I believe she had originally planned to kill Arthur in Book 7 (not 5)--but then substituted Remus. If she'd gone with her original plan, it would have been Arthur's "spirit" instead of Remus's standing there in the forest scene telling Harry that he died fighting so his children could live in a happier world.
Personally, I much preferred Remus in that scene. (Remus and Sirius reunited in the afterlife--le sigh.)
Arthur's near-death in OotP was merely to throw us off guard for Sirius's death: rumors that someone would die preceded the book's release, Arthur came close to dying so readers would think, "This is it!" and then would relax when he survived, and then Bam! someone else does die. (She pulled the same trick in HBP with Aragog's death and funeral preceding Dumbledore's.)
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Personally, I much preferred Remus in that scene. (Remus and Sirius reunited in the afterlife--le sigh.)
Arthur's near-death in OotP was merely to throw us off guard for Sirius's death: rumors that someone would die preceded the book's release, Arthur came close to dying so readers would think, "This is it!" and then would relax when he survived, and then Bam! someone else does die. (She pulled the same trick in HBP with Aragog's death and funeral preceding Dumbledore's.)