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Defence Against the Dark Arts

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"Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom. No cursing allowed."
— Notice outside the classroom.[src]

Defence Against the Dark Arts (sometimes written as DADA) is a subject taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in which students learn how to magically defend themselves against Dark Creatures, Dark Arts and against the other Charms.

Professors

Class information

"Your defenses... therefore most be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo."
— Snape during a 1996 lesson[src]
Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson

1994 Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson

Defence Against the Dark Arts is  a required subject from first year to fifth year. The curriculum of the class varies greatly depending on what the professor at the time deems appropriate; due to the Jinx on the teaching post that was present prior to the death of Lord Voldemort, a great many teachers have been appointed.

In the fifth year Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations are taken; as such students are spent learning new topics and possibly revisiting the past four years of lessons (depending on the teacher). As part of their Defence Against the Darks O.W.L., students must sit a written exam one of the questions asks to describe the five signs of a werewolf and after sudents must complete a practical exam of; counter-jinxes and Defensive Spells, Riddikulus, and the Patronus Charm (for bonus points).[1]

To advance to the N.E.W.T. class a student must first achieve a high O.W.L. score of either 'Exceeds Expectations' or 'Outstanding', most teachers set the bar at 'Exceeds Expectations'.

Also due to the course being directly related to the Dark Arts itself, dark wizards who wish to teach would typically apply for this course, notably being Lord Voldemort and Severus Snape.[2]

1991-1998 Curriculum

"You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe. Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced."
— Professor Snape on the curriculum's instability.[src]
Avada Kedavra Curse - Spider

"Moody" demonstrating the Killing Curse on a spider.

Due to the constant changing of teachers, the curriculum of Defence Against the Dark Arts varies from year to year. Each teacher has his or her own priorities, as well as his or her respective efficiencies proportional to his or her beliefs and methods, such as Quirinus Quirrell and Dolores Umbridge believing that theories are enough (which is, in fact, more hindering), while the more effective Remus Lupin, "Alastor Moody" and Severus Snape have a more balanced belief in theory and practical defence. Gilderoy Lockhart, fraudulent and incompetent, is one known teacher who taught nothing to the classes of his respective tenure, aside from nonsensical and unrelated materials, considering that he was hired solely for the purpose of ousting him as a fraud to the world.[3] In the 1997-1998 school year, the class was changed to Dark Arts.

During the 1995-1996 school year, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had gotten into his head that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was using the students to create a private army of young wizards to overthrow the Ministry. As such, he implanted Umbridge to become the teacher of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, which he believed to be the main source of training (i.e. Defensive spells) for Dumbledore's would-be soldiers, and supplied a syllabus based entirely on theories on avoiding conflicts instead of facing them, all of which was simply reading out of the textbook, believing that this would be sufficient in passing the examinations. This misguided belief deprived the students on any useful lessons as even the theories are inaccurate, thus leading to the formation on Dumbledore's Army, which taught more practical defence that students from all grades found more useful. Umbridge would later claim that the spells Harry taught were deemed by the Ministry inappropriate for students at their ages.

First Year

Dark creatures:

Spells:

Second Year

Dark creatures:

Spells:

Third Year

Dark Creatures:

Spells:

Fourth Year

Dark creatures:

Spells:

Fifth Year

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been, disturbingly, uneven. But you will be pleased to know, from now on, you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of Defensive magic."
— Dolores Umbridge's excuse of depriving students of practical defence.[src]

Dumbledore Army:

Sixth Year

Dark creatures:

Spells:

Required textbooks

The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts

D.A.D.A. textbook

Grades

Pass

Fail

Known O.W.L.s

Media

Behind the scenes

  • Sixth years are supposed to be given demonstrations on what illegal curses look like; it was only in the 1994-1995 school year that this was changed to the fourth year.
  • Tom Riddle twice applied for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, the first time shortly after graduation from Hogwarts when he was turned down by Headmaster Armando Dippet, who claimed he was too young but invited him to re-apply a few years later. Many years later, after becoming steeped in the Dark Arts and starting to use the title "Lord Voldemort", he visited the school and applied again, this time to Dumbledore. He was refused again. According to Albus Dumbledore, after the second refusal, no Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher held the post for more than one school year. Dumbledore believed that this was due to Voldemort placing a curse on the position, a belief that was popularly spread throughout the school.
  • When J. K. Rowling was asked for the reason Dumbledore would not give Severus Snape the Defence Against the Dark Arts job, the author responded that Dumbledore believed that teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts would bring out Snape's worst side, though Dumbledore finally relented in Harry's sixth year.[4] Snape himself admitted to Bellatrix Lestrange that reason during their conversation in Spinner's End.[5]
  • Rowling has also revealed that after Amycus Carrow was the Dark Arts teacher, a permanent teacher took the post because Voldemort's curse over the job was lifted.
  • Whilst it is known that Dumbledore did not wish Professor Snape to teach DADA for fear of relapsing into his Death Eater ways it is also possible that (since the subject had been jinxed) he was also thinking of Snape's physical well-being (not least of all because of how much of importance he could have been, and was, in the long run). Despite Dumbledore's fear, however, Snape did not truly return to his old ways when granted the position he sought for, though he did teach the lessons with a sense of passion for the Dark Arts.
  • Dumbledore hired the incompetent Gilderoy Lockhart as a means to expose him for the credit-stealing fraud he is, believing that a normal school environment would be the best place to achieve that.[3] Despite this working out, the year's curriculum was wasted due to Lockhart's ineptitude.
  • Each Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher attacked (or attempted to attack) Harry. Quirrell tried to strangle Harry and jinxed his broom during a Quidditch game, Lockhart attempted to erase his memories, Lupin went after him as a werewolf (although he alone out of all the others would never have attacked Harry had he been in his human form), Barty Crouch Jr. (disguised as Moody) attempted to kill him, Umbridge physically assaulted him (and had previously sent Dementors to attack him, though this was before she taught the subject), and Snape attacked Harry in retaliation for the latter trying to curse him during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. Ironically, Amycus Carrow, who taught Dark Arts instead of Defence Against the Dark Arts, was attacked by Harry Potter after the former had insulted Minerva McGonagall.
  • Dolores Umbridge was the only female Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the series besides Galatea Merrythought (the latter of whom was not actually seen throughout the series, only mentioned).
  • The six professors of this subject who taught Harry each had a dark secret that he didn't learn until near the end of their respective school years:
    • Quirrell was serving Voldemort and was possessed by him.
    • Lockhart was a cowardly fraud who covertly stole the achievements of others.
    • Lupin was a werewolf.
    • Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr., an escaped Death Eater.
    • Umbridge was the one who sent the Dementors that attacked Harry and Dudley.
    • Snape was the one who had reported the prophecy to Voldemort and was the Half-Blood Prince.
  • During his tenure as Potions master, Severus Snape only accepted students who achieved an Outstanding on their OWLs into his NEWT-level Potions classes. However, when Snape became the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the 1996–1997 school year, students who achieved Exceeds Expectations were still allowed to take the NEWT-level DADA classes.
  • The only book to have twice been assigned for this subject is The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
  • Most of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers in Harry's six years at Hogwarts followed a similar pattern: each (with the exception of Quirrell and Snape) was an entirely new teacher; each was chosen out of necessity, due to the loss of the previous instructor and the absence of other applicants; each meets Harry before he arrives at Hogwarts in the respective year (with the exception of Mad-Eye Moody, who was only mentioned in passing, although Harry had unknowingly encountered Barty Crouch Jr at the Quidditch World Cup); and each physically (or magically) attacks Harry during school term, either intentionally or accidentally, as in the case of Remus Lupin.
  • In Order of the Phoenix, when discussing who their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would be, Harry said that the teachers didn't have much luck: "One sacked, one dead, one lost his memory and one was locked in a trunk for nine months," referring to Lupin, Quirrel, Lockhart, and Moody, respectively; this isn't true, however, because Lupin resigned rather than was fired. Also, Crouch Jr., the de facto teacher for Harry's fourth year, suffered the Dementor's Kiss.
  • Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle are two known students who failed their O.W.L.s in Defence Against the Dark Arts, for which the following year's respective teacher, Snape, gave them both detentions.

