Note: The following are my comments on selected answers by JKR in the World Book Day Chat (thanks to TLC for making the transcript available). For purposes of this review, I have organized the questions and answers by topic, and also cleaned up some of the original spelling and grammar-- can you believe four different questioners all used the identical misspelling "Voldermort"?
For clarity here, original questions are in bold, JKR's answers are in italics, and my own further comments are in plain text.
And now, without further ado, my WBD Chat Commentary:
Regarding Harry's subconscious feelings, how have they changed from book 1 to book 5?
Well he's obviously been through a lot since book one and book five was the book when he cracked up a little. In book six, the wizarding world is really at war again and he has to master his own feelings to make himself useful.
I was happy to see this one. The most unpleasant aspect of OotP for me, as a reader, was how often Harry made an idiot of himself. The last chapter of it gave me hope that he was starting to get over it; and this answer adds to that hope. This furthermore tells me that he'll have to make an effort to get a grip on himself, and that he may not always succeed; but at least it seems clear that in Book 6 he'll be moving himself in the right direction.
Are Harry's powers going to get even greater?
Yes, he's really progressing as a wizard now (which is lucky, because I know what's in store for him).
If you were Harry Potter for a day, what would you do?
If I, personally, were Harry Potter, I think I would go and hide somewhere, but that's because I know what's coming!
This one, on the other hand, has me wondering: How can it be worse? Of course I know that Voldemort and the Death Eaters can do lots of terrible stuff; but as long as Harry doesn't lose control of himself, is on good terms with his friends, and is trusted by people in general, it doesn't seem like it can really be that bad! After GoF I had a pretty good sense of how things might go (and OotP fulfilled my fears and then some-- except for the minor detail that Harry didn't actually get sent to Azkaban!); but after OotP, I don't have that much sense of where this is going, except for the obvious fact that the DE's are going to be running around torturing and killing people.
One thing this answer does tell me, though, is that there will probably be a fair amount of dueling or other desperation magic involved on Harry's part. I mean, of course there's going to have to be another end-of-the-book fight with Voldemort; but this suggests that having to dip into his developing store of wizarding powers may become a common occurrence in the next book.
Will Harry become headmaster of Hogwarts?
I'm not sure I can see Harry in an academic career, he's seen so much action!
Of course Dumbledore's seen plenty of action too, and he's happier running the school than doing anything else; but presumably what she meant here is that Harry is a man of action, and wouldn't be happy with an indoor job. (This may strengthen the possibility of Harry continuing as an Auror after his seventh year, by the way.)
Will Harry tell Neville about the Prophecy?
Harry will tell his nearest and dearest about the prophecy when he's ready. He needs time to digest the news himself first.
"Nearest and dearest" here presumably meaning "his group of close friends"; which I expect to now include Ginny, probably Neville (especially given this answer), and maybe Luna as well. But "time to digest"-- I expect this will be kind of like the death of Cedric, about which it took him halfway through the next school year to become ready to talk.
Is Harry related to Godric Gryffindor?
People are always wondering who Harry might be related to. Maybe he is ;)
Interesting. Another apparently-yes teasing answer. I've generally been neutral-to-positive on the Heir of Gryffindor question. But if indeed this is the "yes" it seems to be, then the relevant question becomes: What is the significance of it? We know that JKR is placing a strong emphasis on the importance of choices in contrast to inborn traits (which has been the strongest argument from the anti-Heir side). If indeed JKR does make this a plot point, the question is one of how she'll manage it. But I'm confident that, whatever happens on this issue, it will remain true that Harry's descent from Gryffindor (if so it is) didn't compel him to join the good side, nor did Tom Riddle's descent from Salazar automatically make him evil.
Will poor Harry be stuck at the Dursleys' all next summer?
Not all summer, no. In fact, he has the shortest stay in Privet Drive so far.
