More thoughts on the Cloak

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 158478

> Abergoat wrote:
> This as another excellent line of thought. We don't hear that the
> Longbottoms were using Fidelius... And the bar discussion in PoA
> seems like it would mention that.
> 
> JKR makes clear that the Lestranges (she doesn't mention Barty Jr)
> where 'sent' after the Longbottoms and knew nothing of the prophecy.
> Lucius Malfoy (and Rufus Scrimgeour) benefited enormously from the
> Longbottom incident:
> 
> 1) Bella, who wants everyone to look for Voldemort, is jailed
> 2) Barty Sr, who is vigorously pursuing DEs, is brought down
> 3) Frank Longbottom, a very popular Auror, is removed from the line
of succession
> 
> So Malfoy, a DE, avoids his sister-in-laws pressure to search 
> for Voldemort, avoids being arrested as a DE and has a family 
> friend, Rufus (OotP) move up through the ranks of the Auror 
> Office faster than he might have. Way too convenient.
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised of young DE Barty Jr told the truth at
> his trial, he hadn't been anywhere near the Longbottoms.
>
Carol responds:
If Barty Jr. was innocent, how do you explain his fanatical loyalty to
Voldemort and his frequent, eager use of Unforgiveable Curses, not
only on spiders, but on his own students (Imperius curse), on Krum
(Imperius curse) and on his own father (Avada Kedavra)? And why would
Voldemort regard him as his "loyal servant at Hogwarts" if he didn't
know that Barty Jr. had helped Crucio the Longbottoms in an effort to
find his whereabouts? Why would he so intensely hate "Death Eaters who
walked free" if he weren't a loyal Death Eater who was imprisoned (and
committed a horrible deed, helping to Crucio the Longbottoms) for
Voldemort's sake? And why the prolonged Crucio of the spider in front
of Neville, indifferent to Neville's pain, for the specific purpose of
getting Neville into his office to give him the book on magical water
plants, if he weren't guilty of helping Crucio the Longbottoms into
insanity? Why so eager to put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire and
place him in Voldemort's hands so that Voldemort can use his blood and
then kill him if he hadn't always been a loyal Death Eater? (Notice
that the chained chair bound him as it did Karkaroff but did not bind
Ludo Bagman--he's referred to as "the chained boy." IMO, the chair
knows that he's guilty.)

As for the Malfoy idea, I wouldn't be surprised if Lucius "sent" the
Lestranges and Barty to the Longbottoms, or rather if he dropped some
hints that Bella picked and she recruited her loyal followers (her
husband and brother-in-law and the eager young Barty Jr.) to Crucio
the Longbottoms, but where does Rufus Scrimgeour fit in? What evidence
do we have of a link between him and Lucius Malfoy? Also, what do you
mean by "the line of succession"? What evidence do we have that frank
Longbottom had any ambition to be, say, head of Magical Law Enforcement?

Carol, who thinks that Barty Jr. was guilty as charged and that his
mother's sacrifice was in vain