•  The “Harry Potter” film series couldn’t incorporate every detail from the books, but there’s one omission that deserved to make it to the big screen.
• The pivotal book scene featured Professor McGonagall at her finest as she went head-to-head with Professor Umbridge.
• The interaction provided some much-needed comic relief thanks to McGonagall’s one-liners and deadpan delivery.
• McGonagall’s open defiance of Umbridge also foreshadows the larger revolt during the Battle of Hogwarts.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

One of the greatest “Harry Potter” scenes never left the pages of the books. 

It’s no secret that many scenes from controversial author J.K. Rowling’s books are absent from the movies, but one of the biggest missed opportunities lies in the pages of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

The central scene in book five, chapter 29, “Careers Advice,” is far from just a fleeting moment, and it was a great disservice to omit it from the fifth film. 

The scene centers on an interrupted career-advice meeting between Harry and McGonagall

Hogwarts may be a school like no other, but even young witches and wizards can’t escape the universal tradition of a career-advice meeting.

In “Order of the Phoenix,” the students are issued individual appointments with their Head of House.

When Harry arrives (late, might I add) for his meeting with McGonagall, he discovers that Hogwarts’ High Inquisitor and newly-instated Headmistress, Professor Umbridge, has invited herself to the proceedings.

The insufferable ministry darling – who, along with Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has a personal gripe with Harry – seems intent on undermining the authority of Hogwarts’ long-standing teachers.

Unsurprisingly, McGonagall has little patience for this.

In the scene, Professor McGonagall verbally eviscerates Professor Umbridge in a way readers only wish they could

Harry tells McGonagall that he wants to be an Auror, which is a type of law-enforcement officer who investigates the use of the Dark Arts. It seems like a perfectly reasonable career choice given that Harry successfully dueled with Lord Voldemort, and lived to tell the tale.

McGonagall responds by informing him of what academic qualifications he’ll need in order to be considered for the Ministry position.

It’s a seemingly straightforward exchange, except for the fact that Umbridge continuously interrupts the conversation by faking a cough and clearing her throat.

Without so much as looking at her colleague, McGonagall wryly says, “May I offer you a cough drop, Dolores?”

It’s a simple line, expertly delivered by an increasingly-impatient McGonagall. But Umbridge persists, launching a full-blown attack on Harry’s career plans, boldly stating, “Potter has no chance whatsoever of becoming an Auror.”

Incensed, McGonagall tells Harry, “I will assist you to become an Auror if it is the last thing I do. If I have to coach you nightly, I will make sure you achieve the required results.”

The exchange is fiery and unrelenting, and the message is clear: Umbridge may have the Ministry of Magic behind her, but Harry has McGonagall in his corner.

‘Order of the Phoenix’ is an emotionally taxing story, and the scene provided some much-needed comic relief

“Order of the Phoenix” is filled with despair, as Voldemort continues to gain strength and influence after his flesh-and-bone return to the world.

Gallery: 22 little-known facts about the ‘Harry Potter’ series (INSIDER)

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22 little-known facts about the ‘Harry Potter’ series

• Controversial author J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books-turned-movies are a cultural phenomenon. 
• Rowling found inspiration for the setting of “Harry Potter” in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Most character names have a special meaning — and some are inspired by real people. 
• Actor Haley Joel Osment could have been cast as Harry Potter instead of Daniel Radcliffe. 
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Whether you’re a hardcore fan or a Muggle who’s only seen the movies, there’s no denying that “Harry Potter” is a cultural phenomenon.

Keep reading to learn 20 surprising facts about controversial author J.K. Rowling’s magical series, from how she named her characters to how technology brought the films to life.

Rowling and Harry Potter share a birthday.

The author, who turned 55 this year, and the wizard were both born on July 31.

Rowling gave her characters names that reflect their roles in the series.

Fans can all agree that Rowling’s world-building is superb ― and the whimsical names she gave her characters are no exception. On Pottermore, she revealed that, early in the creative process, she came up with names for 40 Hogwarts students in Harry’s year ― every member of the Golden Trio included.

For example, Harry’s name references his leadership qualities and Ron’s pertains to his role as a sidekick.

