My favourite moment from all the books and movies put together would be from Book 2, the moment when the Chamber of Secrets was opened and we got a glimpse of what all lay hidden in those dark, eerie tunnels. Years later, when I had an opportunity to explore the basement of our Town Hall for an article, the dimly lit, musty, labyrinthine brick tunnels transported me to the world of Tom Riddle. I could almost hear the Basilisk slither by. Yes, that remains my favourite moment from the world of Harry Potter and I am thrilled to have experienced a slice of it right here in Calcutta! 

— Samhita Chakraborty

When Hermione slaps Draco for laughing at Hagrid mourning Buckbeak in The Prisoner of Azkaban. The whole of Film 3 I think is underrated — people don’t usually focus on it because Voldemort isn’t in it but there’s so much plot and mystery and unexpected twists that take place in the film, it was my first fave. Also, Sirius enters the plot, which makes everything 10,000+ times better. 

— Lara Santos
 
It’s cruel to ask someone to pick ONE moment from the Potter series. Every page is a standout moment. And so I’ll go right to the beginning. The very first chapter — The Boy Who Lived. Because that’s where the magic started. That’s where we were hooked for life. 

— Ramona Sen

Innumerable memorable moments make up each year in Hogwarts, hence choosing one from the whole world of Harry Potter is a near-impossible task. But if I were to think about Harry’s journey through the seven years, one episode that remains prominent in my mind is the Triwizard Tournament in the fourth year (The Goblet of Fire). Harry competes with Cedric Diggory, Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour in the inter-school competition that tests their magical powers. The participants are assigned three dangerous tasks each and the winner is promised eternal glory. The Triwizard Tournament takes a dangerous turn with the death of Cedric, and the subsequent return of Voldemort. Somehow, I feel, following the Triwizard Tournament, the series turns many shades darker and hence it remains a landmark episode in the series. 

— Smita Roy Chowdhury

I would go for that moment in The Prisoner of Azkaban when Hermione punches Draco Malfoy on the nose. Being a huge Dramione shipper (the Draco-Hermione pair as fans call them), that moment was of great amusement to me. If only they had ended up together *sigh*! 

— Sulogna Ghosh

It has to be when Harry pretends to mix Felix Felicis into Ron’s pumpkin juice and Ron becomes a star of the following Quidditch match, thinking he had luck on his side. The fact that Ron was always capable of it without liquid luck, and Harry knew so and believed in him, is the best part. After all, “Weasley is our king!” 

— Deborima Ganguly

When Harry discovers the Mirror of Erised and sees himself surrounded by his parents and other smiling member of the family, many with great eyes, some with the same “knobbly knees”, I was misty-eyed. When Ron sees himself holding the Quidditch Cup and as the Head Boy and finally when Dumbledore explains how the mirror works. I wondered how it was that Dumbledore was so content with his life that he only saw himself holding a pair of socks. This moment becomes even more poignant when Harry understands, in The Deathly Hallows, that what Dumbledore most likely saw in the mirror was his family, unbroken, with Ariana still alive. 

— Anindita Mitra

Everything about Dumbledore’s Army is memorable, from Harry’s disbelief at so many people showing up at Hog’s Head to sign up to Hermione’s canny jinx that marks the betrayer with SNEAK written in boils on their forehead, to the Protean Charm she uses on coins to communicate, to the actual classes. It is great to read about the class practising spells like Impediment Jinx, Reductor Curse, Stunning Spell, Shield Charm and Patronus Charm. And we love that the DA did so well in their Defence Against Dark Arts O.W.L.S. 

— Rwitoban Deb

What’s not to love about a living map of Hogwarts that not only shows you where everyone is but also secret passages to get in and out of the place?! And it even shows Animagi, people using Polyjuice Potions, and even those using invisibility cloaks. It was like Harry had his own squad in the creators of the Marauder’s Map — Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Favourite Marauder moment? All those incredible insults the creators dished out when Snape tried to reveal its magic. 

‘Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business. Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git. Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor. Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slime-ball.’

— Chandreyee Chatterjee

I solemnly swear that my favourite moment is literally up to no good! Remember the terror in pink that was Dolores Jane Umbridge? I’d give my left arm (I’m a leftie) for being in Hogwarts that very day when Fred and George Weasley owned her with that spectacular display of fireworks, before tipping their metaphorical hats at the students, passing on the mantle to Peeves the poltergeist and flying off in their (previously confiscated) broomsticks. Visualising what was happening, reading the words long before the movie released, I realised that even the toughest of times can be counteracted with happiness and love — a love for being a pain in the a** for the person who’s a pain in the a**. And that Fred and George Weasley were the best marketing whizzes in the business. Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes over Zonko’s Joke Shop any day!  

— Riddhima Khanna