Prof. Opal is one of our most dedicated and most loved Professors. She helps keep things running smoothly, especially around The Wizarding Times! We are thrilled that she was able to sit down and chat with us for a bit this month.

How long have you been teaching at HOL?
I have taught at HOL since the esteemed Headmaster founded the school — going into the eighth year!

What made you interested in teaching similar classes for the length of time that you have?
I have added courses through the years, but my first course explored symbolism in the Harry Potter books and it remains one of my favorite courses to teach because there is a weekly discussion session. I also have a monthly discussion in Magical Creatures Lore. Meeting with the students in a "classroom" is delightful!

The Potable Potions courses grew out of the first potions course I taught — I expanded the complexity of subsequent ones and many of the concoctions are related to "items" or ideas in the HP books.

What do you find new and exciting with each new group of students?
Oh! Each student brings so many interests and talents to HOL, and we all share the "love" of Harry Potter, so I am never bored with the discussions and the homework! I learn a great deal in both, and through more casual conversations, too! Students also have great senses of humor — one time a student sent me a potion lab report which showed his cat leaping/flying into the air after he gave it one of the "energy" potions he brewed! So creative!

Apart from teaching, what is your favorite part of HOL?
It's all wonderful! I have enjoyed, immensely, helping to co-ordinate the HOL Book Club (unabashed advertisement here!). Being a judge for the Quad-Wizard Tournament and an OWL evaluator is an honor and a delight! I am going to write Book Review columns for the Hogsmede Herald and the Wizarding Times (Go Huffies!).

Tell us about your classes — why you love them so and what just thrills you about the subject matter.
I started with a course, Harry Potter Symbolism, that I developed from a college literature course I was teaching at the time. I love to search for and analyze the symbolism in literature to better understand an author's themes/messages. Rowling uses a great deal of symbolism — all sorts — in her writings about Harry. I have kept that course, and added three potions courses — each one gets "harder" and we can get more creative — and a Magical Creatures Lore course (again, because I am enchanted by the legends and symbolism attached to creatures — both muggle and magical). I will probably develop other courses, too, since lots of topics interest me!