Considering this thesis came out to 17 single-spaced pages in Word, I’ll make this intro here brief. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — I’ve read the book, I’ve seen the movie, now here’s the differences …

***Obviously, this is one big SPOILER fest, so you’re been warned. Click on the Contents links below to jump to each respective section.***

CONTENTS

— 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging
— Dementors Attack
— Dumbledore’s Letter to Aunt Petunia
— Hedwig
— The Rescue From Privet Drive
— The Order of the Phoenix Headquarters
— The Ministry of Magic and the Hearing
— The Woes of Mrs. Weasley
— Hogwarts Express and Arrival at Hogwarts
— Quidditch
— O.W.L.s and Defense Against the Dark Arts
— Harry and Cho
— Dumbledore’s Army
— S.P.E.W. and the House-Elves
— Hagrid’s Return and The Giants
— Harry’s Dreams and Occlumency
— Other Elements Missing From the Movie
— To Rescue Sirius
— The Prophecy
— Battle at the Ministry
— Dumbledore’s Revelation
— The Aftermath
— Back to Privet Drive

4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging — Back to Top

• The News: In the book, it’s been a month since the school year ended during which Harry has been in isolation from the wizard world while staying as usual with his non-wizard Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon on Privet Drive. Harry’s Aunt and Uncle are listening to the news, while Harry hides outside under their window trying to listen in on the news, too. There’s a loud cracking noise (much like when a wizard Apparates/Disapparates) that alerts his Uncle, who catches Harry and reprimands him for sneaking around.
• Owls: Owls deliver messages to Harry at 4 Privet Drive from his friends Ron and Hermione, but the letters are brief and contain no news from the wizarding world. Harry’s frustration and feelings of isolation grow stronger and on his 15th birthday, he’s so angry with his friends, he throws out the gifts they sent.
• Nightmares: We find out that Harry has been having restless, sleepless nights with nightmares about Cedric dying (this happens at the end of Goblet of Fire; Cedric is killed on Voldemort’s orders during the Triwizard Tournament), and feelings of helplessness. Also, the scar on his forehead is burning more often now.

Dementors Attack — Back to Top

• At The Playground: Harry goes to a nearby playground. This is where the movie begins. Harry’s bully cousin and his friends appear and Dudley does his best to taunt Harry with by mocking what Harry calls out in his sleep (“Don’t kill Cedric!”). Just as the two are about to come to blows, the sky grows dark and Dementors attack Harry and Dudley. Harry uses the Patronus Charm to save them. (In the book, Harry produces silver vapor the first two times and on the third try he gets a full Patronus — a stag — which defeats the Dementors; in the movie, he does the spell once and gets only vapor, which here is enough to get rid of the Dementors.) Once the Dementors are gone, Harry’s neighbor Mrs. Figg shows up and tells Harry NOT to put his wand away.
• The Squib: It turns out that Mrs. Figg is a Squib — someone of wizard heritage who does not have magical abilities. She explains to Harry that Dumbledore has had people watching Harry at Privet Drive to make sure he’s safe. The person patrolling that night — Mundungus Fletcher — left his post early and that’s when the Dementors attacked. Mundungus is not mentioned nor does he appear in the movie, but is in the book several times. He’s a member of the Order of the Phoenix (the secret society found by Dumbledore) and is often at its headquarters (much to the dislike of Mrs. Weasley).
• Expulsion: Harry brings Dudley back home and gets the blame for Dudley’s condition. Then, a letter comes from the Improper Use of Magic Office stating that Harry is expelled from Hogwarts School for using magic in the presence of a Muggle (non-Wizard). In the book, it’s here that Harry admits to his family why he’s expelled and his Aunt slips up and says how she’s heard of Dementors before. Harry gets more letters, from Arthur Weasley and Sirius Black warning him not to leave the house. Another letter from the Improper Use of Magic Office arrives to say that the previous statement has been amended and that Harry will now have to face a disciplinary hearing, which will decide if he can retain his wand and continue at Hogwarts. In the movie, only one letter from the Improper Use office arrives, and it’s the one telling Harry he’s been expelled.

Dumbledore’s Letter to Aunt Petunia — Back to Top

• A Warning: A revealing scene takes place here in the book that is NOT in the movie: Harry tries to get his Aunt and Uncle to understand that the dark wizard (Lord Voldemort) who killed his parents has returned and is after him. They are so outraged by Harry’s talk of magic (of which they’ve always denied the existence) and fearful that Harry is bringing danger to their house, that Uncle Vernon tells Harry to leave. That’s when a “howler” letter shows up from Dumbledore to Aunt Petunia that reads, “Remember my last, Petunia.” Because of this Aunt Petunia reluctantly states that Harry will have to continue to stay with them, but he’s not allowed to leave the house. This scene is important because it reveals that Dumbledore and Petunia had an agreement regarding Harry staying with her and that there will be consequences if Petunia breaks this agreement.

Hedwig — Back to Top

• Hedwig: In the book, after the Dementor attack, Harry has his owl Hedwig send letters to Ron, Hermione, and Sirius demanding information. He tells Hedwig to keep pecking at them until they provide decent-length answers to his queries. He goes without a reply for four days, and on the last night, his family leaves the house and members of the Order of the Phoenix come to rescue him. (We find out in the book that the family left thinking they were going to the All-England Best-Kept Suburban Lawn Competition, but none such event exists. It was sent by the Order just to get them out of the house.) None of this is mentioned in the film, though we do see Harry’s family leave him alone on the night he’s rescued by members of the Order. And in the film, they leave on the night of the Dementor attack, and it’s to take Dudley to the hospital.

