This Harry Potter Professor Never Got the Respect They Deserved
The Big Picture
- Mad-Eye Moody, although never officially a professor, was able to inspire and teach his students through his impersonator, Barty Crouch Jr.
- Barty Crouch Jr., despite his sadistic tendencies, effectively taught the seriousness of Unforgivable Curses and commanded respect in the classroom.
- It is unfortunate that the real Mad-Eye Moody never had the opportunity to teach at Hogwarts and share his wisdom and experience with the students.
When it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hogwarts had a revolving door of visiting professors, with each new school year presenting a different teacher — mostly because Dumbledore (Richard Harris/Michael Gambon) was a troll who never let Snape (Alan Rickman) live his dream. While some Defense Against the Dark Arts professors were underqualified, bad at their jobs, or just an evil Death Eater (seriously, what was Dumbledore doing hiring these people?), other professors excelled and were able to teach, encourage, and support their students. One professor did both. Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody (Brendan Gleeson) was placed in a unique situation. He was the only talented Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who never taught a single class and was still able to inspire his students.
Mad-Eye Moody Was Never Actually a Professor... Technically
Unfortunately for the real Mad-Eye, Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. (David Tennant), who was champing at the bit to prove himself to Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and raise the Dark Lord to his former glory, saw a perfect opportunity to sneak his way into Hogwarts — by impersonating the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Thanks to his up close and personal experience with the Dark Arts, Barty Crouch Jr. was actually able to teach the class at Hogwarts somewhat successfully. While he might not have been the most sensitive professor to his students, he effectively got the message across that some spells aren’t to be taken lightly.
In particular, his lesson on Unforgivable Curses stands out. By demonstrating all three (Imperius, Cruciatus, and Killing) curses in front of the class, Barty Crouch Jr. showed the students firsthand just how serious they are. His sadistic side got the better of him when he singled out Neville (Matthew Lewis) while using the Cruciatus Curse (a spell used on his parents by Barty Jr.) in the middle of class, taking the lesson too far. But all in all, Unforgivable Curses were not taken lightly.
As far as Defense Against the Dark Arts professors go, Barty Crouch Jr. wasn’t the worst by a long shot. His lessons were usable by his students, unlike the incompetence of Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) or the strict learn-nothing classes that Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) — often more hated than even Voldemort himself — forced on the Hogwarts students. While he may not be as supportive and genuinely caring as professors like Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), Barty Crouch Jr. was able to command the respect of his classroom using his Mad-Eye Moody disguise, and his lessons were useful. He knew the information – he just so happened to also be one of Voldemort’s most evil fanboys.
The Real Mad-Eye Moody
Mad-Eye’s reputation preceded him in the wizarding world. Even someone less qualified, while wearing his face and using his voice, could command attention from reputation alone. This detail hints at his colorful backstory as an Auror, and the real Mad-Eye Moody’s cold and knowledgeable (and somewhat paranoid) demeanor is evidence of his experience. He would have been an amazing Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had his chance to teach not been snatched away from him by Voldemort’s henchman.
The first time Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) — and by extension the audience — sees the real Mad-Eye Moody, he’s lying at the bottom of a magical trunk, having been kidnapped and stowed away by Barty Crouch Jr. An off-screen kidnapping usually leaves a bad taste in the audience’s mouth, with implications that the character is too weak for their capture to even be note-worthy in the main course of the story. However, Moody’s reputation, as well as his future behaviors and actions, contradict this stereotype.
Had Mad-Eye Moody gotten to teach a class at Hogwarts, it would be safe to assume that his teaching practices would have been blunt and brutally honest (poor Neville might have gotten re-traumatized either way, even though Moody would doubtlessly be more sensitive than a Death Eater was). What’s more, compared to the much younger and brainwashed impersonator, Mad-Eye had far more years of wizarding behind him; that kind of experience would have been a wealth of knowledge for the Hogwarts students. Unfortunately for Harry and his peers, Mad-Eye didn’t take over from Barty Crouch Jr. when he was discovered, meaning that, while Mad-Eye Moody technically taught at Hogwarts on paper, the real auror never even said a word to the class.
The Untapped Potential of Mad-Eye Moody
Even more unfortunately, Mad-Eye doesn’t get much more page time (or screen time) after the events of The Goblet of Fire. He makes a brief appearance in the final book (and penultimate movie), The Deathly Hallows, for all of a few minutes during a mission to get Harry to safety. While serving as a distraction/task force against the Death Eaters, Mad-Eye was unceremoniously killed off page/screen. By the time Harry gets to his destination, he realizes he’ll never see Mad-Eye again.
For such an eccentric character with so much wisdom (and paranoia) to pass down to the next generation of wizards, Mad-Eye doesn’t get much time at all to exist in the lives of the Hogwarts students. Most of his time in The Goblet of Fire wasn’t even him to begin with, and his brief appearance in The Deathly Hallows serves as a reminder of his existence right up until his untimely death. It makes sense that such an epic story with a full cast of many characters would need to dedicate time elsewhere than Mad-Eye. He is a side character after all, and the time dedicated to the main characters and their supporting friends, peers, mentors, and enemies is used well — with the exception of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton).
However, it’s a shame that Mad-Eye never got a chance to be a professor or even interact with the Hogwarts students at all. With so many identifiable attributes, interesting characteristics, and unique personality traits, one would think that Mad-Eye would play a larger role than he does. Even Quirinus Quirrell (Ian Hart) got to spend more time at Hogwarts than he did. And yet, through the impersonation by Barty Crouch Jr., Mad-Eye still positively impacted the Hogwarts students he taught (even though there were undoubtedly many negative aspects of his class as well). After all, his situation did end up teaching Harry and his peers the importance of “constant vigilance”; you never know when your professor might be a villain in disguise or when the person who is telling you to trust no one is also the last person you should trust.
Despite his many positive and interesting qualities, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody never got the respect he deserved as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and he was robbed of his rightful time on the page/screen. It’s about time Mad-Eye got the proper appreciation for all his hard work and indirect lessons. Even his paranoia was justified at the end of the day.
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