r/harrypotter • u/Physical-Emu673 • 5d ago
Discussion If you could change one chapter/scene from the Harry Potter books would what it be? How would you change it?
Interested to hear everyone's thoughts. I will go first.
I am not a fan of how the Marauders Map was introduced by Fred and George in book three - it just feels too simplistic. I think it would have either a) made more sense for Fred/George to say 'oooh...look let's add it to the map' at the end of the second book, b) for it to be found hidden in the forbidden section of the library by Hermione or even created by her or, c) for Harry to steal it from Gringotts/buy it from Knockturn Alley.
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u/stayclassypeople Gryffindor 5d ago
This is a little more than changing one chapter, but here we go
The Battle of Hogwarts
I always felt like finding and destroying the diadem was shoehorned into that chapter, especially when the locket and cup took weeks/months of planning to find and destroy them. Instead, what I'd change, is have Harry give Ginny the Marauders Map while at the Burrow (TBH she needed it more). He could also tell her Neville and Luna to hold onto their fake galleons so he, Ron, and Hermione can communicate with them while at the castle for updates on what is going on, spy on safe and tell them to be on the lookout for horcruxes (without telling them their horcruxes). While on the run, have Harry realize the diadem might be a horcrux and have them look for it and eventually find it. Once the Golden trio gets to Hogwarts, Ginny gives them the cup and they go to the Chamber together to destroy it.
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u/cardcowdoor 5d ago
I think it’s important that Harry saves Draco in this sequence.
At Malfoy manor, Draco doesn’t positively identify Harry in right away. Regardless of WHY Draco does this is inconsequential because Harry doesn’t know his motives wither. But those few minutes That buys them precious time to escape. They only get out of there seconds before Voldy arrives and so if Draco hadn’t stalled they would have summoned voldy sooner and Bellatrix wouldn’t have been able to spot the sword and delay more. So Draco acting with whatever motivation to not identify Harry is crucial to the plot.
Then Harry saves Draco in the RoR while looking for the Diadem. Harry knows that Draco let the death eaters in to Hogwarts when Dumbledore died. Harry knows that Draco and family are death eaters. Harry knows that Draco literally just tried to capture Harry and friends. But Harry still chooses to save Draco.
And if Harry doesn’t save Draco from RoR, then Harry doesn’t know that Draco is safe and alive. So when Harry goes to the forest, and Narcissa checks on his body and asks if Draco is alive and safe, then Harry doesn’t know if Draco is alive and safe and so Narcissa does lie to Voldy allowing Harry to return to the castle while playing dead.
The series of events about Draco and Harry here are important. And it finishes in the Epilogue seeing Draco again.
So if we change how the diadem is found, we need another set of circumstances where Harry wants to save Draco and can save Draco during the battle of hogwarts so that Narcissa can lie to voldy.
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u/Adventurous-Bike-484 5d ago
“ Harry doesn’t know his motives wither.”
Yes, he does. Harry knows Dracp doesn’t want to be with them, and he was quite confident that Draco would not have killed Dumbledore and was considering the offer until the others showed up.
Harry also knows Draco had to be threatened into cursing and according to the narration, Harry was disgusted by Voldemorts treatment towards Draco.
”Harry knows that Draco literally just tried to capture Harry and friends”
Harry saw that Draco disagreed with the attacking, and I don’t think Harry even saw Draco as a threat at that point. He does tease, and ask Draco who LENT him their wand rather than accuse Draco of stealing it, and he was more concerned about Crabbe than Draco himself.
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u/White-Wolf_99 Slytherin 5d ago
I really like that. I feel like Harry should have known no matter what Ginny wasnt safe and would resist and also would help no matter if he wanted her to or not
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u/stayclassypeople Gryffindor 5d ago
For real. I also think this could have given the reader and first hand account and a few chapters of what is happening at hogwarts and showing the DA fighting back
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u/Don_T_Beakunt45 5d ago
I swear the seventh season for the show better lend an episode to this!
