My generation grew up with Harry Potter as he went from the boy
under the stairs to the Chosen One standing up to Lord Voldemort. From the very
beginning, since we opened the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,
we were shown the magical hallways of Hogwarts and all the secret passageways
and rooms it has, but most important of all, we were introduced to three
characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who stood by one another through thick
and thin, until they were standing side by side on Platform 9 ¾ watching as
their kids boarded the Hogwarts express to start their own adventures.
The seven book series that spawned eight movies, kept us engaged,
not wanting to miss a single word or a single second, and as we watched the
characters grow up and learn about the world of magic, they, along with us,
never expected the many twists and turns, mysteries and the many losses that
still break our hearts throughout. J.K. Rowling created a world that we all
wished we were a part of, and still do. I’m confident in saying that we are all
still waiting for that owl to come and deliver that letter through our
letterbox, telling us that we’ve been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry, even though it is far too late for some of us.
The books and films are so jam packed full of incredible moments,
it is difficult to narrow it down to only ten, but I have managed to make that
happened, and I hope that you agree with some of the moments that I’ve picked.
So, let’s dive into the world of Harry Potter once more, and I’ll
see you on the other side.
Number 10:
Flying Car
That moment when you are reading through the second book, Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry and Ron miss the train, we all
wondered how they were going to get to school, but none of us predicted that
they would get there by flying Ron’s dad’s car. The book implanted that moment
in our imaginations, and the film brought that moment to life just the way we
pictured it.
How cool would it be if we were able to push a button on the
dashboard and the car leapt into the air? We would beat any and all traffic jams,
we would be able to get to our destination as the crow flies. But, we would
have to be careful, though, because we don’t want to be seen by any Muggles,
now do we.
Number 9:
Harry Vs the Dragon
When we saw how thick the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet
of Fire was, we knew that something big was going to happen, and we weren’t
wrong in the slightest. In Harry’s fourth year, his name was chosen by the
Goblet of Fire to enter him into the Triwizard Tournament, an event that is designed
to test even the bravest, strongest, and most experienced of witches and
wizards. When Dumbledore read out his name, the entire school went silent. I
could feel the tension radiating from the pages.
Due to him now being a part of the tournament, Harry and Ron
struggle to see eye to eye, and they split up. Unfortunately, that means Hermione
is caught up in the crossfire, who is the only one who believes that Harry didn’t
put his name in that cup.
The first of three challenges involved facing off against an actual
fire-breathing dragon. The moment Harry stepped out into the arena, I couldn’t
put the book down until it was all over. The action was tense, and the dragon
was fearsome, but at least Harry knew what he had to do, and he summoned his
broomstick, and after some skilful flying, outmanoeuvred the dragon and snatched up the
golden egg, ready to be opened and the clue inside to be heard.
When you watch it on the big screen, even though you know he is
going to survive because you read the books – and because it’s Harry Potter –
you still find yourself on the edge of your seat, hoping that he would indeed beat
the dragon and survive the challenge. That moment is so well-done, that it
leaves you wanting to take a break before the next challenge, even though you
just know that you will remain in your seat right the way through to the end.
After the first challenge, Ron came to his senses and told Harry
that there was simply no way he could have put his name in that goblet because
you have to be mad to do so. Their friendship was rekindled and everything was
back to normal, until, that is, the second and third challenge, which only
ended up with…
Number 8:
Voldemort’s return
Lord Voldemort, also known as, He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, was
hell-bent on making sure that his own future wasn’t to be challenged, but when
a simple little baby boy seemingly easily beats the most powerful wizard seen
in years, he wasn’t going to go away forever, you can be sure of that.
Harry’s first year saw him coming up against Voldemort once more, and
after beating him again, you thought you wouldn’t see him for a long time, and
technically speaking, you didn’t see his physical-self again until the fourth
year, because in Harry’s second year, he came across only a memory of
Voldemort, but that memory was draining the life of Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley’s
sister. In his third year, Voldemort was nowhere to be seen except in reference,
but when the fourth book came along, it was going to be taken up a notch.
Voldemort had rigged the games to point in Harry’s favour, simply
because he had a plan to make himself whole once more. After the third challenge
had gone the way they had hoped, it was time for the final stages of Voldemort’s
plan, to resurrect himself.
