Hedwig was a snowy owl, the pet of Harry Potter, who was bought for him by Rubeus Hagrid as a birthday present. Hedwig died in July of 1997, hit by a stray Killing Curse. Beginning in June of 1992, Hedwig was locked into her cage and was not allowed to fly about outside as she was accustomed to, thereby causing her great boredom and leading her to begin making loud noises in the earliest hours of the morning.