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"Some of the spooky material in this book should be familiar to you. Some of it will almost certainly be breathtakingly new to you. All of it is essential to obtain a thorough understanding of the Dark Arts and of all the other formidable, scary, creepy things which are out there."
— Description of the book on its back cover[src]

Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners[2] was an introductory level Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook issued by the Ministry of Magic. The people who wrote this book also wrote Abracadabra: An A-Z of Spooky Spells.

Contents[]

Dolores Umbridge: "There will be no need to talk."
Hermione Granger: "No need to think is more like it."
— Hermione Granger on the textbook's valueless purpose[src]
Dark Arts Defence Beginners open

The book's 68b & 68c pages

The book was presented only a theoretical examination of the topic, and lacked practical information on countering Dark Magic, such as how to use defensive spells.

Favoured Position for a Left-Handed Hex Breaker and Intercepting a Counter Incantation 'On-the-Go' are among the techniques covered by this title, on pages 68b and 68c, respectively.

History[]

"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 as she hands out the textbook[src]

In the 1995–1996 school year, when Dolores Umbridge was the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts class of Hogwarts school, she supplied her fifth year students with a book each, and had them read from it and understand only the theories for their examinations. Although she claimed it was a "carefully-structured, Ministry-approved" guideline to repair the previously unstable curriculum, it was in truth to prevent the students from being trained in combat and become Albus Dumbledore's soldiers to overthrow the Ministry, a paranoid fear stemming from Cornelius Fudge.[1]

During one of the lectures, Umbridge had the class read the book and copying the "approved text four times to ensure maximum retention".[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

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
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