[Harry Potter 7] More Q&A with JKR

[allah_sulu]

MuggleNet - Earlier today, JK Rowling hosted a live web chat on Bloomsbury's official website where she answered several questions about Deathly Hallows:
(I have edited the chat; the full transcript is available on MuggleNet, and I ganked this from
ranorris.)

1. 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?
2. 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?!
3. Did lucius malfoy, and all the other escaped death eaters, go back to azkaban
4. No, 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.
   
5. Gosh darnit!
   
6. From reading about the original owners of the deathly hallows, the peverell brothers, i'm wondering if harry and voldermort are distantly related voldermorts grandfather ended up with the resurrection stone ring?
7. 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.
   
8. The "all wizarding families are related" point was made in book five.
   
9. 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).
10. 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.
    
11. Doesn't change the fact that the cloak is supposed to be impervious to all magics.
    
12. Does hermione still continue to do work with spew and is life any better for house elves!
13. 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. 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!
14. Were the deathly hallows based on any realworld myth or faerie tale
15. Perhaps 'the Pardoner's Tale', by Chaucer.
16. What happend to luna, did she get married who to?
17. 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)!
    
18. So much for Luna/Neville!
    
19. What was duldeys worst memory?
20. 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 salutory lesson, and began the transformation in him.
21. 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 favorite characters
22. 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.
23. Was the absence of snapes portrait in the headmasters office in the last scene innocent or deliberate
24. 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.
    
25. That appars to have been a common concern.
    
26. If the wand chooses the wizard, then why do wands work when passed down from father to son eg neville had his fathers wand
    
27. At the beginning of the first book, it is also mentioned that everything Ron Weasley has (wand included) was a hand-me-down.
    
28. 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.
29. How did umbridge manage to conjure a patronus while wearing the locket when harry wasnt able to
30. Because she is a very nasty piece of work. She has an affinity for this horrible object, which would help rather than hinder her.
    
31. A reminder: Umbridge was a nasty piece of work long before she got the locket (such as when she sicced the Dementors on Harry), so she wasn't corrupted by it.
    
32. What happened to percy did he return to his job at the ministry
33. Yes, the new improved Percy ended up as a high-ranking official under Kingsley.
    
34. I still think his "improvement" was awfully quick, and conveniently-timed.
    
35. Will azkaban still use dementors?
36. 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.
    
37. So, where do the Dementors go? On unemployment?
    
38. You cannot destroy Dementors, though you can limit their numbers if you eradicate the conditions in which they multiply, ie, despair and degradation. As I've already said, though, the Ministry no longer used them to torment its opponents.
39. 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
40. 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.
    
41. Or hobbit holes.
    
42. How is george getting along without his twin
43. 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.
    
44. That would mean more money for Ron; but I would think that, as Aurors, the best way they could help George would be to look the other way from some of his more questionable products or business deals.
    
45. Did hagrid have to be able to see thestrals in order to train them if so, whose death did hagrid witness
46. Hagrid has seen many deaths in quite a long life, so yes, he can see Thestrals.
47. What did dumbledore truly see in the mirror of erised
48. He saw his family alive, whole and happy - Ariana, Percival and Kendra all returned to him, and Aberforth reconciled to him.
49. How did voldemort get his wand back after he was in was exile
50. 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!
51. 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
52. 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.
53. Do you think snape is a hero
54. 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!
55. Voldemort never told anyone about his horcruxes, so how on earth did regulus black discover his secret
56. 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.
57. Did lily ever have feelings back for snape
58. 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 loathesome people and acts.
59. Why didnt fawkes come back to help harry I would have thought that since harry was so loyal to dumbledore, fawkes would have been harrys new pet
60. Something had to leave the school for good when Dumbledore died, and I decided that would be Fawkes. Dumbledore was a very great and irreplacable man, and the loss of Fawkes (and the fact that he was 'non-transferable'!) expresses this symbolically
61. 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
62. 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.
63. How does dumbledore understand parseltongue?
64. Dumbledore understood Mermish, Gobbledegook and Parseltongue. The man was brilliant.
65. Will lockhart ever recover?
66. No. Nor would I want him to. He's happy where he is, and I'm happier without him!
    
67. If Neville's parents can't recover, then it certainly wouldn't be fair for Lockheart to return!
    
68. Does the wizarding world now know that snape was dumbledores man, or do they still think he did a bunk
69. Harry would ensure that Snape's heroism was known. Of course, that would not stop Rita Skeeter writing 'Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?'
70. Is teddy lupin a werewolf
71. No, he's a Metamorphmagus like his mother.
72. 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
73. Nothing deep and significant, I'm afraid. They're just a comedy item.
74. Whose murders did voldemor use to create each of the horcruxes
75. 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.
76. Why did dumbledore want ron to keep his deluminator
77. 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.
    
78. He was Xander.
    
79. Are house divisions as prevalaent in harry's children's hogwarts as in the previous generations
80. Slytherin has become diluted. It is no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers, hence Albus Potter's fears.
81. Lily detested mulciber,averyif snape really loved her,why didnt he sacrifice their company for her sake
82. 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.
    
83. He thought a "mudblood" would be impressed by his joining the Death Eaters? Isn't that like trying to impress a Jew by joining the SS?
    
84. 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
    
85. He did the Cruciatus Curse in the fifth book. The Imperatus Curse, on the other hand, was new.
    
86. 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.
87. What did petunia wanted to say to hary at the end of the dursleys departing
88. 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.
    
89. It think that's better than some of the other way-too-happy-ending bits. IMO, Harry never sees the Dursleys again, and they are all (except maybe Dudders) perfectly happy that way.
    
90. Can harry speak parseltongue when he is no longer a horcrux?
91. No, he loses the ability, and is very glad to do so.
    
92. I thought that one was obvious.
    
93. What is dumbledores boggart?
94. The corpse of his sister.
95. What is toadface umbridge doing now
96. Glad to see you like her as much as I do! She was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned for crimes against Muggleborns.
97. Is rita skeeter still reporting
98. 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.
99. Is scorpius as misguided as his father, or has draco improved and taught his child(ren) better
100. 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!
101. Did draco and harry lose their animosity towards eachother when voldemort died
102. 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.
     
103. And all that fangirl-written Harry-Draco buttsecks? Right out.
     
104. Has the jinx on the dada teaching post at hogwarts been lifted
105. 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.
106. Is narcissa malfoy really a death eater
107. 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.
108. Did mr weasley ever get around to fixing sirius motorbike
109. Of course, and it ended up in Harry's possession.
110. James patronus is a stag and lilys a doe is that a coincidence?
111. 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).
112. 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
113. No, he is not a ghost. He is forced to exist in the stunted form we witnessed in King's Cross.
114. Why did you feel that hedwigs death was necessary
115. 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!
116. Will we see harry and his friends having their own history on chocolate frogs cards
117. Definitely, and Ron will describe this as his finest hour.
     
118. I wonder why Harry (the Boy Who Lived) wasn't already on a card.