Muggles unite: Winnipeggers recapture the magic with Harry Potter party, book release
‘I’m excited to say I can finally go get a new Harry Potter book’ Toni Smith, 23, says
It doesn't matter if you are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or even house Slytherin, Winnipeg's wizards and muggles are reclaiming the magic of a Harry Potter book release.
The Harry Potter Party in Assiniboine Park might be a larger gathering than any Quidditch match as people celebrate Harry Potter's and J.K Rowling's birthdays as well as the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The wizarding story of the boy who lived has the largest Hogwarts-heads showing their Potter pride.
"It's a pretty big deal. This is the first book in almost 10 years that's come out and it [takes place] 19 years after with Harry's son Albus kind of living in his shadow," 23-year-old Toni Smith said.
"I'm excited to say I can finally go get a new Harry Potter book."
Smith first heard Harry's tale in her Grade 3 class and was invested with the characters right away. She said she's in the process of re-reading the books for the sixth time in anticipation of the release.
"I kind of hope you get to see what happens with Harry and all of them afterwards, but also what it's like after Harry has beaten Voldemort – what the world is like, what everyone is doing," she said.
Although the hero, Harry, initially pulled her into the books, Smith said it was goofy Ron Weasley who stole her heart.
"He's just a Weasley," she said with a big smile.
For Smith, like many Harry Potter fans, the love of the books has brought the words on the page into her everyday life. In fact, she has them tattooed on her arm.
"I think it's a fun phrase," she said pointing to her tattoo.
"You say that to make the map go clear — Mischief Managed — from the Marauder's Map."