Our special projects involve some of MuggleNet’s most festive activities and entertaining interactions with our community of readers across the world, whether it’s our grueling OWL examinations, which would set even the brightest among you biting your nails as you grasped straws at Transfiguration and Potions questions, or our annual 25 Days of Giveaways (previously known as the MuggleNet Advent Calendar giveaway), which features some of the greatest prizes a Potterhead could ever want. Projects such as the Harry Potter Oscars and March Madness among others are sure to grab your attention and show off just how much fun MuggleNet is prepared to have. The fun may be over for now on a certain activity, but keep checking back for new projects we have up our sleeves!
There are a lot of ways to get around the wizarding world, and our March Madness 2023 tournament bracket was all about figuring out which was the best. We began with 32 ways of getting around. Each week, visitors to the site voted for their favorites based on any criteria they wanted.
The iconic Hogwarts Express put up a strong fight, but when all was said and done, nothing could beat the convenience and time-saving capabilities of apparition!
MuggleNet staff members selected 64 minor characters from the Harry Potter book series, ranking them 1–16 and positioning them into four tournament brackets. The tournament voting was open to all to select a favorite minor character per matchup. Each round lasted between two and eleven days before the winners, and who would advance to the next round, were determined.
The final winner was crowned on March 31, with Captain and Beater of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team Gwenog Jones defeating Frank Bryce, the Muggle caretaker of the Riddle house who was murdered by Voldemort.
The fifth annual MuggleNet Fandom Calendar included 13 illustrations from some of your favorite fan artists, ranging from amateurs to professionals from diverse communities all around the globe.
The monthly grid of the calendar included a variety of information for Harry Potter fans:
- Holidays for the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada
- Plot events from the Harry Potter novels and Fantastic Beasts films
- Wizarding World book and film release anniversaries
- Birthdays of Wizarding World characters
- Birthdays of Wizarding World cast and crew members
The calendar was released to the public for purchase on November 8, 2021.
MuggleNet staff members selected 64 quotes from the Harry Potter book series, ranking them 1–16 and positioning them into four tournament brackets: Snarky, Feisty, Cheeky, and Sassy. The tournament voting was open to all to select a favorite quote per matchup. Each round lasted between two and eight days before the winners, and who would advance to the next round, were determined.
The Wittiest Wizard was crowned on March 31, with Harry’s iconic clapback at Snape from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince defeating his sassy retort to Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
MuggleNet staff members selected 12 friendships from the Wizarding World, ranking them 1–12 and positioning them into four tournament brackets. The tournament voting was open to all to select a favorite "Adventure Friend-ship" (i.e., which pair of wizarding world pals you would bring on an adventure) per matchup. Each round lasted between two and three days before the winners, and who would advance to the next round, were determined.
The Best Adventure Friend-ship was crowned on March 29, with Fred and George Weasley defeating Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.
MuggleNet staff members selected 64 chapters from the Harry Potter book series, ranking them 1–16 and positioning them into four tournament brackets. The tournament voting was open to all to select a favorite chapter per matchup. Each round lasted between two and three days before the winners, and who would advance to the next round, were determined.
The final winner was crowned on April 5, with "The Flaw in the Plan" defeating "The Prince's Tale."
The MuggleNet Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations (OWLs) were held in the MuggleNet Great Hall every summer during the years 2012–2015. There were 12 exams, one for each course taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
Care of Magical Creatures – 50 questions
Charms – 50 questions
Defense Against the Dark Arts – 50 questions
History of Magic – 50 questions
Potions – 50 questions
Transfiguration – 50 questions
Ancient Runes – 25 questions
Arithmancy – 25 questions
Astronomy – 25 questions
Divination – 25 questions
Herbology – 25 questions
Muggle Studies – 25 questions
Each exam was timed (30 minutes for 50-question exams and 20 minutes for 25-question exams) and contained questions of varying difficulty. The questions included not only material from the seven-book Harry Potter series but also information from outside the books. This included J.K. Rowling’s Daily Prophet papers, Famous Witches and Wizards Cards, Pottermore, Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and more.
A recap of the exam results and winners can be viewed below.
2015
Held: June 14–June 27, 2015
Number of exams taken – 13,079
Outstanding – 986 (8%)
Exceeds Expectations – 1,349 (10%)
Acceptable – 3,006 (23%)
Poor – 3,712 (28%)
Dreadful – 3,482 (27%)
Troll – 544 (4%)
Number of candidates who took exams – 4,511
2014
Held: June 16–June 29, 2014
Number of exams taken – 29,608
Outstanding – 2,648 (9%)
Exceeds Expectations – 3,331 (11%)
Acceptable – 6,914 (23%)
Poor – 8,155 (28%)
Dreadful – 7,299 (25%)
Troll – 1,044 (4%)
Number of candidates who took exams – 8,749
2013
Held: July 7–July 28, 2013
Number of exams taken – 24,885
Outstanding – 1,938 (8%)
Exceeds Expectations – 2,922 (12%)
Acceptable – 6,547 (26%)
Poor – 7,140 (29%)
Dreadful – 5,319 (21%)
Troll – 1,019 (4%)
Number of candidates who took exams – 7,202
2012
Held: June 11–June 24, 2012
Number of exams taken – 63,592
Number of candidates who took exams – 22,891
The second annual MuggleNet Fandom Calendar included monthly images sent in by fans of MuggleNet of special locations used by the filmmakers of the Harry Potter series.