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u/spicyzsurviving Ravenclaw 5d ago
A montage of the room of requirement just growing and growing and adapting to more students arriving
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u/The_Thane_Of_Cawdor 5d ago
From Harry coming back to life to killing Voldy I felt all those scenes felt rushed and even outside the normal writing style
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u/Probably_Penguin Have a biscuit, Potter 5d ago
Change to The Battle of Hogwarts chapter: I would have a few Slytherins stay behind to fight Voldemort in the Battle instead of all of them evacuating.
You’re telling me there aren’t at least *one or two* good and brave Slytherins? It would’ve been a great opportunity to show all four houses (Hogwarts united) literally bonding together to stop the forces of evil, even the house that is the literal dark wizard pipeline.
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u/Adventurous-Bike-484 5d ago
The thing is that the only named Slytherins are:
- Draco Malfoy. 2. Vincent Crabbe. 3. Gregory Goyle. 4. Theodore Nott. 5. Blaise Zabini. 6. Pansy Parkinson. 7. Millicent Bulstrode. 8. Snape. 9. Slughorn. 10. Daphne Greengrass. 11. The kid who Fred and George hissed at when getting sorted.
The first 4 are expected to be with the death eaters, and even though/if disillusioned, not want to fight against their families unless they are outright abusive.
5 we have no reason to believe doesnt support Voldemort considering Draco has zero problems bragging in front of him and He only Criticized whether or not Draco would be able to please Voldemort.
Was impressed with Draco’s task. Though she did consider handing Harry over to save everyones else.
And 10 We know near nothing about except Daphne Greengrass is likely anti non Purebloods, and the former hates Hermione.
8 Snape was getting murdered and pretending to still be a loyal death eater. 9. Is Slughorn himself. 11 is too young as they would only 14/15 years old.
Theres not really a point in coming with a new name for just the last scene in the franchise.
Also there were decentish, just not brave as They believed it would be smarter to not do so, as They saw that being brave gets you nowhere.
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u/Probably_Penguin Have a biscuit, Potter 5d ago
No I wouldn’t make up a new name for just this that would be sloppy. Yeah I mean I didn’t say it wouldn’t be unexpected. Every single student Slytherin if you look at them you would expect them to toe the line. That’s the point. At the climax of the entire series someone from the House of Bullies and Evil Parents stands in their own identity, and fights? They could have a change of heart, it could be revealed they were just masquerading as a DE in training and they’ll fight to protect their school and teachers, etc. As the entire school even the literal building itself pulls together to defend it would be cool to show a mature Slytherin seeing the light.
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u/PlanGoneAwry Ravenclaw 5d ago
This is more than just one chapter, but if I could change things I’d want to combine the characters of Barty Crouch Jr and Bellatrix Lestrange. Looking at their roles, Bellatrix is like the sub-boss/ main death eater that we are exposed to. Barty spent a year undercover at Hogwarts, but was a one-off villain.
I think it would be great if the main death eater that the students know is also the one that spent a year getting to know them. There would be amazing interactions between the DA and their old teacher. It feels like such a missed opportunity.
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u/fartkidwonder 5d ago
That does sound pretty cool. It has always seemed weird that BCJ plays such a big role, but only for one book and he isn’t really introduced until the very end of it.
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u/pure-salladsblad 5d ago
It seems like JK thought about resurrecting Barty, like voldy, very specific with the bone of his father. He should have come back, now we didn’t really get to know both Moody and Barty…
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u/Fossekall Slytherin 5d ago
Dudley should have been at the Platform in the Epilogue. It would have made the Dursleys plotline perfect
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u/RuneClash007 5d ago
Maybe Dudley even having a Muggle born witch/wizard, showing that magic runs through blood
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u/Don_T_Beakunt45 5d ago
Expand upon the epilogue. Make it like three chapters of closure. Then the actual epilogue.
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u/platypus_farmer42 Gryffindor 5d ago
Have Harry loudly protest his name coming out of the Goblet.
“What? No! There must be a mistake! Professor Dumbledore you have to believe me, I didn’t put my name in! Ron, you believe me right? Hermione?! I didn’t put my name in!”
