….
London | Waterstones Piccadilly | 9:47 AM.
The line stretched around the block.
Parents with children who had stayed home from school. Teenagers who had been camping outside since midnight. Adults who had taken the day off work without explanation, knowing their bosses would understand - or at least, knowing they didn't care if their bosses didn't understand.
Everyone was here for the same reason.
[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]
The sixth book.
Inside the bookstore, massive promotional displays dominated every floor. Posters showing the cover - dark, foreboding, the silhouette of Dumbledore against a starlit tower. Cardboard standees of the main characters, while the staff members wear Hogwarts house scarves.
But beneath the excitement, there was something else.
A tension.
Because two weeks ago, Richard Harris had died.
The man who had brought Albus Dumbledore to life on screen - gentle, wise, powerful in the quietest possible way - was gone.
His death felt unfair because it took someone who had seemed eternal.
The funeral was private, while the tributes are public and endless.
And now, this.
The biggest rumour.
A book where Dumbledore dies.
The timing felt cruel.
Willow Richardson stood near the front of the line, her copy of [Order of the Phoenix] clutched against her chest like a shield. She was seventeen, had been reading these books since she was eleven, and couldn't remember a time when Harry Potter wasn't part of her life.
Her friend Claire stood beside her, quieter than usual.
"Do you think the author changed it?" Claire asked suddenly. "After... you know. After Richard Harris died."
Willow had been wondering the same thing.
The book had been finished months ago, printed and shipped to warehouses around the world. There was no changing it now even if the author, Regal wanted to.
But the question everyone was asking wasn't whether he could change it.
It was whether he had planned it.
Whether Dumbledore's death had always been part of the story, or whether Richard Harris's death had somehow influenced the narrative. Whether the timing was coincidence or something darker.
"I don't know…" Emma admitted. "But we are about to find out."
The doors opened at ten.
Willow and Claire moved with the crowd, finally reaching the register after twenty minutes of shuffling through promotional displays and trying not to trip over younger kids sprinting toward the children's section.
The cashier - a woman in her forties wearing a Ravenclaw scarf - smiled tiredly as she scanned Willow's book.
"You reading it today?" she asked.
"Immediately." Willow confirmed.
"Good luck." the woman said, and something in her tone suggested she knew exactly what was coming.
Willow took her book, the weight of it familiar and comforting, and headed for the exit.
Outside, she found a bench. Claire sat beside her.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
"I am scared to start…." Willow admitted.
"We all are."
"What if it's worse than we think?"
Claire didn't answer.
Willow opened the book.
And began reading.
….
New York City | Barnes & Noble Union Square | 7:23 AM EST
Finn Thompson stood with his father in a line that had formed hours before the store opened.
He was eleven now, old enough to read the books on his own, young enough that his dad still came with him to launches because some traditions mattered.
Finn held the book he had just purchased, unopened, staring at the cover.
"Dad?" he said quietly.
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Is Dumbledore really going to die?"
James looked down at his son, he had been dreading this question since the rumors started circulating online from early sales. Leaks from advance reader copies, speculation based on chapter titles. Theories that ranged from plausible to absurd.
But the consensus had been clear: Dumbledore dies in this book.
"I don't know." James said honestly. "We will have to read it to find out."
"But the actor died." Marcus continued, his voice smaller now. "Mr. Harris, he died. And now the book comes out and Dumbledore dies too?"
"I know."
"That's not fair."
James knelt down, meeting his son's eyes. "Maybe… But sometimes life isn't fair, and stories aren't either."
"Did the writer do it on purpose? Because Mr. Harris died?"
"No." James said firmly. "The book was written before that happened. Sometimes terrible timing is just terrible timing."
Finn nodded, but his grip on the book tightened.
They found a spot in the café section. Finn opened his copy, his father sitting across from him with a coffee, watching.
James had already decided he wouldn't read over his son's shoulder, this was Finn's experience, his journey.
All James could do was be there when it was over.
Finn started reading.
And James waited.
….
Los Angeles | LIE Studios | Regal's Office | 10:45 AM PST
Regal sat at his desk, staring at the television mounted on the wall.
Live coverage of the book launch. BBC, CNN, entertainment news networks - everyone was covering it. Footage of lines around bookstores worldwide, interviews with excited readers, and speculation about plot points.
And underneath it all, the constant refrain:
Richard Harris died two weeks ago.
Now Dumbledore dies in the book.
Is this coincidence or cruel irony?
Gwendolyn sat on the couch near the window, reading through social media reactions on her tablet.
"They are asking if you planned it." she said quietly. "If you wrote about Dumbledore's death after Richard Harris died."
Regal rubbed his face, he had been expecting this and prepared for it as much as anyone could prepare for navigating grief and art and public perception simultaneously.
