Born into a muggle family long after her parents assumed they were done having more children, Chastity’s birth immediately results in the death of her mother, which seems to serve as a portent for what is to come.

Early on, it’s clear that Chastity is a strange child. She performs her first act of accidental magic at age three, though no one at the time knows that that is what is happening. The Bentleys, a largely superstitious bunch, do their best to temper her… tendencies and Chastity learns to repress as much as possible–which, of course, only works so well. More than once, the girl experiences outbursts that end in, thankfully, only very minor destruction around the home, and further isolation for the young girl.

In 1881, Chastity’s father died and she was sent to live with her brother and his wife, and her life continued on much the same as it otherwise had up until this point, until the summer when everything changed.

A strange man arrived at the Bentleys’ home with impossible news–Chastity was a witch. Her family was extremely reluctant to let her attend this strange school that the man spoke of, but were eventually convinced by the assurance that school would help Chastity learn to control her magic, and thus be “normal” and safe.

At school, Chastity found relief and new freedom that she didn’t experience at home, and although she wasn’t the most talented of students, she worked tirelessly so that her attendance wouldn’t be seen as a wasted effort.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. At the end of her fourth year, in 1885--after a year in which wizarding Britain dealt with Plague and Ministry disasters and a group of escaped convicts that culminated in students being sent home early that year–Chastity was informed that she would not be returning to Hogwarts in the fall. Instead, she’s sent to live with family friends and begins an unofficial training as a governess.

It’s not all bad, of course. She stays on with the family for a few years until the children are old enough to not need her, and it is about this time that the child of another family friend shows signs of being magical, and Chastity is quietly recommended to the family. She moves with them to Irvingly in 1890 and stays on until her charge goes to Hogwarts. Rather then return home to her family, Chastity opts to remain in Irvingly, and seeks employment at the Irvingly Village School in 1893, hoping to, at last, find some kind of balance in her life.