I am an avid Harry Potter fan to say the least. Throughout college I was thoroughly disappointed that I didn't have enough time to constantly re-read the series of have a movie marathon. Since graduation, I re-read the series in about five days and constantly make my family have a movie marathon. Re-reading the series and watching the movies made me realize that there are several aspects of the books that didn't make it into the movies that I am extremely upset by. Personally, I would have been perfectly happy if each book would have been split into two movies each—but what do I know? Here are the top 14 aspects of the books that SHOULD have been included in the movies:
Peeves
Peeves is a poltergeist at Hogwarts and is a troublemaker throughout all of the book series. He comes up with clever poems and songs and makes Filch's life a living hell. Word on the street is that Peeves was originally included in the first movie, but was ultimately cut from the final product. Although he is included in the video games, I am still a bit salty about this one.
Marauder's Map
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry receives the Marauder's Map from Fred and George Weasley. It reveals the location of any individual on Hogwarts property at any given moment. But who the heck are the Marauder's? The movies never explains that Remus Lupin (Moony), Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail), Sirius Black (Padfood) and James Potter (Prongs) are the creators of the map and became animagi to keep Lupin company when he became a werewolf each month.
Half-Blood Prince
Severus Snape informs Harry in the sixth movie that he is indeed the Half-Blood Prince. Unfortunately, the movie complete omits the backstory and why the book is called, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," to begin with. Quick run-down: Snape's mother's name was Eileen Prince and his father was a muggle making him (Snape) a half-blood and therefore, the 'half-blood prince."
The Third Task (and the fourth movie in general)
I was extremely upset when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire premiered and Harry's time in the Triwizard Maze was cut short. Harry encountered a boggart, mist that turned everything upside down, one of Hagrid's Blast Ended-Skrewts and the Sphinx with her riddle. Together, Cedric and Harry both fought an Acromantula before reaching the Triwizard Cup. The movies lacks all of these aspects and instead the maze itself was turned into an obstacle attacking those inside it.
S. P. E. W.
This stands for The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare and was founded by Hermione Granger in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." She spends the entire book trying to convince others to join her society, knits them clothing and tries to convince Dobby to help her. In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Ron seems to care about the well-being of the house-elves during the Battle of Hogwarts. This leads to him and Hermione's first kiss—not killing a Horcrux in the Chamber of Secrets. Side note: the house elves do join in on the Battle of Hogwarts led by Kreacher.
The Potion Puzzle
There were seven chambers underneath Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry each containing an obstacle or task that guarded the Sorcerer's Stone. The Potions Puzzle was the second to last obstacle protecting the Sorcerer's Stone and was a logic riddle made by Professor Snape. Hermione and Harry reach this puzzle and Hermione solves it allowing her to drink the liquid and pass back through the purple flames to help Ron, and to allow Harry to continue onward through the black flames.
The Muggle Prime Minister
In "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" we learn that the Muggle Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic have a working relationship. The Minister of Magic always informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the happenings of the wizard world if it endangered muggles. The secrecy of The Wizarding World is maintained by the fact that if the Muggle Prime Minister told their secret, most likely no one would believe him. Side note: Kingsley Shacklebolt is assigned to be the Muggle Prime Minister's Secretary, but is actually there as a security guard.
Voldemort's Family History
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Harry is receiving private lessons from Dumbledore to learn about Voldemort's past and the Horcruxes he made, a memory is left out. It shows that Voldemort's family is inbred to keep their pure-blood heritage, but causing several other problems. It also shows that Merope Gaunt (Voldemort's mother) tricked Tom Riddle Sr. by putting him under a love potion, running off together and conceiving a child. It is believed that Merope eventually stopped giving Tom Sr. the love potion and he returned to his hometown leaving his pregnant wife and unborn son. Although she was magic, she didn't lift her wand to save her own life and instead left her son to grow up in an orphanage. It is also believed that the reason Voldemort is unable to love is being he was conceived under a love potion and not real love. Side note: The Resurrection Stone was Voldemort's through his relation with the Gaunts and the second Peverell brother. The Invisibility Cloak was Harry's through relation to the third Peverell brother.
Quidditch and the Kiss
Quidditch was only featured in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "Chamber of Secrets," "Prisoner of Azkaban" (briefly) and "The Half-Blood Prince" (briefly). Quidditch was one of my favorite parts of the books, but since it was not essential to the plot—it was cut from some movies entirely or only shown briefly. Remember when Harry used the spell Sectumsempra on Malfoy? Well Snape made him serve detention every Saturday following the incident and therefore Harry was not allowed to play Quidditch even though he was the Gryffindor House Captain. Ginny Weasley took Harry's place as Seeker and won the Quidditch cup. In the book, Harry and Ginny kiss in the Room of Requirement, but in the books, Ginny runs towards Harry after the win—and he kisses her. MUCH cooler in the book if you ask me.
Wormtail being in Harry's Debt
In "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1", Dobby stuns Wormtail. In the book, Wormtail tries to kill Harry, but hestitates when Harry reminds him that he once saved his life. Wormtail's silver hand constructed by Lord Voldemort took this as disloyalty and strangled himself.
The Left-Out Weasley Family
Although Bill is briefly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & Part 2, he actually appears earlier in the series. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when the Death Eaters enter the castle is where Bill is attacked by Fenrir Greyback. The other forgotten brother is Charlie Weasley. Although he is mentioned in several of the movies, he is only briefly shown in the newspaper clipping of the family on vacation in Egypt in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Super unfortunate that the producers didn't find his character relevant enough to be featured in the films.
Elder Wand vs. Harry's Wand
I could not believe they cut this part out of the movie. Harry returns to Dumbledore's office, takes the Elder wand and repairs his own wand. He then tells Dumbledore's portrait that he will be returning the wand to his tomb and when he (Harry) dies, the power of the wand will be broken. In the movie, Harry would have to get a completely new wand because his wand and the elder wand are now completely useless. OH THE HORROR OF THIS MOVIE MISHAP.
Dudley Dursley's Redemption
Although this scene is in the "deleted scenes" of the movie, it didn't make the final cut. Dudley's goodbye to Harry is very touching and JK Rowling admitted later on that the Dementor attack changed him. He saw himself for who he truly was—a terrible bully and human-being. This realization made him change for the better and informed Harry, "I don't think you're a waste of space."
Ludo Bagman's Debt and The Triwizard Money
Fred and George Weasley bet Ludo Bagman at the Quidditch World Cup that Ireland would win, but Bulgaria's Viktor Krum would capture the snitch. The Weasley's won, but Bagman paid them in Leprechaun gold (it disappeared within hours). Throughout the entire book, the Weasley's continuously bug Bagman about his debt to them with no luck. Eventually they find out that he owes a load of money to the goblins and is on the run. Since they lost their money, Harry gives his winnings from winning the Triwizard Tournament of 1000 galleons to them which the Weasley's use to start their joke shop.
I could go on and on about all of the plot points that got cut from the movies, but too many to put into words. I could talk about Harry Potter for ages—always.