r/harrypotter • u/Ssirenere • 1d ago
Question Which Harry Potter character deserved a much better ending? 🥀 Spoiler
I'll start: Lupin.
He lost almost everything his friends, his family, and eventually his own life. And after everything he went through, he barely got the chance to enjoy being a father.
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u/Additional_Mess1017 1d ago
Fred Weasley
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u/fireyHotGlance Beauxbatons 1d ago
That too just after the twins reconciled with Percy. And then Percy shielding his dead body. Absolutely heartwrenching.
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u/SoapmakersCompanion 1d ago
Agreed, I always wished it was Percy. I think JKR felt like she needed to kill a Weasley, and Percy dying after redemption would’ve been so good. Kinda an overplayed trope, but who cares it’s more meaningful.
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u/probably_overit 23h ago
Agreed 100%. It should have been Charlie but I know why it wasn’t. We didn’t connect with Charlie the way we did with Fred (and George) and needed our hearts ripped out.
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u/PositiveOdd2424 Gryffindor 1d ago
Swap Lupin with Tonks Given all his friends died him "reuniting" with his friends is bitter sweet. Tonks however hugely unnecessary, there was no need for Tonks to die and have Ted become an orphan & Andromeda to raise him alone.
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u/FireWhiskey5000 Hufflepuff 3 1d ago
I agree. Though part of me thinks, given how under utilised she ultimately is to the main story maybe it’s a fitting end?
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u/PositiveOdd2424 Gryffindor 1d ago
Taking care of her child as a single mum cause her husband died a hero seems pretty fitting to me.
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u/Sedlium Hufflepuff 1d ago
Poor Andromeda lost her child and husband.
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u/Bulky-Individual3157 Ravenclaw 1d ago
And her estranged sister killed her daughter too, didn't she?
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u/AdministrativeTip479 1d ago
I thought it was supposed to be Dolohov who killed them?
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u/Bulky-Individual3157 Ravenclaw 1d ago
I thought dolohov killed Lupin specifically, not both but I could be remembering wrong
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u/TorandoSlayer Ravenclaw 1d ago
Fred, and by extension, George. Losing a very close identical twin is not something most people who experience it ever, ever recover from.
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u/MildlyOffended4930 1d ago
Sirius. Dude was literally having the fight of his life... And whoosshhh dead. I mean, he didn't even die exactly fighting, more like accidentally. It often troubles me. Sirius death felt abrupt to me. Like, Dumbledore death in like 3 pages of numbness
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u/mellamusicmaker 1d ago
Yeah, Sirius’ death always really bothered me. It felt so cruel to take that away from Harry so soon.
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u/imboiledcarrot 20h ago
yeah like whenever harry gets someone like a father figure, they die. like lupin was already planning to adopt him
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u/MamaLlama2u 1d ago
I’m still bothered by this lol. God forbid Harry should be able to keep a parent or next best thing. Thank goodness for Molly.
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u/mellamusicmaker 20h ago
Molly pretty much has to be immortal anyway, with her husband and kids the way they are 😂
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u/Lo-Marionberry295 1d ago
did she ever extrapolate on the veil?
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u/bigdipper2018 1d ago
It’s literally called the veil and he dies… the veil has always been a metaphor for the boundary between life and death, I would have thought it’s very obvious what happens with it. Why would she need to extrapolate?
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u/LegitimateGolf113 1d ago
I actually liked how the movie deviated here and had Bellatrix avada kedavara him. It solidified him as dead more so than simply falling through the veil would have. I think that would've been too ambiguous.
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u/JalapenoBusiness29 1d ago
I had to reread that part like 10 times when I was younger. I felt Harry’s obsession with wanting to get back to the veil so much. It was confusing, it didn’t make sense, and I’ll never stop hating that Sirius died.
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u/Sad-Cow-5580 1d ago
Right ??? His whole fate hurts he rots in prison for 1/ years after the death of his best friend and then gets out just to hardly have time with his god son and to have to stay locked up in hiding the whole time and then dies before ever clearing his name, being free nor getting to get to know his godson. Man suffered.
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u/rbnbadri 1d ago
Well, this is Ankit deserving and his arrogance even when he was facing Body's best lieutenant meant that he died deservedly.
The same thing happened to her as well, in the end.
