Harry Potter: 5 Moments in which we realized that the story is not for children

Harry Potter is a saga of 7 books that had its film adaptation in 2001 with its first title "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The success of the saga was so great that the advertising banners for the last film didn't even need to have the title, as the world already knew the film just by seeing the characters:

Because the first films had a slightly lighter approach, many people at the time believed they were for children. However, as the years passed and new films came out, it became clear that the story had also matured over the years.

With that in mind, here are 5 moments in which it becomes clear that the Harry Potter saga is much more complex and less childish than previously believed.

1. The Death of Albus Dumbledore. (The Half-Blood Prince)

Despite not being the first death of an important character, this one certainly marked us in a different way. Even for those who already expected what was going to happen, it is still a shocking scene.

After Dumbledore asks “please” to his old friend and faithful battle companion Snape, the much-feared death spell is heard and the green glow takes over the room at the top of the tower in which they are, hitting Dumbledore and throwing him away- backwards on impact, falling from the tower as the glow of life leaves his eyes.

We later discovered in the following books/films that, in fact, Dumbledore's request to Snape was not for clemency for his life but rather to guarantee the integrity of Malfoy's soul, who was assigned by Voldemort to carry out the mission of assassinating Dumbledore, asking so for Snape to do this last favor for an old friend who already knew that this would be his final moments.

2. The Death of Sirius Black and his body passing through the portal veil. (The order of the Phoenix)

This death was controversial, because in the book and the film there is a difference that changes the perception of what happened. In the book, Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius's cousin, casts the Cruciatus curse (Curse of Pain) on Harry's godfather, causing him to touch the portal and cross the veil into the world of the dead. Those who read the book are left in doubt as to whether his death was final or not, as the portal is surrounded by mysteries and no one knows for sure how it works or how it was created.

In the film, Sirius is clearly hit by the green glow of the Avada Kedavra curse (Death Curse) and only then passes through the veil, disappearing as he enters the portal. Although in the end the result was the death of Sirius Black, in the film it is clear that the person who killed him was the terrible death eater Bellatrix Lestrange.

To make this moment even more impactful, it occurs right after Sirius called Harry by the name James (his father's name), as he was clearly remembering times when Sirius and James fought together in the first formation of the Order of the Phoenix, as well as he was doing at that moment alongside his godson.

A character wronged from the beginning to the end of his life, being denied by his own family, known for their pure blood and tendency to go to the dark side, was unfairly accused of treason, living in Azkaban (wizard prison) for years, almost losing his sanity.

When he finally has the illusion of having a life with friends and important people, he perishes through the wand of the most faithful death eater in the saga. Even though it was to protect his godson, it is still a death that leaves a great feeling of incomplete cycle and injustice, as the character deserved more space in the story.

3. Dobby's sacrifice. (The Deathly Hallows)

Introduced in the second Book/Film of the saga, Dobby initially proves to be extremely irritating with his malicious attempts to prevent Harry from returning to school, but it doesn't take long for us to realize that there is a lot of kindness in his actions, despite some of them putting Harry in almost death situations ...

Winning our hearts and becoming a free Elf, Dobby appears several times in the saga, being of great help until the fateful moment when he decides to once again refuse to comply with Harry's request: never to try to save his life again.

In a moment of extreme importance, right after Harry took Draco Malfoy's wand and Dobby disarmed Narcissa Malfoy, who was one of his “Lords” in the past, Harry, who at that moment was a prisoner of the diners along with Hermione, Ron and the Goblin from Gringotts, runs to Dobby with the prisoners so he can “Apparate” (a transportation spell) everyone out of the death-eaters' castle.

Despite being successful in taking the prisoners away, Dobby is mortally wounded by a dagger thrown by Bellatrix moments before the Elf apparates, appearing seriously injured in the safe place and falling into Harry's arms, almost lifeless.

4. Harry's return with Cedric Diggory's body. (The Goblet of Fire)

Although Cedric Diggory is a character presented only in The Goblet of Fire, his death has an important highlight due to the weight it brings to the story, bringing distrust and controversy to the main characters, since everything occurred during the Triwizard Tournament, in a moment when only Harry and Cedric were together to witness, and precisely for this reason Cedric ends up being murdered!

After saving and also being saved by Harry during the last challenge of the Tournament, they then find the house cup and decide to get it together to win the challenge. However, they are surprised and taken to another place far from Hogwarts grounds. Without really understanding what had happened, since the cup was transformed into a portkey, something that was not part of the Tournament, they get up and find themselves in a cemetery that Harry recognizes having already seen in his dreams.

Realizing what was happening, Harry asks Cedric to return to the cup, but Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew), a death eater who spent years disguised as a rat like Ron Weasley's Pet, appears and they hear a voice ordering: "kill the other one.", causing Wormtail to cast the killing curse on Cedric without hesitation. That was the voice of Voldemort who, thanks to this whole situation, in the scene that follows, manages to have a body that can withstand physically touching Harry without being petrified.

After a battle full of mysteries and reunions, Harry manages to return to Hogwarts with Cedric's body through the portkey. However, at that moment, for the entire audience that sees Cedric dead there, without having any idea of what had just happened, distrust and uncertainty hover and dark times of denial, unfriendship, controversy and distrust begin among those who should be united against the return of “he who must not be named” - after all, the only person who could confirm with Harry that he had returned was there, dead on the floor beside him.

5. Severus Snape revealing his love for Lily to Dumbledore. (The Deathly Hallows)

A character who has been with us since the first Book/Film and has always been seen as a villain, or someone to be distrusted, being guilty of almost all the maneuvers related to dark wizards that happened at Hogwarts, and even so, maintaining his stance and his fidelity.

Severus Snape was a character who, when we discovered the burden he carried, silently and without deviating from his mission, we fell in love and saw how important and kind he was for all these years - even knowing everything he knew and having been denied him everything he wanted, including the great love of his life, Lily Potter (Harry's mother).

In the scene where Harry is viewing Snape's memories, passed down by Snape on his deathbed, he is talking to Dumbledore, who reveals that Harry has a part of Voldemort trapped within him, and that when the time comes, Harry must die by the hands of Voldemort himself.

Upon realizing how shocked Snape is by this discovery, Dumbledore asks if he has become attached to Harry. Snape responds by invoking the Patronus Charm, which takes the form of a doe, the same as Lily's Patronus, implying that the love he had for Lily was so strong that even after her death, he would be willing to continue his will to protect Harry. Dumbledore, upon seeing Snape's patronus and realizing the situation, ends with one of the most moving dialogues in the Saga:

Dumbledore: “Lily…? After all this time?”

Snape: “Always…”

I put these moments in an order that I believe makes reading more enjoyable, and they are not in order of importance or anything like that.

If you liked reading it, don't forget to check out our other articles on the website and if there's another moment that stood out to you, leave it in the comments. It will be a pleasure to read and remember epic scenes from this story full of magic!