Hogwarts is here: you can now enrol to study witchcraft and wizardary online

Weren’t one of the lucky few to get a Hogwarts acceptance letter when you turned eleven? Fear not, muggle — the premier school of witchcraft and wizardry is now available for everyone with an internet connection.

Yep, Harry Potter fans around the world can now get a little bit closer to the magical world of the series thanks to a fan site which seeks to bring Hogwarts into the age of online education. Hogwarts is Here gives muggle-borns the ability to study the same courses Potter and co. sat through, from Astronomy to Potions and Transfiguration, as well as join a house (Ravenclaw FTW), mingle in common rooms and pore through the library.

Although it is a completely fan-generated and ad-supported site which clearly states it is not affiliated with author J.K. Rowling or other official trademark holders, Hogwarts is Here offers a quite in-depth experience closely aligned with the series. For example:

• All emails from the site are sent from “hedwig@hogwartsishere.com” — a nod to Potter’s letter-carrying owl.
• As a first year student, you can enroll in the same courses students of that age are offered in the books (Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and Transfiguration), which are each designed to take 9 weeks (or lessons). Once you hit third year, you get the ability to choose electives.
• Before you enroll, you have to set up your own Gringotts vault, which is filled with cash you can use to purchase things you may need on your scholarly quest (like books from Florish and Blotts).

Although you can get lost drifting around the site hunting for hidden chocolate frog cards or sign up to write for the Daily Owl, it does function as an actual school — once you sign up for a course (the first year courses have between 6 000 and 12 000 registered students at the moment), you’ll have to complete tests and assignments, which will be graded by the site’s professors. To complete them, you’ll have to do the required reading — which in this case is a catalogue of books mentioned in the series, such as ‘The standard book of spells’. But there are no set deadlines for first year courses, so at least you can learn at your leisure.

If you’re not down for that level of commitment, you can also just entertain yourself by generateing your own acceptance letter, which is signed by headmistress McGonagall, and bears the Hogwarts crest and seal. Here’s mine:

It’s funny because, you know, Hermione.