At the end of the chapter, Flesh, Blood and Stone, when I read
those five words, ‘Lord Voldemort had risen again’, a cold chill went down my
back. With Harry defenceless, I just had to find out what was going to happen
next. When I finished the fourth book, I couldn’t wait for the next.
Seeing Voldemort’s resurrection in the cinema, that was the moment
when I knew that things had gotten a lot darker than the previous three installments.
Number 7:
Dumbledore Vs Voldemort
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the longest book in the
series – which ironically spawned the shortest film in the series – explained a
lot about what everyone was doing to prepare for battle against the newly
resurrected Lord Voldemort. Throughout the book, Harry was being tortured by
his connection with Voldemort, and even though he was instruction to try and prevent
that, it only got stronger, until Harry was shown the images of his godfather,
Sirius Black was by Voldemort himself, he takes it upon himself to rescue him.
With the help of his friends, Harry goes to the Ministry of Magic, where unfortunately,
his Godfather was nowhere to be seen and it was all a trap. A major battle
broke out between the Death Eaters and Dumbledore’s Army, only to be concluded
with the incredibly shocking death of Sirius Black himself, and the sensational
confrontation between Dumbledore and Voldemort.
Dumbledore was the only person whom Voldemort ever feared, and for
good reasons too. Throughout that confrontation, Dumbledore proved that, even though
he was old, he knew what he was doing and wasn’t going to give up any time
soon. He gave Voldemort a run for his money, which in my opinion ended with a
draw, which is why he attacked Harry by possessing him.
The film’s special effects department went all out in making sure
that it brought that battle to life, and they certainly managed that without
any laziness. You could feel their power as they fought one another, it truly was
a jaw-dropping, eye-popping moment.
Number 6:
Hagrid tells Harry that he’s a wizard
When you first picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
and read the blurb, you knew what this book would be about. A boy known as
Harry Potter finds out that he is a Wizard and is taken to a school to learn
all about magic, so when you started to read it, little did you know that he
wasn’t only going to find out about his true identity, but was told that he was
a wizard by none other than half-giant, Rubeus Hagrid.
Harry’s reaction to being told that he was in fact a wizard was realistic.
Suddenly everything that couldn’t be explained made complete sense. That single
moment, his entire life changed. He was then told that he would be able to leave
the Dursley’s, which couldn’t have made his eleventh birthday any better.
Even though some of us has read the books plenty of times from
cover to cover, that moment when Harry is told that he is a wizard, your
reaction is the same as it was the first time you read the book: Excited. The
second time around, when you read the books, you know exactly what is going to
happen, and so the excitement stays if not stronger this time. It’s a pivotal moment
in the series, and one that changed Harry’s seemingly dull and unhappy life
with the dursley’s, living in the cupboard under the stairs, into the most
wonderful life anyone could ever have imagined.
Number 5:
Harry, Ron, and Hermione first meet
Officially, their friendship didn’t start until Harry and Ron saved
Hermione from that troll Professor Quirrell had let in on Halloween. If you
think about it, if Neville had never lost his toad, Hermione may never have met
Harry and Ron, and Ron wouldn’t have insulted her so that she would lock
herself up in the toilets, where the troll found her. But Neville did lose his
toad, so Hermione had to go looking for it, which led her to Harry and Ron’s compartment,
which fortunately did lead them to saving her, and their friendship was born.
From that moment on, the three of them were inseparable. They
stood side by side, never giving up on one another, no matter what, and their
friendship only grew stronger and stronger throughout the series.
Number 4:
Dumbledore Dies
This is one that still shocks and haunts us to this day, especially
when a certain someone kills him. Even though, by now, everyone knows who kills
Dumbledore on top of the Hogwarts castle near the end of the sixth book, Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, after returning from stealing what they
presumed at the time was one of Voldemort’s Horcruxs, but it then turned out to
be a fake.
Since the very beginning, Dumbledore was a man of great power,
incredible wisdom and intellect and a person who you do not want to get on the
wrong side of, ever. But, standing on top of the tower, uncharacteristically weakened
and defenceless, when a certain someone stands in front of him and utters the
words, Avada Kedavra, the killing curse, and he fell backwards, you had to
reread those last couple of lines again just to make sure that you read them
correctly. I couldn’t believe what had happened. I was fully expecting Dumbledore
to bounce back, as powerful as ever with some explanation of how he used his
many years of experience to survive, but that never happened. He was gone, and
Harry and I had to accept that.
