10 Slytherins That Need Way More Attention in the Harry Potter Reboot (2024)

When it came to adapting the Harry Potter novels into a successful film franchise, it is remarkable how well they were able to bring the massive collection of characters to life with impeccable casting and performances. However, there were several characters featured in the novels who didn't get enough attention in the film adaptations or, in some cases, were excluded entirely. While many of these characters' storylines were cut as they didn't directly contribute to the main plot, their presence in the novels helped to make the Wizarding World feel more expansive.

With Slytherin house being depicted as the house of the bad guys in the novels and films, it was understandable why they weren't given as much attention. However, there were several characters from Slytherin house that had incredibly interesting arcs in the background of Harry's story, some of which even added depth to the war between the good guys and the Death Eaters. With HBO's Harry Potter adaptation currently in development, there is potential to finally see these characters given the attention they deserve.

The Films Excluded the Greengrass Sisters

Draco's Future Wife and Her Sister Attended Hogwarts at the Same Time as Harry

Harry Potter fans may know that Draco Malfoy grew up to marry Astoria Greengrass, the daughter of a pure-blood wizarding family. However, even book fans would be surprised to know that Astoria had a sister named Daphne, who was in the same year as Draco, likely sharing most of their classes together at Hogwarts. Daphne is first mentioned during Order of the Phoenix, and many fans assumed that she was part of Pansy Parkinson's "Gang of Slytherin girls" that was mentioned several times previously.

While these sisters do not affect the plot at all, it would be interesting for HBO, with the advantage of knowing who Draco ends up with, to feature the sisters in the background of scenes. It could be as simple as including a nameless best friend to stand next to Pansy Parkinson, whom fans could easily identify as Daphne. Given how often Pansy's gang comes up in the novels, it would be an interesting Easter egg to always feature the same actress at Pansy's side, laughing as she insults Hermione Granger.

Theodore Nott Was an Equal to Draco Malfoy

The Minor Character Could Be Explored More in the Reboot

Theodore Nott is another student in Harry's year, likely sharing a dormitory with Draco Malfoy. Theodore and Draco have a lot in common, both being sons of Death Eaters. While Theodore is not an important character, many fans believe that he is the unnamed Slytherin boy who was able to see Thestrals during their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, with Pottermore confirming that he had lost his mother at a young age.

Theodore is seen again after Harry's interview with the Quibbler magazine is published, as Harry outed his father as a Death Eater. Author J.K. Rowling has stated that she initially planned a scene for Goblet of Firewith Theodore visiting Malfoy Manor, and if HBO wants to differentiate their adaptation, this could be an interesting opening for the fourth season, establishing the death eaters early and how their children feel about the impending return of Lord Voldemort.

Graham Montague Provided Some Good Foreshadowing

The Quidditch Captain Was Trapped Inside the Vanishing Cabinet

Graham Montague is introduced as a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team, becoming the captain during Order of the Phoenix. During Dolores Umbridge's reign over Hogwarts, Montague becomes a member of the Inquisitorial Squad, helping Umbridge deal with any rulebreakers. While Montague may seem to be just another mean Slytherin character, he actually provided some major foreshadowing for Half-Blood Prince, which HBO could certainly use in their adaptation.

During Montague's time in the Inquisitorial Squad, Fred and George Weasley pull a prank on him by trapping him in a Vanishing Cabinet that had been broken by Peeves during Chamber of Secrets. It takes Montague a while to be freed, and upon being rescued, he tells Draco Malfoy that he could occasionally hear what was happening at Hogwarts, as well as whatever was on the other side. This plants the idea in Draco's head of using the Cabinet as a passage between Hogwarts and Borgin and Burkes, spending most of Half-Blood Prince trying to repair the broken Cabinet to allow the Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts.

Blaise Zabini Had an Interesting Backstory

Blaise Was a Member of the Slug Club

Blaise Zabini was another Slytherin student in Draco and Harry's year, being the last student sorted during the sorting ceremony. Despite being mentioned in Philosopher's Stone, Blaise does not appear again in the series until Half-Blood Prince, which the films did a good job at adapting. However, Blaise is given no dialogue in the film adaptation, which robbed the audience of his interesting backstory.

When Blaise joins Horace Slughorn's "Slug Club," Harry learns that Blaise is the son of a famously beautiful witch who had accumulated a great deal of wealth after being widowed seven times, with each husband dying under mysterious circumstances. This provides an interesting take on the villainous side of Slytherin house, showing that not all the students are the children of Death Eaters but that the cunning nature of the house can be seen in various ways.

Salazar Slytherin Was the Most Interesting Hogwarts Founder

HBO Could Include the Founders Through Flashback Sequences

When HBO announced their plans to adapt the Harry Potter novels into a TV show, many fans expressed disappointment, having hoped for a series about the Hogwarts founders instead. HBO has a real opportunity to still provide some fan service when it comes to the four founders, through flashbacks in their adaptation of Chamber of Secrets.

Salazar Slytherin is by far the most interesting Hogwarts founder. Unlike the other founders, Salazar believed that Hogwarts should only be open to wizards of pure-blood heritage, causing a great divide between him and his colleagues. Showing the rift between Salazar and Godric Gryffindor, in particular, would be a great way to emphasize the Gryffindor and Slytherin divide, which lasted hundreds of years into Harry's time at Hogwarts.

