Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be doing something a little bit different. Now, I’ve done ranking videos in the past-
mainly focusing on things that are ‘powerful’. But what I haven’t done yet is step too
far outside of this realm focusing on ‘power’. With that said, today I want to look at, in
my opinion, the 10 saddest moments from the Harry Potter series.
10. Hermione wiping her parents memories
Near the beginning of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows (pt1), the Wizarding World was in
turmoil. The imminent threat of Voldemort and the Deatheaters meant that not only witches
and wizards were in danger, but muggles too. Knowing that the danger would eventually stretch
beyond the confines of the wizarding world, Hermione Granger knew that she would have
to make a difficult choice- a choice involving her parents. Effectively, what Hermione needed
to do was erase her parents memories. This would disassociate them from her, and possibly
save their lives, as they couldn’t possibly reveal information about someone that they
had never met. In this horrifyingly sad moment, Hermione erased every memory that they ever
had of her. What made this moment even sadder was that Hermione was completely unsure if
she would ever see them again.
9. Cedric’s Death
Now, whether you’re a fim-goer or a book-reader, the untimely death of Cedric Diggory was no
doubt impactful. It happened during the third challenge of the triwizard tournament- just
after Harry and Cedric simultaneously clutched the triwizard cup. Unbeknown to them, however,
the triwizard cup was actually a portkey- a portkey that sent them straight to Wormtail,
Voldemort, and the Little Hangleton Graveyard. It was here that Cedric lived out his final
moments- ultimately reaching his fate at the hands of Peter Pettigrew and his killing curse.
The Goblet of Fire was dark. It was made abundantly clear that Voldemort had in fact returned,
and Hogwarts/the wizarding world lost the life of a promising young wizard that stood
for what was right. What made Cedric’s death even more sad was witnessing his father, Amos
Diggory, realizing that his son, whom he was immensely proud of, had in fact passed away.
8. Draco Malfoy’s breakdown
Now, Draco Malfoy isn’t exactly the typical type of character that you’d feel sorry
for. Right from the beginning of the books/films, Draco exhibits..questionable behaviour. He
is the archetypal bully, and this bullying only intensifies over the years as he develops
in to a young man.
As Draco grows older we witness first-hand his evolution from petulant, but innocent
little boy to sinister and dark young man. What really set him off was the imprisonment
of his father after the battle of the department of mysteries- a battle that effectively served
as the catalyst and first major conflict of the second wizarding war. From that point
onward, Draco felt the immense pressure and burden of living up to the Malfoy family name.
This meant becoming a death eater and serving the dark lord. This also meant that he was
tasked with killing Dumbledore.
However, in the Half-Blood Prince, it becomes abundantly clear that Draco has a lot of internal
conflict. He doesn’t want to do these things, or become this person, but he feels that he
has to, that it is his duty. In one particular scene in the Half-blood prince, we see all
of these conflicting emotions at play- a scene where Draco let’s it all come out as he
cries alone in the boys bathroom- unsure of what he has become. In this scene, I couldn’t
help but feel sorry for the boy that was just raised the wrong way. The boy that didn’t
want to be bad, but never had a choice.
7. Hedwig’s Death
The death of an animal companion is never easy. One of the reasons for this is that,
though you are able to communicate with them on some level- it’s hard to convey how you
truly feel.
Hedwig was given to Harry right at the beginning of his journey in to the wizarding world-
and Hedwig stuck by Harry’s side through thick and thin. When Harry was stuck at the
Dursleys place on Privet Drive, with noone else to speak to, Hedwig was there for him.
Tragically, in the battle of the seven Potters, Hedwig is killed while aboard Hagrid’s flying
motorcycle- hit with a killing curse. The curse was likely aimed at Harry, but Hedwig
took the hit, and Harry felt guilty for this. What made things worse was that Harry then
had to destroy the sidecar carrying Hedwig in order to better escape the Death Eaters.
The death of Hedwig was sudden, tragic, and life-changing for Harry. Hedwig’s death
was almost symbolic for the loss of innocence in the Harry Potter films.
