JK Rowling Tweets Apology for Killing Severus Snape in Harry Potter

In the years since the end of her beloved Harry Potter series, Jk Rowling‘s has expressed a number of different regrets in regards to decisions she made for the books. Yesterday, the writer expressed a new one over twitter, she apologized for killing Snape.

Professor Snape went from one of the most hated characters in the series at the outset, always seemingly working against our heroes, to one of the most beloved and tragic personalities in Harry Potter history. It was revealed late in the series that the Dark Arts teacher had been secretly watching and protecting out of a love for his mother, despite his hatred of James Potter.

OK, here it is. Please don't start flame wars over it, but this year I'd like to apologise for killing (whispers)… Snape. *runs for cover*

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2017

The character and his attributes were portrayed perfectly on screen as well, played by Actor Alan Rickman, enhancing his story and letting it resonate with an entire group of people who haven’t seen the books, and letting the tragic tale come to life for dedicated fans.

Her apology, which she tweeted in the earlier hours of the morning, is even more significant given the date it was posted. May 2nd is the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and has become a date where, every year, Rowling’s has been apologizing for killing off a character.

In 2016, it was Remus Lupin (who was played by David Thewlis in the Harry Potter movie series) and the year before that it was Fred Weasley (James Phelps). While Rowling’s is apologizing for the Harry Potter character deaths, it’s worth noting that the books and movies were made far more compelling as a result of them, because of the stakes their deaths raised.

So as much as we all came to love snape, and Rickman’s performance, it all felt like a necessary evil to make a compelling story.