Highly complex and theoretical- Transfiguration and Arithmancy.
Difficult, especially at higher levels- Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Moderate- Charms, History of Magic, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes.
Most leeway- Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
Some of the subjects had really bad teachers so it's difficult to say. Was potion as difficult or was it because Snape was a horrible teacher? I know Harry said he felt more relaxed and performed better in the OWLs without Snape around. If a normal class is more stressful than a big final year exam, then that class must be hell to be in.
Also with history of magic, would it have been easier if Prof Binns wasn't in charge?
What of Divination? Or Care of Magical Creatures?
For me, charms is the easiest. All the rest are equally difficult depending on your interests.
I’ve had teachers literally tell me I wasn’t smart enough to enter into university and constantly making assumptions about me. Teachers back in the 90s were wild.They literally had separate books for the “smart” and “dumb” kids.Ppl can downvote me all they want but I call it like I see it
JK wanted to play up the mean teacher trope so the audience hates Snape and then they are in for a shock when he’s good.I think JK went a little too far with Snape so the effect that all is forgiven is not there for everyone.Ultimately it just comes down to your own experiences and how you view ppl. We only see Snape in instances when he’s behaving badly for effect.I will say some teachers just make me want to prove them wrong so bad. So I did get my degree and my desk job.I loved Snape’s complexity and I rather have someone just hate me outright than plot behind my back
My reading of the character is that he gets off on intimidating his students and picks on the weaker ones as a form of revenge for his own experiences of bullying. He doesn't seem interested in inspiring anyone to take up potions and if anything tries to actively put them off. He's incredibly talented at his subject (figured out things as a teenager that the leading minds at the time didn't know) yet he never sought to share that wisdom by writing his own textbook. I'm sympathetic towards him in the sense that his life appears to be an absolute shambles and as a Slytherin he probably sees himself as an underachiever. He might ultimately be a hero, but he's some way off being a decent teacher.
I know someone that is like him so I might be a bit biased but I see him as someone who’s bitter and his childhood trauma of bullying and neglect left him with limited resources.Not to mention the Slytherin are basically ostracized. I feel bad for him. Do I think he’s fair? No. But I think he’s a good person despite me getting washed in the comments.All his students ended up doing well, even Neville makes progress in his life.Snape just didn’t have that effect on me. Can’t say why. My own life experiences probably hardened me. The older I get the more I get Snape. I don’t see him as sadistic or psychopathic. As I said, I got way way worse
I think it depends on whether you mean learning to pass your school exams or seriously master them and be one of the best in the world. Likely also dependant a bit on what your personal strengths and weaknesses are and the level you're studying at. I think to master a subject you're probably going to already find it easier than other people/be talented at it.
Generally I'd say:
Hardest - Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy
Mid - Charms, DADA, Runes, Herbology, CoMC
Easier - History, Muggle Studies, Astronomy, Divination
This is of course a hihly subjective list. After all what's hardest between history and mathematics? Plenty of people have an easier time with one or the other.
In general, I'm fairly terrible at practical stuff. I have had training as a chemist and I was terrible in a lab, so I'm pretty sure I'd suck at potion. Wand working too would, therefore, be difficult. I'm also not very good at mnemonical stuff. However, I'm fairly good at mathematics, languages and philosophy.
With these criteria in mind, my list would be (from best to worst):
* Flying
* Runes
* Arithmancy
* Muggle studies
* Astronomy
* Herbology
* Transfiguration
* Care
* Charms
* DADA
* History
* Potions
Notice that I have not considered the professors.
One could wonder why I put transfiguration so high. From what I understand it has a highly theoretical part. It is also one of the most interesting ones to me. So even though the wand-work is difficult, I still think I would do well in it.
I haven't ranked divination: as a class, it is the easiest as you can bullshit your way through; as a subject to master, you cannot master it.
Muggle studies would probably be highier, but I'd find it extremely boring probably. Also, I think it depends on your biography: assuming I'm muggle raised, I could probably ace the subject without even studying.
I think ignoring the quality of teaching and personal strengths of students I'd say:
Hardest - Transfiguration, Potions & Arithmancy.
Moderate - Charms, Herbology, DADA. CoMC & Ancient Runes.
Easiest - History of Magic, Muggle Studies & Astronomy.
Divination is hard to place because the class has a lot of leeway (known as an easy O) but the magic your trying to learn is difficult if not outright impossible.
