15 Things That Almost Completely Changed The End Of Harry Potter

11. Arthur Weasley Was Originally Supposed To Die

What Happened

Though he was very gravely injured while guarding the Department of Mysteries by Nagini, Arthur Weasley was saved by the quick thinking (and accidental link between him and Voldemort) of Harry Potter. Grateful, he recovered to help fight the Battle Of Hogwarts and bury his tragically murdered son.

What Could Have Been

JK Rowling has confirmed that Arthur was set to die in The Order Of The Phoenix, but that she changed her mind because she was already killing too many father figures:

"He was the person who got a reprieve. When I sketched out the books, Mr. Weasley was due to die in Book Five. I swapped him for someone else, and I don't want to say who for the people who haven't read it. But I made a decision as I went into writing Phoenix that I was going to reprieve Mr. Weasley and I was going to kill someone else. And if you finish the book, I expect you probably know and someone else who is a father. I couldn't bear to kill him."