There are many differences between the Harry Potter books and the film counterparts. In this Book Haven post, we’ll explore fifty evident differences. However, we won’t be discussing the differences in characters’ physical appearances, etc.
1. Charlie Has A Bigger Role In The Books
Let’s begin with Charlie Weasley. In the books, Charlie is the one who is often bought in when it comes to dealing with the dragons. However, he doesn’t make a proper appearance in the films. He appears in a newspaper clipping in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie and he may have appeared in the background during Deathly Hallows Part One.
Charlie’s role throughout the book differs depending on the plot. In the Harry Potter films, he is referenced a handful of times, unlike in the books. Charlie’s first physical appearance in the books was, like Bill, in Goblet of Fire.
2. Bill Appears More In The Books Than He Does In The Movies
Another Weasley we don’t see much of in the movies is Bill, the eldest of Ron’s 6 siblings. We first see Bill in the same newspaper clipping we see Charlie in Prisoner of Azkaban.
However, unlike Charlie, we do get to meet Bill in Deathly Hallows Part One. He makes his first physical appearance in the books in Goblet of Fire.
3. Fleur And Bill Meet Much Earlier In The Books
In the Harry Potter books, Fleur and Bill meet in Goblet of Fire. They later get married in Deathly Hallows. We don’t know how Fleur and Bill meet in the films as Bill is only introduced in Deathly Hallows Part One and appears in Deathly Hallows Part Two. Bill has no role in the Goblet of Fire movie at all.
4. The Gaunt Family Makes An Appearance in The Books (In Flashbacks)
To understand Lord Voldemort, you need to understand how he came to be. The Half-Blood Prince book reveals that he came from an unloving union with a pure-blooded witch mother who tricked his muggle father into marriage using a love potion. Upon falling pregnant, his mother, Merope Gaunt, who had been abused by her father and brother all her life, decided to stop the deceit and hoped her husband would love her and their child without the potion. She was wrong and he left her, heavily pregnant. She gave birth on the 31st December 1926 at Wools Orphanage and died several hours later.
Merope’s father, Marvolo and brother, Morfin, also appear in these flashbacks, but the trio do not appear in the films. Merope is mentioned as ‘Voldemort’s mother’, but that is as far as it goes. Tom Riddle Snr, Voldemort’s father, is mentioned too.
In the Half-Blood Prince movie, the ring, which belongs to Marvolo Gaunt in the books, is mentioned to have belonged to Merope. Her father and brother aren’t even referenced. However, the Merope Riddle Harry Potter Wiki page mentions that Harry tells Hermione and Ron in a deleted scene in Deathly Hallows Part One that the ring belonged to Marvolo and the locket belonged to Merope. It’s possible that the scene was removed from the film because it caused a continuity error with what was said in the previous film.
The Half-Blood Prince book states that Marvolo owned the ring. Merope owned the locket. She sold the locket to get by after her husband left, likely not realising that it was a Gaunt Family heirloom.
5. Teddy Lupin Appears In The Epilogue (And Deathly Hallows In General)
One aspect of the films that upset people was the birth of Harry’s godson, Teddy Lupin was practically forgotten about. There was one tiny scene in the final version of Deathly Hallows Part One where Tonks goes to reveal she’s pregnant but Mad-Eye cuts her off. There was a casting for Teddy for the epilogue scene in Deathly Hallows Part Two which was filmed. The appearance was removed altogether.
There is a deleted scene where Harry calls upon Lupin with the Resurrection Stone and mentions Teddy, though not by name. This scene was likely cut when it was decided that Teddy would be removed from the epilogue scene too.
6. Peeves Actually Appears In The Books
Now, this next fact is one that not a lot of people know. Peeves, Hogwarts’ resident poltergeist, actually was supposed to appear in the films. Peeves was cast for the Philosopher’s Stone and scenes were filmed with the character. However, the visual effects weren’t as realistic as they are now and after seeing how bad Peeves looked and director Chris Columbus, decided to cut the character altogether.
Peeves was the comic relief in the books and was known for associating with Fred and George Weasley. When they leave school, they order him to give Umbridge hell on their behalf.
7. Ginny And Mrs Weasley Show Their Hatred For Fleur
The relationship that Mrs Weasley and Ginny had with Fleur Delacour was not as smooth sailing as you might think it was if you haven’t read the books. Originally, Molly and Ginny hated Fleur because they saw her as rude and vain as she has Veela genetics via her mother.
Ginny mockingly refers to Fleur as ‘Phlegm’.
However, their tunes change when Bill is mauled by Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf ally of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Molly thinks Fleur will break up with her son due to him being not as handsome as before. Fleur, meanwhile, actually shocks Molly by saying she doesn’t care how Bill looks and that she loves him no matter what.
This doesn’t happen in the movies as Bill’s mauling happens off-screen before he meets Harry in Death Hallows Part One.
8. Mrs Weasley Tries To Play Matchmaker And Attempts To Get Tonks And Bill Together
In part two of our ‘The Weasley ladies hate Fleur’ talk, Mrs Weasley attempts to play matchmaker by trying to get Bill to dump Fleur and to date Tonks, who is more to her liking. Molly is kind enough to Tonks when she’s upset after being rejected by Remus that she sits and listens to her rant.
Again, this doesn’t happen in the movies.
9. Hermione And Mrs Weasley’s Relationship Becomes Fractured For A Short Time Period
We all know how Mrs Weasley thinks of Hermione and Harry as her own children. However, the Goblet of Fire puts a dent in Molly’s relationship with Hermione after Rita Skeeter writes, quite inaccurately, that Hermione was “going after” Harry.
Harry says in a much later book that he has only ever seen Hermione as a sister and nothing more. It’s possible that Mrs Weasley was aware that Ron had a crush on Hermione and believed what Skeeter had written. Or at least, this is what the fan theory.
Mrs Weasley doesn’t appear in the Goblet of Fire movie at all, and this subplot was omitted from the film. Though, Hermione mentions Molly when she yells at Ron to wake up at the beginning of the movie.
10. Dobby Appears More
Everyone knows Dobby appears in the Chamber of Secrets. However, in the books, he appears a lot more than he does in the films. In the books, he is referenced in Prisoner of Azkaban, and seen in every book from Goblet of Fire onwards.
Dobby was only in two films; Chamber of Secrets and Deathly Hallows: Part One.
11. The Crouch House Elf, Winky, Appears
Goblet of Fire appears to be the one Harry Potter book that introduces a lot of stuff that helps push the plot forward. Since Dobby was introduced two books earlier in Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of the Fire introduces us to Winky, the house elf owned by the Crouches.
Winky was believed to be the one who cast the Dark Mark in the sky above the Quidditch World Cup. However, she was framed by her master Barty Couch Junior. She was later dismissed by her master Crouch Snr. Winky later ended up working in the Hogwarts Kitchens, but she was devastated by her dismissal, which led to her becoming an alcoholic. She became friends with Dobby, who explained the situation to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Hermione, horrified by Winky’s treatment, established S.P.E.W or Society of Promotion of Elfish Welfare, a title that didn’t go over well with anyone.
Winky would fight with the House Elves during the Battle of Hogwarts.
12. Dobby Is The One Who Found The Room Of Requirement, Not Neville
The Order of the Phoenix book is the longest in the series and with that, comes with a lot of detail. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know that it was Neville who found the Room of Requirement.
However, this is not what happens in the book. Instead, it was Dobby who found the room and reported it to Harry, Ron and Hermione.
13. Gilderoy Lockhart Has Another Appearance Outside Of Chamber Of Secrets
Okay, raise your hand if you HATE Gilderoy Lockhart. Yeah, us too. Everyone who has seen the Chamber of Secrets movie will know he managed to lose his memories of everything, including himself when he uses Ron’s broken wand in an attempt to erase Ron and Harry’s memories.
He makes another appearance in the books much later in the series. This occurs when Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny are at Saint during the Order of the Phoenix book. Lockhart is seen in the Janis Thickey Ward that treats permanent mishaps with spells alongside Neville’s parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom.
14. Tonks’ Parents Andromeda And Ted Tonks Appear
The Deathly Hallows book introduces Tonks’s parents; Andromeda and Ted Tonks. The first time Andromeda and Ted are referenced is in the Order of the Phoenix book during a conversation that Harry has with Sirius.
15. Voldemort’s Body Does NOT Break Up Into Particles When He Dies
One thing that was overly dramatised in the Deathly Hallows Part Two film was how Voldemort died. After Harry kills him, the Dark Lord breaks up into particles. However, this is not what happens in the book. He just falls over dead when Harry casts the spell that ends him.
16. Fleur Is Loaned An Old Prewett Family Heirloom To Wear On Her Wedding Day
Fleur Delacour was loaned a tiara by Mrs Weasley’s great-aunt Muriel when she married Bill. However, in the Deathly Hallows Part One film, Fleur is seen wearing a headpiece, rather than a tiara, but the ‘Muriel’s Tiara’ page on the Harry Potter Wiki has the ‘headpiece’ classified as a ‘tiara’.
17. Hermione Sets Up S.P.E.W
One massive part of Hermione’s character arc in the books is the establishment of S.P.E.W. The Society of Promotion of Elfish Welfare was created to give House Elves a voice, but it ends up being a total disaster as only Hermione’s closest friends, and Dobby are involved.
S.P.E.W is treated as a massive joke within Hogwarts and the House Elves see it as an insult as they mostly enjoy their work.
18. Hermione And Ron Become Prefects
A plot point that is not focused on in the movies is Hermione and Ron being prefects. This was a disappointment to Harry. Dumbledore explains that he didn’t want to further burden Harry when he was already dealing with the Voldemort situation and being on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
19. Penelope Clearwater Plays A Slightly Bigger Role In Chamber Of Secrets
Penelope Clearwater is a Muggle-born student that Percy was dating during Chamber of Secrets. He was keeping her a secret from his siblings, which made him look suspect when the Chamber was opened. This was not discussed in the movie of the same name. Penelope is referenced by Nearly Headless Nick when he passes her and Percy in the corridor.
20. The Philosopher’s Stone Movie Left Out Snape’s Potions Puzzle
The Philosopher’s Stone movie was almost seamlessly adapted to the screen in 2001. However, there was one aspect that was left out. Snape had a hand in the obstacles that were put in the path to the Stone in the book, but his potions puzzle was omitted from the film.
21. Narcissa Is Introduced Much Earlier In The Books
If you’ve only watched the films, you might not be aware that Draco’s mother, Narcissa, actually made her first appearance much earlier in the books.
Narcissa’s first appearance is in the Goblet of Fire book. However, her first appearance in the films was in the Half-Blood Prince.
22. Hagrid Learns From Charlie That Norbert Is Actually A Girl
Everyone remembers Hagrid having a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg that hatched and he named Norbert in the Philosopher’s Stone book and the film. However, in the books, the subject comes up again when Charlie visits Hagrid and reveals Norbert is a girl and has been renamed Norberta.
23. Incest Between Pure Blood Wizarding Families Is Explored More In The Books
The films do very little to touch on the incest that goes on in many pure-blooded wizarding families to keep the bloodlines pure.
24. The Harry Potter Films Don’t Explore The House Elves At Hogwarts While The Books Do
The only two house elves that have any form of role in the Harry Potter films are Dobby and Kreacher, while the books feature others. Hokey and Winky are females who are never featured.
25. Mr Weasley Doesn’t Refer To His Wife As “Mollywobbles” In The Movies
If there is one good thing that didn’t end up in the Harry Potter films, it’s that Mr Weasley calls his wife “Mollywobbles”, which is her nickname in the books. Though, it does come up in the Chamber of Secrets video game.
26. Where Most Of The Horcruxes Came From Isn’t Explained In The Movies
There is very little explanation as to where the Horcruxes came from in the Harry Potter films, whereas the books do explain it.
For those who are wondering:
- Diary – Moaning Myrtle’s death – bought from a Muggle bookstore
- Locket – the death of Muggle tramp – was a Gaunt Family Heirloom
- Ring – the death of Tom Riddle Snr – was a Gaunt Family Heirloom
- Hufflepuff’s Cup – The Death of Hepizah Smith – was Hufflepuff Heirloom/Hepizah Smith
- Ravenclaw’s Diadem – the death of Albanian peasant – was Ravenclaw Heirloom
- Nagini – the death of Bertha Jorkins – Voldemort’s beloved pet snake
- Harry Potter – the murder of Lily Potter – Harry’s mother who sacrificed herself for her son
27. Important Characters Who Appear In Early Books, But Don’t Appear Until Later In The Movies
- Mrs Figg
- Narcissa Malfoy
- Bellatrix Lestrange
- Frank Longbottom
- Alice Longbottom
- Cedric Diggory
28. Narcissa And Bellatrix Don’t Acknowledge Andromeda Or Nymphadora At All The Films
It’s no secret that Narcissa and Bellatrix are blood purists and are obsessed with being pure-blooded. During a conversation with Voldemort about Nymphadora’s marriage to Remus, Bellatrix says that Andromeda is no “sister of theirs” because she was disowned for marrying a Muggle-born (Ted Tonks).
In The Deathly Hallows films, there is no conversation because Andromeda is not present, and the relationship between the four women is not mentioned at all because of this omission.
29. Goyle Is Killed Instead Of Crabbe
Now this one is not a change as it was done on purpose in the final Harry Potter movie. Of Draco’s two favourite goons, Crabbe and Goyle, Goyle is the one who perishes in the Fiendfyre inferno that destroys Ravenclaw’s Diadem.
In the book, it’s Crabbe that dies.
The reason Goyle is the one to die in the film is due to the actor who played Crabbe, Jamie Waylett, ending up in prison and having an extensive criminal record, contributing to drug possession and having illegal weapons in his car. He was later involved in the 2011 riots.
30. Omitted Characters From The Harry Potter Books That Did Not Appear in The Films
- Andromeda Tonks
- Ted Tonks
- Teddy Lupin
- Apolline Delacour
- Monsieur Delacour
- Charlie Weasley
- The Weasley Family Ghoul
- Victoire Weasley
- Piers Polkiss
- Sphinx
- Peeves
- Winky
- Hokey
- Ludo Bagman
- Phineas Nigelleus Black
- Marietta Edgecombe
Amongst others.
31. Mrs Figg Had A Larger Role In The Books
In the books, Arabella Figg was a neighbour of the Dursleys who had ties to the Order of the Phoenix. She was assigned to watch over Harry on Dumbledore’s behalf. Mrs Figg is referenced several times before Order of the Phoenix takes place and is where Harry would be placed when the Dursleys needed someone to watch him.
Mrs Figg only appears in the Order of the Phoenix movie and this is the only film in which she even has a reference.
32. The Explanation Of Squibs
The books reveal that Filch and Mrs Figg are Squibs, individuals who are born to magical folk but do not possess magical abilities of their own.
Squib as a term is not even referenced in the Harry Potter films, though it is in the books.
33. Potterwatch
Potterwatch was a radio programme set up by Fred and George’s friend Lee Jordan during the Second Wizarding War while Harry, Ron and Hermione were on the run. The twins, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus were all contributors to the show, using codenames to hide their identities.
Potterwatch does appear in the Deathly Hallows films, but not to the extent it is in the books. Also, Nigel (an original character who replaces Colin and Dennis Creevey) is the one who runs Potterwatch, not Lee Jordan.
34. Rita Skeeter’s Animagus Form
A massive thorn in the side of Hermione and Harry during Goblet of Fire is tabloid journalist Rita Skeeter. While not shown or referenced in the film, Rita’s animagus form is that of a beetle. Hermione realises this is how Skeeter has been getting her stories and manages to trap her before blackmailing her.
35. Bellatrix Only Duels Ginny And Molly Weasley During The Battle Of Hogwarts
Bellatrix Lestrange loves to kill and torture. In the Deathly Hallows book, she duels with Ginny, Luna and Hermione and comes close to killing Ginny. This is when Molly steps in with her iconic line “Not my daughter you bitch!” and duels Bellatrix herself before killing her.
In Deathly Hallows Part Two, Hermione and Luna are not present for the duel at all as they’re off dueling different opponents. Ginny is seen fighting Bellatrix and is barely able to hold off Bellatrix’s attacks before her mother is forced to step in.
36. Beauxbatons And Durmstrang Were Not Single-Sex Schools In The Books
Casual fans might not know that Beauxbatons, the French magic school and Durmstrang, the Bulgarian magic school are actually co-ed schools, not same-sex a they are seen in the films.
Durmstrang is well-known for producing dark wizards with Gellert Grindelwald being the most famous student to come out of the school. However, it has been suggested on the Harry Potter Wiki page for the school that despite the establishment being founded by a woman, a later headmaster may have prevented women.
Also, one of the most famous students to come out of Beauxbatons was Nicolas Flamel.
It should be noted that Beauxbatons was known for taking students from neighbouring countries in the same way Hogwarts takes students from Britain, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
37. The Reason Cho And Harry Break Up
The reasons in the Harry Potter books why Harry and Cho break up differ from the films. In the books, the break up was a series of factors. These include:
- Cho’s defence of Marietta Edgecombe (more on her a little later)
- The grief Cho still has over Cedric’s death
- Cho’s jealousy of Hermione
In the films, however, Cho and Harry break up after she rats out Dumbledore’s Army under the influence of truth serum. Many of Marietta’s attributes are passed onto Cho as the character doesn’t appear.