  **One thing I noticed is that in the film, when the rescue team comes, Hedwig is shown in her cage, as there was no previous scene to show Harry send her on the errand. Harry doesn’t appear to take her with him during the escape and there is no explanation as to how she later on shows up at Hogwarts. (There’s also no scene to show Tonks helping Harry pack his stuff.)

• Injury: Not in the film, but there’s a time when Hedwig brings Harry a letter and he sees that the owl has been injured. He brings her to Professor Grubbly-Plank (the teacher who is covering for Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures), who assessed that Hedwig’s been attacked. Harry, Ron, and Hermione think that Umbridge is behind the attack, and that she’s reading all mail in and out of Hogwarts.

The Rescue From Privet Drive — Back to Top

• The Rescue Team: In the movie, Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt (along with two unnamed characters who I think are Elphias Doge and Emmeline Vance) are on the rescue squad. It’s here that Harry learns that Dumbledore has persuaded the Ministry of Magic not to expell Harry; instead, Harry will face a disciplinary hearing. In the book, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore, and Hestia Jones are also there to rescue Harry, but they do not appear at all in the film. More importantly, it’s supposed to be Remus Lupin who leads this rescue team, but in the movie he’s not on-screen until they get to the Order headquarters. It is in this part of the book that we learn that Tonks’s mother was a witch, her father a Muggle, and that she’s an Auror as well as a Metamorphmagus — someone who can change their appearance at will, a trait she was born with.
• Escape: The movie and book both show that the rescue team gets from 4 Privet Drive to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix (located at 12 Grimmauld Place in London) via broom. But the movie leaves you to wonder why they are flying without worrying about being detected by Muggles. In the book we find out that Moody put a Disillusionment Charm on Harry to conceal him before they set out.

The Order of the Phoenix Headquarters — Back to Top

• Reunion: Once at headquarters, Harry meets up with Ron and Hermione. He’s very angry at them for not keeping him abreast for the last month. They explain that it was under Dumbledore’s orders that they stayed quiet. While this is shown in the film, there’s very little dialogue in this scene. In the book, there’s a lot being said, Harry really opens up about how angry and frustrated he was, and his friends give lengthy explanations about their behavior. Also, in the book, this is where we see that Hedwig is still at headquarters, and Ron and Hermione show Harry the peck marks on their hands from Hedwig, who followed Harry’s orders to “keep pecking.”
• Bill and Fleur: A minor storyline is left out of the movie: Eldest Weasley sibling Bill and his relationship with Fleur Delacour. Fleur is from the Beauxbatons school and was one of the champions who competed against Harry in the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire. At the beginning of the book, Bill is there at Order headquarters and we find out that he’s Bill is back from his job in Egypt and is now working a desk job. A relationship between Bill and Fleur is implied, as Fred tells the group that Bill’s been giving Fleur private English lessons.
• Percy Weasley: Another storyline omitted from the movie: Another Weasley son, the ambitious Percy, who works for the Ministry of Magic, has excommunicated his family. Percy has sided with his boss, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic who’s made it clear to his employees that anyone siding with Dumbledore (thereby believing that Lord Voldemort has returned) would be out of a job. Percy eventually writes a letter to Ron warning him to sever all ties with Harry Potter and NOT to follow the path of his parents and other siblings.
• Scourgify: While at the headquarters, the book goes into detail about how the members of the Order have been trying to “scourgify” (clean up) the house, which belonged to Sirius Black’s family. There’s parts where they are trying to get rid of boggarts (shape-shifters that take the form of their victim’s worst fear) and the paintings of Black’s ancestors on the walls are making derogatory comments at them. In the book, Kreacher, the house-elf bound to the Black family, has a lot of dialogue, where he openly disapproves of the Order members taking over the house.
• Black Family Tree: The movie does have a scene where Sirius shows Harry the tapestry of the Black family tree and explains why he was disowned by his family (they were pure-blood wizards loyal to Voldemort, while Sirius aligned himself with Dumbledore and had mixed-blood friends). The book goes into detail as to what Black’s mother was like and about other relatives that were disowned (turns out Tonks was too — she’s Sirius’s cousin). It also explains why the Order can’t get rid of certain items in the house (Black’s mom put a lot of sticking charms on these items; also, Kreacher keeps taking the items out of the trash).

The Ministry of Magic and the Hearing — Back to Top

• Kingsley Shacklebolt: In the book, we find out that not only is Kingsley Shacklebolt a member of the Order, but he also works at the Ministry of Magic and is the person in charge of finding Sirius Black, who is still “at large” for his escape from Azkaban (we learned in Prisoner of Azkaban that he was convicted of killing Harry’s parents James and Lily, even though it was really Voldemort who did it.) It’s Shacklebolt who keeps the investigation in limbo by passing on false information about Sirius’s whereabouts, hence the reason why Sirius has not yet been caught. Even so, Sirius must stay hidden at headquarters and cannot even go out as Padfoot, the dog he’s able to transform into (he’s an Animagus) because it’s assumed that people are aware of his capabilities by now.
• Fudge’s Fear: This is touched upon in the movie, but Fudge is afraid to admit that Voldemort is back. He’d rather ignore the truth and persecute everyone who tries to bring it to light. His cause is helped along by the Daily Prophet newspaper, which consistently prints derogatory information about Dumbledore, as well as about Harry (we see in the movie the headline “The Boy Who Lies?” on the paper’s front page). In the book, we learn that thanks to Fudge, Dumbledore has been voted out of his position as Chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards, demoted from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot (the Wizard High Court), and there was talk of taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class.



