By Aliza Billet, Arts and Culture Editor
Some things in life are constants: family, friendships, holidays, Harry Potter…
I read J.K. Rowling’s famous book series for the first time as a young seven-year-old, hiding from my chores in the upstairs bathroom of my house, my back against the wall and my head and heart at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the following years, I spent many hours with the boy wizard and his friends, along for the ride as they defeated the “Dark Lord,” Voldemort, over and over again. I read the books in and out of order, picked up comfort chapters when I needed them, and the cycle continued.
Now that I’m in my twenties, I wouldn’t say I’ve left Harry and Co. behind, but I have spent significantly less time with him in recent years than I did when I was closer to his age. While I am generally okay with this reality, there is no denying that I miss the books, and that every passing day is ultimately one day closer to the day I eventually pick them up again.
Recently, a friend of mine confided in me that she has never read the Harry Potter books. While I still believe that reading Harry Potter will improve the quality of one’s life, a sign of my growth as a fan of the series has manifested in my understanding that, rather than forcing the series on people who have never read it, everyone needs to stumble upon Harry Potter at the right time for them, and it is even okay if (gasp) that time never comes. However, my friend seemed interested in the series of her own volition. It was the perfect push for me to begin my reread, so we embarked on a journey together. For the past few Shabbosim, I have been reading Harry Potter out loud to a small group of people in the lobby of 245 Lexington, and it has been more eye-opening than I initially imagined.
Previously, reading Harry Potter had been a solo activity for me. This time, however, I was processing it alongside someone who had never been to Hogwarts before. Like Ron and Hermione in the final chapter of Sorcerer’s Stone, which we read a few weeks ago, my friend “gasped in all the right places.” I got to watch her theorize what would happen, get surprised when the story took an unexpected turn, and simply experience the events of the book for the first time. What a privilege!
Reading the book out loud was a brand new experience for me. I’m generally a fast reader, and I speed through Harry Potter books like nobody’s business. My familiarity with the series has turned the books into sources of comfort, soft around the edges and not requiring full brain power to enjoy. On this reread, however, I appreciated the way I was forced to take my time with the book and process every single word, because I literally had to vocalize each and every one. There was no skimming through description or not internalizing the words as I read them, which even led me to notice lines and little moments that never truly landed with me before.
Most importantly, the story as a whole hit me differently than it had in the past because of where I am currently located on my own timeline. I’m older than Harry, and have been for a while now. My role as a university student studying creative writing, rather than as a kid simply growing up, makes me look at the story in a completely different light.
This time around, the book was more than its story. It was a piece of storytelling, which drew me in as a student of creative writing, as well as someone who basically considers Harry Potter one of her childhood friends. When I was a kid, I read these books for the story, but this time around, I found myself noticing the technical aspects of the storytelling, such as plot structure and character development, because those are the things I’ve been learning about in class. Seeing how the techniques I’m studying are tried and true, and present in the beloved books I grew up on, was a learning experience alongside everything else I was getting from this reread.
Reading Harry Potter as an adult also reminded me how young the characters are. In fact, everyone in our little reading corner – most of whom had already read the books – kept pausing my reading to talk about just that. The story hits so much more emotionally when you’re a grown-up watching the challenges these children are facing. When you’re a kid, you don’t fully process the ten unwritten years before Harry goes to Hogwarts, and how truly awful they must have been. The gravity of the weight of the world on the shoulders of children is so much more palpable when you are no longer a child. Most importantly, you realize how alone Harry and all his peers feel – because that is what it is to be a child – and you get to properly sit in and internalize the value of friendship.
On the flip side, there are comedic moments that land significantly harder when you realize how little eleven truly is. When you’re a kid reading the books, you empathize with Harry, Ron and Hermione’s school struggles because they’re relatable to your own. As an adult, however, reading the seriousness with which these eleven-year-olds regard their exams, their sports games and their general mystery-unraveling skills is just so damn cute.
There is value to revisiting the important stories from our pasts. Rereading Harry Potter as an adult has got me reflecting on my childhood, remembering what it was like being a kid, and connecting to the things that were important to me back then in a whole new way now. As human beings, we are never done learning, and the stories we gained so much from as we were growing up still have more to teach us.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Harry Potter has played a large role in my becoming the person I am today. I spent too much of my growing up life with the series to be able to separate it from the way I see the world. It’s been a breath of fresh air to confirm for myself that J.K. Rowling wasn’t lying when she told us, at the premier of the final Harry Potter movie, that “Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”
So if you catch yourself on Beren for Shabbos sometime soon, come visit Hogwarts with us. It will be waiting for you.
Photo Caption: The “Harry Potter” books
Photo Credit: Madalyn Cox / Unsplash