────୨ৎ──── 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒛 𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆: 𝑨 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 .𖥔 ݁ ˖🪽
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆
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┊ ┊ ★⋆
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★⋆ ┊ . ˚
˚★.𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚
𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒛 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚?
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒꒱
The Cruz family are very powerful in the Wizarding World. Not the richest, certainly not the most influential and popular in terms of the public. They are silent. They do not spend extravagantly. They barely make it into the Daily Prophet at times. However, when they do, it is certainly a shock. It’s how they keep their relevance, I suppose. They descend from a family of inventors, trusted advisors, Wizarding World pioneers, some might say. Others just say they’re exaggerating.
𝟏𝟐𝟏𝟕 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
A brother and sister from humble beginnings on the island of Madeira set out to change their future by creating a new spell: “Dilatare.”
This spell holds a small amount of magic and releases it at extreme levels, capable of destroying entire towns or perhaps even creating a tiny island. There’s not much known about it except that it was destructive, and we will never truly know, as it is lost to history. For good reason.
𝟏𝟐𝟑𝟎. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
All traces of the casting and creation of Dilatare were destroyed by its owners. A massacre occurred, it was used by the wrong wizard, which led to the death of the spell and its disappearance from history. It is almost impossible to find, which is exactly what they wanted.
However, throughout the years, the talent of the Cruz family was recognised by the highest levels of society—Portuguese princes and kings, Spanish aristocracy—you name it. The Cruz family had stuck their noses into the blueprints of inventions and international fame, and it stayed like that for years.
Until it didn’t.
𝟏𝟔𝟐𝟖 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
The Cruz family had been run out of Portugal and Spain. They had been found out. This was the height of the “Great Hunt” of witches in Europe, you see. Little did they know it was coming to an end too.
As the Cruz family had established global relations, they escaped to Britain, England. Specifically, London—the capital.
𝟏𝟔𝟕𝟗 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Silently, through the years, the Cruz family slithered their way into the Ministry—not by playing dirty, no. Instead, they killed with kindness. Compliments which seemed warm were empty. Meetings concerning the safety of wizardkind slowly began to have the name “Cruz” dominate the room.
If they could not have power in their own country, they could always take it from another, couldn’t they?
Specifically, one man.
Álvaro Cruz.
A man so dedicated and devoted to placing the name “Cruz” in at least one history book. At least one.
𝟏𝟔𝟗𝟐 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Álvaro became involved in the Statute of Secrecy, helping every member of wizardkind to remain protected forevermore.
𝟏𝟕𝟎𝟐 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
They returned to Portugal, specifically Madeira, reuniting with family and suffering many unknown losses from the Great Hunt of the seventeenth century. It seemed the letters to each other didn’t get very far.
𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟖. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
A great scandal occurred during this period.
Now, the Cruz family was not obsessed with pure-blood status. However, they were not particularly fond of Muggles—especially a family with absolutely no social significance.
Daiane Cruz was born on September 1st, 1838, and married on December 21st, 1858.
Marriage was thought to be a happy occasion, except for Daiane. It meant years of torture and having a child simply to bring a beacon of light into her life. But she didn’t know this yet.
The man she married was Camilo Dos Santos.
A no-one. A nobody. And she liked that. No pompous suitors showing off their wealth like a male bird attracting its mate.
I mean, he came from a family of blacksmiths—a Muggle, no less. A drunken Muggle at that. However, this side of him was unknown. Camilo was smart. After being introduced to the wizarding world (despite the many warnings Daiane was given by her father) and being begrudgingly accepted into the Cruz family through marriage, his mask slowly began to slip.
Silently.
𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟔 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
The “Child of Light” is born. September 26th, 1866.
Beatriz Cruz. Daiane calls her the Child of Light, as she gave something to live for—a life to care for. An oil lamp to keep lit.
𝟏𝟖𝟕𝟏 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Camilo and Daiane, along with Beatriz, moved back to England, specifically London. Something called to Daiane in London. She wasn’t sure what it was but she loved it.
𝟏𝟖𝟕𝟒. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
A squib is born. Another “Child of Light”, November 30th, 1874.
Mara Cruz.
Now, to say she was a squib was an exaggeration. It felt like she wasn’t. She had an abundance of friends, suffered no bullying. There was some name calling but it never affected her in the slightest. She decided to think of it as simply sounds coming from one’s voice box, because truly that’s all it was.
