard of. Rumour had it, Bartemius had kidnapped her and ran to the remote island, but as the child grew older and began attending the local primary school, the theory was quickly quelled, for Cassiopeia Crouch was near identical to her father. She had the same olive skin, mousy brown hair, and chocolate eyes.

Not only that, but the child's personality was akin to her fathers. She was standoffish; as though she thought of herself as better than her peers. She rolled her eyes when students got questions wrong, she read books on the swingset during recess instead of playing with the other kids, she never had birthday parties or invited anyone to her home. It was as though she wanted to be invisible, to go unnoticed.

Which was why, on the morning of September 1st, 1991, Cassiopeia Crouch swung gently back and forth on the swing, next to her only friend, knowing that she wouldn't be missed by anyone else, and not minding it one bit.

"Will you phone me?" Connor Moore looked at her with wide hazel eyes, digging the toe of his shoe through the dirt.

She shook her head softly. "I can't. This school is old fashioned. They don't have phones. I'll write though - I'll have my father deliver letters to you."

This just made Connor look even more depressed. "You know I'm rotten at reading. It'll take me half the night to write you back. And Mauve's gone off to Uni in Islington, so she can't help me no more." He took a shallow, shaky breath. "I don't want you to leave."

Cass almost cried on the spot.

She would be lonely enough without Connor - she knew herself well enough to know that making friends at Hogwarts was unlikely. But leaving Connor, and lying to him about where she was going, that was the killer.

He came from a large muggle Irish Catholic family, who had immigrated to Stromness when Cass was eight. Connor wasn't gifted academically, physically nor socially, and even if he had it wouldn't have mattered. The mere fact of his ethnicity and religion was enough to make him an outcast in their year.

But somehow, the wallflowers managed to connect. Maybe it was because they were both children of town pariahs; the assumed bastard child and the fenian. Maybe it was pure circumstance. Maybe it was fate.

They lived across the street from each other, and both hated being inside the houses - though for opposite reasons. While Connor was unable to find a moment of peace and quiet among his seven siblings, Cass found her home to be unsettling. It was too large, too empty, and yet the sounds of footsteps plagued the otherwise lifeless halls, without any indication of a source.

Her father never let people inside of their manor - muggle or wizard alike. The only other resident was their house elf, Winky. It was as if the house was haunted, like the many Crouch family secrets had manifested into a physical being, attempting to scare young Cass out of her mind.

Cass and Connor had met at the park, a few weeks after the Moore family moved in. She had been trying to read, and Connor struck up a conversation, not taking the hint that she didn't want to be bothered. For some reason, Cass found him...intriguing, if not a bit pitiful. Everyone knew of the only Irish Catholics in a town of strict Scottish Presbyterians, and turned their noses up at them.

But Connor was kind, easygoing, with a contagious smile and a heart of gold, despite the relentless bullying he endured, and the not so groundless rumours of his father having IRA connections.

Which was why it broke Cass's heart to see him so sad.

She reached over and grabbed his hands. "It'll be okay. I'm sure you'll make other friends, soon you'll forget all about me."

"I don't want to forget you."

Cass had nothing to respond to that with.

"I'll be back during the holidays. Christmas and the lot. Maybe we can convince your brother to take us to the mainland again, and see the New Year's Eve fireworks, like last year."

The corners of Connor's mouth perked up slightly at the memory. They had stayed out until one in the morning, and Connor's brother Brian even let the pair have a sip of his Scotch. Cass got to stay overnight at the Moore's house afterwards, and watch the muggle telly.

"Alright." Connor nodded after a few moments of silence.

There wasn't much to say after that.

The pair said their goodbyes, Cass giving Connor a final kiss on the cheek, followed with more promises and reassurances.

When she returned home to triple check she had everything packed, her father was, as usual, nowhere to be seen. She glanced at the large grandfather clock in the hallway on the way to her bedroom. 10:32. They had to leave soon. Surely Bartemius would come to see her off?

"Winky?" Cass called out for her house elf as she reorganised her quills by the length of the feather.

Winky appeared into her bedroom with a snap. "Yes, Mistress Cassiopeia?"

"We have to leave soon. Is my father ready? I couldn't find him."

