TBAY: Two Hedgehogs For The Price Of One

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 39860

OK, I am completely Shocked!  

Stunned!  

Slack-jawed, even!  

I just checked the Ever So Evil Poll, and only *two people* have 
voted that Moody will be Ever So Evil.  And I'm one of those two 
people!  That means that the percentage of list membership that 
believes in Evil!Moody is . . . 

<reaches for calculator>

.024606299212598425196850393700787e-4.  

What *is* that, anyway?  That's not even a *number,* is it? 

Sheez!  Twice as many people voted for *Evil!Winky* than Evil!
Moody!  What is going *on* here?

There's only one possible explanation for this.  Evil!Moody is 
*misunderstood*!  People just aren't following the theory and 
appreciating its rock-solid canon foundation, not to mention its 
inherent and indisputable Banginess.  Yes, that's what's wrong.  If 
JKR trots out Evil!Moody in OoP, she is well on her way to having 
fooled 4063 people!  Well, let's bring that number *down* a bit, 
shall we?

That's right.  It is *way* past time for an Evil!Moody membership 
drive.

<deep breath>

Let's review the mystery that is Alastor Moody.  Now we have to be 
careful to separate Fake Moody from Real Moody.  The actions of 
Crouch Jr. as Fake Moody have little or no bearing on whether Real 
Moody is Ever So Evil.  JKR has said Real Moody will be in Book 5 
and will be even more cool, or words to that effect. That's our 
starting point.

What do we know about Real Moody?  Not much, actually.  

Bill tells us that Moody "was a great wizard in his time" and 
Charlie adds that Moody "is an old friend of Dumbledore's."  Charlie 
explains that Moody was "one of the best" Aurors, and "[half] the 
cells in Azkaban are full because of him.  He made himself loads of 
enemies, though . . . the families of people he caught, mainly . . . 
and I heard he's been getting really paranoid in his old age.  
Doesn't trust anyone anymore."  

Moody's reputation for paranoia has mushroomed to the point that 
others have long since stopped taking his suspicions seriously:

"'Arthur, you know Mad-Eye,' said Mr. Diggory's head, rolling its 
eyes again.  'Someone creeping into his yard in the dead of night?  
More likely there's a very shell-shocked cat wandering around 
somewhere, covered in potato peelings.  But if the Improper Use of 
Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it – think of his 
record – we've got to get him off on a minor charge, something in 
your department – what are exploding dustbins worth.'"

In fact, Charlie explains that Moody's exaggerated fear of Dark 
wizards persists to this day: "[Moody] sees Dark Wizards 
everywhere."  

Well, why would Moody even *be* so afraid of Dark Wizards these 
days?  That's odd, isn't it?  Voldemort has been gone for *14 
years*, and Moody is *still* worried about being attacked by the 
family member of a Dark Wizard?  He's not even an active Auror – 
he's retired.  Moody doesn't get *over* this at some point?  

Nope, apparently not.  Instead, his paranoia actually grows to the 
point that his admirers like Arthur Weasley won't even *consider* 
the possibility that someone might attack Moody.  When Mr. Diggory 
is recounting (Fake) Moody's account of the attack, "Mr. Weasley 
groaned."  He doesn't even *ask* if Moody is OK.  No, Arthur is only 
worried about how to manage this mini-crisis.

Isn't that a bit *strange*?  If Moody was this great Dark Wizard 
catcher, it is rather odd that he is being treated with disrespect 
bordering on *contempt* by his former colleagues.  The fact that 
absolutely *no one* credits Moody's suspicions suggests to me that 
no one else thinks there's *any chance* that some Dark wizard or 
relative of one would attack Moody.  

But Moody's paranoia is not even the biggest mystery.  Doesn't 
anyone feel a tension between the Moody we see in the Pensieve 
compared to the Moody Sirius describes in "Padfoot Returns"?  Sirius 
says, "I'll say this for Moody, though, he never killed if he could 
help it.  Always brought people in alive where possible.  He was 
tough, but he never descended to the level of the Death Eaters."  

