The Media Guru

Jul 31, 2007

J.K. Rowling Bloomsbury Chat Transcript

J.K. Rowling: I’m here and I can’t wait! Bring on the questions!

Leaky Cauldron: What, if anything, did the Wizarding world learn, and how did society change, as a direct result of the war with Voldemort? (i.e., not as a result of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s future careers.)
J.K. Rowling: The Ministry of Magic was de-corrupted, and with Kingsley at the helm the discrimination that was always latent there was eradicated. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and all would of course play a significant part in the re-building of Wizarding society through their future careers.

Ryan Love: From your fans at thesnitch.co.uk. Weren’t we supposed to see Ginny display powerful magical abilities in “Deathly hallows” and find out why it’s significant that she’s the seventh child? Was her main role in the books only to be Harry’s love interest?
J.K. Rowling: Hi Ryan! Well, I think Ginny demonstrated powerful magic in the final battle, and that for a sixteen year old witch she acquitted herself pretty well. I don’t remember ever saying that her ‘seventh child’ status would prove particularly important in the last book, though – are you sure I said that?!

Georgina: Did Lucius Malfoy, and all the other escaped Death Eaters, go back to Azkaban?
J.K. Rowling: No, the Malfoys weaselled their way out of trouble (again) due to the fact that they colluded (albeit out of self-interest) with Harry at the end of the battle.

Elisabeth: In the chapter of King’s cross, are they behind the veil or in some world between the real world and the veil?
J.K. Rowling: You can make up your own mind on this, but I think that Harry entered a kind of limbo between life and death.

Renee: From reading about the original owners of the Deathly Hallows, the Peverell brothers, i’m wondering if Harry and Voldemort are distantly related - Voldermort’s grandfather ended up with the resurrection stone ring?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, Harry and Voldemort are distantly related through the Peverells. Of course, nearly all Wizarding families are related if you trace them back through the centuries. As was made clear in ‘Deathly hallows’, Peverell blood would run through many wizarding families.

Fomy: What did you feel when you finally wrote the kiss, awaited so much by the fans, of Ron and Hermione
J.K. Rowling: I loved writing it, and I loved the fact that Hermione took the initiative! Ron had finally got SPEW and earned himself a snog!

Angela Morrissey: Why is it that Albus Dumbledore can see Harry under his Invisibility Cloak at certain moments? (during the series is the cloak only infallible to those who do not own a Deathly Hallow?)
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore, who could perform magic without needing to say the incantation aloud, was using ‘Homenum Revelio’ - the human-presence-revealing spell Hermione makes use of in Deathly Hallows.

Jamie Lewis: What ever happened to Winky?
J.K. Rowling: She’s still at Hogwarts, and she was one of the oncoming house-elves who attacked the Death Eaters in the final battle.

Katieleigh: Does Hermione still continue to do work with spew and is life any better for house elves!
J.K. Rowling: Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where she was instrumental in greatly improving life for house-elves and their ilk. She then moved (despite her jibe to Scrimgeour) to the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement where she was a progressive voice who ensured the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws.

Tineke: Did Teddy grow up living with his grandmother?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, Teddy was raised by Andromeda. However, unlike Neville, who was also raised by his grandmother Teddy had his godfather, Harry and all his father’s friends in the Order, to visit and stay with.

Blodeuwedd: Hi JK, first of all thank you for all the books I have enjoyed each and every one of them. Could you tell us what professions Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Luna go on to have? Did the trio do their final year at school and take their Newts? Who became Headmaster?
J.K. Rowling: Thank you! I’ve already answered about Hermione. Kingsley became permanent Minister for Magic, and naturally he wanted Harry to head up his new Auror department. Harry did so (just because Voldemort was gone, it didn’t mean that there would not be other Dark witches and wizards in the coming years). Ron joined George at Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes, which became an enormous money-spinner… After a few years as a celebrated player for the Holyhead Harpies, Ginny retired to have her family and to become the Senior Quidditch correspondent at the Daily Prophet!

Camille: What or who is Peeves exactly, is he linked with the Blood Baron’s story?
J.K. Rowling: No, Peeves is not linked to the bloody Baron’s story. He is a spirit of chaos that entered the building long ago and has proved impossible to eradicate!

Jessie: Were the Deathly Hallows based on any real world myth or faerie tale?
J.K. Rowling: Perhaps ‘the Pardoner’s Tale’, by Chaucer.

Alicepie: What happend to Luna, did she get married who to?
J.K. Rowling: She ended up marrying (rather later than Harry & co) a fellow naturalist and grandson of the great Newt Scamander (Rolf)!

Rosi: What does in essence divided mean?
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore suspected that the snake’s essence was divided – that it contained part of Voldemort’s soul, and that was why it was so very adept at doing his bidding. This also explained why Harry, the last and unintended Horcrux, could see so clearly through the snake’s eyes, just as he regularly sees through Voldemort’s. Dumbledore is thinking aloud here, edging towards the truth with the help of the Pensieve.

Superhans: What was Duldey’s worst memory?
J.K. Rowling: I think that when Dudley was attacked by the Dementors he saw himself, for the first time, as he really was. This was an extremely painful, but ultimately salutary lesson, and began the transformation in him.

Casey Kunze: Who killed Remus and Tonks? I think if I knew this, I would get some closure over the very sad, but understandable, death of two of my favourite characters.
J.K. Rowling: I’m so sorry! I met a couple on launch night who had come dressed as Lupin and Tonks, and I felt dreadfully guilty as I signed their books! Remus was killed by Dolohov and Tonks by Bellatrix.

Laura Trego: Was the absence of Snape’s portrait in the Headmaster’s office in the last scene innocent or deliberate?
J.K. Rowling: It was deliberate. Snape had effectively abandoned his post before dying, so he had not merited inclusion in these august circles. However, I like to think that Harry would be instrumental in ensuring that Snape’s portrait would appear there in due course.

Stephanie: If the wand chooses the wizard, then why do wands work when passed down from father to son? (e.g., Neville had his father’s wand)
J.K. Rowling: As established by Ollivander, a wizard can use almost any wand, it is simply that a wand that chooses him/her will work best. Where there is a family connection, a wand will work a little better than a wand chosen at random, I think.

James Farrell: How did Umbridge manage to conjure a Patronus while wearing the locket when harry wasn’t able to?
J.K. Rowling: Because she is a very nasty piece of work. She has an affinity for this horrible object, which would help rather than hinder her.

Tineke: What happened to Percy? Did he return to his job at the Ministry?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, the new improved Percy ended up as a high-ranking official under Kingsley.

Su: How did Neville get the Gryffindor sword, is there a link to the Hat?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, there is very definitely a link to the Hat! Neville, most worthy Gryffindor, asked for help just as Harry did in the Chamber of secrets, and Gryffindor’s sword was transported into Gryffindor’s old hat – the Sorting Hat was Gryffindor’s initially, as you know. Griphook was wrong – Gryffindor did not ‘steal’ the sword, not unless you are a goblin fanatic and believe that all goblin-made objects really belong to the maker.

Steph: Will Azkaban still use Dementors?
J.K. Rowling: No, definitely not. Kingsley would see to that. The use of Dementors was always a mark of the underlying corruption of the Ministry, as Dumbledore constantly maintained.

Smallbutpowerful: On behalf of all Harry Potter fans who consider themselves to be Hufflepuffs could you please describe the Hufflepuff common room as it is the only common room Harry hasn’t visited.
J.K. Rowling: The Hufflepuff common room is accessed through a portrait near the kitchens, as I am sure you have deduced. Sorry – I should say ‘painting’ rather than portrait, because it is a still-life. It is a very cosy and welcoming place, as dissimilar as possible from Snape’s dungeon. Lots of yellow hangings, and fat armchairs, and little underground tunnels leading to the dormitories, all of which have perfectly round doors, like barrel tops.

Camille: How is George getting along without his twin?
J.K. Rowling: Well, I don’t think that George would ever get over losing Fred, which makes me feel so sad. However, he names his first child and son Fred, and he goes on to have a very successful career, helped by good old Ron.

Jessica Lynn: Did Hagrid have to be able to see Thestrals in order to train them if so, whose death did Hagrid witness?
J.K. Rowling: Hagrid has seen many deaths in quite a long life, so yes, he can see Thestrals.

Allie: What did Dumbledore truly see in the Mirror of Erised?
J.K. Rowling: He saw his family alive, whole and happy – Ariana, Percival and Kendra all returned to him, and Aberforth reconciled to him.

Snapedinhalf: You promised that someone will do magic late in life in book 7. I’ve now read it three times but can’t work out who it might have been! Please help!!
J.K. Rowling: I’m sorry about this, but I changed my mind! My very earliest plan for the story involved somebody managing to get to Hogwarts when they had never done magic before, but I had changed my mind by the time I’d written the third book.

Christiana: How did Voldemort get his wand back after he was in exile?
J.K. Rowling: Wormtail, desperate to curry favour, salvaged it from the place it had fallen and carried it to him. I admit that would have been a bit of a feat for a rat, but they are highly intelligent creatures!

Amanda: Hiya, I’ve grown up with harry and the gang, did any of the characters change in any unexpected ways as they grew up?
J.K. Rowling: They all became pretty much what I expected/planned them to become. Of course they changed as I wrote, but nobody surprised me very much!

Ravleen: How much does the fact that Voldemort was conceived under a love potion have to do with his non-ability to understand love is more symbolic?
J.K. Rowling: It was a symbolic way of showing that he came from a loveless union – but of course, everything would have changed if Merope had survived and raised him herself and loved him. The enchantment under which Tom Riddle fathered Voldemort is important because it shows coercion, and there can’t be many more prejudicial ways to enter the world than as the result of such a union.

Lechicaneuronline: Do you think Snape is a hero?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, I do; though a very flawed hero. An anti-hero, perhaps. He is not a particularly likeable man in many ways. He remains rather cruel, a bully, riddled with bitterness and insecurity – and yet he loved, and showed loyalty to that love and, ultimately, laid down his life because of it. That’s pretty heroic!

James Farrell: Voldemort never told anyone about his Horcruxes, so how on earth did Regulus Black discover his secret?
J.K. Rowling: Horcrux magic was not Voldemort’s own invention; as is established in the story; other wizards had done it, though never gone as far as to make six. Voldemort dropped oblique hints; in his arrogance, he did not believe anybody would be clever enough to understand them. (He does so in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, in front of Harry). He did this before Regulus and Regulus guessed, correctly, what it was that made Voldemort so convinced he could not die.

Jaclyn: Did Lily ever have feelings back for Snape?
J.K. Rowling: Yes. She might even have grown to love him romantically (she certainly loved him as a friend) if he had not loved Dark Magic so much, and been drawn to such loathsome people and acts.

Boggo: Would you choose the Hallow that is the cloak, like you’re supposed to, and would you be tempted to use the others?
J.K. Rowling: My temptation would be Harry’s, i.e., the Stone. But I believe, as does Harry ultimately, that the greatest wisdom is in accepting that we must all die, and moving on.

Cornersoul: So what happens to all the Dementors? Where will they go & will they be destroyed? If so, how?
J.K. Rowling: You cannot destroy Dementors, though you can limit their numbers if you eradicate the conditions in which they multiply, i.e., despair and degradation. As I’ve already said, though,the Ministry no longer used them to torment its opponents.

Michael: Why didn’t Fawkes come back to help Harry? I would have thought that since Harry was so loyal to Dumbledore, Fawkes would have been Harry’s new pet.
J.K. Rowling: Something had to leave the school for good when Dumbledore died, and I decided that would be Fawkes. Dumbledore was a very great and irreplaceable man, and the loss of Fawkes (and the fact that he was ‘non-transferable’!) expresses this symbolically

Roseweasley: Why was Colin Creevey still a student at Hogwarts when he was Muggle-born? Surely he would have been locked up and interrogated, not allowed back to school & therefore, he shouldn’t have died.
J.K. Rowling: Colin wasn’t a student. He sneaked back with the rest of the DA, along with Fred, George and the rest. He ought not to have stayed behind when McGonagall told him to leave, but alas – he did.

Delailah: How does Dumbledore understand Parseltongue?
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore understood Mermish, Gobbledegook and Parseltongue. The man was brilliant.

Jessie: Will Lockhart ever recover?
J.K. Rowling: No. Nor would I want him to. He’s happy where he is, and I’m happier without him!

Annie: Does the Wizarding world now know that Snape was Dumbledore’s man, or do they still think he did a bunk?
J.K. Rowling: Harry would ensure that Snape’s heroism was known. Of course, that would not stop Rita Skeeter writing ‘Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?’

Vio91: Is Teddy Lupin a werewolf?
J.K. Rowling: No, he’s a Metamorphmagus like his mother

Nippy23: We see socks a lot throughout the series, such as Dobby’s love for them and Dumbledore’s claim to see them in the Mirror of Erised, what’s the reason behind all the socks?
J.K. Rowling: Nothing deep and significant, I’m afraid. They’re just a comedy item.

Lady Bella: Whose murders did Voldemort use to create each of the horcruxes?
J.K. Rowling: The diary – Moaning Myrtle. The cup – Hepzibah Smith, the previous owner. The locket – a Muggle tramp. Nagini – Bertha Jorkins (Voldemort could use a wand once he regained a rudimentary body, as long as the victim was subdued). The diadem – an Albanian peasant. The ring – Tom Riddle senior.

Sampotterish: Why did Dumbledore want Ron to keep his Deluminator?
J.K. Rowling: Because he knew that Ron might need a little more guidance than the other two. Dumbledore understood Ron’s importance in the trio. He wasn’t the most skilled, or the most intelligent, but he held them together; his humour and his good heart were essential.

Carol: Do Dementors have souls?
J.K. Rowling: No, that’s what makes them frightening!

Jess Mac: What was the third smell that Hermione smelt in the Amortentia potion in Half-Blood Prince? (i.e., the particular essence of Ron)
J.K. Rowling: I think it was his hair. Every individual has very distinctive-smelling hair, don’t you find?

Natalie: Are house divisions as prevalent in Harry’s children’s Hogwarts as in the previous generations?
J.K. Rowling: Slytherin has become diluted. It is no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers, hence Albus Potter’s fears.

Nithya: Lily detested Mulciber, Avery. If Snape really loved her, why didn’t he sacrifice their company for her sake?
J.K. Rowling: Well, that is Snape’s tragedy. Given his time over again he would not have become a Death Eater, but like many insecure, vulnerable people (like Wormtail) he craved membership of something big and powerful, something impressive. He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too. He never really understood Lily’s aversion; he was so blinded by his attraction to the dark side he thought she would find him impressive if he became a real Death Eater.

Alborz: What does it mean to be the Master of Death?
J.K. Rowling: As Dumbledore explains, the real master of Death accepts that he must die, and that there are much worse things in the world of the living. It is not about striving for immortality, but about accepting mortality.

Barbara: I was very disappointed to see Harry use Crucio and seem to enjoy it. His failure to perform that kind of curse in the past has been a credit to his character. Why the change? And did Harry later regret having enjoyed deliberately causing pain?
J.K. Rowling: Harry is not, and never has been, a saint. Like Snape, he is flawed and mortal. Harry’s faults are primarily anger and occasional arrogance. On this occasion, he is very angry and acts accordingly. He is also in an extreme situation, and attempting to defend somebody very good against a violent and murderous opponent.

Nicole: What do you think is the funniest moment you have written in the series?
J.K. Rowling: It sounds very vain to answer this! My favourite in this book is probably that line of Ron’s ‘really captures the scope and tragedy of the thing, doesn’t it?’

Courtney: What child did Harry give the Marauder’s map to if any?
J.K. Rowling: I’ve got a feeling he didn’t give it to any of them, but that James sneaked it out of his father’s desk one day.

Karin: What did Petunia wanted to say to Harry at the end of the Dursley’s departing?
J.K. Rowling: I think that for one moment she trembled on the verge of wishing Harry luck; that she almost acknowledged that her loathing of his world, and of him, was born out of jealousy. But she couldn’t do it; years of pretending that ‘normal’ was best had hardened her too much.

Leaky Cauldron: Please pose and answer the question you’d most like to address about the series! (a ha, turned it back on you.)
J.K. Rowling: Oooo, you’re tough. I must admit, I always wondered why nobody ever asked me what Dumbledore’s wand was made of! And I couldn’t say that, even when asked ‘what do you wish you’d been asked…’ because it would have sign-posted just how significant that wand would become!

Nora: Is Auntie Muriel’s tiara important?
J.K. Rowling: No, sorry… except to illustrate what an old bat she is.

Nigel: Can Harry speak Parseltongue when he is no longer a Horcrux?
J.K. Rowling: No, he loses the ability, and is very glad to do so.

Nikki: How did Sirius’s two-way mirror end up with Aberforth or is it another two-way mirror?
J.K. Rowling: You see Aberforth meeting Mundungus in Hogsmeade. That was the occasion on which Dung, who had taken Sirius’s mirror from Grimmauld Place, sold it to Aberforth.

Tierney Roth: If Moody got a magic eye, and Wormtail got a magic hand, couldn’t there be some way to form a magical ear, if only to cover up the hole and make George look more symmetrical?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, he could wear a false ear (I’m starting to giggle at the thought. Perhaps he’s better off with the hole!)

Lucy: What is Dumbledore’s boggart?
J.K. Rowling: The corpse of his sister

Pablo: What is toad-faced Umbridge doing now?
J.K. Rowling: Glad to see you like her as much as I do! She was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned for crimes against Muggleborns.

Tina: Do the Muggles notice that there aren’t any weird things going on now that Voldemort’s gone?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, the world seems a much sunnier place (literally – with the Dementors gone the weather gets better!) We are having a heavily Dementor-influenced summer here in the UK.

Katie Mosher: How exactly do Muggleborns receive magical ability?
J.K. Rowling: Muggle-borns will have a witch or wizard somewhere on their family tree, in some cases many, many generations back. The gene re-surfaces in some unexpected places.

Maggie: Is Rita Skeeter still reporting?
J.K. Rowling: Naturally, what could stop Rita? I imagine she immediately dashed off a biography of Harry after he defeated Voldemort. One quarter truth to three quarters rubbish.

Maggie Keir: Was Hermione able to find her parents and undo the memory damage?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, she brought them home straight away.

Lola Victorpujebet: Was Minerva in love with Albus?
J.K. Rowling: No! Not everybody falls in love with everybody else…

Rachel Nell: JKR, thank you for such amazing books! I would like to know how come none seemed to know that Lily and Snape were friends in school, they were obviously meeting for chats, etc didn’t James know their past?
J.K. Rowling: Thank you for your thank you! Yes, it was known that they were friendly and then stopped being friends. Nothing more than that would be widely known. James always suspected Snape harboured deeper feelings for Lily, which was a factor in James’ behaviour to Snape.

Abbey: Will the Chuddley Cannons ever win the Quidditch World Cup?
J.K. Rowling: Bless them, perhaps. But they’d need to replace the entire team and down several cauldrons of Felix Felicitas.

Hayleyhaha: Why did Regulus have a change of heart?
J.K. Rowling: He was not prepared for the reality of life as a Death Eater. It was Voldemort’s attempted murder of Kreacher that really turned him.

Stephval: Is Scorpius as misguided as his father, or has Draco improved and taught his child(ren) better?
J.K. Rowling: Scorpius has a lot going against him, not least that name. However, I think Scorpius would be an improvement on his father, whom misfortune has sobered! [The previous question was posed after the answer appeared.] Sorry, technical hitch – just answered a question before seeing it! I am clearly getting better at Legilimency.

Lona: Did Draco and Harry lose their animosity towards each other when Voldemort died?
J.K. Rowling: Not really. There would be a kind of rapprochement, in that Harry knows Draco hated being a Death Eater, and would not have killed Dumbledore; similarly, Draco would feel a grudging gratitude towards Harry for saving his life. Real friendship would be out of the question, though. Too much had happened prior to the final battle.

Hannah: Why was Snape so badly groomed?
J.K. Rowling: Hmm. Good question. Poor eyesight? Did he look in the mirror and believe he was gorgeous as he was? I think it more likely that he valued other qualities in himself!

Unknown: What happened to the Resurrection Stone ring? Did anyone else retrieve it?
J.K. Rowling: I think not. I imagine that it was squashed into the ground by a centaur’s hoof as the centaurs dashed to the aid of the Hogwarts fighters, and thereafter became buried.

Adwait313: Has the jinx on the D.A.D.A. teaching post at Hogwarts been lifted?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, at last! Incidentally, I know some have asked about Quirrell with regard to this question. He was teaching at Hogwarts for more than a year, but NOT in the post of D.A.D.A. teacher. He was previously Muggle Studies professor.

Emily: What ever happened to Aberforth?
J.K. Rowling: He is still there, at the Hog’s Head.

Lee: I recently purchased Nimbus Two Thousand, it has a terrible knack of veering left. Is there anything I can do (without the use of a wand - it was broken by a hippogriff) to repair it back to its original straight flying state?
J.K. Rowling: Hm. I would advise a trip to Arkie Alderton’s Kwik-Repair Shop. Never attempt to mend a broom at home, the consequences can be disastrous.

Abjoppotter: Is Narcissa Malfoy really a Death Eater?
J.K. Rowling: No, she never had the Dark Mark and was never a fully paid-up member. However, her views were identical to those of her husband until Voldemort planned the death of her son.

Emzzy: Did Mr. Weasley ever get around to fixing Sirius’s motorbike?
J.K. Rowling: Of course, and it ended up in Harry’s possession.

Lulu: Do you think Dumbledore was a little more fond of Ron than either Ron or Harry believed?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, I do. Through Harry’s account of Ron, and from reports of the professors who taught Ron, Dumbledore understood Ron better than Ron ever knew, and liked him, too.

Chelatina: Was Firenze ever welcomed back into the herd?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, the rest of the herd was forced to acknowledge that Firenze’s pro-human leanings were not shameful, but honourable.

Kristy: What was your favourite scene to write in Deathly Hallows?
J.K. Rowling: Chapter 34: The Forest Again.

Chely: James’s Patronus is a stag and Lily’s a doe. Is that a coincidence?
J.K. Rowling: No, the Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one’s life (because they so often become the ‘happy thought’ that generates a Patronus).

Jon: Since Voldemort was afraid of death, did he choose to be a ghost? If so, where does he haunt or is this not possible due to his Horcruxes?
J.K. Rowling: No, he is not a ghost. He is forced to exist in the stunted form we witnessed in King’s Cross.

Angela Morrissey: Were there seven Horcruxes, not six as Dumbledore intimated to Harry. If so, does this mean that Voldemort had an 8 part soul, not 7?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, Voldemort accidentally broke his soul into eight parts, not seven.

Laura Trego: Did Hermione really put a memory charm on her parents? She says she did but then about 50 pages later tells Ron she’s never done a memory charm.
J.K. Rowling: They are two different charms. She has not wiped her parents’ memories (as she later does to Dolohov and Rowle); she has bewitched them to make them believe that they are different people.

Maura: How come Voldemort was no longer employing Occlumency against harry, as he was in the 6th book?
J.K. Rowling: He is losing control, and unable to prevent Harry seeing into his mind. The connection between them is never fully understood by Voldemort, who does not know that Harry is a Horcrux.

Gandalfxj9: Did Krum ever find love?
J.K. Rowling: Of course, though he had to go back to his native Bulgaria to do so.

Twinkletoes: Why did you feel that Hedwig’s death was necessary?
J.K. Rowling: The loss of Hedwig represented a loss of innocence and security. She has been almost like a cuddly toy to Harry at times. Voldemort killing her marked the end of childhood. I’m sorry… I know that death upset a LOT of people!

Lecanard: Will we see Harry and his friends having their own history on Chocolate Frog cards?
J.K. Rowling: Definitely, and Ron will describe this as his finest hour.

Mike: What is the incantation for creating a Horcrux?
J.K. Rowling: I cannot possibly tell you. Some things are better left unsaid.

Samantha: Was Snape the only death eater who could produce a full Patronus?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, because a Patronus is used against things that the Death Eaters generally generate, or fight alongside. They would not need Patronuses.

Jess: How did Nagini see Harry and Hermione if they were under the Invisibility Cloak?
J.K. Rowling: Snakes’ senses are very different from human ones. They can detect heat and movement in a way that we can’t.

Chucky: Have you had other alternatives as book title apart from Deathly Hallows?
J.K. Rowling: The two other possibilities were ‘the Elder Wand’ (used instead as a chapter title) and ‘the Peverell Quest’, which I decided against quite quickly. I think the word ‘Quest’ is a bit corny!

Iglooanne: What would your Patronus be?
J.K. Rowling: I’d like an otter, like Hermione, but I’ve got a feeling it might be a large dog.

The Stoic Cycle: Why is it that Voldemort is unaware that the Gaunt ring is a Hallow, when he has worn it (such as in the memory the diary shows Harry in book 2)
J.K. Rowling: Wearing the ring would not make the stone work. The stone existed outside the ring originally, and to use it you had to turn it three times in your hand.

Finchburg: Does the Dark Mark remain on those that Voldemort has branded after his death or does the tattoo disappear now he is gone? Thanks for considering my question!
J.K. Rowling: My pleasure, Finchburg! The Dark Mark would fade to a scar, not dissimilar to the lightning scar on Harry’s forehead. Like Harry’s, these scars would no longer burn or hurt.

Katie Mosher: How is the Quibbler doing these days?
J.K. Rowling: Pretty well, actually. It has returned to its usual condition of advanced lunacy, and is appreciated for its unintentional humour.

Camille: Dear Mrs Rowling, while I’m here I want to thank you for making me laugh, cry (a lot! Most of all for Sirius!) Since I’m 11 - quite a long time for me as I’m now 20 - Harry’s magic and yours will be with me forever! Thanks!
J.K. Rowling: Thank you very much, Camille, and I’m sorry about Sirius. That man’s got a lot of fans. Mostly female, I might add.

Nicofr: Does Winky still drink a lot of Butterbeer?
J.K. Rowling: She’s dried out a bit now.

Isabel: Did Bellatrix ever love her husband, or did she have love only for Voldemort?
J.K. Rowling: She took a pureblood husband, because that was what was expected of her, but her true love was always Voldemort.

jenny: How did Snape keep his Patronus secret from the rest of the Order?
J.K. Rowling: He was careful not to use the talking Patronus means of communication with them. This was not difficult, as his particular job within the Order, ie, as spy, meant that sending a Patronus to any of them might have given away his true allegiance.

Darchey: Did Voldemort ever love a girl?
J.K. Rowling: No, he loved only power, and himself. He valued people whom he could use to advance his own objectives.

Leo: What would your wand be made of?
J.K. Rowling: I’d like Harry’s wand – holly and phoenix feather.

Brian: Did the DA keep the coins?
J.K. Rowling: Naturally. They would be like badges or medals of honour – proof that the owner had been at the heart of the fight against Voldemort from the start! I like to imagine Neville showing his to his admiring pupils.

Tracie: How relieved are you that you can finally talk about the series? No more secretkeeping!
J.K. Rowling: I’m elated! It is great to be able to do this at last, I’ve looked forward to it for so long!

Lou: How did Snape get into Grimmauld Place to get the second half of the letter, if there were protection spells on the house stopping Snape getting in?
J.K. Rowling: Snape entered the house immediately after Dumbledore’s death, before Moody put up the spells against him.

Koen Van Der Voort: Why is the scar on Harry’s forehead lightning shaped?
J.K. Rowling: To be honest, because it’s a cool shape. I couldn’t have my hero sport a doughnut-shaped scar.

Louie: Did Marietta’s pimply formation ever fade?
J.K. Rowling: Eventually, but it left a few scars. I loathe a traitor!

Katie B: Why was King’s cross the place Harry went to when he died?
J.K. Rowling: For many reasons. The name works rather well, and it has been established in the books as the gateway between two worlds, and Harry would associate it with moving on between two worlds (don’t forget that it is Harry’s image we see, not necessarily what is really there.)

J.K. Rowling: We seem to have over-run. We’ve had over 120,000 questions, I’ve been told! What can I say? Thank you so much for sticking with me, and with Harry, for so long. You have made this an incredible journey for Harry’s author.

J.K. Rowling: I like this question, so I’ll take it for my last.
Tess: What Muggle song do you imagine would be played at Dumbledore’s funeral?
J.K. Rowling: Surely ‘I did it my way’ by Frank Sinatra.

J.K. Rowling: I’m very aware I haven’t answered everything… keep an eye on my website, and I’ll try and answer some more questions in due course! Thanks very much everybody, I’ve had a great time, and I hope I’ve covered some of the outstanding questions (I hear a distant roar of ‘YOU DIDN’T GET TO MINE!’) That’s it… I’m Disapparating. Bye!
[via leakycauldron.org] Thanks to Ruhi.

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A few titbits have surfaced on the incomplete epilogue that all of us hated…
& for those of you who thought that the Harry Potter books are finally over… be aware that there’s a Harry Potter Encyclopaedia coming up! :D

Stop your sobbing! More Potter to come
For the millions in the midst of the seven stages of mourning for the end of the Harry Potter era, take heart.

In her first tell-all interview since the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” J.K. Rowling told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira she “probably will” publish a Potter encyclopedia, promising many more details about her beloved characters and the fate of the wizarding world beyond the few clues provided in the seventh book’s epilogue.

“I suppose I have [started] because the raw material is all in my notes,” Rowling said.

The encyclopedia would include back stories of characters she has already written but had to cut for the sake of narrative arc (“I've said before that Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books”), as well as details about the characters who survive “Deathly Hallows,” characters who continue to live on in Rowling’s mind in a clearly defined magical world.

Hogwarts, for example, has a new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”), and Rowling said she can see Harry going back to give the “odd talk” on Defense Against the Dark Arts. That class, by the way, is now led by a permanent professor, since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx that didn’t allow a teacher to remain in the position for more than a year.

Rowling freely offered up these details to Vieira and the 14 fans who asked her questions at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on Tuesday. In fact, now that she is now longer burdened with guarding the secrets of Book 7, Rowling seemed to delight in discussing her plot choices and clearing up the mysteries that have previously surrounded the books.

The character Rowling couldn’t bear to kill
One of the big stories that has been floating among fans for more than a year is that one character gets a reprieve from death, while two others Rowling didn’t intend to kill end up dying in “Deathly Hallows.” “Mr. Weasley, he was the person who got a reprieve,” Rowling said. “When I sketched out the books, Mr. Weasley was due to die in Book 5.”

Instead, another father dies in the end of Book 7.

Though Rowling couldn’t bear to kill off Arthur Weasley, that didn't mean the other deaths in the book were easy to take. Given the bloodbath that is “Deathly Hallows,” the writing of it was bound to be an emotional roller coaster.

But nothing in the entire process of the series was more difficult than writing the scene when Harry, accompanied by his lost loved ones — including his parents, James and Lily, and his godfather, Sirius — walks into the forest with the intent of sacrificing his life in the name of defeating Voldemort, Rowling said, adding it is her favorite passage in all seven books.

“I didn't cry as I was writing [that chapter], but when I finished writing, I had an enormous explosion of emotion and I cried and cried and cried,” Rowling said.

“That was partly because of the content — and partly because it had been planned for so long and been roughed out for so long. And to write the definitive version felt like a — a huge climax.”

“The Deathly Hallows” is the climax to the last 17 years of Rowling’s life, a time when she has gone from a single, divorced mother living on public assistance to a happily married mother of three and one of the richest women in the world.

It’s now time to sit back for a bit and enjoy the life that Harry has given her, Rowling said. And, when she’s ready, there’s always that encyclopedia waiting in the wings.

“I’m not going to do it tomorrow because I’d really like a break,” Rowling said, laughing. “So you may be waiting.”

[from msnbc.msn.com]

Rowling: I wanted to kill parents
J.K. Rowling sketched out the deaths in the Harry Potter series years ago, and from that point forward no amount of pleading from fans, friends or even family could convince her to change her mind. The death sentences were set in stone, even though writing her characters into oblivion was often personally painful.

“Otherwise what would you do? You would just write very fluffy, cozy books,” she said. “You know, suddenly I [would be] halfway through 'Goblet of Fire' and suddenly everyone would just have a really great life and … the plot would go AWOL.”

But there was one exception. When she reached Book 5, “Order of the Phoenix,” Rowling decided to give a character a reprieve from death and to kill off two others in his place.

“If there's one character I couldn't bear to part with, it's Arthur Weasley,” Rowling admitted for the first time publicly in an interview with TODAY’s Meredith Vieira. Hence, in “Phoenix,” Mr. Weasley survives a snakebite … just barely.

“I think part of the reason for that is there were very few good fathers in the book,” said Rowling. “In fact, you could make a very good case for Arthur Weasley being the only good father in the whole series.”

The author admits that just as Dumbledore became attached to Harry, she became too attached to Arthur Weasley. But there is another reason she selected the two additional characters, who had survived in her original vision of the story, to die at the end of “Deathly Hallows” in Mr. Weasley’s place.

“I wanted to kill parents,” she said, quickly adding that sounded “terrible” to say. “I wanted there to be an echo of what happened to Harry just to show the absolute evil of what Voldemort's doing.”

The theme resonates throughout the books with the deaths of Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore, Harry’s flawed father figures. And that’s why, in the Battle of Hogwarts, Remus Lupin, Harry’s only remaining father figure, and Nymphadora Tonks die, in the process creating another orphan in their son, Teddy.

“I think one of the most devastating things about war is the children left behind,” Rowling said. “As happened in the first war when Harry's left behind, I wanted us to see another child left behind. And it made it very poignant that it was their newborn son.”

Why Fred and not George?
Lupin and Tonks may have taken the fall for Arthur Weasley, but the entire Weasley clan could not be saved. Fred Weasley, one half of the fun-loving twins, was another casualty in the Battle of Hogwarts.

But why Fred and not his brother George?

“I always knew it was going to be Fred, and I couldn't honestly tell you why,” Rowling said.
Rowling guessed most people would have expected George to die before Fred because Fred was the ringleader, George the “gentler” twin.

“Fred is normally the funnier but also the crueler of the two. So they might have thought that George would be the more vulnerable one and, therefore, the one to die.”

She didn’t make her decision because it was easier to kill one twin over the other, however.
“Either one of them would have been terrible to kill,” she said. “It was awful killing Fred. I hated that.”
She hated it, but doesn’t regret it.
“The deaths were all very, very considered,” said Rowling. “I don't kill even fictional characters lightly”

Staying the course
Rowling is aware her fans also despise the deaths of key characters.

There is one fan she met just before the release of “Order of the Phoenix” who sticks out in her mind. He was a little boy with trouble in his past, and he pleaded with Rowling to never let Hagrid, Dumbledore or Sirius die.

“He was definitely saying, ‘Don't kill any of these people who have been fathers to Harry,’ and I knew I'd already done it,” Rowling said. “I'd already killed Sirius, and I can't pretend that looking at him I didn't feel quite awful.”

But she has had to put those feelings aside when writing.
“I am often asked, ‘Well, don't you feel guilty killing people, characters that kids love?’ And it sounds horrible and heartless to say ‘no.’ But the truth is that when you're writing, you have to think only of what you're writing and make a writer's decision about that ... You must not sit there and think, ‘Well, I was going to kill Hagrid but, you know, people love him.’”

Hagrid’s destiny
Many fans feared for Hagrid’s safety in the run up to “The Deathly Hallows.”

Hagrid, actually, had been safe in Rowling’s mind from the very beginning. Before her first book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” was even published, Rowling planned for Hagrid to carry Harry out of the forest at the end of “Deathly Hallows,” believing that Harry was dead.

“It was very significant,” Rowling said. “Hagrid brings Harry from the Dursleys. He takes him into the wizarding world … He was sort of his guardian and his guide ... And now I wanted Hagrid to be the one to lead Harry out of the forest.”

Hagrid was the one character Rowling’s sister, Di, couldn’t stand to see die. The last thing Di said to Rowling before opening “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was “If Hagrid dies, I will never forgive you.”

“But it wasn't because of her I kept him alive,” Rowling said. “I should pretend it was. I might get a better Christmas present.”

[from msnbc.msn.com]

Details on events after the book’s final epilogue
If you found the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rather vague, then J.K. Rowling achieved her goal.

The author was shooting for “nebulous,” something “poetic.” She wanted the readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9¾ through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not.

“I do, of course, have that information for you, should you require it,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira rather coyly in her first interview since fans got their hands on the final book. Ummm … yes, please!

Rowling said her original epilogue was “a lot more detailed,” including the name of every child born to the Weasley clan in the past 19 years. (Victoire, who was snogging Teddy — Lupin and Tonks’ son — is Bill and Fleur’s eldest.)
“But it didn’t work very well as a piece of writing,” Rowling said. “It felt very much that I had crowbarred in every bit of information I could … In a novel you have to resist the urge to tell everything.”

But now that the seventh and final novel is in the hands of her adoring public, Rowling no longer has to hold back any information about Harry Potter from her fans. And when 14 fans crowded around her in Edinburgh Castle in Scotland earlier this week as part of TODAY’s interview, Rowling was more than willing to share her thoughts about what Harry and his friends are up to now.

Harry, Ron and Hermione
We know that Harry marries Ginny and has three kids, essentially, as Rowling explains, creating the family and the peace and calm he never had as a child.

As for his occupation, Harry, along with Ron, is working at the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. After all these years, Harry is now the department head.

“Harry and Ron utterly revolutionized the Auror Department,” Rowling said. “They are now the experts. It doesn’t matter how old they are or what else they’ve done.”

Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron’s wife, is “pretty high up” in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, despite laughing at the idea of becoming a lawyer in “Deathly Hallows.”

“I would imagine that her brainpower and her knowledge of how the Dark Arts operate would really give her a sound grounding,” Rowling said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t join the same Ministry of Magic they had been at odds with for years; they revolutionize it and the ministry evolves into a “really good place to be.”

“They made a new world,” Rowling said.

The wizarding naturalist
Luna Lovegood, the eccentric Ravenclaw who was fascinated with Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Umgubular Slashkilters, continues to march to the beat of her own drum.

“I think that Luna is now traveling the world looking for various mad creatures,” Rowling said. “She’s a naturalist, whatever the wizarding equivalent of that is.”

Luna comes to see the truth about her father, eventually acknowledging there are some creatures that don’t exist.

“But I do think that she’s so open-minded and just an incredible person that she probably would be uncovering things that no one’s ever seen before,” Rowling said.

Luna and Neville Longbottom?
It’s possible Luna has also found love with another member of the D.A.

When she was first asked about the possibility of Luna hooking up with Neville Longbottom several years ago, Rowling’s response was “Definitely not.” But as time passed and she watched her characters mature, Rowling started to “feel a bit of a pull” between the unlikely pair.

Ultimately, Rowling left the question of their relationship open at the end of the book because doing otherwise “felt too neat.”

Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom: “The damage is done.”

There is no chance, however, that Neville’s parents, who were tortured into madness by Bellatrix Lestrange, ever left St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies.

“I know people really wanted some hope for that, and I can quite see why because, in a way, what happens to Neville’s parents is even worse than what happened to Harry’s parents,” Rowling said. “The damage that is done, in some cases with very dark magic, is done permanently.”

Rowling said Neville finds happiness in his grandmother’s acceptance of him as a gifted wizard and as the new herbology professor at Hogwarts.

The fate of Hogwarts
Nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry is led by an entirely new headmaster (“McGonagall was really getting on a bit”) as well as a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That position is now as safe as the other teaching posts at Hogwarts, since Voldemort’s death broke the jinx that kept a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from remaining for more than a year.

While Rowling didn’t clarify whether Harry, Ron and Hermione ever return to school to finish their seventh year, she did say she could see Harry popping up every now and again to give the “odd talk” on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

More details to come?
Rowling said she may eventually reveal more details in a Harry Potter encyclopaedia, but even then, it will never be enough to satisfy the most ardent of her fans.

“I’m dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry’s great-great-grandparents,” she said. Not that she’s discouraging the Potter devotion!

“I love it,” she said. “I’m all for that.”

[from msnbc.msn.com]

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Jul 30, 2007


After last year’s fiasco, when Tour winner Floyd Landis was tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone, everyone thought the worst was over. However, the Tour de France 2007 will be remembered as the “Tour du Dopage” for its numerous doping scandals.

First on the list was race-favourite Alexander Vinokourov who impressed everyone with his massive performance in the time-trial (Stage 13 - Albi - Sat 21st) & then won 2 days later (Stage 15 - Foix - Loudenvielle). He was then tested positive for blood transfusion. Team Astana withdrew from the race along with Andreas Klöden (5th) & Andrey Kashechkin (7th).

On the 25th July, Cofidis team member Cristian Moreni was tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone & the Cofidis team had to withdraw.
On the same day, overall leader, yellow jersey & Stage 16 winner, Michael Rasmussen was fired from Team Rabobank for having lied on his whereabouts in the training season.

In short, the Tour de France 2007 was marred by the doping scandals & the yellow jersey was passed onto 24-year-old Alberto Contador of Discovery Channel, who himself was suspected in the Affaire Puerto 2 years ago but then declared innocent.
Contador managed to cling to his yellow jersey despite a thrilling finish in the last time-trial in which team-mate Levi Leipheimer’s & Cadel Evans’s massive performances reduced the time gap to a few seconds.
The Tour de France 2007 was also on the spotlight for a few dog-related incidents…
Marcus Burghardt ran over on a dog & fortunately none was hurt! :D




Sandy Casar & Frederick Willems were quite shaken & had some injuries when they fell over a black dog. Ironically, Sandy Casar of La Françaises des Jeux went on to win that stage.


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Jul 28, 2007

The BBC's flagship online TV service is being launched, offering viewers the chance to download their favourite programmes from the last seven days.
For director general Mark Thompson, the launch of iPlayer is as big a milestone as the arrival of colour TV. But others have questioned how technically reliable it will be and whether it is late to a crowded market.
At launch, a fixed number of people will be able to sign up, with the numbers increasing throughout the year.

Programme selection
The iPlayer allows viewers to download a selection of programmes from the last seven days and watch them for up to 30 days afterwards. Viewers interested in the iPlayer can register for the service on Friday and will then be invited to join. The number of users will increase over the summer, before a full launch in the autumn.

The iPlayer began life in 2003 as the iMP (Integrated Media Player), and some believe it should have been launched in that format.
"At the time, it was remarkably innovative. For the BBC to use peer-to-peer technology was revolutionary," said Simon Perry, editor of online magazine Digital Lifestyles. "If it had just launched it then it could have blown the whole broadcast world away. Who knows what the impact would have been if it had come out before the rise of YouTube," he said. Instead YouTube had driven a whole generation away from TV altogether, to get their entertainment and news from social networks, he added.

A BBC spokeswoman said the iPlayer, like any other new BBC service, went through a Public Value Test (PVT). The nine-month test was overseen by the corporation's regulators. She said: "There is always going to be a trade-off between rigour and speed in a regulatory process like this. "The rigour of the PVT has actually forced us to scrutinise every aspect of the service, from design to value for money."

Requirements
- Windows XP SP2 operating system
- Minimum 500Mb (RAM) memory
- Internet Explorer 6 browser (or later)
- Windows Media Player 10 (or later)
- A video and sound card capable of playing high quality streamed or downloaded programmes
- JavaScript, ActiveX and Cookies are all enabled
- A high speed broadband internet connection

Features
- iPlayer will allow viewers to catch up on TV programmes for seven days
- Some TV series can be downloaded and stored for 30 days
- Viewers will be able to watch shows streamed live over the internet
- Users cannot download programmes from other broadcasters
- Classical recordings and book-readings are excluded from iPlayer

More info here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayerbeta/

For the time being, iPlayer is only available to UK for beta testing & I think the minimum broadband speed is 1Mbps… & the DRM on iPlayer videos can be removed by FairUse4WM.

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Jul 27, 2007

Is there Linux for cats & dogs as well?? Amazing!!!

I got my ubuntu cd today, exactly 1 month after I had ordered it on 26th June. I got 4 stickers & one live & install cd. Today was the first time I used Linux.
When I first inserted this cd on Windows Xp, it offered to install the following programs:
I already had Firefox & Thunderbird but I’ve never heard of Abiword, Blender or Clamwin!? So I didn’t install them since I had more powerful apps like Office 2007, Adobe CS3 Design Suite & Kaspersky Internet Security.
So I decided to try out the live-cd. Took around 6 min to completely load… (very quick in comparison to XP & considering that everything was on the cd)

The UI isn’t that bad compared to XP, but it’s still a long way off from Vista or Mac OS X. First surprise was that sound was at full volume. I was so shocked by the start-up sound that I quickly turned off my speakers. I managed to fix it later in the settings.
The screen wouldn’t run more than 1024x768 since it wanted to download the Nvidia driver for added 3D functionality & I couldn’t configure the Internet access. I couldn’t play mp3s either since it asked for the codec…
There are quite a few apps & utilities on the cd, that aren’t commonly available on Windows XP.

I tried taking screenshots but the screenshots wouldn’t save on my hard disk. (I’ve downloaded those screens)
The icons aren’t that good & navigation wasn’t too difficult.
Linux isn’t made for me. Although it’s very stable, I don’t think I’ll be able to install all my favourite apps & the alternatives aren’t that good either. It requires too much tweaking for me. Maybe one day, I’ll install it just to check out the speed of my internet connection… :D

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Jul 26, 2007

Now that I’ve read the Deathly Hallows twice… my final verdict is that it’s great book. There couldn’t have been a better way to finish this book. My first impression when I started the book was that the story was pathetic, but as the plot unfurled itself, I got engrossed in the action until the final chapters brought me back to real life… With a sinking feeling I realised that Harry Potter was ending. JK Rowling kept us under Harry’s spell for 15 years, & now I’m really sad it’s all over. I wonder if there will ever be any other book that will rouse such passions, unite fans from all over the world and even rekindle the pleasure of reading in children. Harry Potter is truly an epic story…

However it’s not perfect.
Yes, Deathly Hallows is indeed a great story but has many flaws. The first thing that comes to light are the plot holes. JK Rowling contradicts herself in many situations. Deathly Hallows was supposed to be the book where everything was to be explained, but there are still questions that haven’t been answered, happenings that haven’t been explained & most importantly very little was elaborated on other characters. She tried saying lots of things in a few words, so loads of events weren’t properly described.

