Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Harry Potter Countdown: RIP beloved Harry Potter characters!


Each Wednesday until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 2 comes out I'm going to dedicate a post to an aspect of the series. Anyone who wants to join in is welcome, just let me know in the comments!

Today's topic is: The most shocking/unexpected deaths.



I learned fairly quickly that J.K. Rowling didn't care how much her audience loved a character, if the time seemed right her pen would snuff them out quick as a flash. It didn't stop me from forging close ties with all the characters, but it did mean that their deaths didn't come as a shock, at least not often. By the final book I was expecting the final page to finish not with 'the end' but with 'they're all dead.' Even so, there were certain characters I thought were off limits, even for the heartless J.K, and I was shocked and saddened when they were added to the list of the dead. This is a list of the characters whose deaths were the least expected or most shocking, at least for me!


1. Sirius Black
JFC J.K why did you have to eliminate the most interesting character of the series and in such a god awful way! He just disappeared! Poof, gone, behind a damn curtain! Alright, I wasn't particularly happy with his character in OOTP (I think he and Harry had been having a competition of who could be the most whiny and emo) but did he deserve to die? Hell no! I know his death probably enabled the plot to progress better than if he lived but couldn't it have been someone else?! Not my dear, dear Sirius!



2. Fred Weasley
This one hurt, not only did J.K stab me with a knife, but she twisted it around to make sure I felt it.  I hate when there are big battle scenes and none of the good guys dies, especially when they're completely out-numbered, but seriously? Fred? I mean he was so wonderful and friendly and didn't have a mean bone in his body. He was a twin, and his family adored him and I adored him and I wanted him to settle down with a girl and have little twins of his own. Wasn't enough that you took his brother's ear and scarred another one? And killing him when Percy finally came back AND cracked a joke?! How could you J.K, HADN'T THE WEASLEYS SUFFERED ENOUGH!


3. Lupin and Tonks
Yeah, OK, this match wasn't my favourite in the series but I never imagined J.K would kill off these new parents. After all the turmoil and sadness and loneliness that Harry went through as an orphan I never imagined that J.K would subject another character to such horrors. Removing J.K's authorial influence from it I also can't believe that Lupin, a man who had seen first hand how the death of three of his best friends had ravaged Harry, would play so fast and loose with his life when he finally had something (someone) to live for. I'm not surprised he went to fight, but I really wish he'd thought ahead and weighed his options instead of leaping into battle so carelessly.


4. Harry Potter
I suppose deep down I always knew that Harry would have to 'die' for the story to end but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little shocked when he took that walk into the Forbidden Forest and just...died. I knew he'd come back, mainly because there were still 3 or 4 chapters to go but also because even if J.K kills of characters left, right and centre she'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble if she killed the title star! Even so it shook me to consider that that could be it for him. After spending a decade getting to know him I really wanted everything to work out for him, his death (if real) would have brought on a lot of tears.


5. Dumbledore
Oh Dumbledore. Poor, sweet, intelligent, amazing Dumbledore. How sad I was after you fell to your death, however surprised I was not. Not only had I expected it (the mentor, sadly, never lives for the whole journey) but J.K sent up sign-posts all through the book. Logically I knew his time was running out, but emotionally? Emotionally I couldn't believe that anyone could possibly kill such an amazing man! I kept thinking something magical would happen and he'd ride off into the sunset on Falkor the Luck Dragon (yeah I blended HP with the Never Ending Story, what of it?!) giving the death eaters the finger while 80s hair metal plays in the background. Unfortunately it wasn't quite like that. Sad face.


So there are five deaths that angered, upset and blew me away. Which deaths hit you where it hurts?

Next week: It's the final HP Countdown post so it has to be epic! I'm going to keep the topic a secret, but if you want to take part write about whatever you want, as long as it's HP related!

6 comments:

  1. Here's my link:

    http://gabrielreads.blogspot.com/2011/07/harry-potter-countdown.html

    PS: Everything you said made my sides hurt from laughing. I especially love the image of Dumbledore and Falkor riding off together.

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  2. I think Hedwig was probably the most unexpected for me, although Dobby would be a close second.

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  3. Oh I'd forgotten about Hedwig! You're right Kathy, both Hedwig and Dobby were a shock for me too!

    If I could draw (and I wish I could!) I'd have that as my blog background Gabe! Dumbledore would probably be wearing black raybans as well!

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  4. I just did a Google search to see if anyone had already drawn it but sadly I came up with nothing. My goal in life might just be to find someone who would be willing to create said masterpiece.

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  5. Fred would have to be the most shocking to me i still havent gotten over it yet i cried for 3 days 3 after i found out I love the Weasleys

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  6. I'm going to send out a request on facebook, hopefully one of my arty friends will take up the challenge!

    Anon, I know what you mean. The Weasleys are the best characters and I hated when something bad happened to any of them

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