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As part of her continuing effort to flesh out the world of her popular book series, “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling revealed in a tweet that Ginny Weasley died tragically in Ramadi, Iraq after a firefight with Islamic State insurgents.
Rowling’s tweet, “Today marks one year since Ginny Weasley was killed by an ISIS wizard. #RIPGinny” was immediately set upon by fans of her book and movie series, picking up thousands of likes and retweets within the first hour of her posting. Rowling quickly added more information, tweeting “Don’t worry, before she was killed, Ginny had her Patronus carry messages of love to Harry and the children.” The hashtag “#RIPGinny” trended worldwide, and fans of all persuasions expressed their regret for the character’s death.
@ElderWanda tweeted, “Going to miss Ginny. Will always remember her and Harry’s first kiss at the quidditch party #RIPGinny,” while @Gh0stWriter posted fanart of the young witch wearing a burqa with the caption: “I know this might not be canon, but I think it is so so beautiful. @jk_rowling please retweet.”
Not all fans reacted positively to the news. @TheBoyWhoTweets claimed that “Ginny NEVER showed the kind of personality traits that would lead her to spy work. PLUS, she loves her kids and her husband too much (1/15)” and accused Rowling of “betraying the fan base.”
Asked to clarify what Weasley was doing in Iraq by @hpimmortal, Rowling tweeted that Weasley had infiltrated an ISIS cell on a mission to recover uranium that the magic terrorist organization obtained in an illegal deal with Iran. “Working on behalf of the League of Magical Nations, Ginny spent a year in Iraq and the Levant to earn the trust of the fundamentalist warlocks.” Per Rowling, Ginny succeeded in destroying the uranium with a banishing jinx, but the container was cursed, and when she touched it, her polyjuice potion wore off immediately. She was discovered and, after putting up an incredible fight, captured.
Wrapping up the matter, Rowling tweeted: “Here are the facts: 1) Ginny was executed on camera 2) The tape was shared widely 3) She was a hero, and we should remember her as such.”
This isn’t the first time the popular author has added to her canon. Rowling famously revealed in an interview that Dumbledore was gay, blogged about Potions Master Horace Slughorn’s recovery from melanoma, and wrote a short story for her Potter-themed website “Pottermore” about Dudley Dursley’s forays into auto-erotic asphyxiation and S&M culture in general.
Rowling’s publicist stated that the author was unsure at this point whether or not Harry would remarry but confirmed that “his heart is broken.”
