By Lakshmi:

Harry Potter has been a dominant force in our lives for many years now.  With two kids growing up with the franchise, we’ve lived through the hysteria of new book releases at midnight, the pressure to finish the books before the movie releases and oodles of spend on memorabilia.  So, on our recent trip to London, it was no surprise that the Warner Brother’s tour of the Harry Potter sets was the number one priority for the kids.  I resigned myself to a day dedicated to their happiness…no museums, no walks; just an overdose of Harry Potter.  But from the moment we stepped into the studios, I found myself completely mesmerized and in awe of one woman’s (J.K. Rowling’s) imagination that had spawned everything that we saw.  Even a non Harry Potter reader like me could not believe the perfect marriage of art, science, design and imagination that kept us enthralled for many hours.  Here’s just a small glimpse of what we saw.