The cast of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, from left Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner and Zoë Kravitz, stand with Parkside teacher Tracey Jones after surprising the school's students and teachers.

The Times begins its countdown of the biggest local stories of 2018.

Some of the movie industry’s most popular stars made a surprise visit to Parkside School on Nov. 1, causing quite a stir around Cullman County, and no doubt around the world.

Leading characters from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” visited the school as part of Wizarding World Day that showcased Harry Potter-themed classrooms and hallways, recognizing the work of students and teachers.

The event was documented by the “Today Show,” and spread across the Internet as various sites devoted to fantasy entertainment picked up on the visit.

Every Parkside student received a backpack filled with Harry Potter merchandise. The biggest surprise, however, came when cast members Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Zoe Kravitz, Ezra Miller and Callum Turner stopped by the school for a tour before speaking to students.

“It’s exciting enough to be a part of a film franchise or world that came from these books that goes all around the world. We were just in China and saw people there really embrace it, get so excited by it,” Law said. “To also be in a situation like this, where it’s actually had a real grassroots influence on a community… it’s incredibly exciting.”

All of Parkside’s students were thrilled to see the stars of one of their favorite movie series, but that excitement flowed both ways.

As part of the ceremony, the stars also presented a check for $25,000 from Warner Bros. to the school.

Parkside’s Harry Potter hallways were the brainchild of teachers Jacy Douglas, Tracy Jones and Karen Moon, but they all said they had no idea their idea would end up gaining so much attention from around the world when they first started their project in 2016.