The story of Harry Potter is one of the most popular and successful fantasy stories of all time, but author JK Rowling has voiced a few regrets over her narrative choices. It didn’t take too long for Harry Potter to become a global sensation after the release of the first book in 1997. Once the first movie, itself based on the first book, was released, Harry Potter’s story was cemented as one of the most beloved fantasy narratives in the genre’s history. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books went on to break numerous records, and the movie franchise based on their story proved every bit as popular as its source material.
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Despite the Harry Potter franchise’s success, JK Rowling has admitted a few regrets. Amid years of fan interaction and discourse about Harry Potter’s story, the author has spoken on a handful of narrative developments and ideas that she wishes she had handled differently, proving that even she is occasionally moved by what her fans think and feel. The following are all points that Rowling has voiced her regret over, though it seems it’s far too late now to take them back.
7) Fred Weasley’s Death
Fred Weasley is considered by many to be one of the best characters in the Harry Potter franchise. Along with his twin, George, Fred proved to be one of the series’ funniest characters, with the pair’s legendary pranks cementing them as the most mischievous characters in Harry Potter. Fred’s death in the climactic Battle of Hogwarts therefore proved to be incredibly devastating, with many fans citing it as one of the saddest moments in the entire franchise.
It’s also one of Rowling’s own regrets about the story. In 2015, she shared an apology on social media, simply stating: “Today I would just like to say: I’m really sorry about Fred. *Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire.*” The negative response to Fred’s death didn’t just stem from how great a character he was, but also from the brutal way it was described. It continues to stand out as one of the most devastating deaths in the Harry Potter franchise, but at least Rowling herself considers it something of a misstep.
6) Aunt Marge’s Bulldogs
The Harry Potter franchise is full of dangerous beasts, so it’s easy to look past the inclusion of Aunt Marge’s bulldogs. The movies considerably toned down the original depiction of Aunt Marge’s canine companions, making Ripper, who comes to visit the Dursleys along with Marge, far less antagonistic toward Harry. However, in the books, Marge is explained to be a breeder of bulldogs, having 12 of them herself, and Ripper is written to be particularly aggressive.
This is another element of the story that Rowling has voiced her regrets over. She explained that she has since come to understand that bulldogs are not an aggressive breed, and that she regrets having used them in conjunction with the unpleasant Aunt Marge. While she explains that their grumpy-looking faces make them suited to Marge, she seems to feel some remorse in writing them as so aggressive, shockingly acknowledging that biology isn’t as much a factor in how dangerous someone can be as she once perpetuated.
5) Killing Lupin
Remus Lupin was one of the only Defense Against the Dark Arts professors that Harry actually liked, but that still didn’t prevent him from meeting a tragic end. One of many casualties of the climactic Battle of Hogwarts, Lupin’s death proved especially upsetting for fans because of its wider implications. Killed by one of the Harry Potter franchise’s Unforgivable Curses, Lupin’s death came shortly after that of his wife, Nymphadora Tonks, leaving their infant son Teddy orphaned.
JK Rowling has since apologized to fans for Lupin’s death. While she effectively doubled down on its importance to the narrative, she voiced her remorse in leaving young Teddy an orphan, stating that it was one of the most upsetting choices she made in relation to the story. While Lupin’s death certainly carries significant narrative weight, it’s still incredibly devastating, not just to fans but apparently also to Rowling herself, who admitted feeling very emotional about leaving young Teddy without his parents.
4) Ron & Hermione
One of the most crucial aspects of the franchise’s story is Harry Potter’s golden trio, with the close bond between its three young heroes being a central part of the entire narrative. The story famously ends with Ron and Hermione embracing their romantic feelings for one another, and revealing via the epilogue that they eventually married and started a family of their own. While their story is very sweet, many fans felt that the pair weren’t a good fit, and that’s a sentiment that Rowling herself now shares.
When interviewed on the subject, Rowling admitted that she “wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment”, adding “I know, I’m sorry, I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility.” Many believe that the personal reasons she was alluding to concern the fact that she reportedly based Ron Weasley on one of her own childhood friends, and Hermione loosely on herself.
3) Introducing (& Killing) Florean Fortescue
As with any story, JK Rowling made many changes to the Harry Potter books during the writing process. One of the most interesting was the introduction of Florean Fortescue, the proprietor of the Diagon Alley ice cream shop who never reappeared other than to be kidnapped and killed by Voldemort’s followers. Rowling later explained that she initially had bigger plans for the character, intending him to be a conduit for clues about the Deathly Hallows and Voldemort’s horcruxes, but later realized that he was effectively redundant, and cut his role back almost entirely.
The result is a character that Rowling introduced only briefly being met with a sad and presumably grisly end at Voldemort’s hands. Rowling explained that she regrets introducing him at all, as he essentially became little more than a loose end, with the knowledge she had written he possessed making him a target for Voldemort’s Death Eaters despite him not having impacted the plot. Rowling openly admits that she feels guilty about her handling of the character, as she pared back his role only to kill him anyway.
2) The Missing Hogwarts Graduation
Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent six years at Hogwarts, learning some of the best spells in the Harry Potter franchise to aid them on their quest to stop Voldemort. However, the story saw them leave before their final year at the school, instead embarking on a hunt for the Deathly Hallows and Voldemort’s horcruxes. The ending of the final book featured an epilogue that explained they all eventually had children of their own who were sent to Hogwarts, but Rowling mentioned remorse over an aspect of their ending she was unable to include.
Rowling reportedly wanted to include a scene showing the characters graduating from Hogwarts, but she knew the story simply didn’t allow for it. Describing the idea as “trite”, she explained that the already sentimental epilogue combined with a graduation scene would have been unnecessary, and risked making the ending feel anticlimactic. While it’s hard to disagree with Rowling on that point, it seems that she’s still somewhat sad that the characters weren’t able to formally graduate from the school that taught them all they know.
1) Killing Snape
While some consider Snape a Harry Potter villain, others see him as one of the franchise’s great heroes. The truth probably lies somewhere between the two, but he remains a pretty divisive figure even among hardcore Harry Potter fans. Whether he was able to redeem himself or not before his death is a key point of contention, as many believe his repeated unpleasant treatment of Harry cannot be excused by simple good intentions. As such, the manner of his death is another element that divides many fans.
Whether Rowling openly regrets killing Snape is open to interpretation, but she has formally apologized to fans over the character’s death via social media. Of course, if he had lived, it might have been possible to better establish the end of his redemption arc, but his death was still a relatively noble one. Keeping Snape’s moral alignment relatively ambiguous was probably for the best, but it still appears to be something that JK Rowling regrets in one way or another.
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