• The Hearing: In the movie, Mr. Weasley brings Harry to the disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic (Mr. Weasley works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts division). The movie does a great job of bringing us into this magic place and the hearing goes along much like the events in the book (though the book, of course, has a lengthier hearing). There’s extra information about the MoM building and all of its floors and we see an area for Auror Headquarters.
• Sturgis Podmore: He’s a member of the Order. He doesn’t appear in the film, but in the book we see he’s part of the team rescuing Harry. Later on in the book, we find out that he’s been arrested and sentenced to six months in the prison Azkaban for trying to go through a door at the Ministry of Magic. Harry realizes that Sturgis was trying to get into the Department of Mysteries, where the Prophecies are kept; Hermione deduces that Sturgis — who was actually stationed to guard the Prophecy about Harry — must have been under the Imperius Curse cast by Lucius Malfoy, who was at the Ministry the day of Harry’s hearing.
• Escape from Azkaban: In the film, we see there’s a breakout in Azkaban, which frees Bellatrix Lestrange. The book explains the prison break and talks about the nine other prisoners who escaped and why they were in Azkaban to begin with. The night before the escape, Harry gets the sense that Lord Voldemort is the happiest he’s been in 14 years. The next day is when he finds out the convicted Death Eaters escaped. The Ministry blames Sirius Black for the breakout.

The Woes of Mrs. Weasley — Back to Top

• Chapter 9 “The Woes of Mrs. Weasley”: This chapter contains extra information that is not in the movie. The gang at headquarters celebrates Harry’s acquittal; talk about how Fudge is in league with Lucius Malfoy (a known Death Eater), especially after Malfoy and Fudge are seen together at the Ministry of Magic after Harry’s hearing; a discussion about how Sirius wants Harry to remain with him at headquarters and how Sirius sometimes thinks that Harry is actually James (who was best friends with Sirius); a debate about S.P.E.W; talk about everyone’s new classes and schoolbooks and pondering who would be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year (a position that appears to be cursed); talk of how Harry gave George and Fred his Triwizard Tournament winnings to open their joke shop, and that is still being kept from Mrs. Weasley; Ron and Hermione getting their Prefect notices, but Harry doesn’t get one (a storyline left out of the movie completely); Ron getting a new broom from his parents as a reward for making Prefect; Harry’s internal resentment of his friends for making Prefect, something he should have gotten and yet another thing that makes him an outcast from his friends. In this chapter, we learn that Tonks, James, and Sirius never made Prefect (because they were always in detention), but Lupin did. Ron’s appointing makes him the fourth Weasley child to make Prefect (all of the sons made it except for the troublemaking twins George and Fred). One scene in the movie from this chapter is Harry seeing the photo of the original Order of the Phoenix from 15 years prior, which included many people killed by Voldemort and his followers, including his own parents. In the film, it’s Sirius who shows Harry the photo; in the book, it’s Moody and we learn the names of everyone in the photo — which includes Dumbledore’s brother Aberforth.

Hogwarts Express and Arrival at Hogwarts — Back to Top

• Hogwarts Express: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George take the Hogwarts Express to get to the school. In the film, there’s a quick view of them on the train and Harry has a short altercation with Draco Malfoy. In the book, it’s on this ride that they meet up with Luna Lovegood, the quirky little blonde girl whose father is the editor of The Quibbler. Harry, Ginny, and Neville Longbottom ride in the train car with Luna while Ron and Hermione do their Prefect duties. Neville talks about his love of Herbology and accidentally squirts Harry with the juice of a Mimbulus mimbletonia cactus. The juice, which smells like “rancid manure,” drenches Harry just as his crush Cho Chang stops by to say hello to him. Also, it’s on this ride that we find out that Draco Malfoy has also made Prefect and is already harassing the first-years with his new position.
• The Sorting Hat: It didn’t make it into Goblet of Fire and not into OotP either. This is the magic hat that decides which of the four houses — Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw) — a first-year will be placed. In the book, the Sorting Hat does something unusual: It typically sings a tune describing the different qualities it looks for and its rule of sorting. This time, the Hat gives advice and warnings and goes so far as to say, “For our Hogwarts is in danger, From external deadly foes.”



• Dolores Umbridge: She works for the Ministry of Magic and is very loyal to Fudge. She becomes the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. In the movie, she gives a speech about how “progress for the sake of progress should be discouraged.” The film only touches on what she had to say. In the book, her speech is quite lengthy and in both mediums, it’s Hermione who understands the new professor’s implications — that the Ministry of Magic is interferring at Hogwarts.
• Weasley Twins: Throughout the book, George and Fred continuously attempt to test out their joke projects on the students and it’s Hermione who is constantly trying to stop them (because it’s her duty as Prefect). Much later in the film, we see the Weasley twins fed up with what’s happening at the school, so they decide to quit their academic studies and concentrate on their joke shop business. We see them setting off amazing fireworks while flying around Umbridge’s classroom while a test is in progress. In the book, the twins set the fireworks off throughout the school on Umbridge’s first day as Headmistress. Any attempts to extinguish the fireworks only makes them stronger and/or duplicated. It’s at this time that Hermione says she’s feeling “rebellious.” The twins continue on at school and it’s not until weeks later when Umbridge becomes Headmaster that they decide to drop out for good (complete with yet another spectacular send-off).
• Harry and Luna: In the movie, Harry and Luna have a conversation in the forest. Luna tells him that Voldemort wants him to feel isolated from everyone because that way he’s not as much of a threat. They talk about the black horses that only they can see (actually, only people who have seen death can see them) called Thestrals. This scene is not in the book, but the Thestrals are explained during Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class (one that Umbridge comes to evaluate him). Also, in the movie, after the Hogwarts train ride, Harry and Luna shared a ride up to the school and only the two of them could see the winged-horses pulling the cart (though, in the book, Neville is supposed to be able to see them, but he doesn’t seem to be able to in the movie).

