--- description: “*Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire*” title: J.K. Rowling Apologizes for 'Harry Potter' Character's Death image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Books](/tag/books/) ## Books Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # J.K. Rowling Apologizes for _Harry Potter_ Death by [Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 3, 2015 8:46 PM CUT by [Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 3, 2015 8:46 PM CUT Back in (the fictional) 1998, Fred Weasley died during the Battle of Hogwarts. And now, _Harry Potter_ writer J.K. Rowling is apologizing for it. “Today I would just like to say: I’m really sorry about Fred,” she tweeted about the ginger’s demise in 2007’s _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. “\*Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire\*” Rowling chose May 2 of all days to express her regret because that date marks the 17th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, [she explained Saturday on Twitter](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/594073697260044290 "undefined"). “I thought I might apologise for one death per anniversary,” [she wrote](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/594410502882754561 "undefined"). “Fred was the worst for me, so I started with him.” Apology appreciated, Rowling, but what about a retraction? See the author’s tweets below. > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/594409493443805184) > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/594410502882754561) _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/03/jk-rowling-harry-potter-fred-sorry "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://ew.com "undefined") ### PHOTOS: See the Harry Potter Theme Park Gringotts-Themed Ride  Universal Orlando  Universal Orlando  Universal Orlando  Universal Orlando  Universal Orlando  Universal Orlando ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3844816/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-apology/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3844816/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-apology/"},"headline":"J.K. Rowling Apologizes for Harry Potter Death","datePublished":"2015-05-03T20:46:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:12.601Z","description":"“*Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire*”","url":"https://time.com/3844816/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-apology/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ariana Bacle / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3844816/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-apology/","name":"J.K. Rowling Apologizes for Harry Potter Death"}}]}] ```