As posted here last month, in the first of what the faculty hopes are a series of HogwartsProfessor Short Essay Contests, we asked you to write a 500-750 word composition, poem, fictional vignette, whatever in answer to the question, “When I am asked why I love the Hogwarts Saga, I answer…” This week we are  posting the best responses we received by the 1 March deadline  — and the essay receiving the most votes in a tally this weekend will earn its author two free tickets to the Warner Brothers Studio Tours, London, a $100 value.

We won’t be paying your air fare to see the famous Leavesden Studios if you’re in North America, of course, or your stay, alas. Getting there is your job. We recommend with enthusiasm, though, that you make reservations at the Park Inn Watford  hotel, which establishment has kindly provided us with these tickets for a promotional give away. Hurrah!

Without further introduction, then, the first contestant’s entry:

When I am asked why I love the Hogwarts Saga…

I got into the Harry Potter universe much later than most. In fact, all of the books had been released and out in the wild for almost three years before I finally caved and picked up “Sorcerer’s Stone”. Almost exactly one month later, I put down a tear-stained “Deathly Hallows” and deemed the series the single-best piece of literature I had ever read, which still stands to this day. Since then, I’ve been hugely involved in the Potter community, discussing outlining themes, making in-depth character analyses, and having heated arguments with other fans regarding changes made in the book-to-movie adaptations. Yet as I sat down to write this essay, I found myself utterly unprepared to answer the seemingly simple question, “Why do I love Harry Potter?” Quite frankly, it’s not a question I’m asked very often. With Harry Potter being the huge phenomenon that it is, people already tend to know what its appeal is. Yet after some very deep reflection, I think I’ve finally worked out why I’m so hopelessly in love with this series. [Read more…]