11 Harry Potter Universe Fates Worse Than Death

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry is considered to be one of the safest places in the wizarding world but it's sometimes difficult to see why. Sure, the immensely experienced staff can keep the students safe (for the most part) and there are numerous enchantments that protect the castle itself but its actually the content of the curriculum that is worryingly unsafe.

The Half-Blood Prince saw Severus Snape finally secure the job he had coveted for years as he stepped into the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor leaving the Potion Master's role to the returning Horace Slughorn. Obviously there was an ulterior motive in bringing Slughorn back to Hogwarts but the very first NEWT level Potions class should have been something of a red flag.

Slughorn tasks his students with brewing the Draught of Living Death; a potion so unbelievably powerful that even a single drop will induce a sleep so deep that the drinker will never naturally awaken. Its effects can be reversed by using a Wiggenwald potion but a third party would need to administer this meaning the poor soul trapped in the eternal slumber could be lost forever.

Teaching any student to brew this fate worse than a fate worse than death is a risky decision but teaching that to Draco Malfoy and co. is just foolhardy.