10 Harry Potter characters who never made it into the films

This is easily the biggest oversight the films made. The annoying, prankster ghost Peeves was always just around the corner in the books, ready with a snarky comment or a practical joke to play on students. Sure, he would have been a nuisance to the characters in the film, but it all would have been worth it just to watch him forge a full-on assault against Argus Filch. Especially as Rik Mayall was originally cast to play him and even filmed scenes which were later cut from the final edit.

Image via Wikia

Yes, Charlie Weasley did technically make it into the back of a family photo in the third film (second from left), but he was simply absent from the rest of the films. The outdoorsy member of the charming wizard family was often pegged as the most charismatic by fans. We would have even been fine with a small cameo when the dragons are introduced in the Goblet of Fire, but nope, nothing.

(Image via Wikia)

This drunken, hilarious house elf was an integral part of the plot in the Goblet of Fire. She served Barty Crouch Jr, and ended up being the one blamed for casting the dark mark at the Quidditch World Cup after her master did so under an invisibility cloak. It was her treatment at the hands of Barty Crouch Sr that led Hermione to form the aptly named Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare (S.P.E.W.). If none of this sounds familiar, that's because Winky was ultimately cut from the films altogether.

(Image via Pottermore)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a book that should be renamed Lord Voldemort: A History. While much of the plot of the sixth book focuses on Tom Riddle's life and times, the movie spends a shockingly short amount of time covering it.

One glaring omission from the history of Tom Riddle in the movies is the story of his mother, Merope Gaunt. She was abused by her father, made a Muggle boy fall in love with her, had his baby (Tom Riddle) and died shortly afterwards. Seriously, we could have used a lot less Lavender Brown and a lot more of this tragic back story.

The over-the-top Ludo Bagman was the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports for the Ministry of Magic, and served as a commentator during the Quidditch World Cup in the fourth book. Being a bit obsessed with gambling, he swindled Fred and George Weasley in a bet, prompting them to stalk him for the rest of the book. While that's something that we would've loved to see on the big screen, he was eventually replaced by the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge as the announcer at the games.

While he may not have had a very large presence in the books, the adult son of the late Remus and Nymphadora Lupin was decidedly absent from the final film's epilogue. We wanted to see a grown-up Teddy at least exchange words with Harry, his godfather, while they stood on Platform 9 3/4 at the end of the film.

Cornelius Fudge meets with the British Prime Minister at the beginning of the sixth book to inform him that he is being replaced as Minister of Magic and that the wizarding world is at war. It's a compelling moment of politics in the books that was replaced in the movie by…Harry chatting up a worker at a café. Really guys?

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides
  

Ok, maybe the filmmakers knew what they were doing in this situation. The ghost teacher of the History of Magic was commonly described as the most boring individual at Hogwarts, forcing many students to fall asleep. In the books, he is the teacher who describes the story of the Chamber of Secrets. The filmmakers probably made the right decision by cutting him altogether and giving the explanation of the story to Professor McGonagall.

(Image via Pottermore)

In a particularly intriguing scene from the fifth book, Hagrid and Madame Maxime go to the last existing colony of giants to appeal to their leader, Karkus, and persuade him to join Dumbledore's Army, not the Death Eaters. While Karkus seems interested, it doesn't matter much as he is killed by another giant that evening. It's a pretty interesting moment in the series' longest book that was one of the many things to be cut for the fifth film.

Augusta Longbottom is a fierce, stern and frankly badass witch throughout the books. She is the one who tells Neville's friends about the fate of his parents, and she is constantly pushing her grandson to be a better wizard. While she gets a few nods in the films (especially in the scene with the Boggart that turns into Snape), she is never featured, which is a huge let down based on how fun her character was in the books.