How Things Changed After Rereading Harry Potter

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I adore Harry Potter and nothing can ever change that.  These are the books that changed everything for me and cemented my love of reading.  I remember making my way through all the books as a kid, totally unable to tear myself away.  Even now, I find myself frequently getting urges to read them all over again.  So, I did just that.  Well, mostly that.  Recently, I picked up the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire, and began reading the series again from that point on.  I didn't expect much to happen other than me just enjoying rereading my favorite series but as I continued on, I found my opinions of the books shifting rather dramatically.  A bit of a warning: minor spoilers are sprinkled throughout this post!

Before this rereading, I always said that The Goblet of Fire, while still an amazing book, was my least favorite in the series and that The Order of the Pheonix was my favorite.  Well, after reading those opinion completely switched.  I loved reading The Goblet of Fire again.  I found myself appreciating the things I didn't appreciate as a kid and just thoroughly enjoying the different tasks and tribulations that Harry had to go through in this book.  

Similarly, my opinion of The Order of the Phoenix changed with this rereading.  While I still enjoyed seeing all the characters and the order, as well as seeing the D.A., I found Harry incredibly frustrating this time around.  I understood that he was angry and frustrated with the situation but I felt like he was being completely unfair taking his anger out on his friends.  I found for the first time, I was also so upset with Dumbledore.  Before this reading, I had never felt anything except admiration toward him but this time around, I couldn't help but see the mistakes he was making, especially since I knew what was coming.  His secrecy was just so ... UGH, so frustrating.  So many things could have been avoided if he just took the time to explain things and talk to Harry!

My opinions of the other two books stayed about the same, though this time around, I had a really hard time getting through the last one.  I knew that it would be worth it to trudge on because I wanted to get to that final, wonderful scene.  But still, it was so difficult to read through all of the middle scenes where they were just wandering around in the forest.  I really just wanted to get to the climax.  

Overall, my love of Harry Potter is still strong and absolute, I've just become more aware and accepting of some of its flaws.  While nothing can ever replace the wonder this series brought me, I'm now able to appreciate both the good and the bad in it and I think I love it all the more for that.