But expecting it didn't make it easier.
His phone buzzed a text from Simon:
[Press is requesting comment. What do you want me to tell them?]
Regal typed back.
["Schedule a press conference, today if possible. I will address it directly.]
He set the phone down.
Gwendolyn looked up. "What are you going to say?"
"The truth." Regal said simply.
….
London | 4:37 PM.
Willow sat on her bed, the book open in her lap, tears streaming down her face.
She had just finished Chapter 27.
The Lightning-Struck Tower.
Dumbledore was dead.
Killed by Snape.
On top of the Astronomy Tower while Harry watched, frozen, unable to help.
It was brutal, devastating.
The kind of narrative gut-punch that left you staring at the page, unable to process what you'd just read.
Willow's hands shook.
She had known it was coming, these type leaks had been accurate in most of the cases.
But still… knowing and experiencing were entirely different things.
Claire sat beside her, her own copy closed, she had finished twenty minutes earlier and had been sitting in silence since.
"I can't believe he did it." Willow whispered.
"Dumbledore was... he was the one who was supposed to be safe, the one who always knew what to do."
Claire just sat in silence.
Willow wiped her eyes, but more tears came. "And Richard Harris just died, and now this. I know Regal didn't plan it that way, it's just coincidence, but it feels like the universe is being deliberately cruel."
Claire put her arm around Willow's shoulders.
They sat like that for a long time.
Eventually, Willow picked up her phone. Twitter was exploding.
Thousands - no, tens of thousands - of people posting reactions in real-time.
….
@PotterFan4Ever: "I just finished. I'm not okay. I will never be okay again."
@Hog-Alumni: "DUMBLEDORE IS DEAD. SNAPE KILLED HIM. I'M SCREAMING. I'M CRYING. WHAT IS HAPPENING."
@BookLover88: "The fact that Richard Harris died two weeks ago and now this... i can't. I just can't."
@Ravenclaw: "This is the worst day of my life and yes I know that's dramatic but I DON'T CARE"
@Defe: "There HAS to be more to this. Snape wouldn't. He WOULDN'T."
@Broken: "I am sitting in a bookstore crying and I don't even care who sees me"
….
The reactions were raw, immediate, unfiltered.
People were grieving.
Not just for a fictional character, but for everything that character represented. Safety, wisdom and the idea that some people were untouchable, that some anchors held firm no matter how bad things got.
And now that anchor is gone.
Willow scrolled further, reading reaction after reaction, and found herself in a thread that made her pause.
…
@Skepder: "This release? Why NOW? Two weeks after Harris died? That's cruel."
@Filalyst: "Because release schedules are set years in advance. You can't just delay a global book launch because of tragic timing."
@G-Fan: "It still FEELS wrong. Like we're being forced to grieve twice."
@Anyst: "We ARE grieving twice, and that's painful. but blaming regal for telling the story he needed to tell isn't fair either."
….
The thread devolved into arguments after that. People defending Regal, people condemning him, people insisting he should have delayed the release out of respect.
Willow didn't know what to think.
She understood logically that Regal hadn't planned this. That the timing was coincidence.
But emotionally?
Emotionally, it felt like the world was piling grief on top of grief and expecting her to handle it.
Her phone buzzed.
A news alert:
[Regal Seraphsail to Hold Press Conference Regarding 'Half-Blood Prince' and Richard Harris.]
Willow opened the link.
The press conference was scheduled for 8 PM London time. Live-streamed.
She set an alarm.
She needed to hear what he had to say.
….
Los Angeles | Press Conference | LIE Studios | 12:00 PM PST (8:00 PM London).
The press room was packed.
Journalists from major outlets, entertainment reporters, bloggers who'd somehow secured credentials. Cameras lined the back wall. The air hummed with anticipation and barely-contained aggression.
This wasn't a friendly crowd.
They wanted answers, explanations and someone to blame for the emotional turmoil their readers were experiencing.
Regal walked in with Gwendolyn beside him.
He wore a simple black suit.
Gwendolyn sat to his left. Simon stood near the side wall, arms crossed, watching.
Regal stepped to the podium.
For a moment, he just stood there, looking out at the assembled press.
Then he spoke.
"Two weeks ago, we lost Richard Harris." he began. His voice was steady, clear. "An extraordinary actor and, by all accounts, an extraordinary man. His portrayal of Albus Dumbledore brought joy and comfort to millions of people, myself included."
He paused.
"Today, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released, and in that book, Dumbledore dies."
The room was silent.
"I know what you are asking." Regal continued. "Whether I planned this or Richard Harris's death influenced my narrative choices and this is some kind of cruel tribute or cosmic irony."
He looked directly at the cameras.
"The answer is no."
