Application

[luftballoons]

• What sort of profession in the wizarding world would you choose and why?
  
  I would want to be a teacher. Working in a ministry or office-type job wouldn't appeal to me, no matter what the line of work. I currently work in a job that has me dealing heavily with the general public, and the more I deal with people the more I realize that I dislike a high percentage of them. As a teacher I'd be removed from that to some extent, dealing with children who could (hopefully) be moulded to be tolerable people. The dynamics of a smaller, more isolated community (like that of Hogwarts) also appeals to me.
  
  
• If you could teach one class at Hogwarts, what would it be and why?
  
  Probably Care of Magical Creatures....though Transfiguration comes in a close second. I've always really enjoyed interacting with animals and would like to pass that interest on to students. Transfiguration would also be very interesting because it's a practical and useful application of magic.
  
  
• This year, The TriWizard Tournament is being held once again and you're of age. Do you put your name in the Goblet? Why or why not?
  
  I would but not right away; not until I had a better idea of who else had already done so. I'd be hoping that a lot of weak students would be putting their names in. I'd also take the time to try and psych out anyone I thought was stronger than I was and scare them away from entering. I would be afraid, but the idea of being the heroine and basking in the fame would win out in the end and in my name would go.
  
  
• If you could choose your animagus form, what would it be and why?
  
  A cat. Probably a common answer, but I love the way cats can be energetic or slinky or silly or cunning. They can wear many different personalities. I think that gives them an advantage, and if it were my animagus form, I would want something versatile. Plus I'm terrified of flying, so winged things are out!
  
  
• What HP character do you identify with most and why?
  
  This is hard. I don't see one that I really click with. I'll say Snape, because some of the personality traits match up: I'm very sarcastic and quick on the draw to say some smart comment when someone else leaves me an opening. I like to tease people. I tend to prefer solitude over great gatherings of people. I highly value intelligence. I'm a little darker in my sense of humour and my perception of life. However, I'm also like Hermione in that I have the ability to be warm around the right people and always think that I'm right about any given subject.
  
  
• What would you see if you looked into the Mirror of Erised?
  
  At this point in my life? I'd look and see myself in a wedding dress with my ex (dated 4.5 years, recently broke up) standing beside in his wedding attire. If I were asked this question again a few months from now when I was a little more "over" this breakup? I'd be beautiful and wealthy and obviously famous with my ex pining away for me on the sidelines, miserable and alone and obviously NOT famous (HA!).
  
  
• If you won a million dollars, how would you spend it?
  
  I'd pay off my debt first, then I would buy myself a ridiculously big house and nice car. I love my family so they would get a big chunk to spend how they wished. After a new wardrobe, I'd donate a bunch of money to the Humane Society and maybe set up my own cat rescue for stray and/or injured animals. If there was anything left I'd probably save it. Or fill up a huge jacuzzi with champagne and splash around in it. You know, whichever.
  
  
• What was your ideal job as a kid? Has that changed? What is your ideal job now?
  
  As a kid I first wanted to be a "hero". Fairly generic job description. Then for many years I wanted to be just generally "famous"; first as a singer, then as an actress. I kept up this idea until I started university, because I realized that I'm not in a good location to make a career out of stage acting. So now I'm in psychology but I'm not 100% sure what I want to do. I still plan on being famous somehow, be it as an author or by engaging in impressive research or, who knows, maybe I'll take up acting again after all.
  
  
• If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it, and what would you call it?
  
  People have a pensieve for memories, but what about the feelings that go with them? It seems as though the pensieve is more about putting yourself in the physical scene but not necessarily the emotional one. I'd like to invent a spell that allows you to go back and re-experience (in the first person, not as an observer) events in your life with the emotions felt at the same intensity as the original experience. Make sense? Never again try to remember the joy of your first kiss; actually relive it. And if you need to revisit a great sorrow? Go ahead. I'd call it something like sentiosensus.
  
  
• If you were to face a boggart, what would it turn into? And what does it turn into when you throw the counter-spell, Riddikulus?
  
  Me as an old person, ugly and poor and totally forgotten by everyone. That would be the worst thing, to me. What would it turn into? My doppelganger of sorts would change into a suit and start performing the Monty Python "Ministry of Silly Walks" sketch.
  
  
• What do you look for in a friend?
  
  Intelligence, sense of humour, honesty, trustworthiness. Anyone with those qualities is someone I can befriend. They have to be intelligent enough to keep up with others in conversation and funny enough that they hold my interest. They must respect me and treat me nicely.
  
  
• What trait most annoys you about other people?
  
  Stupidity. Think of the average person. Then realize that half of the people in this world are stupider than that. Book smarts are well and good, but common sense and general quick thinking is just as (if not more) important, and nothing gets me seeing red faster than someone who has none of the latter two. I can forgive some ignorance about things if the person is quick enough to catch on once the topic is explained. People who can't do that? Hate. Now, I also have little tolerance for people who believe they know everything simply because they have some facts or theories memorized. You can be incredibly "book smart" and still as dumb as a rock, I think.
  
  
• What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities?
  
  - I am a quick thinker
  - I've got a great sense of humour
  - I love completely and with a lot of loyalty, be it a lover or a family member or a pet
  - I'm intelligent; I've got a lot of common sense and my book smarts aren't bad either
  - I can read people very well. This can work to my advantage in many ways, being able to manipulate them or simply maneuver around well in the situation
  
  
• What do you think are your top five weaknesses or worst qualities?
  
  - I'm manipulative. I don't think this is always bad (see above), but I have in the past manipulated people just to upset them. One time many years ago my mother asked me why I pushed her buttons and made her cry. I looked at her and said "because it's easy". I think I should be ashamed of this, when I'm actually kind of proud. Most people wouldn't understand this, though, so I tend to keep those thoughts hidden.
  - I'm lazy. I skip far more lectures than I attend because I would much rather sleep, or lay around, or watch TV. Assignments do get done, oftentimes with minutes to spare. Textbooks are largely ignored until testing time....and even then, they don't get used much.
  - Oftentimes I find things funny that I probably shouldn't, or I'll make the joke that nobody else would admit to thinking. I don't do this out of mean-spiritedness exactly....well sometimes, but not every time. I just think that some things are funny and it doesn't necessarily reflect on what I think of a person or a situation as a whole.
  - I'm insecure, and terrified of being alone. Probably the reason I do most of the above things.
  - I am sure that my opinion on a subject is the correct one. I'm not always sure why other opinions exist.
  
  
• Define in your own words the following key traits:
  
  • Courage: Having the desire to do something and actually doing it, despite the fear or uncertainty you feel at the idea of it.
    
  • Loyalty: Standing beside someone and defending them when they need defending, loving them when they need to be loved, being trustworthy when they need a confidant, and giving them a kick in the ass when they need one of those. Being a partner no matter what.
    
  • Intelligence: Can be book smarts, common sense, or general quick thinking. Understanding the world, your place in it, and how to best live in it.
    
  • Ambition: The driving feeling that leads us to go after things that we want, and the determination to keep going until you get it. I feel like I should have more of this.
    
  
  
• Name: Lauren
  
• Age: 23
  
• Where did you find out about us? Through malenky-devil