For a book reader, the death of a beloved main character can really strike hard. It is different from a movie or television series because reading requires you to go deep into a character’s head, making the process more intimate and requiring more concentration, time, and imagination to do so.
And it is especially hard when you are young.
This is something with which fans of the Harry Potter series have had to contend. Author J.K. Rowling started out slowly — Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — then traumatized everyone with Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Both of these deaths could not live up to the large number of losses in the closing chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
The effects of the passing of these beloved beings who exist in the pages of her books are not lost on the author, though. Last year, J.K. Rowling made the promise of issuing an annual apology for the death of one character on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.
The Battle of Hogwarts anniversary commemorates the date in the book when Harry’s adversary, Lord Voldemort, lays siege to wizarding school. In the series, that day is May 2, 1998. Last year, the author kicked things off when she apologized for the death of Fred Weasley, one half of the mischievous twins who caused a lot of mayhem when they were in school.
This year, Rowling has chosen Harry Potter’s teacher, mentor, and surrogate uncle, Remus Lupin. She tweeted out:
Once again, it’s the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts so, as promised, I shall apologise for a death. This year: Remus Lupin.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2016
There seems to be a twist in the decision to kill off the beloved character. Remus was close to Harry Potter, in part, because he was one of his father’s best friends (together with Sirius Black). He became a sort of father figure to the young wizard. Another father figure was Arthur Weasley, the father of Harry’s best friend, Ron. According to Rowling, one of the two had to go, so, since she decided to keep Arthur alive, Remus had to die.
In the interests of total honesty I’d also like to confess that I didn’t decide to kill Lupin until I wrote Order if the Phoenix.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2016
Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die. I’m sorry. I didn’t enjoy doing it. The only time my editor ever saw me cry was over the fate of Teddy. ?
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2016
Take heart, though, because the son of Remus with Tonks, the young Teddy Rowling mentions, may carry on his father’s legacy and appear on the upcoming stage play, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, which will premiere this summer.
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