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Harry Potter is the timeless tale of the boy who lived, Harry James Potter, and his journey into Britain's hidden world of witches and wizards. Harry isn't just a tourist in the world of magic, he is a student, and once he turned 11, Rubeus Hagrid arrived to make sure Harry was enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Hogwarts is a household name as a magical school, but it's more than stone walls and textbooks. What makes this school come to life is its staff of teachers and tutors, and Harry had plenty of excellent professors to show him the ways of the Wizarding World. He did have some lousy teachers, like Dolores Umbridge and the con man Gilderoy Lockhart, but he had plenty of outstanding teachers to make up for it.
Updated on February 15th, 2023 by Tom Steel: There were many teachers introduced in the Harry Potter books and movies, some certainly being better at their job than others. With the recent release of the video game Hogwarts Legacy, Harry Potter fans have returned to the wizarding world, but in a different time. They have been introduced to new professors, from the bubbly Mirabel Garlick to the hilarious Abraham Ronen. This list has been updated to reaffirm the best teachers in the original Harry Potter franchise, while considering such comparisons with Hogwarts Legacy counterparts.
10 Sybill Trelawney
Divination
For the most part, it seemed that Harry's Divination professor, Sybill Trelawney, barely knew what she was doing and was one of the worst Hogwarts professors. Most of her predictions failed to materialize, and when Umbridge scrutinized her in Harry's fifth year, Trelawney simply fell apart after she was accused of being a fraud.
Harry didn't enjoy Divination with this professor, but on the plus side, Trelawney made an accurate prediction about Peter Pettigrew taking his place by Voldemort's side. She was also the one who predicted that neither Voldemort nor Harry could survive while the other lived. Trelawney ultimately proved that she wasn't a completely incompetent Hogwarts professor, yet she was a completely different teacher of Divination than Mudiwa Onai of Hogwarts Legacy, who proved much more professional.
9 Aurora Sinistra
Astronomy
Little is seen of Professor Sinistra in the Harry Potter books and even less in the movies, but it's still clear that she's a respectable, if unremarkable, Hogwarts professor. Her subject is Astronomy, and Harry had no particular complaints about this subject, even if he had no personal interest in it, either.
Professor Sinistra did a fine job teaching Harry all about studying the heavens. With Sinistra's teachings in mind, Harry scored a mediocre grade in his Astronomy O.W.L. — and that's counting the fact he left his exam incomplete, too.
8 Rubeus Hagrid
Care of Magical Creatures
Harry's substitute father, the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, became more than just a Gamekeeper in Harry's third year. By then, Professor Kettleburn had retired, and Hagrid took his place as Hogwarts' Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. It helped that Hagrid had both experience and a burning passion for the topic.
Hagrid often got carried away or didn't know what he was really doing. Additionally, his classes were sometimes dangerous, making him seem unprofessional and irresponsible when compared to other Harry Potter professors. All the same, Harry had fun in this class, and he enjoyed the chance to spend even more time with Hagrid — but only when there were no Blast-Ended Skrewts involved. Hagrid was nothing like Bai Howin from Hogwarts Legacy, who took a safer and more educational approach to teaching.
7 Pomona Sprout
Herbology
Professor Pomona Sprout is the head of the Hufflepuff House and the designated professor of Herbology, a subject usually studied in the greenhouses on Hogwarts' front grounds. Professor Sprout didn't leave much of an impression on Harry, but she was a fair and kind professor who knew her stuff.
Professor Sprout was largely neutral toward Harry on a personal level, though she did help Harry explore the world of magical plants and fungi, which can be a remarkably cool and scary topic. Magical plants can be terrifying at times, since young mandrakes or thorny vines can be intent on strangling people. The Herbology professor in Hogwarts Legacy is Mirabel Garlick, who is as eccentric as Sprout, but in a more energetic and enthusiastic way.
6 Filius Flitwick
Charms
Professor Filius Flitwick is the beloved Charms teacher. While he can be rather strict, he can also be relaxed and let his students have some fun, sometimes letting them play games in class right before Christmas break. His fun side pales compared to the Charms professor of Hogwarts Legacy Abraham Ronen, however. Ronen encourages participation with more unorthodox teaching methods, but helps his students enjoy Charms in the process.
Flitwick, like Professor Sprout, was largely neutral about Harry personally, but once in a while, he stood up for Harry against Umbridge and other foes. He also did a great job teaching Harry all about the vast world of Charms, an essential branch of magic, ultimately making Flitwick one of the most useful Hogwarts professors.
5 Alastor Moody (Barty Crouch Jr.)
Defense Against the Dark Arts
In truth, Professor Alastor Moody was the Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr., while the real Moody was locked away for an entire year. It's awkward that Dumbledore hired a Death Eater by mistake, but despite that, Harry actually learned a lot from him.
The fake Moody was beloved for his hands-on teaching style and lack of restraint, and he even demonstrated the Unforgivable Curses on oversized spiders. He also empowered Harry during the Triwizard Tournament, which Harry took to heart even though the fake Moody was plotting Harry's doom. Moody's overall status as a "good" Hogwarts professor is complex, given everything that happened, but the students still learned from him.
4 Horace Slughorn
Potions
Harry was in for a shock when Professor Horace Slughorn was hired to teach not Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Potions, a subject he once taught in his younger years. Slughorn is deeply knowledgeable about potions, but unlike Snape and Hogwarts Legacy's Sharp, he has a warm, paternal air about him.
Slughorn did a great job teaching his N.E.W.T. students how to brew advanced potions, and his constant encouragement and cheerful personality helped, too. However, Harry needed to learn more than potions from Slughorn. He also needed to see Slughorn's memories of his former student, Tom Riddle Jr.
3 Severus Snape
Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts
On a personal level, Professor Severus Snape absolutely failed Harry as a teacher, due to his constant verbal abuse, unfair practices, and his clear favoritism for Draco Malfoy and the Slytherins. As a teacher, Snape actually did a great job, and thanks to him, Harry earned an E in his Potions O.W.L., the second-highest grade. Snape then taught Harry Defense Against the Dark Arts for one year.
Like Harry, Snape knew the students needed to face the reality of Dark magic and take it seriously, rather than hide from it. Snape was almost like Harry, training his students to become expert duelists against the Death Eaters. Similarities can be made between Snape and the two Hogwarts Legacy professors who also taught his subjects. Potions teacher Aesop Sharp is strict and marked by a tragic past, while Dinah Hercat is as captivating and capable as Snape.
2 Minerva McGonagall
Transfiguration
Professor Minerva McGonagall is the Head of the courageous Gryffindor House, and she teaches Transfiguration with decades of experience backing her up. McGonagall may be strict and demanding, but she cares deeply for her students and encourages them all to push themselves in class.
Thanks to Professor McGonagall, Harry is excellent at Transfiguration, could summon water out of nowhere, and he scored an E in his Transfiguration O.W.L. At times, McGonagall served as a tough mother figure, which is exactly what Harry needed. Hogwarts Legacy has since introduced Matilda Weasley, who draws many comparisons to McGonagall — from being the Deputy Headmistress and a Hogwarts professor of Transfiguration, right down to her stern yet comforting and kindhearted nature.
1 Remus Lupin
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Professor Remus Lupin quickly established himself as Hogwarts' best and most popular Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in recent memory, being a hands-on teacher like the fake Moody. He showed his students how to face scary monsters, like Boggarts and Grindylows.
More than that, Lupin also taught Harry how to conjure a proper Patronus — magic that saved Harry's life more than once. Later on, Lupin joined the reformed Order of the Phoenix to help fight Lord Voldemort and secure a peaceful future for all.