The Joy of Re-Reading

[WolfDawn185]

Hello everyone.
Today I started my first actual re-read of a Harry Potter book (I don't count reading my favorite chapters as re-reads anymore). I've done re-reads before of some books, but... it wasn't really as amazingly awesome as this.
I am re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (because I felt guilty about not re-reading it with Pottermore, so now I'm re-reading it for the first time since I was... what, six?). I started this morning at six thirty (about) and church interrupted me (for around 3 hours) and now I'm on chapter 14.
Before now, with a great series, I never realized the joy of re-reading. It's the dread, the despair, the joy, the triumph that you know what will happen to your favorite characters in the far (or not-so-far) future, even when they don't. I only had a small taste of this when re-reading The Battle of Hogwarts sequence (The Lost Diadem to the end). It's quite amazing to look back at 11-year-old Harry, an innocent kid who had no idea he had only about six years to live (Yes, I know, he doesn't die, but he THOUGHT he would, and that's enough for me).
Anybody else have anything to add?

[ijenae]

I feel exactly the same! I notice things I havent noticed before, and I fall in love with my already favorite characters. It's like I remember why I love them so much even when my conscious mind forgot over the years.

I love re-reading the first one and seeing how much they've grown. I also sometimes wish I could erase my memory of reading it and read it for the first time again. Sometimes I feel like I'm super tempted to just speed through because I know what happens and I can skip over it.

[WolfDawn185]

Same thing here, about the skipping through! I 're-read' DH frequently, if you count all the times I've read just the Battle of Hogwarts sequence.
I also realized something REALLY CREEPY today. Let's look at this:
According to the chapter 'The Forbidden Forest', the Bane and Ronan are angry at Firenze because he saved Harry and the centaurs know that he's going to be killed by Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest but they don't know when.
As the years go by, he goes into the Forbidden Forest at least once each year (I'm not exactly sure, though), and about every other time some servant of Voldemort's (or Voldemort himself) is in there with him.
Finally, he gets killed by Voldemort in his seventh year. Sure, he's still alive, but the people outside the forest were HEARTBROKEN.
Now, consider this: If Harry had died at one of the OTHER encounters with Voldemort, would other people's lives be less miserable and heartbroken? Possibly.
Sure, there's the possibility Voldemort could get the Sorcerer's Stone and take over the world in Quirrel's body, but most of them would, in the end, feel less heartbroken (and not 'betrayed' at all, if you get what I mean: Hey, how come HE gets to have a 'Jesus' moment? I WANT ONE! XD) than the scenario played on in the books.
Plus, if Harry did have his 'Jesus' moment at that time (less likely, but still possible: of course, he doesn't have Dumbledore telling him he can go back, either, so...?) he would have a far less miserable seven years. But 'basic tasks' would be made harder for him at the same time: How can he kill the basilisk if he can't fucking get into the Chamber of Secrets?
That is a LONG food-for-thought that really had almost nothing to do with the subject. XD
UPDATE: Have I murdered ANOTHER thread? I have to stop doing this! XD