The Alphaville Herald

Classes Start at Hogwarts

by Pixeleen Mistral on 21/05/07 at 10:12 pm

Students celebrate with a ball

by Curious Rousselot, Magical Affairs desk

Excitement abounds on the island of Oahu, home to Wizard’s Alley – the biggest Harry Potter fan group in Second Life. The builders, under the direction of Harry Prefect, are frantically finishing the castle while Darcy Rutledge has been busy organizing teachers and arranging class schedule.

Wizards are having a ball

A short week after the start of classes, Hogwarts Reborn held a fantastic ball in the still-under-repair castle to celebrate the hard work everyone has been putting it. In the continuing efforts to be available around the world, the ball was held twice. Once to accommodate group members from around the world. Amazingly a record number of attendees, 57 at the height. Despite the plague of occasional region crash and very slow walking at times, the party was seen as a success overall.

Darcy has put Danton Thirroul in charge of organizing the role play and planning the story lines. Danton comes to us with quite a resume of experience, if he does say so himself. Danton introduced himself in the Yahoo group used by those of us involved in Wizard’s Alley as an offline means of communication:

My SL tag is Danton Thirroul – I’ve met some of you already in the Hogwart’s Reborn sim – I’m the wild haired 2nd Year Ravenclaw. … And I am now the damn fool Darcy has agreed should be in role-play lead for Hogwarts Reborn.

OK, a few years back I ran the worlds largest LARP campaign- with 10,000 characters based across four continents. Did that twice actually. I run BIG games. I worked in the games industry (both for RPG companies and computer companies) in developing games and have oodles of experience in doing this.

His introduction and proposed style and strategy has inspired more conversation in the group on Yahoo than just about all the other chatter going on. I don’t know what story line he has in mind but he has given us some intriguing hints…

The year is 2007 by Muggle reckoning. Hogwarts is reopening classes in the summer term… ‘Trinity Term’ as it use to be called many years beforehand – the term from the Easter holidays until the glorious blooms of Summer.

A time for a new start; a time for busy organisation; a time for questions. Many questions- What destroyed Hogwarts and murdered the old faculty? How did the new and relatively unknown Headmaster get her job? Why are there no forthcoming answers as to the disaster? How long will it take until the school is rebuilt?

While Danton is busy organizing the role play and story, classes have already started. The list is long and covers almost as much as a real school would; Arithmacy, Conjuration, Herbology, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts are a small example of what is on the list. Lilly Lewellen said, “Many of the professor have already started getting to know the students here. Professor Merosi has already started Quidditch tryouts as well”, when asked about classes.

Great effort has been made to accommodate fans from around the world. Classes are being taught at multiple times so that Europeans, North Americans from both coasts, and Asian fans will have a chance to attend at least one class. A huge calendar with the class schedule is displayed on the wall just inside the gates of the castle itself.

The castle, still under construction after the fire, is an amazing site to see. The Great Hall and clock tower have been nearly fully restored. Repairs are still ongoing for an astronomy tower, house common rooms, classrooms, and professors’ offices. I even managed to find a nearly finished secret passage (but I’m not telling anyone where because that might ruin someone’s plans).

For any tuning in late (or just not that familiar with Hogwarts and the works of J.K. Rowling; Hogwarts is the school for wizards and witches that Harry Potter (you may have heard about a moving coming out this summer) attends. The school building is a huge magic castle somewhere in England near the town of Hogsmede. Hogsmede is said to be the only community in England that is completely comprised of wizards, witches, and other magical creatures.

The school, Hogwarts, divides students up into “houses” depending on their particular talents and aspirations. Griffindor is for the adventurous and brave, Hufflepuff is for the helpful, Ravenclaw is for those seaking knowledge above all else, and Slitherin is for the ambitious.

In addition to Hogsmede, there is also an alleyway somewhere in London called Diagon Alley. This is where you will find the best in wizarding supplies. The only way I know of to get to Diagon Alley is through a tavern called the Leaky Cauldron which is some where on Charring Cross Road.

The build in Oahu has a castle and an alley of shops called Wizard’s Alley similar in design to Diagon Alley. There is also an inn called the Leaky Cauldron and a market square to represent Charring Cross Road. These works are amazing. As Lilly tells us, “I love that the castle is getting completed quickly. Harry [Prefect] is spending most of his time here working very hard for everyone to enjoy the magic of Hogwarts.”