Quidditch — Back to Top

• Quidditch: The sport is completely gone from the film. In the book, Harry is back on the team and this time, Ron is on it too. This is a big deal and comes into play in their relationship. Ron is a good player, but he messes up a lot when he’s nervous. Some of his disastrous moments prompt the other teams to mock him with chants of “Weasley is our King.”
• Weasley is our King: Harry and Hermione watch Ron in a Quidditch match, but leave mid-way through to go on an errand with Hagrid in the forest. When they return, the game is over. Hearing the familiar mocking chant of “Weasley is our King” they assume that Gryfinddor lost the match. Turns out they won and Ron was the star of the game. The cheers were actually “Weasley is our King, he didn’t let the Quaffle in.”
• Banned For Life: At one point, Harry gets into so much trouble with Umbridge that she bans him for life from playing Quidditch and takes his broom, keeping it locked up in the school’s dungeon.

O.W.L.s and Defense Against the Dark Arts — Back to Top

• O.W.L.s: As fifth-years, Ron, Hermione, and Harry have to study for these tests, the score of which will decide whether they can continue to study a certain course. The film does very little to show the importance of these tests and how studying for them takes up most of the students’ time. There’s an entire chapter devoted to the O.W.L. examinations and it goes into how Harry did on certain exams and how the students prepped for them. Most importantly, Harry, who wants to be an Auror when he graduates, must get high marks in several subjects to do this. This makes all the suffering he goes through this year even worse, because his studies are so much harder.
• Defense Against the Dark Arts: In the first session of Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge teaching, Harry clashes with the professor’s new teaching style (all theory, no practice) and gets detention. In the book, although he’s the only one to get detention, a lot of other students raise their objections to the new course study. Harry gets sent to his head-of-house, Professor McGonagall, and we find out that although she’s very unhappy with how Umbridge is handling things and disapproves of her representing the Ministry of Magic. McGonagall realizes that Umbridge is dangerous and warns Harry to keep out of trouble with her for his own sake.



• Hogwarts High Inquisitor: Eventually, Umbridge is made (by the Ministry of Magic) the Hogwarts High Inquisitor and we see in the movie that she questions all the professors, looking to get rid of any of them she does not deem fit for the position. She also makes declarations against a lot of student activities and it’s in the book that she eventually bans for life Harry and the Weasley twins from playing Quidditch. The movie also shows her giving out physically painful punishments, even to the younger students. She appoints several students to be part of her Inquistorial Squad. In the book, we see that it’s mainly the children of Death Eaters, like Draco Malfoy, all of whom take pleasure in harassing the other students with their powerful position.

Harry and Cho — Back to Top

• Harry’s Isolation: In the movie, we see that Harry has written a letter to Sirius about how he feels lonelier than ever. In the book, he also inquires about the whereabouts of Hagrid. He goes to the Owlery to get Hedwig to deliver the message and it’s there he bumps into Cho (much like he did in Goblet of Fire). Cho tells Harry that he was brave to stand up to Umbridge at the first session of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.



• The Kiss: In the film, we see Harry and Cho standing under the mistletoe and that’s when they kiss. In the book, the same scene occurs, except it ends BEFORE the kiss. Later on, Harry admits to Ron and Hermione that he kissed Cho and he explains his feelings about it the same way it’s shown in the movie. (I wanted to point this out, because I’m glad the actual kiss was not in the book, because it makes what happens in Book 6 so much better, and that’s all I’ll say on that til Movie #6 comes out).
• Valentine’s Day: In the book, there’s a scheduled trip to Hogsmeade on Valentine’s Day and Harry asks Cho to go with him. It’s here we see that although Harry has had feelings for Cho since he first started Hogwarts, they really are not comfortable around each other. They go to have coffee at Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop and Cho talks about other guys asking her out. She continuously brings up her former boyfriend Cedric (who Harry saw getting killed in GoF) and mentions that she went to this Tea Shop with Cedric the previous year. Cho cries over Cedric a lot and wants Harry to talk about Cedric with her. She gets angry to find out that Harry confides in his feelings about what happened to Cedric to Ron and Hermione, acting jealous of only Hermione. She gets angry that Hermione asked Harry to meet her over at the Three Boomsticks to discuss business on Valentine’s Day. Cho eventually storms out of the shop, leaving Harry behind utterly confused about what the hell just happened.
• The Breakup: After the disastrous Valentine’s Day (not shown in the film), Harry and Cho have another a falling out after Umbridge discovers the secret D.A. meeting (in the book, it’s because Cho sticks up for her friend Marietta, who is the one who tells Umbridge about the meetings; in the movie, they make Cho the snitch, which makes Harry lose respect for her — see section below “Dumbledore’s Army”). After this, it’s obvious that their relationship is over for good. In the book, Harry and Cho see each other on the train going back home for a brief second, but neither says anything. Hermione tells Harry and Ron that Cho is going out with someone else, and much to Harry’s surprise, the news doesn’t bother him.

