The third annual Harry Potter Book Night at Waterstones in intu Milton Keynes proves to be quite the magical affiar on Thursday evening!
Wizards and witches began arriving early, with most opting to travel by car or come on foot. One witch coyly noted that “Travelling by broomstick is all well and good, but it’s a bit draughty on a windy night – and there’s lots of good places to park here!”
There was a lot of excitement around a suitcase carelessly left out on a table by a former Hogwarts alumni.
People took turns slipping their hands into the case to guess what was inside, under the watchful eye of our Potions Mistress Jennifer – just in case a healing charm was needed! Whilst they waited their turn, there was the opportunity to guess how many All-Flavoured Jelly Beans were in a jar – with much discussion of what flavours might be in it!
People voted for their favourite Professor, with Professor Minerva McGonagall just leading the list of stalwart and brave teachers extraordinaire. Fans also decided what they would be known as, and what subject they would teach, if they were on the staff at Hogwarts today.
The most popular activities, however, involved the frame and photo booth props, where friends took selfies with assorted interesting additions, and the Moving Portrait Frame on loan from Hogwarts.
It was the ideal opportunity for people to put themselves in the picture!
The highlight of the evening was the House Quiz, a chance for Potter devotees to show off their knowledge, and unsurprisingly, the quiz was tightly fought.
After 6 rounds and several bonus questions, Gryffindor (the winning team for both previous years) was out of the running by a mere 10 points.
After a few tiebreaker questions between the remaining houses, Hufflepuff were eliminated, with Ravenclaw eventually taking the title.
Parents were astounded by the amount of Harry Potter knowledge their children had retained. But Waterstones staff were not surprised.
“We recommend the Harry Potter book series for all our younger readers,” said senior bookseller Nikki Bloomer.
“It encourages children to read, widens their vocabulary and inspires their imaginations. The characters stay with you always. J.K. Rowling created a fantastic wizarding world which engaged our hearts and minds the way that all good books do - and it’s important to keep sharing that love of books with the next generations.”
