The fourth installment ofHarry Potterintroduces Lord Voldemort’s “most faithful servant”, whose fanatic loyalty can only be matched by fellow Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange: Barty Crouch Jr. His cruelty and callousness is especially demonstrated when he not only tortures the Longbottoms to the point that they are permanently incapacitated, but he also makes their traumatized son watch as he performs the same Unforgivable Curse in front of him later on.
The film adaptation ofHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fireglosses over most of his backstory, creating several ambiguities and raising many questions — including how he is the first convict to escape the wizarding prison of Azkaban in almost 300 years.
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Who Is Barty Crouch Jr.?
Bartemius ‘Barty’ Crouch Jr. is a pure-blood wizard and the son of Barty Crouch Sr., who holds a prominent position atthe Ministry of Magic. Based on his age, it can be assumed that Barty attendsHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardryaround the same time as Severus Snape and other Death Eaters. He goes on to join Voldemort’s cause at the height ofthe First Wizarding War. After the Dark Lord disappears, a group of Death Eaters (including Barty) torment the renowned Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom to gain information on Voldemort’s whereabouts. Theprolonged use of the Cruciatus Curseultimately drives them into insanity.
Barty is only 19 when they are all caught, but the Council of Magical Law (with Crouch Sr. leading the trial) sentences him to the full extent of the law. Having devoted his entire life to catching dark wizards — with high ambitions of becoming Minister for Magic one day — Crouch Sr. disowns his son in front of the entire Wizengamot despite his desperate pleas. He uses his son’s trial as a public example of how Death Eaters should be punished: a life sentence in Azkaban.
Afterward, Crouch Sr. is demoted from the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation due to his son’s crime.
How Does Barty Crouch Jr. Break Out of Azkaban?
In 1982, Barty’s mother becomes extremely ill due to the stress of her son’s doomed fate, and begs her husband to rescue him as her dying wish. Crouch Sr., who “loved her as he never loved [his son]”, eventually agrees. The couple visits Barty at Azkaban, and both the mother and sondrink Polyjuice Potion to exchange places. They manage to deceive the blind Dementors, who can just sense one dying person entering the fortress and then supposedly the same dying person leaving shortly afterward.
Barty’s mother eventually dies, and is buried outside Azkaban under the guise of her son, making the wizarding world believe that Barty has died. To avoid suspicion, Crouch Sr. stages his wife’s death by holding a private funeral with an empty grave.
Who Is Winky?
Winky is the devoted house-elf serving the Crouch family, who is entrusted by her master to nurse his son back to health when he is brought back from Azkaban. Even though Crouch Sr. uses the Imperius Curse to prevent Barty from causing any trouble, Winky implores him time and time again to reward his son for good behavior.
Bertha Jonkins, a Ministry employee, accidentally discovers the truth when she drops by their place one day. She overhears Winky talking to Barty, and confronts Crouch Sr. when he arrives home. In response, he places a powerful Memory Charm on her, causing permanent damage. Later, she is captured by Peter Pettigrew, and reveals to Voldemort where his servant is (along with details of the upcoming Triwizard Tournament), before being killed.
Winky, who is quite motherly towards Barty, convinces his father to let him attendthe 1994 Quidditch World Cup. This is the first time he steps out of his house in 12 years. Despite being scared of heights, Winky sits next to Barty (who is hidden under the Invisibility Cloak) at the stadium. Unknown to her, however, Barty uses this opportunity to steal the wand from the boy sitting in front of him (who actually turns out to be Harry), and uses it after the match to cast the Dark Mark in the sky.
When Crouch Sr. finds them in the ensuing chaos later, he dismisses Winky for her failure to keep an eye on Barty. She goes into depression and starts drinking heavily, even after Dobby gets her a new job at Hogwarts.
What Happens to Barty Crouch Jr.?
Soon after the Dark Mark incident, Voldemort arrives at the Crouch residence to help break Barty free from his father’s curse. Crouch Sr. is now placed under the Imperius Curse instead, and is forced to carry out his duties as per usual. He is also one of the judges at the Triwizard Tournament, which he continues to attend for some time before being forced to send his assistant Percy Weasley in his place instead.
Barty, on the other hand, is ordered by Voldemort to infiltrate Hogwarts by masquerading as Alastor Moody,the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The real Mad-Eye Moody, who is locked up in a magical trunk, is kept close by so that Barty can pluck out his hair for the Polyjuice Potion he drinks to maintain his disguise. He ensures that the Goblet of Fire picks Harry’s name for the tournament and quietly helps him in all three tasks. He also turns the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey so that, when Harry wins, he is taken directly to Voldemort.
After a duel with Voldemort, Harry manages to return to Hogwartswith Cedric Diggory’s body. Against Dumbledore’s orders, Barty takes Harry away from the gathering crowd to his office and interrogates him about Voldemort’s return. A suspicious Dumbledore breaks in, along with McGonagall and Snape, and stops him from harming Harry. As he has forgotten to take the potion during all the mayhem, Barty transforms to his true self and then discloses the whole truth under the influence of Veritaserum. He also confesses that his father had escaped and was on his way to tell Dumbledore everything, but Barty received a warning from Voldemort just in time. He killed his father, transfigured his body into a bane, and buried it.
Before he can officially testify that Voldemort has risen to power again, Bartyreceives the Dementor’s Kisson Cornelius Fudge’s orders. The Minister for Magic is under the delusion that Barty has been acting of his own accord, and Voldemort has not actually returned. Barty’s fate in the film deviates largely from what is stated in the book: it is implied that Barty is sent back to prison, where he claims he will be “welcomed back like a hero”, only to be never mentioned again.
