I read the first Harry Potter book when I was eight years old and they quickly became a favorite of mine, remaining so to this day. As such, I’m very excited about the Harry Potter series and the possibilities it brings.
If you’ve only ever watched the Harry Potter movies, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re missing out on the details which make the wizarding world so popular. There are so many features and subplots in the books that are either altered or entirely omitted from the movies. However, the series does offer a chance for these things to get the spotlight they truly deserve. Hopefully.
Peeves
Peeves is the resident Poltergeist of Hogwarts and, as a Poltergeist, he gets into all manner of mischief. He’s a comic relief character who has a complete disregard for authority in all forms, helps to spread gossip among students, but is absolutely loyal to Hogwarts itself.
He fears the Bloody Baron (another character entirely excluded from the movies), respects Albus Dumbledore (but doesn’t listen to him), and shares a bond with the Weasley twins due to their shared love of pranks and chaos. When Fred and George leave Hogwarts during The Half-Blood Prince, Peeves follows their instructions to cause problems for Delores Umbridge and actually salutes them in front of the entire school as they leave.
The Weasleys visiting the Dursleys
During The Goblet of Fire, in order to collect Harry and take him to the Quidditch World Cup (which also suffered during the movie adaptation), the Weasleys attempt to arrive at the Dursley’s house via Floo Powder. However, the Dursley’s have blocked up their fireplace, leaving the Weasley’s trapped behind a stud wall.
What follows is a glorious scene where the Dursley’s break through the wall, destroy the pristine living room in 4 Privet Drive, and the twins give Dudley a Ton-Tongue Toffee which makes his tongue swell to insane proportions, terrifying the Dursleys.
S.P.E.W.
The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare was Hermione’s ill-thought attempt to help the House Elves escape servitude. In The Goblet of Fire, Hermione starts her very own club, with the acronym name of S.P.E.W., makes badges, and tries to recruit members to her cause.
What she failed to take into account, however, was that House Elves actually enjoy serving their wizarding folk, for the most part, and there was even an entire army happily working away in the Hogwarts kitchens.
Harry and Cho’s disastrous date
Although we do see a small glimpse of Harry’s ill-fated relationship with Cho Chang during the movies, the best part of the terrible coupling is omitted.
During The Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Cho have a romantic date at Madam Puddifoot’s in Hogsmeade on Valentine’s Day. Sadly, it’s a disaster and after Harry mentions that he plans to meet up with Hermione afterward, Cho flies off the handle and cries before storming off.
Honestly, this whole pairing is just cringeworthy, but that doesn’t come across in the movies the same way it does in the books.
St. Mungos
St. Mungos is a magical hospital based in London and has four floors dedicated to the treatment of magical maladies and injuries, plus another which houses a tea room and gift shop. Sadly, the entire building is removed from the films, despite the fact that we actually visit the hospital during The Order of the Phoenix, after Arthur Weasley gets attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries.
It’s also known that both of Neville’s parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom, are long-term residents at St. Mungos due to their extended exposure to the Cruciatus Curse at the hands of Bellatrix LeStrange.
However, perhaps the best thing missed in the movies is the fact that Professor Lockhart becomes a long time resident after the events of The Chamber of Secrets, when a memory wiping charm aimed at Ron backfired and he took the hit himself.
The Gaunt memories
During The Half-Blood Prince movie, a huge part of the backstory is lost due to the omission of the memories of the Gaunts, which are viewed through the pensieve in the book. The Gaunts are the ancestors of Tom Riddle, and the memories tell the story of how Tom Riddle came to be born.
In short, his mother was a poor woman named Merope Gaunt who used a love spell to trap and marry a wealthy muggle named Tom Riddle. After becoming pregnant, she lifts the spell and Tom Riddle Sr. abandons her, only for her to die shortly after giving birth to the child who would go on to become Lord Voldemort.
Winky and the rest of the Hogwarts House Elves
There is a whole section of Hogwarts that is never visited during the Harry Potter movies — the kitchens. They’re filled with House Elves who work night and day to prepare the huge amount of food needed to feed all the students and staff at Hogwarts.
