J.K. Rowling created an entire universe within the pages of her books, filled with numerous plotlines and secondary characters. Magical families with complicated dynastic relationships, popular Quidditch players, Ministry of Magic employees, Hogwarts students, ghosts, goblins, and house-elves – their stories form the amazing world of the Potterverse, which has nurtured more than one generation of loyal readers and viewers. However, during the adaptation of the books, many important plot details are often overlooked.
Despite the grandeur and beauty of the films about the Boy Who Lived, some significant characters created by Rowling were left out of the script. In anticipation of the recently announced Harry Potter series, we can recall their names and dream of their appearance on screen.
Charlie Weasley
As is well known, the Weasley family has so many red-haired children that no one would notice the absence of one of them. This is likely what the screenwriters thought when they omitted Charlie from the films. Nevertheless, he is a fairly important character who appears multiple times in the books. Charlie Weasley is the second eldest son of Arthur and Molly. He is seven years older than Ron and Harry, meaning he graduated from Hogwarts just the year before they entered their first year.
He was predicted to have a career as an outstanding Quidditch player, as he was the Seeker for the Gryffindor team before Potter. However, after his studies, he neglected his sporting talent and went to Romania to study dragons.
It is to Charlie that the golden trio turns in The Sorcerer's Stone to save Hagrid's newborn dragon, Norbert, from execution. It is also from him that Harry learns about the first task of the Triwizard Tournament in The Goblet of Fire. Additionally, Charlie is one of the first to join the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort's followers, and, of course, he appears at his brother Bill's wedding to Fleur. However, in the adaptation, this character is only mentioned in conversations among relatives. He briefly appears on screen for just a moment – in a family photograph from Egypt.
Of course, the runtime of the franchise would not have allowed for all the characters to be included in the films. But, let's agree, it would have been nice to see all the Weasleys together at least once! We hope that the creators of the series will pay more attention to this issue.
Frank and Alice Longbottom
For most of the screen time, Neville Longbottom appears before the audience as a rather ridiculous and comical character. However, his story is extremely tragic and important to the narrative of the entire Potterverse. The fact is that the boy was born on the same day as Harry Potter – July 31, and according to the prophecy, he could have been the Chosen One instead of Harry. Voldemort, unknowingly, chose his main opponent by first going to the Potter's house rather than the Longbottoms.
That night, Lily and James were killed. But Neville's parents also had a difficult fate. Frank and Alice were brave Aurors and members of the first Order of the Phoenix. They fought valiantly against the evil that was looming over the magical world until they fell into the hands of Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange and other followers of the Dark Lord tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse until they lost their sanity. Thus, little Neville became an orphan with living parents.
In the book 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' the main characters visit them at St. Mungo's Hospital. In this deep, heartbreaking scene, Alice, despite her illness, recognizes her son and tries to give him something to remember her by – a candy wrapper or a piece of gum. However, during the filming of the movie, this drama was decided to be omitted. As a result, the Longbottoms, like Charlie Weasley, appear on screen only once, for literally a second – in an old photograph hanging in the Dumbledore's Army training room in the fifth film.
There is hope that in the creation of the upcoming series, this storyline will be developed in more detail.
Peeves
Among the numerous ghosts of Hogwarts Castle, there is one completely unique phenomenon – the poltergeist Peeves. Apparently, he is not the ghost of a long-deceased wizard, but rather a randomly formed and extremely unpleasant mass of energy. Rowling describes him as a small man with narrow eyes and a wide mouth, dressed in bright clothing, a bowtie, and a hat with bells.
It cannot be said that this character is particularly important for the overall plot development of the Potterverse; however, he is associated with a large number of comedic scenes and troubles that arise for the trio of main characters. Peeves constantly zooms around the school, causing mischief for everyone. He scares first-years, extinguishes candles, creates floods, and throws spiders into people's plates. In The Philosopher's Stone, it is he who, with his screams, forces Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville to hide in the forbidden corridor on the third floor, where they first encounter the three-headed dog.
In the films, the poltergeist is completely omitted. That is, scenes featuring him, performed by comedian Rik Mayall, were planned and even partially filmed, but unfortunately, they did not make it into the final version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. However, he does appear in video games based on Rowling's works – and, it must be said, adds a sharpness to the events. Overall, seeing him in the series would at least be amusing.
The Gaunt(Marx) family
The backstory of the main villain of the Potterverse – Lord Voldemort – is unacceptably truncated in the films. We first see little Tom Riddle on screen in Half-Blood Prince already in an orphanage, from which a young Dumbledore takes him to Hogwarts. Thus, the motivation, bad heredity, and childhood moral traumas of the Dark Lord are simply ignored by the filmmakers. However, Rowling herself laid out a whole family saga in his past, which explains much about the villain's behavior.
Merope, Marvolo, and Morfin Marx are Voldemort's blood relatives, some of whom he even encountered alive (and personally destroyed). According to the books, they are representatives of one of the oldest magical families, fiercely proud of their lineage, descendants of Salazar Slytherin and the Peverell brothers from The Deathly Hallows. However, due to their hatred of Muggles and "blood traitors," the Marx family intermarried for centuries and gradually degenerated. As a result, in the book 'Half-Blood Prince,' we see embittered and impoverished savages ready to curse anyone who dares to enter their village with an unforgivable curse.
