Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (SPOILERS)

[Deleted]

Harry was my favorite character too, closely followed by the Weasley clan. I think I have a literary crush on Harry. [/embarrassing confession]

[kostgard]

borokat said:

Harry was my favorite character too, closely followed by the Weasley clan. I think I have a literary crush on Harry. [/embarrassing confession]

Aw. I don't have a literary crush on him, but I just adore the kid. I was even all proud of him and crap for the way he handled Ron's breakdown (after he pulled Harry out of the lake) in DH and how he bravely faced death in the end. I actually swelled with pride over someone who doesn't actually exist.

I'll admit now that I'm going back and trying to see some of the characters in a new light now that it is all over. I'm trying to look for clues to Dumbledore's past that I may have missed in earlier books. And I've even taken to pulling out the DVDs of the movies when I'm bored and paying special attention to Alan Rickman's performance to see if he gives anything away since he was apparently one of the few cast members JK Rowling told about his character's history before things were revealed in the books.

[susyhomewrecker]

Haha, I've already done that. There aren't a ton of hints about what happens in the end, but I also think she had legitimately planned everything out before she wrote it. I doubt all the specifics were in place, and I think some things changed between the initial planning stages and the finished product. The seeds are there, though--particularly with regard to Snape's allegiance and Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Remember when the PoA movie came out, and JKR said that while she was watching it there were two scenes that gave her goosebumps because they foreshadowed things that happened in the seventh book (but of course couldn't tell us what they were)? I've been trying to figure out what she was talking about there since I caught that movie on TV about a month ago. I think one might be the scene where Lupin randomly waxes poetic about what a nice person Lily was, even to people who didn't have friends. The other scene is towards the end, after Hermione, Harry, and Buckbeak rescue Sirius. Sirius says something along the lines of, "The people we love never really leave us, they're always in here," and he points to Harry's heart. Of course, in the last book, Harry asks if his parents, Sirius, and Lupin will stay with him and Sirius says "we're a part of you." Can anyone else think of what she might have been talking about?

Also, in the second book, Harry tells Dobby, "never try to save my life again!" I almost cried. DOBBY!!!

[sugarhigh]

So Rowling says that Dumbledore was gay.

In front of a full house of hardcore Potter fans at Carnegie Hall in New York, Rowling, sitting on the stage on a red velvet and carved wood throne, read from her seventh and final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," then took questions. One fan asked whether Albus Dumbledore, the head of the famed Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, had ever loved anyone. Rowling smiled. "Dumbledore is gay, actually," replied Rowling as the audience errupted in surprise. She added that, in her mind, Dumbledore had an unrequited love affair with Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort's predecessor who appears in the seventh book. After several minutes of prolonged shouting and clapping from astonshed fans, Rowling added. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy."

[Sunnyhorse]

And in the same session says that Neville married Hannah Abbott. I like that, too.

[kostgard]

Never would have guessed that - but mostly because I never wondered about Dumbledore's love life.

I'm kinda glad she did that though - I like the idea that a beloved character in a very popular series of children's book played for the other team.

[Deleted]

Oh, you beat me to it. God, the internet is fast.

Yep, Dumbledore is gay, he was in love with Grendelwald, and Rowling actually had a line changed in the upcoming movie where the screenwriter had him talking about a woman in his past. Rowling was like, "Uh, no. He's gay."

The evening was absolutely amazing, although it started on an odd note. When we arrived at Carnegie Hall, a woman had passed out of the front steps and an ambulance had to be called. I hope it was a super fan looking to get in and not someone with an actual ticket because wouldn't that suck to make it all the way to Carnegie Hall and then pass out 5 minuted before the doors opened?

There was a wide range of people there but only a handful were dressed up. One of the best parts was when the surprise announcer came out and it was Keith Olbermann!!! MrB really liked that. Then JK Rowling appeared and the whole place went nuts. She read the part from DH where Ron comes back and saves Harry's life after leaving them. Then she took about 20 questions, which is when she dropped the Dumbledore bombshell. The other questions were very good, but I think nothing new- she talked about Molly Weasley and said that the Potters and Sirius were full-time members of the Order of the Phoenix and lived off James' families' money until Lily got pregnant- then they went into hiding. Oh yeah, that Harry made sure that Snape's portrait was hung at Hogwarts, but that he did not go back and visit him because he still did not care for him that much.

Then they lined us up for the signing. It went very quickly and smoothly and the Scholastic people would not let you chit chat because of the huge crowd, but when it was my turn, I smiled and said hi and thanked her. She smiled at me and said, "My pleasure." It was awesome.

[kostgard]

JK Rowling and Keith Olbermann? What an awesome evening!

Did she happen to mention anything about writing that encyclopedia?

[Deleted]

Nope, she just said that she was going to take a long break.

[Eeyore]

Keith Olbermann? ::swoon::

Okay. I've just reread the whole series and am halfway through book 7, and I have no recollection of a Hannah Abbott.

Who is this lucky girl who gets a share in the Longbottom awesomeness?

And I guess unless Tom successfully mated with a goat, the Dumbledore clan is no more.....? But that was pretty cool news about Albus. His backstory makes a bit more sense.