📚 Hogwarts Curriculum 📚
Classes, professors, and examinations
Core Subjects (Required Years 1-5)
🪄 Charms
Teaches spells that alter objects' properties without changing their fundamental nature. Includes Levitation Charm, Summoning Charm, Cheering Charms. Essential for everyday magic.
Notable: Swish and flick! "Wingardium Leviosa"
🐱 Transfiguration
Changing one object into another. Most difficult and dangerous. Starts with matches to needles, advances to Animagus transformation. McGonagall is extremely strict.
Notable: "Transfiguration is some of the most complex magic you will learn."
🧪 Potions
Professor Severus Snape (Years 1-5)
Professor Horace Slughorn (Year 6)
Brewing magical mixtures with precise instructions. Snape was cruel but brilliant. Slughorn was jovial and played favorites. Requires exact measurements and timing.
Notable: Polyjuice Potion, Felix Felicis, Veritaserum
⚔️ Defense Against the Dark Arts
Cursed Position - Different Professor Each Year
Teaches students to defend themselves against dark creatures and magic. Position was cursed by Voldemort - no teacher lasted more than a year until his death.
Harry's teachers: Quirrell, Lockhart, Lupin (best), Moody/Crouch Jr., Umbridge (worst), Snape
🌿 Herbology
Study and care of magical plants. Lessons in greenhouses. From Mandrakes to Devil's Snare to Venomous Tentacula. Neville's favorite and best subject.
Notable: Mandrakes restored petrified students, Gillyweed helped Harry breathe underwater
📖 History of Magic
Professor Cuthbert Binns (Ghost)
Only ghost teacher. Died in staff room and got up to teach as ghost. Extremely boring - students fall asleep. Covers goblin rebellions, giant wars, magical history.
Notable: Hermione was only one who stayed awake
✨ Astronomy
Professor Aurora Sinistra
Study of stars and planets. Classes at midnight in Astronomy Tower. Use telescopes to chart celestial movements. Includes learning names of stars and moons.
Notable: Least featured class in books
Elective Subjects (Years 3-7)
🔮 Divination
Fortune-telling using tea leaves, crystal balls, dream interpretation. Trelawney is a fraud except for two real prophecies. Harry and Ron made up homework. Hermione quit in disgust.
Methods: Tessomancy (tea leaves), crystal-gazing, palmistry
🦄 Care of Magical Creatures
Professor Rubeus Hagrid (from Year 3)
Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank (substitute)
Study of magical animals. Hagrid taught with enthusiasm but poor judgment (Blast-Ended Skrewts, dangerous creatures). Studied Hippogriffs, Thestrals, Nifflers, Unicorns.
Notable: Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Aragog the Acromantula
🧙 Ancient Runes
Professor Bathsheda Babbling
Study and translation of runic scripts. Hermione's elective. Involves translating ancient magical texts. Most academic of electives.
Notable: Hermione used runes knowledge throughout series
🔢 Arithmancy
Professor Septima Vector
Magical properties of numbers. Predicting future using complex numerical charts. Hermione's favorite subject - considered very difficult.
Notable: More respected than Divination
🎵 Muggle Studies
Professor Charity Burbage (murdered by Voldemort)
Professor Alecto Carrow (Death Eater replacement)
Study of non-magical people and society. Teaches wizards about Muggle life. Under Death Eaters, taught that Muggles were inferior.
Notable: Hermione took it despite being Muggle-born
Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors
| Year | Professor | Teaching Quality & Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Quirinus Quirrell | Pretended to be nervous. Voldemort on back of his head. Taught basic defensive spells but was secretly evil. Died trying to kill Harry. |
| Year 2 | Gilderoy Lockhart | Fraud who stole other people's achievements. Taught nothing useful. Only cared about fame. Memory-charmed himself accidentally. |
| Year 3 | Remus Lupin | BEST TEACHER. Actually taught useful defensive magic: Boggarts, Red Caps, Grindylows, Patronus Charm. Kind, patient, brilliant. Resigned due to werewolf prejudice. |
| Year 4 | "Alastor Moody" (Barty Crouch Jr.) |
Actually good teaching - illegal curses, Imperius resistance. But was Death Eater in disguise ensuring Harry reached Triwizard Cup. Real Moody trapped in trunk. |
| Year 5 | Dolores Umbridge | WORST TEACHER. Ministry plant. Refused to teach practical magic - only theory. Tortured students with blood quill. Eventually driven off by centaurs. |
| Year 6 | Severus Snape | Excellent knowledge, cruel teaching style. Taught non-verbal spells, dueling. Favored Slytherins. Became Headmaster next year. |
| Year 7 | Amycus Carrow | Death Eater. Taught Dark Arts, not defense. Forced students to perform Cruciatus Curse on detentioners. Horrible. |
📝 O.W.L. Examinations
Ordinary Wizarding Levels
Taken at end of fifth year. Equivalent to Muggle GCSEs. Extremely stressful. Determines which N.E.W.T. classes students can take. Administered by Wizarding Examinations Authority.
