This Harry Potter Theory Might Make You Feel Better About a Certain Character's Death

Maybe this devastating loss was for the best when you add Snape into the equation

By Jenna Mullins Dec 07, 2015 7:55 PMTags
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Look, we hate bringing up heartbreaking Harry Potter deaths. It's probably the worst thing to do to a HP fan. Don't believe us? Find someone who has read the books or loves the movies and say the word "always" to them. See what happens.

Anyway, the reason we are bringing up Harry Potter and the loss of beloved characters is because this new theory proposed by Tumblr user Jo Marie Walker actually might make you feel better about a death that takes place in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

We're talking about Harry's trusted, snowy companion Hedwig, who died at the hands of a Death Eater during the Battle of the Seven Potters.

This theory is about the identity of Hedwig's killer, and how that moment might be much deeper than it seems. We never find out who kills Hedwig; it's just a masked Death Eater. And though this theory applies to the book version of her death, the same could probably be said for the movie version.

As you know, everyone drank Polyjuice potion so they could all look like Harry before taking to the skies. Knowing Death Eaters would be after the Boy Who Lived, this plan was meant to distract and fool Voldemort's crew from finding the real Harry.

Of course, when one of them has a bright, white owl with them, the Death Eaters don't have to be detectives to figure out which one is the real Potter. He may be the Chosen One, but damn it, he's kind of thick, isn't he? Trying to hide from Death Eaters? Better bring the one animal that will distinguish you from the rest! Silly boy.

So eventually, a Death Eater takes out Hedwig with a Killing Curse. It's assumed that the spell was meant for Hagrid, who was driving Harry. But what if that curse was meant to take out Hedwig all along? And what if the masked Death Eater did it to make sure Harry could get away safely? Intriguing thought, no?

Now, let's see. What kind of Death Eater would want to keep Harry alive and out of Voldemort's clutches?

Snape, of course!

We now know that everything Snape did was to honor his one true love Lily and protect her son. Maybe the death of Hedwig was a last-minute plan on Snape's part to keep the Death Eaters off his trail.

Honestly, this theory makes us feel better about the tragic death of that sweet owl. In the movie, Hedwig dies trying to save Harry by attacking the Death Eater on their tail, so we could apply this idea to that version, too. Because Hedwig was flying about all around Harry, maybe Snape took her out because she was drawing too much attention to the real Harry.

Again, this is all just a theory, but if it eases the pain of a character death in Harry Potter, we fully endorse it.

Fly free, noble Hedwig. Fly free….