8 Harry Potter Characters JK Rowling Really Didn't Have To Kill
3. Hedwig
This one really stung. Harrys pet Snowy Owl was a gift from Hagrid, given to him on his first trip to Diagon Alley and killed six years later during the Battle of the Seven Potters. The only thing that could have jarred the guts more at this stage would have been Hagrid himself getting blown out of the sky. One thing most of us seem to be in agreement over when it comes to Hedwigs death is that it was a lot more dignified in the film version. Deathly Hallows director David Yates allowed everyones favourite owl to go down swinging, clawing at the face of a Death Eater chasing down Harry and Hagrid and winding up on the end of a killing curse as a result. In JK Rowlings original text, Hedwig was caged during the flight from Little Whinging, and she turned out to be a bit of a sitting duck. Unable to flee or fight, Hedwig took the Death Eaters killing curse right in the beak and dropped to the bottom of her cage like a rag doll. To add insult to injury, book Harry then decided to destroy the sidecar containing Hedwigs body in an attempt to slow down the pack of pursuing Death Eaters. No fear, though, as Hagrid was there to console Harry, assuring him that Hedwig had a great old life. Easy for him to say he was nearly 70 years old at this point!
