Back to the cursed DADA-job

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 166476

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Inge" <Elvishooked at ...> wrote:
>
> Wondering just how cursed this job really is, or if JK made a 
mistake 
> with the teacher-last-only-one-year vs Quirrell.
> 
> It seems to me, Quirrell would have taught DADA for more than just 
1 
> year - but maybe I've read the actual curse wrong.
> 
> If in fact the curse starts over each year, then obviously 
Quirrell 
> must have been teaching just one year - but several things point 
to 
> the opposite.
> 
> Sorry, I don't have the books handy right now - but Percy tells 
Harry 
> in PS that "Snape's been after Quirrells job for years", which 
> indicates that Quirrell has been actually teaching the job for 
years - 
> but of course could also refer to the point that Snape's been 
> after "the job Quirrell holds at the moment" for years.
> 
> Another dialogue pointing to Quirrell teaching DADA for more than 
a 
> single year, is in OOTP when Harry speaks to Fred and George about 
> previous DADA-teachers - and they (or one of them, dont remember 
> which) refer to the 4 previous DADA-teachers who didn't last long -
 
> referring to Quirrell, Lockhart, Lupin and Moody.
> But Fred and George had been at Hogwarts 2 years before Harry came 
> along, so why refer to only these 4 and not mention who was DADA-
> teacher right before Quirrell, since if there was a different one 
> right before him, Fred & George would have had him/her as DADA-
teacher.
> 
> So maybe I got the one-year-thing all wrong and not even sure it 
says 
> so in HBP, that no teacher ever lasted more than one year - but by 
> weak memory I seem to remember Dumbledore actually telling Harry 
> that's how the curse works. 
> Someone with the books closer by will definitely clear that up for 
> me :)
> 
> Inge


PS/SS (p555 UK pb edition).  After Harry has been introduced to the 
trembling Quirrel in the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid says of him:

"Oh, yeah.  Poor bloke. Brilliant mind.  He was fine when he was 
studying outta books but then he took a year off to get some first 
hand experience....They say he met vampires in the Black Forest and 
there was a nasty bit o'trouble with a hag-never been the same since"

So while it's not made explicit that Quirrel was teaching DADA when 
he took his year off, that is the interpretation that would fit in 
with the jinxed position.  Quirrel teaches the subject successfully 
for a year and then the curse takes effect- working on Quirrel's 
intellectual pride perhaps (is he a Ravenclaw?).  Quirrel takes a 
premature sabbatical and goes off to get practical experience in 
central Europe with the result we all know about.

I give Percy's remark your second interpretation, that Snape has for 
years been after the actual position which Quirrel currently holds.  
I can't lay my hands on the Fred and George dialogue, but they may 
only be referring to the last four DADA teachers, or to the DADA 
teachers Harry has known; in either case there would be no need to 
mention whatever unfortunate held the position before Quirrel.   
Perhaps that was a substitute like Grubbly-Plank, only hired for the 
year, and there would be no need for the working of the curse on 
them to have an outwardly dramatic effect- Lupin and Umbridge are 
after all still going about their business.

Leah