10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About The Harry Potter Books
9. The Epilogue Was Written Years Before The First Book Was Even Published
It was also around this time that Rowling wrote the epilogue to the series, which wasn’t actually seen by the public until the release of the final book in 2007.
Of course, the epilogue went through many revisions over the years – the copy that was kicking around in the early ‘90s was very different from the version we got in The Deathly Hallows.
One of the major differences is that Lupin and Tonks are still alive in the original epilogue. But Rowling decided to change this for symbolic reasons.
Harry’s journey starts with the end of the First Wizarding War and the death of his parents – Lily and James Potter. Teddy Lupin, meanwhile, was born just before the end of the Second Wizarding War, but like Harry, his parents were killed. In other words, this loss is a call-back to the start of the series – both Wizarding Wars end with a child losing their parents.
This, in essence, is why Lupin and Tonks had to die.