Harry Potter fans may simulate Hogwarts experience in “Hogwarts is Here” academy website

Sophomore Brendan Cotter enrolls into a Transfiguration class through Hogwarts is Here, a fan-created website that features classes from the Harry Potter book series.

Sabrina Kerns

Sophomore Brendan Cotter enrolls into a Transfiguration class through Hogwarts is Here, a fan-created website that features classes from the Harry Potter book series.

Kat Shambaugh, Reporter

New opportunities are on the horizon for fans of the world-renowned Harry Potter franchise known as “Hogwarts is Here,” a website site determined to bring all who wish to study magic a realistic and immersive experience on a virtual edition of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The interactive website, a project that web designer Keith Cordin established in 2012, represents a ground-breaking experience for Harry Potter fans dying for new magical adventures.

The first Harry Potter book released on September 1st, 1998, which stirred the inception of 13 years of Harry Potter mania. Fans of the series, dubbed “Potterheads,” remain dedicated to their cause and always strive to feel as magical as Harry and friends did through fanfiction, videos, and simulated websites like “Hogwarts Is Here.”

As soon as visitors enroll in the online school (which is free but accepts donations), students become sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. They then join a house dormitory, and, if they so choose, an inter-house club. Students sign up for classes, explore the Great Hall, read in the library, and more.

While fans of the series know that author J.K. Rowling’s interactive website, “Pottermore,” also provides fans with house sorting and Great Hall features, “Hogwarts Is Here” adds the schooling element that remains so integral to the books.

Director Keith Cardin writes, “Our goal is to simulate a true academic Hogwarts experience, as close as we possibly can. You’ll start your journey as a First Year, taking the exact same core courses that Harry did his first year.”

Students must complete seven classes in their first year to move on to second year. The required courses are as follows: Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. Continuations of the aforementioned classes, as well as new ones, then become available to second-year students.

“To complete a course, you must pass with a final grade average of 70% or higher and complete all assignments from all nine lessons of the course,” professor Rebecca Black explained.

Every class is run by a professor, a real person who volunteers his or her time to creating lesson plans, writing textbooks, grading work, and helping with other needs. Quizzes, essays, and tests are incorporated throughout the learning experience. Roughly 20,000 essays need grading on a monthly basis, so “Hogwarts Is Here” cannot cut corners and must work efficiently.

“Each course has its own team of hard-working prefects who review essays and short answers, to ensure that everyone is reviewed by an actual person,” a FAQ response on the website reads.

The grades a student receives convert into House Points for the house they chose, and at the end of the school year, the house with the most points wins the famed House Cup.

As the website continues to develop, more and more students will undoubtedly register, contributing to the growing popularity of the project.