For those who have already read HP7, a question. Spoilers in thread!!

[hyphenate]

Jo Rowling said not that long ago, probably after she finished the first draft, that there were two major deaths in #7, and one of them was one that she didn't originally intend to kill, but who was in the right place at the wrong time, and she killed them. She said it was one of her favorite characters and she said she cried when she sent them to literary heaven.

Which of the multiple deaths in #7 do you think she was talking about? Or do you think she was just trying to stir up some hype?

I haven't finished the book yet--I'm working on it!--but I'd love to hear who others think might be the unfortunate one that Rowling was particularly attached to.

[China_cat]

1. Tonks

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. fred

[Ava]

3. that was my thought too

either fred or lupin. fred was one of my favorite characters.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. can you imagine poor george without fred?

atleast lupin and tonks got to die together.

:cry:

[Ava]

7. yeah, but now then their child had no parents

:cry:

but fred's death was the saddest to me. :(

dobbie's death was also really sad to me.

[SharonRB]

16. He was the first one who came into my mind, too.

[GumboYaYa]

5. Dobbie n/t

[Debi]

6. Hedwig n/t

[LostinVA]

13. That's what I think

[Debi]

15. Hey, get your own ideas

;)

[kay1864]

8. That's not how I remember it

I thought she said that one lives who originally was going to die, and two others die who were going to live.

I think the two are Tonks and Lupin.

More important though...

Why would you post this if you haven't finished the book? Have you already read spoilers?

[hyphenate]

10. Oh, yeah, I've read spoilers

It doesn't bother me at all. I've always enjoyed the ride as much as the destination, and knowing things often makes me able to spot foreshadowing and other clues along the way.

I know many can't and won't read them, but I'm perfectly happy knowing ahead of time what I should be looking for. In fact, and this does not pertain to HP, I've often gone straight to the last page for some books which were interminably boring, just to see if the books were worth finishing. Considering I used to read a book a week, and sometimes more, it's one of those things which saved me the drudgery of finishing something not worth bothering with. Of course I can't use that formula on non-fiction books, but it sure as hell helps when most of your fiction is SF&F or mysteries. It's one of the ways I filter out writers who bore the bejeezus out of me and narrow my often huge list of authors to read.

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Voldemort.

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. I'm thinking, if she cried, it was pobably Lupin.

Part of the hero's quest is to have everything, or near everything, pulled from the hero, so I imagine Rowling already had planned to off Hedwig.

Dobbie doesn't really seem to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time in a way that would surprise Rowling - his death seems rather intentional.

Fred I think was planned, since he was part of a pair, and thus one of them is disposable, and he filled an essential niche in the long trail of people injured/dead because of protecting Harry, so that Voldemort could taunt him even more.

Tonks wasn't a major enough character to cry over.

Mad-Eye and Snape I'm pretty sure were intentional. Certainly Snape was, but I think Rowling also knew that Mad-Eye had to taken out to make things more difficult for Harry.

So, my guess is Lupin.

[JoDog]

12. Right Place?

How do we know if Lupin and Tonks were in the right place at the wrong time? We never got any details about their deaths. Last we hear, Lupin is in a duel, and Tonks runs off to join the fight. Then we see them dead in the Great Hall. Bam. That's it. We don't know how they died, who killed them and who died first.

I vote for Dobby. His death fits the "right place" (at Harry's side helping him) "wrong time" (just as Bellatrix threw her knife) set up.

[SocratesInSpirit]

14. It was Mr. Weasley who got the reprieve

JK Rowling answers that question in this article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19935372/

[kay1864]

17. Woo-hoo, I was right!

I guessed either Arthur or Hagrid. But I'm glad to hear it from JKR herself. Thanks SiS!