To celebrate the chosen one’s 39th birthday, we’ve picked 39 of our favourite Harry moments from the films, books and the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in no particular order.

1. When baby Harry almost destroys Voldemort

An immense moment in the history of the wizarding world which was the beginning of the end for Lord Voldemort and would change a young Harry Potter’s life forever.

2. Catching the Snitch in his mouth

Now, we know young Harry had a few lucky breaks, but almost swallowing the Snitch in his first Quidditch game rightfully deserves a place on the list.

3. When Harry frees Dobby with a sock

Harry shows his kindness and selflessness regularly, but when he frees Dobby from the nasty Lucius Malfoy, it really was a punch-the-air moment - and something Dobby certainly never forgot.

4. ‘How dare you stand where he stood’

The pain, the anger, the bravery. This moment from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011), where Harry faced off against Snape, was huge.

5. ‘Harry – Yer a wizard’

A staple moment which was the first time Harry was immersed into a whole new world.

‘Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh,’ said Hagrid. ‘Harry – yer a wizard.’
There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.
‘I’m a what?’ gasped Harry...’
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

We’ve all quoted this moment from time to time, haven’t we?

6. When he used fake magic to mess with Dudley

‘Jiggery pokery!’ said Harry in a fierce voice. ‘Hocus pocus ... squiggly wiggly ...’
‘MUUUUUUM!’ howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back towards the house. ‘MUUUUM! He’s doing you know what!’
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

7. Saving Ron’s life

Despite Harry essentially cheating his way through sixth-year Potions with Slughorn thanks to a little help from ‘the Half-Blood Prince’, when the time came to act quickly after Ron was poisoned, Harry used a Bezoar, something he learnt from his mysterious, annotated textbook.

8. Harry giving his money to Fred and George

Harry was the reason Fred and George were able to set up their joke shop and follow their dreams after he gave them his Triwizard Tournament winnings, following a horrendous night with Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

9. When he looked Snape in the eyes

Despite not understanding Snape’s true intentions until after his death, Harry was there, nevertheless, for his last few moments. Well, everyone always said he had his mother’s eyes... Snape wanted to see them one last time.

10. Casting his Patronus to save himself and Sirius

A heroic moment for Harry that proves that working hard at something really can pay off.

11. ‘But I am the chosen one?’

Who knew Harry Potter could be so sassy? We loved this silly scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).

12. When he shows ‘moral fibre’ at the Triwizard Tournament

Trust Harry to take the merpeople song literally and try and save all the Champions’ people!

13. Harry using the Elder Wand to repair his wand

He laid the broken wand upon the Headmaster’s desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand and said, ‘Reparo.’
As his wand resealed, red sparks flew out of its end. Harry knew that he had succeeded.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Smart boy that Harry Potter is.

14. When he swerved Malfoy’s handshake

He held out his hand to shake Harry’s, but Harry didn’t take it.
‘I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,’ he said coolly.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

And from that moment on, an enemy was made...

15. When he loses the bones in his arm thanks to Lockhart

Painfully amusing.

16. When he almost falls out of the Ford Anglia

We’re sure Hermione probably would have managed to save him somehow, even if he had fallen.

17. When he blows up Aunt Marge and then, er, runs away

‘She deserved it,’ Harry said, breathing very fast. ‘She deserved what she got. You keep away from me.'
Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban

Despite being a famous wizard, you can’t forget that Harry was still a teenager.

18. When he gets his golden egg in the quickest time

To out-fly a dragon is definitely on our bucket list too...

19. Leading Dumbledore’s Army

Despite it originally being Hermione’s idea, Harry goes on to teach many of his classmates invaluable skills and spells that he had learnt during his time at Hogwarts.

20. Dancing with Hermione

From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1), this moment between Harry and Hermione (after Ron has temporarily left the group) was an unexpectedly bittersweet scene, with a little help from Nick Cave.

21. When Harry got so excited about his Christmas presents

‘You too,’ said Harry. ‘Will you look at this? I’ve got some presents!’
‘What did you expect, turnips?’ said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry’s.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

22. When he brings Cedric’s body back

One of the most painful moments for Harry (and for us) in the series was seeing Harry endure unbearable pain and trauma to escape Lord Voldemort’s trap, and still bring an innocent Hogwarts student’s body home. As Dumbledore said, ‘You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight, Harry.’

23. ‘There’s no need to call me sir, Professor...’

‘Do you remember me telling you we are practising non-verbal spells, Potter?’
‘Yes,’ said Harry stiffly.
‘Yes sir.’
‘There’s no need to call me “sir”, Professor.’
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We love it when Harry shows his sparky side.

