# Little Things You Hope JK Rowling Will Clear Up In Book 7 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2005, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276 "2005-07-20T12:21:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/41 "2005-07-23T20:14:20Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I’d also like to see something more of Hermione’s Muggle Life. We’ve seen Ron’s at The Burrow, but nothing of her life. Hermione has a sister, or at least she had a sister. Rowling wrote her in in the beginning, but it’s been so long our author hasn’t decided yet whether or not to keep her canon. She was originally going to write some scenes with Hermione the witch trying to interact with her family. They got cut early on. > [@](#): > > Snape’s story and background is sadly lacking. She’s strongly hinted that we’re going to hear a lot more about it – so you get your wish here 🙂 > [@](#): > > McConigal’s back ground is even more lacking. She told us once that some of the teachers have spouses, but there was a good reason they hadn’t been brought up. She said we’d eventually find that out. Since we haven’t, it must be for book 7. > [@](#): > > Most importantly…How long will we have to wait?!!111!!! She estimates 2 years. She wants to spend this first year with her new daughter Mackenzie, and believes that it’ll take a year to write book 7. Of course, she’s also said that she gets eager to write if she’s away from it long, and has already drawn up part of the plan for 7. So maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll start early. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/42 "2005-07-23T20:21:06Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > I’m hoping the last Horcrux will be something of Ravenclaw’s, since we’ve seen artefacts from all the others. Frankly, I hope so too. Dumbledore said that, as far as he knew, the only surviving artifact of Goderic Gryffindor was the sword that Harry killed the basilisk with. And it doesn’t seem like Voldemort has ever had a chance to make that item a horcrux. So some artifact of Ravenclaw’s seems more likely. Unless the last horcrux is something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/43 "2005-07-23T20:27:58Z")
> [@Axel](#): > > I assume that all the Potters were killed by Voldemort. Maybe most of Lily’s muggle family were too, which would explain some of Petunia’s resentment. If her parents, uncles, aunts and cousins were killed by the wizarding world, she really would have been a kind person to take Harry in and save his life by doing so. Still a bitch for treating him as she did, but understandably so. She confirmed in the interview posted yesterday that Harry’s grandparents on the Lily/Petunia side died of ordinary Muggle causes, and that his grandparents’ on James’ side of the family died of common wizarding illnesses (there are some magical illnesses that only wizards get, like Dragon Pox). None of their deaths fir into the story in any larger way, and have nothing to do with Voldemort. Rowling said she killed them off for story considerations – Petunia had to be Harry’s last remaining close relative, so he’d be forced to live with the Dursleys. She did tell us a little about James’ family in that interview. They were “elderly” when they had him – I presume that means at the end of their childbearing years, though since wizards live longer, that would be elderly in Muggle terms. They were Pureblood. James was an only child, and rather spoiled. We know from previous interviews that they were wealthy (the fortune in galleons came to James from them) and that the invisibility cloak is an old family heirloom. and the books told us that they half-adopted Sirius, so they were probably fairly nice people. So we actually know a fair bit about them, now. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/44 "2005-07-23T20:33:42Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > I took this to basically imply that Fridwulfa raped Hagrid’s father. That’s a pretty heavy thing for a kid’s book, but no other explanation seems to exist. (Why a giant would rape some little human dude is hard to explain, though.) I didn’t see it that way – for me, the only difficult issue was size. It’s part of the ongoing theme of love conquering all – in Mr. Hagrid’s case, it crossed all the physical and cultural boundaries imaginable. When you look at his son, the way he dotes on bloodthirsty horrors as if they were cute puppies or kittens, it seems to be a trait that runs in the family. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/45 "2005-07-23T20:50:46Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > do something with the house elves. (did you know that SPEW was completely left out of GOF movie–rumor I heard). She said once that while the stories are largely planned and set in stone, sometimes she lets the characters wander off and do their own thing if it doesn’t interfere with the larger storyline. SPEW came out of that – it seemed like something Hermione would do, and wasn’t planned at first. Interestingly, in book 1, Harry knows exactly where the kitchen is, and then in book 4 he doesn’t – so I wonder if the house Elves of Hogwarts were even in the original design. > [@](#): > > Complete the prophecy–is Neville a key character or not? She answered very recently that when Voldemort chose Harry, Neville was no longer a factor in the prophecy. It doesn’t tie him mystically to Harry at all. Indeed, she said in that interview yesterday that the prophecy would never have worked if Voldemort hadn’t chose to act on it, and – if Harry and Voldemort both chose – the two of them could