Jo speaks.
There was the usual mix of interesting questions and weird stuff, but here are some bits and bobs I found worthy of a hmmmm.
On Death Eaters and Unforgivables.
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.
I very much like this answer. I too hated that Harry used the Cruciatus Curse, but Jo's right - I would much rather have a flawed and realistic Harry than some sort of saint. That said, I do wish he'd showed a measure of regret, but then again, if I were in the same situation, I doubt I would regret any pain to the nasty, vicious, sadistic bastard who had spent most of the year forcing children, my friends, to torture each other in the name of education.
Remus was killed by Dolohov and Tonks by Bellatrix.
Woe. I thought I couldn't hate Bellatrix more, but apparently I was wrong. And then there was this:
[Bella] took a pureblood husband, because that was what was expected of her, but her true love was always Voldemort.
Holy cuttlefish! O_O Bella/Voldie = Really truly offically CANON. Rock!
the Malfoys weaseled 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. which was just as I thought, but good for the futurefic.
It was Voldemort's attempted murder of Kreacher that really turned [Regulus]. Er. Really? Just cos of Kreacher? o.O I hugely loved that Regulus caught on to Voldemort's hints about the horcruxes though. I'd suspected that might be the case too, and still (stubbornly!) believe Snape must've also guessed Voldemort had (a) horcrux(es). Though I suppose I'll never know for sure now.
On Hufflepuff House.
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.
As someone who aligns themselves firmly with Hufflepuff House, allow me to say: OMFG IT'S HOBBITON. THE LOVE.
On Severus Snape.
I do [think Snape is a hero,] 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! ... [Lily] 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 loathesome people and acts.
WOE IS SNAPE. I had assumed Lily loved him like a brother almost, but never that it could've been more. My woe deepens with this new information, because ohh, what if, and my craving for good Sev/Lily increases exponentially.
He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too.
... Whut. Did Jo just make Mulciber/Snape interview-canon? I laugh myself silly! XD
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!
HAHAHAHA.
[Snape not having a Headmaster portrait] 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. Jolly good, Harry.
Stuff which was not as it seemed.
Roseweasley: Why was colin creavey still a student at hogwarts when he was muggleborn surely he would have been locked up and interogated, not allowed back to school therefore, he shouldnt have died
I did not notice this. Oops, eh, Jo?
Jo said: 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.
Riiight ;DDDDD
I changed my mind [about a character performing magic late in life]! 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.
It was Ariana Dumbledore!... Oh. That's that cleared up, then.
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 snr.
I was under the impression that each horcrux was created by a *significant* death, but I'm now unsure if that was canon or a fanon assumption :-?
The Trio (& Ginny).
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. I send my very bestest hearts to Ron. (And Dumbledore, for understanding).
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.
Kingsley became permanent Minister for Magic, and naturally he wanted Harry to head up his new Auror department. 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!
Wait, what? I thought Ron was an Auror too?! Didn't she just SAY Ron was an Auror too? Final proof that everything Jo says in interviews MUST be taken with a pinch of salt.
Good for Ginny though, and I love Hermione's choice of career. Harry as an Auror was a given, though if anyone ever manages to defeat him the enchantment on the Elder Wand will never break. But that could happen regardless of his occupation.
I also continue to question whether Harry will eventually rise to Minister, himself. The last two MoMs have been former heads of the Auror department, after all, and Dumbledore did say the only reason why he kept turning down the post was because he knew he could not be trusted with power. Harry does not have that weakness, so I wonder.
Random Dumbledore Stuff.
Lola Victorpujebet: Was minerva in love with albus
J.K. Rowling: No! Not everybody falls in love with everybody else...
O RLY? The crapilogue begs to differ!
What muggle song do you imagine would be played at dumbledores funeral
J.K. Rowling: Surely 'I did it my way' by Frank Sinatra.
Perfect.
Emily: What ever happened to aberforth
J.K. Rowling: He is still there, at the Hog's Head, playing with his goats.
Oh, Abe. <3.
The Future, and The Next Gen.
Teddy was raised by Andromeda... Teddy had his godfather, Harry, and all his father's friends in the Order, to visit and stay with. Which is cool beans, and just as we thought.
Lecanard: 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.
Oh, Ron. <3.
Luna became a very famous wizarding naturalist who discovered and classified many new species of animals (though, alas, she never did find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and had, finally, to accept that her father might have made that one up). She ended up marrying (rather later than Harry & co) a fellow naturalist and grandson of the great Newt Scamander(Rolf)!
I'm intrigued by this Rolf chap, but shall stubbornly continue to ship Neville/Luna, kthx anyway XD Speaking of he:
[The DA coins] 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.
Oh, Neville. <333. Everyone loves Professor Longbottom, I can just tell. I love this idea of the coins sososo much.
I think Scorpius would be an improvement on his father, whom misfortune has sobered!
Heh. She throws the ASS shippers a bone. And then generously does the same for H/D, below. Not that H/D needs such encouragement!
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.
So good chat, all in all. And it ran about a half-hour over, which was nice of her. 120,000 questions submitted, and yet she *still* answers questions such as, 'what sort of wand would you have?'
