JKR's cryptic answer: "Who sent the Lestranges to the Longbottoms?"

[dcgmck]

No: HPFGUIDX 119781


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "littleleahstill" 
<cmjohnstone at h...> wrote:
> [snip]
> Leah now:
> 
> 'another editing error'- my thought as well, because I've always 
> assumed that the attack on the Longbottoms was an idea of Bella's, 
> acting alone, or rather having the idea all by herself and taking 
> hubby and brother in law along for the fun.  
> 
> However, I did note that JKR said that it was "the Lestranges" who 
> were sent.  No mention of the other person who was condemned for 
his involvement in Auror torture-Barty Crouch Jnr.  Another editing 
error or a deliberate omission?
> 
> Just why is Barty Jnr LV's 'most faithful servant'?  What has he 
done except possibly be in the wrong place at the wrong time and 
> desperately try and protest his innocence in the courtroom scene?  
> What a contrast with Bella's performance at the trial. And plenty 
of other DEs spent longer in Azkaban than Barty Jnr had to cope with. 
> Why on earth did LV rush round on his return to de-imperius this 
> frightened boy when he already had the vaguely competent Pettigrew 
in tow and access to the likes of Malfoy and Nott?
[snip]

dcgmck:

Barty, Jr. sprang to mind for me as well when I first read JKR's 
latest teasers. Though young, he put me very much in mind of Tom 
Riddle at Hogwarts: accomplished yet dissatisfied with the 
recognition (and lack thereof). He is clearly fueled by an enormous 
amount of hate, especially for his father. This combination of talent 
and animosity makes him an excellent choice as favored pet for LV. It 
also puts him in perfect position to discredit Crouch, Sr. in a way 
unavailable to anyone else. 

Discrediting Crouch, Sr. and accepting imprisonment in Azkaban not 
only proves his loyalty to his evil master, it also falls in line 
with the idea of torture as the preferred option over death. I can 
easily see it being Barty's idea to make use of the sadistic Bella to 
torture the Longbottoms. There doesn't seem to have been any effort 
to conceal the act, assuring that they would be caught, he would be 
tried, and his father would leave himself open to public censure for 
somehow allowing his only son to either turn out badly or be unjustly 
imprisoned. Either way, those who have thrice defied LV are seriously 
hurt and Barty's own dad is forever ruined politically, effectively 
hamstrung in making further war on DE's. It's a master stroke of 
brilliance, one of which even LV would be proud. The fact that 
Barty's mom is a soft touch and his father's Achilles' heel is just 
icing on Jr.'s cake.

I like Barty for it, far better than Lucius or some other as yet 
unnamed DE.