Because there isn't enough Harry Potter on my LJ at the moment...
So I'm just posting this for fun. I've made two lists; one of my favourite moment from each Harry Potter book, and one of my favourite line/s from each Harry Potter film. The lists aren't horribly long, and I'd love to know what everyone else's favourite bits are. What scenes did you wish you'd been able to see on film? What film moments surprised you with their awesome?
Top Book Moments
1. Philosopher's Stone
This one's easy. If we're talking a moment, it's one of two: on my first read, it's always going to be "It wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort. [chapter break] It was Quirrell." Because that's the best way to break up a chapter, hands down. But on my second read, there's this brilliant line from the beginning of chapter twelve: "Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban." Does anyone else get a wonderful mental image of Voldemort wincing as he's hit in the face through the turban? *giggles* I wonder if Fred and George ever figured it out...
2. Chamber of Secrets
Another one-liner, this time from the scene where McGonagall is telling the staff that Ginny Weasley has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets and Ron and Harry are eavesdropping. McGonagall says Ginny's name, and "Harry felt Ron slide silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside him." I don't know why, but that line always makes my heart clench. Marta of artdungeon.net did a lovely illustration of this, but as her site has been taken down and she's disappeared from fandom it can be hard to find these days. The picture I'm thinking of can be seen here, however (the top one).
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
Probably Hermione in the Shrieking Shack; "We attacked a teacher ... we attacked a teacher... oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -" Because it's such a Hermione thing to say. And it's a lovely moment of panic.
4. Goblet of Fire
My favourite book! But it's surprisingly easy, even if I'm a bit non-specific. "The Parting of the Ways" - just that chapter, from Dumbledore ushering Harry into the hospital wing through all the Fudge/McGonagall/Snape/Dumbledore arguments to Harry breaking down in Molly's arms. It's a beautiful sequence, perfectly balanced emotionally between Harry's numbness and the utter horror of what has just happened. And it always makes me want to cry.
5. Order of the Phoenix
Another easy pick, oddly. So, Harry has his dream about Sirius, and he gets the others and they get away from Umbridge. They get into the Ministry, and into the Department of Mysteries and the whole thing has this "protagonist on a mission" feel about it. We're so used to Ron, Harry and Hermione just getting on with stuff that it's exciting but not surprising. And then they're in the Hall of Prophecy, and there's no Sirius. And for one horrible, stomach-clenching moment, you realise (and so do they) that actually they're not protagonists/heroes on a mission. They are teenagers who have made a horrible mistake and are somewhere they really shouldn't be and are about to get in the biggest trouble there is. And then the Death Eaters turn up and we're back to protagonists on a mission, but that one moment always gets to me when I read it. It reminds me that we forget this is just a bunch of kids.
6. Half-Blood Prince
A difficult choice, but probably either Hermione and Ginny's argument ("Give it a rest, Hermione!" in chapter 24) or Snape flipping out in Flight of the Prince ("DON'T - CALL ME COWARD!").
7. Deathly Hallows
Oh, so many incredible moments. But for level of emotional impact, I'm going to pick one quite near the beginning, in chapter five (The Fallen Warrior). This is just after Harry states that he trusts everyone there and doesn't believe that anyone would've sold him to Voldemort. He sees Remus "wearing an odd expression as he looked at Harry: it was close to pitying."
'You think I'm a fool?' demanded Harry.
'No, I think you're like James,' said Lupin, 'who would have regarded it as the height of dishonour to mistrust his friends.'
Lupin, I love you, but if I'd been Harry, I probably would have hit you. Remus is such a moral guardian for Harry previous to this, and it's fascinating how JKR takes Deathly Hallows to deconstruct him and build him up as a normal man, just like she does with Dumbledore.
Top Film Lines
This list is simpler :D
1. Philosopher's Stone: "TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! [beat] Thought you ought to know. [faints]" - Quirrell. XD Unbeatable. Though Aunt Petunia comes second with her speech in the hut-on-the-rock.
2. Chamber of Secrets: "Your sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night!"//"Did you really? How did it go? [Mrs. Weasley hits him] I mean, [forcefully] that was very wrong indeed, boys. Very wrong of you." Mr and Mrs Weasley in a nutshell :D
3. Prisoner of Azkaban: This is an impossible decision. I mean, the obvious answer is the Remus/Snape/Sirius conversation in the Shrieking Shack, but I also have something of a love of lines delivered off camera (see the fifth film) and I have to highlight this conversation when Harry's coming around after the dementors attack the Quidditch match:
Ron: He looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?
