‘Harry Potter’ unites kids and a group of VCU students

This past Saturday the Children’s Museum of Richmond was visited by two special groups of people. One was Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore and the rest of the gang. The other was VCU’s chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, the nationwide, co-ed community service fraternity. Both contributed tremendously to the huge group of children, from 3 to 13 years old, who showed up.

The museum did a fantastic job casting their characters. The biggest success was Ron, who was the most adorable redheaded boy and nearly identical to the real Ron. All of the characters were in costume and some of the VCU assistants donned wizard wear as well. But, their main tasks were to escort the kids to and from the sorting ceremony and assist them in wand making.

The children were certainly excited. And why not? They had a very exciting night ahead of them. First, they mingled with the characters and got autographs. Then it was on to the sorting ceremony, where they were sorted individually (based on age) into Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. The sorting ceremony was the best part to watch because the kids (who were also sorted according to whether or not they came with anyone) were extremely excited when they got put in the same house as their friends. Harry, Ron and Hermione were there to high-five the students after they were sorted.