7 Harry Potter Moments That Are So Much Better In The Film

The closing act of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is one of the coolest and most exciting sequences in the entire epic – in the book and on screen. It’s the only time that the franchise dabbles with time-travel (something that Rowling has actually gone on to say she regrets) as Harry and Hermione try to undo a series of events that would see Buckbeak dead and Sirius soulless.

So when the pair save the innocent hippogriff from the blade of the executioner and send Sirius on his way aback the winged beast, it is to be expected that the man who set them these lofty goals – Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore – would congratulate them on their successes. And in the book, he does just that:

“Panicking, Harry and Hermione ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver moustache. "Well?" he said quietly. "We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak...." Dumbledore beamed at them. "Well done. I think -" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too - get inside - I'll lock you in...""

However, in the film, owing to the fact that Dumbledore has encouraged the pair to commit an act of illegal time-travel in order to disobey the will of the Minister for Magic himself, Dumbledore plays dumb. When Harry breathlessly says “we did it”, Dumbledore instead replies “did what?” He then gives them an odd wave and says “goodnight!”

This is small but wonderful touch that injects a little bit of humour after a long and tense sequence of events. This is also one of the few times when the films – especially in the Michael Gambon era – manage to capture the humorous, playful side of Hogwarts’ headmaster. And for that, I argue that the film does it better.