The question is: How short? So far he's always left in August (well, technically in Book 1 he stayed there until September 1st, but at least he got to go to Diagon Alley for a day with Hagrid). In books 2-5, he's always been on Privet Drive for his birthday, and then escaped sometime in August. Will he make it out in July this time? I don't know-- given this answer, perhaps so. (On structural grounds, though, I'm still somewhat partial to the idea of Harry spending his 16th birthday alone again, and then on his 17th birthday, when he becomes a wizard, finally telling the Dursleys what he really thinks of them-- involving more than just a curly pink tail this time-- only to be interrupted by a Death Eater attack on Privet Drive, forcing him to save the Dursleys before going out on his own.)
What happend to Harry's grandparents? Will we ever learn about them?
They're all dead and not particularly important to the story, although you will find out a little bit more.
In reading the first chapters of OotP recently, I became suspicious that Lily and Petunia's parents may have been killed by DE's, with Dementors perhaps being involved in the attack as well (which would explain Petunia's quick remembrance of them). But I don't know how much stock I put in that one; we'll see.
Don't want to ruin the ending, but will we be finding out more about the significance of the shape of Harry's scar in future books?
The shape is not the most significant aspect of that scar, and that's all I'm going to say!
Presumably this means more than just the fact that it connects Harry with Voldemort. Perhaps the scar will even be the means of Voldemort's final downfall. Alec Dossetor has a good theory on this: that, since it was Harry's love for Sirius that expelled Voldemort from his mind in OotP, perhaps Harry will eventually turn the tables by entering Voldemort's mind via the scar-connection, which in turn would be so intolerable for Voldemort as to lead him to give up the ghost once and for all.
Why did Harry have to split up with Cho Chang?
That's life, I'm afraid. They were never going to be happy, it was better that it ended early!
And now we get into the ship questions. Here JKR does a nice job of gently forcing a desperate H/C shipper to face reality....
Thanks for the interview! So... will Harry be receiving a second kiss in his last two years at Hogwarts? ;)
He might well be receiving another kiss (or two) but I'm not saying who the kisser's going to be....
Will Harry fall for another girl in book six, or will he be too busy for romance?
He'll be busy, but what's life without a little romance?
Both of these were from Quillers. The "too busy for romance" was of course designed by the questioner to dispel the major argument for the anti-shippers' view of Harry' and JKR fulfilled the intention admirably.
At first I had thought the "another kiss (or two)" bit referred to Book 6, which seemed too quick to me-- too soon to really settle into a relationship with Miss Right, but I don't see Harry going through another Miss Wrong relationship after Cho. For one thing, there's not that much time left in the series (I suppose it's possible, but it would be hard for JKR to do it right); and, more importantly, Harry's realization about Cho after the death of Sirius suggests strongly to me that his days of "going for looks alone" are more or less behind him. (Not that he won't still care about what a girl looks like, of course; but he's grown up enough that I don't think that will be as dominant as it was at age 14.)
Also, notice that JKR's remark on "who the kisser's going to be" implies that it's someone we already know; there seems very little chance of some girl appearing out of nowhere and capturing Harry's heart (which of course is fine with me). :-)
Will Harry and Hermione will be together? *sigh*
lol Not saying... but you've had enough clues by now, surely?!
You can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make him drink;
and you can send a kid to school,
but you can't make him think.
Thanks for writing such wonderful books, Ms Rowling :). Just one question: What are Ron, Hermione and Ginny's middle names? Thank you :)
My pleasure:) Middle names: Ginny is Molly, of course, Hermione 'Jane' and Ron, poor boy, is Bilius.
JKR also said "of course" in her Comic Relief comment about Harry's middle name being James. I don't know whether it's a general British custom for the oldest child of each gender to have their same-sex parent's first name as a middle name; but apparently that at least holds in the British wizarding community (so that Bill's middle name would presumably be "Arthur.")
For what it's worth: Yes, I do think this makes it more likely that Bill's first name is actually "Bilius," although I am aware that some of you have argued otherwise.
If Harry Potter was a girl, do you think his adventures would have been different?
Yes, I do think they would be different. I imagined Harry as a boy from the start, so I've never thought about 'Harriet Potter', but I'm sure lots of things in the books would change, Ron for a start, he'd have to be Ronalda.