One notable House Elf is Winky, who came to Hogwarts after being dismissed by Ludo Bagman during The Goblet of Fire. Feeling depressed at being dismissed, she turns to drinking and we end up with what is essentially an alcoholic yet incredibly lovable House Elf.
Ginny Weasley’s feisty personality
After seeing her portrayal in the Harry Potter movies, fans of the franchise were enraged by how badly Ginny Weasley came across. Her entire personality is lost, with her fading very much into the background despite being a huge part of the books.
She’s supposed to be feisty and very much a miniature version of her mother, Molly. She comes armed with a well refined Bat Bogey Hex, which we never see in the movies, and is loyal to a fault. They really did her dirty in the movies, so I hope we see more of her actual personality in the series.
Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party
I’ve always been angry that Nearly Headless Nick’s entire deathday party is removed from the movies, and I’m hoping that we actually get to see it in the series.
The deathday party is entirely populated by ghosts (except for Harry, Ron and Hermione), with rotten food being available for them to enjoy, an explanation as to why Nearly Headless Nick isn’t named Entirely Headless Nick, and also the whole Headless Hunt fiasco. Nick deserved so much better, on all fronts.
Interactions with the Muggle Prime Minister
Maybe I’m biased, but I can’t help but find it hilarious to imagine the Prime Minister being accosted by a wizard to discuss the relations between worlds. Imagine the President, sitting in the oval office as a Wizard tries to explain why muggles need to be careful because a murderer has escaped wizarding prison.
While it isn’t a huge part of the story, it does build a bridge between the muggle and wizarding worlds, something which helps to build the world and establish where everything fits.
Percy and his redemption arc
While Percy’s treachery towards his family is touched on in the movies, it’s very much glossed over with him suddenly being gone and then reappearing later.
However, in the books, his behaviour is deplorable and he easily becomes a hated character for how he treats his family. He completely blanks them in public, humiliates them, and sides with Cornelius Fudge to call them crazy when they back Harry’s announcement that Voldemort is back.
When he finally does come back, during the Battle of Hogwarts, the family are celebrating when Fred is killed by an explosion, never seeing Percy return to the family.
Firenze teaching Divination
In the movies, the most we see of the Centaurs is the strange repeated sentence “Mars looks bright tonight”. However, at least one Centaur plays a much bigger role in the books.
During The Half-Blood Prince, after the dismissal of Professor Trelawney by Umbridge, Firenze becomes Divination teacher at Hogwarts and remains in the position for two years, teaching students about fortune telling. I’m not sure what else to say about this, except I desperately want more for the Centaurs than the small role they have in the movies.
Charlie Weasley
The Weasleys have seven children, though if you’ve only watched the movies, you could be forgiven for thinking one of them doesn’t exist.
Charlie Weasley is the oldest of those seven children and he works in Romania with Dragons. This is touched upon in the movies, with Ron saying as such, but he never appears in person. He’s glimpsed in the holiday photo from Egypt, but despite the fact that he was supposed to come pick up Norberta, he never shows his face.
The backstory of the Vanishing Cabinet
Remember the Vanishing Cabinet which is used by the Death Eaters to gain entry to Hogwarts during the final battle? That piece of furniture has an entire backstory interwoven through previous books.
It first appears in The Chamber of Secrets, when Harry is accosted by Filch for leaving muddy footprints in the freshly cleaned halls. Nearly Headless Nick convinces Peeves to create a distraction, and he breaks the cabinet.
Then, in The Goblet of Fire, Fred and George Weasley shove a Slytherin called Montague into the Cabinet and he gets stuck between Hogwarts and Borgin and Burke’s. When he escapes, he tells Draco Malfoy what happened, providing Draco with the idea to repair the Cabinet and get the Death Eaters into the castle.
However, none of this features in the movies, and this entire subplot is lost.
Harry funding Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes
In return for winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament during The Goblet of Fire, Harry receives 1,000 Galleons. However, Harry has an entire vault filled with Galleons in Gringotts and has no use for the money. Instead, he hands it over to Fred and George Weasley.
They, in turn, use this money to purchase a shop in Diagon Alley and build their wizarding joke empire, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Without Harry, they would not have been able to start their shop and live out their prankster dreams, albeit for a short time in Fred’s case.
Published: Jun 15, 2024 10:53 am