For the uninitiated, 2nd May is the anniversary of the fictional “Battle of Hogwarts” which happened at the end of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.
In honour of the epic battle, British author J.K. Rowling took to Twitter to apologise for killing off Severus Snape aka Professor Snape. She wrote, “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*”.
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
However, her choice this year sparked a lively debate among Potterheads. As many of you may already know, the potions professor was a former Death Eater and Harry Potter’s least favourite teacher. Although he helped Harry overturn Voldemort, he made the boy’s life extremely difficult during his time in Hogwarts. Despite being on the “good side”, he was extremely cruel to a lot of young students.
So it’s not hard to why some fans did not seem to sympathise his death very much:
He also bullied Harry and tried to make his school life hell just because he was petty and bitter???
— 🎭 (@notalwayshere__) May 2, 2017
Snape was only for in it for himself.
— Bridget (she/her/hers) (@dadiva18) May 2, 2017
I think snape was racist to his very core & would have been totally pro to the entire muggle vs magic war, if it werent for lily.
— 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑥 ☽ (@_gyuseokhao) May 2, 2017
Honestly, we were devastated when Snape died. We felt that he was deeply misunderstood. He may have chose the Dark Arts over Harry’s mother Lily (the woman he loved) in the past, but people make mistakes, not to mention he saved Harry on a few occasions.
Here are what other Potterheads have to say:
https://twitter.com/ayoitsamira/status/859413131596091393
It made sense for the story. We love him so much… pic.twitter.com/WrYizZ9M54
— Nick Ellis (@NickEllis) May 2, 2017
He CHANGED. His love for Lily changed him. Everyone has a reason to be on the "good side", right? This was Snape's.
— Laya B Giri (@truthslayer_91) May 2, 2017
In 2015, Rowling apologised for killing off Remus Lupin and last year, she apologised to Fred Weasley.
What are your thoughts on Snape’s death? Feel free to leave us a comment below!
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, The Verge, Gizmodo.