Okay, so I am on my third re-read of Deathly Hallows and came across this interesting passage.

Chapter 26- Gringotts- Pg. 525:::


I must say this is something i found pretty interesting. Here is why: I, during the whole book, felt that there was at least one death that was not actually a true death, that maybe Ron was right. And for once, I think in this case he was. I don't believe that Mad-Eye Moody is dead. The proof for this is in the above passage. Why would J.K. feel the need to place this sentence into a passage of her always famous imagery? I think it was because she was hoping that people would read over it and not notice that she kept Mad-Eye alive. The main characters always sort of believed that maybe there was a sliver of hope that he was alive. My other main evidence is that obviously they never found the body and the fact that the eye was removed and naturally the person in the passage is missing an eye. I believe that Moody is powerful enough to have saved himself from a fall of such great proportions....

I might be stretching it a bit...

what's everyone think?

humm...it is interesting but if he was alive, Jk would have reveled it in the future and that Mad-eye would have rushed to fight for the order when everyone was risking their lives in hogwards to fight Voldemort.... I dont think he would remain in diagon alley and would do nothing for the order's sake, not when the burrow was attacked and all...

I think, it's just a coincidence that JK mentioned the man with bloody bandge over one eye.

Hmm...well a really interesting thought without a doubt.
But I don't really know what to think about it...if it was Mad-Eye than why didn't the trio recognize him...I mean they knew him very well and you usually recognize somebody you know that well immediatley....
but still nothing's impossible...yet if it was Mad-Eye...why didn't JKR ever tell us that it was him???

Mod Note: JUst to let you know Firebolt7, I am going to change the title of this thread so that it is more interesting. We have have many, 'Did you notice this' type threads in the past...they don't exactly stand out or differentiate from one another!

interesting theory, although i just can't see madeye as a begger on the streets
he had too much pride and hatred for dark wizards to just merely watch and beg for
gold. and im sure jkr would have released information relating to mad eye if it were true
very interesting theory though well spotted.

a very interesting theory ......but alas i think that mad-eye is truly dead.

And he would never beg but would always fight in such dark times and the order members would
have recognized him when they had gone to diagon alley.

Plus no one could have survived a curse straight in the face by voldemort.
moody would have died before he ever touched ground.

maybe Jo put that part in the book just to remind us of moody or it is just a coincidence.

I dont want moody dead, i liked him too but there is just too much evidence against him being alive.
Just to let you know firebolt7 that it is near to impossible that moody is alive so sorry!!!!!!
This is at least what i think.

Hmm..this actually makes me think because Moody could possibly be alive. I mean JKR didn't completely expand on the topic. All that was said was that everyone thought Moody was dead after they sighted Voldemort in the beginning and Moody just simply disappeared. In actuality it is kind of possible that was him and that he was probably just hiding out. But on the other hand, Moody could just possibly be just dead....but knowing JKR and how she leaves a lot of questions and small plots unanswered it is possible that that was him.

i think that rowling red herringed us here
by this pint of the book we readers had noticed just how many clues were in the other books and so were hypersensitive to clues... she put that description of the hobo with one eye there to keep us on our toes, knowing we would notice

or she had thought of bringing back moody then decided against it and forgotten to take that bit out...

While I hope that Mad-eye is still alive, I think that he must have truly died. I agree that if he were alive, he would have immediately joined the fight, and I don't think he ever would just sit back and become a beggar. I'm not sure but I suppose his being alive is a possibility.

I enjoy rereading the entire series start to finish and i am currently on GoF (for the millionth time) but as soon as i saw these posts, i ran and grabbed my copy of DH and checked out page 525. If you keep reading after the posted quote, after all the beggars saw Hermione (disguised as Bellatrix), they "seemed to melt away before her". But the man with the bloodied bandage walked right up to her and started yelling about his children and "Where are my children? What has he done with them?" Then Ron stunned him. I always assumed Mad Eye was dead, since Voldemorts curse hit him straight in the face, assuming his body was never found because he perished. But maybe, just maybe, he somehow survived... he knows Bellatrix (which would be why he tried to attack Hermione)... without his magical eye, he would not have been able to see Harry and Griphook under the invisibility cloak. Is there a possibility that the man with the bandage really is Mad Eye?? He may have recognized Ron because "it was just possible to discern Ron under his disguise" (my children?!!) Harry, Ron, and Hermione may not have recognized him because he got a facefull of curse... could that have changed his appearance more?? I didn't want to believe he was really dead, and now i see more and more how he might possibly still be alive.

