Crouch / Moody (long)

[atelecky at mit.edu]

No: HPFGUIDX 9247


> 
> I also thought that it was implausible that Crouch Jr. would have 
the 
> knowledge of advanced magic that he appears to have.  After all, he 
> was just a youth when he went to Azkaban, and after his "escape" he 
> was under the Imperius Curse up until the time of the World Cup.  So 
> when did he have time to learn enough magic to completely fool 
> Dumbledore and remain undetected for nearly a whole school year?

I recall Sirius saying in GoF that when Snape first went to Hogwarts, 
he "knew more curses than most seventh years" or something along those 
lines. Harry himself has learned quite a bit on the side from all his 
studying of protective curses with Hermione and Ron, and even from the 
dueling club that he went to once. Clearly its possible to learn 
extra magic on the side, especially if you come from a wizarding 
family. Taught by his own father's coldness to be himself cold to 
emotions, Crouch jr. went over to Voldemort at a young age and 
likely learned a great deal from his new master and his new friends. 
It also seems that confounding the Goblet was an act requiring magical 
strength and prowess more than knowledge, but as far as the latter is 
concerned Crouch certainly would have had Voldemort's aid in preparing 
for this curse. As for the former, Sirius says also in GoF that Crouch 
Sr. is "powerfully magical", so it would make sense for his son to 
inherit his father's talent. 
But most of all, I imagine that Crouch Sr., as a member of an old, 
wealthy, and prestigious pureblood wizarding family, and as an 
ambitious and proud man, would have seen to it that his son had all 
the tutors and training he could ever need, and would have had the 
money and resources to do so. He would have pressured his son to study 
hard and to succeed--as indeed Crouch jr. did, for when Crouch Sr. was 
raving, he mentioned that his son recieved equally as many OWL's as 
Percy Weasley later did. The elder Crouch may not have loved his son, 
but nonetheless, to an ambitious man like that, his son would have 
been an extension of himself and his own reputation--whatever he felt 
about the boy, it would have been important to the elder Crouch that 
his son's reputation and success match his own. Once his heir was 
publicly besmirched by the accusation of colluding with Voldemort, of 
course, Crouch had no further use for him or desire to be associated 
with him. 
And what about this unreal ability of Crouch's to feign friendship for 
Harry Potter, to make the students like him, to act well intentioned 
enough to fool even Dumbledore, while at the same time he plotted with 
considerable foresight and precision against the very people he was 
pretending every day to care for? Crouch was raised by a man who 
coldly dispensed of him when his reputation (whether he could have 
been proved innocent or not) became a liability. The elder Crouch was 
no less power hungry or ruthless than Voldemort, even if he did stand 
opposed to Voldemort. The young Crouch might as well have been raised 
by Voldemort himself, for all that he learned that personal 
relationships and the emotions of others are things of practical value 
to be manipulated for personal gain, and nothing more. When talking of 
his mother who died for him, all Crouch spoke of was how she had been 
of use in freeing him. One of the things which struck me at the end of 
the book, was how even the smallest things that Crouch did that 
displayed consideration or kindness, like giving Neville the book on 
water plants, were just further steps towards his final plan. 
Voldemort also shows this sort of coldness, speaking of how both his 
own father and Harry's mother "had their uses". I believe that 
Crouch's ability to come so close to the people whom he was to betray 
and murder and remain always unmoved, even to the end, by how well 
he must have gotten to know each and every one of them, was very 
effective in showing the power of Voldemort's evil to corrupt a witch 
or wizard until, as Hagrid said in PoA, "There's nothing and no one 
that matters to them anymore." 

Sorry about the wordy post,
Alexandra