In search of the boy wizard

Scotland’s edinburgh has become a place of pilgrimage for devoted fans of Harry Potter.

FIRST, you’re going to have to be a bit brave. Seeing Harry Potter connections in Edinburgh, Scotland involves a visit to the city’s smartest hotel, the Balmoral. Go past the kilted doormen, march boldly up to the reception desk, take a deep breath and announce yourself as a Harry Potter fan.

Then ask politely if it’s possible to visit room 552 in the next few days.

If the room happens to be unoccupied, the Balmoral will usually allow you to look at it for free. A guide will show you a shiny brass plaque with the promising inscription “JK Rowling Suite”.

The room’s special feature is a bust of the Greek god Hermes, displayed in a case. On the back of the head is a faded handwritten note, which can only be deciphered with difficulty: “J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter + the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007”.

The room costs £1,000 (RM5,400) per night today. Rowling stayed here for half a year. But by then money wasn’t an issue for her, because the huge success of the preceding books had made her the wealthiest writer in literary history.

It is now 12 years since the last Harry Potter book was published, but there is no sign of a decline in interest in Edinburgh.

There are several Harry Potter city tours to choose from daily. The best known is the Potter Trail, which has the advantage of being free (so give a generous tip at the end).

A highlight is the Greyfriars Kirkyard. With its crooked crosses and weathered stones – and overlooked by Edinburgh Castle – it seems to be straight out of a film.

Here, there’s a gravestone that makes all Potter fans shiver: Thomas Riddell. That’s the true name of Harry’s arch enemy Lord Voldemort, even if spelled differently (Tom Riddle). The real Thomas Riddell died in 1806 at the age of 72.

From the cemetery you can cross the city centre to the various cafes where Rowling wrote the earlier books – until she became so famous that this was no longer possible.

The Elephant House prides itself on being the “birthplace of Harry Potter”. And while that’s not entirely true (it opened a year after Volume 1 had been finished), there’s no doubt Rowling wrote much of the second and third books here.

The cafe where she wrote the first book, sadly no longer exists.

— Photos: CHRISTOPH driessen/dpa The elephant House is known as the ‘birthplace of Harry Potter’.

— rocco Forte Hotels The balmoral hotel offers Harry Potter fans something special, if they’re brave enough to go speak to the reception.

— rocco Forte Hotels room 552 at the balmoral hotel was where rowling stayed for half a year writing the last two Harry Potter books.

a highlight of any Harry Potter tour of edinburgh is the Greyfriars Kirkyard, or a scottish cemetery.