Dumbledore’s Army — Back to Top

• Hogsmeade: On a day trip into Hogsmeade, all the students interested in having Harry teach them practical application of defense against the dark arts gather at Hog’s Head, an out-of-the-way dingy pub. It’s here that they form the D.A., “Dumbledore’s Army.” In the movie, no one appears to be at the pub, not even the barkeeper. It looks more like an abandoned shack. Also, everyone eagerly signs on without much hesitation. In the book, there are certain people that are skeptical about it and even Harry himself took a lot of persuading by Hermione to agree to be the teacher. And unbeknownst to the students, a man at the bar with his head wrapped in dirty bandages is eavesdropping on their conversation and reports back to Umbridge about it. (That man was Willy Widdershins, a petty criminal who we find out is responsible for all those regurgitating toilets that Mr. Weasley is investigating for his job. Umbridge cut a deal with him in exchange for the information.)
• First D.A. Meeting: At the first D.A. meeting in the film, we see the students signing in, but it’s never explained why. In the book, we find out that it’s an agreement to keep the meetings a secret and unbeknownst to the signers, anyone who rats out the D.A. will be revealed to everyone. We see that Cho’s friend Marietta really doesn’t want to be in the D.A., but is only going for Cho.
• The Marauder’s Map: Not shown in this film, but in the book Harry uses it to check for teachers when coming in and out of the Room of Requirement, which is where the D.A. lessons take place.
• Room of Requirement: In the film, we see Umbridge discovers the Room of Requirement with the help of caretaker Filch and her Inquisitorial Squad (which includes Draco Malfoy). We see Cho along with them, implying that she is the one who told Umbridge about the D.A. In the book, it’s actually Cho’s friend Marietta, whose mother works for the MoM, who is the informant. We find out that after she told, the word “SNEAK” appeared on her forehead. That’s because she signed the paper to join the D.A., which unbeknownst to the people signing it, was hexed by Hermione to reveal anyone who told about the D.A.

• Dumbledore’s Army: Dumbledore takes responsibility for the creation of the D.A. and we see in the film that he tells Fudge that he will not “go quietly” if Fudge tries to arrest him. Fudge and Umbridge are accompanied by Aurors Shacklebolt and Dawlish, and Fudge’s junior assistant Percy Weasley. Dumbledore than claps his hands over his head and disappears along with the phoenix Fawkes. In this part of the book, since Cho’s friend Marietta is the snitch, she’s there too and they are attempting to question her, but it turns out that Shacklebolt (who we know is secretly a member of the Order) modifies Marietta’s memory so that she doesn’t remember the six months’ worth of illegal D.A. meetings. Dumbledore hexes everyone who’s there to arrest him and then escapes in a flash of fire along with Fawkes.
• Detention: After Dumbledore escapes, we see that Umbridge gives the D.A. members — except for Cho — detention and they are later seen serving detention by being forced to write with Umbridge’s special quills that etch words onto the back of the students’ hands. This subsequent detention does not happen in the book, because Dumbledore makes an argument that there’s no proof that any wrong doings had occurred. In this situation, there’s no proof that the meetings have been taking place for the last six months, they only had evidence that there was a meeting that night.
• Sneak: In the film, Harry doesn’t speak to Cho anymore after he finds out she was the one who told Umbridge where the D.A. meetings were. At the end, we find out she only told because she was given the truth serum Veritaserum. In the book, it’s Cho’s friend Marietta who’s the “sneak” but Harry argues with Cho over it because she defends her friend. Cho also criticizes Hermione for putting a jinx on the sign-up list to begin with, and this is the last time they speak.

S.P.E.W. and the House-Elves — Back to Top

• S.P.E.W.: Once again, in the film, there’s no mention of S.P.E.W. — Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare — the group Hermione founded because she disapproved of the harsh treatment House-Elves receive. In the book, she knits clothing for the house elves that work at Hogwarts and leaves it around the school for them (a house-elf can gain freedom if it’s given clothing).



• Kreacher: Not shown in the film is Kreacher’s involvement in tricking Harry into going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Sirius (see more on this in section “To Rescue Sirius”). It’s also revealed in the book that Kreacher injuries Buckbeak, the hippogriff that’s living at the Order headquarters (in Prisoner of Azbakan, Buckbeak is supposed to be put to death, but Ron, Harry, and Hermione help the hippogriff escape, then Sirius — also wanted — rides off with Buckbeak).
• Dobby: Dobby the free house-elf does not appear in the movie. In the book, Dobby brings Hedwig back to Harry after the owl recovered from her injuries. Dobby is the one who finds the Room of Requirement for Harry’s D.A. meetings and it’s Dobby who warns Harry that Umbridge has found the Room of Requirement he’s using to hold the D.A. lessons. In the film, Neville Longbottom happens upon the room and Umbridge finds the room and blasts the wall open after the caretaker Filch along with her Inquisitorial Squad find the room.

Hagrid’s Return and The Giants

• The Giants: In the movie, Hagrid returns and explains how he went to visit the Giants to get them to join Dumbledore’s cause. The Dark Lord is trying to sway the Giants to his side as well. In the book, Hagrid explains in detail how his conversations with the Giants went.



• Grawp: In the book, the first time Hagrid reveals his half-brother Grawp, a 16-feet-tall Giant, to Harry and Hermione while Ron is playing in a Quidditch match. In the film, this happens when Hagrid returns from visiting the Giants and Ron is with them, too.
• Centaurs: The meeting with the centaurs does not happen on film. On their way out of the forest, Hagrid, Hermione, and Harry run into the centaurs, who are still angry that one of their own, Firenze, took a job with Dumbledore at the school. The centaur Bane allows them to pass, because Hagrid has children with him (“they are innocents” he says, and that they do not harm foals). But Hagrid is no longer welcome in the forest (he helped Firenze escape his herd when they were attacking him). That means Hagrid can’t go back to be with his brother. Harry and Hermione, along with Ron, must now look after Grawp.

