Gryffindor Head of House
Professor Simran Sandhu is an impressive lady any way you look at it and the lions are lucky to have her as their Head of House. A former Gryffindor herself, Sandhu loves black holes and being bold, using her brain power and prowess to teach all students about the wonders of the universe. This term she had the difficult task of looking after the pride in France and while there were challenges, this Oxford grad faced them with a can-do attitude anyone could appreciate.
Hello Professor, thanks for chatting with us! Everyone knows there is a lot to love about Gryffindors, but what is your favorite thing about the lively lions?
Hello dear! It's a pleasure, really! Now, I have to say that while all houses have their own perks, I love the Lions for their "go big or go home" attitude. Some people call us over-the-top, but I think they just don't quite know where the top is. Or that there's really no top at all – we're only limited by our own imagination, after all!
That's a nice way to look at it, Professor! Speaking of the word home, did you find it difficult to make the first years feel at home when they were experiencing Gryffindor life in a school other than Hogwarts?
I definitely don't think it was easy. But in the end, it's less about where we are than who we are. Being in Beauxbatons doesn't make any of us less Gryffindor, and it's the community that makes us who we are, rather than physical location.
That being said, it'd have been easier to organise a start-of-term housewarming if we hadn't had to share all our resources.
Sharing can definitely be difficult. What was it like having to share teaching space with the Beauxbatons professors?
I certainly did not enjoy it, but we're all very privileged to have been allowed to use the space. I don't imagine it would have been easy for the British Ministry to set up a whole new unplottable location, with all the resources we would need.
Scheduling became very difficult for me, though – so much so that I had to plan my lessons very differently than I usually would and gloss over some practicals that I would usually prefer to spend more time on. The alternative would have been to keep you lot up very late into the night, and that would not have been fair, since you've also got lessons in the morning.
That was considerate thinking on your part, really. Being that you're into astronomy, do you have a favorite planet? A favorite star?
Oh, certainly! I've got to admit, though, that my favourite planet is a little "boring", given that it's Earth. I think we take our planet very much for granted, and we're always looking for cool new stuff, instead of appreciating what we have here and the remarkable diversity we've got even on the same planet.
Not quite sure I've got a favourite star, but I do have a favourite type of star? I wrote my PhD thesis on Pulsars – which are highly polarised rotating neutron stars, and they'll always have a special place in my heart.
Now for our last big question! When you were a student, what was your favorite way to spend your free time?
Oh, my. This is quite the question, I've not been a student in a very long time. At Hogwarts, I used to love lounging in the Observatory, even in the daytime, and taking tea there with my friends while we sunned ourselves. When I was at University, though, I spent a lot of time dancing – so much so that I picked up ballroom dancing as an extracurricular.
Hello Professor, thanks for chatting with us! Everyone knows there is a lot to love about Gryffindors, but what is your favorite thing about the lively lions?
Hello dear! It's a pleasure, really! Now, I have to say that while all houses have their own perks, I love the Lions for their "go big or go home" attitude. Some people call us over-the-top, but I think they just don't quite know where the top is. Or that there's really no top at all – we're only limited by our own imagination, after all!
That's a nice way to look at it, Professor! Speaking of the word home, did you find it difficult to make the first years feel at home when they were experiencing Gryffindor life in a school other than Hogwarts?
I definitely don't think it was easy. But in the end, it's less about where we are than who we are. Being in Beauxbatons doesn't make any of us less Gryffindor, and it's the community that makes us who we are, rather than physical location.
That being said, it'd have been easier to organise a start-of-term housewarming if we hadn't had to share all our resources.
Sharing can definitely be difficult. What was it like having to share teaching space with the Beauxbatons professors?
I certainly did not enjoy it, but we're all very privileged to have been allowed to use the space. I don't imagine it would have been easy for the British Ministry to set up a whole new unplottable location, with all the resources we would need.
Scheduling became very difficult for me, though – so much so that I had to plan my lessons very differently than I usually would and gloss over some practicals that I would usually prefer to spend more time on. The alternative would have been to keep you lot up very late into the night, and that would not have been fair, since you've also got lessons in the morning.
That was considerate thinking on your part, really. Being that you're into astronomy, do you have a favorite planet? A favorite star?