Now that would take some good hard imagining....
What happened between Hermione and Viktor Krum during the summer?
Ron would like to know that, too.
Briefly, in the wake of OotP, I had toyed with the theory that the quieting-down of Ron and Hermione's "bickering" in the second half of the book might have indicated a secret agreement between them that, yes, they did actually like each other that way. I eventually gave that one up for lack of evidence; and this comment confirms that, no, Ron still doesn't know whether Hermione has any such feelings for him or not. The perfume gift obviously told her what he thinks, of course. My best guess is that she's trying to give him enough encouragement that he doesn't give up, but without committing herself until he's done things "right" (whatever that means; I don't happen to be female and therefore wouldn't know.)
What will Ron's job be when he leaves school?
Well, assuming he lives to leave school... I'm not going to tell you :)
I wish this had been phrased in terms of whether Ron would pursue Auror studies. (My own question on the subject was "What sort of Careers Advice did McGonagall give Ron?")
Will Ron ever get on the Gryffindor quidditch team?
Well, he's already there! The question is, whether the new Quidditch Captain will allow him to stay!
Hmmmmmmmm... this, of course, raises the question of who exactly that new Captain will be. It's technically possible that Katie Bell could have another year left, but that seems quite unlikely; she didn't seem to be a new player in the first book, and she also seems to have been pretty close with Angelina and Alicia, suggesting that they probably shared a dorm. Kirke and Sloper don't have a shot, of course. It could be Harry, but I'd be shocked if he were to consider removing Ron (and besides, he will be quite busy; and I wouldn't expect JKR to say "but what's life without being Quidditch Captain?"). It could be Ron himself, but that wouldn't seem to fit JKR's answer here.
You don't suppose Ron's own little baby sister would make him try out to reclaim his own spot on the Quidditch team, do you...?!? :-D
Do you plan for Ginny to take on a major character role in the next two books?
Well, now that Ginny has stopped being mute in Harry's presence I think you can see that she is a fairly forceful personality (and she always has been, remember Ron saying that she 'never shuts up' in Chamber of Secrets)?
Let the record show that this was the same argument that Ginny fans were using pre-OotP as evidence that there was more to Ginny than we had yet seen.
Was Percy acting entirely of his own accord in Order of the Phoenix?
I'm afraid so.
Percy's split with his family was the one pre-OotP prediction of mine that I had nailed the most accurately; and so it has kind of annoyed me when people have gone around saying that that was uncharacteristic of Percy. So I have no objection to JKR placing a good-sized nail in that particular coffin.
How old are Charlie and Bill Weasley in relation to their other siblings?
Oh dear, maths. Let me think. Bill is two years older than Charlie, who is two years older than Percy.
See my entry on Charlie Weasley and the Quest for the True Canon for a full discussion of this issue.
Where do wizarding children go to school before Hogwarts?
They can either go to a Muggle primary school or they are educated at home. The Weasleys were taught by Mrs. Weasley.
Others have said it before me, but: What an awesome character Mrs. Weasley is.
Will we get to know the Grangers? Is Hermione an only child?
I always planned that Hermione would have a younger sister but she's never made an appearance and somehow it feels like it might be too late now.
Interesting. I had always though Hermione had been written in enough of an only-child manner that this wasn't really a question; but I guess I was wrong.
Will Neville have a bigger part to play?
I think he's already got a much bigger part. Neville has changed a lot as he's become older and more confident. Book five was a real turning point for Neville.
Yeah-- go Neville!
I find the parallels behind Ginny and Neville interesting. Not in a romantic sense, of course; this might have been arguable before OotP, but now Ginny's tastes are well-enough established that Neville wouldn't stand a chance. But rather, it's that they were both widely underestimated before OotP, and now have both really come into their own.
Certainly they are both among my favorite characters.
Who are the two "unknown Gryffindor girls" in Harry's year?
Oh, I've just understood what you mean. I haven't got the notebook to hand and I can't remember! That's terrible. I'll try and remember before the end of the chat!
