Hermione Granger’s most notable subplot from the Harry Potter books was left out of the movies and I think it was the right decision. There were a lot of smaller storylines from the pages of J.K. Rowling’s legendary book series that weren’t adapted for the big screen and fans weren’t happy about many of them. From not including Peeves the Poltergeist to a key scene from St. Mungo’s hospital to a big chunk of Barty Crouch Jr.’s backstory, the cuts were controversial.

The same has been said when it comes to Hermione’s side storyline that began when she learned the truth about house elves but I feel that leaving it out made sense. At first, her only experience with house elves came from Harry telling her about Dobby. Of course, the more Hermione learned about them, the more she began to dislike what wizards had done to the elves, even if the elves themselves were okay with the situation.

Hermione Wanted To Liberate House Elves By Running S.P.E.W.

She Fought, Mostly Alone, For Elves’ Rights

While attending the Quidditch World Cup ahead of her fourth year at Hogwarts, Hermione saw the horrific treatment of house elves by wizards, namely Barty Crouch. It started Hermione on a mission to do whatever she could to help liberate elves. She did so by starting S.P.E.W., or the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. The problem was that most wizards, and the house elves themselves, weren’t interested in changing the way things are. Wizards took what the elves did for them for granted and accepted it as the way things are.

Hermione, having grown up in the Muggle world, viewed it from a different standpoint and saw the elves as an enslaved group. Most students who joined S.P.E.W., like Neville Longbottom, did so just to stop Hermione from badgering them, rather than because they believed in what she said. Harry and Ron also joined reluctantly, while most others just took the organization as a joke. Hermione was also shocked to find that house elves worked at Hogwarts.

Among those elves working at Hogwarts were Dobby and Winky, Mr. Crouch’s elf. Dobby was working there for small wages but Winky and the others hated the idea of being paid or being freed. Hermione still took to knitting articles of clothing and leaving them lying around to free unsuspecting house elves. Even if her initial efforts were in vain, Hermione went on to work for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic.

It Was A Good Thing That The Subplot Was Cut

There Was Already A Lot Going On In The Films

In a perfect world, everything from the books would’ve been included in the Harry Potter films. However, there was just too much content in the novels to fit into movies that all ran about two and a half hours each. The S.P.E.W subplot does a lot to showcase that Hermione is a good person and details how the wizarding world is far from perfect but it doesn’t add much to the overall story, so it was easy to cut.

There’s a chance that the S.P.E.W. storyline could make its way into the upcoming Harry Potter TV show on HBO Max, since that has a lot more time to flesh out these things. On the big screen, though, there was already a lot being crammed into the runtime. I feel that other aspects, like more of Ginny’s personality, Mad-Eye Moody’s death, and the aforementioned Barty Crouch Jr. backstory, would’ve all been better to include over S.P.E.W.

That’s especially true since this storyline begins just before Voldemort returns. During the final few movies, so much focus is put on the threat that Voldemort and the Death Eaters cause, meaning something as small as S.P.E.W. didn’t have time to be included in the films.

Harry Potter

Created by

J.K. Rowling

First Film

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

First TV Show

Harry Potter

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Richard Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alfred Enoch, Harry Melling, Gary Oldman, Robert Pattinson, Warwick Davis, Oliver Phelps, James Phelps, David Bradley, David Thewlis, Katie Leung, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jamie Campbell Bower, Timothy Spall, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp, Mads Mikkelsen

TV Show(s)

Harry Potter

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