J.K. Rowling issues apology for killing Snape in 'Harry Potter'

The original “Harry Potter” series — both the books and the film franchise — have since come and gone, but its story and characters will live on in fans’ hearts for many years to come. Even the story’s creator, author J.K. Rowling, is well aware of that, having recently addressed one character death from the books that broke the hearts of many. Taking to Twitter, Rowling recently apologised for killing off Professor Severus Snape in the final “Potter” book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” No stranger to addressing concerns related to the “Potter” universe, Rowling offered an apology to fans who previously objected to Snape’s death, especially after his image was later deemed heroic after the events that occurred in the last book.

As some fans may recall, Snape had often been portrayed as a seemingly dreadful professor who was notably horrible to Harry and his friends in particular. His history as a Death Eater — one who is a faithful follower of series antagonist Lord Voldemort — only further reinforced Harry’s speculations that suggested Snape was evil. The professor’s standing was even further aggravated in the sixth book, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” due to the fact that Albus Dumbledore (the beloved Headmaster of Hogwarts) died at the hands of Snape.

However, it was later revealed in the final “Potter” book that Snape only killed Dumbledore due to the latter requesting such. Furthermore, Harry later discovered that Snape had actually been looking out for him during his entire stay at Hogwarts, especially after Snape’s history with Harry’s mother, Lily, was detailed. This later prompted Harry to name his youngest son after Snape in order to honour the professor.

Although Rowling offered an apology for Snape’s death, the feedback from fans has ultimately been divided. As Polygon reports, some fans would have rather been given an apology for Snape’s abusive behaviour towards Harry and his friends. Others have clamoured for Rowling to apologise for some of Snape’s other poor qualities, such as his inability to accept Lily’s rejection and his obsessive pining over the woman even after her death.

Though the original series concluded some years ago, the “Potter” universe still continues to grow, especially with the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” film and its upcoming sequel. The second movie will have Eddie Redmayne reprising his role as Newt Scamander and will have the return of Dumbledore — albeit a much younger iteration, seeing as “Fantastic Beasts” is set several years before the original series — in the form of Jude Law.