JK Rowling's apology for killing off this Harry Potter character has fandom divided

JK Rowling tweets an 'apology' on the anniversary of The Battle of Hogwarts

For the Harry Potter fandom, May 2 is an important date as it marks the anniversary of the Second Wizarding War, known as The Battle of Hogwarts.



The battle ended with a decisive victory for the Order over Voldemort and his Death Eaters. However, like all battles, this one had casualties. The Harry Potter fandom saw some of its beloved characters lay down their lives in the Battle of Hogwarts.

For the past few years, author JK Rowling tweets an 'apology' on the anniversary of the battle. In her tweets, she apologises for killing off one of the numerous lovable characters during the battle.

In 2015, Rowling tweeted she was 'really sorry' about killing prankster Fred Weasley. Last year she apologised for the death of everyone's favourite werewolf and Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Remus Lupin.



However, this year's apology has the fandom divided. This year's apology comes for villain-turned-hero Severus Snape. For most of the series, Snape was portrayed in a negative light. However, a twist ending in the last few chapters of the book unveiled Snape as a spy for Dumbledore who was working undercover against Voldemort.

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

Snape is no doubt the most divisive and complex character of the series. While many hail Snape as a hero who ultimately risked his life to save Harry, others are not so easily convinced that he was a good person.

When Rowling's apology was tweeted out, Twitter immediately engaged in 'flame wars.'

Some defended the potions professor:

https://twitter.com/WelshGasDoc/status/859365762179452928

And are clearly not over the death...

You'll be apologising for that one......always. pic.twitter.com/y03inOh1wZ

— Grace; (@_gracelatter) May 2, 2017

Always my favourite character. Beautifully flawed. Luna comes a close second, then... I could go on all day.

— Cathy (@InaudibleMum) May 2, 2017

It still hurts 😢

— Julian De Vizio (@JulianDeVizio) May 2, 2017

https://twitter.com/MXNHLLNKMP/status/859365260221919232

 

Some fans, however, were having NONE of it:

https://twitter.com/emmmabooks/status/859383645290758144

https://twitter.com/oawoodward/status/859368713140797440

https://twitter.com/dilemmalord/status/859373844255125504

https://twitter.com/Runesael/status/859368550900916228