One Of The Greatest Harry Potter Movie Scenes Can't Be In HBO's Remake

Published Sep 19, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT

James Hunt is a writer and editor based in Newcastle, UK. A Sports Journalism graduate from the University of Sunderland, he quickly realized that supporting his local football (or "soccer") team, Sunderland AFC, was painful enough without having to write about it, so decided to write a load of nonsense about movies and TV instead.

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HBO’s Harry Potter remake needs to strike a delicate balance. It must be faithful to the books; it is playing to a nostalgic movie audience; and it also has to forge its own identity. How it weaves those elements together, which do not always align, will be fascinating to watch both from the beginning and as it goes along.

Fidelity to the source material is one of the major selling points of the remake, because the expanded runtime means including things that were cut from the movies. This is already evident with things like the casting of Peeves the Poltergeist and the inclusion of the History of Magic lessons.

However, it is the presence of the Harry Potter movies that looms largest over the remake. They remain not only beloved, but a cultural touchstone that drives a tourism and merchandise empire.

Much has been made of how the TV show is visually similar (and to its detractors, too similar) to the movies, and while I think there are differences, there is clearly an element of struggling in building a new identity when the movies not only did it so well in that regard, but there are also multiple theme parks and other attractions built off the back of those locations, costumes, and iconography.

Still, taking some of the best elements and leaving behind some of the lesser ones may not be the worst approach as it strives for that balance. And when it comes to the movies, there is actually one moment it can’t repeat, despite (or rather, because of) it being one of the greatest sequences in the entire saga.

Harry & Hermione Gave Us A Perfect Harry Potter Movie Moment

Credit: WB/MovieStillsDB

The Harry Potter movies changed a lot from the books, and had their own moments of invention. Some worked better than others, but the very best, for me, was Harry Potter and Hermione Granger’s dance scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. This comes after Ron Weasley departs following a Horcrux-influenced row, and the remaining pair dance together in the tent to [song].

I’ll admit that when the movie first hit theaters, I didn’t like this moment. Partly that was due to being a somewhat insufferable book purist at the time and disliking any change, but it was more that, being the same age as the actors, I found it incredibly cringe-worthy and awkward to watch. Oh, how wrong I was.

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01

What spell is used to disarm an opponent, famously becoming Harry Potter’s signature move throughout the series?

AStupefy BExpelliarmus CProtego DPetrificus Totalus

✓ Correct! Expelliarmus is the Disarming Charm. Harry used it so often that it became his trademark spell — even using it in his final duel against Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Expelliarmus. Stupefy is a Stunning Spell, Protego is a Shield Charm, and Petrificus Totalus is the Full Body-Bind Curse. Expelliarmus forces an opponent’s wand out of their hand.

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02

In “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” Hagrid introduces his Care of Magical Creatures class to a proud hippogriff. What is the creature’s name?

AFang BNorbert CBuckbeak DAragog

✓ Correct! Buckbeak the hippogriff became a key part of the story when Draco Malfoy insulted him and got injured. Harry and Hermione later saved Buckbeak from execution using the Time-Turner.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Buckbeak. Fang is Hagrid’s boarhound, Norbert is his baby dragon from the first book, and Aragog is the giant Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest.

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03

What potion allows the drinker to assume the physical appearance of another person, and plays a major role in “The Chamber of Secrets” and “The Goblet of Fire”?

APolyjuice Potion BFelix Felicis CVeritaserum DAmortentia

✓ Correct! Polyjuice Potion transforms the drinker into someone else for about an hour. Hermione brewed it in their second year to infiltrate the Slytherin common room, and Barty Crouch Jr. used it to impersonate Mad-Eye Moody.

✗ Not quite! The answer is Polyjuice Potion. Felix Felicis is liquid luck, Veritaserum is a truth serum, and Amortentia is a powerful love potion. Polyjuice Potion is the one that changes your appearance.

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04

How many Horcruxes did Lord Voldemort intentionally create to split his soul and achieve immortality?

AFive BSeven CFour DSix

✓ Correct! Voldemort intentionally created six Horcruxes: the diary, the ring, the locket, the cup, the diadem, and Nagini. Harry became an accidental seventh Horcrux, making the total number of soul fragments seven — the most magically powerful number.

✗ Not quite! The answer is six. Voldemort deliberately created six Horcruxes: Tom Riddle’s diary, Marvolo Gaunt’s ring, Slytherin’s locket, Hufflepuff’s cup, Ravenclaw’s diadem, and Nagini. Harry was an unintentional seventh piece.

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05

How many points is the Golden Snitch worth when caught by a Seeker during a Quidditch match?

