I had the pleasure of meeting our new Head Students for an interview. Seeing their interactions gave me a great impression of their teamwork. My hopes are that you will see even a fraction of that in this interview, to assure us all that we are in good hands. 

Question: How about you introduce yourself to your student body, anything you find important. 

Chase: Chase Ashford, first of his name. Herald of nothing but cat naps and half way decent eyeliner. Head Boy and Gryffindor Captain by the powers that be. I am very grateful to have the honors.

Alara: I am Alara Ravenhurst. Seventh-year Slytherin. Quidditch Captain, Potions Mistress. No clue how I landed both, but here we are. Chase and I go way back as friends. Before either of us held any position of power. It is nice to share the spotlight, so to speak, with him.

Q: How is it when you have to work with your friend, or figure out how to do things when you disagree?

C: Honestly it just makes it easier to work with someone you know decently well, already having a strong connection. We are usually in step pretty closely when it comes to school issues, we tend to let each other handle things as we see fit and just make sure to communicate.

A: I don’t think we have disagreed yet. We work really well together. We focus on communicating and make sure we are both comfortable. It does help that we were friends before being a team.

C: We have our own protean notebooks, besides the prefect one. So we tend to get on the same page before any major plans

Q: It’s good to see when the Head Students are on the same page, at least hopefully so in favour of the students. Imagine some villain Head Students … Well no, don’t imagine that.

C: I don’t think I could be an evil Head Student, that sounds like far more work than we already have.

A: We are eager; we want to make our mark, but don’t worry, not in a negative way. We don’t intend to be the school villains.

Q: Let’s talk about your favourite things! 

Sweets

C: Chocolate Frogs, I also love collecting the cards.

A: I try to avoid sweets so I can stay in shape for Quidditch. I do love Earl Grey and Lavender ice cream, though. I think it is my weakness. Good job we don’t have an ice cream shop in Hogsmeade. (Note from Interviewer: Do not fret she does not hate sweets, it’s just a Quidditch fitness choice)

Snack

C: Favourite snacks would have to be Hot chips from the states.

A: My favourite snack would be fresh fruit.

Colour

C: My favourite color changes, but blue right now. Which amuses me with as much red as we wear.

A: Emerald green and purple. I can’t choose just one.

Subject

C: Favourite class is a tie between Care of magical creatures and Divinations. 

A: Potions, if that was not already obvious. I love it because it’s easy magic to control.

Time of the year

C: Autumn is my favourite time of the year by far. Leaves changing, Halloween, all of it. It’s the best.

A: I love the ‘ber’ months instead of a season. I guess a mix of autumn and winter. The holidays just have been such a joy to me in recent years.

Animal

C: I suppose wolves, They’re loyal, protective of their own, but still independent. I’ve always admired all that about them. If I had to pick.

A: I think I would have to say Rats or Ratigan would be cross with me. I also love cats and Jaelen, and I have a shared axolotl named Oswald. But they are not really magical.

C: I should clarify that I do have a pet cat, she’s all black and her name is Ashes. She would also be cross with me if I didn’t mention her, though she is more likely buried deep under the covers of my bed right about now.

Q: What are you looking forward to and dreading this year?

C: I am slightly dreading our match in November, Quidditch always makes me nervous however. A lot of variables you can’t control, the weather, players, injuries. Leading the team this year, I think all that has doubled for me. One thing we also share is being captains, so it’s nice we can also talk of our teams and similar issues we both handle and deal with that way.

I am really looking forward to the school’s Halloween event on the 17th of October I believe. The prefects and ourselves are putting a lot of work into making that a very fun event for the school. However like I said earlier, Halloween is a favourite, so I am just giddy for it in general.

A: I am looking forward to spending my last year here making memories that last a lifetime. And beating Chase in Qudditch. See, even he is dreading it because he already knows I am gonna kick his arse. But in all seriousness. It is fun for us to have that friendly competition and be able to relate on that level.

I am dreading graduation. I know we should be excited to finish, but adulthood is scary. We have been here for seven years. To be honest, this is my home and my family. My parents passed when I was eight. So it feels like another loss to leave the school and everything I have built here. It is bittersweet.

C: I remember getting my Quaffles past you last year just fine thank you very much.We both know loss, it was one of the things we bonded over when we met at summer camp properly. I agree, I’ll also be without Leilani, though we can visit Hogsmeade all we wish.

