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Hedwig
What is the reason to kill her off? JK took 90% of Harry’s loved ones so the loss factor has already been fulfilled. Hedwig could’ve stayed somewhere for the entire last book and been reunited later with Harry. She’s a smart bird she knows what’s up and knows she needs to stay quite too. Honestly just the mention of her in the epilogue with Albus’s worries of mail and how often they would write would’ve been fantastic.
It kind of sets the tone for the book tho. No one, not even the innocent, is safe. Also the author said something like it was symbolic as the end of Harry's innocence or childhood.
90% he still had Ginny , hagrid, Ron hermione. The rest of the wesleys. Luna and Neville.
Ok so his mom dad and god father being dead literally make up the 90% not to mention his grandparents he never met. Friends become family they don’t replace family and nix Ginny from your argument that was a late book add in(also a lazy writing add in).
Your post says loved ones. Also if friends, his wife, and the family that he grew up with not counting, then why would an owl?
His grandparents whom he never met? They make the cut? And why can’t we use Ginny. He fell for her before Hedwig died.
JKR said it was Symbolic, The Death of Harry’s Innocence/Childhood is how she put it. Yeah it sucks, but it did set the tone for the rest of the book, showing that this is not going to be easy and it’s not going to be what you think it is.
And his dear Firebolt!
the death of his childhood like others have said, but also it drives home that death in war can be random and meaningless, and no one is safe
I think Hedwig's death was supposed to represent the death of Harry's childhood, to show that truly no one is safe. Rowling likely did it to cut off Harry and the others from the world too. Now they were truly alone and isolated.
At least they gave her a sort of heroic death in the movie. In the book she is killed while still in her cage.
It cuts him off, so they can’t communicate with the outside world.
What upsets me is, why the hell didn’t he just let her free and tell her to meet him there?
Her death symbolizes the abrupt end of his childhood. Also, it would have been weird to have hedwig with them, especially when they were trying to disguise themselves.