18 Facts From Harry Potter Books That Were Never Mentioned In The Movies And Every Fan Should Know Them

The Battle Of Hogwarts was an epic final battle in the Second Wizarding War that included a bunch of combatants. One particular group of fighters was never shown in the movies, particularly the house elves who came rushing out of the kitchen, brandishing knives and fighting the Death Eaters.

Neville was actually one of two infants who were referred to in a prophecy made by Professor Sybill Patricia Trelawney regarding the person with the power to defeat the Dark Lord. However, Voldemort chose to target Harry instead.

Before Snape said the decisive words—Avada Kedavra, the killing curse—Dumbledore actually cast an immobilizing spell on Harry and threw the invisibility cloak on him so that he’d not intervene and not be seen by anyone in the Astronomy Tower. Unlike in the movie, where Harry just stood on the lower floor and stared.

In The Deathly Hallows, Harry is seen breaking the Elder Wand and tossing it out. In the books, however, Harry returns the Elder Wand to Dumbledore’s tomb. It’s said that nobody apart from Harry could actually use it at this point, and he’s had enough adventures with it for this lifetime. Besides, originally, it was Dumbledore’s wand in the first place.

Some people are of the conviction that what makes Snape’s Worst Memory the worst one is the fact that he is bullied by the Marauders. However, it is actually the fact that he, in the heat of the moment, calls Lily, his love interest, a “mudblood,” for which Lily never forgave him.

Hermione Granger doesn’t tolerate injustice—so much, in fact, that she established S.P.E.W., the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, which fought for the equality of house elves. This was prompted by an act of great injustice that she saw in the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, whereby Barty Crouch treated the family’s house elf Winky cruelly.

Rita Skeeter is a journalist for the Daily Prophet and an unregistered Animagus who would often turn into a beetle and snoop around to learn people’s secrets for her articles. This is never mentioned in the movies, but there are speculations of it being hinted at in The Goblet Of Fire when Skeeter conducts an interview with Harry and as she shoves him into a broom cupboard, she says “you should feel right at home, then,” possibly meaning that she knows Harry used to live in a cupboard under the stairs. The only way she could have known that is by listening to anyone who knew about it and mentioned the fact.

When Petunia’s sister Lily, Harry’s mom, got a letter from Hogwarts confirming she was a witch, Petunia also wrote Dumbledore asking if she could also study there. She was kindly rejected and felt hurt that she was left out. It is also believed that she felt so because of her parents being very proud of Lily’s wizarding talent.

Harry and Hermione went to visit Harry’s parents’ cottage in Godric’s Hollow. According to the book, there was a sign set in the ground outside it that was a monument to the Potters and a reminder of the violence that destroyed the family. The sign was graffitied over with messages of support for Harry, which he thought was touching.

The mischievous poltergeist Peeves is considered by many a pretty significant character in the Harry Potter universe, but he was never mentioned in the movies. Scenes with Peeves were actually filmed for The Philosopher’s Stone, where he was played by Rik Mayall, but they never made it into the final cut, and to this day were never released to the public.

A prefect at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a student who is bestowed additional authority and responsibilities by the Head of House and the Headmaster. Hermione and Ron were appointed prefects of House Gryffindor. In fact, Ron was one of four members of the Weasley family to become prefects, with Bill, Charlie, and Percy being the other three.

Harry’s father James Potter spent three years learning to become an Animagus, a wizard who can transform into an animal. He ended up perfecting it and became a stag Animagus. And, according to Reddit user alexi_lupin, nobody tells Harry that his dad could turn into a stag in the movies, which “cheapens the Patronus, cheapens Harry's relationship with his father (which never recovers), and also Snape's reveal later.”

There’s a scene in the book where Amycus Carrow, a Dark Wizard and Death Eater, came up to Professor McGonagall, too close for comfort, and spat in her face. Harry was near, he dropped the cloak of invisibility, and cast Crucio, a curse that inflicts excruciating pain to the victim, on Carrow.

The epic Battle of Hogwarts not only included a scene where over a hundred house elves rushed to fight the Death Eaters, but also, Professor Trelawney dropped crystal balls on the heads of Death Eaters and Professor McGonagall transformed desks to stampede towards them.

While it is a known fact that the Ministry of Magic can detect where magic is used outside of the magical realm, it’s actually impossible for them to do so in areas that are heavily populated by wizards. This is why underage wizards and witches are seen using magic during the holiday break without any repercussions.

In The Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore tells Harry of Voldemort’s horcruxes. He mentions six in particular because he doesn’t want Harry to know that he is actually the 7th one.

Edward “Teddy” Lupin is the son of the late Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. Soon after he was born, his parents died in the Battle of Hogwarts. So, he was raised by his grandmother Andromeda Tonks and eventually became the godson of Harry, whom he frequently visited at his home.

In the books, Voldemort’s mother Merope Gaunt gave his father a love potion. J.K. Rowling explained that this was a symbolic way of showing that he was conceived in a loveless union. Things would have certainly been different if he was raised by Merope herself, had she survived, and not in an orphanage.