How Hagrid Survived the Hallows

Hagrid pleads his case

According to ew.com one of the extras to the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II Blu-ray edition is a lively exchange between creator J.K. Rowling and Harry himself Daniel Radcliff during which Rowling discusses the story's character arcs. At one point while discussing Hagrid she mentions that the thing that saved him from being killed off was a vision she had of the story's end with Hagrid carrying an apparently dead Harry out of the Forbidden Forest. To her this image created a perfect symmetry with the story's beginning where Hagrid carried the baby wizard to the doorstep of the Dursleys. Rowling states: "That image kept him safe". Whew!