How Voldemort’s curse shaped Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts post

Movieweb reports that Voldemort cursed the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts position after Albus Dumbledore turned down Tom Riddle, and that the curse explains why no professor held the job for more than a year. The piece notes it is never fully confirmed whether Dumbledore knew the position had been cursed, though it says it is reasonable to assume he had a good idea.

The article says Voldemort’s curse did not always cause outright death, but it left successive teachers to suffer various misfortunes while the class remained necessary for student safety. It argues Dumbledore continued appointing instructors without warning them, effectively dooming several professors, and reframes Severus Snape’s sixth‑year appointment as part of a deliberate plan: Snape was required to kill Dumbledore at the headmaster’s request, abandon the post, and infiltrate the Death Eaters, later dying at the Battle of Hogwarts — though the story notes that whether his death was the curse’s direct result is unclear.

The report highlights that Alastor "Mad‑Eye" Moody narrowly avoided teaching the class because Barty Crouch Jr. impersonated him with Polyjuice Potion, and that the curse was finally broken when Voldemort was defeated at the Battle of Hogwarts. At that point, the Death Eater Amycus Carrow, who had been teaching a dark‑magic‑focused course, was removed along with other occupying Death Eaters.

Key Topics

Culture, Harry Potter, Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape