What Crouch Knew and When He Knew It (WAS:Re: TBAY, Sympath for the Devil

[ssk7882 <skelkins@attbi.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52410

I really am going to post on something other than the Crouches one
of these days, you know.

No!  No, really!  I am!

JOdel asked:

> Has it been established that Crouch Sr had seen/heard enough of 
> Voldemort's councils to *know* that his son was at Hogwarts 
> masquerading as Moody? He knew he was there, certainly. But did he 
> know that it was as *Moody?* I'm not convinced that he did. 

It's not established, no.  I tend to believe that he did, although I 
can give no legitimate canon defense for this belief other than that 
it seems utterly in character to me for both Voldemort and Crouch Jr. 
to have wanted to gloat to a captive Crouch Sr. about their plans.

If Crouch didn't know precisely what his son was up to *before* the 
Drawing of the Names from the Goblet, though, then I believe that he 
figured it out shortly thereafter.

Here's why.

In Chapter 16 of GoF, during the actual drawing of the names from the
Goblet, we are told that Dumbledore, the other headmasters, and Bagman
all look tense and expectant.

"Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored."

We next see him in Chapter 17, after Harry's name has come out
of the Goblet and he has been sequestered with the other champions,
the headmasters, and the judges in the room off of the Great Hall.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Bagman wiped his round, boyish face with his handkerchief and
looked at Mr. Crouch, who was standing outside the circle of the
firelight, his face half hidden in shadow. He looked slightly eerie,
the half darkness making him look much older, giving him an almost
skull-like appearance. When he spoke, however, it was in his usual
curt voice.

"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that
those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound
to compete in the tournament."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay.  So the plot has now been set in motion, and this is when we 
first hear that Crouch looks ill.  My assumption is that this is a 
reflection of his inner struggle with the Imperius.  Harry did not 
notice him looking unwell earlier, when he noted that Crouch looked 
"uninterested, almost bored."  While Crouch does look a bit poorly, 
though, he is still speaking normally -- "in his usual curt voice" -- 
and following through on what we can assume to have been his 
instructions: to make sure that Harry participates in the 
Tournament.  

Then his son enters the room, masquerading as Moody, and brags his
little head off, telling everyone just how clever he is and 
effectively giving away the entire plot, as well as having a bit of 
fun poking at Karkaroff.  

The next time we hear anything about Crouch is this:

------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his hands
together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions
their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"

Mr. Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie.

"Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes . . . the first task . . ."

He moved forward into the firelight. Close up, Harry thought he 
looked ill. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and a thin, 
papery look about his wrinkled skin that had not been there at the 
Quidditch World Cup.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Not only does Harry *again* notice how ill the poor man looks, but 
both the "reverie" and his "instructions...yes..." line are 
suggestive.  My interpretation is that his "reverie" represents a 
struggle against the curse, hence the reiteration of "instructions" 
right before he then continues on with following his orders.  I see 
this line as an indication that the curse is really having to work 
overtime to keep him under control.

Crouch doesn't succeed in throwing the thing off, but he seems to be 
working a lot *harder* at it here, after "Moody's" entrance, than he 
was before.  I also find this line rather telling:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore.

"I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at Mr. Crouch
with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at
Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dumbledore's concern does not surprise me.  That tentative "I think 
that's all, is it, Albus?" really does seem out of character for 
Crouch.  It does not seem consistent with what we know of this man's 
character for him to be asking for a second opinion on the question
of whether or not he has successfully discharged his official duties.

The fact that his question to Dumbledore is effectively a *request 
for instruction* also strikes me as highly significant.  I have
always read this as a sign of the Imperius hard at work on a victim
who is attempting to resist.

In this case, the Imperius is successful.  In response to 
Dumbledore's question, Crouch reverts to orders, and he is soon 
behaving far more "normally," making dry commentary about Percy's 
behavior and expressing faint irritation with Ludo Bagman.  Given 
that "behaving normally" was presumably part of what Crouch was 
instructed to do, I read this as evidence that his brief struggle 
with the Imperius has ended in abject failure.

The way that the signs of his struggle seem to intensify after his
son enters the room, though, does suggest to my mind that Crouch 
knew who "Moody" was.  Whether he knew it beforehand or only figured 
it out right there on the spot is unclear to me.  I can read it 
either way with equal facility.


Elkins