So at the beginning of last month, I realised that I was dreadfully behind on my reading challenge for this year – I wanted to read 52 books but I was stuck at 32. I knew I needed to get a few books under my belt, and what better way than with a Harry Potter re-read. I like to do it once a year, and it’s even better now that you can officially re-read a book on Goodreads and have it count towards your yearly challenge.

As always, I loved it. It’s so easy to get lost in Hogwarts and swept away in the magic. I did notice this time something that I hadn’t really noticed before, which is that the major plot element that becomes the ‘saviour’ towards the end is usually set up really obviously earlier in the book. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed it before, but I feel like I should have done. As you’re a quarter of the way through the book, you can usually see what will help Harry to defeat Voldemort once again.

The exception is the Deathly Hallows, which is so much darker than the other films that it’s hard to compare. I’d completely forgotten about certain plot elements like Wormtail’s silver hand turning on him and strangling him to death. So dark for a children’s book.

But the heartbreaker will always be:

“After all this time?” “Always”.

Oh Snape. I will always love you for being unfairly hated throughout the whole series when all you did was love Lily.

I feel like a Harry Potter movie-marathon is on the cards now…