Whether it's Halloween, the holiday season, or just because, it doesn't take much for people all over the world to rewatch the Harry Potter franchise. Regardless of why, fans looking to return to this beloved Wizarding World know that they're going to be revisiting films and scenes that are classic, iconic and incredibly memorable. Since these stories were adapted to film beginning all the way back in 2001, the sequences brought to the big screen through them have enchanted audiences. Because of this, it quickly became one of the best fantasy series in the last 25 years.
At the center of this beloved fantasy franchise is Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Audiences watched The Boy Who Lived grow up into the Chosen One before their eyes across eight movies. Naturally, the titular character has many memorable moments that range from lighthearted, childish wonder to incredibly serious events that show off Radcliffe's talent.
10
Harry Potter Gets His Happy Ending
'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' (2011)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
After all is said and done in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the film brings audiences into the future to bring closure to the characters. This epilogue shows where the Golden Trio ended up after they'd all grown up and became parents. Taking place a whole 19 years later at King's Cross Station, the primary cast sees their children off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
This is a great scene to return to because it's genuinely joyful. Seeing the fact that Harry, after everything he went through, got his happy ending can bring a smile to almost anyone's face. Everything he fought for and lost people for paid off to create a better future for the next generation of wizards all across the planet. With the beautiful score by John Williams playing over it, his final scene in the franchise is one certainly worth returning to.
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Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.
Prequel(s)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
9
Harry and Ginny's First Kiss
'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' (2009)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
After shipping them for quite some time, fans were really excited to see when Harry and Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) came together for their first kiss. People who had read the books already also knew that the two were endgame and getting to see one of their first big romantic moments together come to life on the big screen was a major treat for them too.
It's a sweet and tender scene that was a big moment for Harry, not just because he was connecting with his future wife, but after everything that happened between him and Cho (Katie Leung) earlier in the series. It's a lovely scene worth rewatching because of how genuinely smile-provoking it is.
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
As Harry Potter begins his sixth year at Hogwarts, he discovers an old book marked as "the property of the Half-Blood Prince" and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort's dark past.
Prequel(s)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
8
Harry Saves Sirius Black with His Patronus
'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' (2004)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Throughout the entirety of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the man known as Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) is built up to be a wild and terrorizing criminal with no mercy. However, after this idea is flipped on its head, when Harry and his friends actually get the chance to meet the man face-to-face, everything they thought they knew about him was tested and torn apart. Which inspires him to do something spectacular to protect his godfather.
When Harry witnesses the Dementors approaching Sirius, getting ready to kill him, the young man casts a Stag Patronus to fend them off. This caused the Stag to shine a bright, gleaming light that fended off the evil creatures. The sequence is beautiful and visually spectacular, and is also meaningful, as his Patronus ends up being the same as his late father's.
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Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
, Heyday Films
, 1492 Pictures
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Prequel(s)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
7
Harry Forms Dumbledore's Army
'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' (2007)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
It's commonly noted that when the Harry Potter franchise hits the middle of its tenure, it becomes far more dramatic and ages itself with those who first saw the first film in 2001. This tone is made apparent in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Harry and the others gather dozens of students to build a collective to arm themselves against the Dark Arts, as the teacher at the time, Professor Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) was not teaching it properly.
This shows off Harry's leadership skills, which would come to be crucial throughout the latter half of the series, as the stakes get higher. Seeing the Boy Who Lived teach his classmates the true lessons of the Defense Against the Dark Arts is great, enhancing his role and continuing to make him a very active protagonist. This allowed him and his goals to be even more compelling.
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With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.
After the vast success of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, director Chris Columbus and the studio had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, they decided that in order to do so, they were going to get bigger and grander in scale. A perfect example of this is showcased when Harry Potter faces off against the legendary Basilisk.