George: Peaky?
Fred: What do you expect? He fell over a hundred feet.
George: Yeah, Ron. Let's walk you off the top of the Astronomy Tower.
Fred: And see what you look like.
Harry: [coming to] Probably a right sight better than he normally does.
4. Goblet of Fire: Either Ron's "That's me. Ron Weasley, Harry Potter's stupid friend." or Cedric's "Hey, listen... About the badges. I've asked them not to wear them." Both nice explorations of character.
5. Order of Phoenix: A close tie between Ron/Harry/Hermione/Ginny/Fred/George listening in on the Order's conversation ("If anyone has a right to know, it's Harry" to "Or are you afraid he won't take serious the word of a man hiding in his mother's house?") and Ron in the Hog's Head: "Because You-Know-Who's back, you toss-pot" XD
6. Half-Blood Prince: Again, I'm stuck between two. Dumbledore's speech in the Great Hall at the beginning ("Now as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight...") for its creepy tension-building, or Ron and Harry's wonderfully awkward conversation about Ginny and Hermione in the dorm ("So you think Dean's dating my sister because of her skin?")
7: Deathly Hallows p1: "[Confronting Death Eaters on the train] Hey losers, he isn't here." Neville Longbottom OWNED THE ENTIRE FILM with this line. And this is my favourite film, so I'm not saying the rest was crap. But Matthew Lewis just walked in and OWNED THE WHOLE FILM. :D
8. Deathly Hallows p2: Ohhh, so many choices. Hmm. For comedy, Seamus and Ron in the Room of Requirement when Ginny and Harry greet each other ("Six months she hasn't see me, it's like I'm a Frankie First Year. I'm only her brother..."//"She's got lots of them, but only one Harry."//"Shut up, Seamus.") For awesome, Neville after he clambers up the collapsed bridge ("That went well."). And for oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-cry, Lily's lines to Harry ("Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong.").
Those are all my favourites, what are yours? What did you dislike, what did you love? All opinions welcome, but I warn you - I actually liked the epilogue :P
Hazel
Top Book Moments
1. Philosopher's Stone
This one's easy. If we're talking a moment, it's one of two: on my first read, it's always going to be "It wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort. [chapter break] It was Quirrell." Because that's the best way to break up a chapter, hands down. But on my second read, there's this brilliant line from the beginning of chapter twelve: "Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban." Does anyone else get a wonderful mental image of Voldemort wincing as he's hit in the face through the turban? *giggles* I wonder if Fred and George ever figured it out...
2. Chamber of Secrets
Another one-liner, this time from the scene where McGonagall is telling the staff that Ginny Weasley has been taken into the Chamber of Secrets and Ron and Harry are eavesdropping. McGonagall says Ginny's name, and "Harry felt Ron slide silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside him." I don't know why, but that line always makes my heart clench. Marta of artdungeon.net did a lovely illustration of this, but as her site has been taken down and she's disappeared from fandom it can be hard to find these days. The picture I'm thinking of can be seen here, however (the top one).
3. Prisoner of Azkaban
Probably Hermione in the Shrieking Shack; "We attacked a teacher ... we attacked a teacher... oh, we're going to be in so much trouble -" Because it's such a Hermione thing to say. And it's a lovely moment of panic.
4. Goblet of Fire
My favourite book! But it's surprisingly easy, even if I'm a bit non-specific. "The Parting of the Ways" - just that chapter, from Dumbledore ushering Harry into the hospital wing through all the Fudge/McGonagall/Snape/Dumbledore arguments to Harry breaking down in Molly's arms. It's a beautiful sequence, perfectly balanced emotionally between Harry's numbness and the utter horror of what has just happened. And it always makes me want to cry.
