Most of us when we read the Harry Potter books for the first time, would have given up on everything to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And maybe some of us would still do so, as we wait for an acceptance letter that will never arrive.
After all, what could go wrong in a magical boarding school with ghosts and secret passageways and Quidditch lessons and the occasional trip to Hogsmeade?
Well, maybe some of the horrible things done by the Hogwarts professors themselves, everyone from Dumbledore and below, might make you reconsider.
Let Others Get Away For Their Misdeeds
Dumbledore as Headmaster, didn’t always do a great job.
Under his tutelage, he repeatedly put his students at risk and let Professors and others get away with criminal activities. Despite being underage and clearly unprepared, he let Harry compete in the Triwizard Tournament. He never told off Snape for bullying and traumatizing his students, especially Neville Longbottom.
He didn’t even bat an eyelid when a Death Eater masquerading as Alastor Moody performed an Unforgivable Curse on the students to test their limits.
Gave Horrible Detentions
Detentions might be important to discipline unruly students, but they shouldn’t endanger the health and safety of the kids. In Harry’s first year, he along with Ron and Draco was sent to the Forbidden Forest to uncover the dead body of a unicorn, all because they had been caught out of bed after hours.
If that wasn’t harsh and downright dangerous, there was Dolores Umbridge who forced Harry to write “I must not tell lies” enough times until the words were engraved in his skin with his own blood.
Took Favoritism To Another Level
Some of the Professors in the series were biased. And yeah, that happens a lot in real life too.
But then there was Severus Snape whose partiality towards his own Slytherin house was so strong, he’d constantly praise Draco and even deduct points from fellow Gryffindor genius Hermione Granger for being an “insufferable know-it-all”.
Another Professor who was also biased towards certain students was Horace Slughorn. He even formed a “Slug Club” composed of his favorites and even threw parties at Hogwarts, where only his selected guests could attend.
Used Unforgivable Curses On Students
As per the laws of the wizarding world, a single use of an Unforgivable Curse could guarantee a life sentence in Azkaban.
That however did not stop Barty Crouch Jr, disguised as a Defense Against Dark Arts Teacher, test it out on students.And in the last book, with Snape as Headmaster and the Carrows running the school, the Cruciatus Curse was even performed on students as punishment.
Ouch.
Turned A Blind Eye To Injustice
Despite knowing how unjust a Professor might be, the others just turned a blind eye.
When Dolores Umbridge came into power, despite resenting her, the Professors did not openly express their disapproval much, until the very end, fearing for their own jobs.Similarly, despite knowing that Lockhart was a joke, Dumbledore still let him teach, even after he set some Cornish pixies on the students.
Used Truth Potion On Students
Snape tells us that the use of Veritaserum, or the Truth potion was strictly controlled by the Ministry. Yet he still threatened to use it on Harry, despite it being an illegal move.
And in the Order of the Phoenix, we see Dolores Umbridge actually use Veritaserum to find out answers from Harry. Of course Harry had no idea but he was clever enough to not drink it.
We later find out that she had got it from Snape, who helpfully enough had supplied her with fake Veritaserum.
Try To Modify/Erase The Students’ Memories
Memories are integral to a person’s identity, without which one would immediately lose one’s sense of self. Yet in the Chamber of Secrets, Gilderoy Lockhart tries to perform a Memory Charm on Harry and Ron.
In fact, it is revealed that all of Lockhart’s fame was built on a carefully-crafted lie. He had claimed to have done a great many brave things, but it turns out they were all accomplished by other people and using his prowess at Memory Charms he modified their memories and stole their credit.
And not only was he planning to erase Harry and Ron’s memories, but he was also willing to let Ginny Weasley die in the Chamber of Secrets. Fortunately his plan backfired and he lost his own memory instead.
Bullied Students
Bullying students is messed up on so many levels, but that’s something students of Hogwarts had to accept. Severus Snape bullied his students, especially Neville and Harry even as he favored Draco and the other Slytherins over everything.
In fact, he took special relish in bullying Potter by making his potions disappear for making a mistake, giving him bad grades and constantly picking on him. He even threatened to poison Neville’s toad and Neville at one point was so scared of him, his Boggart took the from of Professor Snape.
And of course, the bullying reached new levels when Dolores Umbridge appeared on the scene…
Put Students In Life-Threatening Situations
The Professors at Hogwarts repeatedly put their students in life-threatening situations.
Hagrid had them interact with ferocious creatures as part of coursework. Dumbledore allowed soul-sucking Dementors to prowl the school. Sprout had them deal with mandrakes that knocked Neville unconscious.
And Hogwarts was one of the three wizarding schools that hosted a Tournament so dangerous, students died competing in it.
Actually Tried To Kill The Students
And if that wasn’t enough some of the Professors actually tried killing their students.
Both Quirrell and Barty Crouch Jr tried to kill Harry Potter. Quirrell in fact pretended to be innocent, till he revealed himself to be carrying Lord Voldemort at the back of his head and tried to steal the Philosopher’s Stone from Harry. And when Voldemort ordered to kill him, Quirrell didn’t hesitate at all.
Similarly, Crouch who protected Harry only to safely deliver him to Voldemort, tried to kill him once he realized that Voldemort had failed to do so.
If we ever went to Hogwarts, would we even make out of it alive?
