Harry Potter Scenes You Never Got To See

The Harry Potter film series gave silver screen life to most of the important moments of J.K. Rowling's magical novel series. Some of the films were certainly better than others — Prisoner of Azkaban trounced its predecessors, and the Deathly Hallows two-parter gave more meat to those dramatic endgame encounters — but all of them captured the essence and whimsy of the Wizarding World and left fans yearning for more.

The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series, along with the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, are taking the Harry Potter narrative in new directions. For those who just want to see more of the original trio in action, though, look no further than the films' deleted scenes, which seem to fill in some major gaps left open by their theatrical versions.

Let's take a look at some of the most incredible Harry Potter scenes you never got to see on the big screen, shall we? Spoilers ahead.

If you thought that Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis)'s big, albeit unsuccessful stand against Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) near the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone kind of came out of left field, well, there's a reason. In a scene you never got to see in the theatrical cut of the film, Neville is shown hobbling into the cafeteria after being hit with the leg-locker curse by the ever-unkind Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). It's then that Ron tells him, "You have got to start standing up to people, Neville." If left in, it would've nicely bookended Neville's attempt to stop the trio from sneaking out (and getting House Gryffindor into trouble again) before being frozen by Hermione's Petrificus Totalus spell, giving him a more solid development arc in movie one. Alas.

Perhaps more importantly, though, the scene also contains a bit of backstory about Albus Dumbledore's (then played by Richard Harris) history of defeating Gellert Grindelwald — the backbone of the entire Fantastic Beasts film series, it seems — and partnership with Nicholas Flamel in alchemy. Considering Grindelwald's importance isn't really explored until Deathly Hallows, and the first film was released before the final book, it's understandable why this throwaway mention didn't make it into the first movie. If it had, however, it'd have been a nice Easter egg for fans to enjoy over the long haul, illuminating, once again, just how much Rowling had figured out from the start of her series.

Harry Potter had a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, but it might as well have been in the shape of a question mark for all he knew about his own history. In addition to fulfilling his prophecy as The Boy Who Lived (and, of course, must die to take down the Dark Lord), he also spent the entire seven-book series figuring out the truth about his past, especially when it came to his parents.

In an extra scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we see that self-doubt hit a fever pitch when the halls of Hogwarts start buzzing about the possibility that Harry Potter is the famed Heir of Slytherin due to the fact that he can speak Parseltongue, as revealed during his duel with Draco. Harry's not responsible for the petrification of other students (that honor belongs to the Basilisk, of course), but it's still hurtful to hear his name being run through the dirt with statements like "That's probably why the Dark Lord wanted to kill him in the first place; he didn't want another dark lord competing with him." As if he didn't already feel like an outsider. It's a pretty heartbreaking moment for Harry and audiences alike, but it certainly elevates the sense of alienation Harry might be feeling and the reasonable questions he and others might have about why he can speak to snakes.

We never quite found out what happened to Crabbe (Jamie Waylett) and Goyle (Josh Herdman) after they were knocked out by the magic muffins in Chamber of Secrets amid Harry and Ron's reconnaissance mission with Polyjuice Potion. In a scene you never got to see in the theatrical cut of the film, however, they come across their doppelgängers after recovering from their enchantment in the halls of House Slytherin. Judging by their hairstyles, the clip would fit in right after the moment Harry and Ron's disguises begin to fail, as Draco wraps up his grim discussion about the next "mudblood" due to die from the Chamber of Secrets' opening. However, it must have been just as weird as looking in the Mirror of Erised for the dim duo.

There's not a lot of substance to the scene, of course, but it does add some levity to the moment. Chances are, though, it got nixed so that we could forget all about the probability that Draco would pick back up his discussion with his minions once they returned and figure out what his foes had done.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sir Cadogan's (Paul Whitehouse) scenes in the film were almost completely removed, but they are certainly worth the watch. In the movie, he lives in one of the North Tower's portraits that hang outside of the House Gryffindor, and he can be spotted springing into fighting formation as the "Fat Lady" tries to hit a high note and instead seems to scream in fear.

In a pair of scenes we never got to see in theaters, Sir Cadogan is shown taking over password-keeping duties for the House and proves to be an even more unusual gatekeeper than his predecessor, changing the passwords constantly and raring for some battlefield action. We then see him hiding out in neighboring portraits as he admits to having let Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) into Gryffindor after he was able to produce the passwords from a piece of paper discarded by Neville Longbottom. The character's a bit chaotic, sure, but seeing all that portrait-hopping unfold on the big screen could've been quite a treat for Harry Potter fans.  

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was almost a whole lot more musical. During the Yule Ball scene, which features all of the Triwizard champions as honored guests who have to dance together in front of the entire school, the Weird Sisters are shown performing a small part of their hit single, "Do the Hippogriff." An extended version of the scene would've not only featured more of the song itself, but it would've also featured more glimpses of the musicians in all their hip-thrusting action, instead of generic shots of Hermione cutting a rug on the dance floor with Viktor Krum (Stanislav Yanevski) and Professor Flitwick crowd-surfing.

