Hermione Granger's Most Clever Moments In Harry Potter

In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Alastor Moody becomes Hogwarts' latest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's a tough, strange, almost cruel individual, who appears to have a drinking problem. Of course, we learn later that this man is actually the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr., who swigs Polyjuice Potion to maintain his disguise.

One particular scene shows off just how disconnected this guy really is. "Moody" is teaching the students about the Unforgivable Curses, which are so terrible, they land the caster in Azkaban for life. His demonstration starts out somewhat funny, as he uses the Imperius Curse to make an arachnid do whatever he wants. Everyone laughs as it dances, but things turn serious when he shows that he can make it jump out the window or drown itself.

When the professor asks for examples of other curses, herbology enthusiast Neville Longbottom offers the Cruciatus Curse. Everyone watches as Moody tortures the poor creature with this brutal spell. Neville is particularly upset by this, and Hermione speaks up in her peer's defense, demanding Moody stop. She's the only one observant enough to see just how much pain this causes Neville. Later, we discover this curse was used on Neville's parents — the pain he experiences in that classroom is deeper than anyone could have known. Hermione's smarts save her friends in all kinds of ways.