CROUCH CRUNCHED

Magical Law Enforcement Department Head Bartemius Crouch was dealt a heavy blow when his son was arrested on suspicion of Death Eater activity. Crouch, whose name has been bandied about as a candidate for next Minister of Magic, is no stranger to family tragedy. Early in his career his daughter, Charis Dorabelle Crouch, was killed by Redcaps.

Theosebia Travers, Crouch’s youngest sister, has no sympathy for her brother. “If Barty Junior joined the Death Eaters, no wonder, with Barty for a father. Barty has always cared more about rules than people. I doubt he even cares.”

Barty sentenced Theosebia’s husband and sons to Azkaban for life. Theosebia acknowledges her husband’s Death Eater ties, but denies that her sons had any involvement. “I didn’t know about Orville, of course. Not until the warrant for their arrest went out. But he told me then that he didn’t involve our children.”

Her outspoken defense of her sons is markedly different from the reaction her brother has made to his son’s arrest.

His press release yesterday afternoon leaves many in the wizarding world unsatisfied. In it, Barty distances himself from the younger Crouch, taking pains to paint himself as a strict but fair father and stresses that his son chose the Dark Arts in defiance of everything his family stood for.

“He takes no responsibility for how his own son turned out and we’re supposed to trust him?” asks Achilles Burke.

But others think Crouch has the right idea. Kay Wood says, “Is it right to stand by your children no matter what? Even You-Know-Who must have had a mother and father. Should they have stood by him?”