Article by Ash Lee
Photo by Jamie Koslarevic
I saw her first at the professor’s table during dinner in the Great Hall and asked to interview her for the Owl Post. She agreed, even though it was her first day and she’s only been at the castle for a few hours. Professor Vulchanova prefers to do her classes outside or in the Long Gallery if the weather is bad to have space. I met with the new Dragonology professor in the library since it was past outside curfew and there are no chairs in the long gallery. She didn’t go to Hogwarts, so I asked her about that first, since it’ll be different from first impressions from first years since she’s a professor.
Durmstrang is a much smaller school, it has of coarse a long history much like Hogwarts….a history i am intimately connected to being a descendant from its founder, the last of her family line. Like the students it will be a curve for me to adjust to the more flexible growth of education here than there, if i were to describe the teaching platform ours is a more military style approach strict and firm handed…but i am sure if you were to look at the examples of the students Durmstrang offered during the triwizards, their uniforms and their demeanor that is apparent. It is still early for me to judge Hogwarts…however some of the students i have encountered would not have survived there…
That sounds a bit ominous. Though she’d told me at the start of the interview that she’d gone easy on people who were a bit rude in class so far. I then asked where she was from and what she did after graduating from Durmstrang.
I was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria originally, however my parents both were professors at Durmstrang, so I spent my childhood from toddlerhood to adulthood within the walls of Durmstrang. After I graduated I traveled between the Dragon reserves working and studying, I did not truely settle down, unstandably so after so many years in one place it is natural to wish to stretch ones wings….like how some muggles backpack through Europe. I was in Ukraine last before I was forced to return to Durmstrang where I became a professor.
I asked about what she taught before and for how long.
I was a professor of Dragonology much like i am now, i briefly taught prior to the previous Headmasters demise…and then after his death i took a break from teaching, it was then when i lingered in Ukraine for a time, we were tracking a potential overpopulation situation with Ironbellies, after the encounter i returned to Durmstrang for an additional 3 years in total i have been teaching in some capacity for the institute since i was in my early twenties…i am now 35.
I was a bit surprised to hear an adult admit their age, so I asked a bit more about what she’s done from when she graduated until now.
From the age of 18 to about 24, I spent most of my efforts working in specializing in dragonology working alongside magizoologists, returned to Durmstrang to teach and remained there as a teacher until i was about 31, it was just shy of my birthday if we were to narrow it down. I spent cumulatively over a long span of time roughly a decade. The last few years were for obvious reasons harder to track with the current climate overseas.
I asked her what the hardest thing she’s ever done was. Considering what I’ve seen since starting in school, I didn’t know if it would be teaching or something related to that or dragons. She told me it would be hard to choose and took a bit to decide.
On one hand I could cite when I lost my arm….on another it could be when Durmstrang was attacked… I think for the sake of not turning your readers stomachs it would be best to say the day i lost my arm, not all relocations go as well as the one that happened here at Hogwarts and a Ukrainian Ironbelly took great offense to being told she could not nest where she pleased… many of my team died in the process, i was fortunate enough to survive minus an arm”
Survival i mean…surviving that, surviving the guilt of living when my colleagues did not…and then relearning to live and cast without my dominant arm.
I skipped over asking her how close she’s ever been to a dragon and switched over to the other questions I had. Two of them were her favorite class when she was in school at a student and if she had any favorite spells.
I enjoyed Transfiguration… if i had to pick a topic besides my own field of study. It is hard to pick just one or two…If I were to pick ones i used often Reparo, to maintain my prosthetic and Magnus Sensus for when i was working out in the field
Then I asked why she became a professor and why she chose Dragonology.
I have always admired dragons, ever since i was very little, like the portraits here, i grew up around similar ones some my own ancestors long nights by candle listening to their stories of dragons and the world of the past made it as naturally to me to follow in some form or other in their footsteps.
Habit perhaps. My Mother was a Trasfiguration teacher. My father a defense against the dark arts professor, as much as you can call him one, Durmstrang has not always been so hesitant about the dark arts…in its pas. It was expected of me…and i naturally fell into those expectations.
I also asked her favorite thing about dragonology and dragons in general. For those wondering, she DOES have a favorite dragon!
I admire the strength and magestic power of dragons, how they have left their mark of coarse on the wizarding world, but they have even left their mark in the Muggle world as well, granted for them they are stories and fantasy, Dragons and their mythos have bridged a gap we as human beings still struggle with… I would say the conservation of them as a species is what drew me first to Dragonology, what struck me as a noble cause. Despite it all i would say the Ukrainian Ironbelly still remains my favorite, however the Norwegian Ridgeback is a close second.
Then we started to talk about what she does when she’s not working. She mentioned liking to fly, and I mentioned quidditch and asked more about what kind of flying she likes. I prefer being beater since I want to be able to hit back if something’s coming at me,
I like to draw, and cook. I also enjoy flying my broomstick. It is a wonderful way to clear ones head. I often also visit Godric’s Hollow when I am not working.
I love the speed, it’s an adrenaline rush, I was never good at quidditch but I love racing my broom. First time I was on a broom I sent it flying through stained glass…a particular favorite of the headmaster at the time.
Then I asked her a bit more about cooking and her favorite foods and sweets. This totally wasn’t a question about what bribes would work for students to read.
I enjoy making soups and recipes from my home country, but such are harder to find here. I am not one who heavily likes sweets, but I do like Honey flavored pastries and green apples with caramel to dip.
Soups are like spellwork, and potions class when you think about it, you are following instructions…or a recipe, you are mixing ingredients and bringing them to a boil and simmer. There are many ways where soups and stews are good practice for potions and vice versa.
We talked about cooking for a bit and then she said,
Close enough still counts as long as it tastes good.
I then asked, what she wants students to learn from her and her class
I am hoping to instill the drive and passion I have found for my work in the next generation, without future dragonologists the efforts for conservation and containment will falter. If they take anything from my class, it will be a new found respect for the creatures as a whole. If just one of my students seeks a career in Dragon Conservation in the future i will consider it a success, but obviously I always hope for more.
Finally, I asked her for advice as a professor for students here.
Use this time, to discover your passions, expand your knowledge and horizons and follow your interests, these years are the years you will form who you are as a person. Make lasting memories that you can look back on during the bad times, and do not stress the hard times now, for as an adult you will most assuredly look back and wish you could go back to these.
As I was putting away my notes, I mentioned that it would likely be out soon and about the Owl Post having articles done for professors who are new. I let her know they aren’t hard to find and she responded with,
I have not met many of the professors yet in person so it will provide me with some study. Since I’m not returning home tonight I will have plenty of time to read.
Best be careful, since she might not continue to take it easy on people who misbehave in the future. It’s still the start of the year, so best to stay on her good side. When I met her for the interviews, she’d already started in on reading about what’s happened at the school over the years and had plans to read the articles on other professors. Even though she’s not from Hogwarts, I’m sure she plans to catch up and know as much as people who have been here for a while pretty soon, as much as someone can get caught up without living through it that is. That’s all I have for now about this new professor. I’ll leave you with one of my cousin’s favorite quotes since it seems fitting.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.