‘Hermione’ Enchants Campus With Visit

While it’s unclear if she flew in on a broomstick, used Floo Powder, or took more “Muggle” means of transportation, Emma Watson, the British actress who plays Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” films, graced campus with her magical presence for much of yesterday.

She was sighted at approximately 10:30 yesterday morning at Quincy House by Chase Russell ’11 and Brian P. Hill ’11.

According to Russell, Watson was with two escorts—one of whom was a Harvard affiliate—and was looking to see a dorm room in New Quincy, passing on the chance to see his Old Quincy room.

Russell, who had a brief chat with Watson, said she seemed “nice” and “very American.”

Hill said he nearly collided with one of Watson’s escorts while leaving the House, before unthinkingly saying he was on his way to class. Watson then went to visit the room of the next student she approached, much to Hill’s chagrin.

“I actually called my mom; I was so distraught,” he said. “It was all I could think about for the entire morning.”

Other unconfirmed reports placed Watson around campus at the Admissions Office, the Barker Center and Annenberg Hall—which is often said to evoke the Great Hall at Hogwarts, the fictional wizarding school at which Hermione studies.

Online gossip blogs such as Hollyscoop have speculated over the past several weeks that Watson may be applying to Harvard, and her presence on campus may bolster these claims.Watson has excelled in her studies, despite spending much of her life on film sets. She achieved straight-A grades on both Advanced Level Examinations and General Certificate of Secondary Education tests, which are commonly-taken British standardized tests.

Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 declined to comment on Watson’s interest or admissions chances, saying he does not discuss individual cases. Watson herself gave away little to Russell of her plans, saying she was “just visiting.”

—Lingbo Li contributed to the reporting of this story —Staff writer Maxwell L. Child can be reached at mchild@fas.harvard.edu.