The ‘Harry Potter‘ fanbase is divided into two parts – fans of the books and fans of the movies. Although the movies did do justice to the books, they couldn’t quite stand up to Rowling’s brilliant storytelling. If you’re a fan of the books, you’d be aware of the number of scenes in the books that we didn’t really get to witness in the movies. Be it Charlie Weasley, or the reason why Tom Riddle hated mudbloods as much as he did, or what a Squib is, and who Harry’s godson is.
Here, we’ll delve into the ten most important scenes that were omitted or altered in the movies. Or to speak in the Potterverse language, the scenes that went Evanesco in the movies.
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10. Winky The House Elf
You might be well aware of Dobby and Kreacher. But do you know there was another house elf in the books that played a significant role? The Crouch family’s house elf, Winky, was privy to some very sinister information regarding the Crouches. Therefore, she was fully aware of Barty Crouch Jr.’s relationship with Voldemort and Barty Crouch Sr being under the Imperius curse. Winky reluctantly started working in the Hogwarts kitchen after being set free by Barty Crouch Sr., and drank a lot while doing so. She heavily inspired Hermione to start SPEW. In the books, Winky portrays a perfect example of what elves are like. Extremely submissive and dependent on their owners, Winky went through life believing that freedom was a sin.
9. Dudley’s Redemption
I know, I know, Dudley was a horrible cousin to Harry Potter and made living on Privet Drive unbearable for him. But if you’ve read the books, you’d know that Harry and Dudley actually ended on a good note. Dudley and Harry actually had a pleasant parting at his aunt’s house.
“I don’t think you’re a waste of space,” Dudley says, while telling Harry he saved his life. Dudley has two children and is on “Christmas card terms” with Harry’s family, as we know from Pottermore and other supplemental resources about the novel by Rowling; the cousins even occasionally pay one other a visit.
8. Peeves The Poltergeist
You know the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron and Nearly Headless Nick- err I mean Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington. But do you know there was a poltergeist in Hogwarts who we all grew up loving and hating? Peeves was a poltergeist who loved to cause trouble and commotion. He was a continual nuisance to the students and staff at the school, notably Argus Filch since only the Bloody Baron and Albus Dumbledore were able to control him. Peeves always made a scene anytime he thought things were getting monotonous. Peeves could be funny but most of the time, he was a pain in the ass.
7. Professor Binns
Cuthbert Binns taught History Of Magic at Hogwarts. He was the only teacher who was a ghost. You might think that’s fun – being taught by a teacher who frequently passed through students’ desks and floated around the classroom but that’s not true. Some of Binns’s classes at Hogwarts were regarded as being among the dullest. He spoke in a dull tone most of the time, and the only time he talked about something interesting was when he told the children about the Chamber Of Secrets.
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6. Ginny Weasley
The movie’s version of Ginny Weasley fell short of the standard set by her fictional self. In the ‘Harry Potter‘ novels, Ginny is bold, fiery, ferocious, and alluring that even Slytherins enviously admire her. She is chirpy, humorous, and intelligent. However, Ginny hardly rarely speaks or even has a significant presence in the movies. In the movies, she seems like a background character and seems like her only role was to play Harry’s love interest.
5. Dumbledore’s Backstory
In the novels, Dumbledore’s past is covered in in-depth chapters. His friendship with Gellert Grindelwald, the tragedy involving the Dumbledore family, and the passing of his sister Ariana. The headmaster’s backstory wasn’t exactly pleasant. Albus once believed that wizards should conquer and rule over Muggles. But we don’t get to see much of his backstory in the movies. In the ‘Harry Potter‘ movies, however, we don’t see much of his past. We see his brother and we see snippets of Rita Skeeter’s biography of Albus.
4. Severus Snape’s Backstory
Snape was perhaps the most mysterious character of the series. Towards the end though, we don’t know much about him. Snape had a dark past too- much like every other character of the series. We don’t get to know WHY Snape is the Half-Blood Prince. Snape’s mother- Eileen Prince was unhappily married to a muggle- Tobias Snape. Hence he called himself the half-blood prince. Snape had a rough childhood- much like Harry and Tom Riddle. A scene in Deathly Hallows even sees how Harry Snape and Tom were alike- half-blood wizards with jet-black hair and rough childhoods. The movies didn’t really do justice to his character.
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3. Snape And Lily’s Friendship
We only get glimpses of Snape and Lily’s friendship in small short flashbacks. But in the books, Snape and Lily’s friendship has a whole chapter. Their friendship at Hogwarts, Lily despising the people Snape grows up with (future Death Eaters- all of them), also despising James (Yes! Lily loathed James) and how the friendship fell apart because he ‘accidentally’ called her a mudblood. In Order Of The Phoenix Harry sees Snape’s worst memory being that very incident.
In the books, we can actually see the course of Snape falling and staying in love with Lily Evans. So much so that even after her death he goes to Grimmauld Place and tears a part of a letter she sends Sirius where she writes ‘With love, Lily’ along with a picture of hers smiling at Harry. The last scene where he dies, in the movies, he tells Harry, “You have your mother’s eyes”. But in the books, Snape tells him “Look…at…me” which makes more sense because the scene depicts how Snape wanted to have one last look at Lily’s eyes.
2. Voldemort’s Death
Voldemort’s demise was the most disappointing sequence in the whole ‘Harry Potter‘ film series. In the movies, Voldemort is seen passing away and turning into ashes, and that is all. However, in the movie, Voldemort merely falls to the ground at his death, just like a regular person would. Showing that at the end of it all, he was just another mortal human being. After he falls to the ground he is even laid away in a chamber, away from the bodies of others who died fighting him. The book’s ending does much more justice to show no matter how powerful of a sorcerer you are, you’ll die just as normally as any other human being. He didn’t die as Voldemort or the Dark Lord. He died as Tom Riddle.
1. The Chosen one – Neville Or Harry?
Harry Potter – the Chosen One. That’s what we’ve seen in the movies. But how exactly did he become the Chosen One? Because of the prophecy? According to Trelawney’s prophecy, the person who possesses the power to defeat the Dark Lord will be born to parents who were able to escape from Voldemort three times. Snape informed Voldemort of this portion of the prophecy after hearing it. Harry and Neville were the two children, and Longbottoms and Potters served as the parents who has escaped Voldemort thrice.
However, the second part of the prophecy, that Snape didn’t hear, and hence, Voldemort didn’t know was that Voldemort himself would choose the Chosen One and mark him as his equal and that he would have power that Voldemort doesn’t. Hence, it was Voldemort who singled out Harry. Maybe owing to the similarities he found between himself and Harry. Nevertheless, it was Voldemort who unknowingly gave Harry the power to defeat him. If he chose Neville instead, the story would have turned out differently.
Well, if we take out a fine toothcomb and go through the books, we’ll find more details that weren’t a part of the movies. One of the series’ most amazing features is how much attention Rowling puts into the specifics, which can only be appreciated by reading the novels. Rowling weaves a network without you even realizing it along the way. A seemingly unrelated detail from the second book that looked random and irrelevant might become crucial to the plot five books later, causing everything to change. That’s why reading the book is highly recommended. You can just find all the scenes that went Evanesco in the movies.
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