Vincent Crabbe

"*We're supposed to practise the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions... I refused to do it. Some people are into it, though; Crabbe and Goyle love it. First time they've ever been top in anything, I expect.*"
—Neville Longbottom describing Crabbe and Goyle's cruelty[src]Template:Individual infobox

**Vincent Crabbe** (1979/1980 – 2 May 1998) was a pure-blood wizard, and the son of Death Eater Crabbe Snr. He came from a line of Dark Wizards and Death Eaters, with his father and possibly grandfather before him.

Vincent Crabbe was also a student at Hogwarts and a member of Slytherin House. Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were rarely seen without their ringleader Draco Malfoy. While Dolores Umbridge was Headmistress, he joined the Inquisitorial Squad with Goyle and Malfoy. In his last year at Hogwarts, he became a Dark Wizard. He learned to cast powerful dark curses, such as the Killing and the Cruciatus Curses. He accidentally killed himself using Fiendfyre on 2 May 1998 in the Room of Requirement, during the Battle of Hogwarts.

## Contents

* Biography
	+ Early life
	+ Hogwarts years (1991-1998)
		- First year
		- Second year
		- Third year
		- Fourth year
		- Fifth year
		- Sixth year
		- Seventh year, Battle of Hogwarts, and death
	+ Legacy
* Physical description
* Personality and traits
* Magical abilities and skills
* Possessions
* Etymology
* Behind the scenes
* Appearances
* Notes and references

## Biographyedit | edit source

### Early lifeedit | edit source

Vincent Crabbe was born into the pure-blood Crabbe family. His father, Mr Crabbe, was a Death Eater. This likely influenced his son's prejudice against Muggle-borns and other non-pure-bloods. Vincent was related, in some way, to Irma Black (née Crabbe).

### Hogwarts years (1991-1998)edit | edit source

#### First yearedit | edit source

"*Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle. And my name’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.*"
—Draco Malfoy introducing himself and his cronies to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley on the Hogwarts Express[src]

At the start of his first year, Crabbe was sorted into Slytherin House. He was Sorted into this house along with his friends Draco Malfoy and Gregory Goyle, both of whom were also the sons of Death Eaters. Harry Potter noticed that Crabbe and Goyle seemed to act as bodyguards for Malfoy.

When Draco challenged Harry to a duel, he selected Crabbe as his Second. He selected Crabbe as his second because the challenge was merely a ruse to get Harry in trouble for being out of bed after hours. At the end of the year Harry and Ron were disappointed to learn that Crabbe and Goyle had somehow passed their exams and would be staying at Hogwarts.

#### Second yearedit | edit source

"*...Crabbe gleefully pointed out the cakes to Goyle and grabbed them. Grinning stupidly, they stuffed the cakes whole into their large mouths. For a moment, both of them chewed greedily, looks of triumph on their faces. Then, without the smallest change of expression, they both keeled over backward onto the floor.*"
—The trio successfully obtain hair for their Polyjuice Potion[src]

During the second opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger tricked him and Goyle into eating cakes containing a Sleeping Draught — by leaving the cakes on a banister, even though Crabbe and Goyle had already eaten much more than their fill (which would explain his obesity). Ron and Harry used hairs from Crabbe and Goyle to impersonate them, as components of a Polyjuice Potion, and spy on Malfoy in the Slytherin Common room (Hermione did not go as Millicent Bulstrode because she had used cat hairs, thinking they were Millicent's hairs from her robes, transforming her partly into a cat).

#### Third yearedit | edit source

"*Malfoy's head jerked forward as the mud hit him; his silverblond hair was suddenly dripping in muck... Ron had to hold onto the fence to keep himself standing, he was laughing so hard. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle spun stupidly on the spot, staring wildly around, Malfoy trying to wipe his hair clean.*"
—Harry Potter humiliates Malfoy and his gang at the Shrieking Shack[src]

On the way to Hogwarts on his third year of education, Crabbe along with his friends stepped into Harry Potter's compartment to bully him. However, they could not act on their wishes as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, was sleeping in the compartment. Thus Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle left the compartment and the trio alone.

