Whenever holiday season comes along, I always think of Harry Potter. It’s the thought of Hogwarts in the snow and the Christmas feast that really makes me nostalgic for the days of book premieres and midnight showings of the movies. There’s no need to be weepy though! As long as there are those of us who hold Harry Potter dear to our hearts, it will live on. If you’ve ever started daydreaming in a boring lecture about how cool it would be if our favorite Harry Potter characters were at UF, then you’re not alone. Here are the hypothetical UF lives of seven of our favorites.
Harry Potter: Harry’s parents died when he was very young, but he knew that they had been star students at UF. His freshman year, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to major in but now that he’s a sophomore, he’s thinking about declaring a criminal justice major. He met his best friend, Ron, when they were assigned to the same Preview group and they were both pleasantly surprised to find out that they were randomly assigned as roommates in the fall. Both of them turned in their housing contracts late, so even though they weren’t part of the Honors Program, they ended up assigned to Hume Hall. After hearing about tales of his father’s old fraternity, Ron convinced Harry go through fraternity recruitment with him. One of the top-tier fraternities really liked Harry and offered him a bid, but Harry only wanted to join if Ron was offered one as well. The brothers didn’t quite think that Ron was good enough for them, so they declined, and Harry stuck to his decision. Neither of the boys pledged and they decided that they’re not going to. As a sophomore, Harry and Ron decided to get an apartment off campus. Their best friend, Hermione, comes over a lot to study and hang out.
Ron Weasley: He met Harry when they were assigned to the same Preview group and they instantly clicked. His entire family went to UF — twins Fred and George are in their senior year and are YouTube famous, Percy graduated with a political science degree and is now doing his masters in Washington, D.C., Charlie got a degree in wildlife conservation and works in the Everglades, the oldest, Bill, got a finance degree and travels to the Middle East a lot, and now little sister Ginny is following all their footsteps. There’s a lot of pressure on Ron to be successful, but honestly, he doesn’t really know what he wants to do yet. He’s still on the exploratory track, but he knows he has to declare a major soon. Ron got Harry to join an intramural soccer team with him, where he’s the goalie and Harry plays midfield. Fred and George are members of Theater Strike Force, so Ron makes it to all their shows with Harry, often dragging Hermione along. He usually invites Harry to come home for Winter Break with him because Harry isn’t too keen on going back to his aunt and uncle’s place. Ron’s mom adores Harry and even made him a Gator-colored sweater last Christmas for the chilly Florida winters.
Hermione Granger: Ambitious Hermione decided very early on that she wanted to be a lawyer, so she’s majoring in English and following the pre-law track. But because she loves to challenge herself and has always had a fondness for math, she takes differential equations and other upper-level math classes for fun. She might declare mathematics as her second major. She met Harry and Ron because they lived across from her during their freshman year. Initially she was very annoyed with them because they weren’t technically honors students like she was, and they thought she was a know-it-all who liked to show off how tough her course load was. Eventually, the three became friends after a disastrous bathroom incident where Hermione took the blame for her busted toilet that Ron and Harry had screwed up even more while trying to fix. She’s currently an ambassador for the Honors College and a member of Students for a Democratic Society. She’s the person you’ll find passionately fliering for a good cause on Turlington Plaza and diligently raising her hand in lecture. If she’s not in the Levin College of Law library or in her dorm room in Murphree Hall, you’ll most likely find her at Harry and Ron’s place.
Draco Malfoy: Malfoy’s parents come to every football game with a giant trailer and a huge flat-screen TV, and they have the best seats in the alumni section. He’s a business administration major with hopes of taking over his father’s company one day. Draco lives a life of luxury, and when he’s not lounging around his fraternity house (where his father’s an alumnus), you can find him downtown in his usual VIP lounge at Simons Nightclub. Draco is a proud member of the Swamp Party and is the captain of his own intramural soccer team, which has a bitter rivalry with Harry and Ron’s team. He, Harry, Ron and Hermione had the same What is the Good Life? class their freshman year. The professor had known his father back in the day, so he was the clear favorite even though Hermione always raised her hand. Malfoy likes to dress sharply, and you can always spot him in the latest Vineyard Vines look. There’s a lot of pressure on him to be just as successful and powerful as his father, and he secretly wonders if he’ll ever live up to those impossibly high expectations. He doesn’t ever admit that, of course, and instead he just focuses on getting killer grades, partying it up and enjoying the college experience.
Ginny Weasley: Much like the rest of her family, Ginny’s decision to go to UF came quite naturally. She got an excellent scholarship for volleyball and is super excited about being part of the Gator Nation. She’s a journalism major and hopes to write a sports column for the Independent Florida Alligator newspaper next year. She thinks her brother Ron is a major dork, but she hangs around his apartment a lot just to get a chance to talk to his cute roommate. Ginny lives in Broward Hall with her roommate Luna, who’s very strange but cool. They’re thinking about moving off campus next year. Ginny didn’t want to join a sorority at first because she didn’t know much about it and didn’t think it was for her, but after meeting new people in her classes, she’s thinking about rushing next year. Fred and George are trying to rope her into joining Theatre Strike Force with them because they know she has a natural talent for comedy, and she’s seriously considering it. She gets along with almost everybody and is easily the most likeable girl on her floor. She always arranges Midnight Cookies nights and loves bonding with her floor mates. She’s super excited that Ron’s cute friend, Harry, is going to visit over Winter Break.
Neville Longbottom: Neville Longbottom didn’t think he’d get accepted to UF, and frankly, he’s still a little surprised that he did. His aunt was so proud of him when he got his admission into the Honors College, but Neville was so shocked that he almost fell out of the window. Sometimes he’s still convinced it might be a mistake. He’s botany major and has an extreme love of plants, so you’ll often find him in the UF Student Agricultural Gardens. He brought his pet toad, Trevor, to college with him. His freshman year he was suitemates with Harry and Ron. Neville is a member of the Gator Gardening Club, and being around fellow botanists who share his love of plants has helped him blossom and become more confident in himself. He still doesn’t think he’s as cool as his former suitemates, but they invite him over to their apartment a lot to hang out, so maybe he’s getting somewhere. This year, Neville still lives on campus in a single-person dorm in Graham Hall, where he mostly keeps to himself and his plants. He’s starting to go out a little more, especially when Harry and Ron invite him to Midtown with them.
Luna Lovegood: Luna was bullied a lot in high school for being a bit odd, so she was extremely happy to go to a university where no one would know her. Still, she made a major impression at her first floor meeting by wearing a hand-knitted Gator sweater and matching hat. Luna is a zoology major, and one day she hopes to travel the world looking for rare creatures. For now she’s content studying by Lake Alice, where she can count the gators and daydream about swamp monsters. She’s very glad that her roommate, Ginny, doesn’t seem at all fazed by her strange outfits and good luck charms that decorate the walls. Luna really enjoys eating Krishna lunch in the Plaza of the Americas even though she’s not vegetarian; she also really likes hanging around Maude’s Classic Café and shopping for new wall décor and clothing at Thrift 5. Ginny invited Luna to come to her brother’s apartment early on in the year. They, Hermione and Neville had dinner with Ron and Harry, who had unsuccessfully tried to make buffalo chicken and ended up ordering a pizza instead. Since then, it’s been a once-every-two-weeks-or-so occasion, where they’ll all meet at Harry and Ron’s place for food.
If you’re still craving more Harry Potter — a feeling that even rereading the books and watching the movies won’t fix — be sure to stop by RUB Entertainment’s Welcome to Hogwarts Event tonight!