Harry’s Dreams and Occlumency — Back to Top

• Attack on Mr. Weasley: Harry dreams that Mr. Weasley is attacked by a snake. We learn that this really occurred and thanks to Harry, Mr. Weasley is gotten to in time to be taken to the hospital. In the film, next we hear about this, Mr. Weasley is home from the hospital and doing fine. In the book, there’s a confrontation between Sirius and the Weasley twins, because Fred and George feel like their father is always at risk doing things for the Order, while Sirius stays in hiding. Later, a bunch of them dress as Muggles and go to visit Mr. Weasley at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. On another trip to the hospital, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny see Neville and his grandmother there, who are visiting Neville’s parents (his parents have been there since he was a baby and were put there after the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange inflicted the Cruciatus Curse on them). Also, they see their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart.



• Occlumency: It becomes apparent that the Dark Lord is trying to penetrate Harry’s thoughts (through Legilimency), so Snape gives Harry lessons in Occlumency — the magic of sealing your mind against magical influence and intrusion. It’s implied that Harry and Snape only have one lesson before Harry is able to penetrate Snape’s mind and see his father James bullying Snape when they were Hogwarts students. Angered by the intrusion to his own thoughts, Snape ends the lessons completely. In the book, the two have many lessons together and they were held in secret once a week. Harry has to tell everyone he’s taking Remedial Potions. It’s during one of these sessions that Harry realizes that the corridor and door he’s been dreaming about all year is one that leads to the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic (and this is where the prophecies are kept, including the one that the Dark Lord is looking for). Also, it’s at the Order headquarters that Snape tells Harry about starting up the lessons. Sirius is there at the time and he gets into an argument with Snape. Sirius tells Snape that he doesn’t believe he’s reformed and that he still follows the Dark Lord.
• Snape’s Pensieve It is through Snape’s pensieve that Harry is able to find out Snape’s embarrassing memories from when he was a teenager which show Harry’s father James bullying Snape. In the film, it appears that Harry’s able to see these memories during an Occlumency lesson. In the book, it’s been months of lessons with Snape, and Harry at one point is left alone in Snape’s office. He comes across a pensieve there and it’s while looking into it that Harry sees events from when Snape was a student at Hogwarts. He sees many memories of his father bullying Snape, with the encouragement of Sirius. But, he also sees his mother Lily, who comes to Snape’s defense and she even tells James, “You make me SICK.” In the memory, even though she defended him, Snape tells Lily he doesn’t need help from a “mudblood” like her. Snape then catches Harry with the pensieve and that’s when he tells Harry never to return to his office again.

Other Elements Missing From the Movie — Back to Top

• The Three Broomsticks meeting: Not in the film, but Harry meets Hermione and Luna there on Valentine’s Day (after his argument with Cho). The girls are with reporter Rita Skeeter (this is the reporter from GoF who’s an unregistered Animagus who can take the form of a beetle. It’s in her beetle form that she was able to eavesdrop on people, then print the stories). Hermione made a deal with Rita, who will interview Harry and print the truth about the Dark Lord’s return and Luna’s dad will publish it in The Quibbler, and the kids agree NOT to report Rita as an unregistered Animagus. The next day, the interview is published and everyone at Hogwarts finally gets to read about Harry’s version of events. Cho reads the piece and apologizes to Harry and tells him she thinks he’s very brave.
• Viktor Krumm: He’s not mentioned in the film (he was one of the champions of the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire). But, in the book, it’s mentioned several times that Hermione — who went with Krumm to the Yule Ball in GoF — still keeps in touch with him, much to Ron’s dismay.
• Firenze, the Centaur: We see in the film, Umbridge fires Professor Trelawney. Dumbledore appears and tells Umbridge that although she has the power to fire teachers, she does not have right to banish them from the grounds, so Trelawnley gets to continue to live at Hogwarts. What we don’t see is who replaces her as Divination teacher. In the book, Dumbledore hires Firenze, a handsome centaur who lived in the Forbidden Forest near the school until he was banished by his herd for taking the job Dumbledore offered. (Firenze’s hiring is especially disturbing to Umbridge, who despises half-breeds.)
• Career Advice: This isn’t addressed in the film, but all fifth-year students get career counseling. It’s here that Harry tells Professor McGonagall that he wants to be an Auror. Umbridge is there for the session and eventually dictates that Harry will never be an Auror. Umbridge and McGonagall argue over this, and McGonagall declares that she will do everything in her power to help Harry become an Auror.

To Rescue Sirius — Back to Top

• Kreacher’s Trick: In the book, it is during the O.W.L. for History of Magic that Harry gets the dream that Voldemort has Sirius at the Department of Mysteries. Harry tries to use the Floo Network in the fireplace in Umbridge’s office to contact Sirius, but is caught. In the book, he’s able to contact the Order headquarters, but no one is there but the house-elf Kreacher. Kreacher tricks Harry by telling him that Sirius is at the Ministry of Magic, which is what makes Harry so determined to get there. In the movie, Kreacher is never seen again after his initial appearances at the headquarters of the Order.
• Truth Serum: This is the part in the movie where Snape is called on to supply Umbridge with the truth serum Veritaserum, but he says she used up the last of it on Cho. In the book, Snape says she’s used the last of it on Harry (she put it in his tea to try and get from him the whereabouts of Dumbledore and Sirius, but he knew better than to drink it). An important tidbit is revealed in the book at this time: Umbridge admits that she was actually the one who sent the Dementors to attack Harry in Little Whinging. (She is an employee of the MoM, and since the dementors are under the Ministry’s control, she had access to them.) In both mediums, Umbridge then decides to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry, but Hermione stops her by saying that Harry has a weapon hidden in the forest. The two of them bring Umbridge into the forest, while Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna are left behind under the guard of the Inquisitorial Squad. In the forest, they meet the hostile Centaurs. Umbridge insults them and they drag her away, and the kids make a getaway when Grawp appears. In the book, the centaurs are also about to attack Harry and Hermione. Hermione tries to talk her way out of it, but it only makes the centaurs angrier. Grawp arrives and the centaurs attack him with arrows and that’s when Harry and Hermione get away.



