12 Surprising “Harry Potter” Book Facts That Were Left Out of the Movies

Some of the most important scenes and storylines were sacrificed when the Harry Potter movies were made. That was either due to the lengthy content of the books or because producers couldn’t anticipate what the next novels would be about. One of the missing facts is that Harry could have easily been replaced as the chosen one and this probably would have opened up our imagination even more.

We at Bright Side chose the missing facts from the movies that we think might make you think twice once you learn about them.

1. Harry didn’t break the elder wand.

The Elder wand was a magnet for trouble. Its purpose was to make its owner unbeatable. So, Harry knew that whoever had it (that people knew about it), was a target. He was tired of fighting and also he was the only one who could destroy it, so he broke the wand into 2 pieces in the movie.

However, in the book, Harry doesn’t break the wand. Instead, he returns it to Dumbledore’s tomb, but before he does he repairs his own wand with it.

2. Professor Trelawney actually dropped crystal balls on the Death Eaters.

Professor Trelawney also participated during the Battle of Hogwarts. However, the part where she was dropping crystal balls on enemies’ heads was cut out of the movie. She actually knocked out Fenrir Greyback as he attacked Lavender Brown.

Even though she wasn’t successful at saving Lavender, she continued throwing crystal balls with a “tennis-like serve” onto the heads of the Death Eaters.

3. Harry Potter’s first broom wasn’t a Nimbus 2000.

One important detail that viewers don’t know and that readers might have missed is that actually that the Nimbus 2000 wasn’t Harry’s first broomstick. In a letter that was written by his mother, Lily, she tells Sirius that Harry enjoys the toy broomstick that he sent to him. She then explains how Harry has been flying all around the garden and that James thinks he will be an excellent Quidditch player.

4. Peeves was left out of the movies.

Hogwarts School is home to a lot of ghosts, each schoolhouse even has its own. However, there is one figure that wasn’t part of the movies: Peeves, the naughtiest of them all. Actually, he is not a ghost, but a poltergeist.

He spends his time causing trouble by mocking students and even splatters visitors with mud. He even proves very helpful against evil. However, he was shown only in a few scenes in the movie and the director completely left him out of the plot.

5. Voldemort’s eyes

In the movie, Lord Voldemort’s eyes are white. However, in the books, his eyes are red.

6. Quidditch seasons were left out of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.

The Quidditch season was removed from the fifth movie. But in the book, it was an important part because Ron Weasley joins the team as a keeper, replacing Olive Wood. This was a huge growth opportunity for Ron since he leads his team to victory. So, this was the time when he was able to step out of Harry’s shadow.

Ron auditioned for the role in the sixth movie, but at this point, it was a bit too late for his character to develop.

7. The 2-way mirror importance wasn’t anticipated by the filmmakers so it was left out of The Order of the Phoenix.

Sirius gave Harry one half of a magical mirror so that they could communicate in The Order of the Phoenix, but Harry later stuffed it away and vowed not to use it. However, he didn’t know that the mirror would be important in the future.

So, in the movie adaption, the mirror was completely cut out because, at that time, it didn’t seem very important. The filmmakers didn’t anticipate that the mirror would play an important part in the last novel. When the mirror did appear in the final movie, its origin wasn’t explained and this left many of us confused, especially those who didn’t read the book.

8. A piece of Voldemort’s soul appeared in The Order of the Phoenix.

The important locket that turned out to be a piece of Voldemort’s soul, the Horcrux, appeared briefly in the fifth book, but at that time it was just a piece of jewelry. When Hermione, Ron, and Harry tried to clean the Black family house, they came in contact with different mysterious and dangerous objects, but the locket didn’t seem that important.

They tried to open the locket to check and see if there was something inside. When their attempt failed, they threw it away in the trash. However, just 2 novels later the 3 heroes had to track down the locket when they discovered that it was part of Voldemort’s soul. In the fifth movie, the locket was completely removed not anticipating its future importance since the next 2 novels weren’t written yet.

9. The cash prize was left out from the tournament during The Goblet of Fire.

After Harry won the Triwizard Tournament, he won a cash prize. But since, in the movies, there wasn’t a monetary specification, the prize wasn’t mentioned. This is important because in the book he gave his 1000 galleon winnings to Fred and George. With this money, they were able to start Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop.

10. Neville Longbottom could have been the prophecy child.

The prophecy about The Chosen One (told by Professor Trelawney) says: “Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies” — this also applies to Neville Longbottom, but the soul focus was given to Harry Potter.

11. Voldemort was incapable of love because of his parents.

Lord Voldemort’s most well-known characteristic is not being able to love, which is also important in the movie. This also explains his evil ways, which becomes the reason why he gets defeated.

He is incapable of love due to a love potion. He was conceived under the influence of a love potion that his mother gave to his father. Snape also said that if someone is conceived under that kind of potion that they will never be able to love.

12. Harry and Hermione didn’t dance.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and Hermione danced in the tent. However, in the book they never did this.

Have you watched the Harry Potter movies? Or maybe you have only read the books? What did you miss most in the movies that was there in the books? Which fact from the list was most surprising to you?