6/14/16,
“Back to Hogwarts”
London,
England, United Kingdom
Over the
course of this trip, I have discussed the beginning and the end of the Harry
Potter series, but what about the middle?
What was it that kept making us want to go back to Hogwarts? What made use crack open the cover six more
times, step into the movie theatre eight times, jump at every new supplemental
article and interview, and fly to London to see a two-part play? “The Boy Who Lived” was what piqued our
interest, but it was the constant desire of wanting to go back to Hogwarts that
continued to hold our interest, made us play along as we "shipped" our favorite
characters and couples (HMS Chocolate Orange!!!).
As I drove back to London, this was what I
considered. First, it was the familiarity
of it all. Each of the five books that
followed the first one (Books 2-6) pretty much repeated the pattern of the
first book. Harry has a miserable summer
with his aunt and uncle, he goes back to Hogwarts, and he fights the forces of
evil right around the time of his finals, but he never fully defeats all the
forces of evil, which sets up the next book.
That was the familiar pattern.
Then, after Book 6, we knew the pattern was broken, and we knew Harry
would not be going back to Hogwarts, and we prepared for the worst.
In the end, he did go back to Hogwarts to
fight the final battle against Voldemort, and that was the end of it. We had our epilogue nineteen years later, and
all was well, except for the sinking realization that we would never go back to
Hogwarts, except to relive the memories.
Well, tonight, for the second night, we got to go back to Hogwarts. Without Dan and Emma and Rupert, it wasn’t
quite the same, but the magic was still all there, especially sharing it with
the one person in the world I more wanted to share it with than anyone
else. Tomorrow, I will be flying home,
and I am glad to have one last magical night to end an otherwise disappointing
trip.
I woke up, knowing I would want to
get the castle when it opened at 10 AM sharp.
I didn’t have much of an appetite all day. In fact, dinner was the only meal I ate all
day, just having a piece or two of cheese in the car otherwise. I packed and got dressed, arriving at the
castle, in the pouring rain, just as it opened.
The only remaining part of the castle was the entrance, so I bought some
Robin Hood souvenirs, took my ceremonial pictures outside, and went back to the
car.
I had determined that I would need
to take a trip to London and Manchester later in this year, the goal of which
would be to say “England Complete.”
Then, I could do London and Northern Island next year. Scotland would have to wait for another
time. That meant, there was only one
stop today. I put Blenheim Palace into
my GPS, and I was soon on M1, the big motorway, the British equivalent of I-95
or the Trans-Canada Highway, and I had a Montecristo for the drive.
The driving was fast, and I made it to
Blenheim Palace in good time. It is a
famed filming location, and I recognized immediately the courtyard as a scene
from Spectre. I walked around to find
the spot of the inscription photo and lit up a Partagas for my ceremonial picture. I then walked through the gardens to find
where they filmed the pivotal Snape/Lily flashbacks in Order of the
Phoenix.
I headed back to the car,
texted my friend about meeting up later, The Savoy already in my GPS. After some back and forth, we agreed to meet
at my hotel before walking over to the restaurant to meet her parents. After I finished my Partagas, I lit up an
Avo, it being the last drive of the trip, and I got stuck in some brutal
traffic, being delayed over half an hour as I made my way to The Savoy. My friend had already started getting ready
while I was stuck in traffic, and I didn’t want to be late for her.
As soon as I got to The Savoy, I raced to my
room and got ready. I was actually ready
before she arrived with a little time to spare, which was fine, but it meant we’d
have less time together. In fact, we
actually had to head straight out almost immediately. We greeted each other like the old friends we
were, making up for the two years it had been since we last saw each other,
even if we had exchanged well over 10,000 text messages in that time
frame.
Her friend and I introduced ourselves
to each other, though we clearly knew all about each other through her. I gave her presents, of which she was clearly
very appreciative, but she asked me to leave them here so that she wouldn’t
have to carry them to the play. I
dropped them off in my room and came back down.
She thought we had some time to kill, but I explained that we were
actually late for dinner. She and her
parents shared in the confusion, having thought the reservation was at 6 PM,
not 5:15 PM.
We walked to the restaurant
and ordered some cocktails as we awaited her parents. They were going to be late, so we
ordered. I picked the venison, my friend
the John Dory, her friend the veal. She
was very upset with both of us, me for eating Bambi, him for eating a baby
cow. We also got an asparagus appetizer
to share (split just the way I like it, the tips for her, the spears for me)
and mashed potatoes. My first drink was
the house cocktail, gin with sparkling wine.
It was really good. Really, really
good. She got a glass of wine.
Her parents joined us before the food
came. Another round, Tanquerey Ten for
me, the house cocktail for me, which her mother and I wound up drinking after
she couldn’t finish it. Needless to say,
I was slightly toasted by the end of the meal.
All the food was delicious, and the ambience was perfect. Her father graciously picked up the check,
and I thanked him for it profusely.
We
then walked to the play, and, among the five of us, probably took close to a
hundred pictures in front of the theatre.
It was time to go in. We were
stoked. We went in and figured out the
seating arrangements. I was in the
middle seat, between my friend and her parents.
The first act was great, and I enjoyed it much more than the first
night, in no small part because, instead of the empty seat next to me, the one
person in the world with whom I most wanted to share this experience was
sitting next to me.
At intermission, we
went to get souvenirs, an overpriced keychain, pin, and t-shirt for me. I got us a sparkling water for us to share,
which was much needed. The second was
even better, and, without giving any spoilers, there were numerous scenes that
brought us to tears. I didn’t want it to
end. I was home (a phrase I usually only
reserve for the insides of Olympic Stadiums).
I was back at Hogwarts. All was
well.
After it ended, we waited for
autographs, and I got us two programs to get signed. We only got a few autographs, but it was a
fun experience. I said goodbye to her
parents, and we said we’d make a point to see each other the next time they
were in New York. The rest of then
walked back to my hotel to retrieve my friend’s presents, and I grabbed my
computer bag to have my cigar and write my entry outside.
We headed downstairs, and we agreed we needed
to make sure not wait another two years before we saw each other again. We went outside to the place where I wrote my
entry on Saturday and said our goodbyes, and that was that. I sat down, lit my last Juan Lopez, a cigar I
had been saving for such a special occasion, and proceeded to write this entry,
which I will now close so that I can publish, write my companion entry in my
personal journal, and get a little bit of sleep before I fly home. Actually, I’m not sure if I’ll get any sleep
tonight. It’s my last night in London,
and I want to make the most of it, but, I shall return.
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