It was a sad and tragic moment, but in the wise words of
Dumbledore himself…
‘Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only
remembers to turn on the light.’
Number 3:
Harry kills Voldemort
It has finally come to the last standoff between Harry Potter, the
boy who lived, and Lord Voldemort. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, gave
us a satisfying conclusion. During the Battle of Hogwarts, everyone stood up to
fight against Lord Voldemort and the evil Death Eaters. The entire school was
blown to smithereens, people were injured, and many lives were lost, the most
impactful being the losses of Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, and
Fred Weasley.
The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort differs
between the book and the film, but both are just as epic. The book saw them
both in the great hall, surrounded by the entire school as they circled one another,
telling truths before the final attack, which left Harry standing as the victor
and Voldemort laying on the ground, no more.
In the film, the final fight occurred in the courtyard. Once
again, due to the power of the Elder Wand and the many rules within wand lore, Harry’s
Expelliarmus Spell and Voldemort’s killing curse connected once more, but after
a very intense couple of minutes, Harry Potter was the victory, leaving Voldemort
to disintegrate before him having finally been defeated for good.
It was a long time coming, and we all felt like cheering when that
moment came. The war was finally over, and things could finally get back to
normal.
Number 2:
Harry, Ron, and Hermione send their kids off to Hogwarts
The fact that they were sending their kids off to Hogwarts isn’t what
was the most impactful for me, but rather the fact that the final book, Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows ended. Another generation was on that train,
heading towards a new life, and I for one, really couldn’t put the book down. I
think we all silently begged J.K. to bring out another book just so that we
would be able to know what happens afterwards, even though we also knew that it
was the perfect ending to a perfect series.
Harry and Ginny, Ron’s sister, got married and had three kids:
Albus Severus Potter, Lily Luna Potter, and James Sirius Potter. Ron and
Hermione also got married and had two children, Hugo and Rose Weasley.
It was a moment that meant Harry’s story was over, so it didn’t
need to be told anymore. It was time for someone else’s story to begin.
But, recently, we were gifted with Harry Potter and the Cursed
Child, a two-part play, which will focus on the years after the books. Those
plays will also be turned into books, which means after all these years, we
will finally be getting our eighth book.
Number 1:
Snape’s truth
Of course this moment had to be the one that beats all the rest.
This one moment ultimately changes your very perspective on the entire series
as a whole. Throughout the books and films, Severus Snape was shown as a bully,
a person who absolutely resented Harry, and did his best to make his stay at
Hogwarts the worst experience. But, in the final few hours before the end of
the Battle of Hogwarts, Professor Severus Snape was attacked by Voldemort’s
snake, Nagini, and was left for dead. Harry, Ron and Hermione went to his side
and comforted him for his last few moments. Snape said that Harry needed to
take his tears, so he did, and when he dropped them into the Pensieve, Harry
got quite a shock.
Professor Severus Snape was in love with Harry’s mother, Lily Potter,
from the very moment they met. James Potter, Harry Potter’s dad, used to bully
Snape throughout school for being the odd one out, but Lily always stepped in
to protect Snape. But, they never truly saw eye to eye because Snape was
tempted with the dark arts, and Lily wasn’t. It was due to Snape leaning
towards the dark arts that drove Lily away and into the arms of James Potter,
the person who Snape loathed above anyone else. But it was only when Lily was
killed by Lord Voldemort, the person who Snape was serving at the time, did he
realise that he had chosen the wrong path, and from that moment on, he vowed to
do better and protect her son, Harry, who had his mother’s eyes. And, we also
learn that Dumbledore and Snape agreed beforehand that if there was no other
way, Snape must be the one to kill Dumbledore, to save the soul of one Draco
Malfoy.
Snape’s complicated story was so well-told, that when we were told
of the shocking revelation, suddenly, everything slotted into place and things
made sense. Now, whenever we read the books and, or watch the films, we will
know from the very beginning of Snape’s true identity, and the reasons behind
what he is doing. That above all, as I’ve said before, changes your entire perspective
on the series, and is one moment that will always stick in our heads.
Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)
My book, Sector 22: Zoey, is now available on Amazon, eBay, and SkyCat Publications' website:
Amazon:
eBay:
SkyCat Publications:
Ask me anything at:
ahudsonpresents@live.co.uk
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