Dobby hit me really badly. I just… I had to put the book down for awhile after Dobby died, it really hurt. He was so… loyal, I guess? He never wavered or hesitated in doing whatever it took to help Harry and keep him safe, though sometimes a little misguided in his actual methods.
Dumbledore also hurt a lot, but I was far more hurt by the emotional turmoil Dumbledore went through in the cave than by his actual death. He was so vulnerable, so laid low. Even in death people aren’t as stripped bare as he was by the potion in the cave. Oh boy, I’m in pain just thinking about it. It also hurt and felt really freeing to see him more complexly in the Deathly Hallows, because he wasn’t just the hero, the teacher, the guide. He made mistakes and he was sometimes very selfish, and completely fallible like very other person.
And then Fred hurts me so much more, after more thought and processing and deeper understandings, than it did when I was actually reading it. I have Tumblr to thank for that, since so many people there are so very good at meta.