How did Bartemius Crouch Junior escape Azkaban?
It turned out that Bartemius Crouch Junior was the first wizard ever to escape Azkaban even before Sirius Black.
Bartemius Crouch Senior’s wife was dying and she begged him to rescue junior from Azkaban.
Bartemius Crouch Senior himself sentenced Bartemius Crouch Junior a life sentence to Azkaban but the public didn’t praise Bartemius Crouch Senior for justice but denounced that Barty Senior was too cold-hearted and cruel.
Bartemius Crouch Senior agrees to grant his wife’s one last wish and they secretly smuggle a Polyjuice potion as they’ve made a visit to Azkaban.
Dying Mrs. Crouch transforms to Bartemius Crouch Junior while Bartemius Crouch Junior under the Imperius curse transformed to Mrs. Crouch. Bartemius Crouch Junior successfully escapes Azkaban unnoticed while Mrs. Crouch soon died. If people died when they were already transformed by Polyjuice potion, they wouldn’t revert to their original form.
The blind dementors of course couldn’t notice the swap process and the officials to check Bartemius Crouch Junior’s death couldn’t notice the swap process as well because Mrs. Crouch died in the form of Bartemius Crouch Junior. Bartemius Crouch Junior was known dead since then but in reality, he has escaped Azkaban by the help of his parents.
Bertha Jorkins and the secret Bartemius Crouch Junior
Bartemius Crouch Senior has kept Bartemius Crouch Junior under control by the Imperius curse. With the help and care by the house-elf of the Crouch family Winky, Bartemius Crouch Junior was kept hidden.
However, Bertha Jorkins who was a witch that worked for the Department of Magic games and sports once visited the Crouch family house for work and discovered Bartemius Crouch Junior who was publicly announced dead at Azkaban.
Bartemius Barty Crouch Senior rushes to his house and casts a powerful memory concealing spell onto Bertha Jorkins. Bertha Jorkins has forgot that she saw Bartemius Crouch Junior and continued her ordinary work.
However, later on while Bertha Jorkins was captured and tortured by Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew, the truth of Bartemius Crouch Junior hidden in her memories were revealed.
Riot at the Quidditch World Cup – Dark Mark
Unlike the other two unforgivable curses, the Imperius curse could be temporarily disabled by the strong will of the victim. Bartemius Crouch Senior allowed Winky to take Bartemius Crouch Junior to the Quidditch World Cup finals to give him some fresh air.
However, Bartemius Crouch Junior temporarily snapped out from the Imperius Curse. (In the movie, the timeline and details are kind of different because in the novel Bartemius Crouch Junior uses Harry’s wand).
Bartemius Crouch Junior who recovered his sanity was mad of the Death Eaters who weren’t in search of Lord Voldemort and signals the Dark Mark into the sky.
The Death Eaters who were just torturing a muggle family were frightened of the Dark Mark and the Riot at the Quidditch World Cup became an even bigger chaos as even the Death Eaters started fleeing.
In the novel, Bartemius Crouch Senior quickly accuses Winky of summoning the Dark Mark and put Bartemius Crouch Junior back under control by the Imperius curse.
Voldemort releases Bartemius Crouch Junior and the murder of Bertha Jorkins
Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort captures and tortures Bertha Jorkins during her vacation at Albania. They notice that there was a memory charm casted on Bertha Jorkins and figured out that Bartemius Crouch Junior who was a loyal servant to Voldemort was alive at the Crouch family’s house.
They also figured that Hogwarts was going to host and resume the Triwizard Tournament that hasn’t been hosted for years. Voldemort and Wormtail storms the Crouch family’s house and release Bartemius Crouch Junior from his curse.
They put Bartemius Crouch Senior under the Imperius curse but they order Barty Senior to act normal. After Voldemort and Wormtail rescues Bartemius Crouch Junior, they plot to resurrect Voldemort’s body and kill Harry Potter by the Triwizard Tournament at the Riddle House.
They murder Bertha Jorkins at the Riddle House and soon after kills Frank Bryce as well. By the murder of Bertha Jorkins, some special enchantment was casted on Nagini.
Triwizard Tournament Plot and kidnap of Alastor Madeye Moody
After Wormtail and Voldemort ‘rescued’ Bartemius Crouch Junior, they plot to sabotage the Triwizard Tournament as an opportunity to isolate Harry Potter and forge a body for Lord Voldemort’s return.
