Category: J.K. Rowling

JK Rowling’s own clues

You may know what you think will happen, but J.K. Rowling knows. Here are some hints she has dropped that may shatter your illusions:

–Harry’s grandparents are all dead, and they aren’t important to the plot. Rowling calls that part of her backstory “mundane territory.” She said she thought it was more interesting, plot-wise, if Harry was completely alone. James’ parents, she said in an interview, “succumbed to a wizarding illness. That’s as far as it goes. There’s nothing serious or sinister about those deaths. I just needed them out of the way so I killed them.”

–That means, she said, Harry is not the heir of Gryffindor.

–The gum wrappers that Alice Longbottom gives to her son, Neville, at St. Mungo’s in Book 5 (Phoenix) are just gum wrappers, a sad depiction of how an insane mother tries to offer something to her son.

—Dumbledore’s death was always planned to happen. (That has to mean it must be integral to the outcome.)– More about Dumbledore: “I think it has been demonstrated, particularly in Books 5 and 6 that immense brainpower does not protect you from emotional mistakes, and I think Dumbledore really exemplifies that.”

–Ron’s eyes are blue. Hermione’s are brown. Ron’s Patronus is a small dog. (Those aren’t necessarily clues, but just small details that haven’t been revealed yet.)

–The color of Harry’s eyes (green, like his mother) is significant and important.

–In Book 4 (Goblet) the “gleam of triumph” on Dumbledore’s face when Harry tells him what happened with Voldemort is, Rowling said, “enormously significant.” And, she points out, “I haven’t told you that much is enormously significant, so you can let your imaginations run free there.”

–Question: Why did Voldemort offer Lily so many chances to live? Would he actually have let her live? JKR: “Mhm. … [silence] Can’t tell you.”

—Umbridge will reappear. Rowling: “She’s a pretty evil character … It’s too much fun to torture her not to have another little bit more, before I finish.”

–If Dumbledore looked in the mirror of Erised, what would he see? Rowling: “I can’t answer that.”

–What would Dumbledore’s boggart be? JKR: “I can’t answer that either, but for theories you should read Book 6 again.”

–Bellatrix Lestrange will play a significant role. See the article in today’s Observer about what JKR told actress Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Lestrange in the movie that opens today.

Is Snape evil?

For a couple of weeks – or maybe less, depending on reactions – I’m going to veer away from the usual Naked City topics here and instead offer this blog up for theories, comments and philosophizing about Harry Potter and the upcoming seventh and last book.

Why? Because for a lot of readers, it’s more fun than public policy, planning and transportation arguments. And because it’s July.

And because despite the mountains of hype, some very interesting Potter facts are out there, if you know where to look.

First, you have to endure my theory about what’s going to happen. I promise, it isn’t long.

For years I didn’t think J.K. Rowling would kill off Harry Potter in the end. Now, I’m not so sure. After all, the main character, Nathaniel, was killed off at the end of Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy about wizards in England. And I didn’t dream she would kill off Dumbledore.

Silly me. Rowling said in an interview in 2005, “In the genre of writing that I”m working in, almost always the hero must go on alone. That’s the way it is.”Or, as MuggleNet.com creator Emerson Spartz then said, during the interview, “The wise old wizard with the beard always dies.”

As I wrote in my column today (see www.charlotte.com/opinion), I think Snape’s out to kill Voldemort, because he was in love with Lily Evans Potter. When Voldy killed Lily, Snape snapped. He’s playing both ends against the middle, loyal to nothing but his rage. Dumbledore knew that and trusted Snape to protect Harry, since Harry must be the one to kill Voldemort.

So let’s hear it. Snape – good or evil? Comments below.

If you have topics you’d like to propose, put them in comments or e-mail me. I’ll be checking in daily, adding links and theories.And if you’ve time, read the lengthy Rowling interview on MuggleNet. Plenty of room for speculation in there. Such as when she says, “Dumbledore’s family would be a profitable line of inquiry …”