Oh, and another thing - you can tell this bothers me - is this literothanatophobia or simply thanatophobia in a different context? Are they / we simply less robust or more secluded when it comes to dealing with death?

I think what would annoy me most if Harry Potter dies, unless it's done really good and with good reason, is that it would feel like a cop-out. "No more Potter books, I'm going to kill off the main character!"