"I wrote about Dumbledore's death years ago. It has been part of the planned arc for this series since before the first book was published. The structure of Harry's journey - his mentorship under Dumbledore, his eventual need to face Voldemort alone - required Dumbledore's death. Narratively, thematically, it was always necessary."
A reporter near the front raised her hand. "But the timing—"
"The timing is a coincidence." Regal said firmly. "Tragic, painful coincidence. Nothing more."
"Some fans feel like you should have delayed the release." another reporter called out. "Out of respect."
Regal's expression didn't change. "Delaying a global book release two weeks before launch is logistically impossible. Millions of copies have already been printed, shipped, and distributed. The supply chain for a release of this magnitude is set in motion months - sometimes years - in advance."
He leaned forward slightly.
"But more than that, I don't believe delaying would have changed anything. Whether this book came out today, next month, or next year, the grief would still be there. Richard Harris would still be gone. Dumbledore would still die. The pain doesn't disappear because you postpone it."
A younger reporter, clearly emotional, spoke up. "But don't you think–
"Aren't you asking people to grieve twice? To lose Richard Harris and then lose Dumbledore?"
Regal was quiet for a moment.
Then: "Yes. I am, and I understand how painful that is."
The room shifted.
"I understand." Regal continued. "-Because I am grieving too. Richard Harris brought a character I created to life in ways I never could have imagined. He gave Dumbledore warmth and gravitas and humanity, and now he's gone. And that loss is real."
His voice remained steady, but something in his eyes betrayed the weight he was carrying.
"But the story is also real. And Dumbledore's death - painful as it is - serves a purpose. It forces Harry to grow up. To stop relying on the safety net of someone wiser and stronger. To face the reality that sometimes the people we depend on most can't save us."
He looked out at the crowd.
"That's a hard lesson. In fiction and in life. But it's a necessary one."
A long silence.
Then a voice from the back: "Do you regret it? Writing about Dumbledore's death now that Richard Harris is gone?"
Regal didn't hesitate. "No."
The bluntness of it rippled through the room.
"I don't regret telling the story I needed to tell." he said. "I regret the timing. I regret that people are experiencing compounded grief. But I don't regret the narrative itself."
"Even if it hurts people?" the same reporter pressed.
"Stories are supposed to hurt sometimes." Regal replied. "That's how they matter. If Harry Potter never challenged readers, never made them uncomfortable or sad or angry, it would just be escapism. And that's not what I set out to create."
He paused.
"I set out to create a story about love and loss and growing up. And growing up means losing people. It means learning that even the strongest protectors can't shield you from everything. That's what Dumbledore's death represents."
Gwendolyn reached over and touched his hand briefly. A small gesture, but visible.
Another reporter: "What would you say to fans who feel betrayed?"
Regal considered the question carefully.
"I would say that your feelings are valid." he said. "If you're angry, be angry. If you're sad, be sad. If you need time before you can appreciate why this story went the way it did, take that time."
"But I would also say… don't confuse grief for the character with anger at me. Dumbledore's death was always coming. The only thing that's changed is that we lost Richard Harris before we were ready. And that's not something I controlled."
He straightened.
"I can't fix the timing. I can't bring Richard Harris back. I can't make Dumbledore's death hurt less."
"But I can tell you this: The story continues. Harry's journey isn't over. And everything that happens - including this loss - will matter in the end."
The room was quiet.
Someone near the front asked. "Will you recast Dumbledore for the remaining films?"
"Yes." Regal said. "When the time comes, we will find someone to honor Richard Harris's legacy while bringing their own interpretation to the role. But that decision won't be made lightly or quickly."
"Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Obviously not."
More questions followed - about the book, the films, the future of the franchise. Regal answered each one with the same measured calm, never defensive, never apologetic.
After thirty minutes, Simon stepped forward. "That's all the time we have. Thank you."
The reporters erupted with follow-up questions, but Regal was already stepping away from the podium.
He and Gwendolyn left through the side door.
….
Back to London | 8:47 PM.
Willow watched the press conference on her laptop, Claire beside her.
When it ended, neither of them spoke for a long time.
Finally, Claire said. "He's right, you know."
"About what?"
"That it was always going to hurt. Whether Richard Harris died or not or timing was different. Dumbledore's death was always going to wreck us."
Willow nodded slowly. "And he's right that the story isn't over."
She closed her laptop and looked at the book still lying on her bed.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
The worst book she'd ever read.
And maybe, eventually, one of the most important.
"I am still mad." she said.
"Me too."
"But I am going to keep reading."
"Me too."
Because that was the thing about stories that hurt you.
If they mattered enough, you came back.
Even when it was painful.
Even when it felt unfair.
You came back because you needed to know how it ended.
….
.
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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