After the museum, we met at the Greyfriars Bobby memorial just down the street to avail ourselves of a walking tour of some of these sites. The tour was run, free of charge, by people who loved the books and loved sharing their lore with all comers.
The tour started at 2pm. As the appointed time drew near, a small crowd formed. Comprised of people from around the world, across the spectrums of age, income, religion, gender, drawn together by a mutual love of the boy with the lightning shaped scar. Soon, what had to be our guides were spotted coming down the street towards us.
And, before we knew it, we were underway. Our first stop was the nearby Greyfriars Kirkyard, an old cemetery where Ms. Rowling used to take her young daughters for afternoons. It was full of elements that she drew upon for inspiration for rher stories; names, places, imagery.
I admit I was a bit in awe of seeing the grave that inspired the story and indeed the name of the most famous villain in the world, Lord Voldemort.
Graveyards are a quiet, solemn place that serve to remind us of our own all too brief time on this earth. This one had upon it tbe extra weight of many years of use, and I could not help but wonder who these souls once were, and whether their descendents still came to pay respects to their memories.
We learned that the George Harriet school which lay just beyond the Kirkyard wall was the inspiration for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It too had four houses, with commons in the four towers of its corners, whose colors were identical to those of Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor.
We soon emerged back onto the streets of Old Town, a merry troupe of strangers led by Charlie, our guide. I'm sure the spectacle is a familiar one to residents, but we still got our share of sideways glances.
Ms. Rowling walked through this tunnel in the evening after class. Its eerie echoes and misty shadows inspired the dementor attack scene from Order of the Phoenix.
Once named Nicholson and now called the Spoon Cafe, here a young Jo Rowling would come after classes where her brother in law (who still owns the place) would gift her with a free latte and she would sneak in a few hours' writing on the book that became Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
It felt very surreal, and a bit voyeuristic standing there. This was no shrine, but a still-active place of business.
Despirlte claiming to be the birthplace of Harry Potter, Rowling did not write Philosopher's Stone here. She did write large parts of Chamber and Prisoner here at the Elephant House.
Victoria Street is, according to Rowling's own illustrations, the inspiration for Diagon Alley. It had the requisite joke shop, school clothing outfitters, bookshops and an ice cream parlour, and was delightfully steep and winding.
This tour, the sights, and the people who led and participated, moved me more than I would have thought. I have always enjoyed these books very much, but my fandom for such things has always been private, secretive. To be a part of a sharing like this, to see the joy and comraderie it brought, is something that will stay with me.