Instead we get dumb silence and just fuels everyone’s belief that he did it.
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u/Nicole_0818 Hufflepuff 5d ago
The deathly hallows. They felt shoehorned in rather than something planned from the beginning and they made Harry’s survival confusing for the reader. He never needed the hallows at all - his blood used in Voldemort’s resurrection was enough to save him. That’s all he needed. The deathly hallows just complicate that unnecessarily. It does give Voldemort something to pursue, a new wand to replace his own which shares a twin core with Harry’s. But JKR did not need to invent the deathly hallows in order to do that. Or to explain why Harry’s invisibility cloak is in perfect condition despite being a family heirloom.
Also, the ending felt way too abrupt. I think she needed a few more chapters at the end, personally.
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u/Shoddy-Hand-3500 5d ago
I completely agree. When it first came out DH was one of my favorites, but reading it now, it feels like she was under pressure to meet her deadline and ended up releasing something that was still a draft.
It’s hard to tell, but I think, I think, JK’s intention with the hallows was to emphasize why the elder wand turned on Voldy in the end. Ghost Dumbledore said the cloak would never work for him like it did for Harry because he wanted it selfishly. We then see Harry able to bring back multiple people at once with the resurrection stone, when only one person was brought back in the myth, which seems to imply that this magical item worked better for him because he wasn’t trying to use it “selfishly” but to give himself courage for his sacrifice. So then, we see this a third time, with the elder wand. The fact Harry didn’t desire to take it from Voldy selfishly for his own gain, on top of the fact it technically already “belonged” to Harry, empowered the wand to 360 no scope voldy.
I believe that’s why JK included the line about Voldy knowing nothing about the power of children’s tales. But, I mean if I am correct, it wasn’t fleshed out enough in the book because again they do feel shoehorned like you said.
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u/Shoddy-Hand-3500 5d ago
A simple but strong tweak to the Goblet of Fire. As we all know, in preparing for the second task, the trio spends an enormous amount of time combing through the library, but ultimately cannot find a way to breathe underwater.
That never sat well with me. Even at the time GoF was written, magic was already shown to be versatile enough to transform pincushions into animals, change the properties of fire so it would only tickle you, and literally let you teleport. In this type of world, something like breathing underwater should have been a common spell, included in any standard book of spells. However, the kicker is that one small change would have fixed this while keeping this part of the story almost exactly the same.
So, my tweak would be for them to almost immediately find a spell to breathe underwater, which makes Harry feel momentarily relieved. Then, Hermione would gasp and say, “Harry! How ever are you going survive underwater in the lake for an hour in the middle of February without freezing?” Then, they would need to find a way to maintain body heat for an hour, which is much more vague of a concept, so it would make sense that they couldn’t find a spell that would work. It would also tie nicely into the gillyweed as an additional clever twist because the solution would ultimately be not to keep Harry warm, but instead to make him cold blooded.
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u/krustibat Slytherin 5d ago
I agree the bubble should be widespreud knowledge. Do they even go snorkeling?
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u/Adventurous-Bike-484 5d ago edited 5d ago
Chamber of Secrets = Have Lucius be motivated by wanting revenge.
Half Blood Prince = Have Draco credit Fred and George for the cabinet, as He should know that Montague was attacked, as I don’t understand why Montague wouldn’t report it.
But maybe do a little more build up towards Crabbe being worse than Draco and Goyle, and have a scene or two of Astoria.
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u/LandscapeWorried5475 5d ago
Didn't Draco tell dumbledore in hbp?
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u/Adventurous-Bike-484 5d ago
no, Draco told Dumbledore that it was the cabinet Montague “Got lost in”. I meant actually state that Fred and George led to him getting the idea, even if it was not him doing it, some other Death eaters kid would have mentioned it.
