With my hood up and lace untied.

The day had finally come...the day that I had been looking forward to since the second my plane touched down in London: Harry Potter Studio Tour! Looking forward to this tour really helped me overcome my homesickness. I needed things to look forward to. I needed to stay busy to get everything off my mind.

As JK Rowling said,

"Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

...and on June 8, 2012 there was no room for homesick feelings because I was going home!

On this day I was indeed busy and nothing was on my mind except for magic and Harry Potter. I got up bright and early to begin getting ready. Class was only on Mondays through Thursdays so I didn't have to worry about that. I curled my hair, put on my makeup, snapped up my snazzy Azkaban-like blazer and set out the door. Careful hours of preparation were shattered in minutes when I was met by the rain on the street. My hair frizzed up in seconds and my outfit was covered by a raincoat, but I didn't care. Nothing could bring me down...I was on my way to Hogwarts!

Platform 9

My roommate, Jenn, and I hopped on the Underground down to the London Euston train station. We both squealed over the fact that our train would be on platform 9. We took loads of pictures before sitting down and waiting for its arrival. I guess we had "Harry Potter" written all over our faces when a worker came up to us on the abandoned platform.

"Are you headed to Watford? You need platform 8. Platform 9 will take you twice the amount of time to get there."

We were bummed about being demoted to platform 8, but eternally thankful to the kind worker who guided us to an express train. Platform 9's train would have taken an hour but platform 8's train got us there in roughly 20 minutes! We were thrilled! The only thing faster would have been if Ron and Harry picked us up on their broomsticks...

The rain continued to pour but our excitement never faltered. We ran off the train and right onto the decorated Harry Potter shuttle bus (a double decker, of course!). The 15 minute travel to the studio was surreal. We passed little houses that screamed "Harry Potter." I know that wasn't the intention. Maybe I was just so excited that everything seemed magical to me. It looked like I was riding down Privet Drive.

Rain, wind and smiles!

Jenn and myself.

We stepped off the bus and immediately started snapping pictures of the studio's outside. Even in the rain, we couldn't help but pose for some pictures with our hoods up!

We quickly picked up our tickets and got out of the rain. Our jaws dropped when we walked into the lobby. The lobby! I couldn't imagine my jaw ever returning to its closed position when I entered the actual tour. The lobby's walls were adorned with pictures of the cast from year one to year seven. The flying car hung over our heads, a posh Starbucks to our left and an elaborate gift shop was to our right. We went camera crazy for another 30 minutes before entering the queue. Before the tour started we even got to see Harry's cupboard under the stairs! This tour was already becoming the highlight of my trip...and it was only day 3!

Great Hall

The tour started in a theatre. They showed us a short film about how Harry Potter became a worldwide phenomenon. Tears filled my eyes watching it. I realized that I was just about see everything that made up my childhood. I realized I was just about to witness magic brought to life. After that film, they brought us to a seated theatre. We sat down in what were the most comfortable movie chairs ever. The guide joked that we better enjoy the chairs because we were about to watch all eight films. Everyone laughed in horror but I was perfectly fine with that suggestion. They started another clip and the famous trio came up on the big screen! I have to admit, I squealed like a little fangirl when Rupert came up on the screen. They stood in front of the great hall door and explained how we were about to see the many secrets behind the filming of the movies. After their speeches, they disappeared behing the great hall doors, leaving us with just an image of the door. Then, before our eyes, the movie screen began to ascend into the ceiling and right before us was the doors to the Great Hall! I'm getting goosebumps just typing it. I had chills all over my body, my jaw dropped once again and tears filled my eyes. It was a moment I will never forget. I was in complete awe and even more so when the doors opened to the Great Hall. I was walking through Hogwarts!

The rest of the tour was self-guided. I won't bore you with the details, even though I could talk about it for ages. We saw so many things and took so many pictures. I took around 600 pictures that day. In the first portion of the tour we saw scenes from the Yule Ball, the Gryffindor common room, the boys' dormitory, classrooms, Dumbledore's office, broomsticks, horcruxes, wands, green screens, the ministry of magic, countless costumes and props. I can't even list it all.

Mmm, butterbeer!

Proof: I sat where Rupert sat!

We then followed the path outside for the second portion of the tour: the outdoor portion. In this section we saw Privet Drive, the knight bus, Hogwarts bridge, the flying car, Hagrid's motorcyle, etc. Before snapping pictures with everything we bought our butterbeers! I tried butterbeer before at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. Butterbeer was awesome there but 1000x better in London! They must have changed the recipe... or I just forgot what it tasted like. I guess that's plenty of an excuse to travel back to Orlando for some more to compare! I devoured mine and contemplated buying some more. But, I resisted, took my pictures and walked into the third portion.

The third portion was back inside. This part was especially impressive. It included the many details that went into the creation of the magical creatures like the goblins, elves, giants and animals. After the creatures portion we were met by the sight of Diagon Alley. My breath was taken away once again. It was just like the Great Hall...it was just like walking into the movie! The lighting, the music and colors added to the magical ambiance. All of the fans seemed to congregate in this spot...in complete awe. We walked along the hard cobblestone road and absorbed every detail from the owls to wands to sweets to books. I was especially enamored by the cobblestone road. Don't ask why. I would guess it was because it was a permanent set. I just kept walking up and down the road and tried to comprehend all of the work that went into making these films that changed my life. Incredible. Inspirational. Impressive.

I walked off the cobblestone road and was blown away at the sight. I was in a room full of drawings and sketches. When I thought the tour couldn't get more detailed...it did. I couldn't even take pictures of everything. There were sketches to every single set. We also saw some pretty gnarly artwork that I wish I had hanging in my house!

The finale of the tour took my breath away for the final time that day. When I turned the corner, the Hogwarts castle stood in front of me with dramatic lighting and music. Wait, I'm not in the movie right now, correct? I had to remind myself. We posed for pictures and read the blurbs about the castle but a majority of my time was spent just staring at it. I wanted to soak in every moment and detail. I've said it so many times, but I'm going to throw out the word "incredible" once more.

Trying on robes in the shop!

Then the tour officially came to an end, but not before I blew some serious cash in the gift shop! After we looked at the wand store with the actors names on the boxes, I collected some goodies. I bought Ron Weasley's wand, postcards and a shirt. I spent under 100 pounds though. Impressed? You should be. But you'll lose all respect for me when you find out that I went back to the dorm that night and bought another ticket to see the tour again. :) I was getting homesick already, what can I say? I needed some more comforting home time at Hogwarts.

Rupert and I holding hands.

A much better picture! No rain!

When we walked out we were greeted by some clouds...and only clouds! The rain was gone and the sun was trying to peek through. We took advantage and got some better pictures out front before we got back on the Harry Potter bus. I was sad to head back to the train station but I knew that Hogwarts would be welcoming me home again very very soon ;)