HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW OUR BELOVED ASTRONOMY TEACHER? 

Professor Daxian Annae Polgara, or Dax Polgara, is the very intelligent, passionate, and slightly mysterious Hufflepuff Head of House and Astronomy Professor. Born on November 12th in Finland, Professor Polgara was born into a magical home, with a mother and father, who both work with Magical Creatures (namely, a type of Southern Finland Dragon found in Northern Finland), and a sister, who, unfortunately, disappeared in 1994. Rumor has it that in the family tree of the Polgara name, a powerful witch dwells. This might be the reason that Professor Polgara is so talented at magic. 

As a child, Polgara had a knack for getting in trouble, but most of it having to do with Astronomy. He would sneak out of the house to see the night sky, one of his most memorable childhood memories being his first meteor sighting. He always knew that he was going to be a Professor in Astronomy. And, he loves every moment of it, still.  

Growing up, our Professor waited very patiently to get his magic. All of his immediate family was Witches and Wizards, so he was thrilled when he finally noticed his own magic, around the age of seven or eight. He soon attended Hogwarts, where he was sorted into Hufflepuff because his personality was very similar to the infamous Helga Hufflepuff. (But, Polgara told me that if he would be in a different house, he would be in Ravenclaw.) Here, Polgara excelled in Astronomy (no surprise there) but struggled a little bit with Transfiguration and Potions. Although he struggled during his time at Hogwarts, he is semi-good at Potions now because of the early friendship between him and Lucrezia Batyaeva, who is the current Potions Professor by the name of Lucrezia Batyaeva-Rubedo. But, our Professor kept to himself and his studies during his time at Hogwarts. Besides Lucrezia, he had only a few close friends, but they are people that he still talks to! When asked to describe himself during his later years at school, he said, "I was somewhere between 'outcast' and 'nerd', I suppose". 

After graduating Hogwarts, he studied at many top schools, including Cambridge, UC Berkeley, and MIT, along with traveling to find the best lectures by Astronomers and Astrophysicists. 

When the position for Astronomy opened up at Hogwarts, Headmaster Balog contacted Professor Polgara immediately. Of course, our Professor accepted and he enjoys teaching the new generation of wizards and witches about the wonders of the Universe and hopes to continue to teach generation after generation. Professor Polgara believes that his strengths, especially pertaining to education, is that he is patient and calm, but thinks that he has a tendency to ramble. 

Professor Polgara keeps his schedule very busy, with planning materials for upcoming Astronomy lessons, doing his duties as Hufflepuff Head of House, controlling his trouble-making Prefects, getting new recruits for the Astronomy Tutoring Program, taking care of his Shepherd Mix dog named Tonks, tending to his small garden, and trying to breath in between. I asked him to mention a little bit about his love life or past relationships and he just grinned widely at me. Although I kept pestering him for an answer, he kept his mysterious facade and just chuckled. 

Continuing on to Harry Potter, we talked a little bit about the fandom. Professor Polgara was actually introduced to the series by glancing into the window of an airport book store. His favorite character is, of course, Professor Aurora Sinistra, who was the Astronomy Professor before himself. His favorite book of the series is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and his favorite movie of the eight is the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. If he could enter the series, he would hang out with Luna Lovegood. 

As you probably see every day, Professor Polgara has an interesting sense of style. We knew he liked to shop at Think Geek, but if any student was asked to describe his clothing in just a few words, in a Short Answer Question, for example, the students would all get it wrong. Professor described his clothing as "Classical medieval fusion". Students, remember that for the next Astronomy quiz. 

WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW!

 If Professor Polgara had a Time Turner and could go back in time, he said he wished he wouldn't have tried to pet the dragon that he encountered. Well, we now know why he is not the Care of Magical Creatures Professor! If he could invent a flavor of ice cream, he would make grape. If money was no object, Professor Polgara would go to the Arctic Circle or the Boreal Tundra of Northern Canada. If he could teach a different class, he would steal Alchemy from Professor Rubedo. If Polgara was an animal, he would be an otter. If he was isolated on an island, he would be very smart and bring a boat, paddle, and food.

Professor Polgara 's favorite movie is The Fifth Element. His favorite TV Show is Supernatural. His favorite book is The Drizzt Do'Urden Series. His favorite song, currently, is a mash-up of Turn Down for What and Tsunami. His favorite drink is coffee and his favorite food is a cannoli. 

QUOTES!

"Professor Polgara is like a psudo astro-dad to all of us, some more than others. We have great fun in Astro-Chat. Some teasing and bugging him does ensue but overall he's amazing, awesome and understanding "-Karelin Prewett, Astronomy Prefect

"Papa is the best!" -Veela Polgara, Astronomy Prefect and Professor Polgara's daughter.

"The best thing about Professor Polgara is that no matter what you need to understand relating to the course, he is always there to help you with it, which I think is what makes a great teacher." -Mina Lofthouse