Potter's Field

--MINERVA McGONAGALL (played by Maggie Smith) Mentor/mother figure; Deputy Headmistress/Professor of Transfiguration at Hogwarts; faculty adviser of Gryffindor House (Harry's dorm). PERTINENT BACKGROUND An "Animagus," she's capable of morphing into a cat. Little else is known about her. OTHER CURIOUS CHARACTERISTICS As her withering stare and tightly packed bun suggest, a bit stern. Still, willing to bend the rules for the sake of Gryffindor's Quidditch team. ANIMAL COMPANION None.

--SEVERUS SNAPE (played by Alan Rickman) Despised Professor of Potions; faculty adviser at Slytherin House. PERTINENT BACKGROUND His hatred of Harry stems from a grudge against Potter's father, James. OTHER CURIOUS CHARACTERISTICS Desperately wants to be Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a nearly always vacant faculty post. Continually denied the job by Dumbledore. ANIMAL COMPANION None.

--DRACO MALFOY (played by Tom Felton) Harry's snooty archrival. PERTINENT BACKGROUND Wealthy and upper-crust. His family was once aligned with Lord Voldemort. OTHER CURIOUS CHARACTERISTICS Professor Snape's prized pupil. Openly loathes and unabashedly discriminates against Muggles. ANIMAL COMPANION None, unless you count his bulky flunkies Goyle and Crabbe.

--HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY A 1,000-year-old institution located within a magical realm of Great Britain--but don't bother trying to find it on any map. Housed inside a vast medieval-style castle, Hogwarts is flanked by the Forbidden Forest, which is filled with centaurs, unicorns, and other far more deadly creatures. Students are banned from this dark wood at night. HOW TO GET THERE At London's King's Cross railway station, find platform nine and three-quarters. (This is done by locating the barrier between platforms nine and ten and walking straight through it. Needless to say, Muggles need not attempt it.) On the other side is Hogsmeade (think "college town"), home to the most haunted joint in the whole country, the Shrieking Shack. From there you'll travel by Hogwarts Express to a great black lake where boats ferry you to the castle. OTHER FREAKS AND FACULTY There's Nearly Headless Nick (John Cleese), who haunts the halls of Gryffindor; The Bloody Baron (Terence Baylor), who dwells within the Slytherin tower; and Fluffy, a most un-downy three-headed dog who guards a secret chamber. Other critical Hogwarts personnel include beleaguered caretaker Argus Filch (David Bradley); Madame Hooch (Zoe Wanamaker), Quidditch coach and Broomstick professor; and the turban-topped Professor Quirrell (Ian Hart), the current Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor.