I had given up reading the series entirely after Sirius died, and I had thought I’d never pick up the sixth or seventh ever when I heard whispers about Dumbledore, Snape and Lupin. Then again, I had never stopped wondering about Harry, so after so many years, I finished the series just last year… But not before I typed in “Fred Weasley” on the engine and found out that he died as well — just what I was dreading even if I was only half aware of it. I don’t even know why I typed his name first out of all the characters whose fate I’d been sensitive about, but there it was… As smooth as the way he left, first result on Google: “Fred Weasley I (1 April 1978 - 2 May 1998)”. Still, I smiled at the end, but JK left so many holes, so… I felt both satisfied and yet tense with possibilities the way only Potter fans can get creative. Anyway, it was weird how I kept freaking out at the start of each chapter, steeling myself against Fred’s looming demise… I thought I’d care more for Snape, and The Prince did seriously break me, but Fred totally shut my reality out. I still don’t understand why, more than everyone else’s, his death ticks me off.