Early in the school year it was quite clear that the Dementors guarding Hogwarts against Sirius Black were feared by Harry, and so during a Quidditch match, Crabbe and his friends put their cloaks up and pretended to be Dementors in an attempt to scare Harry, which it did and Harry cast a corporeal Patronus charm in response. Crabbe's attempts to scare Harry later in the year were foiled, as he had too much protection from students and staff.

#### Fourth yearedit | edit source

"*Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-coloured boulders, and neither of them, Harry was pleased to see, had managed to find a partner.*"
—Crabbe and Goyle attend the Yule Ball alone[src]

In the 1994-1995 school year, the Triwizard Tournament was held at Hogwarts school. After Harry Potter became a champion alongside Cedric Diggory, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy passed out badges that read *Support CEDRIC DIGGORY — the REAL Hogwarts Champion!,* but if pressed they could be made to read *POTTER STINKS*, and taunted Harry regularly, such as commenting that he was betting Harry wouldn't last more than a few minutes with the dragons.

Later during the Yule Ball both they couldn't find anyone who was willing to go with them and ended up having to go stag. At the end of the year, Harry was almost murdered by Lord Voldemort and saw that Crabbe's father was a Death Eater.

#### Fifth yearedit | edit source

**Gregory Goyle**: "*My father reckons your aunt's a trouble maker, someone will teach her a lesson!*"
**Susan Bones**: "*What do you want? Harry! Hermione, Ron hey! Please, help!*"
**Crabbe**: "*Aw look, they've come to save their ickle friend.*"
— Crabbe and Goyle meanly intimidate Susan Bones[src]
In their fifth year, Crabbe and Goyle each became Beaters for the Slytherin Quidditch team. During the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match, Crabbe sent a Bludger at Harry, angry because he caught the Snitch before Draco (the Seeker then) did. Harry got into a fight alongside George Weasley and got a lifetime ban from Quidditch, courtesy of Dolores Umbridge. Crabbe was happy about this; Harry Potter's and George Weasley's Quidditch bans were lifted when Umbridge was removed from Hogwarts.

After Harry caused the arrest of Crabbe's father, Mr Crabbe and Lucius Malfoy, Malfoy's father, they attempted to ambush him on the Hogwarts Express but were jinxed so thoroughly and variously by members of the D.A. that they were transfigured into large slugs. A similar event had occurred at the end of the previous year when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George all used different hexes on them on the train.

#### Sixth yearedit | edit source

"*If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing at pres —*"
—Severus Snape's disappointment in Crabbe and Goyle[src]

During the 1996–1997 school year, Malfoy had him and Goyle turn into girls via Polyjuice Potion, to be able to guard the Room of Requirement while Malfoy was repairing the Vanishing Cabinet inside. Whenever someone walked by, Crabbe or Goyle would drop an object, making a loud noise that would alert Malfoy not to come out. Crabbe was displeased at being made to do this, especially since Malfoy refused to tell him what he was doing inside. Once, Crabbe started to argue with Malfoy about this. Crabbe and Goyle failed their Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. and had to redo their fifth year, in which they could not produce positive works, thus causing Professor Snape to put them into detention.

At the end of the school year, he and Goyle were left feeling lonely, after their leader and friend Draco Malfoy left the school just before the end of the term.