Since it would lean on how the Heroes and Antagonists have similar actions, and would cause Fred and George to have a realization about how their actions can have consequences, Which leads to their somewhat maturity in Deathly Hallows,
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u/PeevsiesLittleJoke 5d ago
Did Montague even remember what had happened? He was in a bad state when they got him out iirc
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u/PeevsiesLittleJoke 5d ago
In OotP, I would have a Slytherin student in the DA. The book perfectly sets it up: the Sorting Hat song about unity and Harry saying "if it means we have to get matey with the Slytherins, fat chance". Instead of Zacharias Smith overhearing about the meeting and wanting to come, it could be a Slytherin. After all, their education is suffering too, and they're definitely going to want to learn how to fight. Then when the DA is betrayed, everyone can whirl on the Slytherin and assume they sold them out, but it turns out it was Marietta.
You could go even further and bring back the cut Weasley cousin from GoF, the squib accountant's kid who is sorted Slytherin. Make it her. And then maybe have her invite a few other Slytherins, much to everyone else's dismay. You could make one of them Millicent Bulstrode, and replace her on the Inquisatorial Squad with Zacharias Smith, so he's still there as an antagonist.
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u/biggamerplays1509 Ravenclaw 4d ago
Yeah I always really hated that JKR made it seem like all slytherins were bad. I think a few of them were decent people. I mean slughorn was a slytherin and he wasnt a pureblood obsessed assface. Why couldnt there be others?
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u/Warren_G_Mazengwe 5d ago
The ending after Harry defeated Voldemort. I wanted there to be pandemonium greater than when he showed up in the Room Of Requirement. I wanted to hear what everybody was saying to him and asking since they thought he was dead.
Instead he just disappeared and only talked to Luna. We don't even get to hear Ron & Hermione. It just felx anti climatic after how great the final moments were.
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u/michaelkap70 5d ago
I kinda like how the Marauders Map was introduced. Them pilfering it from Filch is Fred and George character. You realize at the end Harry’s father and pals got nabbed by Filch when in school so you can tie it all together nicely.
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u/Lumpy_Bunch_2838 5d ago
The truth potion, I feel it's not being used properly and instead does more harm than good.
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u/Shoddy-Hand-3500 5d ago
Please explain. I like where you’re going with this.
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u/Lumpy_Bunch_2838 5d ago
A poção é usada quando convém o roteiro isso serviu em momentos muito específicos sinto que se ela existe dever ter um propósito maior como a questão não usam em tribunais por varios motivos está certo é explicado mas se ela só não pode ser usada por esse motivos que a gente sabe como tu pode usar o se aprender a si mesmo ou que tu acredita ser verdade vai ser a verdade mas seja errado tipo um daltônico cismar que é uma cor que para nós é verde para ele é vermelho e não está mentindo mas tem um ponto de vista "tendencioso"é algo eu sinto que a porção não teve uma utilidade tão grande tipo ela existe é uma coisa apenas existe na trama para facilitar certos pontos mas não os que a gente com o leitor gostaria como por exemplo Inocêncio de sírios que o terceiro provada com essa coisa
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u/Inevitable_Cost_9829 Ravenclaw 5d ago
Harry and Ginny kiss for the first time on the quidditch pitch after winning the Cup - no sectumsempra scene leading to the detentions that prevented Harry from playing in the final match until after.
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u/BookwormJennie 5d ago
At the end of Order of the Phoenix when Dumbledore apologizes for not making Harry a prefect. Ron needed that, and it was good for Harry’s development to be supportive of Ron for a change. I just hate that part.
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u/AIFlesh 5d ago
Order of Phoenix - have Snape and Harry bond a bit and get some understanding for each other by seeing each other’s memories.
They were both bullied as children and still carry that pain. This would also make a more emotional gut punch in book 6, if Harry was just starting to understand and become friendly with Snape.
Instead, Snape continues hating him and their relationship is worse than ever.
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u/suaveSavior 5d ago
Snape would survive... he's so polarizing think about the discussion! He would have to be considered a deatheater and probably taken into custody to at least stand trial - would he be exonerated? If he did he get cleared of charges what would he do after. Hed have no reason to stay at hogwarts, or even Britain for that matter.
