The Harry Potter movies are full of magic and fantastical moments, but the franchise also includes some incredibly sad scenes that can make many cry.

Harry Potter has made children all over the world believe in magic, but its world is far from being a safe and happy place — the franchise includes several sad and tragic scenes. The Harry Potter movie timeline sees the life story of its titular character who had to suffer and lose people to win an impossible war against a cold-blooded terrorist. Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle, made Harry’s life a living hell for years, and yet the Boy Who Lived reigned victorious in the end thanks to his perseverance, the belief that the good prevailed, and sheer luck at times.

Harry Potter’s tale is one of heartbreak and sacrifice, and it has been the reason for many tears over the years. Some scenes are so devastating that they are impossible to rewatch the Harry Potter movies without sobbing each and every time. Harry Potter has become a phenomenon because of the unique wizarding world and its characters, and the emotional bits put into the pages have only been amplified by the legendary Harry Potter cast. From Sirus’ tragic death to Snape’s heartbreaking confession, Harry Potter has provided its viewers with plenty of opportunities for a good crying session.

20. Bellatrix Lestrange Killing Sirius Black

Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix

Sirius Black’s death probably hit both Harry and viewers the hardest. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry meets his godfather and dares to dream of a proper family, only for that to be taken away two films later by none other than Bellatrix. The scene where she casts her fatal spell, and Sirius ends up falling into the veil is the moment Harry loses all hope. Watching the Chosen One silently scream and rush after Bellatrix while Remus is trying to hold him back is too much to bear.

19. Dobby Sacrificing Himself To Save Harry Potter

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part I

Dobby was probably Harry’s most loyal friend and ally ever since the latter freed Dobby from Lucius Malfoy’s terror in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In the penultimate movie, Dobby shows up at the Malfoy Manor and rescues the Golden Trio, Luna Lovegood, Griphook, and Mr. Ollivander. Unfortunately, Bellatrix fatally stabs Dobby in her final attempt at revenge, followed by a heartbreaking beach scene where Dobby says his goodbyes to Harry before he passes away in his arms.

18. Amos Diggory Realizing Cedric Is Dead

Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire

Nothing ended the childhood faster than Cedric’s untimely death in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That is the moment Harry realizes that Voldemort is truly back, and the war is nigh. The scene where Harry shows up with Cedric’s body and has a meltdown in front of the entire field is enough to start the waterworks, but seeing Amos, Cedric’s father, go from celebrating his son’s victory to wailing over his corpse adds an even darker layer to it.

17. Hedwig Getting Caught In The Crossfire

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part I

Hedwig symbolizes Harry’s childhood, and just as he turned 17 years old, which is considered the age of majority in Harry Potter, she was brutally killed off. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, the Battle of the Seven Potters takes place, and Harry’s pet owl, Hedwig, is one of its casualties. When the Death Eaters get to Harry and Hagrid and start throwing the Killing Curse around, Hedwig rushes to Harry’s defense, tragically sacrificing her life in the process.

16. Hermione Granger Erasing Her Parents’ Memories

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part I

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, the Golden Trio is getting ready to go on their search for Voldemort’s Horcruxes, and no one takes more drastic measures than Hermione. Afraid that her parents might be used against her, Hermione makes the gut-wrenching decision to wipe their memories by using the Memory Charm on them. The scene where Hermione’s Obliviate erases her presence from her parents’ lives, causing her to tear up, hits right where it hurts.

15. Harry Potter Seeing His Parents In The Mirror Of Erised

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry lost his parents when he was a baby, and watching him spend hours in front of the Mirror of Erised makes for a bittersweet moment. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry stumbles upon the Mirror of Erised, which shows a person their heart’s deepest desire. That is how Harry sees his parents, alive and well, smiling at him from the other side of the glass, and understandably, he is unable to let go of their images.

14. Everyone Raising Their Wands To Honor Albus Dumbledore

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Albus Dumbledore’s carefully orchestrated yet touching death was the beginning of the darkest days for the wizarding world. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Dumbledore go on a mission to get one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, which turns out to be a fake. With Hogwarts left unattended, the Death Eaters break in and cause chaos, and Dumbledore ends up dead. Once people realize what has just happened, they lift their wands in the Headmaster’s memory.

13. Severus Snape Uttering His Last Words

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II

Severus Snape’s story arc was the tear-jerker of the saga. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Voldemort orders Nagini to kill Snape in an attempt to take control of the Elder Wand, and that is the moment the Potions Master reveals his truth. Harry comes up to the dying Snape, who is tearing up his memories, and the Professor’s final words are: “Look… at… me…” They signify Snape’s wish to look into Lily’s eyes one more time, and this scene is the reason for many sobs.

12. Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks Being Together In Death

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II

Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks’ deaths and their son Teddy becoming an orphan showcased the horrors of war better than anything. Even though the couple isn’t given much screen time in the movies, it is still heartbreaking to witness them lie there side by side in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II’s Great Hall scene. Remus and Tonks manage to create their own little happiness during the war, but Voldemort spares no one.