The monthly grid of the calendar included a variety of information for Harry Potter fans:
- Holidays for the US, the UK, and Canada
- Plot events from the Harry Potter novels
- Harry Potter book and film release anniversaries
- Birthdays of Harry Potter book characters
- Birthdays of Harry Potter cast members
- MuggleNet ancillary and podcast anniversaries
- Birthdays of MuggleNet staff members
- Unique fandom dates (e.g., Quidditch World Cup, LeakyCon, etc.)
- Advertisements from MuggleNet's close associates and companies
The calendar was released to the public for purchase on November 28, 2013, and was only available until December 10, 2013, when the calendar was sold out.
This is the first year that MuggleNet offered a Digital Calendar and was included with the purchase of the calendar when ordered prior to December 8, 2013. This digital calendar was then offered to the public in four different formats (Book Events, Movie Events, Fandom Events, and the full calendar) on January 5, 2014.
Fans were able to cast their votes in the following categories for MuggleNet's Harry Potter Oscars. The nominees were chosen using a system similar to the actual Academy Awards, with MuggleNet staff members serving as "the Academy."
Here are the categories, nominees, and winners.
Live Awards Show
On February 24, 2013, MuggleNet hosted a live awards show for our Harry Potter Oscars through Google Hangouts on YouTube with hundreds of fans. The categories, nominees, nomination videos, and winners can be seen above. We had MuggleNet staff members hosting and MANY special guests presenting awards.
Hosts: Keith Hawk, Laura Medicoff, Caleb Graves, Claire Furner, Eric Scull, and Laura Reilly
Producers: Kat Miller and Jonathon Rosenthal
All videos created by Laura Reilly
Guest Presenters, in order of appearance:
- Dave Wedzik - Alivan's Master Wandmakers
- Arthur Parsons - Harry Potter LEGO Video Game Director
- Andrew Slack - Harry Potter Alliance Charity Co-Founder
- Megan Barrow - Webmistress of Magical Menagerie and Matthew-Lewis.com
- Mark Oshiro - Blogger of "Mark Reads Harry Potter" fame
- Rosie Morris - MuggleNet Fan Fiction Webmistress
- Jonathon Rosenthal - Founder of TGTSHBN and Chair for MISTI-Con
- Keith Cardin - Creator of myHogwarts and Head of Camp 9 3/4
- Terrance Pinkston, Jr. - Hogwarts Radio Host
- Afshan Azad - Padma Patil in the Harry Potter films
- Alison Fahey - MuggleNet Staffer
- Matthew Ziff - Actor and Quidditch player for University of Miami
- Alexandra Maher - MuggleNet Social Media Manager
- Dan Bergstein - Sparknotes Blogger of "Blogging Harry Potter" and "Twilight" fame
- Irvin Khaytman - MuggleNet Editorialist hpboy13
- Ellie Darcey-Alden - Young Lily Evans in the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 film
- Micah Tannenbaum - MuggleCast Host
- Alex Benepe - Co-Founder and CEO of the International Quidditch Association
- Joe Moses - Team StarKid member, famous for portraying Snape in the AVPM series
- Lev Grossman - Best-selling author of The Magicians series and TIME Book Critic
- Noah Fried - Alohomora! Host and MuggleNet Content Manager
- Emerson Spartz - Founder of MuggleNet and CEO of Spartz Media
- Chris Rankin - Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter films
Official Oscar Categories
Best Actor Over 30
- Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
- Gary Oldman as Sirius Black
- Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy
- Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
- Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore
Best Actor Under 30
- Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
- James Phelps as Fred Weasley
- Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
- Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
- Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
- Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy
Best Actress Over 30
- Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall
- Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney
- Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange
- Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge
- Julie Walters as Molly Weasley
Best Actress Under 30
- Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley
- Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
- Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood
- Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown
- Natalia Tena as Nymphadora Tonks
Best Adapted Screenplay
- Sorcerer's Stone
- Chamber of Secrets
- Prisoner of Azkaban
- Goblet of Fire
- Order of the Phoenix
- Half-Blood Prince
- Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Composer/Score
- Alexandre Desplat - Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Alexandre Desplat - Deathly Hallows - Part 2
- John Williams - Sorcerer's Stone
- John Williams - Chamber of Secrets
- John Williams - Prisoner of Azkaban
- Nicholas Hooper - Order of the Phoenix
- Nicholas Hooper - Half-Blood Prince
- Patrick Doyle - Goblet of Fire
Best Director
- Alfonso Cuarón - Prisoner of Azkaban
- Chris Columbus - Sorcerer's Stone
- Chris Columbus - Chamber of Secrets
- David Yates - Order of the Phoenix
- David Yates - Half-Blood Prince
- David Yates - Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- David Yates - Deathly Hallows - Part 2
- Mike Newell - Goblet of Fire
Best Film Overall
- Sorcerer's Stone
- Chamber of Secrets
- Prisoner of Azkaban
- Goblet of Fire
- Order of the Phoenix
- Half-Blood Prince
- Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Hair
- Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
- Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney
- Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
- Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange
- Jason Issacs as Lucius Malfoy
Best Visual Effects
- Sorcerer's Stone
- Chamber of Secrets
- Prisoner of Azkaban
- Goblet of Fire
- Order of the Phoenix
- Half-Blood Prince
- Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Potterized Categories
Best Actor in a Hero Role
- Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
- Emma Watson as Hermione Granger
- Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter
- Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall
- Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom
Best Actor in a Non-Human Role
- John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick
- Leslie Phillips as the Sorting Hat
- Shirley Henderson as Moaning Myrtle
- Toby Jones as Dobby
- Warwick Davis as Griphook
Best Actor in a Villain Role
- Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
- Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange
- Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge
- Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy
- Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort
Best Guest Performance
- Christian Coulson as Tom Riddle
- David Tennant as Barty Crouch, Jr.
- Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn
- Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter
- Sir Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart
Best Performance by a Hogwarts Professor
- Alan Rickman as Severus Snape
- Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall
- Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore
- Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid
- Sir Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart
Best Performance by a Ministry of Magic Employee
- Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour
- George Harris as Kingsley Shacklebolt
- Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge
- Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
- Robert Hardy as Cornelius Fudge
Best Performance by a Squib or Muggle
- David Bradley as Argus Filch
- Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley
- Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley
- Pam Ferris as Marge Dursley
- Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley
Best Performance by a Weasley
- James Phelps as Fred Weasley
- Julie Walters as Molly Weasley
- Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley
- Oliver Phelps as George Weasley
- Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley
Best Pet in a Leading Role
- Crookshanks
- Errol
- Fang
- Hedwig
- Scabbers
Best Supporting Student
- Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan
- Freddie Stroma as Cormac McLaggen
- Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown
- Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory
- Sean Biggerstaff as Oliver Wood
Technical Categories
Best Corny Line or Scene
- "Don't worry... I will be."
- "Everything's going to change now, isn't it?"
- "He was their friend!"
- "I love magic."
- "Something worth fighting for."
Best Ending
- Sorcerer's Stone
- Chamber of Secrets
- Order of the Phoenix
- Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Harry and Voldemort Showdown
- Chamber of Secrets
- Goblet of Fire
- Order of the Phoenix
- Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Horcrux Destruction
- The Cup
- The Diadem
- The Diary
- Harry Potter
- The Locket
- Nagini
Best New Scene (Not in the Books)
- Harry and Hermione dance in the tent
- Harry and Luna talk while she feeds Thestrals
- Neville and Luna romance
- Neville vs. Death Eaters on the bridge
- Wand tribute for Dumbledore
Best Non-Human Digital Design
- The Basilisk
- Buckbeak
- The Deathly Hallows dragon
- Dobby
- Fawkes
Best Opening
- Sorcerer's Stone
- Goblet of Fire
- Half-Blood Prince
- Deathly Hallows - Part 1
- Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Best Visualization of a Spell
- Avada Kedavra
- Expecto Patronum
- Lumos Maxima
- Morsmordre
- Sectumsempra
Best Wand Design
- Albus Dumbledore (The Elder Wand)
- Hermione Granger
- Lord Voldemort
- Lucius Malfoy
- Sirius Black
Best Wizarding Location or Set
- The Burrow
- The Chamber of Secrets
- Diagon Alley
- The Great Hall
- The Ministry of Magic
Announcement Ceremony
The first MuggleNet Fandom Calendar included monthly images of various aspects of the Harry Potter fandom, such as quidditch, wizard rock, conventions, and more.
The monthly grid of the calendar included a variety of information for Harry Potter fans:
- Holidays for the US, the UK, and Canada
- Plot events from the Harry Potter novels
- Harry Potter book and film release anniversaries
- Birthdays of Harry Potter book characters
- Birthdays of Harry Potter cast members
- MuggleNet ancillary and podcast anniversaries
- Birthdays of MuggleNet staff members
- Unique fandom dates (e.g., Quidditch World Cup, LeakyCon, etc.)
- Special dates for Harry Potter-related trips
- Advertisements from MuggleNet's close associates and companies
The calendar was released to the public for purchase on November 22, 2012, and was only available until December 31, 2012.
MuggleNet staff members selected 64 characters from the Harry Potter book series, ranking them 1–16 and positioning them into four tournament brackets. The tournament voting was open to all to select a favorite character per matchup. Each round lasted between two and three days before the winners, and who would advance to the next round, were determined.
The final winner was crowned on April 3, with Hermione Granger defeating Harry Potter.
