THIS IS IT! TODAY IS THE DAY! Well, sort of. Today is the day for Londoners, at least. Live coverage of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II in London began streaming online today at 11am ET, and of course I’ve been clicking back and forth between here and there trying to catch a glimpse of the most wonderful wizards in the world.

But if you have to miss the live footage for some reason (which, if you ARE missing it, I highly suggest you do something about that), here are some photos of the cast from the photo call. The only bad thing about this photo set–Daniel Radcliffe is mysteriously MIA. What’s more important than your last HP photo call, Harry??

initiating the gallery...

Okay, well maybe not everything. But it’s still a pretty important day. It’s the day of the Harry Potter premiere. It’s the day that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I hits theaters. It’s the day that I take the tickets I bought 3 months ago and head to the movies, anxious and eager to see exactly what they’ve done with scenes I’ve been envisioning on my own for years now. It’s the day my friends roll their eyes at the fact that I’m majorly geeking out over Harry Potter and get to listen to my constant commentary throughout the movie. (That’s not how it happened. Seriously? WHAT. DID . THEY. DO?)  It’s the day we’ve all I’ve been waiting for.

But on the off-chance that not everyone is quite as obsessed with Harry Potter as I am, CollegeCandy has your back. I’m here to provide you with all the vital information you may have forgotten about the world of Harry Potter. I’m here to remind you where we left off and what lies ahead.  So here’s what you need to know.

First off,  Dumbledore is dead.

That’s right, dead. For real. There will be no magical resurrections come the start of the seventh movie. Dumbledore is dead. And Snape is the one who killed him. Snape. Who’s evil now.  Or is he? Harry, Ron, and Hermione always suspected that their potions professor was better suited for the dark arts. But he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and one of Dumbledore’s most trusted confidants. Dumbledore trusted him. He was sure Snape was on his side. But he killed him. But Dumbledore didn’t seem the least bit shocked when Snape raised his wand to him. Interesting, very interesting. Was Dumbledore not sharing all of his secrets?  Most definitely.

But you’ll find out more about that once Deathly Hallows starts getting good. For now, let’s focus on what the dearly departed Dumbledore did share with Harry. And that would be his search for the horcruxes.

What are the horcruxes?

Voldemort (That’s right, I said his name), the evil genius that he was, figured out a way to split his soul, in an attempt to obtain immortality. The soul was split into seven parts, and then hidden in objects of value to the dark lord.  The first was a ring, destroyed by Dumbledore. The second was his childhood diary, destroyed by Harry in Chamber of Secrets. That leaves five horcruxes for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to find and destroy. Only when all of the horcruxes are destroyed does Harry stand a chance at defeating Voldemort. Because, yes, Harry is that one that has to kill him. That prophecy (Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives!) from Order of the Phoenix pretty much guarantees it. Unless of course, Voldemort kills Harry. But that can’t happen. What are the chances of that happening, huh? (This is why you should have read the books.)

But back to the point. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are skipping out on their seventh and final year at Hogwarts in an attempt to defeat the dark lord and save the wizarding world. (Why didn’t I use that one the last time I skipped class?) But these BFFs have more important things on their mind than their search for a way to save humanity. They have real problems.

You see, Ron and Hermione, they’re in love. (Do not argue on this one with me.) But they’re just too damn stubborn to admit it. So, in typical teenage boy fashion, instead of manning up and asking Hermione out, like a normal person, Ron spent the majority of Half Blood Prince sucking face with THE MOST ANNOYING GIRL TO EVER GRACE THE PAGES OF HARRY POTTER,  in an attempt to make her jealous. A heartbroken Hermione, the smart girl that she is, retaliated by working on her revenge spells, which, for the record, are pretty awesome. (Seriously, do you know how many times I wished I could sic a flock of birds at a boy?) But Ron finally broke up with little Miss Lavender Brown and he and Hermione are back on good terms. For now. (Don’t expect it to stay that way for long.)

But wait if Harry’s best friends are in love, who is Harry going to hook up with? That would be Ron’s little sister, Ginny. Just when it seems like the two are finally going to get it together, Harry realizes he’ll be leaving. Now, this isn’t addressed in the movie, but trust me when I tell you that romance will not be picking up right where it left on when Deathly Hallows starts off.  Harry is worried for Ginny’s  safety, and believes that being with her would put her in too much danger (If I had a dollar for every time a guy used that line…), so their undying devotion will have to be put on hold for just a little while longer.

Free of romantic entanglements Harry is able to do what he does best, save the world, with a little help from Ron and Hermione of course. It won’t be easy for our hero, but it will most definitely be entertaining, and it will most definitely be worth the year and a half wait.

It better be.

Are you as psyched as I am for the big night? What are your premiere plans?

- Finish making S.P.E.W. buttons to hand out at movie theater

- Buy a new wand – mahogany, 14 inches, essence of unicorn hair, please

- Play as Ravenclaw Seeker in Quidditch match against Slytherin

- Get arms, left leg, spleen looked at (note to self: brooms can’t really fly, and kickball Bludgers can hurt like a bitch).

- Tell off that idiot on the Harry Potter forum who thinks that Cornelius Fudge was a competent Minister of Magic because, seriously, xoRonLuvr592 has no effing clue what she’s talking about

- Listen to Harry and the Potters and The Remus Lupins.

- Potter Puppet Pals reenactment! Snape, Snape, Se-ver-us Snape!

- Buy some chocolate frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, pumpkin pasties, and butterbeer to smuggle into the movie.

- Perfect maniacal laugh to complement Bellatrix Lestrange costume.

- Hold memorial service for Sirius Black.

- Two Minutes Hate for Voldemort Wait, wrong book.

- Call Post Office to see if they’ve found the Hogwarts acceptance letter that got lost in the mail seven years ago.

- Set up tent outside movie theater at 6 p.m. to ensure getting best seats at midnight showing.

- Find new friends, because the ones I got will definitely dump me after realizing what a Harry Potter dweeb I am.

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