#### Seventh year, Battle of Hogwarts, and deathedit | edit source

**Draco Malfoy**: " STOP! *The Dark Lord wants him alive —*"
**Vincent Crabbe**: "*So? I'm not killing him, am I? But if I can, I will, the Dark Lord wants him dead anyway, what's the diff — ? It's that Mudblood!* Avada Kedavra*!*"
— Crabbe trying to curse Harry Potter and Hermione Granger[src]
During Crabbe's seventh year at Hogwarts, two new professors were appointed; Amycus and Alecto Carrow. Amycus was the Dark Arts professor, while Alecto was the Muggle Studies professor. They both liked to punish students, torturing them; they also ordered the other students to torture the punished ones with the Cruciatus Curse; it is noted that Crabbe and Goyle were among the few ones who loved it. It was also the very first time they got top grades in something.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy stayed at Hogwarts and they ambushed Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the Room of Requirement. It turned out that Crabbe had become a competent Dark wizard, thanks to the coaching of Death Eater Amycus Carrow, seeing that he was capable of performing the Killing Curse, which was claimed by Barty Crouch Jnr (while posing as Alastor Moody) to require a "*powerful bit of magic behind it.*" It, like all the Unforgivable Curses, also needed (Harry himself proved with Bellatrix) a genuine desire to injure, maim, or kill behind it to be effective, and Crabbe frequently demonstrated this level of malevolence.

Initially, Harry mocked Crabbe and the others, thinking they were merely here to make fools of themselves in an attempt to capture Harry himself. However, when Crabbe aimed to kill, Harry became greatly infuriated. For the first time Crabbe defied Draco, stating "*you an' yer dad are finished*," implying a great deal of knowledge regarding the Malfoy family's falling out of favour with Voldemort. Crabbe then conjured Fiendfyre in an attempt to kill the trio, but he failed to learn how to stop it. It killed him and destroyed the entire Room of Requirement before he could escape.

"*Like it hot, scum?*"
—Crabbe's final words.[src]

None of the students who escaped (except for Malfoy and Goyle) saw his death, and the others presumed that it killed him, as no one saw him leave the room. Ironically, his use of Fiendfyre also destroyed Ravenclaw's diadem, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, due to the destructive power of the spell. Ron reflected that such an action might have made him feel sorry for Crabbe's death if he hadn't been trying to kill them when he used it.

### Legacyedit | edit source

For his disobedience of orders during their final reunion which nearly cost Goyle's life and his own, Draco held the deceased Crabbe in low esteem.

In 2020, while talking with Harry at the Ministry of Magic, Draco revealed that he was always jealous about Harry having Ron and Hermione as friends while he had Crabbe and Goyle.

## Physical descriptionedit | edit source

Crabbe was large and very fat, with a thick neck. He had gorilla-like arms, a flat nose, and wore a pudding bowl-style haircut. He was very mean and very stupid, which makes him little more than a "follower" of Malfoy. However, in spite of his overweight, fat physique, he was an avid runner, as shown when he, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and Goyle were running away from the Fiendfyre. Crabbe is told to have outstripped the rest of them, even Harry, who was very quick.

## Personality and traitsedit | edit source

**Angelina Johnson**: "*Well, they don’t look bright enough to tell one end of a broom from another, but I was always surprised Derrick and Bole managed to find their way onto the pitch without signposts.*"
**Harry Potter**: "*Crabbe and Goyle are in the same mould.*"
— Angelina Johnson and Harry Potter commenting on Crabbe and Goyle's stupidity[src]
Crabbe was entirely lacking in introspection or inquisitiveness, and was very greedy and gluttonous, eating at the feasts for longer than anyone and leaving with large loads of cakes to still be eaten. He could be described as enormously fat and pig-like, like Dudley Dursley, but even more thuggish and stupid. Despite his large frame, Crabbe had a surprisingly soft voice, though he speaks so rarely that Harry never noted his tone of voice until Crabbe's last battle. Crabbe seemed to be incapable of independent thought; he was generally told what to do by Draco, and both he and Goyle did so poorly in their O.W.L.s that they had to repeat their fifth year, further showcasing their low intelligence. Nonetheless, Crabbe was still depicted as slightly more intelligent than Goyle and in 1996 he seemed to quarrel with Malfoy for the first time, for a reward.