Which of course she didn't (not that she had time to think about it anyway, of course). This does seem to indicate that she does think of Hermione's dormmates as being more than just Lavender and Parvati. But-- this almost seems like another "Hermione's little sister" case where it's too late to add them in. Normally I'm skeptical about "arguments from silence"; but by this time, the silence has become rather deafening.
What houses were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter and [Peter Pettigrew] in? Everyone tells me they were all Gryffindor, but I won't believe it unless I hear it from Ms. Rowling herself!
This is JK herself saying that they were indeed in Gryffindor!
Technically the questioner put Remus' name in their twice; but I see no sensible reason to doubt that JKR answered it as if all four Marauders had been listed. (Actually, I see no sensible reason why this should have been a question in the first place, but sometimes these things happen.)
Surprising, by the way, how many of the questions involved Sirius. Not sure if that was really such a major trend among the whole set of 16,000, or if it was just a sampling fluke.
Whatever happend to Sirius' flying motorbike?
Ah, good question. You'll find out, but the real sleuths among you might be able to guess.
Hmmm-- it sounds like she thinks it should be clear, even if not obvious. My best guess is that it's in the Forbidden Forest. For one thing, the bike was last seen in Hagrid's possession; and for another, "you tend to find at Hogwarts that anything that's dangerous ends up in the forest...." (Okay, technically the bike isn't that dangerous, but it seems to fit the Forest's general pattern, along with the Ford Anglia.)
Will the two-way mirror Sirius gave Harry ever show up again?
Ooooo, good question. There's your answer.
Yes, I can imagine that it might come in handy. Hopefully Harry had the good sense to repair his half of it before losing the pieces!
If we ever see Sirius again, what form will he be in?
I couldn't possibly answer that for fear of incriminating myself.
Another highly interesting one. I'm sure it can't mean that he's not really dead; JKR went to all possible lengths in the last chapter of OotP to kill off that hope. But there are other possibilities: Maybe he's got a portrait around somewhere. Maybe time travel will be involved. Or maybe Harry will finally realize that he can get clever with the Map. :-D
Why did you kill Sirius? It made me very sad :(
I'm really, really sorry. I didn't want to do it, but there was a reason. If you think you can forgive me, keep reading, you'll find out. [I feel really guilty now].
So we will apparently find out more (although it seems that, at least from the literary perspective, there are reasons enough already).
What made Sirius decide to send Snape to the Willow?
Because Sirius loathed Snape (and the feeling was entirely mutual). You'll find out more about this in due course.
Here she doesn't justify Sirius-- indeed she makes his action if anything more disturbing than it was before (I had thought that it was just a stupid teenage thing where Sirius hadn't pondered the consequences, but this suggests that perhaps he actually had); but she also takes care not to make us sympathize too much with Snape, in effect pointing out that he would have done the same if he could have (as she said in Royal Albert Hall, we "shouldn't think he's too nice").
The trouble, I think, is that Snape's complaint to Harry also applies to far too many readers: "You have no subtlety, Potter." Some fans are too quick to assume that Snape must really be still on the Dark Side after all (when I wrote "HP, PoA," in which Snape pretended to have returned to Voldemort, I was surprised to get reviews from people thinking he really had done so); and then, perhaps in reaction to that, others seem to try far too hard to justify him and make him seem like an okay guy who's mostly just misunderstood.
What is the extent of Hagrid's magical powers?
Not great! He can do magic to a fairly basic standard and occasionally surprises everyone (himself included) by bringing off more impressive bits of magic. Of course, he is somewhat hampered by the fact that his wand is broken and disguised as an umbrella.
I don't know that anything Hagrid's done so far would really qualify as a "more impressive bit of magic"; perhaps this implies that he will do so soon.
I love Tonks, she's my favorite new character. Will she play a large role in future books and/or in Harry's life?
Tonks is hanging around. I really like her, too.
No surprise, but will be good.
Dumbledore is getting older, will it be alot harder for him to fight Lord Voldemort this time around?
