How did the Lestranges get caught? (WAS: Neville Has A Memory Charm? Not! )

[dtklein_2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 31846

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Susanne Schmid <pigwidgeon37 at y...> wrote:
> 
>  
>   ftah3 <ftah3 at y...> wrote: 
> Cindy wrote:
> >> 3.  How did the Lestranges and Crouch Jr. get caught? 
> 
> Er... may I say that I've got a pet theory about that? My guess is 
that, even after V's defeat, the DE network still worked pretty well, 
more undercover than before, but it worked. So the remaining DEs (and 
among them Malfoy) knew that the Lestranges and Marty Jr. were going 
to the Longbottom's house. Devilishly cunning as he is, Malfoy tipped 
off the MoM, just in time to get the 3 DEs, but too late to save the 
Longbottoms. Why? 
> 
> 1) To prove he was a redeemed DE
> 
> 2) To prevent that Barty "Law-and-Order" Crouch Sr. became minister
> 
> 3) If he tipped off Fudge himself and not somebody from the Law 
Enforcement, he was sure of Fudge's gratitude (see 2))
> 
> Susanna/pigwidgeon37
> 

Snape is a more likely canidate I would think than Malfoy. First, had 
Malfoy been the snitch Fudge might have pointed that out in defending 
Malfoy at the end of GoF when Harry starts listing off Death Eaters 
present at the gravesite. Second, the only person publicly labeled as 
a spy is Snape, who Dumbledore describes as taking great risk when he 
changed sides. As a sidebar, this seems an alternate or possibly 
addition to the Snape warned of the Potters risk as his changing 
sides could then have happened after Voldemort's fall from power and 
why he still felt a debt to James for saving his life while they 
attended Hogwarts as even though Voldemort did kill James and Lily 
his telling of the risk to their life would still have probably 
negated his debt. Finally, the Lestranges are described by Sirius in 
GoF as part of the Slytherin group that Snape hung out with most of 
whom later became Death Eaters.