Like many 11-year-old kids, I waited patiently for my acceptance letter to Hogwarts after reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I thought, "Maybe the owl just got lost," and "maybe they mixed up my birthday with someone else's" But a letter never came.
That doesn't mean that other kids weren't as unlucky, though. Julianne Hough, for one, not only got one of the coveted letters, but she also got to star as an extra in the first film.
The Dancing with the Stars judge shared a photo from her stint as a witch on Instagram yesterday to celebrate the book's 20th anniversary, reigniting a childhood jealousy I thought I'd gotten over.
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"Happy 20th Anniversary Harry Potter," she captioned the adorable photos. "Remember that one time when I was 11 and a Gryffindor? Oh and apparently liked flirting with the Weasley twins?"
Then, as if to rub salt in my years-old wounds, Hough added the hashtags, "#ivealwayslovedredheads," "#gryffindor," "#harrypotter," and "#firstfilm."
Of course, she was a Gryffindor and got to hang out with the Weasleys! But, her time around the table may not have been as enjoyable as the picture seems to indicate. Hough told People that while she loved being on set, she ate so much during the shooting that she wound up with a gnarly stomachache.
"I remember there was a Great Hall scene where we were eating breakfast," she said. "And I remember I ate like seven or eight full English breakfasts because I didn’t realize that you kind of just fake it and maybe take a little bit of a bite. And each take, I’d eat the whole thing...It was the worst, I remember being so sick."
People reports that Hough's brother, Derek, also snagged a spot in the film.
"I was in Ravenclaw," he told People in a past interview, though his actions on set seem to imply he'd have been much better suited in Slytherin.
"I stole the robe, the tie, the scarf, and I stole cutlery from the Great Hall," he added. "I was like, 'I'm taking this!' It was a big no-no; it was a big thing. And I was like, 'I'm taking a chance.' It was funny because we knew those movies were gonna be such a big deal."
As for me, I'm still waiting for some magic to grace my mailbox.
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