He is getting older, but he didn't do badly at the end of 'Phoenix', so there's life in him yet!
Hmmm-- I had thought that Dumbledore's death would most likely be at the climax of book 6, but this increases the apparent likelihood of him living until 7. (Still can't see him surviving Harry's seventh year, however.)
Is there going to be a new minister of magic in the next books?
Yes. Ha! Finally, a concrete bit of information, I hear you cry!
Go Arthur! (Madam Bones would be fine too, though.)
Will we be seeing Krum again any time soon?
You will see Krum again, though not soon.
Translation: We'll see Viktor in book 7 (by which time Ron will hopefully have figured things out well enough not to feel "threatened" by him). :-)
Is 12 the maximum possible number of OWLs one can achieve?
Yes, I think it is off the top of my head.
This is also the number of classes Hermione took most of the way through her third year (Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, Potions, Herbology, History, Astronomy, Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, and Runes). Percy got twelve, and Crouch Sr. seemed to imply that his son had done so also, although this may have been a mixing of real memory with fantasy. In any case, perhaps the use of Time-Turners is more common than we would have guessed based on PoA? Or perhaps (more likely, I think) this is just another "Flint"?
I wonder if you can let us know what form will Professor Snape's Boggart and Patronus take? I am very curious.
Well, I'm not going to tell you, Ernie, but that's because it would give so much away. I wonder whether Ernie is your real name? (It was my grandfather's).
Hmmm-- more about Snape's history to come, I see. I also now wonder... was Ernie MacMillan perhaps named after JKR's grandfather?
Why specifically does Dumbledore trust Snape?
Another excellent and non-answerable question. I shall merely say that Snape has given Dumbledore his story and Dumbledore believes it.
The open question here is whether Snape's "story" is his renunciation of the Dark Side, or something about what he did or didn't do in his time as a Death Eater. (The "renunciation" option seems much more likely to me, but the other may also be possible.)
Is there a link between Snape and vampires?
Erm... I don't think so.
Too bad... that was one of my favorite theories. I'll miss it. :-)
Can we believe everything the Sorting Hat says?
The Sorting Hat is certainly sincere.
Perhaps the most interesting answer of all. One of the things in OotP that didn't quite compute was the Sorting Hat's song; it seemed to take the same position as Hermione in her political over-idealism, in which, as JKR says, her "heart is in the right place" but she isn't quite grasping the realities of the situation. I am not at all, of course, suggesting that Ron's cynical reply is correct either. This is another of those cases in which we need (ironically enough) to take Snape's advice and learn some "subtlety": the truth seems very likely to turn out to be somewhere in between. To assume that Slytherins must generally be basically decent people after all is, I continue to strongly expect, an oversimplification (and more so after reading this answer, which appears to suggest some over-idealism on the Hat's part also). But to refuse them a "second chance" would also miss a very important theme, and I expect that Ron and (above all) Harry will be forced to confront this issue at some point during the last two books.
(My preferred theory at this point continues to be that Mr. Nott will have a falling-out with the DE's after his abandonment by Lucius at the Ministry; and that after this Theodore will begin to question, and eventually renounce, the beliefs with which he's grown up. The issue will then be whether Harry & co. will accept him; Hermione would no doubt be the first to do so, and Ron probably the last.)
Hagrid mentioned he`s allergic to cats in PS; why has he never sneezed when Crookshanks was around?
He's never around Crookshanks very much. I'm allergic to cats and I can be in a room with one briefly. But of course, Crookshanks isn't all cat. Read 'Fantastic Beasts...'!
Recall that JKR had already been quotes as saying that Crookshanks is part-Kneazle.
I find Moaning Myrtle is the saddest character in your books, inspiring a mixture of revulsion and pity. Does she play any further part?
You do see her again. Don't you like her? I know she's a bit revolting, but that's why I'm so fond of her.
Will we see Moaning Myrtle again?
Oh yes, I love Myrtle, I couldn't shut her out for long.
I'm rather partial to Myrtle too. She's still a bit annoying, but interesting enough to be worth it.