Slytherins are typically described as "cunning", though given Crabbe and Goyle's demonstrated low intelligence, it is likely that they were sorted into Slytherin due to their desire for power and their belief in blood purity, which are often considered to be other common Slytherin traits. It is also possible that they did not fit into the other houses as well as they fit into Slytherin, or that they requested the Sorting Hat to specifically place them there as Harry and Hermione did for Gryffindor.

Crabbe also displayed poor sportsmanship as a Quidditch player, as when playing Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team, he spitefully sent a Bludger at Harry after the Snitch had already been caught during the 1995-1996 Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Near the end of his life, Crabbe proved to be a deadly dark wizard, being able to cast the Unforgivable Curses with clear talent. While he failed his Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, he excelled in the actual Dark Arts class, his thuggish sadism giving him the motivation to perform powerful curses on his fellow students and even becoming top of the class. He also seemed to change for the worse, as he defied Draco knowing that the Malfoy family had lost its influence and prestige in both the wizarding world and Voldemort's eyes, and that nothing could be gained from being affiliated with them anymore. Furthermore, he was not above torturing and even attempting to kill fellow students. Crabbe attempted to murder Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley for being a Muggle-born and blood traitor, respectively, also hurling the highly offensive "Mudblood" at them. This differentiates him from Draco, who had realised in his sixth year that he had delved deeper into the Dark Arts than he wanted. However, Crabbe also remained reckless and stupid, and neglected the potency of the Dark Arts, releasing cursed flames to incinerate his opponents that he could not control, which led to his death.

## Magical abilities and skillsedit | edit source

"*First time they've ever been top in anything, I expect.*"
—Crabbe's and Gregory Goyle's affinity for the Cruciatus Curse[src]

* **Flying**: Crabbe played Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team. He was chosen for his size and strength rather than skill.
* **Dark Arts**: By 1998, Crabbe was highly proficient with dark magic and dark charms, such as the Cruciatus Curse, the Killing Curse (two of the Unforgivable Curses), and could even summon Fiendfyre. However, when he released Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement it resulted in his death, due to him not knowing how to stop it.
* **Duelling**: Crabbe was a capable duellist. Crabbe would cover Goyle, when the two duelled Harry Potter on the latter's way to the Astronomy Tower and proved to be talented. After being taught by the Carrows, his skill in dark magic made him a deadly opponent and he proved capable of holding his own against Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Fortunately, he missed both Hermione and Ron when he used the Killing Curse but his ability to successfully cast such a lethal spell at all cemented him as a deadly duellist.
* **Charms**: Crabbe was able to perform the *Descendo* charm, which causes any targeted object to move downwards. He was also able to cast the Disillusionment Charm to disguise himself, showing he had a reasonable degree of skill in charm-work.

## Possessionsedit | edit source

* **Wand**: Crabbe owned a wand, which was of an unknown length, wand wood and core material. Like most British wizards, he presumably purchased it from Ollivanders in Diagon Alley, London, before starting his first year at Hogwarts in 1991. By this seventh year, Crabbe was capable of performing potent dark magic with his wand, including the Unforgivable Curses and Fiendfyre. However, his wand was destroyed during the Skirmish at the Room of Requirement in the Battle of Hogwarts, when he lost control of his conjured Fiendfyre and subsequently perished in the flames, along with his wand.
* **Potter Stinks badge**: During the 1994–1995 school year when Hogwarts was hosting the Triwizard Tournament, Crabbe owned and wore one of these derogatory enchanted badges to mock Harry Potter and his participation in the tournament.
* **Shrunken head**: Crabbe owned a shrunken head, often a speaking object, in his luggage with him to Hogwarts for the 1996–1997 school year. However, it was confiscated by the caretaker Argus Filch, and the suspicion of it being a dark object; it was most likely was indeed.

## Etymologyedit | edit source

* Vincent means "conqueror" or "victor."
* His last name is probably a variation of crab, a small, round crustacean with two large claws in front, or informal English for a grumpy person.

