30 Days of HP: Day 10
Day 10: Favorite book moment(s)
I was going to pick one from every book and break it down that way, but then I couldn’t think of any for a few of the books, so I’m not doing that. Instead, I’m going to go with moments that stuck out to me when I first read them and have always stayed with me since. (Part of my rationale here is that I haven’t read an HP book since DH came out three years ago, except PoA for school last semester, so if something still sticks out to me after three years, it’s probably a favorite moment (and since PoA ties with GoF as my favorite book, anything from there I already knew was a favorite moment anyway).) I will try to limit myself though. So, in chronological order:
1. The Shrieking Shack scene. I pretty much already said everything I loved about it in Day 2, but yeah, basically it’s one of the most brilliant climaxes/reveals I’ve read in a mystery story (and I’ve read a lot of mysteries). It’s so tense and emotional without going over the top. It’s just so subtle. And just all the stuff with Sirius and Remus and Peter and Snape… I think it’s the moment in the series where you realize that there’s more going on than just Harry and the Trio and Hogwarts and the Dursleys. It’s when you realize that Voldemort’s first defeat came at a price, that it wasn’t all just kittens and rainbows for the whole wizarding world after that. Maybe for a lot of it, but not all of it. And it really humanizes Lily and James because like, of course they would have had friends, of course their deaths would have affected people other than Harry, and the way Sirius, especially, talks about them, you finally feel like they were real and not just these vague dead parents Harry can imagine but never actually knew. Also, Remus is so cold and badass in this scene. So often people paint him as this nice, sensitive guy, but actually Sirius is the emotional one and Remus is just so detached and cold. Like there’s this moment before they finally force Peter to reveal himself, where Sirius has been explaining why he feels responsible for James and Lily’s deaths, and he has this complete breakdown at the end of it, and Remus is just like, “This has gone on too long, strap on a pair, and let’s show them some proof. Hand over the rat, Ron.” Not even like, “Wow, that must have been hard for you, sorry you feel bad.” Just, “Okay, we’ve spent enough time listening to your side, time to move on to the other guy. Have your emotional breakdown later, plzkthx.” And then when they go to kill Peter, Sirius is super emotional and shouty and stuff, and Remus is just all business and like, “Well, you should have seen this coming, bye now.” Like, you get the feeling that Sirius is doing this for some sort of catharsis but Remus is just like, “People who betray their friends deserve to die, therefore we will kill him.” There’s just so much good characterization in this scene, is what I’m saying. (And apparently I didn’t say all I had to say in Day 2…)
2. Harry throwing the Potter Really Stinks button at Ron and telling him he might have a scar now, if he’s lucky. I also talked about this in Day 2. I just feel like that is a defining moment in their friendship. Which actually leads me to…
3. “They’ve got … they’ve got Ron?” Another defining moment in their friendship. Or rather, a defining moment for the reader. Also, to sort of go out of order now, I always love the moment in PoA when it looks like dog!Sirius is running for Harry, and Ron pushes Harry out of the way. And “If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us to!” of course, but for some reason the pushing Harry out of the way thing really gets me. (Surprise, surprise, all my favorite book moments involve Ron or Sirius. They are my favorite characters for a reason.)
4. Okay, there isn’t a specific moment, but Sirius in pretty much all of OotP. I think Jo does a good job of putting enough focus on Sirius that his death really hits you hard (unless you’re my family, apparently), without putting so much focus on him that it’s obvious he’s going to die. And there are so many little moments between him and Harry that are just tragic and heartbreaking when you reread OotP knowing what’s coming. Like, he’s not around for a whole lot of it, but when he is, you just feel his frustration and bitterness and heartbreak. Like I said, I don’t know how Jo was able to create a character with so much depth without giving him much screen time, but she did. Also, his death scene is fantastic. It’s totally impacting, but there’s still so much going on, and then Sirius is just gone. It’s so realistic and horrible and horrifying.
5. Ron coming back in DH and destroying the locket. Um, yeah, huge moment for Ron here. When Harry and Hermione come out of the locket, suddenly everything Ron’s been doing for the last two books makes perfect sense. I always hesitate to say people need each other because I don’t like the implications of that, but Harry and Ron do need each other, and if you didn’t get that over the past six-and-a-half books, you get hit over the head with it here. And the fact that Ron actually has the strength to overcome his issues and stab the locket is beautiful. And I love Harry finally getting enough sense to be like, “Look, it’s always been you and Hermione.” For one moment they aren’t stupid boys, they actually have enough sense to talk about the issue, which is what they should have done in the first place. It’s just … they’re not just scared kids playing at being grown-ups anymore. They are grown-ups.
6. The Resurrection Stone scene. If you didn’t cry during this scene, you are NOT HUMAN! *cough*Mother!*cough* I love Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus back together again. I love that Harry is so vulnerable here. I just love the whole thing. It’s a beautiful scene, and you really do feel like this is it, Harry’s dead, but it’s okay, it feels right. If there was a moment where the series had to deliver, it was this moment, and it did.