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 31 (O.W.L.s)
  2. ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pottermore - New from J.K. Rowling: "Gilderoy Lockhart"
  4. ↑ Interview from Quick Quote Quill
  5. ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 2 (Spinner's End)
Defence Against the Dark Arts (D.A.D.A.)
Subjectsdada
D.A.D.A. at Hogwarts
Classroom 3C · Classroom 3C backrooms · Temporary Classroom · Hogwarts Turris Magnus · Teacher's Office · Storeroom · Staircase · Storage room · Lesson Cup · Race Cup · Duelling Club · Dumbledore's Army
Professors
Isidora Morganach · Dinah Hecat · Arsenius Jigger · Albus Dumbledore · Galatea Merrythought · 1984–1985 professor · 1985–1986 professor · 1986–1987 professor · 1987–1988 professor · Patricia Rakepick · 1989–1990 professor · First 1990–1991 professor · Olivia Green · Quirinus Quirrell · Gilderoy Lockhart · Remus Lupin · Bartemius Crouch Junior (as Alastor Moody) · Dolores Umbridge · Severus Snape · Amycus Carrow (as Dark Arts teacher) · Unidentified professor · Brindlemore
Textbooks
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection · Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts · Break with a Banshee · Gadding with Ghouls · Holidays with Hags · Travels with Trolls · Voyages with Vampires · Wanderings with Werewolves · Year with the Yeti · The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts · Defensive Magical Theory · Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners · Confronting the Faceless · Defence Against the Dark Arts
Spells studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Aqua Eructo · Boggart-Banishing Spell (Riddikulus) · Bombarda Maxima · Cave inimicum · Concealment Charms · Counter-curses · Counter-jinxes · Cruciatus Curse (Crucio) · Curse of the Bogies (Mucus ad Nauseam) · Cursed barrier spell · Densaugeo · Deprimo Spell (Deprimo) · Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) · Ear-Shrivelling Curse · Everte Statum · Freezing Spell (Glacius) · Full Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus) · Fumos Duo · Green Sparks · Hex-Breaker· Hex-deflection · Hex Zapper · Homorphus Charm · Human-presence-revealing Spell (Homenum Revelio) · Impediment Jinx (Impedimenta) · Imperius Curse (Imperio) · Imperturbable Charm · Killing Curse (Avada Kedavra) · Knockback Jinx (Flipendo) · Lacarnum Inflamari · Langlock · Levitation Spell (Levioso) · Limbo Mist anticharm · Nonverbal spells · Patronus Charm (Expecto Patronum) · Pimple Jinx (Furnunculus) · Protective enchantments · Red Sparks (Vermillious) · Reductor Curse (Reducto) · Salvio hexia · Sea Urchin Jinx · Seize and pull charm (Carpe Retractum) · Shield Charm (Protego) · Smokescreen Spell (Fumos) · Snake-Vanishing Spell (Vipera Evanesca) · Softening Charm (Spongify) · Stretching Jinx · Tickling Charm (Rictusempra) · Tongue-Tying Curse (Mimblewimble) · Trip Jinx · Twitchy-Ears Hex · Verdimillious Charm (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Duo Spell (Verdimillious) · Verdimillious Tria · Vermillious Duo · Vermillious Tria · Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos)
Creatures studied at Hogwarts under D.A.D.A.
Banshee · Boggart · Chameleon Ghoul · Charmed skeleton · Cornish Pixie · Dementor · Dugbog · Erkling · Flesh-Eating Slug · Ghost · Ghoul · Gnome · Grindylow · Gytrash · Hag · Hinkypunk · Iguana · Imp · Inferius · Kappa · Manticore · Nocturnal beasts · Nogtail · Poltergeist · Red Cap · Snake · Troll · Vampire · Vampire bat · Werewolf · Yeti · Zombie
Wizarding education
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Hogwartscrest
Ilvermorny Crest 4
DurmstrangCrest
The eleven schools
Beauxbatons · Castelobruxo · Durmstrang · Hogwarts · Ilvermorny · Koldovstoretz · Mahoutokoro · Uagadou
Specialised schools
Academy of Broom Flying · Charm School · Euro-Glyph School of Extraordinary Languages · Merge School of Under-Water Spellage · The Naaszcademy of Magizoology · Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts · Young Wizards Daycare Center
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