Did Lavender die?

[birdsofshore]

This has been puzzling me lately.

In Deathly Hallows it says:

"Two bodies fell from the balcony overhead as they reached the ground a grey blur that Harry took for an animal sped four-legged across the hall to sink its teeth into one of the fallen. "NO!" shrieked Hermione, and with a deafening blast from her wand, Fenrir Greyback was thrown backward from the feebly stirring body of Lavender Brown. He hit the marble banisters and struggled to return to his feet. Then, with a bright white flash and a crack, a crystal ball fell on top of his head, and he crumpled to the ground and did not move."

So, "feebly stirring" to me, meant that she was injured, perhaps seriously injured, but not dead. When I read it, I expected her to get medical treatment after the Battle was over, and that she would survive.

Then, when I saw the film version of Deathly Hallows, I noticed that it looks as if Lavender is killed by Greyback during the attack. You could argue she is unconscious, or paralysed, but she does look dead. However I just passed it off as either a) making her look more seriously injured to be dramatic, or b) one of those things where the films differ from the books. I don't count film canon as superceding book canon, in any case.

However, when I went to Harry Potter Wiki to check something, (yes, yes, I know it's not exactly the most pre-eminent source, but where else do I look?) they are quite certain that Lav is dead:

"Immediately after the attack, she was seen feebly stirring, but later died from her injuries."

They cite Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey as the source for this. I do actually own this book, and it's lovely, but it's freaking massive and I am not trawling through it at the moment to see on whose say-so Lavender allegedly died.

Now, I've seen Lavender alive and kicking in several fanfics lately. I don't want her to be dead. For one thing, I really quite like her, and also, I want to put her in my fic. I know it doesn't matter what Harry Potter Wiki says. If Snape can be resurrected in fic, I am sure Lavender can. But it's annoying me. Hands up who thinks Lavender is still alive at the end of Deathly Hallows? I mean, if you think that's what JKR intended, not just your own personal head canon.

Also, if she's alive, then she's a werewolf, I presume? Or did I get that wrong? Where are all the Were!Lav fics? Probably in those dark and scary comms I never go to. Or is being a werewolf now just one of those annoying little things that we don't mention in polite company, like having a verruca or something?

Come and tell me all the things about Lavender, I beg you!

Comments

[emansil-12.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I think Lavender survived the attack, otherwise like others have said that's very uncaring for her death to not have been acknowledged. What happened to her afterward is unclear.

But, and I probably should not admit this, whenever there is discrepancy between book canon and movie canon, (I pay little attention to what jkr may have said afterwards) I go with what works best for the story I may be writing. Sometimes I've even gone so far as to have a mixmash of both book and movie canon in the same fic.

I've also found some other strange, imo discrepancies in Harry Potter wiki.

[torino10154]

Butting in to say, I think choosing one or the other for a story is very different. I mean as fanfic writers we ALL bend canon to our needs from time to time. But I can acknowledge when I decide to follow movie canon as a preference rather than believing it IS canon which is what I feel like some do or just not knowing canon well enough to know better. Which also isn't to say we don't sometimes make mistakes--but having Wiki tell us the wrong thing certainly makes it hard to double check. :P

[emansil-12.livejournal.com]

I usually will try to say upfront if I followed movie or book canon, or both, but sometimes I don't think about it.

But yes, some of the stuff I've read recently on Wiki has had me wondering if I'd been under some sort of drug induced coma the 4 (or more in some instances) times I'd read the books. Cause I sure didn't remember it that way.

[birdsofshore]

I think that's perfectly reasonable. After all, we are writing fanFICTION, not fan historically proven facts.

[nathalieweasley.livejournal.com]

After all, we are writing fanFICTION, not fan historically proven facts. ♥