Bloomsbury Live Chat

Interesting facts and notes

You promised that someone will do magic late in life in book 7. I've now read it three times but cant 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.

Rowling states:

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!

But fans DID ask her that question officially as part of the Lexicon-Mugglenet  Questions, some of which she answered on her website. She just ignored that question, though.

What was your favorite scene to write in deathly hallows?
J.K. Rowling: Chapter 34: The Forest Again.

Did Hermione really put a memory charm on her parents she says she did but then about 50 pages later tells Ron shes 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.

Have you had another 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!

Exceptional character moments

How much does the fact that Voldemort was conceived under a love potion have to do with his nonability to understand love is it 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.

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.

What did petunia wanted to say to Harry at the end of the Dursleys 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.

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

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.

Has the jinx on the DADA 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.

Why did you feel that Hedwigs 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!

Will we see harry and his friends having their own history on chocolate frogs cards?
J.K. Rowling: Definitely, and Ron will describe this as his finest hour.

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.

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.

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.

What was the third smell that Hermione smelt in the amortentia potion in hbp (ie 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?

Other Canon Notes

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?'

Here's the passage she's referring to, from DH36:

Peeves zooming through the corridors singing a victory song of his own composition: We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter’s the one, And Voldy’s gone moldy, so now let’s have fun!

“Really gives a feeling for the scope and tragedy of the thing, doesn’t it?” said Ron, pushing open a door to let Harry and Hermione through.

Characters Introduced

• Albanian peasant
• Muggle tramp