Cuthbert Binns had been essential in keeping the students, particularly the Muggleborns, ignorant about the truths of their world. By keeping the focus of the History of Magic lessons on Goblin Wars, the Muggleborns were left ignorant of the fact that the pureblood run society was stacked heavily against them. Most would struggle to find work after their school years, and inevitably those who did not get stuck in menial positions at the Ministry, or were not fortunate enough to land an apprenticeship with a more open-minded individual (of which the wizarding world contained few) would inevitably end up returning to their roots in the Muggle world, moving in with their parents and working in low-paying jobs in order to put themselves through adult classes.
Those Muggleborns leaving the wizarding world after their schooling did not worry Dumbledore – they had served their purpose and were free to leave. The thing was, Hogwarts School could not be run without Muggleborns. No Pureblood ever liked to hear this, but it was the truth. Hogwarts needed Muggleborns because Hogwarts was not funded by the Ministry. It relied heavily, almost solely, upon admission fees to survive and, of course, Purebloods were not overly fond of parting with their money, especially as for most of them their family name along could get them a well-paying job, whether they were qualified to do it or not. Many Purebloods sent their children to Hogwarts in order for them to "network and connect" with the education being a secondary desire.
Charge the Purebloods too much and they would leave. Therefore Muggleborns paid around three times as much in tuition fees, as it was the only way to keep the school financially viable. If those Muggleborns learned the whole truth about the magical world before their time at Hogwarts was over with, then the mass exodus that was sure to follow would cripple the school's finances and force it to be closed.
Binns was needed in order to keep them ignorant until after their schooling was done.
Sybil Trelawney was also needed in the castle. Not for keeping people ignorant, but for her own safety, and to ensure that Dumbledore maintained the upper-hand against Voldemort.
Before that fateful Halloween night when Harry Potter received his famous scar, Trelawney had made a prophecy to Dumbledore, one that linked Harry Potter to Lord Voldemort, the latter of whom had heard only part of it and reacted by attacking the Potter family. After the events of that Halloween night, Voldemort was sure to be looking to hear the entire thing, and keeping Sybil Trelawney secure inside Hogwarts Castle was best for everyone, even if the quality of Divination classes had to suffer for it.
Severus Snape made for a very poor teacher and, despite all evidence to the contrary, Albus Dumbledore was well aware of that fact. The man was spiteful, ill tempered, biased and had an extremely short fuse, all bad qualities for a teacher to possess. Yes, he was a genius when it came to making potions, but he simply lacked the temperament to pass that knowledge on to others, particularly young students. The man had an attitude of "I already know this, therefore everyone else should as well, and if you don't then you are just a dunderhead and it's not my problem to deal with you."
Nevertheless, Severus Snape was an essential person to have at Hogwarts. As Dumbledore's spy within the ranks of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the man had to be seen as being close to Dumbledore. Having Snape at Hogwarts ensured that illusions were maintained, and allowing the man to be ruthlessly biased in favour of the Slytherins and against everyone else, especially the Gryffindors, made sure that the offspring of the other Death Eaters sent home nothing but praise for the man. And what did teaching a generation of students to correctly brew potions matter when compared to getting all the information he could on Voldemort's activities?
Rubeus Hagrid was another example to that mould, but in a different shape. To give him his due, the half-giant was very knowledgeable about the various magical creatures found across the globe, especially those of which that were found in the forest, lake and mountains that surrounded Hogwarts. But the man did not have the right temperament to pass that information on. This was not out of a cruel streak like Snape, but rather a combination of his own misconceptions and the relative ease with which he could become flustered. The man had a fixation on large and dangerous beasts and assumed that everyone else felt the same way. And he led students such as Draco Malfoy get under his skin far too easily.
Despite this, Hagrid was still essential to Dumbledore's overall schemes. First of all the man represented a kind-of beacon of hope, although most might not recognise it. With a half-giant occupying a prominent role at the school, people would be led to believe that it was indeed possible to overcome odds that are heavily stacked against you in order to become someone important. That illusion went hand-in-hand with the reasons for Binns' boring lessons, making Muggleborns believe that Wizarding society is not as biased as other evidence points out.
The second reason for Hagrid's importance was that he was one of Dumbledore's "yes" people, much like McGonagall. Hagrid was one of the more extreme examples of the kind of people who thought that the sun rose in the sky because Dumbledore wanted it to, and therein laid his main use. Dumbledore had ensured that Harry Potter befriended Hagrid very early on, and with the half giant going around telling anyone who would listen what a great man Albus Dumbledore was, Harry Potter was sure to develop a similar mind set.
.....
Can't wait to read more exciting chapters then what are you waiting for Join my p*atreon right now.
Get 60+ Premium chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/Earthly_Writer (Remove the *)
2 Chapters for all free members.