Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter’s feud
Draco Malfoy first encounters Harry Potter at the gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the cinema while in the novel, they’ve met at Madam Malkin’s Robes for Special Occasions at Diagon Alley.
While Harry Potter was with Rubeus Hagrid, Draco Malfoy would talk ill of Hagrid as he considered Hagrid foul for being mixed blooded with a giant.
Draco Malfoy would also talk ill of muggles which gave him a bad impression on Harry. Draco Malfoy was fond of the fame of Harry Potter and tried to befriend Harry but as Draco talked ill of Harry’s friend Ron Weasley and his family that infuriated Harry, started the long-lasting feud between them.
Along with Ron Weasley’s comment on Slytherin House founded many dark wizards and Draco Malfoy’s ill behavior, Harry Potter developed a negative impression on Slytherin House before the sorting ceremony.
There were traits of Harry Potter that favored Slytherin House but as Harry desperately insisted to not be sorted to Slytherin House, the sorting hat respects his opinion and Harry Potter is sorted to Gryffindor House.
Draco Malfoy was sorted to Slytherin House and their hostile relationships began like the old rivalry between Slytherin House and Gryffindor House.
Pure-bloods and the Sacred Twenty Eight Families
Pure-blood referred to families that didn’t have any muggles, muggle-born, squibs, or mixed-bloods in their family line.
The discrimination of pure-bloods is one of the main conflicts that lead the story of Harry Potter.
Salzar Slytherin who was one of the four founders of Hogwarts only wanted to accept pure-blooded witches and wizards which triggered an argument with the other three founders and an irreclaimable fight with his once best friend Godric Gryffindor.
Salazar Slytherin would leave Hogwarts as protest of accepting muggle-born wizards and mixed blooded wizards and witches(including muggle, giants goblin etc).
Although at some point there were some muggles involved even in pure-blooded families, it didn’t matter for the fanatic pure-bloods. The pure-blooded families claimed supremacy of pure-blood and discriminated muggle-borns and mixed bloods.
28 wizarding families would announce themselves as the Sacred Twenty Eight Families for their pure blood lineage.
The Sacred Twenty Eight Families consisted of the
Abbott Family, Avery Family, Black Family, Bulstrode Family, Burke Family,
Carrow Family, Crouch Family, Fawley Family, Flint Family, Gaunt Family,
Greengrass Family, Lestrange Family, Longbottom Family, Macmillan Family,
Malfoy Family, Nott Family, Ollivander Family, Parkinson Family,
Prewett Family, Rosier Family, Rowie Family, Selwyn Family,
Shacklebolt Family, Shafiq Family, Slughorn Family, Travers Family,
Weasley Family, Yaxley Family.
Feud between the Malfoy Family and Weasley Family
Although pure-blooded families such as the Sacred Twenty-Eight Family were considered a bit more ‘noble’ or family with a long history among the British wizard family, not all of the families abided by the supremacy of pure bloods.
The Weasley Family was rather fond of muggles and Ron Weasley’s father Arthur Weasley worked for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and actually admired muggles supporting the equality rights of muggles and wizards.
Some fanatic pure-blood families would refer the Weasley Family as a ‘blood traitor’ which meant a disgrace of the pure-blood wizard supremacy.
The Malfoy Family was one of these families that disgusted the ‘treachery’ of Weasley as they thought mixed-bloods and muggle born witches and wizards were an abomination.
However, the Malfoy Family wasn’t insane enough to keep their lineage by inbreeding unlike some of the twisted families that were obsessed of pure-blood lineage.
Curriculum of Freshman of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The curriculum of Hogwarts is actually fixed for the first five years, and differs after the O.W.L exams as students get to choose electives or N.E.W.T classes which were more advanced.
For the first five years, students of Hogwarts must take History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts. First years students must take flying class while it becomes optional after the first year.
Herbology – Professor Pomona Sprout
Herbology was taught by Professor Pomona Sprout on Harry’s first year of Hogwarts. Herbology taught the physiology of magic herbs, plants and fungus which was important as they served as important ingredients for potions and had unique magical properties.
Herbology class opened at the greenhouses of the grounds behind the Hogwarts building.
Astronomy – Professor Aurora Sinistra
Probably the only subject that had in common with the muggle science, astronomy was a study of the starts and planetary orbit movements and magic based on such astro-objects.
Professor Aurora Sinistra taught Astronomy in the highest tower of the school of Hogwarts. The highest tower was called the Astronomy Tower.
Defense Against the Dark Arts – Professor Quirinus Quirrell
During Harry’s first year, professor Quirinus Quirrell lectured the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Also referred as DADA, the Defense Against the Dark Arts lecture taught about the properties of dark magic, jinxes, hexes, curses and information of dark magical creatures as well as methods of protection from the dark arts.
Lectures of the Defense Against the Dark Arts were held on Class 104 and Classroom 3C depending on the day’s topic.
History of Magic – Professor Cuthbert Binns
On classroom 4F, Professor Cuthbert Binns who was actually a ghost taught the History of Magic. The History of Magic was about memorizing important events, figures and dates like an ordinary history class would be.
Professor Cuthbert Binns was the history professor during his life as well and he continued to lecture as a ghost. Legends say that he didn’t even realize his death and as a ghost, he turned up at class and lectured without noticing he was dead and even left his body away.
Charms – Professor Fillius Flitwick
Strictly saying, spells included all magic classification while charms referred to spells that changed the quality or ability of the subject.
In other words, charms were spells that strictly didn’t change the property of the subject.
For example, the levitation charm was classified as a charm because it didn’t change the properties of a feather but only added a floating magic.
Another would be fixing Harry’s glasses. This may have fixed the glasses, but it didn’t change the functions of the glasses. Professor Fillis Flitwick lectured charms in classroom 99 and classroom 2E. The most iconic charm of Harry Potter would be Wingardium Lebiosa from the Charms lecture.
Transfiguration – Professor Minerva McGonagall
Transfiguration was a type of spell that would change the properties of the subject. Transfiguration wasn’t limited to transformation, and it included conjuration which in other words would be summoning animals or objects, vanishment, transformation, and switching.
Transfiguration involved the shifting and transmutation in atom levels under the Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration.
Thus, transfiguration was very sophisticated, difficult and dangerous as it tried to alter a subject’s property by magic. Professor Minerva McGonagall taught Transfiguration ate classroom 1, classroom 99 and classroom 1B. Professor Albus Dumbledore was the predecessor of Minerva McGonagall.
Potions – Professor Severus Snape
Severus Snape lectured potions at the dungeons during Harry’s first year at Hogwarts. Potions lectures taught the correct recipe of potions, antidotes and other magical brewery and methods to manufacture them. Although some sorts of simple potions were also taught in other classes,
Potions required the most delicacy and preciseness of a Potions master to be properly taught and it was one of the most difficult studies to take.
Professor Snape’s and Harry Potter’s feud
Harry Potter and Professor Severus Snape begins their long-lasting conflict since their first eye encounter. At the first potions class while Harry Potter was taking notes of Professor Snape’s quotes.
“Bewitch the mind. Ensnare the senses. Bottle fame. Brew glory. Put a stopper in death”
Professor Snape snaps at Harry Potter as he misunderstood that he was not paying attention. Professor Severus Snape with a cranky voice asked the following questions to Harry Potter
1. what would I get if I added a powder root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?
2. Where do you find me a bezoar?
3. And what is difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?
As Harry couldn’t answer, Professor Snape obnoxiously gives the answers below.
1. Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death.
2. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons.
3. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite.
The questions and the answers that Professor Severus Snape have been one of the most important quotes spoken throughout the whole Harry Potter series in many implications,
