Harry Potter Event
Mag.a Cornelia Zeiner
“[I]t matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!”[1]
Who hasn’t heard of Hogwarts, one of the best schools of witchcraft and wizardry? The world created by J.K.Rowling so many years ago still manages to inspire kids, teenagers and adults alike. To whom would you turn to in order to learn mixing potions, if not Severus Snape? Who, if not the Sorting Hat, can read your mind and know even the most dormant abilities of yours? After all, magic enables wonders… Part of these wonders were revived by us during this Harry Potter Event.
We started by discussing some rules at Hogwarts. Should you really use every charm that comes to mind or are there exceptions? Should you explore the Forbidden Forest? I mean, who doesn’t like an adventure every once in a while. ? While discussing some rules, the students revised modal verbs and practiced their correct use in positive and negative sentences and questions.
After familiarising potential students with the rules at Hogwarts, we proceeded with the Sorting Ceremony. To start with, we collected typical personality traits for every House: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. As Prof. McGonagall stated early on, “each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards.”[2] A collection of adjectives for the students of each House helped us gain an overview of the valued attributes at Hogwarts. Did you know that Hufflepuffs are well-known for being hard-working, loyal and fair? In comparison, Slytherins are supposed to be cunning, clever and ambitious. Well, in our Sorting Ceremony, the Sorting Hat read the minds of the biggest Hogwarts fans in the class and matched them with the House they seemed best suited for. These fans continued by electing more students into their respective House based on their strengths and abilities.
Once the Sorting was done, every House started working together and combined their knowledge about Hogwarts. Their task was to answer a quiz about the Hogwarts characters and their adventures. The aim was to promote teamwork while reminiscing about the plots and students’ favourite film scenes. In the end, the House Cup was awarded.
Whether you are surrounded by magical wonders in your daily life or films only, I wish you the very best for all your endeavours! And never forget Dumbledore’s words that “[i]t is our choices […] that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”[3] ?
- Albus Dumbledore in Rowling, J.K. (2000), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, London: Bloomsbury, 2000, S. 614-5
- Rowling, J.K. (1997), Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, London: Bloomsbury, S. 126
- Rowling, J.K. (1998), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, London: Bloomsbury, S. 358