38. Age Changes: Cho, Romilda And Katie
Next, we have the age changes for Cho Chang, Romilda Vane and Katie Bell. In the books, Cho is older than Harry. Romilda is seen as a couple of years younger and Katie is older.
Cho, Katie and Romilda are depicted as being in the same year as Harry, Ron and Hermione in the films. This was made evident by their appearances in Deathly Hallows where they’re seen dressed in school uniforms. Romilda would have been there anyway in the book but was underage.
Cho and Katie were in the same year and graduated in the Half-Blood Prince books.
39. Marietta Edgecombe
We referenced Marietta Edgecombe a little earlier. Well, in the Harry Potter books, Marietta is dragged into the DA by Cho, whereas in the films, she is non-existent.
Marietta’s mother works for the Ministry of Magic and Marietta is firmly on their side, not Harry and Dumbledore’s. Little does she realise, Hermione has put a hex on the DA sign-up to spell out SNEAK in pimples across the betrayer’s face.
Edgecombe betrays the DA by telling Umbridge and she ends up activating the hex. The scarring is permanent and Cho explodes at Harry when he defends Hermione’s decision to do it in the first place. This ends the couple’s relationship.
40. Ginny’s Boyfriends
During the books, Ginny has three boyfriends; Michael Corner, Dean Thomas and Harry. In the films, she is only shown to have two; Dean and Harry. Michael Corner is in the films, but he is not shown as dating Ginny.
41. The Creevey Brothers
Fans meet Colin Creevey during the Chamber of Secrets as a muggle-born student who is in Ginny’s year. He is petrified by the Basilisk and later revived. He appears in the Chamber of Secrets movie, but this is the only time he makes an appearance in the films.
Colin’s younger brother, Dennis, appears in later books but was omitted from the films altogether.
The character, Nigel, was a combination of Colin and Dennis. According to William Melling, Nigel was supposed to die in Deathly Hallows Part Two, as Colin does in the book, but the death didn’t end up happening.
42. The Absence Of Victoire
In The Deathly Hallows book epilogue, readers are introduced briefly to Victoire, Teddy’s girlfriend. Victoire is the daughter of Bill and Fleur and the eldest grandchild of Arthur and Molly. She is absence from the film epilogue scene.
43. There Is No Potential Romance Between Neville And Luna
One of the greatest things about the Deathly Hallows Part Two movie is the romantic tensions between Neville and Luna which does not exist in the book.
44. Snape Hitting Ron And Harry In The Head
A joke in the Goblet of Fire movie, is Snape hitting Harry and Ron in the head. This was created for the Harry Potter film and didn’t happen in the book.
45. Slughorn’s Fish Story
In the Half-Blood Prince movie, Slughorn tells Harry that his late mother, Lily, once gave him a gift of a fish bowl with a flower that transformed into a fish. The fish disappeared the night Lily was murdered by Voldemort.
This story was not in the books.
46. Aragog Looks Smaller In Half-Blood Prince Movie
If you weren’t having colossal nightmares about Aragog, Hagrid’s pet spider, then we don’t blame you. Anyway, in the Half-Blood Prince film when Hagrid invites Slughorn and Harry to Aragog’s funeral, the corpse looks somewhat smaller than what was shown in Chamber of Secrets.
47. Hermione Wears Blue
In The Goblet of Fire book, Hermione wears a blue dress to the Yule Ball. In the film, she wears pink.
48. Most Of The Patronuses Aren’t Known
In the books, most of the DA’s patronuses aren’t known. However, the movies give a better look at what they are. This is how we know that Cho’s patronus is a swan and Hermione’s is an otto.
49. Fred And George Don’t Trick Dudley
The Chamber of Secrets isn’t the only time Fred and George help retrieve Harry from the Dursleys’. Another time, they trick Dudley into eating Ton-Ton Toffee.
50. Dumbledore Issues Petunia With A Warning
Albus Dumbledore became a father figure to Harry during his time at Hogwarts and was well aware of how the Dursleys treated him. He issues Petunia with a warning to be nicer to her nephew, which prompts her to back off on her harsh treatment of him.
