NATIONAL NEWS
October 22, 2007
J.K. Rowling Tells All
TFK's Madison Chapman was there! Here is her full report from Rowling's Open Book Tour
SPOILER WARNING- For TFK readers who have not finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, please be aware of spoilers in the following article.
Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of fans at New York City's Carnegie Hall on Friday October 19, J.K. Rowling described her Harry Potter books as "a prolonged argument for tolerance and a prolonged plea for the end to bigotry." Her thoughts on the deep philosophical themes of the books were not the only thing Rowling discussed as she spoke to the lucky winners of Scholastic's J.K. Rowling Open Book Tour Sweepstakes. At the event, Rowling read an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, answered detailed questions from audience members and signed 2,000 books, one for each person in attendance.
 |  TIMOTHY A. CLARY—AFP/GETTY IMAGES Rowling signs books for lucky fans in New York City. |
The event concluded the author's week-long U.S. Open Book Tour. She gave similar presentations to public schoolchildren in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City, but the final appearance at Carnegie Hall was solely for the 1,000 sweepstakes winners, randomly chosen from over 50,000 entries, who were each allowed to bring a guest.
During the question and answer session, J.K. Rowling disclosed facts about the books that had never been revealed before, such as Neville's love life after Hogwarts. "He marries Hannah Abbott, the woman who becomes the new landlady of The Leaky Cauldron. I think that would make him very cool among the (Hogwarts) students, that he lives above the pub," Rowling said as the audience shrieked with delight. She also discussed whether Severus Snape was good or evil, a topic still fiercely debated among fans. "Even though he did love and he loved very deeply and he was brave, both qualities that I admire above anything else, he was bitter and he was vindictive," Rowling remarked. And does Malfoy owe Harry a life debt since Harry saved his life? "I think the very worst burden Harry could have put Malfoy under was this one, that Malfoy has to feel any kind of gratitude," Rowling explained.
Rowling also touched on the death of Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's most evil followers. "I always knew Molly (Weasley) was going to finish her off. I wanted Molly to have her moment and to show that because a woman has dedicated herself to her family that does not mean that she doesn't have a lot of other talents. And I wanted to match Bellatrix's sick obsession with Voldemort against Molly's maternal love. There was something very satisfying about putting those two women together," Rowling said.
When the story of Harry Potter came to a finale in July, fans across the world mourned the end of the series and Rowling said she experienced the same feeling of loss. "I knew it would hurt and it was huge," Rowling said of finishing the seventh book. "So that's why I'm glad to be here and talk about it. Thank you!" While Rowling expressed her appreciation for the chance to talk freely about the wizarding world, the crowd expressed its own gratitude with three standing ovations and innumerable rounds of raucous applause. Though the Harry Potter series has ended, the enthusiastic response of the crowd at Carnegie Hall proves that Harry will continue to attract readers for generations to come.
