Time to take off your socks for a good cause.
British Harry Potter fans have been flocking to Leavesden, England's Warner Bros. Studio Tour to sacrifice a single sock in honor of Dobby, the house elf, who can be found in an encasement along the tour.
The iconic little creature has been replicated wearing the bloodied makeshift shirt he is last seen wearing in the films. The socks have started to pile up around the classic character's exhibit—a nod to the second book, which famously outlined the need for an enslaved elf's master to present him or her with an item of clothing in order to gain freedom.
In the series, Harry Potter sneakily puts his sock in Tom Riddle's diary, which Lucius Malfoy later hands to Dobby, thereby technically offering him an item of clothing. Dobby goes on to play a prominent role in the series' most pivotal moments, including (SPOILER ALERT) saving Harry Potter's life in the final installment.
J.K. Rowling, the woman responsible for creating the beloved character, retweeted a photo of the house elf standing with his eyes closed surrounded by a few socks.
This is just one example of Harry Potter's undying magic coming back to life in the muggle world. A team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University recently released the results of an effort to recreate an invisibility cloak akin to the one Harry Potter sports through the halls of Hogwarts.
The only catch is—it's not quite ready for human wear. Sorry to destroy your reveries of invisibility cloaks walking down the spring runways of New York Fashion Week—or should we say, not walking down the spring runways.
"With our new design we have made it possible to hide a small, 3D object of any arbitrary shape, and have it appear completely flat," lead researcher Xingjie Ni told Science journal.
In the meantime, gather up your socks and book a flight because Dobby needs our help.