• To the Ministry: After escaping from Umbridge, Harry and Hermione meet up with Ron, Luna, Neville, and Ginny. In the movie, Luna suggests they ride to London to go rescue Sirius at the Ministry of Magic. She does this in the book too, saying that they can get there on the Thestrals, but the magical winged-horses don’t just appear so easily. It takes a while, but thanks to the blood on Hermione and Harry (from when the centaurs attack Grawp in the forest), the Thestrals arrive (we learned in the book during Hagrid’s class that they are attracted by the smell of blood, thinking it’s a fresh kill for them to eat). While only Harry, Luna, and [in the book] Neville can see the Thestrals, all of the children ride one each. Ron has some trouble riding them and is glad when they get to London (and vows to never ride them again).
• Rescue Mission: In the book, the gang must get into the Ministry of Magic. Harry brings them to the visitor’s entrance (the phone booth we see him and Mr. Weasley use in the film to get to Harry’s hearing) and tells the person closest to the receiver to dial “62442” (M-A-G-I-C). The automated voice asks him to state his name and business, and Harry replies with everyone’s names with their business being “We’re here to save someone …” Six visitor passes are issued, and we see that Harry’s reads, “HARRY POTTER, RESCUE MISSION.” This part doesn’t happen in the movie. After the ride there, the group is seen heading into the Department of Mysteries.

The Prophecy — Back to Top

• Voldemort’s Army: Voldemort sends his Death Eaters out to recruit new followers for his cause — this includes trying to ally with the Giants. The Dark Lord’s personal army will aid in his plans to kill Harry and all others who oppose him (like Dumbledore and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix). It’s implied that Voldemort’s army will also help overthrow the authorities (like the Ministry of Magic). Aside from one character mentioning Voldemort gathering his forces, this subject isn’t really addressed in the film.



• The Prophecy: Part of what Harry keeps dreaming about is a room in the Department of Mysteries. This room is where the prophecies are kept, including the one that talks about a boy who has the power to defeat the Dark Lord. (That prophecy is located in row 97). Voldemort desperately wants to get this prophecy, but only the person the prophecy is about can take that prophecy, which is why Voldemort lures Harry there with a false dream of capturing Sirius. In the book, when Harry finds the prophecy, it’s labelled “Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter” and we see that it was from “S.P.T.” (Sybil P. Trelawney) to “A.P.W.B.D.” (Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore).
• Ginny: Harry grabs the prophecy with his name on it and Lucius Malfoy appears to try and get it from him. That’s when we see Bellatrix, who mocks Harry and his friends. In the book, Bellatrix tries to get the prophecy from Harry. When she can’t, she threatens to torture Ginny and Harry protective steps in front of Ginny.
• Half-Blood Dark Lord: In the book, Harry tries to distract Lucius by telling him that Voldemort was a half-blood, whose father was a Muggle.
• The Death Eaters: While Death Eaters are shown at the final battle at the Department of Mysteries, the audience isn’t privy to who they are, besides Lucius and Bellatrix. In the book, it’s told that Nott, Jugson, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, Dolohov, Crabbe, Macnair, Avery, Rookwood, and Mulciber are the hooded Death Eaters there.

Battle at the Ministry — Back to Top

• First Battle: Much like the book, Harry and his friends try to battle the Death Eaters, but are quickly losing. In the book, the children are seriously harmed in the battle, which goes on for a lengthy time, while the movie makes it seem like they only suffered a few scrapes.
• Reinforcements: In the movie, the members of the Order arrive to take over the battle with the Death Eaters. Dumbledore arrives there later on to fight Voldemort. In the book, Dumbledore is already there fighting the Death Eaters when Voldemort arrives in the end.
• Neville: After the Order members arrive, in the book, Harry attempts to gather his injured friends and get them to safety. He gives his prophecy to Neville, who drops and breaks it after a Death Eater attack. In the movie, Harry’s friends aren’t badly injured, so Harry stays to try and fight first alongside Sirius, then with Dumbledore; here, it’s Lucius Malfoy who accidentally breaks his prophecy right after the members of the Order arrive and Sirius attacks him (“Get away from my Godson,” Sirius tells Lucius in one of the coolest scenes in the film).