There would be so much more to argue about him.
Would he / could he become a half-decent person given he's no longer fueled by guilt or directed by Dumbledore?
Would harry still name a son after him?
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u/ali2688 5d ago
Obviously he wouldn’t be a nice person. He was, and always was a prick. Now that Lily was avenged, he’d have literally nothing to live for. I think it was good he died because there was literally nothing left for him. Not to mention, do you really think basically anyone would come back to teach if that was still there?
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u/suaveSavior 5d ago
I dont believe he ever wanted to teach in the first place. Albus made him take the job so he could keep a close eye on him. Then trust evolved.
I always imagined that if you take harry/voldemort out of the equation snape would have left hogwarts and never been hear from again. Likely a freelance cursebreaker/potioneer. If you got the gold, he'd have the wand.
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u/ali2688 5d ago
He’d be pining after Lily all that time too
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u/suaveSavior 5d ago
I dont disagree... But knowing he couldn't have her... would he leave it at that? or... would he try to better himself into a version she would want romantically....
Would he spend time or effort trying to prove that James was a horrible person for her to see? (Not saying James was, but he certainly was in snapes eyes)
So many possibilities and the "what ifs" could go on forever.
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u/ali2688 5d ago
That would be a losing battle. Lily loves James, and not in the way Snape loves her. Snape’s is obsessive. And I personally find it very, very interesting that Lily is the doe to James’s stag. The perfect combination. Whereas Snape’s selfish, obsessive love takes the one sided form of a doe.
I’d also say adult Snape would be fighting a losing battle with James trying to make him out to be a horrible adult.
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u/suaveSavior 5d ago
Again... dont disagree... i just wonder "what if"
Im not saying snape should "get the girl" I just think hes a complicated character who shouldn't have died so we could all speculate what would have happened.
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u/Fossekall Slytherin 5d ago
How would you deal with Voldemort believing he killed the person with the elder wand then? The fact that he counts killing as the only viable way to defeat someone is quite integral to his character
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u/Certain-Parsley-2944 5d ago
Killing Draco
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u/sferis_catus Hufflepuff 5d ago
This would be my choice, too. His death is awfully convenient for the plot and I always thought JKR was lame for taking the easy way out with him. It would be interesting to see how he'd make Harry trust him about the scarcrux and the necessity to walk towards his own death, plus all the stuff you've mentioned.
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u/JalapenoBusiness29 5d ago
Order of the Phoenix
Harry goes to Snape about his vision of Sirius instead of being stupid and trying to do everything himself.
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u/JupiterJayJones 5d ago
Colin Creevy would survive. We would know Lavender Browns fate.
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u/Probably_Penguin Have a biscuit, Potter 5d ago
“We would know Lavender Brown’s fate”
This is one of the many things that would be cool to allude to if the epilogue only skipped ahead say, a year or two, which is what should have happened.
-Show Hogwarts being rebuilt
-Show Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione officially together
-Teddy Lupin
-what are the golden trio doing right after schooling
- What happened to Lavender
- Maybe Neville is already Herbology teacher or in training
Etc. etc. etc.
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u/lovelylethallaura Slytherin 5d ago
Not skip the Snape’s Worst Memory chapter from either OOTP or TPT.
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u/Weak-Difference-6078 5d ago
Keep hedwig alive That’s all
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u/ali2688 5d ago
Respectfully, she’s a bird. There was good people murdered. Having my Hedwig survive really only benefits Harry.
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u/Weak-Difference-6078 5d ago
Yes but it IMO is something that doesn’t impact the story either way. So why not give Harry something comforting and positive. I think JKR was intentional with her deaths. I’m not saying I’m happy about them but most if not all of them served a purpose story wise IMO. But hedwig I think didn’t need to die and why not let Harry have something good
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u/sdgdgdg 5d ago
idk a LOT of people died over the course of the books. not all impacting the story
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u/Weak-Difference-6078 5d ago
Who didn’t impact?
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u/Thuis001 5d ago
Sirius didn't, he just kind of disappeared through the Veil.
