Attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom

Attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom
Event information
Date(s)	1981
Participant(s)	Frank Longbottom Alice Longbottom Bellatrix Lestrange Rodolphus Lestrange Rabastan Lestrange Bartemius Crouch Jr
Description	Death Eaters torture the Longbottoms for information on the whereabouts of Lord Voldemort

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

— Description of the attack on the Longbottoms

The Attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom was committed by Death Eaters 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 horrendous crime committed in the modern wizarding world by most wizards and witches.

History

Background

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

— Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy

Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy

At the end of 1979, Lord Voldemort was at the peak of a reign of terror in the First Wizarding War. He was told of a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore during a job interview. Trelawney told him of a boy who would be born in the closing days of July 1980 whose parents have defied Voldemort three times and lived to tell the tale of it. He would have a power that Voldemort was unable or unwilling to comprehend, who could one day kill him, and that Voldemort would pick the child who was equal to him.

There were two children born at the end of July. On the 30 July, Neville Longbottom was born to Frank and Alice. However, Neville was pure-blood while the second child born the next day, Harry Potter was half-blood like Voldemort. Voldemort picked Harry believing he was the danger to him and he saw himself in Harry before even seeing him.

However, the Death Eaters in the know about Neville and Harry remembered the fact when Lord Voldemort went missing and presumed dead, following the show-down between him and Lily Potter on 31 October 1981. Four of them decided Frank and Alice knew information about what happened to the missing Voldemort and where they could find him.

The attack

"My son and his wife were tortured into insanity by You-Know-Who's followers. They were Aurors, you know, and very well respected within the wizarding community. Highly gifted, the pair of them."

— Augusta Longbottom regarding her son and daughter-in-law

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 Lord Voldemort's bidding and others were killed by Aurors, 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. He was subjugated and imprisoned at an undisclosed location, before being heavily tortured by all four of the Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse. The Death Eaters were hoping to find information about their fallen master in order to locate the Dark Lord and restore him to power. The group was convinced that the Longbottoms were involved with the Dark Lord's fall because they were included in the prophecy. Unaware that Lord Voldemort had fled to Albania, Frank Longbottom could not give them what they wanted. However, this did not discourage the four assailants from trying to uncover Voldemort's whereabouts. The torture resulted in Frank being so physically and mentally depleted that he spiralled into insanity. When he was unable to provide them with anything useful, they targeted Alice. She was kidnapped and tortured in the same manner. Although she had no knowledge of Voldemort's whereabouts, she was forced to endure the same torture and met the same fate as her husband.

Aftermath

Punishment and escape

"The Longbottoms were very popular. The attacks on them came after Voldemort's fall from power, just when everyone thought they were safe. Those attacks caused a wave of fury such as I have never known. The Ministry was under great pressure to catch those who had done it. Unfortunately, the Longbottoms' evidence was — given their condition — none too reliable."

— Why Neville lives with his grandmother

The four culprits tried before the Council of Magical Law

All four of the torturers were captured shortly after the attack and were brought before the Council of Magical Law for trial. Bartemius Crouch, Snr. presided primarily over the hearing, which was short and merciless; Crouch Jr screamed continuously at his father that he was innocent and begged fruitlessly for mercy. Crouch disowned his son, causing his wife to faint. The crime was described as so heinous that such a crime was rarely heard of in court. The crowd roared with 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 to become each others' doubles, and Crouch Jr was liberated.

Like Bellatrix had told Crouch Snr 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

"I know people really wanted some hope for that, and I can quite see why because, in a way, what happens to Neville's parents is even worse than what happened to Harry's parents. The damage that is done, in some cases with very dark magic, is done permanently."

— J. K. Rowling exbounds on Neville's parents

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.

Frank Longbottom (victim)

Alice1.jpg

Alice Longbottom (victim)

Bartemius Crouch Jr (attacker)

Bellatrix Lestrange (attacker)

Rodolphus Lestrange (attacker)

Rabastan Lestrange (attacker)

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore (Mentioned only)