Hmm...this is interesting. I think its likely that Rowling put this in there with plans to maybe add moody back in later in the book, but then decided against it in the end...

I don't think it was Moody for a couple of reasons...

One, if it was he would immediately have made contact with the order, sought help from his friends, etc. So the thought of a genious wizard going from a key player in the fight against Voldemort to becoming a bum in Diagon Alley doesn't really hold water.

Two, he was hit square on with a curse. During this scene in the book the death eaters were aiming to kill, not stun or slow down but to kill. And, proven many times throughout the book, a square hit to the chest is about as bad as it can get so Moody would not have been able to survive...unfortunately.

It's a good theory and all but I feel like if Moody was alive, we as the readers would know about it.

Hmm.. that's an interesting theory.. but I don't think that was Moody.

For one, I don't think he would wonder about in Diagon Alley unnoticed , not only would the trio have spotted him, but sure someone would recognise him and realise that it him.
The theory that he is still alive I think has some credibility to it, as they didn't find a body. True, it is a coincidence that this guy had a bandaged eye, but still.. I just think that it would have surfaced at some point during the book.. I don't think something like that would have been omitted from the story if it was true, I think JKR would have put it in somewhere. Also, I doubt he would just hang around and not do anything to help the Order if he was alive.. that's not really like him.

It does seem like it's moody, but I don't think so, because he would have been recognized. Probably JKR put it there without paying any attention to it. And it says in the book that Bill and Fleur saw Moody get killed so he can't be alive.

I think this is an excellent theory if im honest though i don't think Moody is alive (as much as id hope for him to be!)he wouldn't just sit there being a beggar in the street he'd be in the fighting with everyone else its Moody!
If he had been alive JK would've brought him back into the fighting its just in the nature of his character he is not a coward that would hide.
But good thinking!
Keep searching i bet you may find more little things to discuss!

Hm... when I read the book I didn't notice that line. I guess Moody could be alive. I mean, no one found his body. Some people say that Moody would have been in the fight if he was alive, but he could have been really weak or something like that.

But then, if you think about it, why would Umbridge take his eye, but keep him alive? She's evil, isn't she? Evil people don't just rip someone's eye out of its socket, put it on their door and let that person walk away, bleeding all over the floor.

Hi all, when I read this passage, I got goosebumps because they never found Mad-Eye's body, only his eye. Moody, if I'm not mistaken, was the greates Auror that lived, so I'm sure he used his skill to patch wounds and go into hiding. I know that doesn't make since if he was on the street begging for money. Although, when on the street in that capacity, if he listens to all the gossip around him, he could come back at a later time and strike if LV and the Death Eaters took over. If the Order won, he could keep an "eye" on things from the shadows.

If M-E was hurt badly, no matter how bad he wanted to help the Order he wouldn't be able to until his wounds healed.

Wow- this is a very interesting topic I mean, it's possable. I honestly always had a strange feeling about the whole Mad-Eye thing; like there was somthing we didn't know. If it were him that he would, of course, be under heavy disguise. If it was Moody though than I think he would have (A) attacked Bellatrix (with his 'Attack now without concern for yourself and ask questions later') and (B ) contacted the order ASAP. But JKR is the master of illusion when it comes to words so, really, she could be trying to tell us somthing, figuring that, if we don't pick it up the story will still make sence.
I honestly think it's possable

This is a great theory!! he had not really noticed that sentence before...

It is possible that Moody is alive! He probably hit his head when he falled off the broomstick and now he may be a bit confused, maybe he does not know who he is. That might explain why he does not show up after the fight at least! Becuase of he does not participate in the fight when he is in hiding, he definatly should show up afterwards!

