Top 3 Dumbledore moments that we need in the HBO adaptation of Harry Potter

I have high hopes and even higher expectations for any adaptation of books I love. I want word-for-word quotes and faithfulness to costuming and plots that don't leave anything out. I do admit that this is why I'm better as a reader and not a filmmaker. There are brilliant people bringing their talents to bear on the HBO adaptation of Harry Potter and they should be trusted with the source material. But here are five humble suggestions on what shouldn't be left out of Dumbledore's content.

1. "If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love."

The entire conversation between Harry and Professor Dumbledore in the hospital wing ought to be left intact, from "Good afternoon, Harry" to "Alas! Earwax!" But there are some indispensable moments in there that just didn't get done properly the first time.

In that conversation, many things are discussed, from what must happen to prevent the rise of Voldemort to death being the "next great adventure," but the most poignant part is the speech on why Harry was protected. There is part of the speech I have in mind in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone film, but here is all of it:

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign ... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Albus Dumbledore

2. "How very rude of him."

If there's a single relationship that I like best in the Harry Potter series, it's that of Harry and his headmaster. There are so many breaking points between them as Harry faces the challenges that no adolescent should have to reckon with. Dumbledore is there after he is lured into facing Voldemort in the first book, has empathy for his grief and confusion after returning from Little Hangleton's graveyard in the fourth, etc.

In the sixth book, Dumbledore knows that he is dying and spends his last months entrusting Harry with the tools to defeat Voldemort and asking him to trust him as well. At Christmas, the Minister of Magic sneers that Harry is "Dumbledore's man, through and through." Harry relates this to Dumbledore and reaffirms his loyalty. We then see Dumbledore struck dumb and Fawkes lets out "a low, soft, musical cry." When Harry realizes his mentor is moved to tears by this, he changes the subject, but all of them are changed in this moment. Dumbledore puts it simply: "I am very touched, Harry."

3. "Not until I've had my say."

"The Lost Prophecy" is one of the most heart-rending chapters of the Harry Potter series, in my opinion. Harry returns from the field of what is only technically a victory, having seen his godfather killed as a result of Harry's desperate effort to save him. He has fought evildoers but seen his friends suffer grievous injuries. Voldemort's return has finally been proven, but there is no joy in this. Naturally, he takes his anger out on anyone who tries to help him.

Dumbledore witnesses and permits Harry's fury and mad grief and validates it by saying, "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it." He goes one step further in helping by giving Harry the information and tools he needs to start processing the idea that he's not directly to blame for his most recent loss. When Harry is horrified and devastated by what he has done, Dumbledore accepts every bit of blame that he can honestly claim. He admits that "I owe you an explanation An explanation of an old man's mistakes...Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young...and I seem to have forgotten lately." He solves the mysteries that have plagued Harry throughout the book, explains his thinking in trying to deflect some of the consequences. As a acknowledgment of what Harry has suffered, he sheds a tear when he admits that "I rather thought...you had enough responsibility to be going on with."

We look forward to seeing if these moments are done justice in 2026 or 2027.