The elf shifted her weight on her tiny feet, her ears twitching like they often did when she was nervous, or uncomfortable. Her eyes wandered to the floor, but Cass could see the tears forming in her eyes. "Winky is very sorry, but Master Bartemius Sr. cannot take Mistress Cassiopeia to the Hogwarts Express. Winky tried to tell Master Bartemius Sr. that it is important, but Winky failed. Winky is so sorry, Mistress Cassiopeia."

Of course.

She shouldn't have been upset by the news, she should've been used to it by now. She was used to it. But she had hoped maybe he'd come to see her off, maybe he'd act as though he actually cared about his only living child.

"It's not your fault Winky. Don't fret over it." Cass gave the elf a small smile, and hoped she didn't notice the tremble in her voice. The elf seemed content, and Cass turned back to her packing, her mind still flooded with notions of her absent father.

Knock it off. She reprimanded herself as she closed her trunk for the last time, now 100% sure she had packed everything. It doesn't matter. There are bigger issues.

That was true. The Crouch family had much bigger things to worry about, even if Cass was unaware of it. Moments before the pair left, a muffled, aggressive thump echoed into her bedroom, as if angry she was leaving.

Cass sighed as she reached for Winky's tiny hand. At least the ghost will miss me.

*

Winky apperated Cass to the train platform, in the middle of a sea of parents hugging their children goodbye, and students rushing to get onto the Hogwarts Express.

Cass gave the elf a pat on the head; a way of thanking her in a place so loud it would be impossible to speak and be heard. Winky mouthed something that looked to Cass like good luck, but she couldn't be sure, and moments later the elf disappeared.

With a heavy sigh, Cass pushed through the swarm of witches and wizards, pulling her trunk behind her and keeping her head down, trying to go unnoticed. She didn't like crowds, especially of people who might recognize her.

There were a few familiar faces Cass could spot as she glanced around - mostly children of her fathers ministry coworkers. Brothers Henry and Theodore Nott seemed to be in a quarrel, Dahlia Burke was practically shoving people out of her way to get onto the train, and the Weasley clan were accompanied by a skinny black haired boy she didn't recognize, and who just looked as nervous as Cass felt.

She eventually was able to get onto the train, but to her dismay, nearly every compartment was full. So much for not wanting to speak to anyone.

There were too many people. The train hall was even more cramped than the platform had been, with dozens of students trying to squeeze through a two metre wide area, making moving nearly impossible without touching someone. A particularly tall boy roughly ran into Cass's shoulder as he pushed his way towards the front of the train.

"Watch it, wanker." She snapped at the older boy, who returned her annoyance with an equally pissed off glare, though his glasses made him look far less intimidating.

"You should watch your tongue." He scolded, shifting his robes so a shiny Gryffindor Prefect badge was shown. He was clearly trying to be inconspicuous, but failed. Between the tattered Gryffindor robes, and the flaming red hair, the prat was clearly a Weasley. "You don't want to get docked house points on your first day."

"Bugger off." Cass rolled her eyes, turned her back on him and continued to move through the swarm of people. She wasn't about to get scolded by a Weasley.

Not wanting to risk running into any other irritating pricks, she slid into the first compartment she could find that had any room left.

"Oh Merlin." Cass almost instantly regretted her choice when she made eye contact with one of the other students in the compartment, and didn't even try hiding her displeasure.

"Nice to see you too, Crouch." Draco Malfoy returned her scowl with a smirk, pushing his bright blonde hair back with his hand. Two pudgy boys sat across from him that Cass didn't recognize. "How long has it been? A year?"

"Not long enough." She rolled her eyes, but sat down on the velvet booth next to him anyway.

"Still dating that muggle?" He raised an eyebrow, and the two boys chuckled along dumbly.

Cass didn't dignify him with a response.

Draco Malfoy had always been a pain in the arse, ever since they were children. His father, Lucius, had been perhaps the only person her father trusted - he was allowed inside their manor, at least, and subsequently, so was Draco. The two were expected to be friends, but for some reason, they couldn't stand each other. Cass thought Draco was ostentatious, and Draco thought Cass was apathetic. Neither were wrong.

