The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom

Is the Defense Against the Dark Arts Job Cursed?

March 05, 2023 Sound Owl Media Episode 171
The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom
Is the Defense Against the Dark Arts Job Cursed?
Show Notes Chapter Markers

In this episode, we discuss whether the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is cursed. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      This episode was submitted by a listener! If you want your idea featured on the show, send it in to thepotterdiscussion@gmail.com.

·      2:14 A history of Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) teachers. First is Quirrell who appeared in the first book. He seemed like a good person, but was actually harboring Voldemort in the back of his head and was burned to ash a the end of the book. Lockhart in the Chamber of Secrets seemed too good to be true, and turned out to be a complete fraud. He placed a memory charm on himself that made him forget his entire life.  Lupin was probably one of the best teachers Harry had, but he had one flaw: he was a werewolf. He resigned quickly after that. Alastor Moody seemed like a good person at first, but was really a Death Eater is disguise. Umbridge was arguably the worst DADA teacher we have ever seen, teaching through a book for fear of an uprising. Snape was the final DADA teacher we saw at Hogwarts. Snape took his class very seriously and had some very strict policies. Snape was killed by Voldemort who was in pursuit of the Elder Wand.

·      11:53 Does the subject itself have anything to do with their deaths? The reason why there is a higher rate of death for DADA teachers is the fact that those people are most involved with dark magic and dark wizards. Quirrell was young and wanted to teach, so when he took a trip to Albania and met Voldemort, it was the perfect situation for Voldemort to descend and get an inside man at Hogwarts. Similarly with Moody, Barty Crouch Jr. was a very skilled wizard that the world thinks it dead, so he was in the perfect position to take a post at Hogwarts. His downfall came when he had no Polyjuice potion. He was also one of Voldemort’s closest followers. Snape is also a Death Eater who is mostly in support of Dumbledore. Snape’s end comes when he became too involved with Voldemort and his position was one Voldemort wanted. 

21:03 Is the DADA job cursed? Absolutely, but not for the reason you might think. There isn’t any magic that is involved with the position, it’s just the fact that DADA teachers are more involved with the dark arts than others. It is very difficult to find a DADA teacher who is morally good and good at magic. That’s why Dumbledore is forced to hire these people that aren’t the perfect choice by far. There are two ways you can avoid dying as the DADA teacher. The first is: completely eradicate every ounce of evil from every part of the world and make certain that there is no chance of any evil coming back. Or 2: don’t take the job.

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Intro
A history of Defense Against the Dark teachers
Does the subject itself have anything to do with their deaths?
Is the DADA job cursed?