24. When he takes Luna to the Christmas party

'Oh, it’s been all right,’ said Luna. ‘A bit lonely without the DA. Ginny’s been nice, though. She stopped two boys in our Transfiguration class calling me “Loony” the other day –’
‘How would you like to come to Slughorn’s party with me tonight?’
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry taking Luna by surprise and asking her to go to Slughorn’s Christmas party with him was hugely endearing, as was their whole friendship. Harry saw an oddness in Luna that he admired, rather than making fun of her like the other Hogwarts students did.

25. When he took Felix Felicis

In the books, Harry’s experience taking the Felix Felicis is delightfully strange, as he ends up in a slightly tipsy knees-up at Aragog’s funeral. In the film, Harry’s behaviour once he takes Felix Felicis is one of the funniest moments in the series. ‘Not to mention the pincers’ gets us every time.

26. Digging Dobby’s grave

Back to the heart-wrenching moments (sorry, we never said this was a happy list!). Harry refusing to use magic to bury Dobby is one of our most emotional, but favourite, moments.

‘I want to do it properly,’ were the first words which Harry was fully conscious of speaking. ‘Not by magic. Have you got a spade?’
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

27. Catching the Remembrall and getting put straight on the Quidditch team

Taking it all the way back to Philosopher’s Stone – Harry’s natural Quidditch talent was evident from his very first flight on a broom. McGonagall snapped him up for the team immediately – and Harry discovered a brand new passion.

28. The Resurrection Stone

When Harry, Ron and Hermione have the conversation about which Deathly Hallow they’d like to have – they all say different things. For Harry, who has lost his parents, he naturally says the Resurrection Stone. At the end of Deathly Hallows, we actually get to see him use it, with heartbreaking results.

29. Flying with Buckbeak

After some initial trepidation, Harry took Hagrid’s insistent invitation to ride Buckbeak the Hippogriff. In both the film and the book, Harry’s flight is a raucous but exhilarating experience, and it helped Hagrid look good in his Care of Magical Creatures class!

30. Killing the Basilisk

In only his second year of Hogwarts, Harry came face-to-face with an echo of a younger Lord Voldemort, known back then as Tom Riddle. Despite his young years, and with Ron’s little sister in grave danger, Harry nearly gave his life to defeat the horrific Basilisk, the cruel beast of the Chamber of Secrets. Moments away from death, he was calm, telling Fawkes the Phoenix how great he was. Thankfully, Fawkes saved Harry, and we didn’t lose our star in the second adventure!

31. When he saves Mr Weasley

In Order of the Phoenix, Harry is dealing with a lot of inner demons, and is a far more rageful Harry than we’d seen in earlier books. Then things get worse when he starts sharing visions with Lord Voldemort, including one horrific scene where he sees himself through the eyes of Nagini the snake.

32. Reluctantly rescuing Malfoy

In a swarm of Fiendfyre in the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry makes a unique choice – to save his nemesis Draco Malfoy despite it risking his own life too.

33. His friend, the Boa Constrictor

Rewind straight back to the first book, in those early innocent chapters where Harry has no idea that he can suddenly talk to a sassy snake at the zoo. Thanksss, Amigo.

34. The big kiss with Ginny

We really felt for Ginny and her unrequited crush on Harry – but in Half-Blood Prince, Harry finally realised that Ron’s little sister was so much more than that. After missing the Quidditch Cup Final for detention, it was Ginny who won the match for Gryffindor – and Harry couldn’t help but fall into her arms the second he walked into the euphoric common room. Well, Harry always had a thing for Quidditch players!

35. The beginning of the golden trio

It’s funny to think that Harry, Ron and Hermione would never have formed the iconic friendship group we know and love, had Harry not knocked out a giant troll that Hermione was trapped in the bathroom with. Well, that’s one way to break the ice.

36. Asking Lupin and Sirius not to kill Wormtail

In Prisoner of Azkaban, after learning he had a godfather and that Ron’s rat was actually a man in disguise called Peter Pettigrew who betrayed his parents, there was a lot of information to absorb... Despite this, the dramatic crescendo of the third adventure saw Harry begging Sirius and Lupin not to kill Peter Pettigrew, preferring him to go to Azkaban. Despite Pettigrew escaping, Harry not only showed his own moral intuitiveness but stopped Lupin and Sirius from becoming murderers. Not bad for a Hogwarts third year.

37. When Harry grows up and gives his son some important advice

‘Albus Severus,’ Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, ‘you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.’
‘But just say –’
‘– then Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won’t it? It doesn’t matter to us, Al.’
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

38. And when we get to see him dealing with admin in his later years!

The Boy Who Lived doing paperwork! This amusing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child moment showed us that even famous boy wizards have to do their admin sometime.

39. Defeating Lord Voldemort

Well, we had to end with the big one, didn’t we?

Happy birthday, Harry!