Harry Potter introduced viewers to a world of wizards, spells, and fantastical creatures. Based on a book series of the same title, the movies cut or altered several characters and scenes in order to better fit the visual medium and its runtime. Unfortunately, as is often the case, not every change from book to film was a good one.

While the series as a whole is still magical, many of the changes below seemed unnecessary, poorly conceived, or outright bizarre. While we can understand some of them, overall, they seem like missed opportunities that we hope the upcoming series reboot can rectify.

10Removing Peeves

In the books, Peeves was a lovable, prankstery poltergeist who could often be found terrorizing Filch or singing songs. Inexplicably, Peeves was absent from the Harry Potter films, even though other ghosts were included. While his absence didn’t greatly impact the plot, he was sorely missed by book readers who had grown accustomed to his hilarious antics.

Left on the Cutting Room Floor

Perhaps the biggest scene in which Peeves’ absence was noticed was the Battle of Hogwarts. In the book, he played an active role in helping the students defend the school. Earlier, he also helped them prank the insufferable Umbridge. Strangely, several of these scenes were filmed with Rik Mayall playing Peeves, but all were eventually cut.

9Neville’s Chosen One Story

Neville Longbottom, played by Matthew Lewis, was a much more fleshed-out character in the books. In the movies, some hints are given about what he’s gone through, such as his reaction to Professor Moody using the Cruciatus curse, but we never see how this curse affected his parents, who were tortured to insanity. Similarly, we never learn how the Chosen One prophecy, which is associated with Harry, could have easily applied to Neville instead.

Trelawney’s Prophecy

When Professor Trelawney gave her prophecy, she said that the Chosen One would be born at the end of July to “those who have thrice defied him.” Voldemort took this to mean Harry, but Neville was also born in late July to parents who had stood up to Voldemort three times. By going after Harry, Voldemort “marked him” and thus completed the prophecy, but if he had gone after Neville, he easily could have become the Boy Who Lived instead.

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8Marauders’ Backstory

As seen in the books, the Marauders consisted of James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. They created the Marauder’s Map in order to help them conduct their mischief. They also all became unregistered Animagi in support of Lupin, the werewolf. Going by the nicknames Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail, and Moony, the Marauders’ backstory was an integral part of the book—and yet, their shared history was missing entirely from the movie version.

Confusing for Movie-Only Watchers

For those who didn’t read the books, the inclusion of the Marauder’s map was likely a source of confusion. Lupin seemingly knew how to use it but didn’t explain why, and it basically came out of thin air. Plus, the Marauders’ backstory added weight to the later confrontation with Peter, as well as the loss of both Sirius and Lupin. In short, the Marauder’s backstory doesn’t change the plot much, but it does add dimension that book readers sorely missed.

7Harry’s Successful Use of The Cruciatus Curse

Twice in the books, Harry unsuccessfully attempted to use Crucio, the torture curse. The first time was after Bellatrix killed Sirius, and while he also tried to curse her in the movies, he failed because he didn’t really “mean it.” Additionally, in the book, he tried and failed to use it on Snape, but this scene doesn’t happen in the movie. Worse, he successfully used it on Amycus after the former spit on McGonagall, but no mention of this occurs in the film.

Harry’s Darkness

Although it’s a small scene, Harry’s successful use of The Cruciatus Curse showed just how deeply he’d been affected by everything that had happened to him. It also revealed that a part of him actually wanted to and enjoyed causing harm. If he had leaned into this part of himself, he could easily have become a dark wizard himself, or at least committed even more dark actions, all while falsely proclaiming them righteous.

6Ron’s Character

In the books, Ron Weasley is Harry’s brave and loyal best friend, but in the movies, many of his best lines were instead given to Hermione. While this was often to Hermione’s benefit, the change didn’t always make sense, and it often reflected poorly back on Ron.

For example, in the book, it was Ron who explained to Harry what “Mudblood” meant, while in the movies, Hermione instead gives the explanation, though she has no reason to know what one is. Similarly, in the first book, it is Ron who has to remind a panicking Hermione that she’s a witch before she can cast a spell to fend off the Devil’s Snare. In the movie, she simply remembers the spell on her own while Rupert Grint’s movie-Ron is the one left panicking.

