Soccer Dad: Deathly hallows roundup

August 2, 2007

Deathly hallows roundup

There will be spoilers - both those I link to and some in this post.

Be forewarned.

In non-spoiler news. Harry Potter Prognostications is putting together a JK Rowling thank you book. Follow the instructions if you wish to participate.

Spoiler alert, don't click on these links unless you wish to be spoiled:
Harry Potter Prognostications also has posted its podcast review of the book.

Baseball Crank has posted his (extensive, excellent) review and recap. It's great and thought provoking, even if I didn't agree with it all.

My friend, Elie's Expositions has now reviewed his predictions. He was a lot closer to the mark than was I.

Rabbi Slifkin has written about the origins in Jewish sources of various magical creatures mentioned in the book. (h/t Hirhurim)

Finally, JK Rowling gave a great chat at the Bloomsbury site recently, filling in even more detail than she did in her interview with Meredith Viera. (h/t Elie's Expositions.)

While I still want to get a review up (It's not happening today) some of her comments made me want to respond.

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Su: How did neville get the gryfindor sword, is there a link to the hat
J.K. Rowling: Yes, there is very definitely a link to the hat!

J.K. Rowling: 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 -

J.K. Rowling: - the Sorting Hat was Gryffindor's initially, as you know.

J.K. Rowling: 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.

As Elie's Expositions pointed out to me in an e-mail, if the Sword of Griffindor would disappear from someone's possession when someone needed it, well then it would be very easy for a Goblin to assume that wizards were stealing it, regardless of the interesting views on ownership that Goblins held.

Lady Bella: Whose murders did voldemor 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).

J.K. Rowling: The diadem - an Albanian peasant. The ring - Tom Riddle snr.

Since Rowling doesn't say the manner he murdered the others, I don't have this question. But she seems to be saying that Voldemort killed Bertha Jorkins with a spell. If so, why didn't her image appear to Harry at the end of the Goblet of Fire? She should have come back between Frank and Harry's parents, shouldn't she have?

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.

J.K. Rowling: Harry's faults are primarily anger and occasional arrogance.

J.K. Rowling: 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.

This is a cop-out answer. In fact in the Deathly Hallows the good guys were using unforgivable curses frequently. And yet Rowling never gives a reason why it was OK. Sure they were going up against some bad folks, but Moody/Crouch never explained that there were circumstances where the curses were allowed (e.g. self defense.) "Unforgivable" seems pretty definitive to me.

Chucky: 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!

I read that the Chamber of Secrets was originally to be called the Half Blood Prince. I guess that subplot waited until later. I wonder why.

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 favorite 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!

J.K. Rowling: Remus was killed by Dolohov and Tonks by Bellatrix.

I'm a little disappointed in this. I'd figured that Bellatrix (or possibly Narcissa) had killed both, outside the scope of battle given Voldemort's nasty comments at the beginning of the book.

Renee: 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?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, Harry and Voldemort are distantly related through the Peverells.

J.K. Rowling: 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.

In fact, then, the only clear Wizarding blood Harry had in him was Slytherin. As Rowling points out later in the book, muggles born with Wizarding power, probably had a witch or wizard as an ancestor, so it's possible that Harry descended from one of the other founders of Hogwarts, but only his Slytherin blood was certain!

More Harry Potter on Soccer Dad.

Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.