Attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom

"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law so that we may pass judgment on you, for a crime so heinous that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court."

- Bartemius Crouch Sr.

The Attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom was committed by Bartemius Crouch Jr. and Bellatrix, Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange shortly after the downfall of Lord Voldemort during the First Wizarding War in 1981. It was widely considered to be the most horrible crime ever committed; the Longbottoms were extremely popular, and the attack caused a wave of fury such as had never before been seen.

The attack
On 31 October, 1981, the reign of Lord Voldemort ended abruptly with the Dark Lord's downfall. While some Death Eaters pretended to have been bewitched into doing his bidding and others were killed by Aurors, and yet others were arrested and imprisoned, some remained at large. Though the Dark Lord had fled, the danger was not yet over.

Frank Longbottom was the first to be captured out of the couple. He was subjugated and imprisoned at an undisclosed location, before being heavily tortured by all four Death Eaters. The continued, severe use of the Cruciatus Curse on the Auror left him physically and mentally depleted, and he soon became insane. When the Death Eaters failed to gain information from him, driving him insane before gathering knowledge, they targeted his wife, Alice. She, too, was kidnapped, and was tortured in the same manner. Like her husband, she had no knowledge of Voldemort's whereabouts, and so was forced to endure the curse until her mind snapped and she also was driven insane.

Punishment and escape


All four of the torturers were captured shortly after the horrendous crime, and were brought before the Council of Magical Law for trial. Bartemius Crouch Sr. presided primarily over the hearing, which was short and merciless; Crouch Jr. screamed continuously at his father that he was innocent, and begged for mercy, but none was granted, and Crouch disowned his son, causing his wife to faint. The crowd roared savage pleasure when Crouch announced that he planned to send the Death Eaters to Azkaban for life, and the sentence was given without question.

Less than a year after his sentence, Barty Crouch, Jr. was aided to escape the prison by his parents. Mrs Crouch was dying, and wanted nothing more than for her son to be free, to enjoy the life he had been given. They took Polyjuice Potion, becoming each others' doubles, and Crouch Jr. was liberated once more.

Like Bellatrix had told Crouch Sr. at the end of the trial, their master would come for them. In January of 1996, Voldemort initiated a mass breakout from Azkaban, which set free ten long-imprisoned Death Eaters, including Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan.

Effect on the victims
The continuous use of the Curse destroyed the victims' sanity. Following the attack, Frank and Alice Longbottom were moved to the Janus Thickey Ward of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in London. Neville Longbottom, their son, was sent to live with his grandmother Augusta, Frank's mother, and visits his parents for Christmas and on summer holidays. Neither one recognised him as their son, but they did acknowledge his presence and recalled that he was a loved one; Alice gave him chewing gum wrappers every time he came to see them, so many that he could paper his bedroom with them if he so desired.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Pottermore