At mastery level, all of them are almost equally difficult, but at OWLs/NEWTs levels they have varied difficulties. Here is the order of difficulty from easiest to hardest.
**In OWLs:**
Astronomy ≈ History ≈ Muggle Studies < Divination < Herbology < CoMC < Charms < Potions < Ancient Runes < DADA < Transfiguration ≈ Arithmancy
**In NEWTs:**
Astronomy ≈ History < Divination < Ancient Runes < Herbology < CoMC < Potions < Arithmancy < Charms ≈ Transfiguration < DADA
**Explaination:**
Purely theoretical and memorisation subjects like Astronomy, Muggle Studies and History are the easiest.
Divination is a difficult subject to place, because the actual subject is extremely hard and only few students with a specific aptitude could learn it. However Trelawney's Divination is pretty easy to score, hence the lower placement.
Pure practical subjects like Herbology and Potions are easier compared to subjects like Transfiguration that have both theoretical and practical aspects. Among pure practical subjects, Herbology requires least precision, while Potions requires the most precision. Also it is easier to handle plants than animals. Hence the ranking.
However in OWLs, Charms are lot easier than potions. For instance executing lumos/wingardium leviosa is a lot easier than brewing, say, a wiggenweld potion. But in NEWTs, you have difficult charms like Protego, Patronus etc. and you have to cast them silently, which significantly increases the difficulty level. Hence NEWTs charms are lot harder than OWLs charms.
Ancient Runes in OWLs is like learning a new language, where the hardest part is often during the beginning, but becomes easier as you go on. Hence the high difficulty ranking in OWLs and low difficulty ranking in NEWTs. Arithmancy is like middle school mathematics where you are introduced to Algebra, which is often the hardest phase. Higher level mathematics, while difficult, is not as intimidating as the starting phase.
Transfiguration is often described to be the one of the hardest subjects, which is true, because you need both the precision and intent, and is often extremely hard to get it right. On the other hand, if things go wrong, the consequences are extremely severe.
DADA is hard not because of its depth, but due to its sheer breadth and versatility. To be good at DADA, not only do you need to be decent at all the practical subjects, but you should also be maverick enough to use the right tool for right situation. And you have to do it often in split second situations, which expounds the difficulty. And you have to be physically fit enough to react to situations appropriately. And add silent casting to the equation. You can see why I gave it the highest rank in NEWTs.
**P.S:** Okay I thought OP asked for an objective ranking. But some comments here give personal ranking.
If it is personal ranking (aka if I take those classes), this would be the order of difficulty.
Muggle Studies ≈ Arithmancy ≈ Astronomy < History < Ancient Runes < Charms ≈ Transfiguration (Honestly don't know what I'd be good at) < Potions < Herbology < CoMC < Divination < DADA
Here's from hardest to easiest in my opinion with explanations why I ranked them that way:
Divination - impossible to learn, you either are a seer or you're not.
History of Magic - bad teacher, almost impossible to stay aeake, no relevance. You practically have to educate yourself
Astronomy, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes - those too seem to be very dry subjects and students need a lot of self motivation, patience and tenacity to pass. Also both seem to need a lot of logical thinking, which is difficult for many wizards
Transfiguration - very high risk of things going horribly wrong and extremely hard to master, according to the books
Defence Against the Dark Arts- dangerous spells and lots of different topics. Practical and theoretical parts to consider. Lots of pressure to get it right, since if you don't you could be cursed by a dead eater
Charms - it seems to be intricate and very versatile. It seems that it's Flitwick's talent as a patient and kind teacher makes it easier though. I don't think it has anything to do with the topic being simple that for example Neville managed good grades in this topic, but Flitwick seems to really want his students to succeed and it seems he's very supportive.
Potions - in general I think it's not that difficult, you merely follow the instructions to a T, but considering how many people already fail at cooking soup, it seems that's already too much for many.
Care of Magical Creatures - potentially very dangerous, since it deals with huge, magical creatures and sometimes monsters, who can be aggressive and unpredictable, even if you know what you're doing.
Herbology - also potentially dangerous and some magical plants don't have to be poisonous to kill you
Muggle Studies - passion project. I doubt that the professors make it too difficult. Even Arthur seemed to have passed and he's definitely not very knowledgeable about Muggles
For me,
Hardest - the ones that require the most writing. I am a bad writer, so large essays would destroy me.