So Moody is tough but merciful, is he?  Moody is honorable and fair-
minded, is that right, Sirius?

Then how do we account for Moody's behavior in the Pensieve?  

That Pensieve scene with Karkaroff is just plain weird.  It occurs 
after the fall of Voldemort, as Karkaroff tells us that "I know that 
the Ministry is trying to – to round up the last of the Dark Lord's 
supporters."  This suggests that there have already been a number of 
arrests, but there are still a few Big Fish in the sea.

Enter Karkaroff.  Moody is right there, fully aware that Karkaroff 
is about to hand over "important information."  And what is Moody's 
very first line in this scene?  

"Filth."  

Moody is not happy about Karkaroff's spilling his guts.  Not at 
all.  Moody was "looking down upon Karkaroff, [his eyes] were 
narrowed in intense dislike. . . . Let's hear his information, I 
say, and throw him straight back to the dementors."  Gee, that 
doesn't sound honorable or fair-minded at all.  Hardly the words of 
a man who would never descend to the level of the DEs.  After all, 
that is *exactly* what Moody is advocating in that scene – that 
Crouch sink to the level of the DEs.

So we have a number of mysteries surrounding Moody.  He is fearful 
of family members of Dark Wizards 14 years after Voldemort's fall – 
even though Moody is a strong and tough Auror who should be able to 
defend himself against the families of the people he sent to 
Azkaban.  He is supposedly honorable – so honorable that he avoids 
using Unforgivable Curses --  but he advocates breaking a plea deal 
with Karkaroff for no apparent reason. 

Something else *must* be going on here.

Let's go back to that Pensieve scene with Karkaroff.  Moody is 
there, and he has a lot to say, doesn't he?  He is sneering, 
muttering, complaining.  

But what does JKR have Moody do when Karkaroff finally fingers 
Rookwood in the Pensieve?  Nothing.  No sneering.  No glaring.  No 
gasping.  Rookwood is Big news in the Pensieve, and Moody has no 
reaction at all. Oh, Moody has a reaction to lots of others 
Karkaroff names – Moody just won't shut up in the Pensieve scenes. 
He reacts to Karkaroff, Dolohov, Rosier, Bagman, Snape. It is not 
until Karkaroff fingers *Rookwood* that Moody suddenly goes quiet.

Also, look at Moody's dialogue. Moody arrested Karkaroff in the 
first place, and now Karkaroff is *helping* the Ministry in the 
Pensieve, isn't he? Moody should be pleased to have the chance to 
bring down more evil DEs, right? The Ministry is trying to round up 
the last of Voldemort's supporters, right Moody?  

Yet Moody is unbelievably hostile to Karkaroff's efforts. And this 
just doesn't add up *at all.*  When the government has the goods on 
one suspect (hypothetically speaking, perhaps someone really 
insignificant like a young intern) and the government knows that 
this Small Fish has information that will bring down another really 
Big Fish (hypothetically speaking, perhaps the Leader Of The Free 
World), the government is *delighted* to cut a deal and trade the 
Small Fish for the Big Fish.  Moody shouldn't be sneering at 
Karkaroff at all.  Moody should be *jumping out of his seat* to have 
a chance to bring down a Really Big Fish – Rookwood.

And make no mistake – Rookwood is a Really Big Fish.  "Harry could 
tell that, this time, Karkaroff had struck gold.  The watching crowd 
was all murmuring together."  The crowd didn't make a peep when 
Karkaroff mentioned Dolohov and Rosier.  Only Rookwood's name 
provoked a reaction.

So what is *really* going on with Moody?  He is Ever So Evil To The 
Core, that's what!  

Here's how it works.  Let's make Moody an Auror but also a DE back 
before Voldemort fell. Moody is a spy for Voldemort, but Voldemort 
does not know this. The reason Voldemort does not know this is 
Rookwood. Secret DE Rookwood, from the Department of *Mysteries*, 
has decided to launch a little deep cover side operation unbeknownst 
to Voldemort. Rookwood recruits Moody to be a DE, and Moody 
continues his Auror function, but is really working indirectly for 
Voldemort through Rookwood.  

