A warm morning of December 2017 saw muggles transformed into wizards and witches as Egamea celebrated the end of the year with a Harry Potter themed cosplay event.

Organised and prepared by Alexio Stramrood, the celebration began at Touchstone House, after which the procession moved over to Piano Bar in Napier street.

In true Egamea style, the contest and celebration saw a diverse range of characters portrayed, from Minerva McGonagall to Dementors! The vivid festivities and feasting eventually led to a murder mystery game in which all took part. Neville Longbottom had been poisoned, and it was up to the staff to discover who the devious perpetrator was. With house Slytherin members shirking culpability and mostly apathetic regarding the tragedy and Gryffindor students hurling accusations, much fun was had by everyone involved.

Taking the prize for best male costume for the second year running, Manie van Niekerk sported a pink umbrella and fur coat in the role of Hagrid, whom he expanded on, "Hagrid was an interesting character and I had a lot to work with in terms of reference material. The character's well known, which gave me a clear sense of his personality." However, he added that, "Wearing a full fur coat and fake beard gave issues in the middle of Summer in Cape Town in terms of heat."

The trophy for best female of 2017 went to Linnie Du Plessis, playing the role of Ginny Weasley. She was pleased with being assigned the role, saying that, "Ginny is my favourite female in the books, so I was really geeking out," adding in true Weasley fashion that "we were having fun printing 3D wands, but other than that I was pretty broke, so I only bought a semi-decent wig online, and wore what I could find."

Marcus Smit once again won the prize for the funniest costume in the role of Mad Eye Moody, saying that, "He's a character with a very distinctive look and voice, so even with the more basic construction of my outfit, he had a kind of personality that was recognisable in performance."

Not all of the costumes were simple to assemble, however, with Marcus adding that, "The coat was made by my girlfriend out of a bedsheet. It took her several hours of hand stitching while using me as a mannequin. It was a true bonding experience."

As the event drew to a close, it was revealed that Neville Longbottom had only fallen into a deep sleep and that it was the result of a pure accident. Eventually the staff dispersed, briefly filling the streets of Cape Town with students, professors and magical creatures at the end of a fantastic day.