I was going to pick one from every book and break it down that way, but then I couldn’t think of any for a few of the books, so I’m not doing that. Instead, I’m going to go with moments that stuck out to me when I first read them and have always stayed with me since. (Part of my rationale here is that I haven’t read an HP book since DH came out three years ago, except PoA for school last semester, so if something still sticks out to me after three years, it’s probably a favorite moment (and since PoA ties with GoF as my favorite book, anything from there I already knew was a favorite moment anyway).) I will try to limit myself though. So, in chronological order:
1. The Shrieking Shack scene. I pretty much already said everything I loved about it in Day 2, but yeah, basically it’s one of the most brilliant climaxes/reveals I’ve read in a mystery story (and I’ve read a lot of mysteries). It’s so tense and emotional without going over the top. It’s just so subtle. And just all the stuff with Sirius and Remus and Peter and Snape… I think it’s the moment in the series where you realize that there’s more going on than just Harry and the Trio and Hogwarts and the Dursleys. It’s when you realize that Voldemort’s first defeat came at a price, that it wasn’t all just kittens and rainbows for the whole wizarding world after that. Maybe for a lot of it, but not all of it. And it really humanizes Lily and James because like, of course they would have had friends, of course their deaths would have affected people other than Harry, and the way Sirius, especially, talks about them, you finally feel like they were real and not just these vague dead parents Harry can imagine but never actually knew. Also, Remus is so cold and badass in this scene. So often people paint him as this nice, sensitive guy, but actually Sirius is the emotional one and Remus is just so detached and cold. Like there’s this moment before they finally force Peter to reveal himself, where Sirius has been explaining why he feels responsible for James and Lily’s deaths, and he has this complete breakdown at the end of it, and Remus is just like, “This has gone on too long, strap on a pair, and let’s show them some proof. Hand over the rat, Ron.” Not even like, “Wow, that must have been hard for you, sorry you feel bad.” Just, “Okay, we’ve spent enough time listening to your side, time to move on to the other guy. Have your emotional breakdown later, plzkthx.” And then when they go to kill Peter, Sirius is super emotional and shouty and stuff, and Remus is just all business and like, “Well, you should have seen this coming, bye now.” Like, you get the feeling that Sirius is doing this for some sort of catharsis but Remus is just like, “People who betray their friends deserve to die, therefore we will kill him.” There’s just so much good characterization in this scene, is what I’m saying. (And apparently I didn’t say all I had to say in Day 2…)
2. Harry throwing the Potter Really Stinks button at Ron and telling him he might have a scar now, if he’s lucky. I also talked about this in Day 2. I just feel like that is a defining moment in their friendship. Which actually leads me to…
3. “They’ve got … they’ve got Ron?” Another defining moment in their friendship. Or rather, a defining moment for the reader. Also, to sort of go out of order now, I always love the moment in PoA when it looks like dog!Sirius is running for Harry, and Ron pushes Harry out of the way. And “If you want to kill Harry, you’ll have to kill us to!” of course, but for some reason the pushing Harry out of the way thing really gets me. (Surprise, surprise, all my favorite book moments involve Ron or Sirius. They are my favorite characters for a reason.)
4. Okay, there isn’t a specific moment, but Sirius in pretty much all of OotP. I think Jo does a good job of putting enough focus on Sirius that his death really hits you hard (unless you’re my family, apparently), without putting so much focus on him that it’s obvious he’s going to die. And there are so many little moments between him and Harry that are just tragic and heartbreaking when you reread OotP knowing what’s coming. Like, he’s not around for a whole lot of it, but when he is, you just feel his frustration and bitterness and heartbreak. Like I said, I don’t know how Jo was able to create a character with so much depth without giving him much screen time, but she did. Also, his death scene is fantastic. It’s totally impacting, but there’s still so much going on, and then Sirius is just gone. It’s so realistic and horrible and horrifying.
5. Ron coming back in DH and destroying the locket. Um, yeah, huge moment for Ron here. When Harry and Hermione come out of the locket, suddenly everything Ron’s been doing for the last two books makes perfect sense. I always hesitate to say people need each other because I don’t like the implications of that, but Harry and Ron do need each other, and if you didn’t get that over the past six-and-a-half books, you get hit over the head with it here. And the fact that Ron actually has the strength to overcome his issues and stab the locket is beautiful. And I love Harry finally getting enough sense to be like, “Look, it’s always been you and Hermione.” For one moment they aren’t stupid boys, they actually have enough sense to talk about the issue, which is what they should have done in the first place. It’s just … they’re not just scared kids playing at being grown-ups anymore. They are grown-ups.
6. The Resurrection Stone scene. If you didn’t cry during this scene, you are NOT HUMAN! *cough*Mother!*cough* I love Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus back together again. I love that Harry is so vulnerable here. I just love the whole thing. It’s a beautiful scene, and you really do feel like this is it, Harry’s dead, but it’s okay, it feels right. If there was a moment where the series had to deliver, it was this moment, and it did.