10. The Deathday Party, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (book2)
From the second book, this is the sequence in which the Gryffindor house ghost, Nearly-Headlesss Nick, holds a party to celebrate his Deathday and coerces Harry, Ron, and Hemione into attending it. It's completely irrelevant to the plot except at the end when Harry is lead up the stairs by the disembodied voice. But it's just a great piece of comedy that didn't make it into the movies.
9. The Quidditch World Cup/ The Dark Mark, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book4)
It may seem like I'm sneaking in an extra chapter here, but I'm not. I'd own up to it if I was. It's just that these chapters kind of go together and you can't really separate them when selecting certain moments because the thread sometimes begins in one chapter and finishes in another as in this case. This chapter couplet is a wonderful high-low moment in the series. A fantastic creative writing exercise in inventing a grand finale for the sport of Quidditch with the popping of the balloon as the characters are plunged into the chaos when Voldemort's captains begin the build up to his horrifying second coming at the end of the book. It's also the start of a dark whodunit mystery unique to this book and the balance between exhilaration and fear is surgically precise. Very well written.
8. Diagon Alley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (book 1)
This is where the magic really begins in the series when Harry is first introduced to a magical enclave with people like him. He interacts with the bank and businesses as he begins his life as a wizard. It's always like opening a present you've been anticipating from slowly untying the bow to peeling off the paper, to finally opening the box. This chapter would likely be in the top ten chapters of nearly any HP fan.
7. Career Advice, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book 5)
This chapter is about push back and defiance, mostly on the part of the Weasley twins. By this point in the book the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. This is one of the best incidents of blowing off steam. The way they choose to quit school to start their own business is epic and fun and it makes me want to stand up and cheer every time.
6. The Wandmaker, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book 7)
This may seem like a strange choice of chapter because there's no action and not much real movement, but I think it's an important chapter because it's the chapter where Harry grows up. Touched off by Dobby's death, he finally gains control of the link he and Voldemort share which sobers up his erratic and obsessive behavior of the last two and a half books. It also thrusts him to the kind of maturity he needed to really become the leader and make measured decisions not just for he and his friends' personal course, but for the course of the resistance at large after he returns for the final battle at the school. A wonderful moment of growth for the main character that doesn't go unnoticed by me.
5. The House of Gaunt, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (book 6)
The sad, tragic tale of Merope Gaunt. I suppose the more important chapter would be The Secret Riddle which was a glimpse of Voldemort's creepy childhood, but I confess I like the poetic sadness of this digression much better. Once again, it's not necessary to the overall plot, but it's the kind of depth that only comes from a book versus a movie... maybe it's just the girl in me.
4. The Prince's Tale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book 7)
Another tragic back story and shocking revelation that changes the readers' perspective of the character of Severus Snape. A horrible person from the beginning to his death, this chapter explains a lot of the unseen help that Harry received throughout the years and enables the audience to forgive Snape as Harry does years later (in the Epilogue) when he names one of his children after him. Powerful stuff.
3. Hermione's Secret, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (book3)
From the book that hooked me on the series, this is one of my top two favorite emotional moments. The whole chapter is great as it gives Hermione the reigns to take charge of saving the day, but the climax in which Harry casts his first real Patronus and realizes that it takes the form of the animal that his father could transfigure into is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. This is the best scene from my favorite book.
2. Out of the Fire/ Fight and Flight, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book 5)
Another chapter couplet since you can't have one without the other, this is one of Hermione's many great moments and my favorite. They're kids so they make the kid-mistake of thinking they can pull the same stunt twice and end up getting caught. That's when Hermione steps in and gets them out of it. Not by using magic, but simple psychology. She plays to Umbride's ego, cruelty, and lust for power to lure her away and dispose of her for good. An immensely satisfying end to probably the most hated character of the series.
1. After the Burial, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (book6)
This is one of the most perfect chapters in my opinion. It is smart and funny, yet serious and emotional all at the same time. Harry uses his luck potion to obtain a memory from Professor Slughorn that he'd been hiding. But that one-sentence synopsis doesn't do justice to the way the luck potion works which seems less like magic and more of a heightening of Harry's instincts and intuition to put him in the right place to say and do all the right things, benefiting others as well as himself. And the Slughorn's motives have no malice which makes his surrendering of the memory a tender and gentle moment that is also the springboard for the climactic story line of the the final book. It's just so brilliant. It's definitely the best chapter of the series.
Of course, there are tons of runners-up because 7 books makes a lot of chapters, but these are the 10 that made the most impact on me. HP fans out there are welcome to share their favorites. It doesn't have to be ten... it takes a while to think it out.. lol.