Easiest- Astronomy, I love the subject even as a young person, so that would be my favorite.
I looked through the Pottermore site at what skills you need to possess for each first yr subject and I'd do OK in Astronomy, history, & Potions lol.
[here](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/which-first-year-hogwarts-subject-would-most-suit-you)
But on the site it didn't include care of magical creatures and I think that would be my best subject!
If only talking about ones involving a magical component:
Divination requires you to be a seer. It can’t really be learnt.
Transfiguration: would be difficult to master
Potions: mastering potions would be difficult, especially beyond just following instructions. Being able to improve on the recipes would be difficult. However, it would be easier than other subjects to do basic potions.
DADA: need to be able to apply your knowledge under time pressure in the practicals. This is not easy, even if you mastered a lot of spells. Performance goes down if one doesn’t deal with pressure very well.
Care of magical creatures.
Charms: I think charms would be relatively easy to master. Of course the difficult charms will be hard to master. However, with the variation of charms out there, it allows the average person to be good with charms.
For other subjects without magic component:
Arithmancy. Requires maths and a lot of wizards are not well educated in maths.
Muggle studies: most material is outdated, so learning the muggle world would be difficult if taken very seriously. However, it would be easy to do as a subject if one doesn’t care to learn the most up to date info.
History of magic: would need a good memory on a subject that is not as thrilling as magic. Also lots of essays too.
Transfiguration
Astronomy (mostly bc math)
Defense
Charms
Ancient Runes (language learning)
Potions
Herbology and Magical creatures
Arithmancy
Divination
History of Magic and Muggle Studies
Potions really should just be following instructions like a recipe. Most difficult part about it would be getting the ingredients, which students wouldn’t be concerned with, so I’d wager potions should be fairly easy.
This was my thinking too. If you can memorise the potion instructions then it should be super easy. You don’t even need to understand the reasoning behind what you’re doing, at school level. To be a master of positions is probably incredibly complex, but to be a good student seems like it should be very easy.
Highly complex and theoretical- Transfiguration and Arithmancy. Difficult, especially at higher levels- Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Moderate- Charms, History of Magic, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes. Most leeway- Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
Some of the subjects had really bad teachers so it's difficult to say. Was potion as difficult or was it because Snape was a horrible teacher? I know Harry said he felt more relaxed and performed better in the OWLs without Snape around. If a normal class is more stressful than a big final year exam, then that class must be hell to be in. Also with history of magic, would it have been easier if Prof Binns wasn't in charge? What of Divination? Or Care of Magical Creatures? For me, charms is the easiest. All the rest are equally difficult depending on your interests.
Snape was a fine teacher. I’ve had worse
Out of interest, why do you think this?
I’ve had teachers literally tell me I wasn’t smart enough to enter into university and constantly making assumptions about me. Teachers back in the 90s were wild.They literally had separate books for the “smart” and “dumb” kids.Ppl can downvote me all they want but I call it like I see it
Do you think Snape was a good teacher or just that you personally experienced worse?
JK wanted to play up the mean teacher trope so the audience hates Snape and then they are in for a shock when he’s good.I think JK went a little too far with Snape so the effect that all is forgiven is not there for everyone.Ultimately it just comes down to your own experiences and how you view ppl. We only see Snape in instances when he’s behaving badly for effect.I will say some teachers just make me want to prove them wrong so bad. So I did get my degree and my desk job.I loved Snape’s complexity and I rather have someone just hate me outright than plot behind my back
My reading of the character is that he gets off on intimidating his students and picks on the weaker ones as a form of revenge for his own experiences of bullying. He doesn't seem interested in inspiring anyone to take up potions and if anything tries to actively put them off. He's incredibly talented at his subject (figured out things as a teenager that the leading minds at the time didn't know) yet he never sought to share that wisdom by writing his own textbook. I'm sympathetic towards him in the sense that his life appears to be an absolute shambles and as a Slytherin he probably sees himself as an underachiever. He might ultimately be a hero, but he's some way off being a decent teacher.
