Of the many student clubs and organizations at University College London, Harry Potter Society has long been on my radar. I made note of the group as soon I found out UCL was our sister school and looked into ways of getting involved. I am pleased to say I went to my first event today and I couldn’t be more excited to come back!
The first event was a mock O.W.L.S. For those of you who don’t know, the Ordinary Wizarding Levels are standardized tests given to assess knowledge in a specific subject. Think of them as PSATs or Advanced Placement exams: not quite as high-stakes as SATs or GCSE’s, but still a big deal.
That categories we were tested in were potions, charms and magical history.
To be frank, as big of a Potterhead as I am, I was only able to answer a few questions. These were deep cuts, such as: the function of alarte ascendare, the name of Aragog’s wife, the year Tom Riddle visited the Chamber of Secrets, alternative names for wolfsbane, the year Olivander opened his wand shop, Dumbledore’s full government name and details on House ghosts. “Dumbledore’s Army” did not win or make runner-up, but we put up a valiant fight.
Considering, too, the amount of Hufflepuffs that were in the house, I’m looking forward to connecting with more Harry Potter nerds in my community as the term goes on.
