The Harry Potter Bracket: The Final Chapter
Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, They didn’t let the others win, Weasley is our king. The Virginia Cavaliers, as Ronald Bilius Weasley, finally emerge from the shadows of giants to stand alone in the spotlight, best of them all. In a tournament that started off as predictable as Trelawney seeing dark omens in Harry’s tea leaves, the later rounds turned out to be unscripted chaos. It was entertaining chaos, but I wonder how many truly foresaw this Final Four regardless of the amount of Divination training they had? Through the calamity and disorder that is March Madness, we whittled down 68 contenders to just one, and although it wasn’t “The Chosen One”, it was probably the team that needed this win the most.
If you want a refresher of all 68 teams that made The Big Dance and how they were matched up with their characters, you can check out The Harry Potter Bracket article. And if you need a quick recap of the Sweet 16, you can find all the pumpkin juicy details here.
2. Virginia: Ron Weasley (6,464) – In past years Virginia had been more susceptible than most to dark thoughts like early exit and choking late. But in 2019 we saw a different Virginia team. When it appeared like those shadowy feelings were creeping back in, the Cavaliers found a way to return to the game and keep their chances alive. Did they get a little lucky on occasion? Sure. But you would be hard pressed to find a National Champion in any sport that didn’t have some favorable winds along the way. Virginia can now strut about in their new, frill-less dress robes with the label “National Champion” rather than “little brother” or “sidekick”.
6. Michigan State: Severus Snape (1,956) – Michigan State had some hefty obstacles in their way to the Final Four including The Master of Death, The Chosen One, Duke Zion Williams. It seemed once they had defeated the Chosen Boy (or whatever), they were destined for glory. And so to many, their loss at the hands of a mischievous Texas Tech team came as a bit of a surprise. But for a team as strict and structured as Michigan State, a rambunctious team like Texas Tech can induce Loser’s Lurgy.
10. Texas Tech: Fred Weasley (920) – In this world, Texas Tech AKA Fred Weasley survived to the very end. They made their first ever Final Four and then, a couple days later, their First national Championship game. Texas Tech had an extraordinarily successful campaign that just fell short of ultimate glory in the final minutes. However, the Red Raiders are not going to let a small setback like losing the National Championship in overtime get in their way. I expect this team to persevere until they reach the highest standard and can strut about in their dragon hide jackets.
18. Auburn: Dolores Umbridge (637) – Auburn unquestionably had the toughest road to the Final Four, and much like Umbridge, somehow found ways to climb the ladder to success. Their bullying veiled behind simple innocence caught many teams off guard. They blew out two blue-bloods in Kansas (Neville) and UNC (Hermione), and then had the audacity to pull out another huge victory over They Who Must Not Be Named, Kentucky! Finally, just as it seemed they would hop into the championship on their toad-like little legs, Auburn fell in shocking fashion to soon-to-be-champ Virginia. They made a great run, but destiny had its sights set on another.
And so with the conclusion of the most magical time of year, together we must walk back through the gateway to the Muggle world.
