8 Harry Potter Edits JK Rowling Made From Earlier Book Drafts

6. Arthur Weasley Was Set To Die

Arthur Weasley, father of Ron, Ginny and the rest of the Weasley household, was initially planned to bite the dust.

Though it's a fairly close call in its final iteration (Arthur is attacked by Voldemort's serpent Nagini in Order Of The Phoenix) this is prevented by a prophetic vision experienced by Harry. Had Arthur died, it would have thrown the Weasleys into emotional chaos, and would have seriously altered the lives of many of the main characters. In the end, Rowling decided to spare Arthur due to matters of poor parenting:

"There were very few good fathers in the book. In fact, you could make a very good case for Arthur Weasley being the only good father in the whole series."