Meanwhile, Marvolo is Tom Riddle's grandfather, Morfin is his uncle, and Merope is his mother. She fell in love with a Muggle and enchanted him with magic, for which she was cast out from her family. When the effects of the potion wore off, the woman was left alone with her child and died, leaving him an orphan. According to Rowling's design, Merope is the complete opposite of Lily Potter: one gave her life to save her son, while the other sacrificed her own child to no longer fight against circumstances. It is not surprising that these women raised such different sons. This storyline certainly deserves a prominent place in the plot of the series!
Professor Binns
At Hogwarts, there are many outstanding wizards teaching... and not all of them are living people! Even in 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,' J.K. Rowling introduces us to a boring elderly teacher of History of Magic, who has long since died but still attends his lectures with the same meticulousness as before.
He is the one who first tells the students about the Chamber of Secrets in the castle's dungeons, around which the plot of the second book revolves. However, this character was omitted from the films, which is quite understandable: depicting a fully realized transparent ghost character would have been costly for the studio at that time. His narrative functions were easily transferred to Professor McGonagall. Still, it would be interesting to see this colorful old man on screen one day!
Marietta Edgecombe
Surely everyone remembers the Ravenclaw student Cho Chang, with her striking Asian appearance, with whom Harry shares his first kiss under the mistletoe in the film Order of the Phoenix. Fans of the adaptation know that it is she who, under the influence of threats and the truth serum, reveals to Professor Umbridge the location of Dumbledore's Army, betraying her friends.
However, in the book, things unfold a bit differently. Cho has a best friend – Marietta, whose mother works at the Ministry of Magic. When Umbridge threatens to fire Marietta's mother, she gives in and tells everything she knows about Harry and the others' secret meetings in the Room of Requirement. In this case, the absence of this character in the film has little impact on the plot, so the directors and screenwriters can be forgiven for this omission.
House-elf Winky
One of the "forgotten" heroines of Rowling is the house-elf of the Crouch family. Winky is a very devoted elf who plays a role in the plot of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.' From her, the characters learn part of the story of Barty Crouch Jr. For many years, Winky tenderly keeps the Crouch family's secrets. She knows that her master's son has chosen a dark path and become a Death Eater, and she witnesses his illegal release from Azkaban with the help of his mother. In later parts, she moves to work in the Hogwarts kitchen, where she becomes friends with Dobby.
In the film, her functions are transferred to other characters or omitted entirely, and the elf does not even appear in the background narrative.
Rodolphus Lestrange
The charming and terrifying Bellatrix Lestrange, portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter, has forever captured the hearts of many Potterverse fans. It is she who, with a devilish laugh, ran around the tables in the Great Hall of Hogwarts and took great pride in the murder of her cousin – Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. However, few film fans have wondered why Bellatrix's last name is not Black.
The answer lies in the books. It turns out that the mad villainess and most loyal follower of the Dark Lord has a lawful husband – Rodolphus Lestrange. He participated in Voldemort's first uprising before his disappearance and later appeared in a scene in Order of the Phoenix at the Ministry of Magic alongside other Death Eaters. He also pursued Harry and his friends in Deathly Hallows. But in the films, Rodolphus is not mentioned.
By the way, in the books, her husband does not prevent Bella from having an affair with her "master." In the continuation of the franchise, 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child', we learn that shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts, she even managed to give birth to a daughter for Voldemort.
Andromeda and Ted Tonks
Another pair of parents of the main characters that were completely cut from the plot of the films. Remember how in the first part of Deathly Hallows, six members of the Order of the Phoenix transform into Harry Potter to take him to the Weasley family's home, confusing the Death Eaters? That "Harry," who was produced from Ron using a Polyjuice Potion, is accompanied by Nymphadora Tonks – a cheerful girl with constantly changing hair color.
According to the book, other members of the Tonks family were also involved in the operation to save the Boy Who Lived. Potter was first delivered to the girl's parents – Ted and Andromeda. Upon seeing Andromeda, Harry got scared and almost attacked her because she closely resembled Bellatrix Lestrange. It turns out that Narcissa and Bellatrix had another sister who was disowned by the family because she married a Muggle-born wizard. By the way, in honor of Tonks' father, Ted, Nymphadora and Remus Lupin later name their son Ted.
Muggle Prime Minister
The creators of the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince completely cut the storyline involving the Ministry of Magic and the British non-magical government. Of course, this is by no means the main thread of the book, but it adds depth to the narrative and brings the story closer to the world of the readers.
In the book, there is a Muggle Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who has no magical abilities, deals with mundane political issues, and generally lives in our world. However, he is privy to the secrets of the magical community due to his position. At first, he collaborates with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and then a tall and imposing Rufus Scrimgeour with a mane of red hair appears in his office straight from the flames of the fireplace.
He reveals that all the recent "terrorist attacks" are actually orchestrated by Death Eaters and that Muggles are in as much danger as wizards and witches. This introduces us to Scrimgeour and also makes us aware of the seriousness of the situation on the eve of war. It becomes evident that Voldemort’s rise to power is tantamount to a Third World War and an apocalypse. In other words, the inclusion of this storyline in the upcoming series could certainly add richness to the plot and serve as a good means of artistic expression.
