Harry Potter: All 7 Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers ranked

3. Barty Crouch Jr. (Mad Eye Moody)

The fourth character to take on the Defense Against the Dark Arts job was Allister “Mad Eye” Moody…who was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise, which we don’t learn until the end of the fourth book.

Barty Crouch Jr. was another staunch Voldemort loyalist and a vicious Death Eater. During the First Wizarding War, Crouch helped Bellatrix Lestrange torture Neville Longbottom’s parents with the Cruciatus Curse. That was the main reason he was sent to Azkaban prison, where he remained for years until he escaped and made his way back into Voldemort’s service. Prior to Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts, Crouch kidnapped and replaced Mad Eye Moody and assumed his role as the school’s new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Using polyjuice potion and impeccable acting, Crouch was able to keep up the charade for the entirety of the school year. Crouch routinely used the Imperious Curse on the real Moody, whom he had imprisoned, to keep him alive and consult him about how to make his act more convincing. He kept Moody in the same chest used to hold dark wizards caught by Moody back in the day.

The reason Crouch is so high on this list is because he did in fact teach Harry and his classmates important information about the Dark Arts. Most notable was the lesson about the three unforgivable curses, each of which Harry would either use or resist later in the story in battles against either Voldemort or his supporters.

Crouch also helped Harry get through the deadly tasks in the Triwizard Tournament, although he was also responsible for entering Harry into the tournament in the first place. Crouch’s real goal was to help restore Lord Voldemort to power, and he was successful. Crouch volunteered to place the Triwizard Cup inside an enormous hedge maze during the final challenge. When Harry and Cedric Dicory touched the cup, they were transported to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. There Peter Pettigrew slew Cedric with the Killing Curse and restored Voldemort’s body using Harry’s blood in a ritual. Although Harry escaped, Crouch tried to kill him but was stopped by Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall. After the jig was up, Crouch was returned to Azkaban where he received the dementor’s kiss, a fate worse than death.

Even though it was technically Barty Crouch teaching Harry in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we still got to see Brendan Gleeson put on an iconic and memorable performance as “Mad Eye.”