JK Rowling Posts Heartbreaking Tribute To Alan Rickman

While most of JK Rowling's Harry Potter-related tweets since the end of the series have been either controversial or entirely unnecessary, here's one we can all get behind. The author has posted an anecdote about Snape, reminding us all how closely he has become linked with late great actor Alan Rickman.

Rickman's involvement with the franchise has always been legendary, having been Rowling's personal choice to play Severus Snape. The story goes that Rickman was the first person other than the series author to know what kind of role Snape would play through the end of the series, as a way of convincing him that there was more to the character than a one-dimensional villain.

Only three of the books were released when the first movie went into production, meaning that most of the world had no idea of the twists and turns the story--and Snape's involvement in it--would take.

Alan Rickman passed away due to cancer in January 2016, a loss felt keenly by fans of his extensive body of work.