A Magical Invitation

A friend is taking their child to the Harry Potter Studios as a surprise early next year, so to add to the fun, I offered to write an appropriate invitation. After a short while pondering what I might do, I finally decided on this -a letter from from Hogwarts no less. Once I had reminded myself of the key names it was great fun to do. I love the chance to do a bit of creative scribbling once in a while and probably don't give myself permission to do it often enough. I've used the school logo to go at the top of the document and found a free Harry Potter font to print it out in. As it's for a present I don't want to put up a photo but I thought you might enjoy the body of the text:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class,Grand Sorc.,Chf Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear

We are pleased to inform you that you have been granted a place on the upcoming tour of the Harry Potter Studios. The date and time of your excursion will be confirmed once the centaurs have consulted the night skies and checked that the stars are aligned correctly.

May I please remind you that although a witch, you must display only behaviour and mannerisms familiar to Muggles. You are entering an entirely Muggle populated environment which is different to ours and there must be nothing to frighten them or draw their attention. I shudder at the sheer number of memory charms that were needed after one first year let off one of the Weasleys Wildfire Whiz Bangs in the building. The staff in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes were livid…if the Muggles’ gutter press had got hold of the story they would have had a field time dreaming up all sorts of lurid dragon related headlines.

Kindly read through the rules below. Regrettably any breach will have serious consequences.

Arrival

There is to be no daylight flying of brooms to the destination. Even unseen during the hours of darkness causes a major headache for the Air Traffic controllers at Heathrow. They wildly imagine that the unseen objects that appear on their radars are an invasion of alien aircraft which can lead to major panic for the populace as a whole.

Only Muggle methods of transportation are acceptable. Our “car parking attendants” are specially trained wizards who can weed out a magically modified car instantly. Mr Ron Weasley may have thought he had got away with it when he used his father’s Ford Anglia, but that met a very sorry end at the branches of the Whomping Willow if you recall.

Transfiguration

Owls, rats, toads or cats are not permitted within the grounds. Again staff will be on the lookout for any cases of transfigured pets- you will not be able to sneak your friends in for free without detection.

Dress Code

Standard human dress code must be observed throughout the duration of your visit. You may of course wear your House scarf and hat. This type of merchandise is freely available for the Muggles to purchase so will not stand out. However, please remember that within the Muggle world cloaks do not change colour of their own accord- only chameleons are able to achieve this feat.

Beverages and Victuals

Butter beer is freely available. Thankfully now, with the Ministry of Magic’s full permission, the recipe has been modified to bring it in line with the product sold at The Three Broomsticks. The Muggle version was a most poor imitation

Although not strictly enforceable it is strongly recommended that you restrict your sweet consumption to Lemon Sherberts (a favourite of the headmaster’s no less!) For some unfathomable reason Muggles get very agitated when they see the Chocolate Frogs jumping. I can only think it’s the chocolate that startles them!

Remember all payments are to be made using Muggle currency. Staff will be unaware of the correct current exchange rate for our knuts, sickles and galleons so you may unfairly pay over the odds

Conduct

It is expressly forbidden to perform any type of spell whilst on your tour. Any violation will result in an immediate written warning and punishment deemed appropriate for the incursion (cf International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy)

Enjoy your visit.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Arilx

PS Having been lucky enough to visit for myself a couple of years ago it was the most incredible and enjoyable experience. Expensive but worth every galleon!