Why yes, dear readers, that is indeed a grown man in a wizard cap waving a wand. And what exactly is that man doing with the wand? Turning on his TV, obvi.

Wait, wizards don’t wear ill fitting Dad jeans….

Of course! That guy’s not a wizard! He’s just a dorky old dude who’s so obsessed with Harry Potter that he purchased a $100 remote that looks like a wand so he could pretend he went to Hogwarts with Harry and the crew!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you your one-way ticket to Loserville. It’s called the Kymera Wand and it works as a remote to your televisions, audio equipment, laptops, and lights. With just a flick of your wrist and a little “Expecto Patronum!” under your breath (and a few batteries/instructions to program it), you can do magic! Or, you know, turn things on and off.

It’s one thing for people to put on robes and scarves to go see the movies. It’s another for Quidditch to become a college sport. But this? For adults? To pretend they are wizards?

What. The. Eff.

As an avid Harry Potter fan (god, I wish they had HP classes at my school!) I feel like I’ve grown up alongside Harry, Hermione and Ron, both the characters in the books and the actors who play them in the movies.

I started reading the books when I was 10 years old – the same age Harry Potter was at the start of the Philosopher’s Stone. Together, Harry, Hermione, Ron and I had our first kisses, went through our angsty tween years and battled the Dark Arts. Or, you know, just those first two things.

It’s been 9 years since the first installment of Harry Potter was released and just as I’ve grown up and blossomed (and finally exited my very long awkward stage), so has the HP cast. And I don’t know how they did it, but every. single. one of them. has turned out gorgeous. Yes, even Dudley.

So in honor of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (THIS FRIDAY!), let’s jump into the pensieve take a look back at the cast of Harry Potter then… and now.

[Click on any image to view the gallery!]

So, the new Harry Potter movie comes out this Friday, and if it’s as good as the trailer makes it seem, I may or may not be catching a midnight showing. (If any of you ladies go to Brown and are donning your wizard robes with Emma Watson, I am totes jealous. Major girl crush here.) And if that’s not enough to get you in a Harry Potter frenzy, the International Quidditch Association’s Quidditch World Cup is taking place right now in New York City.

If you’re planning on recreating some of the magic of either of these grand events at home, I’ve found some mouth-watering recreations of famous Potter treats. Cauldron cakes, butterbeer, licorice wands…all simple to make, and perfect for a dorm party!

Cauldron Cakes

Ingredients: Devil’s food cake baking mix, black licorice

Instructions: Bake devil’s food cake according to box instructions in a cupcake tin. Once the cupcakes have cooled significantly, pop the tops off the cakes, set those aside, and turn over the bottoms. Break apart licorice string and insert into the bottoms of the cakes so it makes a curved handle, forming a cauldron.

Cockroach clusters

Ingredients: 3 bars solid dark chocolate, crispy chow mein noodles, devil’s food cake tops

Instructions: Melt the chocolate in a stovetop pan on low. Mix in the chow mein noodles and let cool until semi-solid but malleable enough to be handled with a spoon. Scoop out spoonfulls of the chocolate and noodles and spread over the extra devil’s food cake pieces and place on wax paper in the refrigerator, letting it cool until solid.

Licorice Wands

Ingredients: Black licorice, 2 bars solid white chocolate.

Instructions: Melt the white chocolate in a stovetop pan on low. Spread over the ends of the licorice to form a handle, and let cool on wax paper in the refrigerator until solid.

Butterbeer

Ingredients: 1 cup Butterscotch schnapps, 7 cups cream soda (a 2-liter bottle is all you need to purchase)

Instructions: Pour the schnapps into the soda just before serving, gently, so as to preserve the “head” of the beer.

….and if you’re ready for something TRULY divine, and a little more fancy, you HAVE to check out these Butterbeer Cupcakes by AmyBites. Check out her website for step-by-step photos to guide you along the process, but this is the recipe:

For the cupcakes:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda

For the ganache:
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream

For the buttercream frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk or cream (as needed)

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy. Add your sugars and beat until well-combined. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.

Alternate adding your buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well incorporated. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. Cool completely on wire racks.

For butterscotch filling: In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow.

For buttercream frosting: Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency. Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed. Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache.

There you have it. Harry Potter heaven.

How could you not be with Chelsea Handler hosting?!

What’s life gonna be like when we’re 40?

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Oh god, please don’t let this be true!

These 10 TV characters sure know how to dress.

Leaked pictures from the new Harry Potter movie!

Man killed when a Madonna set collapses.

Need a Harry Potter refresher before seeing the latest?

Lindsay Lohan’s career is really in the crapper now.

You may want to wear a body condom on the ferris wheel.

This sounds like some quality programming.

Animals on water skis!

I’m definitely from the “book is better than the movie” school, especially when it comes to Harry Potter. (They leave so much out!) But there is one reason why I keep shelling out $10 to watch the film adaptation of my favorite books of all time: the hotties.

But, which actor from the Harry Potter movies is the hottest?

The most popular choice seems to be Daniel Radcliffe, who plays The Boy Who Lived himself, but there have been many babes walking the halls of Hogwarts since The Sorcerer’s Stone was released in 2001. And most of those have been highly overlooked.

