Professor Recard is Hogwarts' very own triple threat staff member. She tackles the role of professor in History of Magic, heals both students and staff alike, and then puts on her head of house hat for the snakes of Slytherin house. What's Hogwarts life like for this busy boss of a lady? Well, we were lucky enough to sit down with her to learn exactly that.
Hey Professor R, thanks for answering some questions for us! Being a former Slytherin yourself, what was it like being asked to oversee Slytherin house students? It was completely surreal! When I first joined the staff, I always made it clear that I was willing to step up to more responsibility, including head of house - but I never thought I'd get the opportunity to be head of house to my OWN house. It's nice because I see myself in so many of the Slytherin students, and I feel it makes it easier to manage.
Being a professor, healer, and head of house, you've got a lot of students looking to you for guidance and leadership. What aspects of your personality do you think most help you to succeed in doing so? I am very good at keeping a professional face and letting my emotions cross through only if it is pertinent to the situation. Things can get crazy FAST around here, but keeping my calm in order to keep the students calm has been invaluable in many situations over the past few terms.
Teamwork makes the dream work, or so they say. Did any of the other professors have advice for you when you stepped into your role as head of house for Slytherin? Not really, I was kind of on my own. Which I don't mind. Everyone has their own way of teaching and being a leader!
This term saw a lot of strange behavior from students, particularly those talking about treasure, making demands, and trying to burn down the forbidden forest. How did these things impact you and as a healer, did you have any guesses as to what was going on with them? It was extremely difficult, because there was no medical explanation for it or any easy fix. I figured out the students were possessed when they talked about the treasure, but possession is far outside my realm of expertise. It all came down to healing the students by essentially figuring out what would appease the ghost.
Lastly, with everything you've got on your plate, you must get stressed out sometimes. What's your favorite way to unwind after a long, hard day at Hogwarts? I enjoy reading and researching new things, or just relaxing with a nice bubble bath. I'm quite the fan of beauty products and my nightly skincare routine brings me great joy!
slytherin prefects
Ah, prefects. Love 'em or hate 'em, you have to give it to them for helping to keep Hogwarts safe and happy. Aboli Song, our beloved, ambitious, lizard-loving Slytherin, arrived for her sixth year at Hogwarts with a shiny new badge pinned to her robes. I had the privilege of sitting down with the incredibly intriguing Snakette to talk about the school year and her first term as a student leader.
Congratulations on finishing your first term as a prefect! How do you think it went? I think it could have gone better. I had some struggles connecting to the younger students, and for that, I would like to take this moment to publicly apologize for some of my harsher behavior. I am just a very passionate person, you know. I want everyone to be the good guy in their own life story. That's all I want, and maybe I could have gone about some things in a different way.
What were you doing when you received your badge? Oh! Ha! Okay. I was, like, just getting home from somewhere, and I can't remember where exactly, but I thought it was my OWL results coming in—NOPE. It was my beautiful, perfect little badge! I dropped it because I was just SO shocked. Trent despises me, you know, so I was really shocked. Hello, Trent!
Say that you randomly stumbled upon a very mundane, non-haunted treasure chest full of galleons. Kind of like the one people found on the grounds this term, but with no weird runes or angry spirits involved. What would you spend it on? That's a really good question, my friend. I think I would try to save it for my later in life purposes. Maybe give to some charities my mother would advise are good for mental health awareness stuff (I want to be a counselor, right?), so yeah. I guess...I guess I'd like to buy myself more lizards.
This term was certainly a little….ghostly. Did you have any run-ins with our good old friend Sylvester? I actually...did not. I'm not sure HOW I managed that, but I guess I got really introverted the last like MONTH of school.
Count yourself lucky. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. What was your most memorable moment this term? My most memorable moment that does NOT involve my love life.....well. I lost my best friend. HA. Not the right kind of memorable, right? We stopped talking. It's all good. Not that I expect her to read this. And if she WERE reading this, I would most certainly not expect her to come find me to talk. Nope. Maybe I wouldn't even entertain the idea. HA. Well. Moving along, then!
Aww. That's too bad. It's always tough when friends grow apart. Yes, moving along....what’s your favorite subject and why? Oh I adore Divination. My mum's a seer, yeah? So I just really connect with the subject. I think people more in touch with their inner eye, their more sensitive sides, are all-around better and more empathetic people. So yeah.
How do you feel about next year being your final year at Hogwarts? I am glad. I'm ready, I think, to move on. COMING AT YA, UNIVERSITY!
Have you given any thoughts to your post-Hogwarts plans? Oh absolutely! I am going to go to University (hopefully) to be a therapist. All magical and stuff. Like, magical therapist. I want to help people get more in touch with their emotions because emotions are just SO important.
I can definitely see you doing something like that! What a noble dream to have. What’s the best part about being a Slytherin? Too many things to count, really. I think we're dead loyal and would do just about anything for those we love. I also think we have problem-solving skills some others might not have, and therefore, we always know how to solve our problems. Maybe I don't know, but I can always ask some other Slytherins and they usually have the answers! Usually.
Any words of wisdom that you wish to impart on future Hogwarts students? Future Hogwartians: Don't take life so seriously that you forget to live. Have fun without harming yourself or others and remember that humans were made to live, laugh, love, and enjoy things, people, animals, food, AND LIFE. Just enjoy everything! Don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it, either, because you'll look more ridiculous if you fail because you didn't just ASK for help. Aboli Song signing out!
[MALE slytherin PREFECT ROLE WAS FILLED BY NPC CHARACTER, Keith McPherson, THIS TERM]