“Harry” is the middle-English version of “Henry,” a name popular among English kings through the centuries. For “Ronald,” Rowling seemingly looked to the Old Norse “Rögnvaldr,” a title for a ruler’s adviser.

In contrast, Hermione’s name, taken from Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” (and Greek mythology, more broadly) has less to do with her own traits than with her Muggle parents’ desire to pick a clever moniker.

You never know when inspiration will strike ― and Rowling jotted down the Hogwarts house names on an airplane vomit bag.

Many people, celebs included, strongly identify with a specific Hogwarts house.

You might be surprised to learn, then, that Rowling first wrote down the words Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff on the back of an airplane vomit bag. She revealed this tidbit on Twitter in 2017.

Harry Potter was named for his great-grandfather.

According to Pottermore (which has since become Wizarding World), Harry Potter shares a name with his great-grandfather.

Although this ancestor ― who lived in the late 19th century and early 20th century ― doesn’t appear in the books, his timeline would intersect with the “Fantastic Beasts” era. 

The magical plants in the series all come from a real-life compendium of flora.

At a glance, plant names like “Mugwort” and “toadflax” sound like words pulled from Rowling’s boundless imagination. But these flora actually exist in the Muggle world.

As the author explained in a 2003 interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the plants in the series come from a compendium called “The Complete Herbal” by English botanist and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper.

But only one character in the Harry Potter universe is a figure from Muggle history.

Nicolas Flamel, the eponymous sorcerer from “Sorcerer’s Stone,” was a French businessman and scribe born in the 14th century. The real Flamel’s connection to alchemy, embellished after his death, is at best tenuous.

Edinburgh, Scotland, where Rowling resides, provided a ton of inspiration for the series.

Scotland’s capital is teeming with Gothic architecture, cobblestone streets, and narrow passageways.

Rowling was enchanted by the city’s locales, from Greyfriars Kirkyard ― where the “real” Tom Riddle is buried ― to George Heriot’s School, a private institution whose turreted building inspired Hogwarts.

You can even visit the cafes where Harry’s story began, namely The Elephant House, the so-called “Birthplace of Harry Potter” ― be sure to check out the bathroom, which is covered in Potter-centric graffiti left by fans over the years ― and Spoon, a restaurant that Rowling frequented in its former incarnation as Nicolson’s Cafe.

Even Stephen King was freaked out by Dolores Umbridge.

Forget Voldemort ― one-time Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge has been deemed one of fiction’s creepiest villains by none other than famed horror writer Stephen King.

“The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toadlike face, and clutching, stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter,” King wrote in his 2009 review of “Order of the Phoenix” for Entertainment Weekly.

Like the multitude of spells in the series, Hogwarts’ official motto is also in Latin.

It’s no secret that Rowling, who studied Classical languages and mythology at Exeter University, is familiar with Latin.

Not only do the series’ many spells come from that ancient language ― but also so does Hogwarts’ motto, “Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus” (“Never tickle a sleeping dragon”).

“You know the way that most school slogans are things like persevere and nobility, clarity, and fidelity or something, it just amused me to give an entirely practical piece of advice for the Hogwarts school motto,” Rowling explained in a 2005 BBC interview.

The movies featured an animal production team.

Magical creatures aside, there were a slew of ordinary animals in the Harry Potter movies ― and they were overseen by a separate animal production team.

Four different owls played Harry’s bird, Hedwig and over a dozen rats portrayed Ron’s pet rodent, Scabbers.

The “Harry Potter” books have been translated into around 80 languages, from Albanian to Hebrew to Scots.

Selling more than 500 million copies worldwide, the “Harry Potter” books have been translated into 80 different languages — recently, Scots, a language spoken as a first language by 90,000 people. 

It may be hard to imagine someone other than Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, but the role could have been played by another actor.

Prior to a creative row with Rowling, Steven Spielberg was pegged to direct “Sorcerer’s Stone” ― and he wanted Haley Joel Osment (of “Sixth Sense” fame) to play the Chosen One.

In fact, Daniel Radcliffe beat out more than 300 child actors for the part of a lifetime, according to The Telegraph.

Peeves, the mischievous Hogwarts ghost, was supposed to appear in the films.