11. The Weasleys Mourning Fred In The Great Hall

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II

Fred Weasley was another casualty of Voldemort’s reign. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II features way too many tragic deaths that came too soon, and yet the decision to kill off Fred, the guy whose only goal in life was to bring joy and laughter wherever he went, somehow feels the most wrong. The moment Ron joins the rest of the Weasleys on the floor, crying over Fred’s body, is hard to watch every time.

10. Harry Potter Forcing Albus Dumbledore To Drink The Potion

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Dumbledore and Harry’s quest to get Salazar Slytherin’s Locket proved to be way harder than expected. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Dumbledore attempt to get their hands on one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. However, it is protected by a variety of dark charms, one of which is the Drink of Despair that Dumbledore has to drink to get access to the Locket. When the Headmaster becomes delirious and refuses to continue drinking the potion, Harry has to keep his promise and force him to finish the Drink, and the entire scene awakens deep compassion for Dumbledore.

9. The Burrow Burning Down

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince

Even though the Burrow scene wasn’t canonically in the books, it still hurt to see the Weasleys lose their home like that. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Death Eaters trick Harry into coming out of the shielded house, and he is followed by Ginny and the Order of the Phoenix members who deter the attack. Unfortunately, Bellatrix and Greyback decide to give the Weasleys an early Christmas present, so they set the house on fire, causing Molly’s heart to shatter.

8. Severus Snape Holding Lily Potter’s Body

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II

The scenes with Snape’s flashbacks were the most disturbing to watch, but nothing was as heart-wrenching as Snape finding Lily dead. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, upon his last breaths, the Potions Master reveals his biggest secret to Harry, allowing him to take his memories. Harry learns that Snape was never the enemy, but instead a double spy, and everything he did was to avenge the murder of the woman he loved, Lily Potter.

7. Albus Dumbledore Leaving Harry Potter With The Dursleys

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone

Dumbledore had to make quite a few impossible decisions for the greater good, and one of them was the choice to leave Harry at the Dursleys’ doorstep when he was just a baby. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is more or less a lighthearted movie, as the worst is yet to come, but that opening scene where Harry’s fate is determined leaves a bittersweet aftertaste. On the one hand, he is going to be relatively safe for the next decade or so. On the other hand, he is going to be miserable and unloved.

6. Harry Potter Talking To His Parents, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II

The Resurrection Stone allowed Harry to get advice from the people he loved most, but the occasion was devastating to the core. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II features Harry going to his death by Voldemort’s hand in an attempt to destroy the Horcrux inside him, and that is when he talks to his parents, Sirius, and Remus one last time. The grim moment is touching, as the dead do their best to support the living in their wretched task.

5. Bellatrix Lestrange Torturing Hermione Granger

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part I

The torture scene that ended with Hermione getting “Mudblood” written on her arm was so crippling that it felt like it didn’t belong in the film at all. The last two installments of the franchise stray far from its kid’s movie origins, but that moment from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is completely other-worldly. Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Watson really upped their acting game a notch. Ron’s desperation just adds to the drama perfectly

4. Sirius Black Inviting Harry Potter To Live With Him

Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a sad nostalgia-driven movie, especially because of the scene in question. In the third installment, Harry finally reconnects with Sirius, his godfather, and the latter even offers Harry to move to 12 Grimmauld Place if he wants a change of pace from living with his aunt and uncle. That moment represents Harry and Sirius’ shared hope for a brighter future and a second chance at a family, but none of that is meant to happen.

3. Harry Potter Going To Voldemort To Meet His Death

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part II

One of the most heartbreaking things about Harry’s story was that he had to make the decision to sacrifice himself in the end. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II showcases Harry’s bravery in a way that no other installment did before. When Harry watches Snape’s memories, he decides to give himself to Voldemort, and Ron and Hermione don’t need words to understand him. The scene where the Golden Trio say their goodbyes is a complete tear-jerker.

2. Ron Weasley Walking Out On Harry Potter & Hermione Granger

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part I

The Golden Trio seemed indestructible until Slytherin’s Locket drove a wedge between Ron and Harry. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, the Horcrux search starts getting to the Trio, but Ron has it the worst. One day, the Locket makes Ron abandon Harry and Hermione after saying all sorts of hurtful things to them. This scene is a defining moment in Harry and Ron’s friendship and the beginning of their separate journeys, which, thankfully, don’t last for long.

1. Harry Fighting Voldemort’s Possession

Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix

Harry’s encounters with Voldemort left viewers in tears plenty of times, but nothing was more chilling than the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix scene where a broken Harry tried to fight off Voldemort’s possession. Harry has just lost Sirius, and now he has to stand up to Riddle when he is at his lowest. The moment Harry starts to overpower Voldemort by thinking of happy memories of the people he loves is giving goosebumps.