For example, we still don’t know what ancient magic Lily used to give such a powerful protection to Harry. What did Harry’s parents do for a living? What happened to the rest of the characters(everyone including Neville)? What really happened to Harry when he made the voyage to heaven? As for the Elder wand, I’ve the theory that when Voldemort tried to kill Harry for the first time, the Elder wand recognised its owner & so couldn’t kill him & instead killed Voldemort’s soul inside Harry! (I still don’t understand how Voldemort’s blood connection made Harry stay alive)

There are certain situations that are simply too stupid to be mentioned… (there are too many of them to mention… but..) Ron imitating Parseltongue, Accio Hagrid, Are you a wizard or not?, the way Voldemort calmly takes over the Ministry!(as if Dumbledore was a superhero & now that he’s dead, everything goes chaos), Accio All-Books-On-Horcruxes-From-Dumbledore’s-Library, the way Hermione remembers everything everywhere, first-touch-Snitch, V*ld*m*rt Taboo!!

The plot is too simple… in fact I would say it’s Bollywood-ish sometimes. Everyone is one another’s friends, cousin & relatives… But I preferred the pace at which the book was going at the middle and at the end. It seemed totally different from JK Rowling(complex schemes, curiosity & heavy descriptions), rather more like Dan Brown(the riddles, the unexpected twists after twists).

Another major drawback was that JK Rowling wanted book 7 to be the summary of all events, places visited & people mentioned in book 1 to 6. Turned out to be a real disaster. Clichés in every few paragraphs, endless reminiscences & useless recaps. I guess 90% of Harry Potter fans had already read book 1 to 6 before taking on book 7… so what’s the use of wasting all these words.

I’ll refrain from further criticism or otherwise this post will go on & on. However we should take into account that JK Rowling was quite emotionally disturbed when writing this book.(Imagine being very happy & very sad at the same time) So we can forgive some of her mistakes... Personally I think book 7 should have been expanded into 2 books, no matter what the length, to make it a perfect ending (like JRR Tolkien).
Nevertheless, i can confidently say that movie 7 will be by far the best movie in the Harry Potter series. The book is fashioned like a movie script & there are massive action scenes.

Voldemort is dead… Harry, Ron & Hermione are alive & all was well… :D

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Jul 21, 2007

Yep, these boxes have been opened and the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is now on sale all around the world....

But the most annoying thing is that the book was leaked 4 days before it was officially released...
Turned out the now famous "carpet-book" was indeed the real thing... :(

For those who don't want to read the book, the plot is posted on Wikipedia.

Or else download the "carpet-book" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in pdf:
Link 1 [RS.com]
Link 2 [RS.com]
Link 3 [Nlshare.nl]
Link 4 [Sendspace]
Link 5 [Mihd.net]
Link 6 [MU.com]
Link 7 [RS.com]
If you want the whole series (HP 1-7):
Link 1 [RS.com]
Link 2 [RS.com]

(Note that i've used url redirection so that links are not deleted. Enable popup or else click on "You are being redirecting to the link. Click here if the link does not popup automatically.")

Sorry guys, but i'm now offline for at least 5 days!!! :D

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Jul 20, 2007

Go to JKRowling.com, click on the eraser & open the door. You’ll find this:

Acknowledgements
Within hours you will know what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest in their final adventure. All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too, and those who guessed correctly will be vindicated, and those who guessed wrongly will not, I hope, be too disappointed! As for me, I feel a heady mixture of excitement, nerves and relief. 'Deathly Hallows' remains my favourite of the series, even after several re-reads; I cannot wait to share it with the readers who have stuck with me through six previous books.

There is only one thing left to do: acknowledgements! Here are the people who have joined me at various stages of the seventeen year journey I have taken with Harry, who (if you laid their brains end to end) could tell a story much stranger than fiction, of how weird and wonderful the world of Harry Potter became as it expanded way beyond all of our wildest dreams.

I am, firstly, deeply indebted to my agent, Christopher Little, who has been with me from the beginning and who took a chance on an unknown author whom he sweetly advised not to give up the day job, before working tirelessly to make sure that I never needed to teach French irregular verbs again. I bless the day his name caught my eye in the Writers' and Artists' Year Book; thank God he wasn't christened Vernon. Everyone at his (now considerably expanded) agency deserves my deepest thanks, but in particular Emma Schlesinger, who has become an irreplaceable walking encyclopaedia of Potterania, and Neil Blair, who has fought so many battles on Harry's and my behalf, and will, hopefully, get his weekends back now.

My eternal gratitude goes to Barry Cunningham, the editor at Bloomsbury Children's books who accepted Philosopher's Stone for publication, but who did not remain at the company long enough to garner all the plaudits that were rightfully his. I had been turned down by a fairly long list of publishers before Barry discerned some merit in Harry; he is a great editor and I will never forget his patience with a writer who was simultaneously struggling to be a teacher and a single mother.

Barry was succeeded by Emma Matthewson, who has been my editor and friend for the subsequent six Harrys, whose arbitration I have awaited with bated breath every time I delivered a manuscript, and without whose calmness, honesty and sound judgement I would have been lost. The editing of 'Deathly Hallows' was, in particular, hugely emotional for me, and I cannot think of anyone I would rather have shared it with.

Everyone at Bloomsbury Children's Books has been fantastic to me and worked so hard for Harry, but Rosamund de la Hey and Sarah Odenina were with me from the start and have been staunch friends throughout. Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, has been hugely supportive from the very beginning, long before Harry began to sell in vast numbers, because his children were fans of the books: he has been a constant source of enthusiasm and generosity.

A turning point in my life was the day I spoke to Arthur Levine for the first time. He was the American editor who had just out-bid three other publishers for the first Harry book. I felt terrified as I picked up the telephone to speak to him; the first thing he said was, “are you terrified?” I think I loved him from that moment. He, too, has become a real friend and confidant, and the memories I have of seeing San Francisco with Arthur on my first American tour are among my happiest of the whole Potter experience.

The other person at Scholastic whom I must thank is the preternaturally efficient and completely lovely Kris Moran, who has shepherded me through two American tours, and sundry other press events, and whom I adore for her loyalty, her ability to locate coffee in an apparently moisture-free environment and her corner-of-the-mouth-while-opening-books-for-signing quips.

I also want to thank booksellers everywhere, but particularly in the UK, because they were crucial to Harry's initial success, which was built, not on clever marketing, but on word-of-mouth recommendations by the highly knowledgeable people who staff our bookshops. Harry has become hard work for booksellers in later years, with embargoes and crowds making the whole business much more fraught, and much less intimate, than it used to be (though many still throw themselves into the spirit of midnight openings); I am deeply grateful.

Harry Potter is now published in 64 different languages. I am constantly mindful of the fact that so many people are involved in the production of the books across the globe, from China to Canada and most places in between. The arrival of foreign editions is always a real thrill, and I am so grateful to all the people involved, some of whom I have met, but most of whom I have not. I would like to send a little cyber-wave and my warmest thanks to Christine, Yuko, Allan, all the Klauses, Pedro and Sigrid. To list everybody would take up twelve pages, so please forgive me...

Dctti Irving, Mark Hutchinson, Rebecca Salt and Nicky Stonehill at Colman Getty PR have made my life so much easier it makes me wince to remember how it was BCG. Bizarre Potter press stories will fade out of our lives now, and we'll probably miss them once they're gone...

Here in my office at home are Christine and Angela, who have dealt expertly and sensitively with my Harry-mail for years, making sure I see the letters I ought to, bringing calm where once there was chaos. I am so glad I found both of them, and that they are still hanging in there.

