Queen’s University is the closest thing to Hogwarts we’ll ever get

There are many iconic moments from the Harry Potter franchise that stick in our hearts and never leave. We can all remember the pit of sadness in our stomachs the day we turned eleven and didn’t receive a letter inviting us to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But receiving an acceptance letter from Queen’s University Belfast is the closest thing we have.

Our campus is basically one big Great Hall

The architecture at Queen’s is received almost unanimously as being “like something out of Harry Potter.” Many upper-sixth students can be heard on open days, marvelling at how “It looks a bit like Hogwarts, doesn’t it?”

Built in 1845, Queen’s University Belfast echoes architectural structures over a century old. While it may not compare to the ancient structure of Hogwarts, built in 990 AD, the style is quite similar to the castle itself.

The university is alive

Remember those staircases in Hogwarts that moved of their own accord? Well, we don’t have those, but we do have bookshelves that move on their own.

The bookshelves which house journals on each floor of the library stand pressed together with no aisle between. But a simple Flippendo (or pushing the arrow buttons on the sides of the bookshelves…) causes them to move by themselves, allowing access to the journals inside. The Hogwarts library has books that move themselves from one shelf to another, the QUB library just moves entire shelves.

A place to study witchcraft

In the back of the library, where no one ever goes (because not a lot of people stay in the short-loan section for too long), is a secluded room where one can find books on witchcraft.

Of course, these are relevant for anthropology students and those studying history in cultures where witchcraft is – or used to be – relevant, and can be found in any university, really. But it’s fun to pretend we have hidden spellbooks in our own restricted section.

Famous Fire-Eaters… Fifteenth Century Fiends… Flamel… Nicolas Flamel… Ah, James Sharpe, there he is. Sweet.

C.S. Lewis’ magic wardrobe

There are many ways to transport to the magical world of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From flying Ford Anglias to the Floo Network, to the (mostly) trusty Hogwarts Express. But people seem to forget about the cabinet at Borgin & Burke’s, which can be used to teleport whatever is inside. Well, we couldn’t get one of those, but we do have a wardrobe that brings you to the land of Narnia. On the other side of this door is C.S. Lewis’ esteemed works, all condensed into one small room of magic and fantasy. But don’t take photos in there because creative writing students will get angry.

That’s a Gryffindor common room if I’ve ever seen one

Legend of the haunted room

Hogwarts would be nothing without its ghosts, be it Nearly Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron, the Fat Friar, the Grey Lady, Peeves, or Moaning Myrtle, who famously died at the hands of Tom Riddle’s basilisk, and lurks in the girls’ toilets for eternity. We don’t have any nearly-headless spectres or whiny undead teenagers, but there is the urban myth surrounding room 006A on the third floor of the Peter Froggat Centre. Students have reported flickering lights, a door that opens of its own accord, even when the lock clicks into place, chilly winds when the windows are closed, and sightings of a projector that switches through output channels by itself. Could be faulty wiring and a bad door handle malfunction, but it’s the closest thing we have to the curse placed on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom in Hogwarts.

So if you didn’t get your Hogwarts letter and you’re looking for the next best thing, maybe you should apply for Queen’s University. You won’t be disappointed. We’ve had zero dementor attacks, none of our tutors have done time in Azkaban, and the amount of Death Eaters on campus are (practically) zero.