If you consider yourself a huge Harry Potter fan but haven't read the books, you are totally missing out. It is no secret within the HP Fandom that there were several pivotal moments, characters, themes, and quotes that didn't make it into the movies. From the minor to the integral in no particular order, here is the ultimate list of the moments that we really wish had made it to the big screen.
1. Peeves
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The pesky poltergeist loved to torture the students of Hogwarts, especially the first years. He was often found lurking in corridors or empty classrooms and had no limits on the havoc that he would wreak upon the castle and its occupants. To readers, he was often a form of comic relief to play off of all the drama within the plot itself. In the original "Sorcerer's Stone" movie, there was a scene with Peeves that was later cut, leaving fans everywhere missing the mischievous manifestation of pranks.
2. Neville's potential as the Chosen One
The prophecy that sent Voldemort hunting after Harry described a male baby born in July. This not only applied to Harry Potter but also Neville Longbottom. Had Voldemort chosen to go after Neville instead of Harry, we would have had a drastically different plot line on our hands. Neville would have been the equal to Voldemort, and thus the only one to defeat him.
3. St. Mungo's and Neville's Parents
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries is all but forgotten in the movie adaptations. It is the largest hospital for magical people in the world, and is disguised as a run-down muggle building so patients can come and go without drawing suspicion. Patients in the book include Gilderoy Lockhart (incompetent, showboat teacher) and Neville's parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom.
The movies briefly glaze over the Longbottom parents, leaving a lot to be desired on the part of the audience. They were aurors who were part of the Order of the Phoenix during the first war, and they were tortured into insanity by Voldemort's followers (specifically Bellatrix Lestrange), dooming them to a life in the mental institution of St. Mungo's. Though they don't remember him, loving son Neville visits them often, and in the books he brings his friends along with him once and they see why Neville lives with his Gran. It is a truly touching scene.
4. "Weasley is our King"
On a more cheerful note (well, not for Ron) during the Quidditch matches when he was Gryffindor's keeper, the Slytherins - led by Draco Malfoy - thought of a hurtful song to jeer at him from the stands including the lyrics:
- Weasley cannot save a thing,
- He cannot block a single ring,
- That's why Slytherins all sing:
- Weasley is our King.
- Weasley was born in a bin
- He always lets the Quaffle in
- Weasley will make sure we win
- Weasley is our King.
- Weasley is our King,
- Weasley is our King,
- He always lets the Quaffle in
- Weasley is our King.
But as soon as Ron proves himself a good Keeper, the Gryffindors in turn change the lyrics to celebrate Ron instead.
5. Veelas
These curious creatures are first introduced when Harry joins the Weasleys and friends at the Quidditch World Cup. They captivate the males in the audience with a charming sort of magic where even the married men cannot look away.
Later, we are told of the enchanting qualities of TriWizard Tournament contender, Fluer Delacour, who later marries Bill Weasley. The female Weasley family members resent her for her flirty qualities and ability to captivate a room, and we find it out it is because she is a quarter Veela!
6. Harry's eyes
For any meticulous Harry Potter fan, this was one of the biggest issues with the movies. We constantly heard that Harry had his mother, Lily's, eyes but there were several problems with the way that the movies portrayed this.
1. The actress who played Lily had brown eyes.
2. The actor who played Harry had blue eyes.
3. In the books - both had green eyes.
7. Professor Binns
The bane of young Harry and Ron's student life was their History of Magic class. Professor Binns was an elderly ghost whose teaching style was as dry as his subject matter. The only time he ever captivated the classroom was in their second year, when the topic of "The Chamber of Secrets" arose.
As a bonus, at the end of the lesson he would simply disappear through the chalkboard, signaling it was time to leave.
8. "The Midnight Duel"
This is one of my favorite chapters in the whole series. It appears as Chapter 9 in the "Sorcerer's Stone." As a resolution of the conflict between Draco and Harry over Neville's Rememberall during flying lessons (a scene which did make it into the movie and resulted in Harry's position as Gryffindor's seeker), Draco challenges Harry to a duel at midnight in the trophy room. But Draco being the worst type of person as he is, tipped off Filch that Harry would be out of bed after hours, never intending on showing up for the duel like the coward he is.
9. All of Voldemort's background
Tom Marvolo Riddle, or Lord Voldemort, and all of his evils are more easily understood if one knows the background of his childhood and early adult life. The movies didn't discuss this really at all, though the books went into depth. It is too intricate to go into here, but if you're interested, but still not willing to read all 4,224 pages of the books, I will point you here.
10. All of Dumbledore's background
While Voldemort has a colorful history leading to how evil he later becomes, his much kinder counterpart Albus Dumbledore has an equally colorful background full of scandal and broken family - not unlike Voldemort. In the movies we are only given a glimpse through his siblings Aberforth and Ariana, as well as a brief flashback to the dark wizard Grindewald, once a close friend of Dumbledore's. To fully understand how Dumbledore got all of his wisdom, you must understand his childhood. And for that, I will point you here.
11. The importance of house elves
It was always referenced loosely in the movies that house elves worked in the kitchens at Hogwarts (hence all the great feasts) but never really explored. In the books, they play a much bigger role. From Winky, the always drunk friend of Dobby, to Kreacher, they often are there to help the wizards and witches when needed. In fact, during the battle at Hogwarts in the final book, Kreacher is the one who leads all of the house elves into battle. Not so bad after all!
Additionally, Hermione went through a phase in which she was deeply concerned about the rights and working conditions of the house elves. Called S.P.E.W., she started an organization to protect them that never fully caught on. She was often seen knitting things to leave for them disguised in piles of garbage, in hopes that they would accidentally free themselves. But these "woolly bladders" as Ron called them, ended up being put to good use by Dobby and only Dobby, an already free elf.
12. Harry using the Cruciatus curse
Who could forget the scene where Mad Eye Moody demonstrates the Three Unforgivable Curses on the spider in Defense Against the Dark Arts class? The students are horrified into thinking they will never perform them on anyone and when Harry has the opportunity to use Crucio on Bellatrix Lestrange in the battle at the Ministry of Magic, he doesn't. Bellatrix taunts him by saying he has to "mean it." And when one of the terrible, tyrannic Carrow twins spits at McGonagall, Harry finally learns how to mean it, torturing him.
13. The James, Lily, and Severus Love Triangle
In the movies, it is always portrayed that Lily was grossed out by the idea that Snape likes her but in the books it is not so clean cut. They are really close friends, and for a while she prefers to hang out with Snape instead of James.
14. The howler from Dumbledore to Aunt Petunia
Remember when Harry and Ron crashed the Ford Anglia into the Whomping Willow and Mrs. Weasley sent Ron a screaming letter in her voice? Well, one time Aunt Petunia was fed up with Harry and threatened to kick him out, she received a remarkably calm, albeit menacing Howler containing the words "remember my last." This was an interesting idea for fans - as a woman who was so anti-magic was in contact with one of the greatest wizards of all time. J.K. Rowling loved teasing readers, never giving them the meaning behind it until late into the series.
15. Ron and Hermione being made prefects
Even though Ron made fun of Prefect Percy incessantly, when he was made a prefect along with Hermione, no such insults were made. Harry (at first) felt a little slighted along with proud, and this was a fun conflict to follow within the story.
