The Villanova Order of the Phoenix hosted its first Yule Ball in a Hogwarts wonderland in the Villanova Room on Dec. 4.

This Yule Ball was not only attended by the witches and wizards of the Order of the Phoenix but also by non-magical “muggle” friends. Both groups dedicated the night to commemorating Harry Potter and his gang and danced the night away.

Posters hung from the walls depicting the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

In addition, four Christmas trees were placed at the corners of the dance floor. Each house had to decorate one of the trees in a way reflective of the spirit of their house.

Slytherin’s tree particularly stuck out, as it had the notorious Slytherin snake and colors accompanied by the other three house emblems set on fire. Some people wore dress robes and witch hats, while others stuck to traditional muggle clothing.

“People had lots of fun, and the Yule Ball seemed to be a great success,” said sophomore Brian Haggarty, a member of the Hufflepuff house.

Junior Jackie Coleman, the founder of the club and head of the Slytherin house, was very happy with the outcome of the ball.

“We worked very hard to put this together, and it was a great success,” Coleman said.

This was the first large event that the Villanova Order of the Phoenix hosted. They also put together a small Halloween party and held a booth at the Special Olympics. Some members of the club have also been competing in intercollegiate Quidditch matches. Members participated in the 2009 Quidditch World Cup and advanced to the semifinal round.

The club holds house meetings. In the meetings, each house is given a prompt that they must develop into a skit or a song and perform for the other houses. The prompts range anywhere from how the seventh book should have ended to five ways to catch a unicorn. They also play Harry Potter trivia.

The Order of the Phoenix has come a long way since getting its start at the beginning of this year.

They are planning a 15-hour movie marathon night some time before the end of the semester. The group is also hopeful that they will be able to host a Quidditch tournament here at Villanova.

All members are passionate about Harry Potter and the club.

“The Yule Ball rocked,” said freshman Claire Corsey, a Ravenclaw prefect. “The Harry Potter Club is awesome and a lot of fun.”