5. Order of the Phoenix
Another easy pick, oddly. So, Harry has his dream about Sirius, and he gets the others and they get away from Umbridge. They get into the Ministry, and into the Department of Mysteries and the whole thing has this "protagonist on a mission" feel about it. We're so used to Ron, Harry and Hermione just getting on with stuff that it's exciting but not surprising. And then they're in the Hall of Prophecy, and there's no Sirius. And for one horrible, stomach-clenching moment, you realise (and so do they) that actually they're not protagonists/heroes on a mission. They are teenagers who have made a horrible mistake and are somewhere they really shouldn't be and are about to get in the biggest trouble there is. And then the Death Eaters turn up and we're back to protagonists on a mission, but that one moment always gets to me when I read it. It reminds me that we forget this is just a bunch of kids.
6. Half-Blood Prince
A difficult choice, but probably either Hermione and Ginny's argument ("Give it a rest, Hermione!" in chapter 24) or Snape flipping out in Flight of the Prince ("DON'T - CALL ME COWARD!").
7. Deathly Hallows
Oh, so many incredible moments. But for level of emotional impact, I'm going to pick one quite near the beginning, in chapter five (The Fallen Warrior). This is just after Harry states that he trusts everyone there and doesn't believe that anyone would've sold him to Voldemort. He sees Remus "wearing an odd expression as he looked at Harry: it was close to pitying."
'You think I'm a fool?' demanded Harry.
'No, I think you're like James,' said Lupin, 'who would have regarded it as the height of dishonour to mistrust his friends.'
Lupin, I love you, but if I'd been Harry, I probably would have hit you. Remus is such a moral guardian for Harry previous to this, and it's fascinating how JKR takes Deathly Hallows to deconstruct him and build him up as a normal man, just like she does with Dumbledore.
Top Film Lines
This list is simpler :D
1. Philosopher's Stone: "TROLL! IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! [beat] Thought you ought to know. [faints]" - Quirrell. XD Unbeatable. Though Aunt Petunia comes second with her speech in the hut-on-the-rock.
2. Chamber of Secrets: "Your sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night!"//"Did you really? How did it go? [Mrs. Weasley hits him] I mean, [forcefully] that was very wrong indeed, boys. Very wrong of you." Mr and Mrs Weasley in a nutshell :D
3. Prisoner of Azkaban: This is an impossible decision. I mean, the obvious answer is the Remus/Snape/Sirius conversation in the Shrieking Shack, but I also have something of a love of lines delivered off camera (see the fifth film) and I have to highlight this conversation when Harry's coming around after the dementors attack the Quidditch match:
Ron: He looks a bit peaky, doesn't he?
George: Peaky?
Fred: What do you expect? He fell over a hundred feet.
George: Yeah, Ron. Let's walk you off the top of the Astronomy Tower.
Fred: And see what you look like.
Harry: [coming to] Probably a right sight better than he normally does.
4. Goblet of Fire: Either Ron's "That's me. Ron Weasley, Harry Potter's stupid friend." or Cedric's "Hey, listen... About the badges. I've asked them not to wear them." Both nice explorations of character.
5. Order of Phoenix: A close tie between Ron/Harry/Hermione/Ginny/Fred/George listening in on the Order's conversation ("If anyone has a right to know, it's Harry" to "Or are you afraid he won't take serious the word of a man hiding in his mother's house?") and Ron in the Hog's Head: "Because You-Know-Who's back, you toss-pot" XD
6. Half-Blood Prince: Again, I'm stuck between two. Dumbledore's speech in the Great Hall at the beginning ("Now as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival here tonight...") for its creepy tension-building, or Ron and Harry's wonderfully awkward conversation about Ginny and Hermione in the dorm ("So you think Dean's dating my sister because of her skin?")
7: Deathly Hallows p1: "[Confronting Death Eaters on the train] Hey losers, he isn't here." Neville Longbottom OWNED THE ENTIRE FILM with this line. And this is my favourite film, so I'm not saying the rest was crap. But Matthew Lewis just walked in and OWNED THE WHOLE FILM. :D
8. Deathly Hallows p2: Ohhh, so many choices. Hmm. For comedy, Seamus and Ron in the Room of Requirement when Ginny and Harry greet each other ("Six months she hasn't see me, it's like I'm a Frankie First Year. I'm only her brother..."//"She's got lots of them, but only one Harry."//"Shut up, Seamus.") For awesome, Neville after he clambers up the collapsed bridge ("That went well."). And for oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-cry, Lily's lines to Harry ("Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong.").
Those are all my favourites, what are yours? What did you dislike, what did you love? All opinions welcome, but I warn you - I actually liked the epilogue :P
Hazel