12 Jul 2011 04:18:20
They had not come to ride Nelson's lions or run the gauntlet of the English summer: they had come from across the world to pay their final respects to a young, bespectacled wizard whose adventures began before many of them were born.
It was not hard to distinguish the Harry Potter acolytes from the commuters and civil service muggles trudging grimly towards Whitehall.
By 7am, the fans – if the word is strong enough – were dragging their aching bodies into nearby coffee shops, many still clutching the pillows that had made the previous few nights of bunking down in Trafalgar Square marginally more comfortable.
Around their necks were red and gold striped scarves and on their foreheads, predominantly in black marker, was a small lightning bolt and, in one case, a three-initial salute to the wizard's beloved creator: JKR.
Despite being herded into pens that might have served as kettles under different circumstances, the mood was almost bewitchingly buoyant.
Lauren Hill, who had travelled from Vancouver with her friends Sam and Scottie, felt virtually any sacrifice would be worth enduring if it meant she could be in London for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
"I wanted to be the first person here for my love of Harry Potter," said the 20-year-old. "It's the final one. I had to come."
But did the prospect of catching a glimpse of Jo Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe really justify five days of sleeping rough in central London?
"I'm running on fumes now because I haven't slept for the last three nights," she said. "But it'll be worth it 100%. And I'd do it all again – in the snow."
Sam and Scottie nodded approvingly.
The square, which had the slightly naughty atmosphere of an adolescent festival, was thick with such devotion.
Safely beyond the reach of the real and parental worlds, gaggles of teenagers felt free to worship at the altar of Potter – and enjoy the first fruits of independence.There may have been pigeons and gulls rather than dragons and owls wheeling across the moody skies over Trafalgar Square early on Thursday, but to the faithful, who clutched umbrellas and wands in roughly equal ratio, neither the birds nor the weather were of the slightest consequence.That thought – and the realisation that, for many, the conclusion of the saga also heralded the end of an innocence that many muggles simply cannot comprehend – hung over the faithful as heavily as the rain clouds. But, then, as Sabrina pointed out, there was no reason why the spell shouldn't remain unbroken. "Harry Potter will never leave," she said. "He will always be here. He is our childhood."
