Top Ten: Harry Potter movie scenes … so far

Who isn’t bursting with excitement that the new Harry Potter movie is starting this week? Ok, maybe, you non-Harry Potter fans. But for those of you who can’t get enough of those British wizards and witches — me included — we at Disc Dish wanted to celebrate by remembering our favorite Harry Potter movie scenes so far.

We’ve chosen our 10 best moments from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. We steered away from the big climax scenes. Of course, they’re good. Instead, we chose the smaller moments that stay in our minds long after the disc has been put back in its box.

Gilderoy Lockhart

10. Thank you, Kenneth Branagh, for Gilderoy Lockhart. His portrayal of the obnoxious professor in Chamber of Secrets is brilliant. Our favorite moment is when Fawkes flies out of the chamber with Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lockhart, and Lockhart says, “Amazing! This is just like magic!”

9. It’s always fun to see bad things happen to the bad people, so when Aunt Marge is blown up like a balloon and floats over Privet Lane in Prisoner of Azkaban, it’s a great moment. Even better is the look on the face’s of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia as they wave goodbye.

8. Dobby stole our hearts when he first appeared in Chamber of Secrets and dropped a cake on the head of the Dursleys’ guest Mrs. Mason, but his best moment is when he says, “Dobby is… free,” then takes on the evil Lucius Malfoy with “You shall not harm Harry Potter!” and a well-aimed spell.

Aunt Marge

7. In Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry’s first sight of someone from the wizarding world comes in one of the most unsuspecting places: a tiny house out on a tiny island. But it comes with a bang — a huge Hagrid banging down the door to be exact, then saying, “Sorry about that.” It’s the perfect way to introduce us to this gentle giant and sets the tone for the world of magic.

6. Neville Longbottom is the shy, insecure kid in all of us. So, we cheered hard in Order of the Phoenix, when Neville’s confronted with Bellatrix Lastrange, the Deatheater who killed his parents, asking, “Neville Longbottom, isn’t it? How’s mum and dad?” and he replies, “Better, now they’re about to be avenged!” We’re right behind you, Neville.

Harry Potter

5. One of our favorite characters, Hermione, has two awesome moments that bookend each other, and we’re counting them both as No. 5. First up in Sorcerer’s Stone, our dear Hermione’s personality is set up perfectly with the line, “Now, if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed, or worse, expelled!” Then in Order of the Phoenix, Hermione comes full circle — when it’s appropriate — with the line, “It’s sort of exciting, isn’t it, breaking the rules,” to which Ron replies, “Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?” We know.

Hermione vs. Draco

4. In Goblet of Fire, we get our first real look at He Who Shall Not Be Named, and he was worth the wait. As Voldemort, Ralph Fiennes is brilliantly terrible, and he has some wonderfully evil lines in this movie’s climactic scene. Our favorite: “I’m going to kill you, Harry Potter. I’m going to destroy you. After tonight, no one will ever again question my power. After tonight, if they speak of you, they’ll only speak of how you begged for death. And how I, being a merciful lord… obliged.”

3. In Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort is back and the story really starts to heat up. For Harry, the stakes just keep getting higher. But love continues to be the one thing Harry can hold onto. We see that so well in the scene in which Voldemort tries to possess our hero, but Harry stays strong, saying, “You’re the weak one. And you’ll never know love or friendhip. And I feel sorry for you.” Ouch!

2. Hermoine vs. Malfoy: Draco has been asking for it since his introduction on the Hogwarts Express in the first movie. So, in Prisoner of Azkaban, when Hermione takes a swing at the white-haired young villain, we cheer loudly. Go, Hermione!

Harry Potter and Ollivander

1. One scene in Sorcerer’s Stone starts our imagination rolling for everything that is going to happen for the next seven movies, and that’s why it’s our No. 1. In Ollivander’s Wand Shop, when Harry is buying his first wand, John Hurt’s Ollivander tells him the wand choses its bearer, then, after trying a number of wands that prove disastrous, Ollivander says, “I wonder…” It proves to be just the beginning.

Now, you might be thinking that we missed out Half-Blood Prince, but we didn’t. We considered that movie too, but for our favorite top 10 Harry Potter movie moments, these scenes from the first five films stand out.

Any of your favorites that we left off the list? Add them in the comments.