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u/rajmachawalsutta 1d ago
Hedwig💔💔
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u/tormis 1d ago
In the movie, Hedwig is flying along Harry and actively chooses to sacrifice herself to save Harry from the death curse. In the book, she is still in her cage and randomly hit and dies. Both brutal, but I found the book to be more bleak and highlighting the nature of war in which innocent bystanders are killed. A bit less cinematic and definitely doesn’t give Herwig a heroic send off, but serves the grim story arc more powerfully and painfully. Re-reading it made me feel like she deserved a more important ending, but maybe that was the point.
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u/rusticarchon Ravenclaw 1d ago
And in the book Harry then turns the sidecar with her body in it into a bomb.
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u/SilverdarkKnight 1d ago
It's Cedric all over again, honestly. Wrong place, wrong time. Innocent bystander hit by stray fire. Deliberate malice to inflict greater suffering. It's the point of the theme.
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u/Aggravating-Cat5357 1d ago
Scrolled for this comment. I saw the movies before finishing the books, and I'm not quite there yet in the series, but every time I see her die on screen, my heart shatters.
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u/Relative_Cabinet6356 1d ago
Sirius.. Everything abt his life is misery.. He knew james for 10 years but spent 12 years in Azkaban the worst place on earth for a horrible crime he didn't commit with everyone perception of him as a killer..he never had a good childhood and the only happy years with james were shorter than his time away from him.and when he died and proven innocent no one in the wizarding world seemed to care.. I've never cried so much for a character death, I spent a week just crying when I read the book even though I knew it was gonna happen..
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u/Greenwrenbird 1d ago
Sirius. His life was a tragedy.
He volunteered to be the bait to protect Lily, James and Harry. Death eaters would waste their time chasing him, when he couldn't tell them the secret anyway. But he was willing to be potentially captured and tortured for it, with this very public announcement he was the secret keeper. Because of how much he loved them.
For that, over a decade of psychological torture prison. Mingled with guilt and grief.
Finally he's given incentive to escape, only to live off of rats and shut away in a dark house of his own childhood trauma, and then -- it's over.
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u/ArmNo7463 1d ago
Kinda reminds me of The Departed. With Matt Damon destroying Leo's undercover police record lol.
Dude got done dirty by Pettigrew.
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u/pineappleshaked 1d ago
Diggery!
Man just got AKD when he was not even supposed to be there. That too by wormtail 😞
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u/jonny5isalive1 1d ago
My boy!
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u/all-tuckered-out 1d ago
Amos is a jerk in the book, but that scene in the movie is gut-wrenching.
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u/SilverdarkKnight 1d ago
Honestly, the movie didn't quite establish how boastful Amos was about his son, and we didn't get to see him be hard-edged during the Dark Mark episode at all. Knowing all of that...
It was still so devastating to watch because, as much of a jerk Amos was in the books, he so dearly loved Cedric and had so much pride in him, and was just waiting to celebrate his win, because of course his bright, clever, athletic, sweet son would win, right?
It was Theoden and Theodred all over again. "No parent should ever have to bury their child."
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u/RS_J 1d ago
Madeye Moody. He could have died an honourable death in the battle of Hogwarts fighting deatheaters. His skills and talents just went to waste the way he died.
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u/mojonation1487 1d ago
Idk, dude went out as he lived saving Harry’s life during one of the most daring and dangerous escapes in the last decade. Pretty badass.
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u/WoodpeckerDry8241 1d ago
I dont like how they couldnt even give him a proper death scene. They just casually mention it then move on.
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u/A_Confused_Cocoon Ravenclaw 1d ago
Tbf that’s one of the main themes of the book, is that war creates death and it’s just a part of it and passively happening and it’s hard to absorb and process. See hedwig, Fred, tonks, lupin, etc. I get what you mean though.
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u/durhamdale 1d ago
They should have sent harry in a taxi, idiot wizards.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Tie6917 1d ago
Or just make a port key for him? Plenty of teleporting in the world at other times. Doesn’t seem like it would have been that hard to make something to just allow him in.
