As Harry Potter fans, we were all disappointed when we did not receive our Hogwarts acceptance letters. But fear not-because even as a Muggle you can experience parts of the wizarding world.
If you can’t visit Hogsmeade, Starbucks may be the next best thing. Butterbeer is a popular wizard drink, but what many do not know is that it is available at Starbucks. Starbucks calls their drink Butterbeer Frappuccino, a Frappuccino based drink that is available on their secret menu. A grande size consists of a Creme Frappuccino base, three pumps of caramel syrup and three pumps of toffee nut syrup, all topped with caramel drizzle.
Another Harry Potter food item is Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, famous for having jellybeans of literally every flavor in existence, but did you know that the Muggle world can offer the same?
The jellybean company Jelly Belly has created a series of jellybeans imitating Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans with flavors like earthworm, earwax and vomit. Jelly Belly also created a separate merchandise line called Bean Boozled which has a larger variety of flavors like Skunk Spray, dog food and rotten egg.
In addition to food, Quidditch has been taken out of the Harry Potter Universe. Many colleges have an official team, competing with other colleges across the nation in regionals for the chance to participate at the World Cup, hosted by non-profit organization US Quidditch.
Many of the rules of the game remain the same as those in the novels. In the game, there are three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker. There are still three hoops for chasers to score in, chasers still receive their ten points upon scoring a goal and the game still ends when a seeker catches the Snitch.
However, the rules are tweaked slightly, since it is not likely that any of our players have a flying broom. Players still have a broom between their legs at all time during the game and rule changes include having three Bludgers instead of two and any player hit with a Bludger is out of the game until they reach their goalpost. The Snitch is replaced with a ball attached to the waist of a neutral athlete, whose job is to avoid capture. The catching of the Snitch is not the 150 points that we are familiar with but rather 30 points.
TCHS School Newspaper