On the Children's Shelf: Halloween with Harry Potter

I'm rereading Harry Potter. It has only been a few years since I read it for the first time, but I was ready to revisit (despite my ever growing "to be read" pile glaring at me). I ventured back to Hogwarts and was immediately surprised.

Why would a book in a series I already read surprise me? The words on the page didn't change, but now I notice hints of future storylines that J.K. Rowling brilliantly worked into the story from the beginning. The motorcycle Hagrid rides when he brings baby Harry to the Dursley house was borrowed from his friend Sirius. I didn't notice that the first time because I didn’t see that name again until over a thousand pages later.

Many characters featured in the later story are there. References to things that will come later exist. There is this whole magical second level of the story that I was completely unaware of during my first read through. So while the story is obviously the same each time I revisit it, I'm being treated to so much more.

I initially decided to reread it simply to enjoy Halloween at Hogwarts. I wanted a story that had candles and food and magic and ghosts around Halloween, and Hogwarts has all of it. As I dove back into Halloween at Hogwarts, I was so focused on seeing the beautiful Halloween world Rowling creates that I forgot it is the night the troll gets into Hogwarts. As I read, I was swept up into the feeling of community...the prefects leading the students back to their house common rooms where the feast continues, the teachers working together, and Harry and Ron going to look for Hermione despite their differences, wanting to make sure she is safe. While the environment is beautiful, the community makes it special.

When I focused on the community in the story, I realized that while I am not at Hogwarts, the feelings of community, especially around Halloween, in my little town are just as strong. The neighbor who builds an elaborate Halloween display of spooky things, the neighbor who invited my family in for dinner, the merchants who happily greeted my children with treats, the friends who brought candy to my house that gets many, many trick or treaters, the neighbors who were thrilled to see my children in costume—the community feel of that magical night is my favorite part of Halloween. I look forward to this one night in October because it is filled with everything I love: Happy kids filled with candy, pumpkins (oh, so many pumpkins), falling leaves, spooky things, friends, family, community.

I'm revisiting my friends in Harry Potter because I love their world, their friendships, the magic, and their community. And I love Harry Potter because I can see so much of my little world in theirs. I love when my world and the worlds in my favorite books overlap.

While I'm still waiting to meet Dumbledore in my town, for that one magical night, perhaps he was here, bringing a little extra magic to the Ridge.

Photo by Jessica Collins