agree not to fulfill it. She said she was fascinated by Macbeth, and that was the inspiration – she believes the witches weren’t foretelling the future, but setting all the events of the play into motion. None of it would have happened without them. Thus, since Voldemort didn’t involve Neville in the prophecy, he has nothing to do with it. > [@](#): > > Is HP a direct descendant of Gryffindor? I think Dumbly is. She’s strongly implied there’s something up with Dumbledore’s family. From yesterday’s interview: > [@](#): > > ES: Where did he [Dumbledore] learn it all? > > JKR: I see him primarily as someone who would be self-taught. However, he in his time had access to superb teachers at Hogwarts, so he was educated in the same way that everyone else is educated. Dumbledore’s family would be a profitable line of inquiry, more profitable than sweet wrappers. > > MA: His family? > > JKR: Family, yes. > > MA: Should we talk about that a little more? > > JKR: No. But you can! [Laughter.] (That was a great interview. From that, we discover that Ron’s Patronus is a Jack Russell Terrier, which will look very funny next to Harry’s magnificient stag and Tonks’ werewolf :)) ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/46 "2005-07-23T20:57:53Z")
> [@stringy](#): > > Apparently the last word in the last sentence is “scar”. Can’t remember where I heard that, possibly on her site or in an interview - if anyone else knows I’d be grateful for a link so I can take another look. Ask, and you shall receive. she told this to [People magazine in 1999](http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/1999/1299-people.html): > [@](#): > > In plotting Harry’s journey she has already completed a draft of the final chapter of the last book. “I constantly rewrite,” she says. “At the moment, the last word is ‘scar.’” When the time comes, no one will be sadder to close the book on her hero than Rowling herself. Writing about Harry Potter, she says, “is the most fun you can have without anyone else present.” And **vtynos** , if the last paragraph is like that, I’m asking for my money back. I doubt it will be, though, since she’s confirmed a couple of times that we’re going to get a chapter at the very end of the last book telling us what’ll happen to the survivors after year 7. If the survivors are all in Harry’s head, that’s unlikely to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/47 "2005-07-23T21:12:07Z")
> [@Marlitharn](#): > > This McCraggin or McGraggin or whatever his name was; he just appeared out of the blue, yet apparently he’s been a Gryffindor the whole time; where’d he come from? There are dozens of students we hear about and never see. They usually just get attached years (“a sixth year” “a first year”). McClaggan was likely always there and never mentioned. In book 5, Blaise Zabini (who was named in book 1) is merely refered to as “a stringy Slytherin” who can see Thestrals. Harry doesn’t know his name because he’s never interacted with Blaise. She did get the name recently. She mentioned in an interview before the book came out that she’d recently heard the name, and decided to steal it for one of her characters. She may have changed the name (she’s done that with quite a few). Anyway, after fans heard that, there was wild speculation about McClaggan being the DADA teacher or the Half-Blood Prince. > [@](#): > > Also, in Sorcerer’s Stone, Snape’s first Potions lesson reveals that the recipe for Draught of Living Death is powdered root of asphodel mixed with an infusion of wormwood. Yet, when the NEWT Potions class is challenged to make it, there’s all this extraneous nonsense about chopping up valerian roots and expressing juice from a sopophorous bean. Huh? Well, the whole point of the Half-Blood Prince’s book is that there’s more than one way to make a potion. Maybe in all his experimenting, Snape found a really easy way to make a complicated potion. Or maybe he just forgot. _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ notes that Snape was wrong about Kappas when he took over Lupin’s class, and Defence Against the Dark Arts is supposed to be his specialty. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/48 "2005-07-23T21:28:57Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > She was originally going to write some scenes with Hermione the witch trying to interact with her family. They got cut early on. A good decision. Giving every character a backstory and a complicated, plot relavant family tree is getting a little old. I like that she left out Hermiones. > [@](#): > > She’s strongly implied there’s something up with Dumbledore’s family. From yesterday’s interview I swear one of the books mentioned Dumbledore having a still-living brother somewhere. I wouldn’t be suprised if he were brought in as a Dumbledore replacement in the next book. > [@Marlitharn](#): > > Is Fawkes gone forever or did Dumbledore bequeath him to Harry? Harry mentions at the end of THBP that Fawkes, like his master, is gone forever. > [@elanor](#): > > Provide backstory/reasons for Snape’s hating of HP–there has to be more to it than Jame’s boorish behavior. Along with that, Snape needs to truly look at HP and stop seeing JP. I’m almost positive Snape had the hots for HP’s mom, and that he blames Harry for her death as she died protecting him. This also explains his hatred for JP and why Snape was so torn up about having given Voldemort the prophecy that led to Lily Potter’s death. Also would explain why Dumbledore trusted Snape so explicitly, as Snape probably hates Voldemort for killing Lily ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/49 "2005-07-23T21:32:21Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > I swear one of the books mentioned Dumbledore having a still-living brother somewhere. I wouldn’t be suprised if he were brought in as a Dumbledore replacement in the next book. Aberforth Dumbledore runs the Hog’s Head tavern. He keeps an eye of Hogsmeade’s shadier residents and gave that info to Dumbledore. He was the one who caught Snape eavesdropping. Aberforth was involved in some scandal involving goats, and smells like a goat. Rowling insists she won’t explain it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/50 "2005-07-24T01:31:57Z")
