As Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split into two different parts, it’s able to tell the story in a more in-depth and detailed way. While some of the Harry Potter movie adaptations miss a lot out, Deathly Hallows does a pretty good job at including most things. But, of course, there are some things that didn’t make it to the big screen. Some of these also make it difficult for movie viewers to understand what is going on.
With that in mind, here are the ten things in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 that will only make sense if you’ve read the books.
WHERE THE HOUSE-ELVES WERE DURING THE BATTLE OF HOGWARTS
While there were many moments involving house-elves in books, there aren’t nearly as many in the movies. While Dobby and Kreacher show up briefly, even they aren’t included that often.
While in the books Kreacher actually leads an army of house-elves at the Battle of Hogwarts, this doesn’t happen at all in the movies. This begs the question of where the house-elves actually are in this battle. And, even more, it makes viewers wonder what happened to Kreacher and where he ends up.
HOW IMPORTANT DUMBLEDORE’S FAMILY BACKSTORY WAS
Dumbledore’s backstory is a big part of the book in that it impacts how Harry feels about his relationship with Dumbledore and what he’s asked Harry to do. So, the fact that a lot of the details of Dumbledore’s life are left out is troubling.
In the books, Aberforth tells Harry the story about his family and his relationship with Dumbledore. The movies don’t include this story at all which makes Aberforth’s inclusion seems to come from out of nowhere.
HOW POWERFUL THE ELDER WAND IS
This is something that just doesn't make sense overall. In the movies, Harry is able to destroy the Elder Wand by literally snapping it in two using his hands. Not only does this leave him without a wand, which isn’t explained at all in the movie, but it just doesn’t make sense. Why would a powerful wand be that breakable
This definitely isn’t the case in the books, and this moment undermines the power of the Elder Wand and its mythology.
TEDDY LUPIN'S EXISTENCE
Because the Harry Potter movies aren’t able to include as many details as the books, this means that the details of some of the stories of side characters are left out.
The relationship between Tonks and Lupin is barely touched on at all in any of the movies. It’s never explained that they got married or that Tonks was pregnant. So, when Lupin starts talking about his son in the scene with the Resurrection Stone, it seems to come out of nowhere. Audiences don’t have any idea who Teddy Lupin is at all.
WHO ARIANA DUMBLEDORE IS
This is a big detail that’s missing in the movie that was included in the book. This shocking story changes how readers view Dumbledore, and it fills in his complicated backstory and family history.
Because Aberforth never tells the story of the Dumbeldore family history, we don’t learn about why Aberforth and Dumbledore never talked. We also don’t learn why Dumbledore broke off ties with Grindelwald and who Ariana is.
WHO BECOMES THE NEXT MINISTER OF MAGIC
While the book version of Deathly Hallows doesn’t touch a lot on the aftermath of the defeat of Voldemort, it does do so a little bit more than the movie does.
One of the big things that’s revealed at the end of the book is that Kingsley Shacklebolt becomes the next Minister of Magic. This shows that the wizarding world is able to start rebuilding after Voldemort took over. This detail is missing from the books which leaves viewers wondering what happens next.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NEVILLE’S BIG MOMENT
In the books, Neville Longbottom has quite the character arc. He really comes into his own and becomes a leader. While he does get his moment of killing Nagini in the movie, it’s not nearly as powerful or focused on.
There’s also even more explanation of the fact that Neville was one of the co-leaders of Dumbledore’s Army in the books. So, readers are able to learn more about how badass Neville is.
WHY GOBLINS MISTRUST WIZARDS
In the movie, it’s clear that Griphook doesn’t exactly trust Harry, and he isn’t exactly thrilled about needing to team up with him. While this is implied in the movie, the reason why Giprhook, and all goblins, distrust her, isn’t explained at all.
In the book version, Billy Weasley explains the history and the ways that goblins have been betrayed by humans in the wizarding world throughout the years.
WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE HOGWARTS STUDENTS AT THE FINAL BATTLE
In the final battle of Hogwarts, many of the students who are of age stay to fight in the battle against Voldemort. Even some of the Slytherin students stay behind to help. But, all of the underage students are evacuated from the school to keep them safe.
However, in the movie, this isn’t explained at all. This makes it seem like all students, regardless of age, are able to stay and fight. This definitely wouldn’t make sense and would put underage wizards at risk of dying.
ALL THE NUANCES OF THE EPILOGUE SCENE
The epilogue scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one that’s rather controversial. Some fans loved it while others thought it was rather silly and too saccharine. But, the book version is a lot more nuanced and gives more detail.
We learn a lot more about what has happened to a variety of characters. Many of these details, such as Teddy Lupin being there, are left out of the movie version.