J.K. Rowling opens up about HARRY POTTER
The wealthiest person ever to make her fortune from writing talks about the beginnings and endings of the Hogwarts saga, and reveals some secrets of Harry's universe.
When J.K. Rowling finished the climactic chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, completing a 17-year journey, she "burst into tears and couldn't stop crying." She opened up the minibar of her suite at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and downed a little bottle of champagne.
Then, experiencing an "end-of-epic euphoria," she danced around the room a bit before rebelliously writing on the base of the bust of Hermes that stood in the window alcove, "J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007."
Many fans have felt that the ending of the Potter saga would've been much neater if Rowling had wrapped up Harry's adventures by killing him, rather than leaving him a concerned father.
"I've known that all along," she said, but that was never her plan. Harry always was destined to survive his journey. "It's a bittersweet ending. But that's perfect, because that is what happens to our heroes. We're human. I kept arguing that 'love is the most important force.' So I wanted to show him loving."
Young Mister Potter helped his creator through her mother's 1990 death, through divorce, through single parenthood, and, most importantly, through her fear of failure. Now, she's not only mourning the end of the series, but also her loss of control over Harry, who--like Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and Superman--is now bigger than his maker.
Rowling's impact on the world, well beyond just entertainment, cannot be overestimated. Her books are loved and discussed globally, and she is often credited with stirring a passion for reading in many young people.
But her stories also have been hotly denounced by religious fundamentalists. Through it all, Rowling didn't really talk about her faith, but now she feels free to discuss her life-long religious curiosity and attraction to faith.
Her Christian defenders always thought her faith shone through her stories, but the author makes very clear that she has no religious agenda. "I wasn't trying to do what C.S. Lewis did [with The Chronicles of Narnia]. It is perfectly possible to live a very moral life without a belief in God, and I think it's perfectly possible to live a life peppered with ill-doing and believe in God."
Rowling now is working on two projects--an adult novel and a "political fairy tale." However, she's admitted to some "weak moments" concerning her divorce from Harry's world.
"If, and it's a big if, I ever write an eighth book about the [wizarding] world, I doubt that Harry would be the central character," she said. "I feel like I've already told his story. But these are big ifs. Let's give it 10 years and see how we feel then."
In the meantime, she finally feels free to reveal some more secrets of the series. "It's a massive, massive sense of release."
10 QUESTIONS
1. Why doesn't Fred appear in the woods at the end as well?
"Do you know what?" Rowling asked. "I never even thought of Fred coming back."
2. Did Harry die?
The powerful Avada Kedavra curse disabled Harry enough that he could have succumbed to death if he had chosen, but he instead entered a limbo between life and death, and faced a choice about which way to go.
3. What was that creature in the corner at King's Cross?
The last maimed fragment of Voldemort's soul.
4. What was Dumbledore's wand made of?
The death tree.
5. What did Dumbledore really see in the Mirror of Erised?
His family, alive and whole and reconciled.
6. Where do wizard children go to school before Hogwarts?
Most are homeschooled, because they aren't really able to control their powers.
7. Are Harry and Voldemort related?
Yes, distantly, through the Peverells.
8. Who does Draco Malfoy marry?
Astoria Greengrass, younger sister of the Greengrass family.
9. Where do the main characters work as adults?
Harry and Hermione are at the Ministry. Ron is at the joke shop. Ginny becomes a professional Quidditch player and then Daily Prophet sportswriter.
10. Was Teddy Lupin a werewolf?
No, he was a Metamorphmagus.
[Original article by Time's NANCY GIBBS, with reporting by GINA ELLIOTT, LAURA FITZPATRICK and LAURA BLUE.]
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PAnthony
12/27/2007
Time