When Sarah Nelson’s son Parker missed class in November, she had to provide an excuse to his school. What she came up with is pretty magical.
Nelson took her son to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the middle of November. Because 9-year-old Parker missed three days of schoolwork, Nelson had to fill out a “student attendance behavior improvement plan” for his school, which is in Texas. The excuse she wrote is one even Hermione would approve.
On the form, which Nelson’s brother shared on Reddit, Nelson wrote that Parker was attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn defense against the dark arts. She also shared the fantastic news that Parker passed his O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Level) and his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test).
Nelson told The Huffington Post that Parker’s school has not reached out about the absence form. She also noted that the Harry Potter adventure was a “well-earned trip” for her son.
“About a year and a half ago, my son learned that there was a Harry Potter theme park and begged me to take him,” she told HuffPost. “He’s never had a great love of reading, and I saw this as a chance to teach him how wonderful books could be. I told him if he read all seven books, I would take him.”
Parker accepted his mom’s challenge and finally got to see Harry Potter’s world up close. Nelson said he was “mesmerized” by the entire park and had a ton of fun.
“He summed up his entire experience in one word: epic,” she said.