Perhaps more interestingly, we would've also gotten to watch all the kids perform their own piece of music by way of the full Hogwarts theme song. While the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic certainly made an entrance with all of their dreamy choreography and butterflies, and the boys of the Durmstrang Institute from Central Europe put on a show with all their staff stomping and fire-breathing tricks, the kids of Hogwarts were simply left to gape at the competition like unprepared amateurs. In an additional scene ripped straight from the book, however, Dumbledore invites his students to stand up and sing a rendition of their resident anthem, "Hoggy Warty Hogwarts." The song is exactly as silly as it sounds.

If you thought that risqué Marauder's Map reference in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was naughty, just wait 'til you see what almost made it into Goblet of Fire. In this deleted scene we never got to see in theaters, Harry is shown taking a break from all the Yule Ball celebrations and running into all kinds of people taking the romantic evening to the next level.

There's the couple making out just outside the dance hall, which is pretty PG, but then he sees a steamed-up stagecoach swaying like it's the storage level scene in Titanic. The kid's naughty fun eventually gets interrupted by Severus "Buzzkill" Snape (Alan Rickman) before any cloaks have been discarded, of course, but if the suggestive scene had been left in, it would've certainly raised even more questions about whether the kids had proper sexual education coursework included in the curriculum. There's also an interesting side conversation between Snape and the Durmstrang headmaster about who's more scared of some sign than the other, and a suggestive pan to Mad Eye Moody a.k.a. Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise, but it's the teenage antics of the partygoers that really make this scene worthy of scooping up from the cutting room floor.

Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) may have been the biggest bad of the Harry Potter series, but Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) sure gave him a run for his money in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The new Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, who takes over the school — and even ousts Dumbledore to become Headmaster — is a cruel authoritarian who makes Harry and anyone else loyal to Dumbledore miserable.

In an epic scene of retribution, however, Fred and George Weasley sneak some of their signature fireworks into the school and lay waste to Umbridge's sense of order and control — at least, temporarily— by engulfing her in a giant flaming (read: harmless, but frightening) dragon that also dismantles her big wall of rules. Although the kids are obviously empowered by the activity, and Flitwick gives the air a punch of relief, we don't get to see the impact on Umbridge's engorged ego in the film. In a deleted scene, however, we finally get the satisfaction of seeing her face after being taken down a peg. Although it only lasts a few seconds, her expression in this frame could easily be a motivation poster for Dumbledore's Army, it's so inspiring.

This deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is about as eerie and unsettling as they come. The atmospheric clip features every person in Hogwarts in a collective state of dread as they lay in wait for the terrible things they know are about to happen (hint: the Death Eaters are nigh). Not only does Flitwick lead the chorus in a haunting number that sets the tone, but McGonagall (Maggie Smith) also instructs the students to go back to their houses, instead of staring into the stormy skies like little sitting ducks for dementors to sip on.

Perhaps most menacingly, we get a shot of Professor Snape, who is clearly taxed by the task he's signed up for, before the shot cuts prophetically to Draco, who's lying in his bed before the hell of his partial making breaks out. It's a setup scene, and the film still worked without it, but it packs an emotional punch all the same.

Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) was pretty much an irredeemable person, but those that were of blood relation to Harry — namely, Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw) and cousin Dudley (Harry Melling) — would, on very, very rare occasion, show an inkling of affection, or at least sympathy for the Boy Wizard. If this deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 had remained in the movie, we might have seen even more of Petunia's hidden heart.

In the film, as the trio prepares to disappear to protect themselves and their families from You Know Who, the Dursleys drive away to find shelter from the coming storm, and Petunia looks pretty sad about it. What the deleted scene shows, though, is her fessing up to Harry that she actually does have feelings about the loss of her sister Lily all those years ago. First Harry tells her why she has to leave all of a sudden — they'll torture her for information on Harry's whereabouts — before she tells him that she's well aware of who she's dealing with. "You think I don't know what they're capable of? You didn't just lose a mother that night in Godric's Hollow, you know. I lost a sister." Harry even makes nice with Dudley, whom he calls "Big D."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is packed with a lot of action sequences and massive set pieces. It is the end of the battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore's Army and the Death Eaters, and just generally, good versus evil, so there's a lot happening. However, some of the most memorable and impactful moments of the movie happened in the quieter scenes, like Molly stepping up to fight for her daughter after already losing one child, Neville dragging his ruined leg to stand up to Voldemort and then killing Nagini, the final horcrux, with the Sword of Gryffindor.

This deleted scene from the film would've certainly ranked among those if it were included — it highlights Nymphadora Tonks' (Natalie Tena) fatal decision to join her husband, Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), in the big battle instead of ducking out to care for their kid, Teddy. Seeing her rush into his arms like that, and knowing what comes next for the two, well, it's about as gutting a moment as the series has to offer ... even if it is only found in scenes we never got to see in theaters.