J.K. Rowling’s Mistake: This Character Could Not Die in the Battle of Hogwarts 

Summary:

• Colin Creevey’s death in the Battle of Hogwarts is considered among the most devastating in Harry Potter.
• By the time of the Battle, there were no Muggle-born students in Hogwarts thanks to the Death Eaters.
• Colin Creevey was an underage Muggle-born who had no way of being in Hogwarts during the Battle.

The Harry Potter franchise gets more brutal and unforgiving with each consecutive installment, and the Battle of Hogwarts is the pinnacle of this process. Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks (just Tonks!), and countless others were lost in that massacre; but all of them were warriors, strong and capable of defending themselves.

All, except for one person who could barely stand up for himself, shouldn’t have been there and, most importantly, literally couldn’t have been there. Many fans call his death the most dramatic and painful in the entire franchise.

Whose Death in the Battle of Hogwarts Was the Most Heartbreaking?

Amid the battle with the Death Eaters and the various Dark creatures summoned by Lord Voldemort, the Order of the Phoenix and the defenders of Hogwarts lost many good people. Some of them, we knew; others forever remained unnamed on the pages of the books — just long rows of corpses along the Great Hall’s walls.

But Fred was a fighter since day one: danger-loving, daring, and energetic, he always stood up for what he believed in. Lupin was a veteran of the First War with a “woe is me” attitude who was always ready to sacrifice himself for others. Tonks was an Auror, a professional battle wizard who knew the risks better than anyone else.

And then, there was him: Colin Creevey. The overly excited boy with a camera, Harry Potter’s biggest fan and annoyance, and just a wholesome younger boy. In the most random moment of the Battle of Hogwarts, Colin was struck with the Killing Curse and died on the spot; he was no danger, he was just a nice little guy.

Many fans claim that Colin Creevey’s death was among the most heart-breaking in the entire franchise, and we tend to agree. This guy didn’t deserve to experience all those horrors and die so needlessly… And he couldn’t do it. Like, technically.

Why Was Colin Creevey’s Death J.K. Rowling’s Mistake?

Do you remember the first thing Lord Voldemort’s Ministry started doing? That’s right: it began catching and “prosecuting” Muggle-born wizards. Those who were caught were sent straight to Azkaban; those who weren’t were chased and hunted down like animals. We even witnessed one of the “trials” held by Dolores Umbridge.

Hogwarts Express, too, was thoroughly searched on the way to the school, and all the Muggle-born students were captured by the Death Eaters. At the time of the Battle of Hogwarts, no Muggle-born students were left in the castle; even Half-Bloods were often chased away. And Colin Creevey was…Muggle-born.

There was no way for Colin to be in Hogwarts during the Battle: he was underage and couldn’t have apparated to the castle even if the fake galleon notified him — and the Room of Requirement gang was formed during that same year, meaning that Colin couldn’t have joined them, either. So, how did he end up in Hogwarts?

This time, we only have one explanation: it was the author’s oversight. Such a wholesome boy was the perfect candidate for the most heartbreaking death in the series, and his inability to join the Battle of Hogwarts was but a technicality in J.K. Rowling’s way of making the readers cry. We have no other theories, really.