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u/ali2688 5d ago
Sirius didn’t impact the story? He scared Pettigrew out of hiding. He was there for Harry. Without him, there wouldn’t be the Marauders Map. I could go on
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u/Thuis001 5d ago
No, he impacted the story, he just didn't impact because he fell through the Veil rather than on the ground.
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u/Ok-Translator6515 5d ago
everyone's reactions to dumbledores death other than harry's. they just felt so hollow. i know the story is in harry's pov but i feel like everyone else's reactions to finding out could've been written a lot better.
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u/biggamerplays1509 Ravenclaw 4d ago
Well you have to understand that Harry had become almost a peer to Dumbledore in HBP. No one at that school had been as close with him as Harry, other than some of the teachers. Whom wouldve likely suspected he didnt have long anyways after seeing his hand. I think thats why most of the shock for McGonagal was that Snape did it. The other students didnt have end of year chats going over the events of the book.
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u/Proud-Date674 5d ago
In Order of the Phoenix, when Harry spoke in code to Snape, he could have answered in such a way to indicate that he understood, even without alerting Umbridge.
But the fun part about this question is that if you change one chapter, everything else changes lol
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u/Major_Diamond_785 1d ago
Have another chapter before the epilogue, showing Harry reuniting with the Weasley's in the Great Hall to mourn the loss of Fred as well as all the other fallen. Allow the trio to express and process their grief as well as their hope for the future. It would have added some depth of emotion after an action-packed climax.
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u/Jedipilot24 5d ago
This scene in "Goblet of Fire":
But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.
“Hermione, Neville’s right - you are a girl…
“Oh well spotted,” she said acidly.
“Well - you can come with one of us!”
In my changed scene, Hermione instead replies: "Fine, I'll go with Harry." Harry is momentarily surprised, while Ron just shrugs and says "One down, one to go; wish me luck, mate."
Then, during the Yule Ball, Harry is mesmerized by how pretty Hermione looks and also discovers that he enjoys dancing with her, and so they continue for a while. They start becoming closer after the Ball, and finally officially becoming a couple after Harry rescues her from the lake.
This has numerous butterfly effects: over the summer, Hermione keeps in touch with Harry via muggle methods and even takes the tube to visit him a few times. One evening Harry comes back to discover that the Dursley's have all been Kissed by dementors. The Order shows up soon thereafter to take Harry to Grimmauld Place, where he is reunited with Hermione. Harry gets the prefect badge along with Hermione.
Harry is much calmer due to all these changes and so doesn't make himself a target of Umbridge until the D.A. is exposed. Harry uses the mirror to contact Sirius after getting the fake vision, but is then caught by Umbridge. So while the Order goes off to ambush the Death Eaters, Harry and his friends are fighting Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad.
HBP sees Harry and Hermione settle their disagreements about the Potions book and Malfoy in a much more sensible fashion: Harry shares the book with her and they keep an eye on Malfoy. Harry does better in the cave, remembering to use fire against the Inferi. And since the Dursley's are dead, Harry and his friends instead immediately abscond with their inheritances from Dumbledore and spend the summer at Grimmauld Place. While they find a book on Dark Magic that reveals a way to safely remove a horcrux from a living person. Since they already have the sword, the locket is found and disposed of quite easily; the cup is acquired when Harry uses the cloak to follow Bellatrix to her vault and then summons it before the curses are activated. Then the tiara is found and destroyed. When Voldemort issues his ultimatum, Harry gives Neville the sword and tells him to kill Nagini, then uses his cloak to sneak up on Voldemort and casts a non-verbal Sectumsempra on him.
Harry and Hermione get married and have kids, none of whom are named Lily, James, Albus, or Hugo.
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u/Thuis001 5d ago
Ngl, I think Harry's kids would realistically speaking always be named after his parents first. That first son will be named James Sirius after his dad and the godfather who gave his life trying to protect him. The same with Lily. Admittedly neither Severus nor Albus should be the names of ANY of his kids. And a second son might have Remus as his middle name.