The Bloody Baron's Backstory Was Excluded From the Films

The Slytherin Ghost Had a History With Helena Ravenclaw

See Also

Hogwarts Legacy 2 Should Be Smaller, Not Bigger - And The First Game Proves It

The Harry Potter film adaptations seriously underused the Hogwarts ghosts in its storytelling. One of the biggest examples of this is the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin House. While a ghost does appear in Sorcerer's Stone credited as the Bloody Baron, he does not match up with the books' description at all, not being covered in blood or chains.

The most interesting part of the Baron is his backstory, being connected with that of Helena Ravenclaw, the ghost of Ravenclaw Tower. When Helena stole her mother's diadem and ran away, Rowena Ravenclaw tasked the Baron (who was in love with Helena) with finding her. When Helena refused to return home with the Baron, he stabbed her in a fit of rage, instantly regretting what he had done and turning the knife on himself. For book fans, this felt like some great payoff to a previously unimportant character, something movie fans were deprived of.

Pansy Parkinson Tormented Hermione Granger

Pansy Was the Mean Girl of Hogwarts

While Pansy Parkinson does appear in minor roles in some of the films, the films seriously lacked the day-to-day torment Pansy inflicted on her classmates. Pansy is the ultimate mean girl of Hogwarts, constantly bullying her classmates, particularly the girls, as seen in her interactions with Hermione Granger and Cho Chang. Pansy is also described as being the leader of a gang of Slytherin girls, which the films didn't highlight, showing her as the only female Slytherin in Draco's social circle.

The films also failed to portray the nuances of Draco and Pansy's relationship. There is certainly an attraction between the two, going to the Yule Ball together and being physically intimate on the Hogwarts Express. However, it is clear that Draco does not reciprocate Pansy's obsession, keeping her on a need-to-know basis when it comes to his Death Eater activities in Half-Blood Prince.

Phineas Nigellus Black Was Less Important in the Films

The Headmaster's Portrait Played a Crucial Role in the Horcrux Hunt

Fans will know that Phineas Nigellus Black, the great-great-grandfather of Sirius Black, was the least beloved Headmaster of Hogwarts School. The character is seen in the Harry Potter books as a portrait in Albus Dumbledore's office, often providing insight and commentary, as well as serving as a spy by traveling back and forth between his portrait in the office and his portrait in Grimmauld Place.

Phineas plays a big role in Deathly Hallows, as the trio takes his portrait with them while on the run. Phineas was able to tell Severus Snape where they were hiding, allowing him to give Harry the Sword of Gryffindor. With Hogwarts Legacy introducing Phineas in his prime, fans would love to see the portrait of the late Headmaster in HBO's adaptation, possibly with a characterization matching that of his portrayal in Hogwarts Legacy.

Andromeda Black Was Disowned From Her Family

The Mother of Nymphadora Tonks Was Excluded From the Films

One of the most interesting characters that was left out of the film adaptations, Andromeda Black is the cousin of Sirius Black, and the sister to Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. Despite being brought up in a pure-blood-obsessed family, Andromeda fell in love with a muggle-born named Ted Tonks, causing her family to disown her. By Harry's time, Andromeda and Ted were married and were the parents of Nymphadora Tonks.

Andromeda first appears in the novels in Deathly Hallows, with Harry initially mistaking her for Bellatrix due to their close resemblance. HBO could certainly include Andromeda in their adaptation, as her character shows that Sirius was not the only member of his family that rebelled, making Sirius' choice to run away much deeper, knowing how it had affected his cousin's relationship with their family.

HBO Could Explore the Mysterious Brother of Sirius Black

Regulus Black Betrayed Lord Voldemort

Despite how little presence Regulus Black has in the novels, some might be surprised to hear how popular of a character he is. Regulus is mentioned to be the younger brother of Sirius Black, having joined the Death Eaters after completing his studies at Hogwarts. However, when he learned of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Regulus began to rebel against his master, showing that not all Death Eaters are as blindly loyal as to be believed.

HBO could certainly capitalize on the popularity of Regulus Black in their adaptation of Deathly Hallows. When the house-elf, Kreacher, tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione about the history of the locket Horcrux, they could include flashback sequences of Regulus traveling to the cave to retrieve the Horcrux. While he is not British, it would be great fan service for Regulus to be portrayed by Timothée Chalamet, a popular fan cast for the character whom the films mostly excluded.

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter franchise follows the adventure of a young boy introduced a whole new world of magic, mayhem and darkness. Traversing the obstacles in his path, young Harry's rise to heroics pits him against Lord Voldemort, one of the most dangerous wizards in the world and all his minions.

Created by

J.K. Rowling

First Film

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Latest Film

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Upcoming TV Shows

Harry Potter

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe , Rupert Grint , Emma Watson , Maggie Smith , Alan Rickman , Helena Bonham Carter , Ralph Fiennes , Michael Gambon

Where to watch

HBO Max

Spin-offs (Movies)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) , Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Character(s)

Harry Potter , Voldemort

Video Game(s)

Hogwarts Legacy , LEGO Harry Potter Collection , Harry Potter: Wizards Unite , Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells , Harry Potter: Magic Awakened , Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets , Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2