The Harry Potter movies feature a large range of magical and captivating characters. From the titular character, to his friends, professors and enemies, the series has created some of the most memorable and well-loved characters in fiction.
Within the movies, several characters are name dropped or referred to as part of backstories but are never seen in the flesh. Some of these characters actually appeared in the books so die hard fans will know exactly who they are; however, others are only ever mentioned on both the page and the screen.
Rowena Ravenclaw
As one of the four founders of Hogwarts, Rowena is an important character in the history of Harry Potter. When the Chamber of Secrets opens in the second movie, Rowena is mentioned when McGonagall tells her class about the history of Hogwarts.
In the final movie, Rowena is also indirectly important in defeating Voldemort. It is Rowena's daughter, Helena who tells Harry about the location of one of the final Horcruxes, Ravenclaw's diadem. Rowena was long dead by the time Harry attended Hogwarts so it's not surprising that she never appeared but she's still an incredibly important character in the movies' lore.
Helga Hufflepuff
Helga is another one of the four founders of Hogwarts and the namesake for Hufflepuff house. Helga isn't mentioned much during the course of the movies and fans have been left with a lot of unanswered questions about the Hogwarts founders. That being said, Helga has left a clear legacy at Hogwarts; tragic Cedric Diggory is of course a Hufflepuff and possesses many of the traits Helga found so important.
One of Voldemort's Horcruxes is also Hufflepuff's cup, the destruction of which led to the long-awaited first kiss between Ron and Hermione. Unfortunately, Helga was barely mentioned in the movies and Hufflepuff as a whole is sorely underrepresented.
Alice and Frank Longbottom
Neville often refers to his grandmother in the movies but it's not until later in the series that his parents are mentioned. The two are mentioned in ing during a flashback in The Goblet of Fire and Neville later explains their history in The Order of the Phoenix. Sadly, Frank and Alice were tortured to the point of insanity by Deatheaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange.
Fans only get to see the couple in a photograph during the movie, but they actually appeared during the fifth book. Unfortunately, their scenes were cut from the movies and the characters never appeared in the flesh. As the characters appear in the books, it's a shame they never made it into the movies as they could have really added to Neville's development.
Great Aunt Tessie
The Weasley's are a large family so it's not surprising fans didn't get to meet them all. One member of the family who little is known about about is Great Aunt Tessie. Her one mention comes when Ron receives his dress robes for the Yule Ball, and Harry tries to reassure him that they aren't as bad as he thinks. However, Ron remarks that he looks (and smells) like his Great Aunt Tessie.
This of course is a throwaway line used for humor, and Great Aunt Tessie is never mentioned again, but it seems a missed opportunity that she didn't appear at the wedding in the penultimate movie. If Ron's Yule Ball attire is anything to go by, her wedding outfit would have certainly been something garish and eccentric.
Charlie Weasley
Another Weasley who never made it into the movies is Ron's older brother, Charlie. Charlie does appear in the books but unfortunately became one of the book characters the Harry Potter films left out. However, eagle-eyed fans might notice him in a photograph in the third movie and Ron does mention him several times in the first movie.
Fans will know that Charlie works with dragons in Rumania but, in a world with Portkeys and Floo Powder, that hardly seems like a suitable excuse to miss his brother's wedding in the seventh film. While Ron's other brother, Bill suddenly showed up in the penultimate film, Charlie was nowhere to be seen. It is disappointing that fans never got to see all of the Weasley children interact on screen.
Ariana Dumbledore
Ariana is the deceased sister of Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore and in the books, she plays an important part of the former's backstory. Ariana does appear as a portrait in the final movie but her story is only touched on slightly. In the books, fans learn that Ariana was killed during a three-way duel between Albus, Aberforth and Gellert Grindelwald, with the three wizards unaware as to who directly caused her death.
While having Aberforth explain Ariana's death might not have translated well onto the screen, the movie could have benefited from showing the events in flashback form. The circumstances of Ariana's death are important to Dubmledore's character so it seems odd that they were skipped over in the movie.
Regulus Black
At the end of the sixth movie, Harry finds a note signed by R.A.B. in the fake Horcrux locket. In the following movie, R.A.B. is revealed to be Sirius' deceased brother, Regulus. Although Regulus was a Deatheater at one point, he did turn against Voldemort before his death.
Eagle-eyed fans will notice Regulus' name on the Black tapestry in the fifth film and he's also seen in a photograph and mentioned by Slughorn in the sixth film. The Harry Potter movies left out several things about the Black house, so it's not surprising that Regulus' backstory isn't fully explored. Regulus is mentioned sparingly in the movies but due to his death, he never appears in the series.
Professor Kettleburn
Kettleburn is Hagrid's predecessor in the role of Care of Magical Creatures Professor. He is only mentioned once in the movies, but it is still a fairly memorable scene. When announcing that Hagrid has ed the teaching staff, Dumbledore states that Kettleburn has "retired to spend time with his remaining limbs."
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Kettleburn's retirement leads to Hagrid having a larger responsibility at Hogwarts, with one of his first classes involving Buckbeak the Hippogriff. From Dumbledore's comment, viewers can assume that Kettleburn was quite elderly by the time he retired so it's possible he was teaching at the time the Fantastic Beasts movies are set. While the character was only mentioned once, he could still show in the prequel series.
Salazar Slytherin
Salazar Slytherin is the founder of Slytherin House and while he might not appear in the movies, he still has a fairly large role to play (particularly in the second movie). Slytherin was responsible for creating The Chamber of Secrets in his mission to purge Hogwarts of Muggle born students.
Many years later, Tom Riddle would become the heir to his legacy, and he also turned Slytherin's locket into one of his Horcruxes. Although Salazar Slytherin is only mentioned a few times within the movies, his dark history is pivotal to the plot. Many of the key characters, including Riddle are part of Slytherin house within the series.
Godric Gryffindor
Godric Gryffindor is the final Hogwarts founder and also has a lasting legacy at the school. Many notable and powerful Harry Potter characters are Gryffindors including all three of the golden trio. The Sorting Hat famously had some difficulty placing Harry in a house but Harry's bravery shone through and allowed him to speak up and choose Gryffindor for himself.
Harry also wielded Gryffindor's sword in order to fight, and ultimately defeat the Basilisk. While the character of Gryffindor is only mentioned, many of the movie characters follow his legacy.
