The beauty of imagination is that everyone's visualization is unique. When an author creates worlds, characters, wild inventions, and creatures, they can choose what the readers imagine. They provide the detail, the atmosphere, the guidance. They provide a framework. It's also the author's choice concerning how much they want to leave the readers to themselves, how vague they choose to be.
When a book is turned into a film or film series like the Harry Potter books were, it is the responsibility of the creators to be loyal to the writing. Sometimes, they exceed expectations, other times, for better or for worse, they don't bring to life what was imagined.
LOOKED LIKE HOW YOU IMAGINED: Dumbledore
Despite Michael Gambon's brilliant and loved performance, Richard Harris was the Dumbledore many readers imagined. "Nothing like this man had ever been seen in Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt."
He was soft and kind, yet powerful. "His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice."
DIDN'T: Hermione's Yule Ball Appearance
Hermione is a brilliant character who is described as having bushy untamable hair and large front teeth. In Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Hermione uses a considerable amount of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to tame her hair for the Yule Ball.
She also wears a dress that is made of periwinkle-blue material. In the films, Hermione's hair isn't in much need of taming and her dress is pink.
LOOKED LIKE HOW YOU IMAGINED: Hagrid
"He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins."
Yes, maybe the Hagrid in the films wasn't as big as the book describes him, but he was Hagrid through and through in every other sense; from the black beetle eyes to his comforting presence and mannerisms.
DIDN'T: Harry & Ginny's Relationship
Harry and Ginny's relationship was different from how it was written in the books. Much of this is due to the watered-down version of Ginny that made it into the films. She wasn't the book Ginny who sassed everyone around and made a prominent appearance.
In a domino effect, this also meant that Ron and Hermione's reactions didn't have much of an impact, there wasn't as much chemistry, and the circumstances surrounding how they got together and split up weren't elaborated on.
LOOKED LIKE HOW YOU IMAGINED: Luna Lovegood
In the books, Luna is described as having "straggly, waist-length, dirty blonde hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look." Although the films didn't include many amazing Luna moments, she was in essence everything they imagined and more.
"The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down."
DIDN'T: Some Character Details
Sometimes it's the small details that make or break people's expectations, and most of the time they are forgivable. There are reasons changes are made to deviate from the original, and sometimes these images replace expectations.
It's hard to think that Ron was originally tall, lanky, blue-eyed, and freckled, or that Harry had green eyes and messy hair. That Voldemort had scarlet eyes or that Slughorn had a walrus mustache and bald head.
LOOKED LIKE HOW YOU IMAGINED: The Patronus Charm
The Patronus Charm is a very advanced form of magic. Each Patronus is unique to the individual casting the spell and either takes its form as an incorporeal silver floating mist or corporeal and fully formed, depending on the wizard's casting abilities.
"And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse. It was galloping silently away from him, across the black surface of the lake. He saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming dementors... "
DIDN'T: The Obstacles Inside The Third Triwizard Tournament Task
Although the maze in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire was an expansive, frightening, and eerie presence, it wasn't as chaotic and challenging as the books described it to be. The maze in the novel had more purposeful obstacles.
There were Blast-Ended Skrewts, a mist that turned things upside down, Boggarts, an Acromantula, and a Sphinx who asked riddles.
LOOKED LIKE HOW YOU IMAGINED: Hogwarts
Hogwarts is majestic in both the films and the books. Its lakes and grounds, turrets, stairwells, common rooms, halls, and classrooms exceeded expectations.
It's surrounded by valleys and mountains. Hagrid's hut coughs chimney smoke merrily as the forbidden forest lurks at its edge. Greenhouses and dungeons can be found on and below the property.
DIDN'T: Voldemort's Death
In Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Harry and Voldemort have an epic battle to end it all. Except, it wasn't how viewers imagined. In the novel, Harry and Voldemort face off in the Great Hall surrounded by the survivors of The Battle Of Hogwarts.
This is where sassy Harry defeats him, where everything that has been kept inside comes to smite Voldemort to his final resting place. And when Voldemort was finally dead, he didn't flake away into the air. He was a solid, lifeless body. He was finally gone for good, and there was proof.