Last summer's Harry Potter Question

Jacob answers the question "Who is your favorite Harry Potter character?"

George Weasley is my favorite Harry Potter character because he makes stuff with his brother Fred, like Fainting Fancies, ton-tongue toffee, canary creams, skiving snackboxes and other candy that makes you do gross stuff. And I like him because he is funny, and he and Fred stick up for each other. They are good at Quidditch, and they help Harry and Ron. They make fake wands that turn into chickens or fish when you pick them up, and they also make trick wands that squeak and move around. And I liked it when Fred and George turned the west wing of Hogwarts into a swamp. I also liked it when they set off fireworks in the hall and made Professor Umbridge and Filch the caretaker run around the school chasing the fireworks and trying to put them out. I also liked it when they attack Malfoy on the train. This is why I like George (and Fred) Weasley.

Rebekah's answer:

One of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series is Albus Dumbledore. He isn’t a main character like Harry, Ron or Hermione, but he’s still my favorite. Dumbledore is really kind and he’s very fun to be around. (At least, I assume so; I haven’t actually met him). His blue eyes are almost always twinkling, and he really seems to understand the children he teaches. When he talks, everyone listens. In The Half-Blood Prince, when Malfoy is trying to kill him, he sees that Malfoy’s scared (after all, Voldemort threatened to kill him) and offers to hide Malfoy where Voldemort can’t find him. He believes Harry when he tells him that Voldemort came back, when almost no one else will, and he gives people like Snape, who were once Death Eaters, a second chance. Dumbledore is also a really good wizard. He’s the only one Voldemort was ever afraid of. One of the OWL examiners said, “He can do things with a wand I’ve never seen anyone do.” Dumbledore is always calm. In The Half-Blood Prince, Malfoy, some other death eaters, and a werewolf are going to kill Dumbledore, and they are gloating about how they had caught him, and he just responds calmly and politely. At the end of The Order of the Phoenix, when Harry is angry and upset because Sirius died, and throwing Dumbledore’s delicate silver instruments across the room, Dumbledore just sits there calmly, waits for Harry to calm down, and then talks to him. Maybe now you can see why I like Dumbledore so much. It would be fun to meet him. I would love to go to Hogwarts while he’s Headmaster. Sometimes I wish the books were real, and the people inside were real, although I’m very glad Voldemort isn’t real!

I haven't yet been able to find Michael's essay about Neville for the amazon.com contest last summer.