Starting 2022 with the Harry Potter reunion, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, has brought back a lot of the nostalgia surrounding the series, causing audiences to fondly reminisce about the books and movies. This includes comparing the two different formats since the books contain considerably more plot points and character development than could have been included in the films. At times, entire scenes from the books had to be left out, resulting in many fan-favorite scenes only existing in print.
Some of these scenes were full of important plot points, while others simply served the purpose of breaking the tension and allowing the reader to have fun with the characters. These comic relief moments contained the flavor of what made the Harry Potter series so enjoyable, and while the movies inspired their fair share of laughs, it just wasn't the same.
Fred And George Unknowingly Throwing Snowballs At Voldemort
In the Philosopher's Stone book, Professor Quirrell is introduced as a nervous man who has difficulty speaking up for himself. Of course, he was later revealed to be the one trying to get past fluffy, and his turban was covering up the fact that his body had been processed by Lord Voldemort.
While this revelation wasn't particularly comical, it did bring to mind one of Fred and George's funniest scenes in Harry Potter in which they charmed some snowballs to follow Quirrell around and throw themselves at the back of his turban. Little did they know that they were pummeling Voldemort himself right in the face, though they probably would have been all too pleased to discover it.
Jokes About Mrs. Weasley's Sweaters
In the Sorcerer's Stone movie, Harry and Ron each receive a sweater from Mrs. Weasley with their first initial stitched into it. However, in the book, the only sweaters with letters were Fred and George's, who each had a blue sweater adorned with an F and G, respectively.
While this was a seemingly minor change from the Harry Potter book to the movie, it eliminated the funny scene in which Fred and George make fun of their mother's gifts. They stated that Molly must have included their initials because she suspected that they would forget their names but that they obviously knew that they were "Greg and Forge."
Ron's Jokes About Uranus
Since Harry and his friends were often finding themselves in risky, adult-like situations, it was easy to forget from watching the movies that they were teenagers. However, the books often included more scenes that showed the students complaining about classes, lamenting about dating, or making inappropriate jokes, as many high schoolers do.
An example of this was in the Prisoner of Azkaban book when Harry and Ron were in Divination class. Lavender Brown had asked Trelawney about the planet Uranus, to which Ron asked, "Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" proving that he was one of the funniest characters in Harry Potter.
Dumbledore Pretending Not To Hear Harry's Insults
The Goblet of Fire movie left out a great deal of Hagrid's story, including the reveal that his mother had been a giant and the backlash he received after that information was outed to the wizarding community by Rita Skeeter. In the book, Hagrid is so devastated by this that he locks himself away, refusing to come out.
Harry went to cheer his friend up and found Dumbledore was already at Hagrid's hut trying to do the same. Forgetting that he was in the presence of his heaster, Harry called Skeeter a series of colorful names, including "cow," to which Dumbledore comically pretended to have not heard, declaring that he had gone temporary deaf after seeing Harry's embarrassment.
Dobby Taking All Of Hermione's Hats
In the Goblet of Fire book, Hermione began to crochet dozens of hats and leave them hidden around the Gryffindor common room. Her goal was that when the house-elves of Hogwarts tidied up the space at night, they would accidentally happen upon the articles of clothing and become free. As each hat disappeared, Hermione became more pleased, believing that she was successfully giving elves their freedom.
However, after Dobby paid Harry a visit, it was revealed that the hats had caused all the other elves to refuse to clean the Gryffindor common room and that the job was left entirely to Dobby. So, instead of freeing elves, Hermione was gifting hats to an already free Dobby, who wore each one stacked upon his head.
Molly Weasley Forgetting About Fred And George
One comical aspect of Molly Weasley's character that was often left out of the Harry Potter movies is her favoritism amongst her children. Molly greatly valued success, so a good deal of her attention went to those of her kids who achieved the status of Prefect or Head Boy, which did not include the mischievous Fred and George.
So in Order of the Phoenix, when Ron surprisingly received a Prefect badge in the mail, Mrs. Weasley proudly exclaimed that that made every boy of the family so far, to which Fred and George replied in one of their funniest quotes from Harry Potter, "What are we, next-door neighbors?"
McGonagall's Sass Against Umbridge
Dolores Umbridge and Minerva McGonagall are perfect examples of two different forms of strict teachers. This was represented in both the Order of the Phoenix book and movie, in which Umbridge earned her title of "worst teacher ever," and McGonagall gained even more fans by standing up to her.
However, while the movie ultimately showed McGonagall backing down, her movie counterpart would never. A comical example of this is the scene in which Umbridge audits McGonagall's class, and the latter teacher thoroughly puts the former in her place by reminding her that no one else is permitted to talk during her lessons - both hilarious and satisfying.
The Teachers ing Fred And George
A favorite scene in both the book and movie versions of Order of the Phoenix is the one in which Fred and George decide it is time to make their dramatic exit from the school. It was a scene of utter chaos, which put the despised Umbridge at her wit's end.
However, the movie didn't include the ways that the twins ensured that Umbridge would have her hands full long after they left. One example was creating a swamp in one of the corridors that Umbridge couldn't get rid of. The other teachers tried and failed to eliminate it as well, though it was later revealed that they could easily do it all along, but hated to get rid of the Weasley's handiwork and make life any easier for the High Inquisitor.
Dumbledore Insulting The Dursleys
After years of watching the Dursleys mistreat Harry, it was disappointing never to get to see them put in their place in the Harry Potter movies. However, this was not the case in the books, where Dumbledore came to Privet Drive in Half-Blood Prince and casually punished the Muggle family in the most charming way.
While Dumbledore had only come to educate the Dursleys about what would happen when Harry turned 17, he also used the time to subtly torture the magic-fearing family. He caused beverage classes to collide repeatedly into their heads, insulted their hosting skills, and blatantly told them what horrible guardians they had been, all while never losing his pleasant smile.
Ginny's Jokes About Harry's Tattoos
The Harry Potter movies have undergone fair criticism about the way that Harry and Ginny's relationship was portrayed on screen. The two shared very few genuine moments, with many audiences calling the pair awkward and unlikeable.
However, in the Half-Blood Prince book, Ginny proved that she was the perfect match for Harry, who was also much sassier in the Harry Potter books. After they finally started dating, Ginny joked that when asked by one of Harry's irers if he had a hippogriff tattoo, she told them it was a dragon to make him sound more macho (she also told everyone that Ron's tattoo was a Pygmy Puff).
