Moody's Hip-Flask

• Type: Magical Device, Container
• Owners: Alastor Moody, Barty Crouch Jr.
• Maker: Unknown

The object is a standard hip-flask in its outward appearance, designed to be carried discreetly. Its true nature, however, is magical. The flask is enchanted with what Severus Snape describes as a multi-compartment charm, allowing it to hold several different potions simultaneously without them mixing. Each potion can be accessed separately from the single opening.

The primary magical property of the hip-flask is its ability to serve as a magically compartmentalized container. This allows the user to carry a variety of potions and select a specific one for consumption at any given time. The original owner, Alastor Moody, carried the flask as part of his extreme vigilance and paranoia, preferring to drink only from his own supply to avoid any risk of being poisoned or drugged. During the 1994-1995 school year, the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Moody, used the flask constantly to consume Polyjuice Potion. This regular dosage was necessary for him to maintain his complex disguise and infiltrate Hogwarts as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

The hip-flask was a personal possession of the renowned Auror Alastor Moody. In the summer of 1994, Moody was attacked and captured in his home by Barty Crouch Jr. and Peter Pettigrew. Crouch then assumed Moody's identity using Polyjuice Potion and took the flask for his own use. Throughout his time at Hogwarts, Crouch kept the flask filled with a continuous supply of Polyjuice Potion, which he brewed using ingredients stolen from Professor Snape's private stores, including boomslang skin and lacewing flies. His constant need to drink from the flask became a signature tic that was accepted by most as part of Moody's eccentric and paranoid personality. At the conclusion of the Triwizard Tournament, when Crouch's identity was revealed, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape examined the flask and confirmed its contents, which served as key evidence of his year-long deception.

Moody's hip-flask is a critical plot device in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It is the primary tool that enables Barty Crouch Jr.'s elaborate and successful infiltration of Hogwarts. Without the flask to provide a constant and discreet supply of Polyjuice Potion, his deception would have been impossible to maintain for the entire school year. The flask serves as a constant but overlooked clue to the imposter's identity. While characters notice the frequent drinking, they attribute it to the real Moody's well-known paranoia. The regular theft of potion ingredients from the dungeons raises the suspicions of Severus Snape, though he wrongly accuses Harry Potter. Ultimately, the discovery of Polyjuice Potion within the flask is the final piece of evidence that confirms the truth after Harry Potter's return from the Little Hangleton graveyard. The flask is therefore central to Lord Voldemort's entire plan to capture Harry and return to power.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the hip-flask is depicted as a more complex and obviously magical object. It features an ornate, rotating top with multiple spouts that allows the user to select and pour from the different internal compartments. This is a visual invention for the film, as the book describes a normal-looking flask whose magical properties are internal and not visible. (film)