The Hogwarts professors are some of the most gifted witches and wizards of their generation. They have taken it upon themselves to pass forward their knowledge and to educate the future of the wizarding world. They are role models and icons to their students.
Everyone makes mistakes though, and the professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are no different. They may be elite magic users but they’ve done some pretty awful things during their times of teaching. Here’s the worst thing that each of them has done.
LOCKHART
Professor Gilderoy Lockhart came to Hogwarts with quite a lot of fame and recognition for his amazing discoveries and best selling books. Of course his big secret was that he was completely talentless and stole all the stories from other professionals.
His only skill was the use of memory charms, which he used on all of those that he stole from in order to wipe their minds. The worst thing he ever did was lie about all of this to get a job at the magical school and then try to use a memory charm on Harry and Ron after getting them all stuck in the Chamber of Secrets.
MCGONAGALL
Professor McGonagall is one of the longest standing teachers at the school and eventually takes on the role as Head Mistress. But her time at Hogwarts has resulted in a few situations where her judgement hasn’t been the best. She hasn’t always supported students who tried to find justice and sometimes unnecessarily punished them.
Her biggest flaw was allowing Umbridge to gain so much control over the school though. She often turned a blind eye and did not do enough to stop the vile Ministry official from torturing the kids that had been telling lies. Not only this, she did the exact same thing when the Death Eaters took over, until she finally stood toe to toe with Snape, driving him from the school. This was too little too late.
HAGRID
Hagrid is pretty harmless and usually has the students best intentions at heart. Although he did allow Buckbeak to attack Draco and brought a giant onto the grounds of the school, he has overall been one of the best professors the school has seen in the magical creatures department.
His big mistake was allowing Harry and Ron to venture into the home of the vicious spiders of the Forbidden Forest. While he seemed to think Aragog would be kind to them, instead he launched his children onto the two young students, with the duo almost becoming lunch! This was a very irresponsible choice from Hagrid.
DUMBLEDORE
Dumbledore is a complicated man with a complex past. He has many character flaws and has not treated Harry especially with as much honesty as he should have done. While he has done many terrible things while Professor at Hogwarts, his worst moment was at a much younger age.
Albus’ obsession with the criminal wizard Grindlewald was dangerous enough, but when he and his brother were at odds and everything fell apart it was Dumbledore who became responsible in part for his own sister’s death. She was very ill for most her life and Albus was reckless enough to allow such a terrible event to happen.
FLITWICK
Filius Flitwick is a pretty capable teacher and has been one of the longest serving at the school. The charms professor has a lot of charm and wit of his own and he’s a beloved member of the faculty. His life has been quite simple and there hasn’t been much room for error.
The worst thing he has done therefore is allow his students to be so experimental with their magic. It’s a pretty dangerous policy to have and we’ve seen in the past the rather destructive and explosive consequences of his lessons.
SPROUT
The herbology teacher is just as good as the charms professor, although she may also be just as dangerous. Sprout is a valuable member of the staff and she had a very heroic moment when she used her plants to cure students that were petrified by the basilisk.
Teaching second years how to deal with Mandrakes does seem pretty irresponsible though. Not only this, she went forward with the lesson when Neville didn’t even have his headphones on properly, causing him to faint. What’s more, she then seemed to carry on with the lesson. She might not be the safest instructor therefore, but she is one of the most fun.
SLUGHORN
Slughorn rightfully has some dark secrets which he’s tried to hide for years. It’s difficult to know what’s worse though. Hiding the secret that could help to defeat Voldemort, or the original actions themselves. In our opinion, it’s probably what Slughorn told Tom Riddle all those years ago.
During one of his famous dinner parties, Slughorn decided to answer Tom Riddle’s questions about horcruxes. It was this initial knowledge that gave Voldemort the ability to become almost immortal and led to the years of torment and destruction at the hands of the dark lord.
SNAPE
Many of Snape’s actions were for the greater good and at the request of Dumbledore. Whether it was the killing curse that sent Dumbledore off of the Astronomy tower, or the lessons Snape gave to Draco in order to help him serve the dark lord, it all had a significant starting point.
The worst thing that Snape has ever done is join the Death Eaters during his younger years. Full of hatred and fear, he felt like they were an alternative to the status quo. He never realised what kind of group they really were until it was too late. Luckily this meant he was a great inside source but at the cost of some of his soul.
QUIRRELL
Quirrell is by far one of the most dangerous teachers to ever have worked at the school. During Harry’s first year he allowed a troll to enter the dungeon, tried to throw him off a broomstick, and was working with Lord Voldemort the whole time.
The worst thing he ever did though was try to steal the philosophers stone from a child and nearly kill him for it. This is a new level of low, although it’s clear that some of these actions were in fear of the consequences Quirrell could suffer if he failed. It’s ironic that the worst thing he has ever done is also the last thing he ever did.
TRELAWNEY
Trelawney is a rubbish teacher and is usually unaware of what’s happening. But she does have an incredible ability to create prophesies. Although some believe that the magic is fake, Trelawney is genuinely a talented user of this type of power.
There is a danger that comes with this though and has produced one of the worst things she has ever done. Sybil created the prophecy that predicted what would happen in the fight between Harry and Voldemort. This led to the two fighting over it and actually resulted in a lot of deaths and a huge battle. By creating this prophecy she also created destruction and chaos. Telling the future can be a very dangerous ability.
