Strolling across the West Mall on Tuesday before classes started, you could not help but notice the quirky bunch of Harry Potter fans crowded around a table scattered with wizarding paraphernalia. The Austin Harry Potter Alliance, a new organization at the University of Texas, is a club dedicated to promoting the themes present in the Harry Potter series, including fighting illiteracy and spearheading anti-bullying campaigns. The club is a local branch of an international organization that raises awareness and aid for numerous causes and needy countries across the world, like Haiti and Japan. Keep Austin Wizard, which is the official chapter name for the UT branch, catches the attention of most passers-by, eliciting chuckles, grins and 12 pages of enthusiastic Potter fan emails.
Figurines of beloved characters, book displays, specialty wands, black-rimmed glasses and much more were arranged in an elaborate and whimsical array. Several students asked to pick up the wands to cast spells on friends and unassuming strangers. Die-hard fans stayed for several minutes, discussing other branches of Harry Potter fandom such as Pottermore, A Very Potter Musical and wizard rock. Most people who stopped by signed up to join the club, and everyone walked away with smiles on their faces, recounting fond memories of their childhoods. Whether or not you are interested in service or simply joining a fan club, the Austin Harry Potter Alliance is a group that makes all who encounter it glad to have befriended The Boy Who Lived.