3. Winky, SPEW, and Elvish Liberation

By book four, it became obvious that numerous plot points would be left off the table in order to accommodate blockbuster run times. The Goblet of Fire featured many notable exclusions, including Fluer's heritage, the true nature of Rita Skeeter’s scoops, and the antics of Ludovic Bagman with Fred and George. But the lion’s share of story taken out was related to Winky the House Elf and Hermione's quest for equal treatment of the house elves. Winky, the house elf of The Crouches, is cruely dismissed by Barty Crouch after she is implicated in the stampede at the Quidditch World Cup. Taken in by Hogwarts as a free house elf, she is taken care of by Dobby while languishing her life away on Butterbeer. Shocked by the treatment, Hermione crusades for more equal rights of house elves, and even knits hats and socks in an attempt to free the Hogwarts elves. Hermione's fight for what’s right, as well as it’s rebukes from Wizard born classmates, is an excellent lesson for teaching kids to question traditions and draws parallels to many countries histories of institutional oppression.