• Bellatrix Kills Sirius: Just at a moment where it seemed like Sirius was winning the battle, Bellatrix appears and casts the killing curse on him. Harry then chases her to the entrance hall and hits her with the Cruciatus curse. In the book, she tells him he is incapable of inflicting torture. They have a brief conversation prior to Voldemort’s arrival and she attempts to get the prophecy from him, but it’s already been smashed. This is the point where Voldemort shows up at the scene and tries to hit Harry with the Avada Kedavra curse. Dumbledore appears and brings the nearby golden statue to life and moves it in front of Harry to block the spell. In the movie, Voldemort is the one who encourages Harry to torture Bellatrix, then tells Harry that he can’t make the curse work because he’d have “to mean it.” This is when Dumbledore arrives to battle Voldemort in the movie. He’s not there before when the Order members are fighting the Death Eaters and the enchanted statue is not involved.
• Fawkes: During the battle at the Department of Mysteries, Fawkes helps Dumbledore by swallowing the Avada Kedavra curse Voldemort casts. Fawkes then bursts into flames and a baby phoenix is seen rising from the ashes.
• Bellatrix Flees: In the movie, Bellatrix appears to Disapparate while Dumbledore battles Voldemort. After the battle, Voldemort possesses Harry, telling him that he “will lose everything.” Harry fights him off, and Voldemort then Disapparates just as Fudge and his staff arrive to see a glimpse of the Dark Lord. In the book, this happens the same (though the possession is much shorter), except Voldemort takes Bellatrix with him when he Disapparates and there’s a few pages of Fudge asking questions about the events of the evening. Dumbledore answers some of them, then tells Fudge to make some changes (like removing Umbridge from Hogwarts).

Dumbledore’s Revelation — Back to Top

• Anger: This is not portrayed in the movie at all, but the day after the big battle, Harry is extremely angry with Dumbledore for distancing himself from Harry all year (Dumbledore explains that it was to protect him) and goes so far as to smash some of Dumbledore’s possessions. They argue over Sirius and no matter how humble Dumbledore tries to be, Harry is still furious. It takes a long time for him to calm down and to listen to what Dumbledore has to say.

• The Chosen One: Dumbledore tells Harry at the end of the book that Voldemort did not know who the “chosen one” would be to rise up against him with the power to defeat him — Harry or Neville Longbottom. Dumbledore speculates that because Harry was half-blood like the Dark Lord, Voldemort chose him, thereby creating his own adversary who could defeat him. The prophecy states that one cannot live while the other one survives. Dumbledore also explains that the prophecy with Harry’s name on it was renamed so after Voldemort tried to kill him as an infant, because it was then assumed by the keeper of the hall of prophecies that it must be about Harry. In the film, Dumbledore explains the prophecy to Harry, but the part about Neville and the renaming is excluded.
• Snape: In the movie, Dumbledore apologizes to Harry for the mistakes he made throughout the year by not confiding in him. In the book, Dumbledore goes on to explain how Kreacher tricked Harry and how Snape was the one who alerted the Order when Harry never returned from the forest with Umbridge. While the rest of the Order went to look at the Department of Mysteries for Harry, Snape went to look for him in the forest.
• A Mother’s Love: In the book, this is when Dumbledore tells Harry why he’s had to live with his Aunt and Uncle at Privet Drive all these years. He explains that because Harry’s mother died at the hands of Voldemort in an effort to save her son, Harry was protected by ancient magic — a mother’s love. That is why Dumbledore chose to leave Harry with his mother’s sister. He believed their shared blood would protect Harry, and even though his Aunt didn’t really want to take him in, she did it anyway, which sealed the charm protecting Harry. “While you can still call home the place where your mother’s blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort,” Dumbledore tells Harry. Harry only has to return to that house once a year for the protection to continue and his Aunt knows this, which is why she let Harry stay at the beginning of the book.

The Aftermath — Back to Top

• Umbridge Saved: In the movie, after the centaurs drag her off, we don’t see Umbridge again in person, only her image in the newspaper in one of the last scenes. In the book, we see her again at the Hogwart’s hospital ward where Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville are all recovering from the injuries they sustained during the final battle with the Death Eaters. (Dumbledore somehow saved Umbridge from the centaurs.) Luna arrives to show them the Daily Prophet newspaper, which re-ran the story Rita Skeeter did with Harry earlier that year for the Quibbler.



• Remembering Sirius: While everyone is getting ready to return to their homes for the summer, Harry feels isolated from everyone again. In the book, Harry has a hard time thinking about Sirius. While he’s packing, he finds the two-way mirror that Sirius gave him to use to contact him and laments that he had forgotten all about the gift. He tries to reach Sirius with it then, but nothing happens. Harry then goes in search of the ghost Nearly Headless Nick to find out if Sirius can come back as a ghost. Nick tells him no, that learned wizards often do not choose the half-life path.
• Before the Feast: In the movie, we see Harry and Luna in the Hall before the last Feast. She’s looking for her lost possessions and he offers to help her find them. In the book, this is when Luna confides to Harry that she saw her mother die. She tells him that the room with the Archway in the Department of Mysteries — which is where Sirius disappeared into after he was killed — is where the dead lurk.
• Something Worth Fighting For: In the film, Harry and his friends make their way back to the train to go home for their summer vacation. Harry tells his friends that even though they’ve got a fight ahead of them, they have something Voldemort doesn’t have: something worth fighting for. This is where the movie ends.

Back to Privet Drive — Back to Top

• Train Ride Home: In the book, Harry and his friends board the Hogwarts Express back to their respective homes. On the train, Harry is ambushed by Draco Malfoy and his friends (who previously threatened him at the school, saying “You’re dead Potter”), but they do so right where D.A. members are sitting, so they come to Harry’s rescue.
• Order Warning: When the gang disembarks from the train, the members of the Order greet them. They are there to have a chat with Harry’s Aunt and Uncle, to tell them that if they find out that Harry’s being mistreated by his Aunt and Uncle, they’ll have to answer to the Order. They then give their good-byes to Harry, telling him to that if they don’t hear from him for three days, they’ll send someone to see him and that his friends will write to him and that they’ll get him out of this Aunt and Uncle’s house as soon as possible. This show of support comforts Harry and means a lot to him. He then leads the way out of the train station, with his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin following behind him.

Read Harry Potter 4: The Book Vs. The Movie HERE.