15 Things That Almost Completely Changed The End Of Harry Potter

1. Harry Could Have Died

What Happened

The Boy Who Lived... lived.

What Could Have Been

In an interview with USA Today, JK Rowling conceded that the early drafts of her books were significantly different, and that Harry's survival was in no way guaranteed. She says that everything was up in the air, but that "early on I knew I wanted Harry to believe he was walking toward his death... but would survive."

Ultimately, Harry did sort of die - and his "death" is an important part of the fall of Voldemort - but you really have to think that any entertainment of it remaining permanent would have been overcome eventually by emotional logic. No matter how much more fitting it would have been for the boy who had lived because others had laid down their lives to do the same to save the world, narrative conventions will always out.

What other changes to the Harry Potter books do you know of? Share your favourites below in the comments thread.