Aurors have without a doubt one of the most dangerous jobs in the world of Harry Potter. And with good reason – they're basically required to go up against dangerous dark wizards. And thanks to the risks involved, many opt-out of that career path...which makes it more dangerous for those that follow the path, since they have lesser numbers.
Thanks to the risks and requirements involved with being an Auror, there are certain skills that are basically a requirement for taking on the job. Especially if you're keen on surviving past day one. A lot of these skills you can glean just by watching our favorite Aurors in the series, but we're going to take the time to list them out here.
An Understanding of Potions & Antidotes
Aurors come up against plenty of risks when they're on the job. And sometimes, even when they're off the job. Their career makes them a natural target. As such, they can frequently face poisoning risks. After all, that is the reason that Moody won't accept any drinks from others.
Knowing how to identify a poison is essential. And knowing how to come up with an antidote is another useful skill – though obviously it's always better to simply avoid being poisoned in the first place.
Additionally, potions have plenty of other uses for Aurors. Really, the applications are endless, and thus any witch or wizard should have a solid understanding of the art.
Transfiguration
Transfiguration may be an underestimated skill in the world of Aurors, but it is a vital skill to know. In fact, it is one of the basic requirements before you can even consider moving on in the field. You have to get a good N.E.W.T. score in Transfiguration in order to continue on in your studies.
Transfiguration allows for the alteration of an object – and is considered to be one of the more difficult types of spellcasting out there. Yet the practical applications of Transfiguration are potentially endless. For example, an Auror can carry an arsenal of weapons with them, without ever having their use be obvious to the unknowing. And that's a relatively minor example.
Defensive Charms
Charms are probably one of those spell types that sound all cute and dare we say, charming? But they're anything but. Recall that Flitwick is the charms professor, and at one point was a dueling champion. So charms should never be overlooked or underestimated.
In the world of Aurors, charms are especially useful for defense. Countering charms, memory charms, jinxes, mending, and charms such as those. There are also summoning and unlocking charms, which you can imagine would be extremely useful in the tracking or hunting of a dangerous witch or wizard.
Knowing the Uses of Herbology
Herbology is possibly another course that is overlooked when considering becoming an Auror. But we'd advise against it. Knowing what plants are harmful versus safe could be the difference between life or death. On more than one occasion an assassination has occurred thanks to an innocent-looking plant (Devil's Snare).
Additionally, recall that plants make up a large number of potion ingredients, as well as simply being useful on their own. Essence of Dittany, for example, is an excellent item to have on you on the chance that you find yourself injured.
Concealment and Disguise
Concealment and disguise is such an important subject for Aurors, that there is a whole additional course required for all Aurors in training. You'll recall Tonks bragging about this class, as she was able to coast through it thanks to her being a Metamorphmagus.
The whole focus is teaching an Auror on how to properly conceal themselves, through the use of potions, charms, and items. Basically, everything that will potentially be on hand or potentially useful. And trust us – being able to avoid detection is vital for succeeding in this job.
Stealth and Tracking
Stealth and tracking is the other additional course required for any Auror hopeful. You can probably guess what this course entails. Likewise, it should be easy to understand why these skills would be a requirement.
You won't be very good as an Auror if you can't occasionally stalk your subject. Think back on all the information Harry and his crew learned simply by being in the right place at the right time. An Auror essentially has to do that professionally. And that requires getting to said place undetected. And knowing where the right place is.
Tonks will tell you about how she almost got prevented at becoming an Auror thanks to her clumsiness.
Cunning
It should go without saying that in order to become an Auror, you should have a sharp mind and even sharper intellect. You have to be able to put all the pieces of a puzzle together while hunting down a dark wizard. And what's more – you have to be able to act and react quickly, as your life may very well depend on it.
If that wasn't enough, you must be able to recall all of your training on a moment's notice. Knowing the correct counter-spell won't do you much good, if you can't recall it quickly enough to cast it and thus protect yourself.
An Auror must also be able to think like their targets. And that means thinking like a dark wizard – without falling prey to the weakness within.
Non-Verbal Spellcasting
Non-Verbal Spellcasting isn't technically a requirement, but perhaps it should be. Non-Verbal Spellcasting is exactly what it sounds like – the ability to cast spells without having to say the enchantment out loud. And you can imagine how useful that would be when facing a dark wizard. When using Non-Verbal Spellcasting, you prevent your opponent from knowing exactly what spell you're going to use – and thus they don't know the correct counter.
An excellent example of a group of Aurors using Non-Verbal Spellcasting can be seen in the first Fantastic Beasts movie. Almost all of the Aurors are silently casting, and you can see why they would prefer to do that. Especially while trying to be discreet around so many No-Mags/Muggles.
A Healthy Paranoia
There's no doubt that a healthy dose of paranoia will help to keep you alive as an Auror. Though there is a limit to this. No Auror wants to become so paranoid that they can no longer function. Moody himself seems to hover right around that line. There are times where the paranoia has saved his life, and times where people were slow to react to his call because it was assumed that he was jumping at shadows.
Not trusting everything is what appears to be is an excellent way of staying alive, when there's a good chance that somebody out there is trying to kill you. That's just common sense, right?
Skilled in Magical Combat
This one should be fairly obvious, but a basic understanding of Defense Against the Dark Arts is simply not going to cut it here. You need to be able to identify spells being used, the dark creatures out in the world (as they can be used by dark witches and wizards), and a plethora of other concerns.
Knowing the history of the defense is essential. As the saying goes, history is destined to repeat itself when it isn't known. And that applies in a world full of dark wizards. But this is more than that. An Auror must be capable of holding their own in magical combat. Because this is really an inevitability, as an Auror. There's just no way that every dark wizard you track down will be willing to come along quietly. Just look at all the damage Moody has taken, and he's pretty good at dueling. You wouldn't last a day if you were subpar at magical combat.