10 Things You Never Knew About Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a classic staple in any home. Whether you have read the books, and haven’t seen the movies, or vice versa, everyone loves it! But have you ever wondered what you were missing from the books if you have never read them? How do the movies truly differ?

There are many things that the movies added that weren’t in the books, for some unknown reason, and things that should have been added from the books but were left out and forgotten. Here are 10 things that I believe were sorely missed from our beloved Harry Potter movies.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Sass

Harry is notorious for his amount of sass that he is always spewing out, especially when it comes to Professor Snape. One of the fandom’s most quoted sass moments is between Harry and Snape, “Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?” “Yes,” said Harry stiffly. “Yes, sir.” “There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor.” I feel it a public disservice that they cut out all of these funny bits from the movies. And for what reason? I’d sure like to know!

Where are the House Elves?

The house-elves played a bigger part in Harry Potter than most realize. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hermione created a cause entitled S.P.E.W (the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) to attempt to free the house-elves. House Elf enslavement had been a huge controversy for centuries, with the mistreatment of all of the house-elves. As we saw with Dobby in The Chamber of Secrets, they are often abused and neglected. Hermione was very passionate about fair treatment for all beings, as you can imagine with her being Muggle-Born. Her friends were supportive, though at first, they didn’t understand why she was so invested. When Hermione realized that there were house-elves at Hogwarts and that they weren’t getting paid, she made sure everyone knew that it was flat out slave labor. This is the kind of representation we needed in these books, and the fact that it got cut was very disappointing as most book fans will admit.

The Reality of Ginny

On the big screen, Ginny Weasley was known for her silent obsession with Harry Potter. While, yes, she did vie for Harry, she was also an amazing chaser and seeker, courageous and very outspoken. Being the only female in a house full of men makes you strong. Ginny was brave and tenacious and didn’t take anyone’s crap. They made her seem weak and basically just Harry Potter’s biggest fan, with really no role in the films. She had, by far, the most personality taken out of her character more than any other in the films.

Peeves the Poltergeist

You may wonder… Who the heck is Peeves? Peeves the Poltergeist was a mischievous, mean, hilarious character. Most known for antagonizing Mr. Filch, he also liked to poke fun at the students, usually with stink bombs aimed at their heads. You could always hear Peeves rhyming in the halls… “Oh, most think he’s barking, the Potty wee lad, but some  are more kindly and think he’s just sad, but Peevesy knows better and says that he’s mad.”

Happy Death Day Nick

Nearly Headless Nick is already pretty infamous. However, did you know that every year he would celebrate the day of his death? Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, Nick invited him and the gang to his Deathday party on Hallowe’en, where hundreds of ghosts gathered together on a crowded dance floor, to celebrate the partial beheading of Nicholas De-Mimsy Porpington. This was something fans looked forward to seeing adapted for the big screen and there’s not even a deleted scene for it?

The Quidditch World Cup

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was changed very drastically for the movies. One thing I was frustrated by was the beginning. Harry starts at the Dursley’s home, where he asks his uncle if he could attend the World Cup with the Weasleys. To Harry’s surprise, he says yes! On the condition that they don’t use magic to pick him up. Well, you know the Weasleys! Naturally, they attempted to use Floo Powder to enter through the fireplace. Only the Dursleys didn’t use their wood-burning fireplace and it was blocked off, creating one huge mess. The Weasleys inevitably got stuck in the fireplace, thoroughly ticking off Vernon.

“What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?’ ‘Oh no, Ron,’ came Fred’s voice, very sarcastically. ‘No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up.’ ‘Yeah, we’re having the time of our lives here,’ said George, whose voice sounded muffled, as though he was squashed against the wall.”

There was a sudden loud “BANG!” as Arthur casted a spell, and the fireplace busted open, spilling the Weasleys out of it.

This was a wonderful opening to the book! The Weasleys got to meet the Dursleys, and finally understood how awful they were.

Weasley is our King!

Ronald Bilius Weasley. Known for his lack of confidence, and hijinks with Harry Potter. Did you know that the Slytherin house composed a song entitled “Weasley is our King!” It probably sounds like a supportive song, right? Wrong. It was written to sort of undermine him and mock his lack of keeper skills as he probably should’ve made Slytherin win that quidditch match. Later, however, Gryffindors changed it to increase his confidence. As they did this, he got better at letting the opposing team score fewer points. After this, he became the “King of the Gryffindors.” Later in the series, Weasley became a house prefect over Harry and Hermione, furthering his confidence in himself.

That’s not Harry

In the final Harry Potter book, Fleur marries Bill Weasley. This part is in the movie, but what they changed is Harry’s appearance. In the book, Harry was given Polyjuice potion so that he could take on the identity of a muggle red-headed boy to pretend to be a Weasley cousin named Barny. This was so he could be hidden away in plain sight so nobody could recognize him and report him. Although this didn’t fool the lovely Luna Lovegood, as she could tell right away it was Mr. Potter because of his facial expressions. Oh, Luna…

The Werewolf and Metamorphmagi

If you didn’t read the books, you may or may not be aware that Remus and Tonks got married mid-series. They vaguely touch on it in the movies, but it left fans wondering! Remus and Tonks had an age difference of 12 years, which Lupin was concerned about; however, that is not why I am writing about them. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, Tonks begins to tell the group good news but is quickly interrupted. Nymphadora Tonks was then pregnant with “Teddy.” I always questioned why they did not add this into the movies, especially because they named Harry Godfather over Teddy. Remus and Tonks had such a pure relationship in general, considering he was a werewolf. Remus thought he was too damaged and scary to ever be loved. Tonks was not concerned about this whatsoever and supported him in every way she possibly could and making him feel the most loved he had ever been. Thus, arguably making them the greatest and strongest relationship (aside from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley) in the franchise.

The “V” Word

In the final book of the Harry Potter series, they make it known that if you say “Voldemort,” Death Eaters instantly find you. In the movies, they explain this only in a deleted scene, otherwise, you are left guessing as to why Death Eaters just showed up at the Lovegood residence after Xenophilius uttered the name. Voldemort put a trace on his name using a taboo curse so that he could track down the members of the Order of the Phoenix, as he figured they would be the only ones to dare speak the name. This was a huge part of the last film, as the gang was never afraid of saying the “V” word. “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself” 

In Conclusion…

I think that we can all agree that Harry Potter will always be an amazing series, whether it’s just because of the books or the movies. Yes, we want a television series that follows the books. Can we please do this? You know… Seven seasons, each season is a different book and each episode, or two is a chapter. SOMETHING. Give. Us. Accuracy! But, for now, we will settle for what we have because it is still incredible and magical. It gave us all something to look forward to as they either trickled out on paper or the big screen. Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for producing this wonderful story that has inspired so many people and kept many going through hard times. The trio is everything we didn’t know we needed. You are our Queen.