I recently finished the Harry Potter series for the second time. The nudge came from Saurav Dwivedi, who mentioned on a show that he was rereading the series. Something about that made me pick it up again.
The books were just as hard to put down. Every plot twist, every death, I knew it all. And yet I couldn’t stop turning pages. But the truly strange thing wasn’t that I enjoyed the story again. It was that I read an entirely different story.
Eighteen years ago, I saw the world through Harry’s eyes. I questioned Dumbledore and resented his “stupid” authority. This time, I read from Dumbledore’s point of view. I found myself wondering: How do you solve a problem like Harry? How do you lead someone who takes the exact risks you warned them against?
My hero has changed.
This shift triggered a question that I kept thinking about while reading: How do you influence outcomes that aren’t directly in your control? Perhaps this perspective is the natural byproduct of age and responsibility.
Have you reread a book that hit differently the second time? I’d love to hear what changed in the book, or in you?
P.S. Image was generated using Nano Banana