Almost every school year, Hogwarts had to replace its Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. This was already common knowledge throughout the Wizarding World.
As she passed the floor where the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was located, Pomona paused briefly, wondering whether she should inspect the stone hand statue Remus had borrowed from Borgin and Burkes.
In Dumbledore's early years as headmaster, no one believed Voldemort could truly curse a position. Even though the post changed hands frequently, teachers applying for it came in an endless stream. It was not until after 1985 that the rumor became increasingly believable, while the qualifications of the applicants steadily worsened.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in 1984 had been Patricia Linn. Before becoming a professor, she had been a world-famous Gringotts Curse-Breaker. She had studied at Durmstrang and had been one of the best students in her class. After graduation, she worked for Gringotts in Sweden. Her curse-breaking adventures abroad eventually earned her a reputation, appeared in newspaper articles many times, and even resulted in a biography.
She had a well-trained ring-tailed lemur as a pet, and it was also an important companion on her expeditions. Small and nimble, it could squeeze into gaps people could not enter. It often stood on Patricia's shoulder and interacted with the students, who were very fond of it as well.
After Phoebe became trapped inside a portrait, Patricia believed it was necessary for her to get involved. As many people believed, a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor ought to be highly skilled at dealing with the Dark Arts. When Harry and Ron discovered Ginny was missing, they immediately went to find Gilderoy Lockhart. Yet when they reached his office, they found Lockhart preparing to flee, his suitcase stuffed with brightly colored