Other alterations
Years of work as an Auror left Moody with several injuries and prosthetics, including a magical eye, a chunk missing from his nose, multiple scars on his face, and an artificial leg. The difficulty of walking with an artificial leg made it necessary for Moody to procure the walking stick, and it is suggested that Alastor didn't use the walking stick before 1981, because he was at Igor Karkaroff's hearing without it.[1]
Characteristics
The top of the walking stick distinctly resembles a ram, reinforced by the clear appearance of a cloven hoof at its foot. This could be representative of his character as tough, resilient, hard headed, and having a strong offence.
The other notable features of the walking stick is that it is as tall as Moody's chin, and appears to have a vine wrapping around it from the height of Moody's thigh, tapering off at the base of the ram's head. The stick is arranged so Moody can hold it at firm grip.
As a weapon
The walking stick is made of wood and has some degree of offensive magical power, demonstrated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries against a Death Eater.[2] This attribute is likely to have been a secret to give Moody an advantage in combat. When Alastor stunned a Death Eater in the Department of Mysteries, it is suggested this walking stick be more of a secret staff.
Behind the scenes

Alastor Moody using his magical staff to attack a Death Eater during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries
- The staff appears in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
- It is in character for Moody to have this staff modified to be a magical weapon so that if he were to lose his wand, he would not be truly disarmed when duelling. The extent of the walking stick's power is unspecified since it is used as a weapon in only one scene in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Alastor with his walking stick
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Moody is shown tapping the staff on the ground to make the broomsticks of the Advance Guard appear from thin air and fly into their hands. Later in the film, Moody also taps his staff on the ground to reveal 12 Grimmauld Place and then to blast a Death Eater through the air during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
Bartemius Crouch Junior (disguised as Moody with Polyjuice Potion) with his walking stick
- The suggestion that the wood of a wand affects its magical characteristics, and its harmony with a wizard's magical abilities, implies that the type of wood comprising the walking stick is similar (or possibly identical) to his wand because of its use as a magical focus.
- A walking stick (which seems to have magical properties of its own) is also used in the films by Lucius Malfoy. This cane houses Lucius' wand in the top, allowing his wand to be on hand at all times.
- Similarly, Rubeus Hagrid also disguises a wand within another object; his pink umbrella. This is due to the fact that Hagrid's wand was broken when he was expelled from Hogwarts.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Flashback on Disc 2)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter: The Character Vault