## Behind the scenesedit | edit source

* Vincent Crabbe was portrayed in film adaptations of the *Harry Potter* series by British actor, Jamie Waylett.
* In the books, Crabbe is generally portrayed as being more intelligent than Goyle but in the films, it seems to be the other way around.
* He is portrayed as a more comedic character in the films, the shorter and fatter of Malfoy's bodyguards, but as of the fourth film, he is the taller of Malfoy's henchmen. The more comedic punishments for the Slytherins' wrongdoing seem to go to him. In the fourth film, when Malfoy is turned into a ferret by Bartemius Crouch Jnr, masquerading as Mad-Eye Moody, the ferret is thrown into Crabbe's trousers, clawing away at his legs. Jamie Waylett who plays Crabbe had to wear two pairs of trousers so that the ferret would not cause any injury, earlier in the film the spider was thrown on to Crabbe's head and he groans out of disgust and fear. Indeed, in the film adaptation of the third novel, Harry is messing with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle while under his invisibility cloak, under the pretence of being a vicious ghost, he pulls down Crabbe's trousers and kicks him on his backside when Crabbe tries and fails to pull them back up. Malfoy runs away screaming, and he pushes Crabbe down again, who is struggling to get to his feet and pull up his trousers. He eventually gets up and has to crawl away from the scene, trousers forgotten, and his underpants and legs showing. In the original novel, Harry had thrown mud at the threesome and thrown a tree branch at Crabbe. This scene was relived somewhat in the fifth film, albeit that it was Fred and George Weasley who caused the mayhem. The fireworks set off by the Weasley twins target the Slytherin threesome. One particularly overambitious firework goes after Goyle, who pushes it away. It chases after Crabbe, who is running, yelling, away. The firework is ultimately too fast, and it shoves his backside, reminiscent of the kicking scene. In the second film, when the school is cheering for Rubeus Hagrid, Crabbe gets up to cheer, only to be pulled down by Malfoy, looking embarrassed. Another somewhat comedic portrayal of Crabbe is in the third film, in which Malfoy, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Pike and other Slytherins imitate Dementors with hoods and robes. Crabbe imitates a Dementor like the others, but has neither hood nor robe on, and therefore doesn't even slightly resemble a Dementor.
* Crabbe does not appear in either part of the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)*, and his role is taken by Goyle, who casts the Fiendfyre and dies in his place. Goyle's role in the book is replaced by Blaise's. This is because on 7 April 2009 Crabbe's actor (Jamie Waylett) and another man were arrested for cannabis possession and later tried and sentenced to community work. There is no mention of him or his fate in Part 2 (instead of Crabbe, Goyle is the one dying in the movie) although it may be possible that in case he attended that year, he was sent to the dungeons like Pansy Parkinson or evacuated to Hogsmeade along the underage students. This was the same in the video game adaptation and *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7*.
* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Crabbe is seen in Slughorn's Potions class. However, it is stated in the book that Crabbe and Goyle failed to advance to N.E.W.T.-level potions.
* Vincent Crabbe's LEGO mini-figure in set 4735 features Ronald Weasley's face on the flip side to show that it is actually Ron, disguised by Polyjuice Potion.

## Appearancesedit | edit source

The Harry Potter Wiki has 130 images related to ***Vincent Crabbe***.

* *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* (First appearance)
* *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)*
* *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)*
* *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*
* *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)*
* *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)* (Except in Xbox/Gamecube Version)
* *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*
* *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)*
* *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)*
* *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*
* *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)*
* *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*
* *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)*
* *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)*
* *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*
* *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)*
* *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)*
* *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*
* *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child* (Mentioned only)
* *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play)* (Mentioned only)
* *Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup*
* *LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World* (Ronald Weasley, disguised via Polyjuice Potion)
* *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4*
* *LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7*
* *LEGO Harry Potter*
* *Pottermore*
* *Wizarding World*
* *Harry Potter Trading Card Game*
* *Harry Potter: The Character Vault*