We knew many Hogwarts Professors that must exist because of their subjects, but we never heard their names mentioned in the books.
There was one Professor we only ever heard of once, and it was during very unfavorable events.
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Who Was Charity Burbage?
Charity Burbage was a Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
We know that Hermione took Muggle Studies during her school years (causing Ron to scratch his head in amazement – Hermione was a Muggle-born), but she never mentioned the name of the Professor that taught the subject at the time.
We can only assume at this point that Professor Burbage was the teacher at the time. Since Hermione started the Muggle Studies classes in 1993, Professor Burbage had to be hired at least since that year. Her tenure lasted until 1997.
What House Was Charity Burbage In?
Since we know nothing about Charity Burbage as a Professor at Hogwarts until the last minutes of her life, we also didn’t get to know anything about her time at school.
We can assume since she was teaching Muggle Studies, Charity Curbage could have been either Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor. At that time, no Slytherin would have lowered themselves to teach such a subject. It isn’t easy to know which House we could probably dismiss in our guessing, as there are a few things we need to consider.
We can safely say that Professor Burbage was a brave witch. She didn’t back down from threats of the war.
She did something more! Professor Burbage posted an article trying to convince withes and wizards to share their lives with Muggles and Muggle-borns. She did that during a very hard time – the war with the anti-Muggle supremacists. It is a very Gryffindor thing to do.
We know about one other teacher that was a Muggle Studies Professor before Charity Burbage and was a Ravenclaw. It was Professor Quirrell.
He was teaching Muggle Studies before Harry’s first year at Hogwarts when he started to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. It means that, despite what people say about Ravenclaws and their view on academics, Muggle Studies wasn’t a subject beneath a Ravenclaw.
We can’t also dismiss Hufflepuff because of the way Professor Burbage was said to speak about Muggles. It was in a kind way, calling witches and wizards to allow Muggles in their lives, proclaiming Muggles to be not so different from magical folks. It was a very Hufflepuff way to treat everyone the same.
As we don’t know much about Professor Burbage’s character, we can’t say for sure in which House she was while attending Hogwarts.
Why Was Charity Burbage Killed?
Charity Burbage was killed as an example to those who sympathize with Muggles and Muggle-borns.
Being Muggle Studies Professor shouldn’t be a difficult or dangerous job. It only became a problem during the war with the pureblood supremacist army.
On Voldemort’s command, Professor Burbage was kidnapped by Death Eaters sometime during the summer before Harry’s 17th birthday, then tortured and eventually killed.
Her fault was to teach about Muggles and how they are not so different from wizards and witches. She made a big mistake by writing an article for Daily Prophet about Muggleborns. Professor Burbage stated that pureblood wizards should accept and be friends with Muggleborns.
Voldemort didn’t like Professor’s attitude and disposed of her during the meeting with his Death Eaters.
Why Did Snape Not Save Charity Burbage?
Snape didn’t save Professor Burbage because he didn’t want to reveal his true identity as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix.
Before he killed Dumbledore, he promised that he would try and protect students at Hogwarts, and to do so, Severus Snape had to stay in Voldemort’s good graces.
He couldn’t let anyone know that he cared for his former colleague. He couldn’t save her life without risking his own, and in the end, his life was more important for the outcome of the war than the life of Professor Burbage.
Final Thoughts
Charity Burbage was a Professor at Hogwarts for a rather short time. She went unnoticed and was not mentioned in the books until the very end of her life. She tried to do what she could to make wizards see that the Muggles and Muggle-borns are not to be condemned, and ultimately her view brought her her death.
Even so, we can consider Professor Burbage a brave witch with a kind heart. Although we don’t know which House she was in during her school years, they must be proud of her for her stand during the war.