Barty Crouch Jr. was described as a genius before the combination of Azkaban and the imperious. What if he had used that at the moment he needed it most?
Please note I used the movie for this, not the books. Italics are direct quotes.
"The name. Give me the wretched name!" Bartemius Crouch Sr., head of the DMLE in the British Ministry of Magic strictly informed his prisoner Death Eater Igor Karkaroff.
"Barty Crouch!" Karkaroff paused for dramatic effect, which really didn't help his situation, "Junior!" The man himself looked at the prisoner from where he was walking down the stairs to exit the courtroom. His face was blank and did not react like a scared criminal found out would.
his father gave him a piercing glare ready to switch him out for Karkaroff. "Really father? You trust a deranged insane convicted Death Eater when he tells you your own son is a murder, rapist, arsonist, and whatever other unforgivable crimes the death eaters did?" He lifted his left sleeve. "Not branded like cattle." Well, he used to be, but magical medicine was amazing. A few extra ingredients from the apothecary and he had enough potions to safely and covertly, as soon as the Dark Lord fell, chop off his arm and regrow it. An hour later, there was no pain, no trace, and no evidence he was ever a death eater, as his name was never given to the others so he could stay a spy in the DMLE. Now it worked out for him. Karkaroff was the only one left alive who knew he used to be a death eater, and even so, it was only suspicion, so it wouldn't stand if he took veritaserum, anyone who knew his identity was silenced, the Lestrange brothers dead, and Bellatrix had sworn a vow on her Black Blood, which would disown her if she broke it, in thanks for getting rid of her shackles, leaving her free to be Belatrix Black once more (1).
Karkaroff kept raving. "I tell you, he is a death eater! You wanted names, I give you names! He participated in the torture of the Longbottom's!" One of the Aurors holding him turned to his boss. (3)
"Well, most certainly have not been tortured by any death eaters, although this farce of a retrial might as well be, either way, this is pure hippogriff shit." Auror Frank Longbottom told his boss.
"Yes, Longbottom I can tell. Son, laws, and all that I have to give you a compulsory scan for glamour charms, polyjuice, and all that." Crouch informed the two.
"Of course," Barty told his father. (2) Half a dozen scans later, Barty was clear, and Karkaroff was portkeyed by his guards to a one-way portkey dock (4).
And so the Longbottoms were fine, Bartemius Crouch Junior went on to become Minister of Magic after the buffoon chosen instead of his father, Cornelius Fudge, got voted out within four months, the shortest possible. The ministry was never stupid enough to slander anyone, Rite Skeeter went missing under mysterious circumstances, but nobody liked her except her cousin, the cafeteria worker name Dolores Umbridge (read umbitch). Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange's widow, who insisted her husband had been killed by a death eater, and Batremius Crouch, ended up married a few years later and were always somehow involved in the adventures of the Boy-Who-Lived. (5)
(1) the Longbottoms were never tortured here.
(2) Barty is like Percy Weasley in year five, junior undersecretary to the minister, except here it's Minister Millicent Bagnold and not The-Minister-Who-Fudged-It-Up.
(3) Since he was already in Azkaban for a time, he must have known the plans, but not of how it happened or who did it, therefore he could not have known the plans got canceled at the last minute.
(4) In my fanon where the wizarding world isn't complete and utter morons, just mostly, they have a one-way portkey ward, so you can portkey in with criminals, but the Aurors have to then fly back with brooms they brought with them.
(5) If you want me to continue this, please tell me in reviews, but since I can only handle so many stories it will be put on hold until I finish a story or finally get rid of my sentimentality for Dark Lady pendragon and that goes on permanent hiatus. But please review anyways, the more opinions I get, the better I can write, the better the writing you get to read. So really, why not?
A/N: So I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, this is a one-shot that could be expanded. I do realize I am stretching myself a bit thin with not only my own original writing but also several stories here on FFN waiting to be updated, but I will do my best to continue writing. The next story updated will most likely be either plan omega or Morrigan Returns 2, because I have the most ideas for those.