But why would Rookwood have a secret operation going?  Why not just 
tell Voldemort outright that Rookwood has lined up famous Auror 
Moody?  Well, sometimes the most obvious answer is also the right 
answer:  Rookwood is Supremely Ever So Evil his own self!  Rookwood 
wants to keep his little network of spies a complete secret *even 
from Voldemort*.  Rookwood is about as disloyal as they come.  He is 
just *waiting* for the chance to overthrow Voldemort, and he wants 
to have a network of his own Loyal Evil Underlings already in 
place.  

Oh, Rookwood is one *smart* little operative.  He's straddling the 
fence himself, perfectly positioned to make a move in any 
direction.  When the time is right to strike against Voldemort, he 
will.  If he opts not to make his Big Power Play, he can go to 
Voldemort and reveal this successful covert operation he has 
thoughtfully launched for the benefit of his Evil Master, complete 
with a list of the many ways operatives like Moody have been helpful 
all along – thereby securing for himself honor above all other DEs.  
Rookwood knows a win-win when he sees one.

Anyway, Moody's secret DE role is to fulfill his function as an 
Auror, passing information on to the DEs to the extent he can.  When 
his Auror duties require him to apprehend DEs, he does, because to 
do otherwise would arouse suspicion.  Moody's double-agent role is 
the *real* reason Moody has that curious policy of not killing DEs 
unless he could help it. No, Moody doesn't want to kill DEs, because 
he is on their team. Bringing them in alive to let them talk their 
way out of Azkaban claiming Imperius is much better, you see. 

That, by the way, is the *real* reason that Moody is so very angry 
with Karkaroff in the Pensieve.  Karkaroff is not following the 
script.  He is supposed to claim Imperius.  He is not supposed to 
cut a deal and cough up *names* like that.  No, this is not a good 
idea, and Moody knows it.  "Let's hear his information and send him 
straight back to the dementors."  Yeah.  Moody knows what Karkaroff 
is *supposed* to say to get out of Azkaban, and Moody doesn't want 
Karkaroff to get *any* benefit from messing up the plans like this.

Now, as Moody goes about his daily functions as an Auror, some of 
the high-level DEs – the ones who are close to Rookwood -- know 
Moody is really on their team, and they agree to be apprehended 
without a struggle if cornered by Moody.  Travers, Mulciber, 
Dolohov – they all got the word about Moody being corrupted and they 
went along quietly.  

But that Evan Rosier.  Rosier was . . . well . . . he was just plain 
crazy! Rosier didn't want to spend a minute in Azkaban, and he 
figured he could get away by taking a shot at Moody.  This was a 
mistake.  Moody was *forced* to blast Rosier, what with Rosier 
aiming right for Moody's *nose* like that.  Rosier was playing the 
hero, so Moody had no choice.

Anyway, Rookwood is arrested on the strength of Karkaroff's 
information, and things quiet down in the wizarding world.  Moody 
figures he is a lucky man (except for the leg and eye part). The one 
man who could finger Moody as a DE is Rookwood, who is rotting in 
Azkaban.  Moody gets to be a famous auror and live a quiet 
retirement.  No one knows Moody was a secret DE.  Just Rookwood, and 
Rookwood isn't talking. 

Or is he? 

Moody doesn't know *what* Rookwood is mumbling about in his 
sleep. Moody is an Auror – he *knows* the Azkaban prisoners talk in 
their sleep.  Heck, Moody himself might have received hot tips in 
exactly this fashion.  The possibility that Rookwood is mumbling 
about Moody makes him more than a little bit jumpy and paranoid. 
Besides, Moody knows Rookwood was building this network of covert 
operatives, but Moody doesn't know how big it was.  It might have 
been *huge.*  Moody never knows if the next knock on the door is the 
butterbeer delivery man, or a disgruntled psycho DE bearing a grudge 
against secret DEs who got off, or even a DE who wants to rub out 
the rest of Rookwood's network.

