Pottermore, J.K. Rowling’s online encyclopedia, has finally admitted what I’ve suspected all along: They don’t know if Lavender Brown is dead or alive.
In a new article this morning in which they discuss “Why Fenrir Greyback was the creepiest villain in the Harry Potter books,” Pottermore’s section about his attack on Lavender includes this gem:
Hermione managed to throw Greyback backwards, but we never did find out if the ‘feebly stirring’ Lavender made it out alive.
Pottermore has been wishy-washy on Lavender for years. Back in 2015 we noticed that they had said she was “presumed dead,” and after I called it out they removed the blurb all together.
Yes, this isn’t the most pressing question that the Harry Potter fandom still wants answered about the series, but it’s a simple one. Despite my seemingly endless tweets to the author, Rowling has yet to confirm Lavender’s fate one way or the other. We all know she could end this in a single tweet or e-mail to Pottermore.
@jk_rowling instead of twitter brawling could you just tell us if lavender brown is dead or alive
— Andrew Sims (@sims) January 28, 2016
if Lavender were alive which Ilvermorny house would she be in
— Andrew Sims (@sims) December 14, 2016
.@JK_Rowling has yet to apologize for killing a woman. That’s because Lavender Brown isn’t actually dead.
— Andrew Sims (@sims) May 2, 2017
What’s so frustrating about this is that Pottermore is supposed to be the official resource for all things Harry Potter. It’s basically the Encyclopedia we’ve yet to receive (and will never come). They shouldn’t be posing mysteries about canon — They should be answering them.