And I know I'm not alone in this. The fact that Hermione's shining moment didn't make it into the film is a problem for many people.
Because we get to watch Harry show off his talents on the broom...
And we watch Ron heroically get Harry across the chess board...
BUT WE DON'T GET TO SEE HERMIONE SAVE THE DAY WHEN SHE SOLVES A SERIOUSLY AWESOME RIDDLE.
Let's be real, that riddle was one of the coolest parts of the book.
Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, One among us seven will let you move ahead, Another will transport the drinker back instead, Two among our number hold only nettle wine, Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore, To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onward, neither is your friend; Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; Fourth, the second left and the second on the right Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.
I don't know about you, but I remember reading that passage as a little kid and thinking it was so awesome that they had to solve something without using magic.
And because she is the best at logical reasoning, Hermione then solves the riddle with ease.
Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.
"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire — toward the stone."
The missing scene might be something small in the grand scheme of things, but it was a truly memorable part of the book. Long live Snape's riddle.
(Now don't even get me started on the Sphinx's riddle from the Triwizard Tournament.)
