What happened to Hedwig? Know all the details about Harry Potter's pet

While the Harry Potter movies and books are infamous for many mythological creatures like dragons, griffins, mermaids and others. Owls made a frequent appearance throughout the movies' series. One such special owl was Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig.

In the movie, Hedwig was a gift from Rubeus Hagrid to Harry Potter on his 11th birthday. In both the books and the movies, owls were used as a means of communication. Harry received the bird to keep as a pet and a companion to take with him to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 

Who played the role of Harry Potter's pet owl?

Harry Potter's pet owl, Hedwig was portrayed by seven owls. The owls are of the Snowy breed. According to Laura Erickson, the seven owls are Gizmo, Oh Oh, Swoops, Kasper, Elmo, Oops and Bandit. Snowy owls can be found mostly in the regions of North America, Asia, and Europe. 

How did Hedwig and Harry meet? How was their relationship?

While Hagrid took Harry to purchase his supplies for school, he bought Hedwig from the Eeylops Owl Emporium. The bird became Harry's gift for his eleventh birthday. It was also Harry Potter's very first gift he had ever received. The bird was named after someone Harry Potter had found in the book called A History of Magic. 

Hedwig, like the other owls in the series, would deliver mail to and from his owner. In the movies, Hedwig was seen delivering mail to Hagrid and one of the Weasley brothers, Charles Weasley in Romania. At one point in the movie, Harry was compelled to not use Hedwig for communicating with his friends by his relatives, the Dursleys.

Hedwig is also shown as a very intelligent bird in all the Harry Potter movies. On Harry Potter's 13th birthday, Hedwig flew to Hermione and Ron's house to pick up their gifts for Harry Potter. She had to go to Ron's house as the Weasley's owl, Errol had collapsed and failed to deliver the parcel. 

In the next two years, Hedwig was shown as a brave owl. The bird was ready to sacrifice its life for its owner. The two witnessed a fallout in their relationship when Harry refused to send Hedwig to fly to and from Britain. Since snowy owls are not native to the country, Harry was nervous that the owl's travel could result in suspicion among locals. In 1995, Hedwig was caught and attacked by Dolores Umbridges' counterparts in an attempt to steal Harry Potter's mail. The bird was then healed by Dobby, the elf and Professor Grubby-Plank.

What happened to Hedwig?

When Harry Potter was fleeing from Little Whinging, seven other wizards took his form to protect him from the villain, Lord Voldemort. This event was termed the Battle of The Seven Potters. During this battle, Voldemort and his death eaters were successful in locating Harry among the seven duplicates. In an attempt to protect Harry, Hedwig was struck by Voldemort with a death curse.