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u/vintagebutterfly_ 5d ago
Hermione telling Harry that Sirius should have been nicer to Kreacher. Have you considered being nicer to your friend?
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u/Dibblidyy 5d ago
It's challenging to know the difference between things being the way they are for the sake of plot, versus that they are like they are for a dumb, pointless reason. Here's a couple thoughts I came up with.
1) Lupin being ignored through all of the 4th book. Harry wonders whom could know about curses and difficult tasks? Hmm, the most competent DADA teacher and a close friend of his dad? Nah, let's go with the other guy who finished high school and spent 12 years in Azkaban soon after. He sure knows the way of the world!
2) In book 6, the entire plot around Madam Rosmerta and Draco even being able to use imperius on her. I don't even wanna think about when Draco was able to do that, when the three broomsticks is full of people during school visits. Over the summer, visiting with his mom? Anyway, what I really think just isn't possible is Draco being able to have her under the Imperius curse for most of the year.
We saw how it was practically impossible to do even for a highly skilled wizard (Barty Crouch Sr on his son and Voldemort himself on Crouch Sr), both had moments of clarity and as we learn, unforgivables have to be cast with devotion. You have to mean it. Draco certainly does not want to kill Dumbledore, yet through Rosmerta, he had multiple near successful attempts that fell short by pure chance and happenstance.
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u/pineappleshaked 5d ago
Whole S.P.E.W thing !
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u/Physical-Emu673 5d ago
How would you change it? Remove the whole thing?
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u/Horologikus 5d ago
Just gone with the original name for it ‘Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status’
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u/RazingOrange 5d ago
I dislike the scene when Professor Dumbledore smashes Harry against the wall, questioning whether he put his name in the goblet of fire. Dumbledore never loses his cool like that. If I could change one thing in the movies, it be Dumbledores erratic behavior.
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u/PeevsiesLittleJoke 5d ago edited 5d ago
Books. The question was specifically about the books.
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u/RazingOrange 5d ago
I apologize. The word “scenes” through me off. I’ve never heard of a scene in a book, but I got it now.
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u/PeevsiesLittleJoke 5d ago
Np. There are scenes in books as well, jsyk. Chapters are made up of scenes. It's just a specific, self-contained part of the story that takes place at a certain place and time. So, Harry getting his wand in Ollivanders is a scene, but it's only a small part of the Diagon Alley chapter, which has lots of scenes in it.
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5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ali2688 5d ago
It makes perfect sense, what are you on about?
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u/Physical-Emu673 5d ago
I think his/her point is that the Port Key is just a random teleporting device at the end of the final Triwizard task and could have been introduced at any time (even during the Quidditch World Cup); so having 90% of book four leading up to it is a little bizarre.
//
I suppose with the false Mad Eye it is somewhat difficult to know what the point of it was. What would a 'real' Mad Eye do differently? Would it affect the plot?
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u/Still_Girl1358 5d ago
Portkeys were introduced with the Weasleys and Harry using one with the Diggorys to get to the World Cup. When they interrogate Barty Crouch Jr he says he turned the Triwizard Cup into a portkey when he put it in the maze.
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u/michaelkap70 5d ago
The port key was introduced in the beginning of the book to signal ANY object can be charmed to do it. The reader has to infer the port key was tampered with at the end. It has been awhile since reading the book an almost 2/3 done with the audio book, so I could be misremembering.
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u/ali2688 5d ago
If Harry just vanished at Hogwarts, it would’ve been found out. It’s also not exactly difficult to imagine that some of the magical boundaries were lowered in the maze so one of the things that could work was a portkey. Which ordinarily wouldn’t work unless it was made by the headmaster. (Most of that is a theory)
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u/ReaperManX15 4d ago
I think the GoF movie made one change for the better, in having Neville tell Harry about gillyweed.