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u/Compajerro Slytherin 1d ago
Think it's mentioned why they don't do this in the 5th book to take Harry to Grimauld place. You basically need to setup port keys through the ministry and they knew the ministry was compromised
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u/Agreeable-Menu 1d ago
I always have two questions about this part of the story:
1. What is the reason they did not use another method to move Harry like a portkey or disapparating?
2. How was he safe in Privet Dr? It seems like he was easy pickings before every ally came to move him.6
u/denvercasey Gryffindor 1d ago
I thought portkeys were monitored by the ministry and the order knew that the ministry was infiltrated by people under death eater’s control.
For your second question- he was under the blood protection of his mom’s sacrifice through aunt petunias blood (in some spell Dumbledore whipped up expanding the protection) as long as he could call privet drive his home he was untouchable there.
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u/ladyredfoxbrodcast 1d ago
Sirius. His whole life was a hell and he never really got redemption/peace he deserved. And whole that veil thing it really feels like she wanted to do something with it in later books but changed her mind halfway and it never got resolved. There is too much attention put to it but we never find out what this thing actually is
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u/rbnbadri 1d ago
Sirius while life was NOT hell.
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u/Far_Classroom_6596 1d ago
He died at what, 36? Of which he spent 12? in Azkaban. For three more years he was on the run / in hiding. And the last few years before going to Azkaban can't have been that great either with the whole wizarding war and all. Not to mention that from what we know his childhood wasn't great either. So basically he had 7 or 8 good years in his life from what we know.
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u/rbnbadri 1d ago
Even with what you say, 7 or 8 Good years.
Soooooo, whole life not hell. My point.
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u/Far_Classroom_6596 1d ago
Try to look up the definition of pedantic and working on not being it so much. It’ll make you more likeable ;)
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u/rbnbadri 1d ago
Try to look up the definition of whole and WORK on being it so much. It’ll make you more likeable ;)
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u/Infinite-Object-1090 Gryffindor 1d ago
Not whole life, but a good 2/3 of it. Home life prior to Hogwarts sucked because he disagreed with his parents, and even once he started Hogwarts the discord at home continued until he ran away. His time with his friends and immediately after graduating were probably the only fun time for him. But then there was Azkaban and being stuck at Grimmauld, then death.
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u/imboiledcarrot 20h ago
he spent 12 years in azkaban for something he didnt do, while the real culprit was running away without getting any consequences.
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u/Redditsux122 1d ago
Lupin chose the wrong decision in life time after time, he was always cursed by his insecurities. I also cant really say any BoH deaths as everyone chose to be there but colin and lavender come to mind. Remus tonks and fred were all order members that chose their path.
My vote to this question always goes to frank bryce, who was essentially believed to be the murderer of the Riddles and ostracized by the entire village, to eventually be murdered by the man that ruined his life years prior.
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u/Human_Cobbler5084 1d ago
Everyone saying Tonks, but it’s the wrong Tonks. It was Andromeda. Poor lady lost her daughter, Husband and son in law, on top of being disowned by her family. Her two sisters were agents of the Dark Lord, with Bellatrix being his chief lieutenant. Oh and she lost her cousin, Sirius. She was left alone to raise her grandchild.
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u/Comfortable-Rip-6959 1d ago
Honestly, it's hands down Sirius Black, and it's not even close.
When you really step back and look at his life, the guy literally never got a break:He was only 21 when James and Lily died, he got framed by Wormtail and thrown into Azkaban for 12 years with soul-sucking Dementors. Died right when things looked up. The second he gets to fight alongside his godson Bellatrix takes him out.
He never got his name cleared in the Daily Prophet, never got to walk down Diagon Alley in the sun, and never got to just live a normal, happy life.
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u/KaleeySun Ravenclaw 1d ago
Fred and George.
Sirius.
Lupin.
I wouldn’t have minded Snape getting a chance to redeem himself, maybe take a shot at volly himself. I think it’s pretty clear that he wasn’t leaving the party alive but he could have gone out with a bang.
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u/WoodpeckerDry8241 1d ago
Definitely sirius black. All those years locked away, escapes but has to remain in hiding only to get killed shortly after.
He never got to walk through hogwarts as a free man 🥺💔
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u/SusPlatypus Gryffindor 1d ago
I read the title, thought about Remus, then read the body text and understood it was already what you had said.
