How and when did you get in to Harry Potter?
I am thirteen years older than my youngest brother and I have always been kind of a second mother to him -for example, I taught him to tie his shoes! He was five when I turned eighteen and joined the Army, and our phone conversations had always been, "So how's the homework going?" type. It was kind of a drag, because I knew he wanted a fun older sister and he got me instead. So one day I was kind of casting around for a new topic and I asked him what he was reading. He lit up like Christmas and started talking about these really cool books, I believe he had just finished Goblet of Fire, and then added, "But they are kids books, you probably won't like them." It was like a challenge! I have always been a rabid reader, so I checked out the first three books (GoF was on reserve) and started reading. JKR had me from the first chapter. I finished all of them that first weekend, and then had to wait two weeks for GoF to become available, and that was devoured in a weekend. And its been a merry roller coaster ever since!

Which Harry Potter book is your favorite?
Goblet of Fire is my favorite. You see a lot of character development in the Trio, and this is where crucial clues are left for the books to come. This is the one I reach for when I am looking for something to read after a long day and just want to escape into a hot bubble bath and a glass of iced tea.

What character can you relate to most?
It's hard to say which I relate to most, because I can see myself in the Trio. I was an Army brat so we moved from place to place and I can relate to Harry being kind of misplaced. I was always the girl with her nose stuck in a book and the one who knew the answers, so there is my Hermione and I have a pretty fierce temper, and that is where I am Ron. But I suppose the one who wins out is Hermione.

Are you satisfied with the handling of the "boy/girl stuff" in book 5?
It was very nicely done. I was wondering how JKR was going to handle that. I have scoured the Net for good HP fanfic and everyone had their own take. It certainly left room for tweens to understand what was going on without having to endure the mushy stuff!

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?
The most exciting thing would have to be the battle in the Department of Mysteries. I was struck by the number of jinxes and hexes thrown at the DA, but how few actually hit them, and how many weren't lethal. It makes me wonder a bit. The most disturbing would definitely be Umbridge. I was in shock when it came out that she had sent the dementors after Harry, and that quill of hers! Dumbledore's confession left the biggest impression. For the first time I was a little angry with him, too. He knew all of this all along and he let it happen. (The story would be a bit thin if he hadn't though!) I can understand why he didn't tell Harry to begin with, but I can understand Harry's point of view.

The most disturbing was not the death, actually. It was when Voldemort had possessed Harry. To me, magic is fun and very helpful, but when it is used to take over our own free will, I get very disturbed by it. To be completely controlled by someone else and not have the power to resist it is something very wrong.

Which house would you like to be in and why? Do you think the Sorting Hat would place you in that house?
I have a Sorting Hat key chain that works much like a Magic Eight Ball. It consistently puts me in Ravenclaw. I would rather be in Gryffindor because I think I am pretty brave, but its probably right and Ravenclaw is a better place for me. I read all the time and like to learn new things.

Do you have any interesting HP stories to share?
Like fanfic? The Galatea series by Irina is by far the best one I have read...it's on Schnoogle (Fiction Alley). If its personal stories, well, my husband totally indulges my Harry Potter obsession. He has thrown me a Harry Potter birthday party for two years in a row. He has bought me memorabilia and toys, the movies, books in hard cover and is in the process of trying to build me a working model of a Snitch.

Do you have anything else you'd like to add? Maybe a theory you've concocted, a shout-out?
It's far fetched, but I am really hoping that Dumbledore is in Harry's lineage somewhere. Sirius said that the pureblood families are interrelated, and I don't know if Dumbledore is a pureblood, but it would make for a nice side story. I am rooting for Ron to finally let Hermione know that he likes her and interested to see how JKR handles that aspect of "boy/girl stuff". The only shout out I have is to my brother, David, without whom I would still be a clueless Muggle.

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