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One Underrated Harry Potter Character Who Packed Too Much Power for How Dumb He Was

One Underrated Harry Potter Character Who Packed Too Much Power for How Dumb He Was
Image credit: Warner Bros.

This guy is typically seen as one of the dumbest and least powerful young wizards in Harry Potter, but that was… Far from the truth.

Summary:

  • Vincent Crabbe’s casting the Fiendfyre spell proved he had a lot of raw magical power.
  • Unfortunately, the Fiendfyre destroyed the Room of Requirement, the most unique feat of magic.
  • Under Snape’s administration, Carrow felt free to teach such dangerous spells to the dumbest goons in the pack.

Out of the Golden Trio’s generation, there’s only a handful of people who are considered especially gifted. Not Hermione or Harry; the first one was book smart, and the second one was not responsible for the miracles happening around him.

Ironically, the only three that jump to mind are all from the Weasley family: Fred and George were brilliant with their experiments and were capable of discovering new magical techniques, and Ginny was powerful enough to draw adults’ attention with her hexes’ strength and execution.

But there was another person who’s always understandably but wrongly overlooked.

Crabbe Was Packing Insane Raw Power

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Vincent Crabbe is mostly seen as a mindless buffoon who, on par with Gregory Goyle, served as Draco Malfoy’s admirer/bodyguard. Indeed, neither Crabbe nor Goyle showed any particular wizarding potential for the vast majority of the saga, but as it turned out, it was all about the teacher — and in the end, Crabbe found his.

During their fight in the Room of Requirement, Crabbe cast Fiendfyre — an advanced Dark spell that unleashed cursed sentient flames into the world. It wasn’t a bright move, mind you: Fiendfyre required extreme skill and concentration to control, and Crabbe had neither. But what he lacked in skill and concentration, he had in raw power, because even summoning Fiendfyre was an achievement and a half.

The Room’s Destruction Was Snape’s Fault

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As revealed by the Fiendfyre incident, Vincent Crabbe was packing enough power to cause devastating damage to his enemies. Thankfully, until he met Amycus Carrow, he didn’t have a teacher who’d encourage his Dark and sadistic inclinations, and Crabbe himself was too dumb and impatient to learn Dark magic on his own.

Unfortunately, Crabbe’s show of power destroyed the Room of Requirement, the most sophisticated and intricate piece of wizardry we’ve seen in the saga. The rampaging Fiendfyre damaged the room too much for it to ever be reopened, and many secrets, knowledge, and history died then and there by Crabbe’s spell.

Ultimately, the Room’s destruction wasn’t Crabbe’s fault; he had no thought behind his eyes to balance his power. Amycus Carrow, a braindead Death Eater, can’t be unironically blamed for it, too. The only person intelligent enough to be responsible for it was Severus Snape who, as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, didn’t prevent his underlings from teaching such dangerous and uncontrollable spells.

Well, at least now we know that Vincent Crabbe was one of the most powerful young wizards of his generation, if a complete buffoon.