The magical wizarding school of Hogwarts wouldn’t be the same without its cast of professors. Some of the best wizards and witches of their time are hired to teach at Hogwarts, and 💜they pass down their knowledge to the students—some♉ of which will, in turn, become Hogwarts professors. Harry Potter and his friends saw their fair share of professors during their years at Hogwarts, some extraordinary, some plain sinister, some great, some completely incompetent. The Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, in particular, has seen many, many professors over the years, as no professor could hold the position for longer than a year.
Just like in real life, Hogwarts professors shape their students for better or for worse. They guide the young witches and wizards and watch out for their wel🔜l-being, and prepare them for their O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. Before Harry’s time, of course, Hogwarts had different professors, whom fans don’t always know about, but who also shaped the wizarding world. Many of them wrote the books Harry and his friends use in class, for instance.
Hogwarts’ professors are some of the most iconic characters of the series—think of Dumbledore, whose end shattered thousands of fans, or Snape, whom Potterheads either despise or idolize. For your enjoyment, here is a definite ranking of 25 of these professors. Note that they are not ranked according to their power or wisdom, but rather, according to their teaching ability, to how much they taught their students, and to the way they protected them in tꦦhe dark times that followed Voldemort’s return.
25 Dolores Umbridge (Defence 📖Against The Dark Arts And Headmistress)
Who better to top this list than famed villain Dolores Umbridge? All Harry Potter fans love to hate the pink-clad Defenc🍨e Against the Dark Arts Professor.
Not only was Umbridge a prime example of how the scariest villains aren’t always the menacing-looking ones, but she was also a pretty terrible teacher.
Hogwarts had a few bad Defence Against the Dark Arts Profesꦉsors, but Umbridge was arguably the worst of the lot. She failed to teach the students any useful spells and consistently bullied and abused them physically.
24 ﷽ Bartholomew Crouch Jr. (Defence A༒gainst The Dark Arts)
He wa𝕴s one of Voldemort’s men masquerading as a Hogwarts professor—you can’t really get worse that. Bartholomew Crouch Jr., disguised as Mad-Eye Moody, taught Har🃏ry and his peers a couple of Unforgivable Curses.
Granted, he actually taught them something, which is more than we can say about Umbridge.
The whole bit where he turned Draco into a ferret was pretty cool, but completely against Hogwarts rules. All in all, he was one of Voldemort’s followers and a dark wizard, which earns𝓀 him this spot on the list.
23 Proᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚfessor Quirrell (Defence Against The Dark Arts)
Of course, Professor Quirinus Quirrell had to be somewhere near 💮the bottom of the list. The seemingly inoffensive Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor turned out to be one of Voldemort’s followers. And not just any old Voldemort supporter, either: he gave the Dark Lord life by allowing him to “live” on the back of his head. Working for Voldemort and trying to end his students once the school year is finished definitely qual🏅ifies Quirrell for a spot on the bottom of this list.
22 🤡 Amycus Carrow (Dark Arts)
Amycus Carrow was also one of Voldemort’s followers, but unlike Quirrell and Bartholomew Crouch Jr., he didn’t have to hide—he was appointed Defence Against th💧e Dark Arts teacher during Voldemort’s short reign, when Severus Snape was Headmaster of Hogwarts. His class essentially became a Dark Arts class—guess that’s what happens when the teacher is a dark wizard. He tormented and harmed students, and eventually ended up in Azkaban. Amycus once spat in McGonagall's face, prompting Harry to use the Cruciatus curse on him, whic💮h gives you an idea of how sinister he was.
21 ꦫ Alecto Car🀅row (Muggle Studies)
Alecto was Amycus’ sister, and, of course, also a Voldemort supporter. She start🧔ed working at Hogwarts at the same time as her brother, contributing to Snape’s reign of terror. Alecto was the Muggle Studies teacher, but instead of teaching students about muggles, she taught them “how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drive wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being re-established.” She was, just like her brother, sent to Azkaban 😼after Harry and his friends won.
20 ♐ Professor Emerett Picardy (Author Of Why Lycanthropes Don't Deserve To Lꦆive)
Professor ꦗEmerett Picardy wasn’t teaching anymore by the time Harry Potter and his friends came to Hogwarts. He did, 𝓀however, have an impact on the wizarding community, and particularly on the way they view werewolves. Emerett Picardy was the author of Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live. The title alone gives you an idea of why he’s so low on this list. Professor Picardy’s work was “noted for its incorrect conclusion that werewolves lose their moral sense while in human form.”
19 Gilderoy Lockhart (Defence Against The Dark Arts) 𝔉
Gilderoy Lockhart wasn’t, like most ౠof the professors I’ve mentioned so far, unequivocally sinister. He was a liar, a fraud, and a terrible teacher, but he wasn’t a Voldemort supporter or a dark wizard.
He didn’t harm or abuse his students—unless you count forcing Harry to answer his fan mail for him as abuse.
He did, however, use his talent f🍸or memory charms to obliviate other wizards 💦and take the credit for their accomplishments, which makes him an all-around terrible person.
18 Professor Binns (History📖 Of Magic)
Now, while Lockhart, Umbridge, the Carrows, andꦑ the other🐎 professors cited on this list so far were antagonistic characters, Professor Binns wasn’t one of Harry’s enemies.
He was, in fact, a rather harmless professor—his only fault was being really, really boring.
Binns is Hogwarts’ resident ghost professor, who, according to , passed “in his sleep and got up in the morning to teach lessons, leaving his body behind”. He teaches History of Magic and has a talent for lulling his students to sleep with his incr꧒edibly dull lessons.
17 🔴 Professor Si💦nistra (Astronomy)
Professor Aurora Sinistra taught Astrology at Hogwarts; she was a good friend of Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank and Professor Pomona Sprout. She had a reputation for being a strict professor and giving lots of ho🌜mework, but there’s no indication either in the books or on Pottermore that she was a bad teacher. She makes an appearance in the Hogwarts Mystery mobile game, and, during Harry Potter’s time at Hogwarts, she danced with Mad-Eye Moody (or rather Bartholomew Crouch Jr. disguised as Moody) at the Yule Ball.
16 🥂 Professor Beery (Herbology)
Professor Beery taught at Hogwarts before Harry’s time. He was the Herbology teacher before Pomona Sprout, when Armando Dippet was Headmaster. He’s mostly known for his love of theatre, however. He put together several performances at Hogwarts, but the very first one ended in a fire and a duel, and his later plays were less successful because of it. He then left Hog💞warts𝔉 and went on to teach at the Wizarding Academy of Dramatical Arts and was replaced by Professor Sprout.