Oh, this scenario makes a *lot* more sense than the one JKR has been 
feeding us.  No, Moody isn't worried about the families of the 
people he arrested.  Puh-leeze.  

No, Moody is *terrified* that Rookwood told someone else about their 
little arrangement.  Or worse, that Rookwood had cohorts who were 
even *more* deeply undercover than Moody.  Powerful spies.  Powerful 
spies who could sneak up on Moody.  After all, Moody has no clue 
just how deep Rookwood's network runs.  But the one thing Moody does 
know is that if someone is in Rookwood's network, that someone is 
Dangerous.  Yeah, you bet Moody is paranoid.  The only thing Moody 
*isn't* afraid of is his own shadow, if you ask me.

But there's just one little problem?  The whole premise of GoF is 
that Moody is a Good Wizard, an ally of Dumbledore.  How could Moody 
possibly be a Dark Wizard? The *whole plot* of GoF doesn't make 
sense if Moody is a DE, right? Voldemort hatches a plan to kidnap 
Moody and assume his identity, and Voldemort wouldn't do that if 
Moody were already a DE.  Not even Voldemort is so dumb that he 
doesn't know who is on his own team, right?  Crouch Jr. and Wormtail 
have to overpower Moody and impersonate him for a year to get kidnap 
Harry and restore Voldemort.  If Moody were Ever So Evil, then why 
go to all this trouble?

Oh, that's *easy.*  Voldemort (and Wormtail and Crouch Jr.) have no 
clue that Moody is really Evil and part of Rookwood's secret 
operation.  That's why it was called a *secret* operation.  So in 
GoF, we have Voldemort, Pettigrew and Crouch Jr. overpowering Real 
Moody, not knowing that he is a DE.  Crouch Jr. keeps Moody alive 
and questions him, but never puts the right question to Moody: "By 
the way, are you a DE just like me?"  No, it just never comes up.

Savor the irony there! 

And there's more.  Moody doesn't get much attention from JKR in his 
final scene at the staff table, does he?  

"The real Mad-Eye Moody was at the staff table now, his wooden leg 
and magical eye back in place.  He was extremely twitchy, jumping 
every time someone spoke to him.  Harry couldn't blame him; Moody's 
fear of attack was bound to have been increased by his ten-month 
imprisonment in his own trunk."

Nice guess, Harry.  

No, it isn't the imprisonment in his trunk that got to Moody there.  
It is the knowledge that his enemies are *everywhere*.  He has to 
fear Voldemort's supporters, who already attacked him once because 
they think Moody is Good.  He has to fear MoM, who might learn at 
any moment that Moody is Evil.  He knows Voldemort is back, and his 
supporters, the dementors, are guarding Rookwood.  And Moody has no 
idea how Rookwood is feeling about anything these days?  Moody 
doesn't know which way to turn, so he just sits there, twitching.

Finally, JKR actually forshadows Real Moody's evilness, right out 
where we can see it.  Oh, she just loves to do that, doesn't she?  
Harry's name comes out of the Goblet, and Fake Moody comes right in 
and tells us a big part of the plot twist. 

Well, she foreshadows Ever So Evil Real Moody, too:

"'You must understand,' said Karkaroff hurriedly, 'that He-Who-Must-
Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy . . . He 
preferred that we . . . never knew the names of every one of our 
fellows – He alone knew exactly who we all were – '

'Which was a wise move, wasn't it, as it prevented someone like you, 
Karkaroff, from turning all of them in.'" 

Oooh, that is chilling if Moody is a DE, isn't it?  Sure, Karkaroff 
*thinks* that Voldemort knows everyone who is working for him, but 
Karkaroff – a small fish – is *wrong* about that, isn't he?

Ever So Evil Moody with Supremely Ever So Evil Rookwood tossed in 
for nothing.  Such a deal!

Cindy
***************

For an explanation of the acronyms and theories in this post, visit
Hypothetic Alley at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin20Files/hypoth
eticalley.htm 

and Inish Alley at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?
method=reportRows&tbl=13