How is Dobby able to apparate inside Hogwarts if no one else can?
He's a house-elf, they've got powers wizards haven't got (but wizards have also got powers that house-elves haven't).
Will Winky ever recover?
Poor Winky... she'll never be entirely cured of her Butterbeer addiction, I'm afraid.
Hmmm... too bad; I had been hoping Winky would pull out of it (and, even better, get together with Dobby and raise a nice family). Perhaps not, then. Will Dobby be the only house-elf to accept independence, then? I wouldn't have expected it.
What will happen to Hagrid's half-brother?
You'll find out in book six. Luckily he's become a little more controllable.
I haven't gotten to like Grawp yet; but perhaps JKR will bring me around in the next book. We'll see. In the meantime: I note that so far only one house-elf (Dobby), one centaur (Firenze), and one giant (Grawp) are turning out to be firmly on Dumbledore's side. No goblins yet-- too bad none of the questions brought that up.
Will we see more of Narcissa Malfoy now that Lucius is unavailable?
Yes, you will.
Hmmm. Of course Lucius will escape Azkaban soon enough; but presumably he'll be on the run and can't settle down to a nice quiet family life at his Wiltshire mansion. Not sure how Narcissa will be involved; will be interesting to see.
Is Draco an only child?
Yes. You wouldn't want more Dracos, would you?!
Do you have any future plans in particular for Draco Malfoy?
I've got plans for all my characters. Actually, this is a really good place to answer a question about Draco and Hermione, which a certain Ms. Radcliffe is desperate to have answered. Will they end up together in book six/seven? NO! The trouble is, of course, that girls fancy Tom Felton, but Draco is NOT Tom Felton! (My daughter likes TF very much too, because he taught her how to use a diablo.)
At one point, based on various things in the books, I had though Draco might be a redemption candidate. JKR has long since shot that one down. She's made it abundantly clear that to be sympathetic to Draco is a definite misreading of the books.
Incidentally, as to why she'd shoot down D/H in bright burning flames while contradicting H/H only in veiled hints: It seems fair to say that both of those views are misunderstandings of the text, but that D/H is a much, much more drastic one than H/H is. To ship H/H only involves a mild warping of Harry's and Hermione's romantic tastes; to ship D/H generally implies an attraction to nastiness, which is very much contrary to the kind of story that JKR is writing.
If you could be any female character in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone, which one would you be?
Hermione. Definitely not Pansy Parkinson.
As with previous comments ("I think all of you know a Draco Malfoy, and I think the girls will almost all know a Pansy Parkinson"), JKR continues to treat Pansy as more or less the female equivalent of Draco.
Which character do you most dislike?
Probably Uncle Vernon.
Interesting. Not sure how she'd explain why-- perhaps a combination of "morally bad" with "uninteresting" (Voldemort, Lucius, and Bellatrix may do worse things, but they're at least interesting to write?).
Did the debt Wormtail has to Harry carry over to Voldemort when he sacrificed his arm to restore his body?
No. Can't say any more than that!
So this would seem to be close to the truth in some way; but what it is, I can't quite grasp.
Will Wormtail ever pay Harry back?
You'll see... keep reading!
What happened to Wormtail?
You'll find out in book six.
What about Wormtail? Is there hope for redemption?
There's always hope, of course. You'll find out more about our rat-like friend in book six.
So Peter comes back on the scene. Perhaps Peter will die allowing Harry to escape at the climax of book 6, leaving Harry to face Voldemort one last time in 7 without that bullet still in his gun (so to speak)?
The other interesting thing here is whether Wormtail was on some particular special assignment for Voldemort during book 5, or whether he just didn't happen to be involved in any of the events shown.
What did Dudley see when he faced the Dementors in book five?
Ah, good question. You'll find out!
Oh, good-- I'd like to know that too. Presumably something to do with Harry-- or maybe something related to how his parents spoil him? Not sure how that would work, though.
Will Lord Voldemort get more 'screentime' in the upcoming books?
You will see him again, but like most evil dictators, he prefers his henchmen to do his dirty work.
