It is no secret among my friends that I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan. This franchise has been a part of my life since my childhood. I discovered the movies first before I read the books. While I absolutely adore the movies and will watch them time and time again, there are things from the books that I really wish made it into the movies. For instance:
“There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor.”
This is something important that everybody needs to understand: Harry Potter is the ultimate sass master. There are several moments in the books where Harry’s sass is so prominent and heavy that we can’t help but snap our fingers. However, this sassy moment in particular takes the cake. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry attended a Defence Against the Dark Arts class, which was taught by his least favourite teacher, Professor Severus Snape. The class lesson of the day was practicing non-verbal spells – spells casted without verbally reciting them. Harry accidentally shouted his spell. Snape says, “Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?” to which Harry responds with, “Yes.” Snape says, “Yes sir,” implying that Harry must respectfully call him “sir.” But our sass master immediately replies without a beat, “There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor.” How this legendary moment was not added into the movie, I’ll never know.
Peeves
Those who have read the books will shout, “YES!” simply reading the name. To those who have only watched the movies, you must be wondering, “Who the heck is Peeves?” Well, you may recall the Hogwarts ghosts like Nearly Headless Nick and Moaning Myrtle. Peeves is another ghost – a poltergeist who roams the school and causes mischief. He’s basically a ghostly version of Fred and George Weasley. He drops water balloons on incoming students, makes fun of the professors, floods floors, and even once dropped a bag of tarantulas in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. He also often sings childish songs. For example, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry is accused of being the Heir of Slytherin, Peeves floats around singing, “Oh Potter, you rotter, oh what have you done? You’re killing off students, you think it’s good fun.” Almost every Potterhead who has read the books wishes Peeves was added into the movies, and I am definitely one of them.
Winky
Another character to add to the question of, “Who the heck is that?” She was only in one book (from what I can recall) but she was so very important. Winky is a House-Elf, like Dobby, who we have seen in the Chamber of Secrets. Winky is in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which is my personal favourite in the franchise. Once I tell you who Winky served, since she’s a House-Elf, you’ll have an understanding as to why she was so important. She served the family of Barty Crouch, the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Ministry of Magic. Barty Crouch, as we fans know, was the father of the Death Eater who led Harry into Voldemort’s deathly grasp. Winky unknowingly played an important role for this plan of leading Harry to Voldemort – she was seen with Harry’s wand after Barty Crouch’s son, Barty Crouch Junior, used it to cast the Dark Mark (Voldemort’s sign) in the sky. After Barty Crouch released her of her duties as his servant, she began working at Hogwarts in the kitchen with Dobby and several other House-Elves but was clearly miserable, having loved serving the Crouch family. There’s so much to Winky and her importance that I can’t explain it all here.
Snape’s Worst Memory
This moment was barely touched upon in the movie. It was obvious from the beginning that Snape despised Harry’s deceased father, James. It was not explained why until the fifth book. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry watched Snape’s worst memory in the Pensieve. In it, Harry witnessed James and his best friend, Sirius Black (Harry’s godfather), bully Snape, whom they nicknamed “Snivellus,” in the schoolyard after an exam. They both made fun of him in front of several nearby students and jinxed him several times. Using magic, they filled his mouth with soap, knocked him off his feet, and froze his body using the Full Body-Bind Curse. Then, Harry’s mother, Lily, approached the scene and stood up for Snape. She yelled at James to leave him alone – she did not like James in the beginning at all. Then, Snape shouted, “I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!” A “Mudblood” is a derogatory word used against wizards who were born into non-wizarding families. This entire scene was so important as it puts into light why Snape is so hateful towards Harry’s father (not that it excuses his horrible behaviour).
S.P.E.W.
No, not spew. The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare — also known as S.P.E.W. This is an organization that Hermione Granger created in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in support of House-Elves after witnessing their treatment from wizards – like the way Barty Crouch treated Winky. Viewing their treatment as an injustice, Hermione decided to form this organization to promote Elf rights. Even after Ron Weasley constantly tells her that the Elves enjoy the work and like being bossed around (which is pretty much true), Hermione continues this campaign with the understanding that House-Elves were brainwashed into liking the treatment they receive. She went forward with this campaign pretty much alone as people thought of S.P.E.W. as a joke, but she persevered, believing in Elf rights and proper treatment. Her fight for House-Elves eventually caught on, even with Ron, who expressed that they needed to get the House-Elves out of Hogwarts to protect them in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows during the battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
There are so many things that the movies did not add from the books, but I couldn’t possibly list them all. Otherwise, this article would become a novel. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movies so much, and I’m not throwing any judgement towards anyone who has not read the books. These are just the things that I believe deserved to make into the movies. Especially Harry’s sass.