Hogwarts Staff Appraisal

Yesterday's poll saw us accused of slandering Severus Snape by putting him in a poll of villains: he still ended up top, with demonic duo Dolores Umbridge and Bellatrix Lestrange tied in second place.  Is this because he's the best villain, or simply because he's one of the best characters? It's hard to decide, but Snapeheads get another chance to vote for him today, as we ask you who's your favourite member of the Hogwarts faculty:

Will he win again? And should we have included Dobby?
As today we're focussing on the Hogwarts staff, we thought we'd ask the SPS teachers for their Potter memories, and despite this being a manically busy time of the year, several of them were kind enough to respond.

Dr Perkins: 'I read the first four Harry Potters on various European trains while inter-railing with a friend after I graduated…I think I managed a book per train journey – easy reading but page-turners nevertheless. Still slightly embarrassed by having an incorrect internal pronunciation of Hermione for the first couple of books! (Her-mee-oh-knee… I’m sure I’m not the only one!)'

 

Ms Douglass confesses that she 'avoided the Harry Potter phenomenon for as long as possible. I didn’t read The Philosopher's Stone until the first three books had been published. I remember finally reading it to see what all the hype was about, and becoming hooked. I am now a confirmed ‘Potter Head’, have been sorted in Ravenclaw and have numerous copies of all the books.'

Mr Jacoby remembers 'commuting on the tube to the city and seeing all these suited and booted characters reading what looked like children’s books. I was intrigued and it wasn’t long before I was also reading away. A very simple idea but very well executed. As an admitted fan of Lord of the Rings which I received as a school prize I found Harry Potter very different but never the less very appealing and I certainly made sure my children read them!'

Mrs Mackenzie: 'We started reading Harry Potter when my children were five and four in the year that Prisoner of Azkaban was published and were all immediately hooked. Having three books to immerse ourselves in was a joy and all things Harry Potter became the staple of our dinner-time conversation. When the audio books came out, the boys used to listen to the tapes in bed with the tape recorder in the hall so my husband and I could also listen from the front room (we had a very small flat). Holidays with family friends were punctuated by Harry Potter quizzes, the children often setting fiendishly difficult questions for the adults and always beating us. The Harry Potter books and audiobooks are the warp and weft of my children’s childhood, weaving us all together with shared memories and becoming the fabric of our family unit.'

Ms Graham: 'Shortly after I came to Britain I read an obscurely placed story in a newspaper about a divorced woman who had written a children's book while sitting in a cafe which she had just sold to a publisher for several millions. I was very happy for her but either the article did not mention her name or I forgot it for a few years. My children were too young to read. A few years later when people began sending them the book, I realized it was the same woman. I treasured the Harry Potter books for many reasons but first of all because they were the first books that everyone in the family read which created a special bond as we each discussed our various perspectives.

I will also be eternally grateful to the books for inspiring the first Harry Potter film which was released in November of 2001. The September 11 attacks two months earlier were tremendously frightening to the children. They worried about their grandmother and we all worried about our friends in New York. It seemed impossible to escape a general feeling of helplessness and depression with the media reports on the victims, vigils and the then new draconian airport security. Then for once Hollywood hype served a beneficial purpose. The anticipation of the film slowly but surely began to lift the cloud and by the time it was released their world had returned to them.'

Many thanks once again to Dr Perkins, Ms Douglass, Mr Jacoby, Mrs Mackenzie and Ms Graham for generously contributing their memories - you would do Hogwarts proud. Tomorrow, our final poll ...