You all have really good ideas... everyone is making excellent points. I think i'm still partial to the 'mad-eye is still alive' theory though. Maybe i just can't let go... In response to some of the other posts: Maybe his eye fell out when he hit the ground and escaping was more important than finding his eye, or he left it on purpose for umbridge (or her people) to find to assume he was dead; if he could heal his own wounds that easily, or if he wanted to for that matter, than why would he have left his half nose the way it was, or force himself to only have one eye (although a magical eye like his might come in handy... especially for one suffering from paranoia like he was); just because fleur and bill saw moody fall doesn't necessarily mean they saw him hit the ground and die. I guess I also feel like JKR doesn't write just to fill in space. Why would she even mention the guy who just happens to have a bloody bandage over one eye after moody's "death" if it definitely didn't mean anything. Although she herself has admitted some mistakes in information in the books, I don't believe this is one of them. I feel like there's actually some meaning to this mystery character... Mad-Eye!!!!

Well, after I read the book I sort of accepted that Moody was not with us anymore, but after reading this theory I really have gained new hope!

But I still find it weird that he doesn't show up to the battle or even after the battle???

Wow, interesting theory; I must have skipped right over that each time I read Deathly Hallows. It just might be possible that he did still survive, and I would be so happy if it was true (he was one of my favorites). However, I have to argue against it. It was said that Moody was seen hit square with a Death Eater's Killing Curse. Even the greatest of Aurors cannot survive that, nor can they come back from the dead. The Order may not have found his body, but I think it is more likely that the Death Eaters will have done away with it. The Prophet had been hiding so much anyways, it was unlikely that Moody's death would be published. Plus, Umbridge had many alliances with Death Eaters, and that may be how she came across his magical eye. If Moody was still alive, they wouldn't have been able to remove his eye from his body, especially if he still had a wand. And, assuming he did survive the killing curse, he would have needed his wand to do so, let alone survive the fall from the air. So, if he had his wand, I cannot see why he would be lying around in Diagon Ally begging for money, especially if he was believed to be dead by so many important people. I would think he had enough power to hide himself, and would definitely present himself to help the cause against Voldemort. Nonetheless, Harry, Ron, and Hermione probably would have noticed who it was when they saw him. Therefore, in this case, I believe the man with the bloody eye bandadge must have been a coincidence.

hmmm that is very interesting but i'm still a little skeptical about it. I think that Moody is dead and gone forever I don't think if he lived he would have wanted to live as a beggar on the streets, he would have been better off dead than being miserable alive- so if the choice was between death and being a beggar on the street i certainly hope he died because moody was awesome and he had an interesting life and lived it to its fullest, alas it was his time to go

~Kate

I dont that mad eye is still around. He got hit straight in the face with a killing curse. The only person who has ever survived it was harry because of his mother. Mad eye wouldve have been able to survive even if he survived the curse. He fell quite a distance so either the curse or the fall would have killed him. If by some remote chance he lived he wouldve contacted the order imediatly to check if harry had survived. Moody also wouldve tracked down his eye from umbridge and he wouldve shown up at the end to fight at Hogwarts. There was little chance he couldve lived.

Well, my theory is that when Moody was blasted off his broom by Voldemorts curse (notice that Jo didn't say it was Avada Kadavra) he landed hard on the ground and was knocked out. Either he lost his memory by that huge fall, or when the Death Eaters came to claim his body, they Memory Charmed him (maybe it was Snape who discovered him?) The eye might have had to be taken as proof that Moody was dead, but he really wasn't. This explains why he was a begger in the streets, without his eye or wand, but still retaining some of his personality. The curse might have also changed his appearence somehow, or just something happened where he can't be recognized. Like pervious posters said, she might have wanted to include him later but decided against it. Anyways that was my first post and my opinion on the matter

Why would Moody not come to the battle at Hogwarts?

I only think that JKR added that paragraph to tell how times have changed under the new regime so.

Also if that was the case then she would not have named the chapter "Fallen Warrior".