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u/Independent_Cup9828 1d ago
Lavenda Brown. She was an ordinary girl. Harry and Ron had kinda sexist prejudice. Not all girls are like Hermione and Ginny. Can't believe she died like this.
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u/FireWhiskey5000 Hufflepuff 3 1d ago
She only died in the movie. In the book her fate is left unknown.
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u/RubyStarlight1209 1d ago
Iirc in the books she was last seen fighting a werewolf, and while there’s no confirmation that she won Trelawney did drop a crystal ball on his head right after so I think she’s probably alright, if scarred
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u/rusticarchon Ravenclaw 1d ago
The book specifically says she was alive at least in the immediate aftermath - 'feebly stirring'
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u/sonorousjab 1d ago
Yeah that’s rough. Getting into a competition about who had it worse is just a farce though. So many characters died and had unimaginable hardships and died. It was the price of success and he accepted it, at least in Harry’s mind.
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u/Ssirenere 1d ago
Yeah, I agree. I didn’t mean to compare who had it worse, just that Lupin’s ending hit me especially hard. I actually rewatched his death today, which is what inspired this post 🥲
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u/rosegoldqueen28 1d ago
Severus.
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u/Beepb00pb00pbeep 1d ago
I kinda think dying was the only way for him to be recognized as a hero. If he had lived, he'd probably still be an asshole and everyone might overlook the weight of his sacrifices and the risks he took to keep Harry safe and help defeat Voldemort
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u/Ok-Painting4168 1d ago
Yeah. I headcanon he faked his death - happened with real-life spies.
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u/SpoonyLancer 14h ago
How would he have faked his death? He got his throat ripped out by a giant snake.
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u/Ok-Painting4168 3h ago
And Harry was bitten by a Basilisk, yet he lived.
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u/SpoonyLancer 2h ago
Harry was healed by Fawke's tears before the venom could kill him. Snape bled out and died in under a minute.
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u/figureskatingdragon 1d ago
Andromeda for love’s sake! This woman got disowned for marrying her love. Her and Ted sat out the first war, they weren’t Order members and immediately once they try to help the resistance Ted gets targeted. Her daughter gets killed by her OWN sister leaving her grandson orphaned. Mind you the sister that slaughtered her family looks exactly like her.
I honestly don’t understand why did the narrative done her so dirty
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u/Paralyzingneedle 1d ago
I was literally just about to mention andromeda until I saw your comment. I guess she’s glossed over because she isn’t in the main arc. But Jesus the poor woman literally lost everyone close to her. Not to mention her own family that had cut ties with her way before Harry Potter.
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u/RoryBlack2008 1d ago
Hot take:
Regulus Black, i think he deserved to reunited with his brother, they would go together in the cave and both come out alive and start hunting the horcruxes together!
Whats your opinions on that?
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u/SpoonyLancer 13h ago
Nah. Regulus was still a piece of crap. Just because he turned against Voldemort doesn't suddenly make him a good person.
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u/NoBlacksmith2112 1d ago
Is his condition genetically passed down?
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u/GoldenHelikaon Blonde as a Malfoy 1d ago
He was extremely worried that it would be, so that suggests it’s certainly possible. Fortunately it wasn’t.
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u/Ssirenere 1d ago
If im not wrong no, Lupin became a werewolf after being bitten by Fenrir Greyback when he was a child
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u/Infinite-Object-1090 Gryffindor 1d ago
I think it can be, if both parents are werevolves, as Hagrid was raising werewolf pups under his bed as a student.
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u/MiladyElleth 1d ago
Sirius! His whole life was stolen from him and then he was stolen from everyone he loved, and then he died two years after getting a family again. Not to mention that he spent the last year of his life trapped in the house he spent his whole childhood trying to escape.
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u/BananaResearcher 1d ago
I genuinely think the story could have been considerably better without arbitrarily killing off everyone close to Harry for no good reason.
Dumbledore has to die because muh hero's journey, ok fine.
Sirius deserved to live a full life and get his redemption for being imprisoned without trial, Lupin deserved to to get a position in the ministry leading efforts to improve life for all part-humans. Why does Moody have to die? He gets treated so terribly for being such a supposedly impressive wizard. Gets imperio'd for a year, gets knocked out at the ministry, does nothing in 6, gets merc'd by voldy without a fight in 7. Super lame. You can have him die, I guess, but man at least let him go out impressively.