Who is your favorite? I’m partial to the new guy who plays Cormac McLaggen in the sixth movie (which is why I’ll be at a midnight showing on Wednesday…and then subsequent repeat viewings after that); he’s so hot it hurts! Hermione Granger Emma Watson is the luckiest girl in Hollywood.

]]> http://collegecandy.com/2009/07/13/which-harry-potter-hottie-is-the-hottest-poll/feed/ 12 Marisa - Wesleyan University harry-potter2 Daniel Radcliffe - Harry Potter Rupert Grint - Ron Weasley Tom Felton - Draco Malfoy Stanislav Ianevski - Viktor Krum Robert Pattinson - Cedric Diggory Sean Biggerstaff - Oliver Wood Christian Coulson - Tom Riddle Freddie Stroma - Cormac McLaggen http://collegecandy.com/2009/07/12/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-get-ready-people/ http://collegecandy.com/2009/07/12/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-get-ready-people/#comments Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:00:39 +0000 Marisa - Wesleyan University http://collegecandy.com/?p=34637 ]]> As an outrageously obsessed a huge Harry Potter fan, I’m beyond pumped for the release of the sixth movie on WEDNESDAY!!! To prepare for this, the most glorious day of July, I’ve created a list of things to do before feasting my eyes on HarPot&HaBloPri (my cool new abbreviation for the movie. You like?). So if you’re a hip Harry Potter lover like me, your Tuesday should look a little something like this:

- Finish making S.P.E.W. buttons to hand out at movie theater

- Buy a new wand – mahogany, 14 inches, essence of unicorn hair, please

- Play as Ravenclaw Seeker in Quidditch match against Slytherin

- Get arms, left leg, spleen looked at (note to self: brooms can’t really fly, and kickball Bludgers can hurt like a bitch).

- Tell off that idiot on the Harry Potter forum who thinks that Cornelius Fudge was a competent Minister of Magic because, seriously, xoRonLuvr592 has no effing clue what she’s talking about

- Listen to Harry and the Potters and The Remus Lupins.

- Potter Puppet Pals reenactment! Snape, Snape, Se-ver-us Snape!

- Buy some chocolate frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, pumpkin pasties, and butterbeer to smuggle into the movie.

- Perfect maniacal laugh to complement Bellatrix Lestrange costume.

- Hold memorial service for Sirius Black.

- Two Minutes Hate for Voldemort Wait, wrong book.

- Call Post Office to see if they’ve found the Hogwarts acceptance letter that got lost in the mail seven years ago.

- Set up tent outside movie theater at 6 p.m. to ensure getting best seats at midnight showing.

- Find new friends, because the ones I got will definitely dump me after realizing what a Harry Potter dweeb I am.

Lindsay Lohan’s biggest career mistake EVER.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince premiers in London!

A few bedding ideas for that new dorm room.

And you thought your vagina was strong…

First the maxi dress, now maxi skirts?

[There are some women out there that we just can’t get out of our minds. No, we aren’t switching teams - yet - but we do have some serious crushes on some pretty fierce females. These ladies are all special in their own right and we aren’t ashamed to tell the world we love them.]

As a self-proclaimed Harry Potter nerd, I’m super excited for the next movie to be released in July.  After watching all the trailers multiple times, (as well as recent TV viewing of the older movies), one of the actors has me crushing.  While I was always drawn to Harry Potter in the books, in the movies it’s Hermione, played by the fabulous Emma Watson, that caught my eye.

Emma Watson was cast as Hermione at the ripe age of 9 and has really grown up (into one hot tamale) in the spotlight. Unlike her other under-20 peers, though, she’s grown up right. The worst things we’ve seen of her are some awkward fashion choices and picture of her drinking a beer; not her lady parts sticking out under a skirt, or her doing some illegal drugs in a bathroom.

So Emma is more than deserving of her position at #15 on the Forbes 20 Top Earning Young Superstars in 2007. The girl is worth $16 million!

Like our many other girl crushes, Emma has brains that could rival those of the character that made her famous.  It’s reported that she’s going to take an acting hiatus after Harry Potter wraps and will either be going to Yale or Brown in the fall.  Her backup plan is to be an artist, though with all that money in the bank and the rumors that she’s going to be the next face of Chanel, I’m not sure she needs a backup plan.

But back to why I love her.

I think Emma Watson is truly a great role model for young women. She is well spoken, talented, beautiful and totally devoted to the family that has always supported her. She even starred in a TV movie, Ballet Shoes, with her twin half-sisters playing the younger version of her character.  And we are always seeing her photographed at premieres with her adorable little brother (who I’d love to kick to the curb so I could walk the red carpet with her!).

Oh, and she loves the older men. While rumors have constantly been surfacing about her having a relationship with one of her co-stars, Emma is just friends with the other members of the Golden Trio. (Editor’s Note: Which means Ron Weasley is available for me?!) Instead, Emma has recently been linked to a financier nine years her senior.  And yes, he may be older, but this girl is totally an old soul so it all just seems to fit.

Emma Watson proves that you can have success in Hollywood and not turn into a totally hot mess. She seems like the kind of girl we’d all want to be friends with and, hey, that whole accent thing isn’t too bad, either. I heart Emma Watson and if she’s reading this, I’d totally heart a day in her closet.

I’m adding that to my vision board.