In Deathly Hallows Part 2, several characters steal some of Harry Potter's magical spotlight.

After 10 years watching the Harry Potter movies, we finally get to find out how it all ends Friday.

You do, I mean. Not me. Come on: I waited in line inside San Francisco’s (recently shut down) Borders for three hours to get Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007, then stayed up half the night reading it. I already know what happens (spoiler: Crookshanks survives), so I don’t need the movie to give me answers. I’m reasonably sure there are a few million or so people who are in the same boat as I was when I saw Deathly Hallows Part 2, which opens Friday.

So why are we going to see this final cinematic chapter of the magical tale? Well, because we are such Harry Potter superdorks that we would watch paint dry if someone told us it was purchased at the Home Depot on Diagon Alley. But also because the final chapters of the story contain some great moments we’d like to see on film.

None of these moments actually involve Harry Potter, though.

(Spoiler warning:Hippogriff-size Deathly Hallows spoilers follow.)

Harry doesn’t do a lot of especially interesting things in Deathly Hallows. He just sort of schleps around trying to find Horcruxes, finds out that he is a Horcrux, then goes off peaceably to let Voldemort ice him.

Still, considering how many fantastic characters from the books are competing for precious seconds of the final film’s runtime, this is not a bad thing. The primary scene-stealers in Deathy Hallows 2 are …

Alan Rickman plays Professor Severus Snape, whose true colors are revealed in Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Snape

Professor Snape is a central figure in the final chapters, mostly because the greatest mystery of the books is, “What is up with this guy anyway?” It’s not that big a deal to find out how Harry can kill Lord Voldemort. What everyone wanted to know was if Snape was really on the side of good, and if so, why did he act like such a colossal douche?

This is the subject of the movie’s parlor scene, in which Harry sticks his face into Snape’s brain to see his thoughts and finds that Snape had the hots for the boy wizard’s mom. This does not gross out Harry as much as you’d think it would. But it does explain everything, and Snape’s redemption is one of the more emotionally powerful moments in the film.

Molly Weasley (Julie Walters) has an interesting encounter with Bellatrix Lestrange in the final film.

Molly Weasley

Ron’s mom is in this movie for one purpose: To call Bellatrix Lestrange a “bitch” and then kill her. It’s one of the most jaw-dropping moments of the book, the sort of thing you can’t wait to see in a movie. And it’s awesome: Harry would have been so much more memorable in this film had he called Voldemort a bitch before taking him to school.

Speaking of which:

Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) fuels the movie's funniest sequence.

Bellatrix Lestrange

Not the actual one, who doesn’t really do much besides get exploded. In the beginning of the movie, Hermione goes undercover as Lestrange, so we get to see Helena Bonham Carter pretending to be Emma Watson pretending to be Helena Bonham Carter playing Bellatrix Lestrange. It’s exactly how it sounds. It’s the funniest moment in a two-hour film full of tension and death.

The goblin Griphook (Warwick Davis, at right) gets his comeuppance in Deathly Hallows Part 2

Griphook

Goblins love money above all else. Harry might have saved Griphook’s wrinkly skin at the end of Deathly Hallows Part 1, but that doesn’t mean the goblin is ready to join the fight against Voldemort’s forces. In fact, in a tense and funny negotiation scene, he only agrees to help Harry out in exchange for a steep price. But Griphook gets what’s coming to him when he backstabs Harry later. It’s a tight little character arc that fleshes out a bit player.

Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) shines in the final Harry Potter movie.
Images courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Neville Longbottom

The wimpy, bullied kid from the first movie ends up as Hogwarts’ biggest badass by the end of his senior year. When Neville Longbottom talks about getting tortured, he does so in a manner that suggests he secretly likes it. Later, he grabs the Sword of Gryffindor and chops the head off a python in a manner that suggests he is onstage at a Black Sabbath concert.

What’s Next for These Characters?

One of the main attractions of J.K. Rowling’s upcoming Pottermore website is fresh prose about the Potter world — possibly providing more stories about these intriguing characters that have largely remained in the background throughout the seven novels in the fantasy series.

Let’s hope there’s more — and different — magic in the offing.