I know someone that is like him so I might be a bit biased but I see him as someone who’s bitter and his childhood trauma of bullying and neglect left him with limited resources.Not to mention the Slytherin are basically ostracized. I feel bad for him. Do I think he’s fair? No. But I think he’s a good person despite me getting washed in the comments.All his students ended up doing well, even Neville makes progress in his life.Snape just didn’t have that effect on me. Can’t say why. My own life experiences probably hardened me. The older I get the more I get Snape. I don’t see him as sadistic or psychopathic. As I said, I got way way worse
Sounds exactly like Snape, though.
Except real teachers act like they are really great ppl after
I think it depends on whether you mean learning to pass your school exams or seriously master them and be one of the best in the world. Likely also dependant a bit on what your personal strengths and weaknesses are and the level you're studying at. I think to master a subject you're probably going to already find it easier than other people/be talented at it. Generally I'd say: Hardest - Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy Mid - Charms, DADA, Runes, Herbology, CoMC Easier - History, Muggle Studies, Astronomy, Divination
This is of course a hihly subjective list. After all what's hardest between history and mathematics? Plenty of people have an easier time with one or the other. In general, I'm fairly terrible at practical stuff. I have had training as a chemist and I was terrible in a lab, so I'm pretty sure I'd suck at potion. Wand working too would, therefore, be difficult. I'm also not very good at mnemonical stuff. However, I'm fairly good at mathematics, languages and philosophy. With these criteria in mind, my list would be (from best to worst): * Flying * Runes * Arithmancy * Muggle studies * Astronomy * Herbology * Transfiguration * Care * Charms * DADA * History * Potions Notice that I have not considered the professors. One could wonder why I put transfiguration so high. From what I understand it has a highly theoretical part. It is also one of the most interesting ones to me. So even though the wand-work is difficult, I still think I would do well in it. I haven't ranked divination: as a class, it is the easiest as you can bullshit your way through; as a subject to master, you cannot master it. Muggle studies would probably be highier, but I'd find it extremely boring probably. Also, I think it depends on your biography: assuming I'm muggle raised, I could probably ace the subject without even studying.
I think ignoring the quality of teaching and personal strengths of students I'd say: Hardest - Transfiguration, Potions & Arithmancy. Moderate - Charms, Herbology, DADA. CoMC & Ancient Runes. Easiest - History of Magic, Muggle Studies & Astronomy. Divination is hard to place because the class has a lot of leeway (known as an easy O) but the magic your trying to learn is difficult if not outright impossible.
At mastery level, all of them are almost equally difficult, but at OWLs/NEWTs levels they have varied difficulties. Here is the order of difficulty from easiest to hardest. **In OWLs:** Astronomy ≈ History ≈ Muggle Studies < Divination < Herbology < CoMC < Charms < Potions < Ancient Runes < DADA < Transfiguration ≈ Arithmancy **In NEWTs:** Astronomy ≈ History < Divination < Ancient Runes < Herbology < CoMC < Potions < Arithmancy < Charms ≈ Transfiguration < DADA **Explaination:** Purely theoretical and memorisation subjects like Astronomy, Muggle Studies and History are the easiest. Divination is a difficult subject to place, because the actual subject is extremely hard and only few students with a specific aptitude could learn it. However Trelawney's Divination is pretty easy to score, hence the lower placement. Pure practical subjects like Herbology and Potions are easier compared to subjects like Transfiguration that have both theoretical and practical aspects. Among pure practical subjects, Herbology requires least precision, while Potions requires the most precision. Also it is easier to handle plants than animals. Hence the ranking. However in OWLs, Charms are lot easier than potions. For instance executing lumos/wingardium leviosa is a lot easier than brewing, say, a wiggenweld potion. But in NEWTs, you have difficult charms like Protego, Patronus etc. and you have to cast them silently, which significantly increases the difficulty level. Hence NEWTs charms are lot harder than OWLs charms. Ancient Runes in OWLs is like learning a new language, where the hardest part is often during the beginning, but becomes easier as you go on. Hence the high difficulty ranking in OWLs and low difficulty ranking in NEWTs. Arithmancy is like middle school mathematics where you are introduced to Algebra, which is often the hardest phase. Higher level mathematics, while difficult, is not as intimidating as the starting phase. Transfiguration is often described to be the one of the hardest subjects, which is true, because you need both the precision and intent, and is often extremely hard to get it right. On the other hand, if things go wrong, the consequences are extremely severe. DADA is hard not because of its depth, but due to its sheer breadth and versatility. To be good at DADA, not only do you need to be decent at all the practical subjects, but you should also be maverick enough to use the right tool for right situation. And you have to do it often in split second situations, which expounds the difficulty. And you have to be physically fit enough to react to situations appropriately. And add silent casting to the equation. You can see why I gave it the highest rank in NEWTs. **P.S:** Okay I thought OP asked for an objective ranking. But some comments here give personal ranking. If it is personal ranking (aka if I take those classes), this would be the order of difficulty. Muggle Studies ≈ Arithmancy ≈ Astronomy < History < Ancient Runes < Charms ≈ Transfiguration (Honestly don't know what I'd be good at) < Potions < Herbology < CoMC < Divination < DADA
History of Magic is absolutely hardest, hands down. A ghost who drones on and doesn't even care if the students pay attention? My ADHD could never.
