Death is a core theme in the Harry Potter series. From the unseen murders that precede the first book’s opening lines to the many deaths that close out the final chapter, death is prevalent in the series. For many of the series’ young readers, the Harry Potter books provided their first encounter with death, grief, and mourning.
Far more than merely shaping the minds of a generation - encouraging them to read, etc. - J.K. Rowling shaped their emotions. This is not an unusual side effect. Everyone can recall characters from their childhood, from books or television shows or movies, whose deaths were a significant turning point in their emotional maturity. Rowling’s work is no different, though it has arguably had influence on a much larger number of young people than anything that came before. And that group - Generation Wireless, as it were - banded together after the death(s) in the Harry Potter series to share their pain, provide support, and to remember.
The death of Sirius Black provides a strong example of how such encounters affected the readers. Fan videos - such as the one included here - were crafted as memorials to the fallen character. Fansites sprang up as gathering places for Sirius fans where his memory could be kept alive. Through stories and artwork and tributes and more, fans were able to express their feelings and deal with the loss of a beloved character. They experienced the stages of grief just as if they had lost someone flesh-and-blood, someone they knew and cared about. For those fans, so emotionally invested in the world Rowling created, Sirius was real and his death carried all the weight of a real death.
Sirius’ death - and the fans' reactions to it - is just one example of many. The Potter series is full of instances where the story presents young readers with situations that challenge them emotionally, stretching and defining their maturity. There is a depth to the series that transcends mere entertainment: for many, Harry Potter played an essential role in their emotional growth, exposing young readers to situations in the text long before they ever experienced them in real life.