Crazy things I did in life #3

Number 3! This one will be about my experience at the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 premiere in London. Because me and a group of, approxiamate, 10 other Dutch (and Belgian) people went there. Took a plane and decided to sleep on Trafalger Square just because we wanted to make a good end to our Harry Potter experience.

July 6th 2011. Our flight is about to leave somewhere early in the morning. With a group of six good friends we're getting a flight to London Stansted, to get the bus right after that and run of to Trafalgar Square. Because no not that exact evening but the day evening the day after.. The last ever Harry Potter premiere will be happening. The very very last. Bye bye childhood. And we know we're not going to be the only ones camping out.

A few hours later we arrive at Trafalgar Square. It's around 12 o'clock and they started handing out wristbands from 10 in the morning. Because you need a wristband to get in (and out) of Trafalgar Square. And you definitely want to be there early so you're able to see something. We have at least 28 hours to go and queue up. There's already a massive line and so many people. There are a lot of press people around and we get interviewed by tv and papers. Funny! But we're probably very loud and all wearing HP t-shirts. And of course we are in London so at one point.. When the queue finally starts to move, it starts raining! Me and friend just started to get some food for the group so we won't starve. Note: We still didn't even enter Trafalgar Square yet. Around 3,5 hours later we finally get our wristbands, we're extremely excited and after doing a happy dance we finally get on the square. Where finding a spot.. Is quite difficult if you're with a group of six. We find one next to the fountain in between a thousand of other people.

We meet up with some other Dutchies/Belgian fans we know and start planning what to do. We decide to split up so one part of the group can go shopping and when they're back the other part of the group is able to go. We buy some blankets to stay warm and umbrellas because those might be necessary. I also decide to buy my very first pair of bordeaux red Dr. Martens. And so the time goes by. Around 12 at night people start to fall asleep. But me and 2 other friends are way to excited, we decide to get some hamburgers and coffee around 2 at night and when we just decide to snooze in around 4, people decide to get up. Wait.. What? Why are people already movie. And so it seemed.. While we still had around 12 hours ago, people actually started to move towards the fences. 

We decided to join and get all our stuff together. Because we're carrying all our stuff around in massive backpacks, like everyone else. We move forward, but we can't move farther then a certain point. Luckily! The other group is in front of that point and we're able to pass. We try to get as far to the front as we can and after a bit of a hold up and a fight with a British girl we are able to get quite close to the fence. After this a lot of waiting, sleeping and more waiting followed. Oh and of course followed by rain... Which results in everyone and everything being soaking wet. 

While we waited, one of my friends got a call from Radio 2 (a Dutch radio station), they asked if people on Twitter knew other people who were at the premiere. And my friend's sister decided to give them her phone number. If we could do an interview. Well yeah sure. And after that? Another radio station called and Giel from 3FM wanted to call at 7 in the morning after (which is 6 in the UK), which we pushed an our back. But it did happen! And in the end she ended up with premiere tickets back in Holland. But back to us, people were still coming in and trying to peek in front of us (which was not happening), it's coming closer and closer. Three French girls who came in that morning try to stand in front of me. Which followed in me giving them a rant in English. Well.. Helped by a British woman who threatened throwing the girls over the fence if she didn't move back. And luckily they did! It stopped raining right before the stars were coming in and people start to push. In the mean time we got to the third row. YES, the third row. 

And finally.. They start started to come in. I had my poster to the ready and tried to get some autographs.. And guess what? I got some! I managed to get autographs of: Natalia Tena (Tonks), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Jamie Campbell Bower (Young Gellert Grindelwald), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Clemence Poesy (Fleur Delacour), and Nick Moran (Scabior). And not to forget about my HP1 book which got signed by Rupert Grint and Oliver & James Phelps the week before in Amsterdam. Plus I scored Emma Watson's autograph about a year later at the 'My Week With Marylin' premiere. The only one I'm missing is Daniel Radcliffe's. 

But to get back to the premiere. It all was all some kind of rush. One of my friend managed to get up first row and scored about 18 autographs, me and another friend as the follow ups with 7 autographs. But next to all that it was absolutely amazing to see everyone. And the moment Emma Watson came by.. I started crying. Weird right? She's been such an inspiration from me since the age of 11. And when one of my friends started crying, I couldn't hold it back anymore. Of course as the last part, J.K. Rowling, Daniel, Emma, Rupert and the director and producer came on stage. To give us all a speech. And as this was the actual last part. The producers started, which was all fine, we were all touched. But then the trio decided to talk. And all three of them had a really difficult time not crying. And when Rupert's voice decide to give in, the entire square, and no I'm not joking, started to sob. I still get quite emotional when I think about it. Emma couldn't hold her tears back anymore and when J.K. started talking.. Everything got worse. I think almost every single person on the square was actually crying. Me? I was sobbing, two friends stayed close as we lost some while pushing and pulling. We hugged and cried because it was all really over. As it's been such a journey from a young age it was very emotional to see it coming to an end. Especially with so much people and all the starts together on one square in London.

And after a lot of hugs and talking we decided to go to our hostel. Go to bed and get some sleep. Without pj's though because these drowned in my backpack. Thanks London rain! We were so tired but what an amazing journey! What an amazing 11 years of my life.

(I made all these photos myself)