Draco cared far too much about everything, and made his opinions loud and clear. He detested muggles and muggleborns, he worshipped his father, and met any criticism with passionate anger, whereas Cass internalised every emotion that came her way - which weren't many. While Malfoy craved the spotlight, Cass despised attention, and while Cass (usually) kept her cynical thoughts to herself, Malfoy had no problem belittling anyone he disliked. One day, when they were about nine years old, the pair went to the park down the street, where Malfoy had met Connor. Upon realising the boy was a muggle, he had bullied him so cruelly that Connor went home in tears and didn't speak to Cass for a week.

But at some point, the Malfoy's stopped coming over. Her father never explained why, but it seemed as though they had some falling out. It was bound to happen eventually; rumour had it Lucius was a death eater, and Bartemius had no tolerance for dark magic. Lucius had probably worked with Cass's brother back in the war, but she didn't like to think about that.

"So, Crouch, this is Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle." Malfoy pointed towards the two boys, who both nodded at her. "Boys, this is Cassiopeia Crouch. Our fathers work at the ministry together."

"Nice to meet you." Cass greeted them with a monotone voice and an expression that clearly said otherwise. If these blokes were friends of Malfoy's, surely they had to be just as insufferable.

"Why are you making that funny noise?" Goyle asked her.

Cass paused. "...What?"

"That noise. With your mouth. Why are you talking like that?"

"She's Scottish, you idiot." Malfoy snapped at him.

"Oh." Goyle still seemed confused, but didn't press the matter any further. Cass thought she might physically explode from the stupidity surrounding her, and mentally kicked herself for putting all of her books in her trunk, which was Merlin knows where on the train. "That's like...where the muggles are bombing the lady minister, right?"

"That's England." Cass pursed her lips, not wanting to get into muggle politics, or explain that Margaret Thatcher had resigned last year.

"Oh." He repeated, nodding slowly. "I live in England, I think."

Cass simply stared at him.

"You're from Swansea, Greg." Crabbe chimed in, speaking for the first time since she had entered the compartment. "That's in Wales."

"Oh."

"Nice friends you got here, Malfoy."

"At least I have friends."

Cass rolled her eyes as silence ensued, and directed her attention to the compartment window. The train had already taken off, and the view of the English countryside flashed before them. Her strained reflection stared back at her, slightly distorted from the old glass. All the stress of the past few weeks rushed back to her without any distractions - leaving Connor, her father behaving even more odd than usual, anxieties about Hogwarts...

Habitually, Cass ran a finger down the faint white line below her right eye, that travelled to the middle of her cheek, a few centimetres long. It was presumably a scar - though Cass had no idea how she got it, and whenever she felt any strong emotion, it tingled, as if embodying the physical feeling.

The sensation grew as she swam deeper into her thoughts, her worries now spreading to a topic she had been trying to push out of her mind for months - her brother.

Most of the pureblood families would know already; ancient wizarding families were like a clique when it came to gossip. Would they spread it around to the less knowledgeable, and make her an outcast? Would the Professors know? Would they resent her for it?

Without Connor around, she'd like to at least have one friend at Hogwarts, but who would want to be friends with the sister of a raging lunatic who died in Azkaban for torturing several people? Cass wanted to go about her education without being bothered, but she didn't want to be a school pariah.

At least in muggle school, when students would call her a bastard, she knew it wasn't true - her mother had died shortly after her brother, Barty, was arrested, before they moved to Stromness. But she couldn't hide from the truth for long at Hogwarts.

"Crouch!" A pale hand waved in front of her face, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hm?" She stared at Draco expectantly.

"Theodore Nott just came by - there's a rumour Harry Potter is on the train."

Cass' brown eyes widened, for the first time genuinely interested by something Malfoy had to say. "You're kidding."

"No! Apparently he's sitting with one of those bloody Weasleys - we need to go and bring him back here before he's corrupted!" Malfoy's grey eyes were wild with excitement, and Crabbe and Goyle were nodding along with him.

The three boys stood up, and filed their way out of the compartment without so much as a second glance. Cass thought about going along with them, but at the end, she realised Malfoy was sure to make a fool of himself, and she didn't want to be associated with him when that happened. She needn't make an enemy out of The Boy Who Lived on her first day...