Top 5 movie-only Harry Potter moments

We have a lot to look forward to in terms of new adaptations of Harry Potter. Will they leave in every line of dialogue in "The Servant of Lord Voldemort?" Will we hear Luna Lovegood's Quidditch commentary in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? Most importantly for some, how book-accurate will the final battle be? Let's take a break from those debates and consider some movie moments that were wonderful additions.

1. Oliver Wood's pre-game pep talk (1st movie)

In the first movie, Harry has never looked so tiny as when he's about to enter the Quidditch arena for the first time. Towered over by his older teammates and hearing crowds out there to witness him compete for the first time, he looks petrified and Oliver Wood compassionately takes notice. When Harry says he's a little scared, Wood says "It's all right. I felt the same way before my first game." The cheer-up fails spectacularly when he admits that he "took a Bludger to the head and woke up in the hospital a week later."

It's a wonderful moment of the Gryffindors looking out for each other and an introduction to Wood being a good, but fallible leader. And Harry's look of panic a moment later is worth the inclusion.

2. The animal crackers (3rd movie)

This scene does absolutely nothing to advance the plot, but that's not why I enjoy it. I'm the sort of person who likes the mentions of people playing Exploding Snap on the train and worried that Umbridge would cancel the Gobstones Club. So this scene, early in the third movie, is a fun glimpse of dorm life at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts houses are like family and the Gryffindor boys are goofing around like siblings. My personal favorite is Ron, play-acting like a lordly lion.

3. Shall we dance? (4th movie)

In my hometown of Weston, Massachusetts, there was one thing that everyone did around the age of 12. Ballroom dancing. We would get together every Wednesday night and learn the basics of anything from the waltz to the jitterbug and sometimes win candy in a raffle. It didn't occur to me until the fourth movie that Hogwarts could use a similar program. Professor McGonagall fixes that by teaching Ron Weasley how to waltz with her.

The Yule Ball isn't within a variety of comfort zones and in the book, we see that in Harry's desperate attempts to find a date. But it makes it more relatable to have some preparation for the dancing part of the event. Plus, who can forget the Weasley twins' utter delight at seeing their brother embarrassed is very in-character.

4. Before the quest (6th movie)

The sixth movie has some intense sections. We see the attacks by Death Eaters, the battle that claims Dumbledore's life, and a poisoning of Ron Weasley among other things. But before Harry and Dumbledore set out to find Slytherin's locket, there's a moment of peace. "Oh, Harry. You need a shave, my friend," says Dumbledore. He then remarks on how much Harry's grown and says, "At times, I still see the small boy from the cupboard."

Their relationship has grown a lot since Dumbledore first really connected with Harry in the hospital wing at the end of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. As they're about to trust each other implicitly in a quest that might kill one or both of them, this expression of trust and wistfulness is lovely.

5. Shall we dance, part 2 (7th movie)

This is definitely not everyone's favorite scene, but I remember crying the first time I saw the movie. Ron has left Harry and Hermione in the middle of their search for the Horcruxes and there are times of both loneliness and mourning for the people left in his wake. This is the period where Harry realizes that they've only accomplished not being killed and where he wishes that he were at rest in a grave, like his parents.

Harry finds Hermione listening to a wireless and pulls her into an awkward dance. They don't come to it easily and you see them both trying to be good sports in a turn. It might have been a dance between friends in a quiet moment of the Yule Ball or a Gryffindor party, except they end up leaning on each other and unable to keep their smiles on their faces. It's a moment of trying to support a suffering sibling.

If we've missed any of your favorites, we hope you will cue up a film and rewatch what made you happy to see added to the wizarding world.