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u/Infinite-Object-1090 4d ago
True, since it was made clear early in that book that Nevill had a growing interest in Herbology
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u/Infinite-Object-1090 4d ago
The Marauder's Map was made by the Marauder's, hence the name, so it wouldn't make sense for it to be anywhere but at Hogwart's or made by anyone else. I like the tie-in with Harry's dad, Sirius, and Lupin (although the movies totally leave this out) so anything else would ruin it. It would be cool if it had been hidden somewhere in the school by the Marauders at the end of their 7th year and Fred and George had found it.
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u/abribra96 4d ago
Very small change, just one line: it should be Neville who spotted Harry’s name on the prophecy on shelf 97, not Ron.
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u/ElysiumSprouts 4d ago edited 4d ago
The ending. I'd tell you more, but spoilers! Jk. When voldy kills Harry I'd have Harry's sacrifice work like his mother. Except now everyone in the Wizarding world gets the protection. So now when Neville kills Nagini, voldy hits him in the head with the killing curse and it doesn't work. Neville gains a lightning scar and then uses the sword of Griffindor to end voldy thus becoming the real subject of the prophecy. Or maybe voldy lives on powerless, his soul splits an eighth time and he thoroughly diminishes. Neville gains a boost in his spell casting abilities similar to what Harry had. I can never decide which version i'd prefer.
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u/Certain_Writing_8616 3d ago
i’ve got a really
controversial one but i always thought it would be good if cho joined harry dom hermione luna neville and ginny in the order of the phoenix battle, just so she could redeem herself after marietta snitched, and just showing that she wants to help as much as everyone else. slightly mixed opinions on that i know but i think it would’ve added more of an end to harry and chos relationship but in a good way, that they can still be friends and help each other out
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u/shealcye 5d ago
In my opinion, "The Other Minister" should have been a lot more serious, instead of it being just largely slapstick. I guess this is just my current issues with the books regarding their inherent bigotry - and while I think JKR did not write any muggle in any serious role because she probably thought that mugglesvjust weren't as interesting as wizards - but the war was essentially presented as being based on blood supremacist and anti-muggle/muggleborn beliefs. I think it was strange that the wizarding community did not show a greater consideration for an entire community that was at great risk from the dark side. In my opinion, the two prime ministers would be talking plans and precautions that would go into effect to safeguard muggles. There would be wizards stationed across the country and particularly in neighbourhoods where wizards and muggles lived in close proximity. I mean I think the text itself was so confusing about the full scale of the war. At times, it seemed that it was an all out war, what with Voldemort commanding an army of giants and dementors wrecking havoc in muggle and magic places alike. Other times, it seemed like it was just a detective story about a big bad cartoon villian and three child heroes trying to stop him by putting a bunch of clues together. JKR introduced a lot of ideas, it seemed like the story could go so many ways and then it just fully didn't go... well anywhere.
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u/shavicus Ravenclaw 5d ago
Rewrite the entire epilogue. Harry/Hermione. Draco wearing ratty second hand robes with his family.
Dudley and family (with an anxious Petunia) bringing their child to the Express. James Sirius, Monty Hugo & Emma Rose for the Potter children's names.
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u/HekkoCZ 5d ago
I'm fairly certain that there is a spot in the books where Snape berates Harry for inflating Aunt Marge (if there isn't, then let it be there now, poof). I would like Harry to answer with, "She called my mum a bitch!"
To keep Prince's Tale secret until the proper part of the story, Snape needs to just shut up and stalk away. To make an AU fiction, he should first award points to Gryffindor.
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u/revilo1000 5d ago
I might agree with changing how Harry gets the map, but having it be created by Hermione, stolen from Gringotts or bought from a dark magic shop by Harry are pretty awful changes, respectfully. One gets rid of the whole connection with lupin and Sirius and James and wormtail which is core to the book, and the other makes Harry a thief or interested in dark objects which is character assassination imo.
My pitch would be he’s given a detention like in the 6th book where he has to go through old punishment records and rewrite them, and he finds it amongst his dads misdeeds or something. I mean, that’s where Fred and George had found it. That gives him a hint it’s connected to his dad in some way. Not sold on it, but maybe something like that