Hedwig: Harry Potter's Owl and Her Fate in Book 7

She is the birthday present Harry had never had. Hedwig is a white owl, and for seven books she is messenger, company and, above all, his best proof that he is no longer alone.

Who she is

Hedwig is a female snowy owl. Hagrid buys her for Harry's eleventh birthday at an owl shop in Diagon Alley and gives her to him in the first book (Philosopher's Stone, ch. 5). Harry takes the name from A History of Magic.

She is smart, proud and a bit temperamental. She nips Harry's finger affectionately, takes offense if he is slow with a treat and recognizes who has treated her well.

Key moments

• Philosopher's Stone, ch. 5: Hagrid gives Harry his first real birthday gift.
• Philosopher's Stone, ch. 6: she travels with Harry on the Hogwarts Express, and her cage is the first company he knows is his own.
• Goblet of Fire: she carries Harry's letters to Sirius, when Harry needs to tell someone what he can't tell anyone else.
• Deathly Hallows, ch. 4: while they flee the Death Eaters with the Seven Potters, a green jet of light hits her inside her cage.

Relationships

With Harry the bond is direct: she brings him news and he talks to her when nobody else is listening. With Ron, a comic rivalry with Pigwidgeon, his jittery owl. With Hagrid, an affection that goes back to the start.

What almost nobody notices

Hedwig doesn't get a hero's ending. She doesn't die saving Harry, but from a curse thrown during a chase while Harry is trying to save his own life. That small, almost accidental death is what marks the end of Harry's childhood (Deathly Hallows, ch. 4).

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