It is hard to know what to say about my indefatigable, invaluable, indispensable PA, Fiddy, whose job has swollen beyond recognition since I first had lunch with her and told her it would probably fill an afternoon a week. She has stood valiantly between me and a tidal wave of demands for years now, enabling me to write books and look after my children, and barely a day goes by when I don't thank God I have her.

And so to my family. For a long time, my sister Di was the only one who really saw what it was like at the eye of the storm, and on at least one occasion she picked me up, dusted me down, and talked me back to sanity. She understood that, for all the incredible benefits Harry brought me, there came a time when the pressure and the attention I had not sought became a little overwhelming, and she was the one who saw me through that period, and enabled me to find some perspective.

No writer ever had a better spouse than my husband. I still cannot believe how lucky I am to have married Neil; I don't think writers are supposed to be this happy. His support has made the writing of the sixth and seventh books, in particular, a complete joy.

As for my children, my two youngest do not really know what Harry Potter is all about yet. Looking forward to sharing the books with them when they are old enough keeps me from feeling too sad at having finished.

The very last person to be thanked is the most important person of all, the one to whom I owe the greatest debt of gratitude. I wrote the final draft of the first three chapters of 'Philosopher's Stone' while pregnant with my eldest daughter, Jessica. She has never known what it is like to live without Harry Potter; even before he was published, he was a presence in our house as I typed sway frantically in the evenings or broke off conversations with her to scribble on bits of paper. Jessica has never once complained about the attention I devoted to her fictional brother, never reproached me for the fact that Harry Potter has sometimes been a bane rather than a boon in her life. It has not always been easy to be JK Rowling's daughter, yet if I had decided to stop before the seventh book it would have been Jessica's disappointment that I would have feared the most. The fact that “Deathly Hallows” will sit beside Jessica's bed until it becomes dog-eared and falls apart means more to me than anything else, more than the huge print run, more than all the publicity in the world. So thank you, Decca. (And tidy your room. It's disgusting. Mum X)

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Jul 19, 2007


More fakes... I've decided that until the real book comes out... every leak of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be considered fake...
This one seems to be another hoax because i've noticed that it is quite similar to the previous fake release. The chapter pages of both books are the same, the artwork also and the epilogue is quite funny...
I found it here thanks to Ruhi:

& yet another review...

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Here are two reviews of the Deathly Hallows that I’ve found:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/booksmags/bal-2potter0718,0,2741335.story?coll=bal_tab05_layout
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/books/19potter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

My opinion:

DON’T READ IT AT ALL!!!!

It contains too many spoilers that will ruin your reading experience. (I’m still cursing myself for having read it!!!! Why did they have to release their reviews?? mad)

cry cry cry cry

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Jul 18, 2007

I don’t know if it’s true or not but it seems that Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows has been leaked…
Turned out someone got hold of a copy & photographed it with his phone…
There’s a list of the chapters on Wikipedia, but since anyone can edit the page, it might not be true.

IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS, DONT CLICK ON THE IMAGES OR THE LINKS!!!

Here are the chapters:


Somewhere in the book,


The Epilogue?


[RS.com]
http://rapidshare.com/files/25569107/Hp7.rar

More Info:
http://ebookscottage.com/?p=551
http://phampants.wordpress.com/2007/07/15/dont-press-this-if-you-read-harry-potter/

I still can’t believe it’s the real Harry Potter but if you want to keep track of the book, here’s the feed:
http://wordpress.com/tag/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows/feed/

Even if it’s the real Deathly Hallows, I think I’ll wait for an OCR version… :D


Update:
I think it's fake & i think i know why.... Who do you think will go to the extent of printing the different pages & the hard cover? Naturally someone who has access to the different components of the books.... in other words, the publishers!!
Yep, i think the publishers have made this fake leak so that no one else will leak it before the 21st July.

Update2:
Direct Link:
http://bayimg.com/album/nAAaCaaAB
Check this blog for new links. :-D
On Saturday we'll know whether it's one of the biggest hoax or leak. :-)

News update:
Two Borders employees have quit their job and reveal HP7 plot. Video here.
I haven't checked this yet & i won't either... coz i think this is the real thing. :-(
[from havetoremember]


Update3:
It's F.A.K.E... don't bother to download. I just needed to read a few lines to know it wasn't the real Deathly Hallows...


Final Update:
Yep, it's the real Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. The biggest leak of all times...
Download link here.

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Jul 17, 2007

Only 3 days left before the final Harry Potter book will be released… No one knows for sure what will happen in the Deathly Hallows but by analysing the book covers, we can at least guess what will happen…

The US Cover
The US children Cover is quite straight-forward….
"The structures around Harry show evident destruction and in the shadows behind him, we see outlines of other people. On the back cover, spidery hands are outstretched toward Harry. Only when the book is opened does one see a powerful image of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, his glowing red eyes peering out from his hood." [Wikipedia]
The first thing I’ve noticed is that Harry is wearing a locket. It now remains to be seen whether this is really Slytherin’s locket or the fake horcrux…

Second thing is that both Voldemort & Harry are looking upwards towards a single point of focus & both are trying to catch whatever is in the air…

The décor seems to be like the amphitheatre in Book 5 at the Ministry of Magic Department of Mysteries where Sirius was dead.(In fact, is Sirius dead? JK Rowling never confirmed it…)

There are people in cloaks in between the arches… probably Death Eaters. The addition of curtains on both sides also confirms that this is the archway in Book 5.

However, the ruins at the bottom mystify me since as far as I know there were no wooden structures in the amphitheatre… So it might be anywhere.

The US Deluxe Edition Cover
“The U.S. Deluxe Edition features a different cover picture, with Harry and company flying on the back of a dragon above a small village that is nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains.” [Wikipedia]
This cover is quite intriguing since throughout the different books (1 & 4), we’ve seen that dragons are certainly not tame animals, so how come Harry, Ron & Hermione are riding one?

The UK Adult Cover

“The UK adult cover shows Salazar Slytherin's locket as described in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: golden with a large engraved serpentine S in green gems.” [Wikipedia]
It was quite predictable that Harry would found out more about Slytherin’s locket in the Deathly Hallows… However, the fact that the locket is on the book cover reveals that it may play a very important part in Book 7. Remember that Book 6 had the Half-Blood Prince’s (Snape) potions book on the cover, & it was indeed important.

It may turn out that “R.A.B.” may play a crucial role in the Deathly Hallows that none of us can imagine…

The UK Children Cover

“The UK children's cover depicts Harry, Ron and Hermione apparently falling into a large treasure of silver and gold; the trio appears frightened in the picture. Some creature's (presumably a house-elf) hand grips Harry's right shoulder, and wields a silver sword with a ruby mounted on the hilt with its other hand. The sword matches the description of Godric Gryffindor's sword in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The cover spine features a circle inscribed in a triangle with a vertical line bisecting the pair. The meaning of the symbol is uncertain. The front flap depicts Harry's Patronus (a stag) while the back flap shows a snake in a crystal ball.” [Wikipedia]

The UK Cover is the most fascinating & the most revealing of all…

The first thing that strikes the eye is the treasure. Loads of Galleons, rubies, golden plates & a suit of armour. On the top of the helmet, there seems to be a dragon. Coincidence? It’s a fine guess that dragons will be deeply involved in book 7. This place can either be at Hogwarts or at the Ministry of Magic.(I don’t think it’s Gringotts - although if it is, then the creature may be a goblin)

Harry, Hermione & Ron are all having bewildered looks in their dress robes(since that’s obviously not their normal robes nor Muggle clothes) & appear to be injured.

The creature behind Harry may indeed be Dobby since those huge ears are characteristic of house-elves. It might even be Kreacher, but Dobby would be better guess, coming at Harry’s rescue with Godric Gryffindor’s sword.

All characters appear to have been thrown out of the stone ring. It might be a portal, in which case, the entrance may be in Hogwarts. There’s no doubt that the final showdown will occur at Hogwarts… Is this the place where the horcruxes are hidden?

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