Severus Snape
Severus Snape has been Potions Professor at Hogwarts for 14 years, though he has regularly applied for the post of Defence against the Dark Arts Professor and been turned down every time. Dumbledore's continuing refusal to allow Snape to take up a post which for some time now has been all but impossible to fill is interesting. It can't be a lack of trust, as Dumbledore has made it quite clear on a number of occasions that he trusts Severus Snape implicitly. Nor can it be a lack of qualification as Snape is known to have excellent knowledge of the Dark Arts. Perhaps then it is unsuitability, an incompatibility with a Defence class which is holding him off from his ambition. Or perhaps Dumbledore does not wish to lose the services of an excellent Potions Professor. Severus Snape is Head of Slytherin House and is not averse to showing favoritism towards students in his house, on occasion he has been known to overlook or play down Slytherin transgressions, whilst dealing harshly with the other houses. As unofficial spokesman and leader of the Slytherin students, Draco Malfoy has Snape's favour, whilst Harry has suffered the Potions master's unremitting hatred from the moment he set foot in Hogwarts. Snape's hatred of Harry is a hangover from his hatred of James Potter, Harry's father. James and his friends made Snape's school life hell, although it may be said that the taunting and attacks were not all one way, and Snape was wont to hex James if James didn't jinx Snape first.
Lucius Malfoy
Lucius Malfoy. Father of Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy is an important servant of Voldemort. Lucius Malfoy Current head of the Malfoy family, Lucius Malfoy is one of Harry Potter's greatest enemies. High up in the Death Eaters before the fall of Voldemort, Malfoy managed to convince enough people he had not been acting of his own free will and suffered no reprisals. We must assume that Lucius Malfoy is extremely adept at swaying the minds of others, for even Lord Voldemort accepted him back following Voldemort's rebirth. Lucius Malfoy was responsible for all the terrible events in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as he was the one who gave Riddle's diary to Ginny Weasley. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Lucius Malfoy leads the Death Eaters who chase Harry and the DA through the Department of Mysteries.
Draco Malfoy
Only son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Draco has hated Harry ever since they first met on the train to Hogwarts. Harry snubbed Malfoy, refusing his friendship in favour of Ron Weasley, forming an alliance and an enmity which seems set to last well beyond their school years. Malfoy is one of the most prominent members of Slytherin House and in many ways is Harry's opposite number. In the first year Harry becomes Gryffindor's Seeker and in the second, Malfoy takes the position for Slytherin. Malfoy's dislike of Harry stems from countless sources, including Harry's unsought fame, persistent heroism and choice of friends. Malfoy's personal entourage is formed mainly of the hulking presences of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, his large 'friends' who are kept nearby as muscle pure and simple. He has also been seen in the presence of Pansy Parkinson on several occasions, usually those which require female accompaniment, such as the Yule ball. In the fifth year Malfoy inevitably becomes a Slytherin Prefect, along with Pansy Parkinson. He is most amused to find that Harry has not been granted the same position. The rule of Dolores Umbridge sees plenty of opportunities for Slytherin advancement, and towards the end of the year Draco becomes a leader in the Inquisitorial Squad, Umbridge's personal police force within Hogwarts. Take me home!