Less of a Gryffindor, Less of a Friend

Unfortunately, the changes to Ron’s character made him a worse Gryffindor and friend overall. He was often the butt of the joke, instead of the one making said joke, and he rarely stood up for Hermione or Harry. For instance, during a Potions class, Snape called Hermione a know-it-all. In the movie, Ron responds, “He’s got a point, you know?” In the book, he stands up for her, asking why Snape asked a question if he didn’t want an answer. The latter is more in line with Gryffindor bravery and loyalty, and it’s what we were hoping to see from his movie counterpart.

5Ginny and Harry’s Relationship

Just like her brother, Ginny received a huge character change in the movies, for the worse. In the books, she’s daring, confident, and funny, but in the movies, she’s awkward and passive. This made it difficult to root for her and Harry to get together, especially since the actors shared very few scenes, and even less chemistry.

Bad Character, Bad Romance

Bonnie Wright wasn’t given much to work with when it came to portraying Ginny. She seemed more like a love interest archetype than an actual character. Worse, her roles in Quidditch and Dumbledore’s Army were greatly reduced, and her attempts to flirt with Harry, such as by tying his shoelaces, were not only out of character (book-Ginny would have tied them together) but also added nothing to the plot, outside of discomfort.

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4SPEW and Winky

The handling of house elves has always been a sore spot in Harry Potter’s legacy. The creatures seemingly want to be enslaved, which is already problematic enough, but to make matters worse, most of the other characters seem completely fine with it. Hermione, on the other hand, saw the mistreatment for what it was, so she started the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare (SPEW) in order to combat the status quo and gain them rights. Unfortunately, many of the house elves, such as the book-only Winky, wanted nothing to do with her or her society.

One of Hermione’s Best Traits

It’s strange that movie-Hermione was given so many of Ron’s best scenes and lines when her actions in SPEW were already so heroic. She saw a problem that no one else (except for Dobby) was really taking seriously. While we can understand why this uncomfortable plot line was removed from the movies, it was a great injustice to Hermione, who was so committed to fighting injustice.

3Cut Challenges in Sorcerer’s Stone

While trying to retrieve the Sorcerer’s Stone, the golden trio were forced to endure several challenges. The first four of these are in both the book and movie, and they involved subduing Fluffy, fighting the Devil’s Snare, catching a flying key, and playing a game of Wizard’s chess. However, the last two challenges, battling a troll and solving a potion riddle, were book-only inclusions.

More Hermione Slander

The challenges in Sorcerer’s Stone were meant to test each of the characters on an individual level. Chess was Ron’s game, the flying keys were Harry’s, and the potions were supposed to be Hermione’s. Instead, she stayed back with an injured Ron and left Harry to go on without her. While removing the troll can be forgiven, as it mostly served to show Quirrell’s connection to the creatures, not including the potions challenge robbed Hermione of her in-character time to shine.

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2Voldemort’s Backstory

Like Neville, Ginny, and Ron, Voldemort was a more intriguing and fully realized character in the books. In the movies, very little is shown of his backstory. Although viewers do learn that he was an orphan who hated his father and muggles, that’s just about all that they reveal. There is almost no mention of his time before or at Hogwarts, nor how his mother’s wicked deeds were largely responsible for what he became. In turn, the movie character is two-dimensional, harder to sympathize with, and overall less compelling.

What Makes a Villain?

Understanding Voldemort’s past by no means excusing his actions. However, it does humanize a character who essentially didn’t want to be human. Voldemort’s quest for immortality and absolute power makes more sense given his tragic backstory. Plus, understanding how Voldemort came to be provides an interesting foil for what Harry could have become.

1Voldemort’s Death Scene

It wasn’t enough for the movies to cut huge aspects of Voldemort’s backstory—they also did audiences a disservice surrounding his death. In the books, Voldemort died simply and somewhat anticlimactically in the Great Hall after the Elder Wand refused to kill Harry, and instead, hit Voldemort with its rebounded killing curse. In the movies, the two battled outside, and after being disarmed, Voldemort seemingly disappeared in a cloud of ash. Although this death was more cinematic, it was by far less thematically sound—not just for Voldemort, but the series as a whole.

Magic and Mortality

Several other scenes leading up to Voldemort’s death were also altered, such as the jump from the astronomy tower and the awkward hugging scene with Draco. However, his actual death remains the most egregious of these changes.

Voldemort’s entire journey was marked by his claims of superiority and quest to defeat Death. His movie death seemed to suggest he was something other than human when the whole point of his book death was to show just how fragile and human he truly was.