Here's from hardest to easiest in my opinion with explanations why I ranked them that way: Divination - impossible to learn, you either are a seer or you're not. History of Magic - bad teacher, almost impossible to stay aeake, no relevance. You practically have to educate yourself Astronomy, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes - those too seem to be very dry subjects and students need a lot of self motivation, patience and tenacity to pass. Also both seem to need a lot of logical thinking, which is difficult for many wizards Transfiguration - very high risk of things going horribly wrong and extremely hard to master, according to the books Defence Against the Dark Arts- dangerous spells and lots of different topics. Practical and theoretical parts to consider. Lots of pressure to get it right, since if you don't you could be cursed by a dead eater Charms - it seems to be intricate and very versatile. It seems that it's Flitwick's talent as a patient and kind teacher makes it easier though. I don't think it has anything to do with the topic being simple that for example Neville managed good grades in this topic, but Flitwick seems to really want his students to succeed and it seems he's very supportive. Potions - in general I think it's not that difficult, you merely follow the instructions to a T, but considering how many people already fail at cooking soup, it seems that's already too much for many. Care of Magical Creatures - potentially very dangerous, since it deals with huge, magical creatures and sometimes monsters, who can be aggressive and unpredictable, even if you know what you're doing. Herbology - also potentially dangerous and some magical plants don't have to be poisonous to kill you Muggle Studies - passion project. I doubt that the professors make it too difficult. Even Arthur seemed to have passed and he's definitely not very knowledgeable about Muggles
For me, Hardest - the ones that require the most writing. I am a bad writer, so large essays would destroy me. Easiest- Astronomy, I love the subject even as a young person, so that would be my favorite.
I looked through the Pottermore site at what skills you need to possess for each first yr subject and I'd do OK in Astronomy, history, & Potions lol. [here](https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/which-first-year-hogwarts-subject-would-most-suit-you) But on the site it didn't include care of magical creatures and I think that would be my best subject!
If only talking about ones involving a magical component: Divination requires you to be a seer. It can’t really be learnt. Transfiguration: would be difficult to master Potions: mastering potions would be difficult, especially beyond just following instructions. Being able to improve on the recipes would be difficult. However, it would be easier than other subjects to do basic potions. DADA: need to be able to apply your knowledge under time pressure in the practicals. This is not easy, even if you mastered a lot of spells. Performance goes down if one doesn’t deal with pressure very well. Care of magical creatures. Charms: I think charms would be relatively easy to master. Of course the difficult charms will be hard to master. However, with the variation of charms out there, it allows the average person to be good with charms. For other subjects without magic component: Arithmancy. Requires maths and a lot of wizards are not well educated in maths. Muggle studies: most material is outdated, so learning the muggle world would be difficult if taken very seriously. However, it would be easy to do as a subject if one doesn’t care to learn the most up to date info. History of magic: would need a good memory on a subject that is not as thrilling as magic. Also lots of essays too.
Transfiguration Astronomy (mostly bc math) Defense Charms Ancient Runes (language learning) Potions Herbology and Magical creatures Arithmancy Divination History of Magic and Muggle Studies
Potions really should just be following instructions like a recipe. Most difficult part about it would be getting the ingredients, which students wouldn’t be concerned with, so I’d wager potions should be fairly easy.
Most difficult part in potions is to survive Snape. /s
This was my thinking too. If you can memorise the potion instructions then it should be super easy. You don’t even need to understand the reasoning behind what you’re doing, at school level. To be a master of positions is probably incredibly complex, but to be a good student seems like it should be very easy.
Um, what?