Elective Courses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
After students take mandatory courses during their first year and second year, starting from their third year, students could also take elective courses a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Elective Courses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry offered since the third year
Arithmancy
Arithmancy in simple, was math or geometry associated with the nature of numbers and the magical properties that certain sequences or mathematical equations withhold. Professor Septima Vector was responsible for the Arithmancy lectures. Arithmancy was also a study related with prediction of the future.
However, rather than looking for signs like Divination, it tended to predict certain future variables by the mathematics and the magical properties of certain numerical sequences.
Hermione Granger chose Arithmancy as her favorite subject in the novel. Arithmancy was considered the most difficult subject at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, however Arithmancy was mandatory for one of the most elite occupations such as curse-breakers working for Gringotts Bank.
Care of Magical Creatures
Care of Magical Creatures lectured of magical creatures and their characteristics. Before Rubeus Hagrid lectured, Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn used to teach the lecture. Later on, during Harry’s school years, professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank would succeed Hagrid.
Magical creatures were very important as they themselves possessed unique magical properties that cannot be implemented by human magic.
Also, magical creatures were vital resources for clothing, potions, wand cores, artefacts, food and they were also able to provide vital services such as security etc.
Magical creatures that Harry Potter learned would include kneazle, bowtruckle, niffler, unicorn, hippogriff, flobberworm, porlock, chimaera, thestral, knarl, golden snidget, demiguise, occamy etc.
Divination
Professor Sybill Trelawney lectured Divination at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Divination was the studies of predicting the future by observing and interpreting omens and signs by crystal balls, palms, tea leaves, astrology, and dreams etc.
A seer which is a witch or wizard gifted with the talent of divination was supposed to lecture divination.
A seer was born with the talent called the Inner Eye or Sight which was a term to describe the mystical power that seers possess that a seer use to foresee the future. Professor Sybill Trelawney’s great-great grandmother Cassandra Trelawney was one of the most powerful seers known in the wizardry world.
However, many doubted that Professor Sybill Trelawney possessed the inner eye as a seer. Later on the centaur Firenze would become a professor of Divination alongside with Sybil Trelawney which isn’t in the movies and only in the novels.
Muggle Studies
Quirinus Quirrell used to teach Muggles Studies before he traveled on his sabbatical in search of Lord Voldemort as he seeks to avenge on others that underestimated him for his timid nature and stuttering. Professor Charity Burbage and an unknown professor took over Muggle Studies during Harry Potter’s years at Hogwarts.
Muggle Studies was an elective that lectured on muggles such as their technology, culture and their normal lives. Hermione Granger also took Muggle Studies as one of her electives for several years despite her parents were both muggles. She thought that examining ordinary humans in the perspective of a witch and wizard was very interesting. O.W.L or N.E.W.T tests include topics such as “Why do muggles require electricity?”.
Ancient Runes
Professors such as Bathsheda Babbling taught the study of Ancient Runes at Hogwarts, ancient runes didn’t appear much in the novel and the movie so not much information is available for the study of Ancient Runes.
Runes were however the old language of ancient witches and wizards before the alphabet was introduced. Artefacts by Merlin and ancient wizards and witches were encrypted by runes.
Many important ancient magical artefacts needed to be decrypted by the translation of runic languages. Ancient runes would use magical creatures to represent Arabic numbers.
A demiguise that could become invisible meant “0”. The single horn of a unicorn symbolled “1”. The Graphorn’s two horn symbolled “2”. “Runespoor’s three head symbolled “3”.
Fwoopers were known to have four different types of colors and they stood for “4”. Quintapeds had 5 legs so they symbolled “5”. Salamanders could have up to six legs and they represented “6”. An unknown creature represented “7”.
The number “7” was known as the most powerful number in ancient times in the magical world. The creature that the rune 7 represents stands a mystery to the wizards and witches as well. The acromantula’s eight legs represented “8”. The nine-headed hydra stood for the number “9”in ancient rune.
Elective Subjects of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry offered since 6th year
Alchemy
Albus Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel were famous for their collaboration and their studies in alchemy as well. Alchemy wasn’t a subject that was opened annually but it was only opened for senior level students in the N.E.W.T level and only if there were enough students that wished to attend Alchemy.
Like real life alchemy, alchemy was the study if the four basic elements of alchemy earth, water, air, and fire that studied the transmutation of elements to a different element. Most famous transmutation would be the transmutation of ordinary metals to gold. Studies of potions, transfiguration, ancient runes etc were required to understand the basics of alchemy.
Apparition
Apparition a teleportation magic skill that was the most advanced, difficult form of magic transportation. Apparition required registration by the Ministry of Magic and only people of age 17 or above were allowed to apply for an Apparition license.
Apparition was a magic that utilized one of the most complicated transfiguration magic and it require delicate control or the caster would be shredded to pieces or may not be able to successfully transport in one piece.
The Ministry of Magic would deploy an instructor from the Departrment of Magical Transportation to the students that would take the 12-week apparition course like a driver’s license course in the real world. An additional cost of twelve galleons were required to take the apparition course at Hogwarts.
