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J.K. Rowling posted an emotional tribute to Alan Rickman, and we have enough tears to fill the Pensieve

The late Alan Rickman played Severus Snape perfectly—dark, sneering, bitter, and slightly terrifying. He stepped into the exact shoes of who we pictured while reading the Harry Potter series, and his character became a fan favorite after his redemption in the final film. Author J.K. Rowling just wrote a Twitter tribute to Rickman’s portrayal, and it has us in our feelings.

Yesterday, April 7th, a Potterhead took to Twitter to express her sadness at saying goodbye to Snape during his final, emotional scene in the last film. She also thanked J.K. Rowling for allowing Rickman to portray the beloved character.

“Tonight in Italy they air[ed] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. As always, I’m NOT ready to say goodbye to Severus Snape. Thank you @jk_rowling for this unique character and for convincing Alan Rickman to portray him—we had the perfect Severus Snape,” she wrote.

To the fan’s surprise, Rowling responded to her tweet with an emotional memory of her own, referencing a rehearsal for the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

“In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Snape makes his first appearance with his back to the audience. At the dress rehearsal I saw him in his long black wig & my eyes filled with tears because, for a split second, my irrational heart believed when Snape turned round, I’d see Alan,” Rowling wrote.

Ugh, we’re crying enough tears to fill Dumbledore’s Pensieve right now. Rickman died of pancreatic cancer in January 2016 at 69 years old. The entertainment industry and Harry Potter fans mourned his death as much or more than the death of his character.

Perhaps one of the most shocking plot twists in the Harry Potter series is when we learn the truth about Severus Snape. It was mind-blowing when the spiteful potions professor turned out to be the biggest hero in the series—and even more surprising that he was good all along.

We’ll never forget the scene following Snape’s death in The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, when Harry drops Snape’s tears into Dumbledore’s Pensieve.

Harry watches Snape’s memories play out. He sees his own mother, Lily, learning that Snape was in love with her; Dumbledore ordering Snape to kill him; and, finally, Snape secretly helping Harry throughout his time at Hogwarts, making him realize that Snape was protecting him all along. It’s heart-wrenching, to say the least. We can understand why that fan was having a hard time watching it again.

Now we have the perfect excuse to re-watch the Harry Potter series. We’ll remind ourselves of Snape’s good heart throughout—and appreciate how Rowling duped us all by making us believe he was evil.