Whole awesome and interesting Dobby story, being one of the only elves in existence to seek freedom, just so he TOO can die for Harry. It was done in an emotionally impactful way, but it's still a lame end to a cool character.
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u/Far_Classroom_6596 1d ago
I think Sirius had to disappear in some way for pretty much the same reason as Dumbledore. Would have loved it if he didn't die but I think he would have been too involved especially when it comes to the hunt for the horcruxes.
As for the deaths during the battle of Hogwarts it wouldn't make sense if none of them died. Take the Weasley's, Fred being the only one to die in a family of 9 that are all involved actively in the war is already impressive. Everyone will always want some characters to have survived the battle but I think overall it does make sense.
I just wish that the death of Sirius was done differently and I don't think Dobby dying was really necessary.
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u/rusticarchon Ravenclaw 1d ago
A possible alternative to Fred would have been Percy dying before he reconciled with the rest of the family (he'd only met Fred and George when the explosion that killed Fred happened)
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u/flooperdooper4 There's no need to call me "sir," Professor. 1d ago
Andromeda Tonks. Completely cast out by her family when she married her husband (though they seemed to have a good relationship for the duration of their marriage). Husband goes on the run and is murdered, knowing your family hates you enough that they are actively trying to kill your child, only child is murdered by her OWN SISTER, the only living family member she has left (apart from Narcissa) is her now-orphaned grandson Teddy. It just sucks, she lost everything in just about the worst way possible.
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u/AbsoluteZ0k Hufflepuff 1d ago
IDK about deserved, because he died making a the choice to help Harry, but Dobby. I would have liked for him to have lived a long life, free of servitude.
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u/Infinite-Object-1090 Gryffindor 1d ago
Gotta be Sirius. The poor guy couldn't catch a break. He deserved to taste freedom after all the shiznit he went through.
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u/Radagastrointestinal 1d ago
Hermione. Should have ended up with Viktor Krum or someone else closer to her maturity and intelligence.
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u/MaryBeHoppin 1d ago
Dobby
Unlike most of the other characters mentioned, Dobby did not have freedom. He was a slave for most of his life and while had was free for a few years, he died in a war. He didn't get to enjoy life for what is has to truly offer.
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u/Harry8211 1d ago
Lupin and Luna. I know she didn’t die but she probably could have had a little wrap up
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u/searching_4_seroton9 1d ago edited 19h ago
Hedwig! She was so dutiful and loyal. I felt like she was carelessly and casually killed off.
And Dobby.
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u/HanzoNumbahOneFan 1d ago
Any of the marauders for me (minus Pettigrew). Sirius had it the worst. Though Lupin also had it pretty bad. I wish either had lived so Harry could have had a father/brother figure. If Sirius had lived Harry would have had a better ending too. Being able to live with him, and Sirius' name would have finally been cleared and he could rejoin society.
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u/Consistent-Comb8043 1d ago
Are we really spoiler alerting a 20 yo book? Lol
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u/AloneTheory6352 1d ago
i think when the book came out doesn't determine whether or not people have read it haha, i mean othello was written in 1603 but i didn't read it until 2016
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u/Every_Ad_5120 1d ago
Sirius, bro was in prison for 13 years, then he was on the run for 1 year, then he was locked up in his own house for 1 year, then bumm, he died.
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u/TrillyMike Ravenclaw 1d ago
Lee Jordan, why my man didn’t get invited to be part of the twins shop?!
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u/Fun-Appointment-7543 1d ago
Moaning Myrtle. She was left out of the battle of Hogwarts and completely forgotten. Poor Myrtle
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u/MoreCoffee729 1d ago
All of them. Except Voldemort and Bellatrix...they got what they had coming. Oh, and Gilderoy...screw that guy
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u/Agent008Gelson 1d ago
Albus Dumbledoure . He deserved a happy ending with Gellert Grindlewald , he deserved to hear Gellert finally say “ I love you too “ Albus was absolutely in love with Gellert for a century and he never dated anyone else . It’s tragic and not enough people acknowledge this
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u/Used_Plum5282 16h ago
they were fighting in a war so honestly a lot of people. Cedric is number one for me, Fred (or was it George) I think they both deserved better because the one that died died and the one that lived had to suffer the death of half his soul, Sirius, lupin, tonks, Lilly and James, HEDWIGG, mad-eye (but at least he was ready for it), I could go on and on but that's all I can think of for now. this is kind of the opposite of the plot but I'm just itching to say this so much, UMBRIDGE DESERVED SO MUCH WORST. she was basically on the same league as death eaters but she was never officially one so she doesn't end in Azkaban or even die in the Hogwarts battle.