Q: As Head Students you are in charge of students and that we keep rules and all that. The dry and boring stuff I gather. Which rule do you think is the most useful? And which is the least useful?

C: Most useful I would think would be the general ones about personal safety. I think sometimes most forget we live in a school full of magic, moving staircases, enchanted objects, and beings that roam these grounds that we lock the doors for every full moon. It’s not exactly smart for your health to ignore those ones. If you want to make it to your graduation. Least useful would be some of the restrictions around what students can access in the library. Certain books absolutely need safeguards, but I think knowledge itself is rarely the problem. It’s what someone chooses to do with it that matters.

A: The most useful rule is curfew on the full moon. I have seen firsthand how it can turn out if you are not in a safe place on a full moon. Least useful to me is no magic in the corridors. Sometimes when the circumstances are dire, you just need it. But I understand why it is a rule.

Q: Speaking of. How do you deal with a crisis? Imagine Hogwarts being attacked, what do you think you would be like? Are you calm, collected or headless chicken?

C: We would be first in line for the fight, but we both would be praying our wands obeyed us. Both of our wands are moody, that isn’t to say we don’t know our spells backwards or forwards however. I’ve seen Alara in a duel. But no. We both would be pretty calm, ready to defend our home.

A: Given my personal experience with crises, I know that I go into fight mode. I am super protective, especially for those I care about. I would be quick to jump in and even sacrifice myself for the greater good if necessary. I am fiercely loyal. It is a good thing I am cunning, or I might have been a Hufflepuff. Not that it would be a bad thing. Just a major loss for the snakes. Yeah, we know our spells.

Q: Knowing your spells. Great lead into the next question! In your opinion what is the most useful spell and why? You also can choose several ones if you can’t decide on just one.

C: So many are useful, it’s hard to pick. However, to start for myself personally. Ferula, ever since I learned it last year. I’ve been most of my friends’ matron one way or another. After Quid matches or in the Dueling room as Lani practices new spells on me. I stay roughed up. Bella even cracked a few of my ribs once. The other one that comes to the top of my mind is Accio, I don’t think I’d want to live without it again. Just so useful.

A: Personally, I think the clothing change spells are the best. Very handy in a pinch. There is another spell that is handy but is hidden within the castle. So I will let the young minds find that one on their own. Good if you need an escape route from the castle in an emergency. As a whole, the most useful spells would be Protego, Ferula, and your Patronus. Those cover you in most emergencies. What? I am a girl after all. Clothing is my top priority.

Q: Dear readers, make good note of all these spells and practice them. Onto the next question. What do you want to do after graduating, personal and/or work related.

C: Right, the easy answer would be to turn Pro for Quidditch. I bet a lot of people would assume as you said that would be my wish. However for a real career beyond the pitch, not that there is anything wrong with that dream. It would be a dream. I’d like to work within the Wizengamot eventually. Ideally, I’d like to become Chief Warlock one day. Not because I want the title, but because I’d like to be in a position where I can actually make things better for people. Kind of how we aim to help people as Head Students.

A: If it was not obvious, I want to be a professional Quidditch player. I did my summer work experience with DMLE, and I think it would be a fun backup.

Q: Do you have anything you want to tell the students? Something they need to know, wise words, or just a ‘I’m watching you get in your dorm’. Whatever comes to mind.

C: I will say this, the bullying that I hear and see in this school will not be tolerated this year. I don’t care if you hold a Prefect badge, or you are a second year in the back of Herbology giving a young girl grief. I will hold every single person for detention and make sure they leave exhausted. Also entitlement in Quidditch, people need to stop thinking they are better than others just because they have skill. I won’t elaborate on that.

A: We are always watching. But in all seriousness, we are here to be their number one support system. Not just to enforce rules, but to really be there for them. So should someone ever need help, no matter how big or small, we are here for them. We will hold them accountable but also be here for them.

Those were some grand final words. Thank you so much for taking the time, I learned a lot about you two. 

As you can see the Head Students are pretty much on the same page for this last year of Hogwarts. So do behave, don’t bully, don’t be entitled and if you want to bribe them, now you know their favourite snacks and sweets! Do make sure to say hi to them and give them a great time here, our own last year will come soon enough and we’d want to make it a grand one too, right?