6. Dumbledore dies
As we know, Dumbledore dies in the Half-Blood Prince. This scene is perhaps more shocking
than sad to most, as Dumbledore is always portrayed as this sort of beacon of hope-
of power. Dumbledore always has all of the answers- and if things go arigh, you can always
count on Dumbledore. But suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the seemingly omniscient
Hogwarts Headmaster that you can always count on is gone.
Of course, we sort of knew that Dumbledore was going to die- and that he was incredibly
ill from the curse on his hand, but it just somehow didn’t feel real. Dumbledore is
certainly a fan favourite- and to suddenly lose this beloved Hogwarts Headmaster just
felt, wrong. The absence of Dumbledore in the story was incredibly apparent, and it
left the Harry Potter world feeling a bit vacant.
5. Sirius dies
Sirius Black, friend of Harry’s parents, and Harry’s godfather was tragically killed
in the Order of the Phoenix. More specifically- he died during the battle at the department
of mysteries- an important battle and one of the primary catalysts of the second wizarding
war. Just 2 short books prior, Harry and Sirius were first introduced- and from Harry’s
perspective, Sirius went from ‘murderer’ and ‘Azkaban Escapee’ to one of the most
important people in his life. His death was tragic, because for so many years Sirius wanted
to reach Harry, but was unable. The pair, though close, spent a relatively small amount
of time together- but did form a strong bond in that short period. Sirius dying was terrible
for Harry, but what made it even worse was that, in a way, he had lost another connection
to his parents.
4. Dobby’s Death
This one doesn’t need much explaining. The death of Dobby was tragic- whichever way you
look at it. The mistreated house elf that had finally been liberated by Harry Potter
would have done anything for Harry, and he really proved that when he took a knife to
the chest. When everyone apparated out of Malfoy Manor, they landed at a beach by Shell
Cottage. It was at this beach that everyone realized- Dobby had been hit with Bellatrix’s
knife.
3. Snape’s Death
For the vast majority of the Harry Potter story Snape is the bad guy. He lurks around,
bullies students, and is particularly awful to Harry. This treatment doesn’t change
over the years, either, but perhaps only intensifies as Harry grows in to a young man. But what
many didn’t know was that Snape was a double agent- he was playing a part, and both sides
were convinced that he was on THEIR side. By the time Snape dies, we become completely
aware of his true intentions, and where his true motivations lay. However, while we, the
audience are aware of all of this- Harry isn’t. To Harry, Snape is still the two-faced death
eater that killed Dumbledore and swore his allegiance to Voldemort.
However, after Harry watches Snape being fatally attacked by Nagini, something begins to change
in Harry’s mind. Snape was in a state unlike anything that Harry had ever seen before-
the strong, enigmatic Snape was suddenly so helpless- and it’s at this point that the
idea is planted in Harry’s mind that perhaps Snape isn’t quite as bad as he thought.
After giving Harry some of his memories (which will reveal to Harry Snape’s true motivations)
Snape dies looking in to the eyes of a boy that was more significant to him than Harry
ever knew. The boy that shared the same face of the man that bullied him for his entire
childhood, and the eyes of the only woman that he ever loved.
2. Death of Fred Weasley
In my opinion the death of Fred Weasley, twin brother to George Weasley, is one of the saddest
moments in the entire series. I say this because twins share a special relationship- they’re
almost like one person, and so I can’t begin to imagine what losing your other-half would
be like. Fred dies from an explosion outside of the room of Requirement, and it doesn’t
take long for George to realize that his world would be turned upside down.
Their friendship was beautiful, and, though George still had the rest of his family with
him, he certainly lost a piece of himself that day. I sincerely doubt that he was ever
the same.
1. The End
This might be a cop out, but for me the saddest part of the Harry Potter story was its end.
I’m sure that I speak for many others as well when I say that, I wish the Harry Potter
story could continue forever.
What are your TOP 10 saddest moments? Let me know in the comment section below
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Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live