She could've killed off Ron parents so he, too, could've known the pain of being an orphan.

JK Rowling

I thought it was MR. Weasley and only Mr. Weasley she wimped out on killing. Because, you know, so many parents died in the series.

WHY ARE YOU CHANGING YOUR STORY NOW, JO? HRMM? IS IT THE MONEY? THE NEED FOR CONSTANT SPOTLIGHTS OF ATTENTION?

I was, like Hugh, going to answer JK, but then I realized all the fundies she pissed off and decided she deserved a pass.

"JK Rowling"

Tough crowd.

Tough crowd.
posted by arse_hat

If only we had a term for this. ;-P

I wanted to see Hagrid being forced to choose between the kids and the animals...and we were never told how his father died.

Harry and Hermione? Never. She could have killed off Ron at any time and scarred Harry further. I remember being upset the owl got it.
She could have killed Hermione, her alter ego font of information. That would have been a very different book.

Oh, heh, I didn't mean Harry and Hermione romantically. I would have liked Hermione to play a more involved role overall.

Harry himself. You just don't get a good Christ analogue if they survive to marry the minor character and live happily ever actor.

To quote From Dusk Til Dawn: Now let's kill that fucking band.

That "rock" band from the Yule Ball.

Kill Jarvis Cocker?

So, here's something (apologies for the length):

I'd never read any of the books, but I enjoyed the movies immensely. When the final book came out, there was a thread on MetaFilter about all the excitement and hysteria and there were a few spoilers. And I remember reading one spoiler about how in the final battle, Ron sacrifices his life to save Harry's. And I stopped reading spoilers, because that seemed like such an awesome statement of love and good triumphing over evil, and I didn't want the final movie to be spoiled.

So....I watch the final two movies, and every time I see old Ron--poor old doomed-to-die Ron--I think, "Man, I'm gonna lose my shit when he dies." And then, the finale of the last movie, and I see where Ron is about to die. I can feel it. The pacing is there, it's about to happen and then...oh. He's alive. Huh. So, I enjoy the ending, but I wonder 1. why they CHANGED Ron's death and 2. why I hadn't heard an OUTCRY of fans when he lived.

I leave the theater and I call a friend who has read all of the books and I ask her why they changed the ending and Ron didn't die. She's confused and says that Ron NEVER DIED in the books, and now I'm confused. Had I made it all up in my mind?

TWO MONTHS LATER, I'm talking to a friend about the final movie (he also loved the movies, never read the books) and I sheepishly tell him about how I thought Ron was a goner in the final film. And he says, "Yeah? Me too, because of that spoiler I read from MetaFilter." I HAD NOT MADE IT UP! Both of us had read a fake spoiler and both of us had gone into the final film, steeling ourselves for Ron's tragic death.

(We both agreed, though, that our imagined ending was a much better one--happy reunions notwithstanding)

I'm sorry. It was funny to me, at the expense of people who care about this. You deserve a thread free of non-fans. I regret pressing post, and I should have thought things through a little more.

Hey, man, you made me laugh. Don't sweat it.

Hugh Janus I came here to post the exact same thing. You win this round, sir!

OMG Ardiril is a sekrit Harry/Hermione Shipper! *mind boggles*

gomi: see here. :) I think Hermione got short-changed and should have played a more important role overall. Even with the time portal charm, her role was more that of a catalyst than a facilitator. A love interest between Harry and Hermione would have been a cliche.