GRANITE FALLS — Directions for the restroom came with advice: Watch out for Moaning Myrtle.
Children and adults, adorned in wizard hats and robes, surrounded the Granite Falls Library on Saturday. This was the second year the library has hosted Hogwarts Summer School.
Aubrey Del Rosso, 11, and her sister, Evelyn, 8, both got sorted into the house of Ravenclaw. They were expecting that, having taken online sorting quizzes.
“I read the books twice,” Aubrey said.
“I’ve only watched the first five movies,” Evelyn said.
A group of boys cast spells with their newly made wands. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Aubrey was looking forward to “everything” at Hogwarts, she said. Her favorite characters from the series are Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. Evelyn’s favorite is Luna Lovegood, a girl known for daydreaming.
Library staff used the herbology booth to teach the various stages of plant life, throwing in some magical botany, such as the Mandrake. In the series, the Mandrake screams when pulled from the soil, and the sound can be deadly.
Clayton Green volunteered to oversee the photo booth, where people donned props of long beards and wizard hats.
“Kids from Granite Falls and other towns come in, and it inspires them to read the books more,” he said.
It wasn’t just children.
“I’m excited about everything Harry Potter,” said Kristin Conner, 37.
Her son, Payton, 13, has read some of the books and was looking to kill some time, he said. He wanted to make a Golden Snitch, the fast-moving prize in the wizards’ game of Quidditch.
Michelle Funk helps her son Preston Funk, 5, put on his robe during Hogwarts Summer School. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
At another booth, Preston Funk, 5, fashioned a wand from unicorn hair and phoenix feather dust — or, “pipe cleaners and glitter,” as he described them.
The labels for the wand-making materials may not have impressed Preston, but that didn’t stop him from casting spells with his new wand.
Preston and his mother, Michelle, usually go to the Lynnwood Library, but they made plans to visit Granite Falls after getting an email about the Hogwarts event, she said. He wore a lightning bolt painted on his forehead, like Harry’s scar.
Back in the parking lot, one small boy, headed for the activities, could be overheard asking, “Mommy, can we have our wands now?”
Nataya Foss: nfoss@heraldnet.com.
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