J.K. Rowling, who turns 50 on Friday, understood what it took to make a long-lasting pop culture franchise — namely, have it grow up with its audience. Since the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone for everyone not in the U.S.), the themes and content have gotten considerably darker and matured along with its readership. As Harry aged after each novel, so would the kids reading them.
Because of this, there’s been a number of moments during the series that can really hit a reader right in the feels (I consulted a doctor, and it turns out that the “feels” are near the kidneys). Some of them — and we won’t dance around this — involve people getting killed. So, prepare to be a little sad, and a little spoiled (okay, really spoiled) if you haven’t gotten around to this series yet, as we dive into five of the most right-in-the-feels moments from the Harry Potter series.
Remus Lupin Leaves Hogwarts
The first two books of the series — Sorcerer/Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets — certainly had their share of intense moments. However, none of them ended on any sort of sad notes. The stone ended up back in the right hands, Ginny was rescued from the chamber, and everything was — more or less — nice and tidy.
At the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, however, not everything was hunky dory. Sure, Sirius was proven innocent of betraying Harry’s parents and rescued from the Dementor. At the very end, however, Professor Remus Lupin — one of Harry’s father’s closest friends and the only teacher outside of Dumbledore who Harry could relate to — was forced to resign his Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position. All because he’s a werewolf.
It’s not as intense as some of the other moments, but, combined with Sirius having to stay on the lam, it’s still one of the first moments where not everything ends all hunky-dory for The Boy Who Lived.
Cedric Diggory Is Murdered By Voldemort
When it comes right down to it, Hogwarts isn’t any different than any other fictional school. You still have your nerds and your rich snobs and your outcasts and your jocks and your kids with peanut allergies (we assume). It’s like a magical John Hughes movie. Cedric Diggory (played by Twilight‘s Robert Pattinson in the film) fits the “popular rich kid/star athlete who should be a jerk, but is actually nice” role. He’s a direct rival to Harry in both the Triwizard Tournament, as well as socially (Diggory is dating the girl Harry’s got a thing for). But, near the end, they decide they’re friends, and they’re going to win the tournament together, you guys!
Then, Voldemort appears and straight-up has the guy murdered.
If anything, it’s the suddenness that makes it all the more sad and shocking. Cedric doesn’t die saving orphans from a fire or after a valiant battle against magic cancer or anything. Voldemort just appears, barks an order and Bang Bang You’re Dead. It’s absolutely senseless.
Sirius Black Is Killed By Bellatrix Lestrange
Considering the only family Harry has ever known — the Dursleys — treated him like he’s a fever blister, knowing he has a godfather in Sirius Black is a comforting thought. Sure, he’s on the run from the Ministry of Magic for a crime he didn’t commit, but that’s a mere technicality, isn’t it? Once they clear his name, Harry can leave the Dursleys behind and live with Sirius until he graduates Hogwarts, and, for once, he can actually be happy.
And then — in Order of the Phoenix — Black’s cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, blasts him with the Avada Kedavra curse and sends him tumbling into the Negative Zone (or wherever that portal leads to).
(Edit: We meant “cousin”, not “sister”)
Snape Kills Dumbledore
We did say “spoiler alert,” right?
If there’s anyone Harry trusted besides Ron and Hermione (and, considering Rowling’s track record, it’s amazing either of them survived the series), it was his headmaster at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. He protected Harry throughout the entire series (even if it meant ignoring him completely — look, it’s a long series; we can’t explain everything) and was, pretty much, Harry’s de facto father figure. In the first half of The Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore even relied on Harry to help him obtain one of the many Horcruxes that Voldemort has hidden around the world.
Dumbledore went through a lot to obtain the Horcrux and, afterwards, clearly wasn’t in the best shape. Still, during the book/movie’s climactic battle, no one really expected the legendary wizard to bite the magic missile — even when confronted by Draco Malfoy, who had be tasked to kill him. That’s when Severus Snape — a man seemingly no one else but Dumbledore trusted — stepped up and straight-up murdered him.
Now, we eventually find out (see below) that in obtaining the previously mentioned Horcrux, Dumbledore was slowly dying from a curse. Per an earlier arrangement, Snape had agreed to kill Dumbledore if the situation warranted it. Which, you have to admit, is a tough favor to ask of anyone, much less a formerly evil wizard who, let’s face it, will look really bad afterwards.
The Truth Behind Snape
As mentioned above, there’s a lot more to Snape than we’ve been lead to believe. By the time Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows arrived, we already discovered that Harry’s dad was kind of a dick when he was in school, and was really a dick towards Snape. But it’s not until the final entry in the series that we really get to the tragedy of the situation.
Eventually, Harry (and, by proxy, the rest of us) learns that, as a child, Snape really only had one friend — Harry’s mom, Lily. While Snape would fall in love with her, Lily would eventually go on to marry Harry’s father, James. Bitter, he would go on to side with Voldemort and join the Death Eaters, but couldn’t bring himself to harm Lily and eventually sided with the Order of the Phoenix as a double agent.
When Harry’s parents were killed by Voldemort, Snape was the first person to find their bodies (and the still-alive infant Harry). In spite of his bitterness towards James — and because of his love for Lily — Snape agreed to work with Dumbledore in order to protect their son. In return, Snape and Dumbledore became especially close, as Dumbledore was the one who vouched for Snape’s trustworthiness, despite previously working with Voldemort. Which made killing him all the more difficult.
It’s a heart-wrenching story that took place over time, but that we, as readers, only discovered in one distinct moment. It instantly changed the way we saw the characters, and is one of the real triumphs of Rowling’s storytelling during the series.
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