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"Well, I think we should put it back in order for them, don't you?"
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Alastor Moody's walking stick is one of several modifications to Moody's appearance courtesy of injuries received in the line of duty as an Auror. Other alterations to his appearance include his magical eye, multiple scars on his face, and an artificial leg. It is because of difficulties walking with an artifical leg that Moody is constantly seen with the walking stick. It is suggested that Alastor didn't use the walking stick before 1981, because he was in Igor Karkaroff's hearing without it.[1] It should be noted, however, that the majority of noise Moody produces while walking comes from his artificial leg, and he may have used the walking stick before the amputation.
The top of the walking stick distinctly resembles the gnarled visage of a ram, which is reinforced by the clear appearance of a cloven hoof at its foot. These animistic features probably have significance to Moody's character; either pointing toward an animagus or patronus form, or representing his character as tough, resilient, hard headed, and/or having a strong offense. The other notable features of the walking stick is that it is as tall as Moody's chin, and has the appearance of a vine wrapping around it from the height of Moody's thigh, tapering off at the base of the ram's head.
The walking stick is made of wood and has magical attack power, demonstrated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries against the Death Eaters.[2] This attribute is likely to have been a secret to give Alastor an advantage in combat. A similar tactic is used by Lucius Malfoy by housing his wand in the top of his cane, allowing his wand to be in hand at all times, and by Hagrid, who placed the pieces of his snapped wand in the pink umbrella he used to give Dudley a pig tail in Philosopher's Stone.
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. The extent of the walking stick's power is unspecified since it is used in only one scene in the Order of the Phoenix. The suggestion that the wood of a wand effects its magical characteristics, and its harmony with a witch/wizard's magic, implies that the type of wood comprising the walking stick is similar or identical to Alastor's wand because of its use as a magical foci. The use of Moody's staff as a magical weapon may be the inspiration of some fanfiction authors to suggest that wizards and witches first used staffs as a magical foci before wands were developed.