For his return, Lord Voldemort insisted that Harry Potter’s blood to forge his body because he believed that there is a special ancient magic called love enchanted in his blood.
With Harry Potter’s blood in his body, Lord Voldemort thought he could finally kill his arch enemy and fulfill a still unknown ‘prophecy’.
The trio receives intel that the most fearsome auror Alastor Madeye Moody was to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Wormtail and Bartemius Crouch Junior captures Alastor Mad-eye Moody and kept him under the Imperius Curse in Mad-Eye’s own magic trunk.
Why was Mad-Eye Moody kept alive
Mad-Eye Moody was the worst enemy for the Death Eaters as he was an experienced Auror.
However, Bartemius Crouch Junior needed to constantly learn his habits, ways of thinking, life style of Mad-Eye Moody as Bartemius Crouch Junior could change his physical appearance by Polyjuice potion but he also needed to fool Albus Dumbledore, a life-long colleague of Alastor Moody.
Also, Bartemius Crouch Junior constantly needed hair for poly juice potion. Poly juice potion was a difficult potion to brew and the effect would last from 1 hour to 12 hours depending on the quality. Also, it took at least 21 days to brew a single potion.
Bartemius Crouch Junior’s past and relationship with his father Bartemius Crouch Senior -Lord Voldemort
Bartemius Crouch Junior was an excellent student and a very powerful wizard. Even during the Goblet of Fire, he proved that he is a skilled wizard by taking Alastor Moody(although there was Wormtail’s assistance) captive under the Imperius Curse, fooling an ancient powerful magic artefact the Goblet of Fire by a confundus charm, brew Polyjuice potion that is one of the most difficult potions to brew etc. However,
Bartemius Crouch Junior never received recognition much from Barty Crouch Senior. Barty Crouch Junior started to worship Lord Voldemort, emphasized him and viewed him as a father-like figure after he graduated Hogwarts with excellent grades.
Lord Voldemort or Tom Riddle himself was named after his father Tom Riddle senior which he resented and had a dreadful relationship with his father. Barty Crouch Junior sincerely equated himself with Lord Voldemort and fascinated by Lord Voldemort’s cruelty, ambitions and power.
Bartemius Crouch Junior’s disguise as Madeye Moody and sabotage of the Triwizard
Bartemius Crouch Junior disguised as Alastor Moody first puts the name of Harry Potter into the Goblet of Fire. He put a powerful confundus charm on the Goblet of Fire and actually added Harry Potter’s name under another imaginary school that confused the Goblet of Fire.
The Goblet of Fire chose four champions adding Harry Potter rather than just three. Thus, the Goblet of Fire technically chose one champion for each school which one was a fake school made by Barty Crouch Junior.
He urges Rubeus Hagrid who knew that dragons were being imported to tell Harry Potter of the dragons for the first task. Next, Barty Crouch Junior hints Harry that he can’t bring his broom firebolt into the task but he is allowed to summon it.
Next, Alastor Moody gave a book that contained information of gillyweed to Neville hoping that he would help Harry Potter.
Neville helps Harry Potter in the movie but in the novel, eventually Harry didn’t get the gillyweed by Neville but he receives it by Dobby which Barty Crouch Junior has also set up. (Dobby was already working for Hogwarts). Dobby stole the gillyweed from Severus Snape’s personal storage.
Barty Crouch Jr. hints Cedric Diggory of the Golden Egg to take a bath with it as he knew that Cedric Diggory would also tell Harry in return of Harry giving information of dragons to Cedric.
During the middle, of the Triwizard Tournament, Barty Crouch Junior murders his father Barty Crouch Sr. In the movie, it seems Barty Jr. murdered Barty Sr to cover his disguise as Alastor Moody.
In the novel, Barty Crouch Senior tried to confess that he smuggled Barty Crouch Junior and the truth to Dumbledore so Barty Crouch Junior had to intervene and murder his father.
At last, while the Quidditch field was set up as the maze for the Triwizard third task, Barty Crouch Junior volunteered to place the Triwizard Cup while he switched it with a fake portkey leading to Little Hangleton graveyard for Lord Voldemort’s return.