Grading Scale:
Outstanding (O)
Pass Grade
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Pass Grade
Acceptable (A)
Pass Grade
Poor (P)
Fail Grade
Dreadful (D)
Fail Grade
Troll (T)
Fail Grade
Harry's O.W.L. Results (Year 5)
| Subject | Grade |
|---|---|
| Defense Against the Dark Arts | Outstanding (Only O) |
| Charms | Exceeds Expectations |
| Transfiguration | Exceeds Expectations |
| Herbology | Exceeds Expectations |
| Potions | Exceeds Expectations (Snape required O for N.E.W.T.) |
| Care of Magical Creatures | Exceeds Expectations |
| Astronomy | Acceptable (exam disrupted by Umbridge attacking Hagrid) |
| History of Magic | Dreadful (left during exam when he had vision of Sirius) |
| Divination | Poor |
Total: 7 O.W.L.s passed (Hermione got 10, Ron got 7, Fred and George got 3 each)
📜 N.E.W.T. Examinations
Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests
Taken at end of seventh year. Equivalent to Muggle A-levels. Advanced examinations. Required for many careers. Harry, Ron, and Hermione never took them - they hunted Horcruxes instead during their final year.
N.E.W.T. Requirements for Careers:
- ⚡ Auror: Minimum 5 N.E.W.T.s with Outstanding in DADA, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms
- 🧙 Healer (St. Mungo's): N.E.W.T.s in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, DADA
- 🏛️ Ministry Positions: Usually require N.E.W.T.s in relevant subjects
- 👨🏫 Professor: N.E.W.T. in subject taught, often Outstanding required
Harry's N.E.W.T. Classes (Year 6)
- ⚔️ Defense Against the Dark Arts (Snape)
- 🧪 Potions (Slughorn - only took because didn't need O)
- 🪄 Charms (Flitwick)
- 🐱 Transfiguration (McGonagall)
Harry dropped Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy for N.E.W.T. level. Never completed Year 7 or took N.E.W.T. exams but became Auror anyway based on war service.
Other Classes & Activities
✈️ Flying Lessons
Madam Rolanda Hooch
First-years only. Learn to fly broomsticks. Harry showed natural talent immediately and was recruited to Gryffindor Quidditch team. Hooch also referees Quidditch matches.
🎭 Apparition Lessons
Wilkie Twycross (Ministry)
Sixth-years who are 17 can take lessons. Taught in Great Hall. Practice Disappearing and Apparating. Students take test at 17. Requires concentration (Destination, Determination, Deliberation). Danger of splinching.
🏆 Quidditch
School sport. Four house teams. Matches throughout year. Quidditch Cup to winning house. Trains on house pitches. Harry was Gryffindor Seeker (youngest in century), later Captain.
📖 Library Study
Madam Irma Pince (Librarian)
Thousands of books. Restricted Section requires signed permission. Pince is very protective of books. Hermione practically lived there.
🎄 Extracurricular Clubs
Various clubs including: Gobstones Club, Dueling Club (Year 2, taught by Lockhart and Snape), Dumbledore's Army (secret), Slug Club (Slughorn's social group).
🚫 Detention
Punishment for rule-breaking. Varies by professor: scrubbing trophies (Filch), forbidden forest trips (Hagrid), writing lines (various - Umbridge used blood quill illegally), sorting rotten flobberworms (Snape).
Required Textbooks (First Year)
| Book Title | Subject |
|---|---|
| The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk | Charms |
| A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot | History of Magic |
| Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling | General |
| A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch | Transfiguration |
| One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore | Herbology |
| Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger | Potions |
| Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander | Care of Magical Creatures |
| The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble | DADA |
Notable Later Textbooks
- 📖 Advanced Potion-Making - Harry's used copy belonged to "Half-Blood Prince" (Snape), filled with improvements
- 📖 The Monster Book of Monsters - Year 3, attacked unless stroked down spine
- 📖 Unfogging the Future - Divination textbook by Cassandra Vablatsky
- 📖 Break with a Banshee - One of Lockhart's fraudulent books
Hogwarts Staff (Harry's Era)
| Staff Member | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Albus Dumbledore | Headmaster | Until 1997 (death). Greatest wizard of age. |
| Minerva McGonagall | Deputy Head, Transfiguration | Head of Gryffindor. Became Headmistress after Snape. |
| Severus Snape | Potions, later DADA, Headmaster | Head of Slytherin. Double agent. |
| Filius Flitwick | Charms | Head of Ravenclaw. Part goblin, dueling champion. |
| Pomona Sprout | Herbology | Head of Hufflepuff. Kind, skilled with plants. |
| Rubeus Hagrid | Groundskeeper, Care of Magical Creatures | Half-giant. Expelled third year but stayed on. |
| Argus Filch | Caretaker | Squib. Hates students. Cat named Mrs. Norris. |
| Poppy Pomfrey | Matron (Hospital Wing) | Excellent healer. Protective of patients. |
| Irma Pince | Librarian | Strict about book care. Guards Restricted Section. |
| Rolanda Hooch | Flying Instructor | First years only. Quidditch referee. |
| Sybill Trelawney | Divination | Made two real prophecies, otherwise a fraud. |
| Cuthbert Binns | History of Magic | Ghost. Died and kept teaching. Extremely boring. |
Education at Hogwarts
Hogwarts provides a comprehensive magical education preparing students for adult life in the wizarding world. While subjects like History of Magic might be boring, and Divination often useless, core subjects like Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts provide essential skills.
The quality of education depends heavily on the professor - Lupin taught more in one year of DADA than most students learned in their entire time at Hogwarts. Conversely, Lockhart and Umbridge taught nothing useful at all.
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
— Albus Dumbledore (after Harry passed his exams)