Harry Potter Exhibition

So, today was the greatest day of my life (Ok, one of them); the day I've been dreaming about since I was ten years old- I got to go to Hogwarts!

Actually, I went to the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, but it so felt like I was going to Hogwarts.

It was absolutely amazing. I've been waiting for this since I first heard there was going to be a HP Exhibition and hoped against hope it would come to Australia, and it did!

I can't believe it took me so long when it opened in November, but that's another story.

I went with my best friend Kristel, which was fitting as we bonded over our love of the Potter world during uni orientation day.

So, here are my thoughts:

1. I spent a lot of the time inwardly squealing that I was actually seeing everything I've seen on screen.
2. Those Mandrakes in CoS? They actually really do hurt your ears. Not enough to knock you out/kill you, but they seriously give you a headache.
3.  Emma Watson (Hermione) has some adorable shoes (DH part 1- the wedding scene) and I want them. Her dress in that scene and her Yule Ball dress are also absolutely gorgeous- even more so than on screen.
4. Kristel and I scored multiple goals each with the Quaffle!! We're not at all athletic- this is big news. Anyone looking for some new Chasers?
5. A few things in particular are even more beautiful and delicately designed that appear on screen- specifically Ravenclaw's lost diadem, and the Golden Snitch. So beautiful. 
6. I'm loathe to admit it because I hate her character, but there was a dress there that Helena Bonham-Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) wore in OotP, and it's actually really beautiful. As in, I would wear that and my mum would roll her eyes because it's all black. 
7. James Potter's wand has spider webs etched onto it! It was pretty awesome. And also, Sirius' wand is pretty cool. All of the wands are designed uniquely for the character and they are amazing. 
8. There's a few things I'm dying to go back and watch in the movies because I never noticed them before. E.g. the Quidditch board game "Snitch Snatcher" apparently played in the PoA film. 
9. Kristel and I may have spent every time we saw a costume trying to judge how tall we are against the actor. We gave up when we saw Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid costume. That thing is huge! (Also the chair in Hagrid's hut is super comfy). 
10. I still wouldn't go near the giant spider, even knowing it's fake. It was scarily life-like and very big.  
11. There was a funny moment (to me) when we were looking at the Divination props and there was a crystal ball on a table, along with the tea cup Harry looks into in PoA and sees the Grim in the tea leaves (the Grim shape is there). I said "Oh look, the Grim!" Kristel said "Where?" and looked into the crystal ball. LOL. 

You need to be a millionaire so you can get all the awesome stuff there. I bought a Sirius Black wanted poster, a chocolate frog (with Famous Witch and Wizarding Card), a "Muggle" mug (I thought that was cool),

and a Ravenclaw pen (worth the $30). They have all the houses there obviously. I was torn because the Gryffindor has a lion (my fav animal), the Slytherin pen is green (my fav colour), but Pottermore and every sorting quiz I've ever done placed me in Ravenclaw. So, I went Ravenclaw.

We got to touch the doors to the Great Hall and the Educational Decrees passed by Umbridge during her reign of terror in OotP, you can see the portraits up close (yes some of them move), and generally just explore the world I've been reading and dreaming about since I was 10 years old (11 years, FYI).

It's there until March 18, if you get a chance, I recommend seeing it. I won't get a chance, but I wish I could. 

You'll see things you'd forgotten about, and even things that actually never made it onto camera (like the letter Lily wrote to Sirius in DH! It's there, we saw it! It was made, just never made it into the movie... which sucks, because I love that part). 

The Philosopher's Stone, Hermione's time turner, Buckbeak, a baby thestral, Dementor's, giant chess pieces... so many amazing things.

I never realised until today how small Harry's bed in the Gryffindor dorm room actually is; or that the notice board in the common room is full of so many awesome, funny notices. 

It's really a truly magical experience (lame, I know- but it's true). 

Go see it!