Perched on a stool, the oversized Sorting Hat nearly covering his eyes, Nathan Kolbas crossed his fingers and quietly prayed:

Please not Slytherin. Please not Slytherin. Please not Slytherin.

His intense concentration prevented him from hearing in which Hogwarts house he had been placed.

But Prefect Dominic Dongilli heard.

"Slytherin," he announced clearly enough for everyone in the great hall (actually the Lincoln Southwest High School commons) to hear.

Nathan was stunned.

His brown eyes wide with trepidation, he slowly walked to the Slytherin table adorned with a real-live snake named Benny and an assortment of shedded reptile skins. Nathan's mother, who was standing off to the side, chuckled.

For weeks, Nathan, 9, had anticipated his week at Bright Lights' Hogwarts Day Camp - and during that time had repeatedly contemplated the potential house assignments.

He really wanted Gryffindor, Harry Potter's house. But Hufflepuff would be OK.

Anything but Slytherin, his mom said.

"Welcome to Hogwarts Camp!" Professor McGonagal Wright (aka Mindy Wright) announced to the 46 first-years attending the Bright Lights Hogwarts Day Camp starting July 6.

During their week at Hogwarts, these 30 boys and 16 girls going into grades four through six would make wands, select their animal companions and learn to make potions, charms and that marvelous treat, "butter beer" (cream soda, half and half and butter spray).

They would even take to the field for a Quidditch tournament complete with quaffles, bludgers and golden snitches.

Ever since J.K. Rowling published the first Harry Potter book in 1997, the story of a boy wizard and his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has fascinated old and young alike.

For years, Bright Lights' half-day Hogwarts classes have filled fast.

This is the first year they offered a weeklong, all-day camp. Each house is led by a Hogwarts professor: McGonagal heads Gryffindor; Albus Dumbledore (Mark Gudgel) heads Hufflepuff; Rubeus Hagrid (David Tien) heads Ravenclaw; and Severus Snape (Charley Bittle) heads the infamous Slytherin.

When these adults are not Hogwarts professors, they are teachers of English, science and special education at Southwest High School.

All four teachers are huge Potter fans. And, like the kids, they love the fantasy.

But the teachers in them relish the opportunity to mix fictional literature with imagination, experimentation and inquiry into the fields of science, math, English and social studies.

Bittle mixes "kitchen science" with the spirit of Harry Potter. He has the students mix up potions to make hot ice and "troll boogers" - a favorite of most Hogwarts students.

"Ahh, troll boogers. Who doesn't like troll boogers?" Gudgel asks in his Dumbledore voice.

Gudgel was a sophomore English major in college when he finally gave in to his mother's prodding to read Harry Potter.

"I got sick at Christmas, and my mom took away everything by my bed except a copy of the 'Sorcerer's Stone,'" the first in the series, Gudgel recalled.

"I read it all that day."

And after that, he couldn't get his hands on the next book fast enough.

What did his mom say?

"I told you so."

That's what makes Harry Potter so special. Gudgel knows of no other book that has hooked kids and adults alike or fostered such an unwavering following. He still marvels at the memory of students walking around school carrying the 800-page Potter book.

As for the Bright Lights campers, none of them was born when when J.K. Rowling published the first Harry Potter book 12 years ago.

Most were introduced to the boy wizard by their older siblings, parents, grandparents and classmates and through the movies and computer games.

A 10-year-old girl whom we'll call She Who Shall Not Be Named says she discovered Harry Potter when the Disney Channel aired the first movie. She searched out the novel and developed an adoration for Rowling.

"She's awesome."

The books are awesome, too, says 11-year-old Emily Kuhl as she gazes upon a live tarantula hanging out on the Gryffindor table.

At Hogwarts Camp, you never quite know what you will encounter - from the loud snaps of chairs "transforming" (thanks to poppers hidden under them) to the planting of Shy Plants (actually mimosa pudicas, sensitive plants that close up when touched), to the practice of spell casting.

"Sometimes this place really feels like Hogwarts," confided 10-year-old Christian Deepe of Ravenclaw House. He's read all seven books "at least twice."

Friday, for the last day of camp, he dressed as Sirius Black during his days as a prisoner in Azkaban.

Nine-year-old Jonah Turner dressed as Neville Longbottom, his alter ego.

"I'm like him. I forget a lot of things and I am always looking for my things," Jonah said.

As for Nathan Kolbas, who came as Harry Potter on Friday, he had no regrets about being kept out of Gryffindor.

"Slytherin is better," he said with a grin.

Reach Erin Andersen at 473-7217 or eandersen@journalstar.com.