7 Harry Potter Movie Moments Non-Book Readers Just Couldn't Understand

7. What’s Up with Kreacher and RAB?

The movie never quite explained why Kreacher, the Blacks’ house elf, all of a sudden became nicer to Harry and his friends. That’s mostly because Regulus Black’s story was shortened to the bare necessity of revealing Mundungus Fletcher’s involvement with the Horcrux and leading the Trio to the Ministry in its pursuit.

Unfortunately, neither Kreacher nor Regulus got enough screen time to explore their stories the way the books did, so many viewers were confused by that tiny arc.

6. Why Was Snape’s Patronus a Big Deal?

In the flashback scene where Snape casts the Patronus charm to show his love for Lily to Dumbledore, movie viewers couldn’t understand what exactly happened. Snape’s Patronus turned out to be a doe, but no one ever explained why it moved Dumbledore and Harry so much and why it was a big deal, to begin with.

The movies never dedicated enough time to the Marauders' generation, so viewers had no idea about Lily Potter’s Patronus being a doe, as well.

5. What’s Up with Harry’s Mirror Shard?

Sirius Black’s gift to Harry, the Two-Way Mirror, barely had any screen time in the movies — just one or two seconds of Sirius giving it to Harry in The Order of the Phoenix. Since the Mirror didn’t play any role in the story for the next three movies, the audience didn’t register that such an object existed and what its purpose was.

So in The Deathly Hallows, people were confused when Harry was tinkering with a random mirror shard, and even more confused when Aberforth appeared.

4. Why Was Snape the Half-Blood Prince?

The title of the sixth movie remained a mystery for many viewers: it wasn’t really explained why Severus Snape was referring to himself as the Half-Blood Prince. The entire Snape and Prince investigation was cut, so there was seemingly no reason for the Potions Master to call himself that other than his massive hubris.

This case only goes to show how many crucial details the movies left out. Many other cases are somewhat OK, but this one’s literally the movie’s title!

3. What’s Up with the Marauders and Lupin?

One of the biggest oversights in the flashback department is the lack of the Marauders' information in the movies. The viewers never got to learn much about the four friends and their endeavors, and that has been causing misunderstanding since the third movie. The Prisoner of Azkaban was especially confusing, of course.

The movie fans couldn’t get why Lupin knew how to use the Map; why the Whomping Willow and the Shrieking Shack were important; and even why — and how — Sirius Black turned into a dog to stop Lupin after the latter’s transformation.

2. How Did They Find the Horcruxes?

Now, this one’s the biggest problem with the movies’ lack of flashbacks. Many crucial memories that Dumbledore showed Harry were left out, while most of them contained invaluable information about the Horcruxes — not the general information we knew but the exact items that became the Horcruxes and their possible locations.

Thanks to that oversight, it almost seemed like Dumbledore chanced upon the Gaunt’s Ring and the Slytherin’s Locket. And how did Harry even find the Cup?

1. What’s the Magic Behind the Shoelaces?

You knew this was coming, and here it is. Considering how much time Harry Potter spent in thoughts about Ginny Weasley in the books, the movies didn’t show the tiniest fracture of their relationship development. All the viewers got was an infinitely cringe-worthy shoelaces scene that somehow bonded Harry and Ginny.

Movie fans are always the most avid haters of Ginny Weasley, but it’s not their fault. The movies just made it seem like the Love Potion accusations were all true.