A50 points B150 points C100 points D200 points

✓ Correct! Catching the Golden Snitch awards 150 points and ends the match. This is why the Seeker position is so crucial — catching the Snitch almost always wins the game, though famously at the Quidditch World Cup, Viktor Krum caught it but Bulgaria still lost.

✗ Not quite! The answer is 150 points. The Golden Snitch is worth 150 points and also ends the match. At the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, Krum caught the Snitch for Bulgaria but Ireland still won because they were more than 150 points ahead.

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06

What form does Severus Snape’s Patronus take — revealing his lifelong love for Harry’s mother, Lily?

AA phoenix BA wolf CA doe DA stag

✓ Correct! Snape’s Patronus is a doe — the same as Lily Potter’s. When Dumbledore asked “After all this time?” Snape famously replied, “Always.” It’s one of the most emotional reveals in the entire series.

✗ Not quite! The answer is a doe. Snape’s Patronus matches Lily Potter’s because of his deep, enduring love for her. James Potter’s Patronus was a stag — the male counterpart. The doe is what led Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor in the frozen lake.

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07

What magical object must you look into to see the Mirror of Erised’s true purpose — and what does it show the viewer?

ATheir deepest, most desperate desire BTheir future self at their most powerful CTheir greatest fear DTheir happiest memory

✓ Correct! The Mirror of Erised (“desire” spelled backward) shows the deepest desire of whoever looks into it. Harry saw his parents, Ron saw himself as Head Boy and Quidditch captain, and Dumbledore claimed he saw himself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks.

✗ Not quite! The answer is their deepest, most desperate desire. “Erised” is “desire” spelled backward. The inscription reads: “I show not your face but your heart’s desire.” Dumbledore warned Harry that the mirror gives neither knowledge nor truth, and men have wasted away before it.

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08

The three Deathly Hallows are the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and which third object that Harry himself possessed?

AThe Marauder’s Map BThe Sorting Hat CThe Pensieve DThe Cloak of Invisibility

✓ Correct! The Cloak of Invisibility was passed down through Harry’s family — he inherited it from his father, James. Unlike ordinary invisibility cloaks, this Hallow never fades or weakens, making it a true relic of Death from “The Tale of the Three Brothers.”

✗ Not quite! The answer is the Cloak of Invisibility. Harry inherited it from his father on his first Christmas at Hogwarts. Together with the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone, these three objects make up the Deathly Hallows from “The Tale of the Three Brothers.”

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With each passing year, rewatch, and, ostensibly, a little bit more wisdom (or perhaps not), I’ve learned to appreciate the scene more and more, and now utterly adore it. It’s one of the most beautiful, human, and relatable scenes in the entire series, and it puts a spotlight on Harry and Hermione’s friendship (which never needed to be anything more).

A lot is made of how the Harry Potter stories get progressively darker, and the innocence of youth is stripped away. But these characters are still kids, and that should not be lost completely. I do think the later movies sometimes pushed too far in the more mature direction, and that’s one of the reasons this stands out. It’s fun, it’s silly, and it’s a touching ray of light amid a bleak darkness.

And yet, at the same time, there is emotional maturity to the moment. It’s two characters who are fighting not only for their lives, but the fate of the world. And yet they’re able to hit pause, to remember that there has to be love and joy in the world — the things they are fighting for, after all. It’s bittersweet, but after being forced to grow up too fast, they are able to have a moment that’s tender and carefree, and showcases the magical resilience of youth and the importance of friendship.

The Harry Potter Remake Can’t Repeat The Scene, But It Can Learn From It

Image via MovieStillsDB

As much as I love the scene, it wouldn’t make sense for the remake to repeat it for a simple reason: it wasn’t in the books. The dance was invented for the movie, and that’s where it should stay. There will be enough inevitable similarities in the TV show without it taking things created solely for the big screen, and a moment that really belongs to Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.

However, there are a couple of lessons it can learn from it. Firstly, it highlights that it shouldn’t be afraid of invention. There is room beyond what’s on the page, which can still fit with being accurate to the books, and it’ll be important to utilize that in order to craft a new experience. To its credit, it is seemingly already doing this, such as having scenes of characters like Ron and Hermione receiving the Hogwarts letters, and a meeting between Albus Dumbledore and the Flamels.

Another is to remember to find these moments of light as the TV series, inevitably, gets darker. This becomes a story about defeating a great evil, and so the more it can bring these moments of humanity to the surface, the better it will be.

I also think there’s value in doing more with Harry and Hermione. Their friendship is quite lovely, and she’s there by his side even when Ron isn’t (both in The Deathly Hallows and, years earlier, in The Goblet of Fire). And yet we don’t really get enough scenes of just the two of them, and while it shouldn’t be the dance, more of that would be great for the Harry Potter remake.

Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students' time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.