I finally reread the Harry Potter series over these past few weeks, and my opinion of the story as a whole has changed. Gone was the sense of wonder that was once within the walls within Hogwarts, and it was replaced by just how dark Harry's adventures really are.
Though I can admit that the first three novels hide this more within the childish wonder. This shit happens at one major point within the series though, and that is within Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.
The story of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire starts out childish enough, Harry finds himself back in Hogwarts where the Tri-Wizard Tournament is underway, and he was named a victor worthy of competing.
There is the usual Harry Potter antics, Harry needs to discover how to compete each of the challenges in order to win. During the last trial, Harry finds himself with his other competitor Cedric Diggory, and they are humble in who should become the winner of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Ultimately they grab the cup at the same time, and even though the reader expects the two boys to be celebrated and the novel ends with both of them being celebrated, it's not what happens at all.
Harry and Cedric find themselves not with their cheering classmates but surrounded by Death Eaters. This is the moment where the Harry Potter series shifts forever.
Harry witnesses that he is not safe. He then watches his friend die. Changing the series forever.
The moment the cup leads them to this new evil is the moment that the reader mature.
Gone are the days that Harry's biggest issues were beating Malfoy at Quidditch, now he is going to be looking over his shoulder because Voldemort himself wants him dead. The conflict of the story has changed.
I don't understand why I never saw this when I first read the novels, even with The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows, the conflict still seemed the same as the first few novels. There was still a sense of childish wonder, even in the face of death and destruction, my younger self-looked more toward the fantasy of everything.
I think that this is the magic of J.K Rowling overall. Her writing changes the way the reader thinks. When we are younger, and reading Harry Potter for the first time, we really don't look at the terror hidden beneath the writing, instead, we look at the wonder and imagination of being a witch or a wizard.
As we grow older, and we revisit their world again, the imagination has been erased by the skepticism of adulthood, the wonder is replaced by the genuine fear of Harry Potter himself.
He is in mortal danger while the teachers around him, who are more powerful than him, fair to protect him as he finds himself in situations with the being trying to kill him.
In The Goblet of Fire, it is Harry that finally grows up, even if some don't realize it, and it echoes throughout the remainder of series.