The visual effects in this scene are top-notch, to say the least, especially for 2002. The water simulation interacting with the Basilisk is jaw-dropping. The tension of the sequence is at an all-time high, as well, with Harry practically pinned against the statue in the room, with nowhere to run, as the giant monster bites at and attacks him. Thankfully, the wizard had the Sword of Gryffindor at his disposal. It's a wildly exciting and thrilling scene.
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The second installment of boy wizard Harry Potter's adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A mysterious elf tells Harry to expect trouble during his second year at Hogwarts, but nothing can prepare him for trees that fight back, flying cars, spiders that talk and deadly warnings written in blood on the walls of the school.
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
, Heyday Films
, 1492 Pictures
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Prequel(s)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
5
Harry Takes Felix Felicis
'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' (2009)
When Harry takes the Felix Felicis potion in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, audiences essentially get to see something that can't be seen in any other Harry Potter film: the student basically being high. The scene is so incredibly entertaining because of this and results in some of the funniest sequences in the series.
While the second half of the series may be far more series than the first, lighthearted scenes don't come around nearly as much. However, because of this, they are a lot more prominent, due to them standing out more. This allowed this moment to be even funnier than it'd be if Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were directed more like the movies in the first half of the series.
4
Dumbledore & Harry Potter vs. Voldemort
'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' (2007)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
With the series following a group of students, high-tier wizardry isn't often shown off at its full-scale until much later in the series. Nearly the most iconic instance of this is the big, climactic battle between Professor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry essentially beats Voldemort with the power of friendship.
However, Harry's big moment in the scene comes at the end, when he is possessed by the Dark Lord himself. Just as things look about as dire as they can get, The Boy Who Lived continues to do so and begins to fight back against the noseless baddie. Harry essentially beats Voldemort with the power of friendship. However, it doesn't feel cliché in the slightest, as it fits the tone of the film very well. Love is Harry's strongest power. It protected him as a boy and protected him again now.
3
Harry Gets Sorted Into Gryffindor House
'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' (2001)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Not every memorable scene in the franchise is dark or action-packed, though. In the instance of the scene in which Harry and the rest of the cast get sorted into their Hogwarts Houses by the Sorting Hat (Leslie Phillips). It's not thrilling or filled with tension, but it perfectly captures the joy and whimsy that made the first half of the film series so special and iconic.
Some may call it nostalgia, but the sequence is a great representation of the coming-of-age tone found within those first Chris Columbus films. It's a special, child-like and innocent feeling that cannot be captured anywhere else. It helps audiences get introduced to this new world in a smooth way, while keeping them engaged and interested in where Harry may end up.
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An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
, Heyday Films
, 1492 Pictures
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
2
Harry's First Quidditch Match
'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' (2001)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
With how wild the grand Wizarding World is, it was a given that the major sport within it was going to be just as wild and grand. With dozens of students and professors in the stands and the teams flying around the arena on magic brooms, Harry's debut Quidditch match is the first big and real spectacle sequence in the first film and in the newborn franchise.
[...] Harry's debut Quidditch match is the first big and real spectacle sequence in the first film and in the newborn franchise.
But it was quickly shown that this was no simple fun and games sport. It's made very clear that this is taken very seriously and there is a very high chance of getting absurdly hurt while doing so. This allowed the scene to be fun and playful, while still having decent stakes that kept audiences on the edge of their seats.
1
Harry Defeats Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts
'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' (2011)
The giant war that takes place within Hogwarts during what is almost the entire third act of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, is one of the most thrilling, intense, nail-biting and compelling battle/war scenes in the fantasy genre. It's wide-spanning while somehow still managing to be personal with Harry and Voldemort. It brought together the entire Wizarding World, both good and bad.
The war is very well paced and director David Yates manages to juggle all the key players in the franchise and give them full-circle moments and iconic scenes that are called back to by fans to this very day. Although, of course, Harry gets the most attention as he takes on his greatest foe, and it wraps up their combined arcs incredibly well, showing Harry as the ultimate hero, destroying the greatest villain the Wizading World has ever seen.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
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