Upon arrival in Leicester Square at 5:30, we found a group of people already waiting in line to see their favorite stars; many of them had spent the night. Snuggling up to a cement post, I spent the next few hours getting making friends with the people near me. This is one of the coolest parts about going. You never have to worry about making friends at this type of gathering because you instantly have a connection with complete strangers. I met Xi from Mexico and Kara from Ohio just sitting in line. We banded together promising to save each other spots, watch each other's things, and share our pictures on facebook.
L to R, Xi, Kara, Me
Then began the big wait; the boredom of which we combated with reading, napping, and playing cards, a few times the sky would onpen up on us and give everything a fresh layer of rain. We watched as about 10 crew men rolled out the red carpet for the show. About 3 hours before anyone was scheduled to arrive, the press showed up. For the folks that had been camping out all day were enthralled. Most of the people around me were from America; this intrigued a newscaster from Channel 4. We were interviewed by
Alex Zane, popular from hosting shows like TRL and Balls of Steel on TV.
Before
After
Alex Zane interviewed me for about a minute, and found out that I'll be on TV this Saturday on Channel 4 in London!
Finally it was time for the actors to arrive... only 5 more minutes to go when we were hit with a torrential downpour. Rain soaked everyone of us despite numerous umbrellas and ponchos. This was where the true test of fandom kicked in. We were all standing there pressed up against everyone freezing and soaking only to catch a glimpse of some of the actors. The first to arrive was Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), he ran right past us and into the theater. We were devastated. We'd waited in line all day just to see him walk right past and leave. This was turning out to be one of the worst days. But then, just as some people had given up hope, Dan came back into the crowd ditching the umbrella and braving the rain. Soon after followed Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
Daniel runs past
Soon, the rain stopped coming down in buckets and the sky lightened up. The first star to come close to us was Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). I think if he had time, he would have signed everyone's autograph. He made his way down the line of people crushing each other against the barricades. When he approached my friends and I he asked, "How's it going," but then thought about that for a second and replied to himself, "never-mind that was a stupid question." I laughed because at the time, I was leaning at a 45 degree angle due to 2 people wedging themselves between me and Kara.
Tom Felton signs our autographs
It wasn't long before we encountered more stars. Evanna Lynch, Michael Gambon, Oliver & James Phelps, Matthew Lewis, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe, and many more came by to see us.
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)
Emma Watson (Hermione Granger)
Oliver Phelps (George Weasley)
Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)
Dan came back through the rain and talked to us!
And in my opinion, the most exciting person we saw that day was J.K. Rowling herself - Author and creator of all this madness. Thanks Jo!
At the end, I was soaked to the bone, bruised from people crushing me against the barricade, and freezing from it all... but it was so worth it. This was hands down the best time I've had in London.
Me after all the craziness had subsided. What an incredible adventure!
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