The Shrieking Shack
The Scene: The truth is finally revealed concerning Sirius, Lupin and Pettigrew, as the three former friends confront each other in the Shrieking Shack. And for the first time, Scabbers the rat is revealed to be more than he appears…
The Awesome: It’s a key bit of exposition, but one that is given momentum by the trio of superb performances by David Thewlis, Gary Oldman and Timothy Spall.
Buckbeak's Escape
The Scene: Hermione uses her time-turner to brilliant effect, manipulating the events at the end of Prisoner Of Azkaban in order to rescue Buckbeak the hippogriff from the executioner’s axe.
The Awesome: It’s a very clever narrative device, and one that brings the third film to a satisfying close. Plus, we would have been really sad if Buckbeak hadn’t have made it!
The Sorting Hat
The Scene: Harry places the Hogwarts Sorting Hat atop his head in order to determine which house he will join. After some deliberation (in which the notion of Harry as a Slytherin is mooted), the hat places him in Gryffindor. Phew!
The Awesome: The Slytherin reference is significant, as it hints at Harry’s links to Voldemort right from the off. We know why the hat thinks he’d be a good Slytherin, don’t we…?
Man the barricades
The Scene: As the teachers prepare for Voldemort’s onslaught, Professor McGonagall summons the castle’s bewitched statues and suits or armour to don their duty and protect the school.
The Awesome: There are goosebumps aplenty when McGonagall does her thing and the silent defenders troop past to man their posts…
Inferi
The Scene: Having drunk the poisoned potion and retrieved Slytherin’s locket, Dumbledore appears to have left Harry to the mercy of the undead Inferi, only to recover at the last to send Voldemort’s minions packing with a wall of flame.
The Awesome: Dumbledore gives a rare glimpse at the extraordinary magic in his locker. He might not do it much, but when he kicks off, he’s a force to be reckoned with.
The locket opens
The Scene: Harry and Ron prize open Slytherin’s locket and are confronted by a horrifying illusion conjured by the fragment of Voldemort’s soul. Let’s just say it shows Harry and Hermione getting a little over-friendly.
The Awesome: It’s quite a frightening scene, but one that allows Ron to steal the limelight for a change, as he brings the sword of Gryffindor crashing down on the taunting Horcrux.
Two-faced
The Scene: Professor Quirrell finally unwraps that turban to reveal what he has been hiding beneath. Hands up who guessed Voldemort’s face?
The Awesome: He Who Must Not Be Named makes his first appearance, and it’s suitably terrifying to boot. If you didn’t know what was coming, this would have come as quite a surprise…
Voldemort rises
The Scene: Harry and Cedric touch the Triwizard cup together, only to find themselves transported to the graveyard at Little Hangleton where a re-born Voldemort is waiting…
The Awesome: Poor old Cedric meets his maker in one of the first shocking death scenes of the series. It won’t be the last…
Leaving Little Whinging
The Scene: The Order of the Phoenix all disguise themselves as Harry, before flying from Little Whinging with the Death Eaters in hot pursuit.
The Awesome: The transformation scene is extremely funny, whilst the following chase sequence is truly hair-raising, particularly when Voldemort himself makes an appearance.
London under attack
The Scene: Half-Blood Prince kicks off in spectacular style, with the Death Eaters mounting a vicious attack on London’s Millenium Bridge.
The Awesome: A sequence created specifically for the films, it’s an exciting diversion from the source material that really gives a sense of the Death Eaters' growing confidence following their master’s return.
