WHAT IF THEY KNEW?

Written by- Mishti (Journalism hons, 2nd year)

Edited by- Vanshika Gupta

What if the characters of Harry Potter knew people were reading them? Not just reading, but caring—holding on to their stories, their fears, and their small victories as if they were real. I often wonder how differently their lives would have felt if they realized they weren’t alone, that millions of eyes were quietly walking beside them through every page.

Take Harry, for instance. He might finally understand that he was never truly alone in that cupboard under the stairs. Somewhere, far beyond Privet Drive, people were wishing he had a birthday cake with his name on it, wishing someone tucked him in at night, wishing he felt wanted. I’ve always carried this ache for him, almost like wanting to reach into the book to tell him that he deserved more than survival—he deserved to be loved, openly, and without condition.

Hermione, too, might smile at the thought of how many readers admired her. Not just for being clever, but for being brave enough to stay true to herself when it wasn’t easy. For me, she was the character who made me feel less alone in being “the bookish one.” Through her, I learned that intelligence and kindness don’t cancel each other out—they make each other stronger.

And then there’s Draco. I think he would be the most surprised of all. To know that beyond the judgments of his own world, there were people trying to understand him, people who saw the frightened boy behind the sneers and arrogance. His story has always felt quietly heartbreaking to me. Maybe that’s why so many readers, including myself, linger on him—we don’t excuse him, but we recognize that he, too, was trapped in expectations he never chose.

If they knew, I think their burdens might have felt a little lighter. They would have realized that in every reader who turned the page, they were not forgotten, not unloved. And to me, that’s the real kind of magic this series carries. The spells, castles, and enchanted creatures are wonderful, but it’s the characters—their courage, their pain, their flaws—that keep us returning to their world. Because in loving them, we find parts of ourselves, and in seeing them through, we remember that none of us are ever truly alone.