J.K. Rowling's mother died of multiple sclerosis when the author was 20 years old, a little over a decade before "Harry Potter" was published. For Rowling, this loss directly influenced the story, even beyond her incorporation of the masonic symbol from that heartbreaking evening watching "The Man Who Would Be King." Beneath happy layers of charms and chocolate frogs is a deep sense of loss. To start, Harry is orphaned after Voldemort murders his parents. As the novels progress and become darker, he only experiences more death, from Dobby and Albus Dumbledore to Cedric Diggory and his secret protector, Severus Snape.
As Rowling said in the BBC documentary "Harry Potter: A History of Magic," "If my mother hadn't died, I think the stories would be utterly different and not what they are." In a separate interview with Oprah Winfrey, she revealed, "If she hadn't died, I don't think it's too strong to say that there wouldn't be 'Harry Potter.' The books are what they are because she died."
Ultimately, the series ended up becoming a way for Rowling to cope with her mother's death. Just as she was able to continue on, finding success in the literary world, so does Harry, who finds a chosen family with Ron, Hermione, and the rest of his Hogwarts friends.