Her ego was quite massive, you see. Even though she had no magic. She grew to an age where she realised the name “Cruz” meant something to the world, so at one point she wondered if anyone truly liked her. But she wouldn’t dare to admit those thoughts of doubt that pierced through her perfect hair. She had pride in being a squib. And a confident one.
𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟎. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Mara had not witnessed the abuse of her mother. But what she did know was that it got worse after she was born.
Camilo wanted a boy.
Mara was not a boy.
She was only five years old, so she did not rely much on her memories when her parents divorced. She never really asked about the politics or laws behind it; she simply thanked God that it happened. Frightening stuff, you know. And even though her full name is Mara Cruz Dos Santos, she denies that.
To her, it is simply Mara Cruz.
When she became old enough to understand the concept of abuse, she refused to see her father or be associated with him. She had not seen him since October 4th, 1888. Two years. And she liked it that way.
Her mother found it slightly unsettling how quickly Mara could cut people out of her life, whereas Mara prided herself on not being affected by the “unfortunate” loss of her father, as some people called it. Mara understood why they would say that. Not many people knew the true picture behind what had happened, and she did not correct them when it came to those times. She was very private.
I mean, who isn’t?
𝟏𝟖𝟖𝟕 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
The Year of Embarrassment.
Mara was a very prideful person. She could never and would never admit out loud that when that letter from Hogwarts did not come, she spent the whole night crying. But she had prepared herself for it. She was a squib, after all. This was truly no surprise. Unlike the Daily Prophet, which thought it was the news of the century. It was not common knowledge that Mara was a squib and, like I said before, the Cruz family stayed out of the media as much as possible, so when the news made its way to the halls of the Daily Prophet headquarters, well, it meant bold headlines and more buyers.
There had never been any squibs in the Cruz family, which prompted a certain fascination from the public, but it died down quickly as Daiane ordered a meeting with the person who decided to penalise her daughter like this. Since that moment, a seed of ambition was planted in Mara’s mind, which would slowly grow in the coming years.
𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟎 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
The Year of Change.
Mara had excelled academically. All her private tutors spoke highly of her. She was a fast learner and an obedient student. Her mother and older sister always told her that knowledge was power. A phrase that was common in the Cruz family. She had befriended everyone, made sure she was perfect.
However, one fateful day, she experienced a small burst of magic. It was the summer of 1890, early July, when she was playing with a second-hand wand she had found in an old storage room in the untouched parts of her manor, pretending she was duelling a dark wizard. She told everyone about it and they couldn’t believe her.
The letter from Hogwarts arrived a few days later that summer. At first, she looked at it carefully. Probably a joke. A prank. It sat patiently on her bedside desk until another letter came through saying a man called Eleazar Fig would come to tutor her. She felt a little bad as she didn’t really see why he had to come, she already had all the tutors she needed, but her heart slowly softened as he wasn’t as harsh as they were. He spoke gently and joked with her. He practised with her instead of just watching her. Shared life stories with her. Almost like a father would. How odd.
𝟏𝟖𝟗𝟎 𝑶𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
We have not come to this point yet, and even though I know what will happen, I will not spoil the rest for you, dear reader except one thing.
The Cruz family do not know one simple thing.
All those years ago, in 1217—
It was Ancient Magic.
┆ ┆ ┆ ┆ ┆
┆ ┆ ࣪ ˖☆ ࣪⭑┆ ݁˖ .☆ . ݁ ˖
☆⊹ ࣪ ┆ ˖ ࣪ ⊹ ࣪ ★ ⋆.˚ ⊹ ࣪
࣪ ˖⋆˚★ ₊ ⊹ ࣪˖ ࣪ ₊ ࣪ ˖
. ݁ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ࣪ ˖
. ݁ ݁
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⠀. ⠀⠀⠀✦ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀* ⠀⠀⠀. . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀✦⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. . ﾟ . . ✦ , .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * .. . ✦⠀ , * ⠀ ⠀ ,⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. ⠀ ⠀. ˚ ⠀ ⠀ , . . *⠀ ⠀ ⠀✦⠀ * . . . ⠀ . ˚ ﾟ . .⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀, * ⠀. . ⠀✦ ˚ .⠀ . . ✦⠀ , .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. ⠀⠀⠀✦ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀. . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀✦⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. . ✦ , .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ * .. *⠀ ⠀