Was Voldemort born evil?
I don't believe that anybody was born evil. You will find out more about the circumstances of his birth in the next book.
Ooh, interesting-- I believe this was one of the possibilities that Perceval and I discussed on her visit to the Seattle area last year. Perhaps another Little Hangleton-backstory opening? (Although that would shoot down my theory of a symmetrical pattern with dull Privet Drive openings in 2, 3, 5, and 6, and more exciting external-story openings in 1, 4, and 7, with 7 the most chilling of them all. Oh well, I'll take whatever JKR gives us.)
Why did Voldemort pick Harry and not Neville?
Dumbledore explains this in 'Order of the Phoenix'. Voldemort identified more with the half-blood boy and therefore decided he must be the greater risk.
Whatever the "Heir of Gryffindor" thing means, though, it evidently wasn't the reason why Voldemort was after Harry-- or was that part of it too?
Has Voldemort any children?
No. Voldemort as a father... now that's not a nice thought.
You know it's been too long between books when theories like this start circulating....
Did you base Voldemort on any real people? If so are you related to them?!
lol No, I didn't base Voldemort on any real person!
She does elsewhere mention deliberate parallels with Hitler, but this presumably means that she didn't start out saying, "Okay, let's make this Hitler-like character be the Dark Lord." No contradiction here, really.
Are you going to write books about Harry after school?
Probably not, but I'll never say never because every time I do I immediately break the vow!
Another hint that, no, Harry won't really die in Book 7....
What is the sixth book going to be called? The seventh?
It will be called 'Harry Potter and...' something. Catchy, don't you think? And I think I'll follow the same model for seven.
And let me guess-- it will also be a large papery object with pages inside? And Harry will be in it?
Are the Muggle and Magical worlds ever going to be rejoined?
No, the breach was final, although as book six shows, the Muggles are noticing more and more odd happenings now that Voldemort's back.
This had been a possibility, although a dim one. I personally am not sorry to see it go, although I can understand how others might feel differently.
Will you ever publish all your notebooks of information on the series? I am very interested in reading 150 pages on the history of the dementors!
lol Who said there were 150 pages on the dementors??? I certainly didn't! I don't think I'll ever publish my notebooks. Too many revealing doodlings!
Like what-- little Snitches with "Dr. N.M." written on them? :-D
Are there any plans for any more background books like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages in the future?
Possibly. If I do them, it will be for charity like the first two.
Still hoping for Hogwarts: A History, although perhaps something like Magical Drafts and Potions might be more realistic. The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts would definitely be cool. As long as it's not Prefects Who Gained Power, though it's fine with me. (Actually, come to think of it, The Invisible Book of Invisibility might not be so helpful either....)
Any thoughts about a prequel series?
No, no prequels here. You won't need them by the time I've finished, you'll have all the back story you'll need!
She obviously doesn't know her own fandom very well!
One answer we're all longing for: How's the writing of book 6 going and when will it be released?
I can't say when it will be released [load groan that JKR can hear from here] because that's down to my publishers. But it's going really well. I am loving writing it.
Arrgh-- why couldn't they have taken a question asking "when will it be submitted"?!?
If you could change anything about Harry Potter what would it be?
There are loads of things I would change. I don't think any writer is ever completely happy with what they've written. One of these days - once seven is finished - I'll revise all seven books.
Again, very interesting. It causes me to lean even more toward the view of "ideal canon" as "what JKR would write given ample opportunity for revision of the full series."
How long does it take you to plan a book before you even start writing? Or do you just plan as you go along?
It's hard to say; book six has been planned for years, but before I started writing seriously I spend two months re-visting the plan and making absolutely sure I knew what I was doing (learning from my mistakes - I didn't check the plan for 'Goblet of Fire' and had to re-write a third of the book.
So then, that tells us that she may not have started in on the real substance of it until maybe September or so. And she's still not close to a submission. Probably a two-year gap, with a release in summer 2005, would be the best we can hope for.
But we've done this before. We're good at waiting.
Right?
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