With a couple galleons in your pocket, would you say no to a glass of unicorn blood?
How do you tell someone’s a wizard?
Harry Potter fans know the answer. “There seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks…Very strange strangers they were, too” goes the description in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
That is exactly what one could have seen at the Hart House on the night of April 12.
Second-year George Brown College (GBC) special events planning students turned the Great Hall of the Hart House into a little world of witchcraft and wizardry. Platform 9 3/4: A Harry Potter Experience was their final exam from the program. Sold-out weeks before the night, the event faced frauds from people reselling tickets for a higher price along with never-ending requests on its official Facebook page for an extra ticket.
The reason of such a bustle is pretty obvious. Ever since the boy who lived was introduced to the world almost 20 years ago, the story has no end.
On April 12, everyone who has ever dreamt of crashing the Honeydukes Express, got to do so. Everyone who ever wanted to be chosen by a wand, was. As for the Quidditch fans, they had a chance to bid on a Quidditch ball set. Obviously enough, you could not have used Canadian money to pay for all that. Fortunately, a local division of Gringotts popped up.
Public enthusiasm was kind of a given in this case, but what is worth noting is a downright and clear excitement of GBC students. Wearing cloaks, scarves or ties in House colours, they would happily assist you a Horcrux hunt or point you in the right direction with a wand.
The final realization of what a great world J.K. Rowling once built came at the end of the night. A scene of Dumbledore’s death was projected on the wall and the moment the film characters raised their wands everyone in the room followed. Hardly ever do you feel so united with a group of strangers in real life.
Not only did the GBC students put together a thriving fundraising event, but also showed each and every guest that the boy who lived lives in our hearts.
