One of the best things about the entire Harry Potter universe is the famed magical school Hogwarts. From its moving staircases to its famous portraits and its ghosts, it’s every child’s fantasy of what such a school should look like. The real centerpiece of Hogwarts is, of course, the faculty. In the course of both the films and the novels, it’s the professors that are some of the most fascinating characters.

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Whether good or evil, the Chinese zodiac allows for a richer appreciation of these characters, their personalities, and the roles that they play in the unfolding of the story.

Rat - Quirinus Quirrell

Professor Quirrell in the Great Hall about to collapse

Professor Quirrell is one of the most bizarre professors to have ever taken up a position at Hogwarts. While he initially presents himself to Harry as shy and stammering, he ultimately reveals that he is in fact in the thrall of none other than Voldemort himself.

However, it can’t be denied that, for all of his evil, he is also very resourceful and quick-witted, so much so that he almost succeeds in bringing Voldemort back into the world.

Ox - Minerva McGonagall

An image of Maggie Smith smiling in Harry Potter

It’s hard not to love a professor who can transform herself into a cat at will. McGonagall is far more than just a shapeshifter, however.

Ever since she first appeared to help Dumbledore deliver Harry to his family’s house, she has shown herself to be one of the most dependable and determined members of the Hogwarts staff. Who can forget, for example, her determination to protect Trelawney from the cruel treatment of Dolores Umbridge?

Tiger - Horace Slughorn

Horace Slughorn is a bit of a contradiction. While he clearly has a good heart, he’s also a bit of a manipulator.

However, as a Slytherin, one of his most prominent traits is his ambition. More than almost any other professor the viewer meets during the course of the series, he is determined to make friends with the students that he thinks will attain great success in the world, mostly so that their success reflects well on himself.

Rabbit - Remus Lupin

David Thewlis As Remus Lupin In Harry Potter

Remus Lupin is, arguably, the most tragic professor at Hogwarts. In large part, this stems from the fact that he has been bitten and infected by a werewolf, meaning that he struggles to hold down a job and to attain any sort of stability in his life.

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Despite that, however, he has a fundamentally kind nature and, like so many other members of the Order of the Phoenix, he goes out of his way to act as a surrogate parent figure for Harry.

Dragon - Gilderoy Lockhart

Gilderoy Lockhart is one of the strangest faculty to have ever swanned through the halls of Hogwarts.

While he's ultimately revealed to be a conman who has fabricated most of his achievements, one has to admit that he still must have a fair bit of intelligence in order to have convinced so many other witches and wizards to fully believe the lies and myths that he’s spun around himself and his supposed accomplishments.

Snake - Sybill Trelawney

Trelawney wearing her glasses and waving her hands in Harry Potter

Poor Professor Trelawney. She’s one of those people who seems to never be taken very seriously, either by her students or by the other members of the faculty.

However, it’s worth pointing out that she is one of those who is actually capable of having a true vision (in at least one instance, with truly enormous consequences for all members of the wizarding world). Beneath that rather scattered exterior, it seems, there is a true core of wisdom.

Horse - Filius Flitwick

Admittedly, Professor Flitwick doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as he probably should (considering the fact that he’s played by none other than Warwick Davis). However, what the viewer does see of him suggests that he is a powerful wizard in his own right.

More than that, he repeatedly shows himself to be a very active and animated sort of character and, like so many other members of the faculty, he takes an active role in the defense of Hogwarts against Voldemort and his minions.

Goat - Albus Dumbledore

Horcrux Dumbledore

No matter what happens to Harry, he knows that he can count on Dumbledore to be there with a much-needed word of wisdom. Though he does become noticeably tougher as the films progress, he’s still one of the most compassionate professors at Hogwarts.

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After all, he’s one of the few people that was willing to give Severus Snape a second chance at redemption after he initially joined the Death Eaters.

Monkey - Severus Snape

Severus Snape in Harry Potter.

Though Snape is probably best known for both his profound antipathy toward Harry and his unrequited love for Harry’s mother Lily, he is also possessed of a formidable intellect.

Time and again the viewer is shown that, despite his bitterness and his willingness to make Harry’s life miserable, he is still a formidable wizard with his own special talents and his own sort of morbid curiosity (particularly for both the Dark Arts and for Potions).

Rooster - Dolores Umbridge

There’s no question that Dolores Umbridge is one of the most vile and hated characters that ever appeared in either the books or the films.

As sadistic as she is nauseatingly sweet, one has to give her credit for the fact that, like most roosters, she is both observant and hardworking. It’s just unfortunate that those talents are put to use in the service of her truly dreadful goals, most of which revolve around making people miserable.

Dog - Pomona Sprout

Professor Sprout is one of the professors at Hogwarts that just seems to hang about in the background.

However, there are times when she shows herself to be lovely and honest, two of the hallmarks of those born under the sign of the dog. Like so many of the other faculty at Hogwarts, she joined in the defense of the school against Lord Voldemort and his malicious Death Eaters.

Pig- Poppy Pomfrey

Gemma Jones as Poppy Pomfrey in Harry Potter

Every student at Hogwarts is likely to have met Madam Pomfrey at least once. After all, as the witch in charge of the infirmary, she’s responsible for making sure that those who are injured are brought back to health.

This means, as a matter of necessity, she expresses a profound amount of compassion and diligence in the care of the many young people who came under her care. One couldn’t ask for a better caretaker than Madam Pomfrey.

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