One of the most notable differences between the books and the movies is mischievous Hogwarts ghost Peeves’ absence from the film adaptations.

The late British comedian and actor Rik Mayall was actually cast as the poltergeist in “Sorcerer’s Stone” — but director Chris Columbus cut Mayall’s scenes after a few weeks of shooting because he didn’t like the look of the character onscreen.  

“It was three weeks later, so I was in the film for around three weeks and then they cut me out. But I still got the money,” Mayall said during an interview for his 2011 film “When Evil Calls: The Raven.” “So that is the most exciting film I’ve ever been in because I got the oodle and I wasn’t in it. Fantastic.”

But there was a secret, film-exclusive character hidden in the newspaper props designed for the movies.

Design firm MinaLima, which created fake newspapers for many of the films, hid a secret character in the magical periodicals. Known as the Ginger Witch, this elusive lady is a criminal whose escapades span decades.

First appearing in “Prisoner of Azkaban,” you’ll also spot her in the “Fantastic Beasts” movies.

When she invented Dementors, Rowling drew from her past experiences with depression.

When she was in her 20s, Rowling struggled with depression.

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she shared that Dementors are based on the “hollowed-out feeling” of depression.

“I know sadness. Sadness is to cry and to feel. But it’s that cold absence of feeling — that really hollowed-out feeling. That’s what Dementors are,” she said.

Rowling planned in advance who would meet a grim fate in the series — but she decided to spare one character’s life at the last minute.

Character deaths are one of the narrative elements that Rowling plotted in advance.

Originally, she planned for Ron’s dad, Arthur Weasley, to meet a grim fate in “Order of the Phoenix” — but she changed her mind.

“I think part of the reason for that is there were very few good fathers in the book,” she said in an interview with “Today” in 2007. “In fact, you could make a very good case for Arthur Weasley being the only good father in the whole series.”

To prevent early leaks of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the series’ publisher, Bloomsbury, gave the seventh and final book some quirky code names.

Early proofs and print-outs of “Deathly Hallows” were given humorous red-herring titles such as “Edinburgh Potmakers” and “The Life and Times of Clara Rose Lovett: An epic novel covering many generations.”

Evanna Lynch made some of Luna Lovegood’s jewelry.

One of the “Harry Potter” costume designers, Jany Temime, previously told Insider that actress Evanna Lynch helped craft a lot of her character’s jewelry. 

In particular, Lynch made Luna’s famous beaded, radish-shaped earrings herself. 

“It was an excellent collaboration,” Temime recalled. “She was a very clever kid to work with.”

Some of the most expensive costumes to make were the Hogwarts uniforms.

Since they included silk ties and wool sweaters, the Hogwarts uniforms were some of the most expensive costumes in the series to make. 

“I never wanted to use anything but the most perfect material,” she previously told Insider. “The ties are in silk, we used wool [for the sweaters], we used a very expensive material for the gowns.” 

But Temime said these looks were worth the investment since “Harry Potter” film shoots could last a while and cheaper materials “would have looked terrible after one month.” 

Special effects in the films ranged from green screens to animatronics.

From Quidditch sequences to the flying books in Hogwarts’ library, green-screen technology played an essential part in bringing the magic of the “Harry Potter” universe to the big screen.

Not every special effect, however, was added post-production. Animatronics were used for creatures such as Professor Sprout’s baby mandrakes and the “Monster Book of Monsters.” There was also an animatronic Buckbeak used for close-up shots of the Hippogriff.

The Quidditch brooms weren’t your run-of-the-mill props.

The brooms were crafted from airplane-grade titanium.

“People think of them as a prop the kids are carrying around, but in reality, they have to sit on them,” Eddie Newquist, chief creative officer of Global Entertainment Services — the firm responsible for The Harry Potter Exhibition ― told Popular Mechanics in 2011.

“They have to be mounted onto motion-control bases for green-screen shots and special-effects shots, so they have to be very thin and incredibly durable,” he added.

Some of the food on set was real.

Although some of the food that appeared in the “Harry Potter” movies was made from painted resin, there were edible items in the mix for the feast scene in “Goblet of Fire.”