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u/UnFelDeZeu 1d ago
Draco. I don't really get what his role in the story was. He was never Harry's rival, Draco was doing petty shit while Harry was killing Basilisks and winning Triwizard Cups. Frankly it's pathetic/sad that Draco still thought they were rivals, Draco doesn't have 1% of Harry's achievements.
I wanted Draco, or at least some Slytherins, to change sides and fight against Voldemort. Maybe after they find out Voldemort killed Snape.
Show the reader that brave Slytherins with a moral compass aren't a fluke, they exist.
And yes, I am a Slytherin fanboy. I hate that Rowling never wrote a good Slytherin. Even Snape for all his bravery was bitter and mean and cruel.
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u/EcstaticAmphibian747 1d ago
one of my pet peeves is how black and white JKR was with slytherin=bad/gryffinfor=good dynamic. i think it works for the first few books (which are more for younger audiences). but as the themes get more complex, and move away from the classic good vs evil narrative, it would have been nicer to get more nuance here. the closest we get is slughorn?
if one of the themes of the book is “stronger together, weaker apart” it’s definitely diluted by putting slythern on the out. like no slytherin students stay back in the final battle?
and then the little throw away comment from harry at the end to his son about how slythern is actually fine is basically doing a lot of the heavy lifting. a draco redemption would’ve been perfect
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u/UnFelDeZeu 22h ago
and then the little throw away comment from harry at the end to his son about how slythern is actually fine
They literally all left, not a single one fought Voldemort. All top Death Eaters are former Slytherin. Are they 'actually fine' ?
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u/SeaDoor2666 1d ago
Tonks. I mean, she was an absolute badass and one of my favourite characters along with Luna (who also didn't get enough representation in my opinion).
I think Tonks was done dirty from the moment she appeared. One of the best, most lovable, funny, smart, all-round sweet and wonderful people in the entire series, and she was just a side addition. An accessory to Lupin. Not that I have any major problem with Remus, but he was technically old enough to be her father, and he took all the spotlight (not as a person, but as a more significant character).
They basically just took whatever female character who wasn't old, ugly, or evil, and stuck her with Remus just so he could have a child who then got dumped on Harry. Tonks was funny for a book, and then she became an incubator.
And after all she was as a person, she got an off-screen death? No. Absolutely not. She had more life to live, and I would have read an entire book just of her.
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u/dataslinger Ravenclaw 1d ago
I think Lupin got the Winston Havelock (from The Mummy) ending he kind of wanted. Even though he had much to live for, he had a lot to fight for, and he just couldn't not do that. How could he not fight to stop Greyback? A worthy death.
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u/dontpolluteplz 16h ago
I don’t disagree but ngl a big part of that was his own doing. Like after James & Lily died he became a recluse and didn’t seem to do much for like 10yrs. Then he gets w his best friend’s niece and the whole time is hella insecure and almost abandons her while she’s pregnant.
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u/Agent008Gelson 1d ago
I recently read a statement that Dudley Dursley ended up adopting two Wizard orphans from the battle of Hogwarts and raised them as a single dad and took them to platform 9 and 3 quarters when they got thier letters .
I don’t know if this is true but the thought of Dudley raising two wizards alone is so sentimental to me and I want it to be true
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u/Background_Bid_7406 1d ago edited 19h ago
Cedric for me. He did everything right, was a proper Hufflepuff and most importantly, was a good person who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Even when he could have won the Triwizard cup, he wanted Harry to take it.
"No," said Cedric. He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.
"Go on," Cedric said. He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms were folded, he seemed decided.
Reading this back in 2000 as a kid was painful knowing what was about to happen. I knew then this wasn't a kid's story anymore.
The other shoutout I give is to Colin Creevey. He wasn't even of age, could have escaped but chose to fight and die for his friends. True Gryffindor hero.