10 Harry Potter Key Scenes That Didn’t Make It To The Movies (But Should’ve) 

Fall has arrived, which means it's time for stocking up on your favorite snacks, gathering your loved ones, and starting the annual Harry Potter marathon. The more we watch the movies, the more we forget how different they are from the books and how Rowling's world has been altered by Muggle writers, editors and producers.

These 10 episodes were cold-bloodedly cut, and we hope that the new incoming adaptation will do justice to them.

1. Peeves Scenes

The innocent victim of the final cut was the poltergeist Peeves. And it’s a shame.

There was so much wasted potential for mischief in the school corridors and confrontations with the caretaker, Argus Filch. Moreover, the funny poltergeist was a real hero in the final battle for Hogwarts. Actor Rik Mayall did several scenes as Peeves, but none of them were included in the final cut. Justice for Peeves!

2. Nearly Headless Nick’s Birthday Party

In the Chamber of Secrets, Nearly Headless Nick celebrated the 500th anniversary of his death on Halloween night. The celebration was held according to all the rules of the deceased: rotten food, translucent ladies and gentlemen, and the insult of the birthday boy – Nick was not accepted into the company of the deceased because of a thin strip of skin on his neck.

Rowling was careful to describe Hogwarts not only as a place for humans, but also as a home for all kinds and sorts of odd creatures. The movies, however, never included this particular scene – imagine what a Halloween classic we lost!

3. Dursley’s Electric Fireplace

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the first movie without the not-so-pleasant vacation in the Dursley house: the time with relatives was replaced with the Quidditch World Cup, although Rowling wittily described the contradiction between Muggles and Wizards in everyday life.

The Dursleys replaced their traditional fireplace with an electric one, and the Weasleys got stuck in the chimney while traveling with Floo powder. Arthur had to almost destroy the living room, much to the delight of Harry and indignation of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

4. Rita Skeeter is Animagus

Rita Skeeter kept Hogwarts students on their toes all year – making them blush, sweat, hate the press, and watch what they say. The main intrigue remained how the Daily Prophet journalist obtained information about the tournament participants. Guess what? The case is that she was an Animagus all that time and could transform into a bug.

Sadly, we never had an opportunity to see Rita transform. In general, the role of the meticulous reporter and the consequences of provocative writing were severely cut.

5. Sirius Black in Hogsmeade

After escaping from Azkaban, Sirius Black managed to spend little time with his godson. Throughout the book, he tried to keep an eye on Harry, whose scar was beginning to hurt from the Dark Lord's future return.

The movie did not include an entire episode where the Golden Trio visits Sirius in Hogsmeade. He had to hide in caves near the village, only coming out in dog form, and ate rats – all for Harry's safety.

6. Christmas at St Mungo’s Hospital

The Christmas scene in the Order of the Phoenix movie happened in Grimmauld Place. However, this event in the book is much more heartfelt: at St. Mungo's Hospital, where Arthur was recovering, the Golden Trio met Neville, who was visiting his parents.

It’s no secret that Frank and Alice Longbottom were the members of the First Order of the Phoenix: the Death Eaters, led by Bellatrix Lestrange, tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse and they lost their minds.

7. Harry and Ginny Kiss (Publicly!)

In Half-Blood Prince, Professor Snape forced Harry to sort through the archives instead of taking part in the crucial Quidditch match, for using Sectumsempra against Draco.

Ginny being a brave girl took Harry’s place as a Seeker, was able to defeat Cho and catch the Snitch. Potter learned of the Gryffindors' victory as he entered the faculty living room. And gave Ginny a kiss in front of several dozen people.

8. Farewell to the Dursleys

Perhaps the most unforgivable thing about the absence of a proper farewell to the Dursleys is that the scene was shot, but for some reason never left the editing room. Dudley shook Harry's hand and admitted that his brother was not an empty place for him, and Petunia expressed her grief for her sister.

Apparently, the producers decided to sacrifice the Dursleys episode in favor of the heartbreaking scene where Hermione erases the memory of her parents.

9. Winky

Dobby is one of the most touching and loyal characters in the franchise. But there was another elf in the books – Winky. She once served Barty Crouch and his son, but was fired in the Goblet of Fire for allegedly creating the Dark Mark.

The seemingly innocent Winky, who was in no way capable of such powerful witchcraft, had to find a new place to live. She got a job in the Hogwarts kitchen with Dobby, but refused to be paid for her work.

Winky is a tragic character; in the books it is mentioned that she began to drink a lot out of grief while working at Hogwarts. Winky became an example of painful devotion.

10. Fate of the Elder Wand

In the book, Harry repaired his broken wand with the Elder one and then put it back in Dumbledore's coffin. Harry hoped that if he died of natural causes, the bloody history of the wand would end with him.

In the movie, Harry broke the Elder Wand and threw it off the bridge.

Harry can be arrogant and impulsive, but he would not just break and throw away a mysterious artifact of such incomprehensible nature. It's kind of disrespectful.

This is a much more elegant solution than just breaking the wand in two, which looked clumsy and far-fetched in the movie.