If you want to eat like a Hogwarts student, you can try some of the magical offerings at Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter, from butterbeer to bangers and mash.

• Read more:
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  Echoing Voldemort’s initial rise to power, people are, once again, going missing or dying under strange circumstances. Harry is having his mind ravaged most nights by dream-like visions from his intense connection to Voldemort. And Umbridge is wreaking havoc on Hogwarts.

  Yet there are genuine moments of laughter, happiness, and silliness in the installment.

  McGonagall asking Umbridge if she needs a cough drop is a perfect example. The wryness of the question, delivered by a deadpan McGonagall, is genuinely funny. 

  The scene also changed the overall feeling of the rebellion against Umbridge and her tyrannical reign.

  Yes, there was serious work to be done in overthrowing Hogwarts’ unwanted dictator, but there was also fun to be had.

  It was humorous to witness McGonagall, and later the students, run circles around Umbridge – who despite her best efforts, always seemed to be one step behind.

  I think the film’s audience would have undoubtedly benefited from watching the exchange between McGonagall and Umbridge. Particularly because it would have allowed them to see that the Hogwarts’ staff was actively fighting long before the final battle. 

  McGonagall’s open defiance of Umbridge seemed to inspire other rebellions at Hogwarts

  “Order of the Phoenix” is a turning point in the “Harry Potter” series.

  Umbridge’s rule over Hogwarts only intensifies Harry’s ongoing fight with the Ministry of Magic. But seeing a well-respected professor like McGonagall resist in a dignified way seemed to help inspire Harry to start Dumbledore’s Army to fight back.

  And after this scene when McGonagall refuses to bow down and play nice, the teachers at Hogwarts also start preparing for battle.

  Her rebellion made room for professors Flitwick, Sprout, and even Snape to resist Umbridge’s dictatorship-like hold over the school in “Order of the Phoenix.”

  This fighting spirit comes to fruition two years later in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” when the professors face the ultimate fight for justice and peace during the Battle of Hogwarts.

  Emulating the defiance she displayed in the career-advice meeting, McGonagall immediately gets to work, protecting the school and its students from the dark forces attempting to penetrate the castle.

  Following suit, Flitwick puts his Charms skills to good use by casting protective spells, while Sprout – along with a group of faithful students – raids the Herbology greenhouses for anything that can be used as weaponry against the Death Eaters.

  Above all, the scene highlights McGonagall’s shift from Harry’s protector to his ally

  McGonagall has been protecting Harry since he was a baby in “Sorcerer’s Stone” when she – disguised in her feline form – stood guard outside the Dursley residence awaiting Dumbledore’s arrival with the newly-orphaned wizard.

  Concerned about what kind of life Harry might have with his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, McGonagall staunchly said of the Dursley couple: “These people will never understand him.”

  The straight-talking Transfiguration professor also kept a watchful eye over Harry during his years at Hogwarts – but the “Careers Advice” chapter is when we see just how deeply McGonagall cares for Harry.

  Her goal isn’t just to keep him safe, it’s also to back him up and serve as a trusted ally.

  And later, it was she who Harry turned to when he came to Hogwarts for the final battle in “Deathly Hallows.” Without hesitation, the professor asked Harry what he needed her to do and got to work protecting the castle and other students – which allowed Harry to carry out his own mission. 

  And this strong allyship was also felt by Harry, who later cast the torturous Cruciatus Curse on a Death Eater who dared to spit in McGonagall’s face. 

  It was a mistake to cut the ‘Careers Advice’ scene from the fifth movie

  McGonagall and Umbridge’s clash in “Order of the Phoenix” is a relatively short interaction in what is undoubtedly a very long book. If adapted to the big screen, the exchange could’ve taken up just a few minutes of the movie. 

  Sure, the “Harry Potter” books contain a wealth of information – complicated characters, rich backstories, interweaving storylines – so it’s understandable that not every detail made it into the film adaptations.

  But for such a small exchange, it has a big impact on the overall narrative arc of the “Harry Potter” series, and it’s a shame fans never got to see this legendary scene play out on screen. 

  Read More:

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  • A ‘Harry Potter’ costume designer breaks down iconic looks worn by Voldemort, Bellatrix, and more of the films’ villains

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