MetaFic

Interesting issues. You actually saved me a lot of trouble. Ever since BoD, I've been thinking about Hedwig more and more, and wanted to do something about her demise in DH. Not because of some idea that JKR was wrong about it, but rather something that would have made me feel better.

That part of Clarity was enough for me to retire that idea and concentrate on different things. So, thank you.

I leave the rest of this story for others to review.

Hooray for a different outcome than canon! Hedwig is one of my favourite minor characters and I wasn't happy with her fate in canon. I could understand it a bit --outside of being released entirely to the wild, there was really no safe place for Hedwig to stay during the action of DH--but only a bit.

We don't know if magical owls can be transported by side-along apparition, but if they can, Hedwig could have gone with the trio. She would have been a useful addition to the quest. She could not only serve as an effective sentinel, but also as a hunter of rabbits, which she's big enough to catch. After all since it didn't occur to the "smartest witch of her age" to add things like cans of food and a can-opener to the mini-library etc. that she was carrying around in that seemingly bottomless, beaded bag of hers, some way of procuring food would have been helpful.

However, I think the problem was that, originally, JKR planned to give Hedwig an important role in DH. According to an extract of an interview with her that is quoted on the web-site for Melissa Annelli's ( of Leaky Cauldron fame ) upcoming book about the HP phenomena, Hedwig was going to be the one to open the Snitch so that Harry could find the Resurrection Stone. This was because, in the first version of PS/SS given to JKR's British publisher, Hedwig was going to catch the Snitch at Harry's first Quidditch game. That would have triggered off the "flesh memory" of the Snitch making the owl the one that had to open it later. JKR's publisher told her to ditch that bit and she did so, but kept the owl, I think maybe because Hedwig did have some other minor functions in the series.

For me, Hedwig's death was one of the losses in DH that really didn't seem to flow from the story and made little sense. More deaths were inevitable and, painful as they were, the deaths of Mad Eye, Dobby and Fred flowed from the story and therefore worked. But other deaths--Hedwig, Remus and Tonks-- didn't feel as if they came from the storyline. Except to up the number of deaths to prove that "war is hell" it felt like they were done to get rid of an inconvenient character ( Hedwig ) or because JKR wanted to bring the story full circle with another orphan ( the Lupins ). For me, they didn't "work".

And BTW Dave, I didn't see any problems because you went beta-less...Hmmm...that sounds vaguely risque LOL.