Oh, certainly! I've got to admit, though, that my favourite planet is a little "boring", given that it's Earth. I think we take our planet very much for granted, and we're always looking for cool new stuff, instead of appreciating what we have here and the remarkable diversity we've got even on the same planet.
Not quite sure I've got a favourite star, but I do have a favourite type of star? I wrote my PhD thesis on Pulsars – which are highly polarised rotating neutron stars, and they'll always have a special place in my heart.
Now for our last big question! When you were a student, what was your favorite way to spend your free time?
Oh, my. This is quite the question, I've not been a student in a very long time. At Hogwarts, I used to love lounging in the Observatory, even in the daytime, and taking tea there with my friends while we sunned ourselves. When I was at University, though, I spent a lot of time dancing – so much so that I picked up ballroom dancing as an extracurricular.
Gryffindor Prefects
Returning Gryffindor prefect had her hands full this term, what with having to chase around new baby lions, keeping herself and her classmates out of trouble, and completing the course load of an ambitious seventh year. This reporter sat down with the young lady to discuss her thoughts on the term and what the future holds.
Hey, Anna! Welcome back to another term as prefect! What were you expecting after your first term as prefect?
Nothing much really. Until I found out we weren’t going to Hogwarts but Beauxbatons, that is.
So was this term easier or harder than last term?
To be honest, it had everything to be harder, but I uh… made sure it wasn’t. You know, ’s not like Hogwarts students needed extra supervision or anything at that school. I think we all did a great job at… y’know, representing Hogwarts abroad.
How did you feel about having to prefect at somewhere other than Hogwarts?
Hated it.
And now that you’ve experienced Beauxbatons, what were your impressions? Be honest, please.
Also hated it.
Based on what happened this term, what do you think about the Beauxbatons justice system? Do you think it was fair and that it worked?
Justice system? Funny anyone calls that a ‘justice system’. This is a rhetorical question, right?
Okay, but did you see that BABY DRAGON, THOUGH?
Who didn’t!? The perfect ending to our time there, I must say. I kind of loved what it did to— anyway, yeah, very cute.
How did you manage to de-stress this term amidst all the crazy?
Well, thanks to my brothers and professor Sandhu I was able to get out a few times and go to a few… things. Can’t be saying much about it until later, though, but it’s all good stuff.
You’re graduating this term, right? What did you miss being able to do at Hogwarts for your final term?
Quidditch. Still can’t believe that stupid school didn’t allow us to— anyway. I did miss the Gryffindor Common Room as well, to be honest.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m not sure I can talk about it yet, but all I can say is that it’s very exciting.
Do you have any advice for the Gryffindors coming after you?
I think my people are already doing a great job, so I’d say keep up the good work and go on causing some chaos if you want because life’s too short and who really cares?
Hey, Anna! Welcome back to another term as prefect! What were you expecting after your first term as prefect?
Nothing much really. Until I found out we weren’t going to Hogwarts but Beauxbatons, that is.
So was this term easier or harder than last term?
To be honest, it had everything to be harder, but I uh… made sure it wasn’t. You know, ’s not like Hogwarts students needed extra supervision or anything at that school. I think we all did a great job at… y’know, representing Hogwarts abroad.
How did you feel about having to prefect at somewhere other than Hogwarts?
Hated it.
And now that you’ve experienced Beauxbatons, what were your impressions? Be honest, please.
Also hated it.
Based on what happened this term, what do you think about the Beauxbatons justice system? Do you think it was fair and that it worked?
Justice system? Funny anyone calls that a ‘justice system’. This is a rhetorical question, right?
Okay, but did you see that BABY DRAGON, THOUGH?
Who didn’t!? The perfect ending to our time there, I must say. I kind of loved what it did to— anyway, yeah, very cute.
How did you manage to de-stress this term amidst all the crazy?
Well, thanks to my brothers and professor Sandhu I was able to get out a few times and go to a few… things. Can’t be saying much about it until later, though, but it’s all good stuff.
You’re graduating this term, right? What did you miss being able to do at Hogwarts for your final term?
Quidditch. Still can’t believe that stupid school didn’t allow us to— anyway. I did miss the Gryffindor Common Room as well, to be honest.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m not sure I can talk about it yet, but all I can say is that it’s very exciting.
Do you have any advice for the Gryffindors coming after you?
I think my people are already doing a great job, so I’d say keep up the good work and go on causing some chaos if you want because life’s too short and who really cares?