How and when did you get in to Harry Potter?
I read the first two books somewhere around 1998, I think. I have taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade for many years, and I love it because I get to read so much children's literature. The other teachers kept telling me to read book 3 (and later, book 4), but I just didn't get around to it for a while. I refused to watch the first movie, as I was sure it would "ruin" students from reading the book. In the summer of 2002, I watched the DVD at a friend's house and thought, well, that came out pretty good. A few months later, my husband wanted to buy a movie, and he chose HP. He immediately loved it, as did my daughter. We watched it over and over (you know how preschoolers are about videos!). My husband (also a teacher) bought all 4 books, but put off reading them. I spent all of October rereading the first two and then reading the other two. I was HOOKED. I finally badgered my husband into reading all of them so we could discuss them. We went to see CoS at the theater and it just reaffirmed our newfound fascination for the stories. I began reading all of the books to my daughter, and we are currently going through them all a third time.

Which Harry Potter book is your favorite?
By far, definitely Goblet of Fire. I always say, the end of PoA gets you hooked, but GoF makes you fall in love with the story. I love how the wizarding world becomes so much bigger in book 4. My most favorite chapters, of course, are the end where Harry faces a resurrected Voldemort and takes him on. The meeting of the wands is the best, and whoever makes that movie had better get that scene right!

What character can you relate to most?
I hate this question, because I see myself in small bits of each of them. I'm bookish like Hermoine, scared spitless of spiders like Ron, and worried about the bigger world like Harry. The fact that I can relate to so many of the characters is what makes the stories so interesting to me. My husband and I like to say "I was a Snape today and put three kids in detention," etc. depending on how our day as a teacher went!

Are you satisfied with the handling of the "boy/girl stuff" in book 5?
I was expecting Ron and Hermoine to get together, but I think what happened is probably a lot more realistic — boys just don't get it!! I was glad Harry kissed Cho and glad that he told her off in the end. It was all good. Ginny is my favorite character in book 5, and I no longer see her as Harry material. I'm not sure Harry should date anyone — would you date a guy who a crazed lunatic wizard is out to get?? I really related the ending of the Spiderman movie with Harry's situation — the ones he loves will be the most at risk.

What did you think was the most exciting thing that happened in book 5? What was the most disturbing? What left the biggest impression on you?
Most exciting: finding out that it could have been Neville. Most disturbing: Umbridge, hands down. Biggest impression: Ginny is Fred and George Junior. Look out world!

Was the character that died the one you thought it would be? (Be honest now!)
I was expecting a Weasley. While I appreciated Sirius for the family-love and hope he offered to Harry, by the end of book 5 I felt he was acting like a whiny, disobedient child, so I wasn't too heartbroken when he died. I do think it was vital to the plot in that it again proved the power of love in Harry.

Which house would you like to be in and why? Do you think the Sorting Hat would place you in that house?
I would want to be a Griffyndor, but like many others, I'd probably end up a Hufflepuff.

Do you have any interesting HP stories to share?
Oh my. My husband and daughter and I dressed up and drove 6 hours to Phoenix, AZ, for the Midnight Release Party for Book 5 at a Borders Bookstore. I was Ginny, Jon was Fred in Quidditch robes, and Jessie was Norbert. I made the costumes myself, including embroidering the Griffyndor patch by hand by looking at the cover of the CoS DVD. We were the ONLY adults in costume, and the hundreds of children there just adored us.

This Christmas, Jon and I went to London just to stand on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Sure we saw the crown jewels and Big Ben and all that, but King's Cross was definitely the highlight — it was simply a magical moment for both of us!!!

Do you have anything else you'd like to add? Maybe a theory you've concocted, a shout-out?
Being a Christian HP fan, I find two things annoying: 1) people who say HP is satanic and 2) Christian fans who use the lamest defense of all: "Oh yeah, then how come the characters celebrate Christmas and Easter?" The story is definitley not Christian fiction (thank goodness-most Christian fiction tends to be shallow and dull), but it most definitely teaches Christian values and ideals. I believe that Snape is an excellent example of redemption. He knows what's right, chooses what's wrong, repents, and is accepted back to the good side. Is he perfect? No. Neither are most of us Christians, in fact! Even Umbridge is a "good" guy technically, which is hard for us to understand--why do rotten people love God? I LOVE the idea I read in the North Tower column about how in the end Tom Riddle might somehow repent (that is, stop being Voldemort) and then Harry will have to decide whether or not to kill him--it just fits with the whole forgiveness and choices themes. I also believe that the one power Harry has that will help him triumph is love, and of course, that is the main theme of the Bible as well. And, isn't Satan's greatest lie to us "there is no good or evil, only power and those to weak to seek it"? See, these are legitimate arguments for Harry Potter not being Satanic, and I wish more people would use them when arguing.

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