Oh, Jo. XD
On Death Eaters and Unforgivables.
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.
I very much like this answer. I too hated that Harry used the Cruciatus Curse, but Jo's right - I would much rather have a flawed and realistic Harry than some sort of saint. That said, I do wish he'd showed a measure of regret, but then again, if I were in the same situation, I doubt I would regret any pain to the nasty, vicious, sadistic bastard who had spent most of the year forcing children, my friends, to torture each other in the name of education.
Remus was killed by Dolohov and Tonks by Bellatrix.
Woe. I thought I couldn't hate Bellatrix more, but apparently I was wrong. And then there was this:
[Bella] took a pureblood husband, because that was what was expected of her, but her true love was always Voldemort.
Holy cuttlefish! O_O Bella/Voldie = Really truly offically CANON. Rock!
the Malfoys weaseled 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. which was just as I thought, but good for the futurefic.
It was Voldemort's attempted murder of Kreacher that really turned [Regulus]. Er. Really? Just cos of Kreacher? o.O I hugely loved that Regulus caught on to Voldemort's hints about the horcruxes though. I'd suspected that might be the case too, and still (stubbornly!) believe Snape must've also guessed Voldemort had (a) horcrux(es). Though I suppose I'll never know for sure now.
On Hufflepuff House.
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.
As someone who aligns themselves firmly with Hufflepuff House, allow me to say: OMFG IT'S HOBBITON. THE LOVE.
On Severus Snape.
I do [think Snape is a hero,] 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! ... [Lily] 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 loathesome people and acts.
WOE IS SNAPE. I had assumed Lily loved him like a brother almost, but never that it could've been more. My woe deepens with this new information, because ohh, what if, and my craving for good Sev/Lily increases exponentially.
He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too.
... Whut. Did Jo just make Mulciber/Snape interview-canon? I laugh myself silly! XD
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!
HAHAHAHA.
[Snape not having a Headmaster portrait] 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. Jolly good, Harry.
Stuff which was not as it seemed.
Roseweasley: Why was colin creavey still a student at hogwarts when he was muggleborn surely he would have been locked up and interogated, not allowed back to school therefore, he shouldnt have died
I did not notice this. Oops, eh, Jo?
Jo said: 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.
Riiight ;DDDDD
I changed my mind [about a character performing magic late in life]! 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.
It was Ariana Dumbledore!... Oh. That's that cleared up, then.
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 snr.
I was under the impression that each horcrux was created by a *significant* death, but I'm now unsure if that was canon or a fanon assumption :-?
The Trio (& Ginny).
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. I send my very bestest hearts to Ron. (And Dumbledore, for understanding).
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.
Kingsley became permanent Minister for Magic, and naturally he wanted Harry to head up his new Auror department. 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!
Wait, what? I thought Ron was an Auror too?! Didn't she just SAY Ron was an Auror too? Final proof that everything Jo says in interviews MUST be taken with a pinch of salt.
Good for Ginny though, and I love Hermione's choice of career. Harry as an Auror was a given, though if anyone ever manages to defeat him the enchantment on the Elder Wand will never break. But that could happen regardless of his occupation.
I also continue to question whether Harry will eventually rise to Minister, himself. The last two MoMs have been former heads of the Auror department, after all, and Dumbledore did say the only reason why he kept turning down the post was because he knew he could not be trusted with power. Harry does not have that weakness, so I wonder.
Random Dumbledore Stuff.
Lola Victorpujebet: Was minerva in love with albus
J.K. Rowling: No! Not everybody falls in love with everybody else...
O RLY? The crapilogue begs to differ!
What muggle song do you imagine would be played at dumbledores funeral
J.K. Rowling: Surely 'I did it my way' by Frank Sinatra.
Perfect.
Emily: What ever happened to aberforth
J.K. Rowling: He is still there, at the Hog's Head, playing with his goats.
Oh, Abe. <3.
The Future, and The Next Gen.
Teddy was raised by Andromeda... Teddy had his godfather, Harry, and all his father's friends in the Order, to visit and stay with. Which is cool beans, and just as we thought.
Lecanard: 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.
Oh, Ron. <3.
Luna became a very famous wizarding naturalist who discovered and classified many new species of animals (though, alas, she never did find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and had, finally, to accept that her father might have made that one up). She ended up marrying (rather later than Harry & co) a fellow naturalist and grandson of the great Newt Scamander(Rolf)!
I'm intrigued by this Rolf chap, but shall stubbornly continue to ship Neville/Luna, kthx anyway XD Speaking of he:
[The DA coins] 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.
Oh, Neville. <333. Everyone loves Professor Longbottom, I can just tell. I love this idea of the coins sososo much.
I think Scorpius would be an improvement on his father, whom misfortune has sobered!
Heh. She throws the ASS shippers a bone. And then generously does the same for H/D, below. Not that H/D needs such encouragement!
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.
So good chat, all in all. And it ran about a half-hour over, which was nice of her. 120,000 questions submitted, and yet she *still* answers questions such as, 'what sort of wand would you have?'
Oh, Jo. XD