MOULTRIE, Ga. — On Nov. 14, the media center at C. A. Gray Junior High School hosted its 2nd annual Harry Potter Day. This event is a celebration of J. K. Rowling’s beloved series and the movies based on those books. One hundred eighty-eight students participated this year in activities ranging from games to crafts to trivia.

Potter knowledge is not required to play most of options for the day, media specialist Melanie Turner said.

“We want to offer something for everyone during this event,” Turner said. “We have fun themed games that require no knowledge of the books or movies – like Muggle Quidditch. We hope that these spark interest in students enough to give the books a shot. We also have a Scene-It Trivia station where ‘Potterheads’ can compete with each other to see just who knows the most about the series.

“New this year, we offered two periods during the day where students could ‘School the Teacher.’ Students challenged me during 2nd period and fellow Harry Potter enthusiast Ms. Casey Wright during 6th period,” she said. “The students did win against each of us individually. However, when the media specialist and 9th grade literature teacher combined magical forces, we were victorious.”

Muggle Quidditch remained the most popular activity for the 2nd year and was run by Melissa Tillman, media clerk. This homemade game involves ping-pong ball “snitches” that students throw through quidditch rings in attempt to achieve the highest score for the period and win a prize. Other activities included Harry Potter-themed Uno and Trouble, computer stations open to Rowling’s house-sorting webpage, Bingo, a bookmark station, and a photo booth.

Susan Miller, community volunteer, ran a crafts station and taught students to make “howlers.”

Aside from the inherent fun and magic of the day, Turner considers the event a success if even one person picks up the books for the first time as a result of Harry Potter Day. This year, at least two students and one staff member did just that. Robbie Pitts, engineering teacher at C. A. Gray, is now wondering why he waited all of these years to begin reading them.

“The Harry Potter books are enchanting and enthralling, and I can’t put them down!”Ninth grader Rut Labrada raved, “After I read the first book, I was thinking, ‘This is amazing! Why am I a muggle? Where is my Hogwarts letter?”