Gearing Up for a New Harry Potter Release (Again)

It seems like we're going to be gearing up for Harry Potter releases for the rest of our lives—not that we're complaining! November 18th marks the release date of the new Harry Potter spinoff movie, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and we couldn't be more excited. The trailers look awesome, and the reviews for the movie are already saying its going to be a great movie, albeit more "grownup" than its predecessors.

If you are anything like us, you definitely want to get into the Harry-Potter spirit. Here are some ways you can:

Start dressing up
Halloween way be over, but it's never too late to throw on a costume.You can get premade Harry Potter robes on Amazon starting from $20. If you don't want to wait or searching for “Harry Potter costume for adults” is too embarrassing, you can always throw a blanket over your shoulders and pretend it's the Invisibility Cloak. It'll keep you warm and maybe even hide you from stares as you slowly fall asleep in Lamont.

Search for fantastic beasts on campus
Although we're a little short on owls and hippogriffs, Harvard has it’s share of fantastic beasts.

If you're lucky, you’re in an entryway with pets. If not, you can still sometimes catch a glimpse of proctors walking their dogs through the Yard. Or you can cuddle with bunnies, ducklings and piglets at Pet Therapy, hosted by Harvard Common Spaces every other Friday at noon in the Science Center Plaza. If you want to spot a more exotic breed, try to track down the Harvard Turkey and its quickly-growing family. You'll be a regular Newt Scamander in no time. And if you’re more into the creepier crawlier creatures of Harry Potter, well, you can always pretend the next roach you catch is actually Rita Skeeter.

Assign magical names to each of your classes
Does it make it better if you think of your math pset as Arithmancy homework? Or, as all of the indecipherable symbols start to blur together, Runes?

Eat in Annenberg
Obligatory reference, because we all know Annenberg is the Great Hall. Even if you're an upperclassman, Annenberg is open to you for breakfast. There's no butterbeer or pumpkin juice, but there's a plentiful stock of the staple of any college student’s life: Coffee. Of course, the food probably won't be Hogwarts quality, but at least the architecture's on point.

Face down a Dementor
Who needs Dementors when you’re facing down concentration declaration deadlines in a few days? If only we could Expecto Patronum those away.