Is Tonks going to make a man ot of Harry? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/51 "2005-07-24T01:43:05Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Is Tonks going to make a man ot of Harry? > 😉 Depends on how good she is with Transfiguration 😃 But seriously, isn’t she going to be having Lupin’s bubblegum-pink-furred Werewolf cubs? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/52 "2005-07-24T03:14:42Z")
What happened to the Boa Constrictor? Did it ever reach Brazil? Will the Ford Anglia and the Flying Motorbike ever find True Love together? How about Draco and Moaning Myrtle? How the heck did Hagrid manage to get Grawp civilized enough to behave himself at a funeral? What happened to Ludo Bagman? Is he really an amiable idiot with a gambling problem, or is he a Death Eater with excellent acting skills? Will we ever meet Mr. Lovegood? Do Crumple-Horned Snorkacks really exist? (I have this lovely vision of Luna presenting Hagrid with one.) ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/53 "2005-07-24T06:47:13Z")
In book seven I hope she tells us a little more about Petunia and Lily’s relationship. I would like to know just how much Petunia knows about Lily’s world. I don’t know if Rowling will clear this up but maybe someone on the board will tell me. How the heck is Hermione pronounced? Unless I’m mistaken the books imply Her-my-own-knee while in the movie it’s Her-my-knee. I would also like to know why Rowling, who is so excellent with names, saddled her newborn daughter with the hideous moniker of Makenzie. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/54 "2005-07-24T06:50:40Z")
Has Rowling explained why house elves can apparate inside of Hogwarts but wizards can’t? ---
**Author:** ![stringy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@stringy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stringy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/55 "2005-07-24T14:34:20Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > Ask, and you shall receive. she told this to [People magazine in 1999](http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/1999/1299-people.html) Thanks so much for that, it’s been bugging me. Things I’d like to see in Book 7: more direct info on Lily more direct info on Snape (seems pretty likely) a scene where we get some real interaction with Aberforth Dumbledore instead of just having him as a background character Lupin to get a happy ending - I suppose that’s what Tonks is for, but I really think that relationship came out of left field, since we’ve barely seen them together at all. Neville to sort out Bellatrix Lestrange ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/56 "2005-07-24T15:32:58Z")
> [@lavenderlemon](#): > > How the heck is Hermione pronounced? Unless I’m mistaken the books imply Her-my-own-knee while in the movie it’s Her-my-knee. Her-my-own-knee. The movies frequently botch pronunciation, but Scholastic Publications keeps a pronunciation guide on their website, with info from rowling herself. Other mistakes in the movies include the pronounced “t” at the end of Voldemort (it’s silent), and the short “i” sound in Slytherin (it’s long as in “sly”). One I just know they’re going to botch is “Lestrange.” It’s a real name, and it’s not pronounced as “strange” – the “a” sounds like the “aw” in “paw” or “saw.” > [@Sampiro](#): > > Has Rowling explained why house elves can apparate inside of Hogwarts but wizards can’t? Yep. Their magic works very differently. There are things wizards can’t do that elves can’t, and vice-versa. If Voldemort is smart, he should collect House-Elves for an assault on Hogwarts. ---
**Author:** ![EleventyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@EleventyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EleventyOne)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/57 "2005-07-24T17:58:00Z")
Who was the Bloody Baron, and why is Peeves afraid of his ghost? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/58 "2005-07-24T21:17:03Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > Other mistakes in the movies include the pronounced “t” at the end of Voldemort (it’s silent), and the short “i” sound in Slytherin (it’s long as in “sly”). But if you pronounce it w/a short I sound then it sounds like slither…which is what snakes do, so I can see why people would pronounce it that way. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/59 "2005-07-24T21:35:44Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > But if you pronounce it w/a short I sound then it sounds like slither…which is what snakes do, so I can see why people would pronounce it that way. I think the house name makes sense both ways. Either Sly-there-in (as in there be some sly people) or Sli-there-in (like a snake.) Very clever. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276/60 "2005-07-24T21:37:03Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > But if you pronounce it w/a short I sound then it sounds like slither…which is what snakes do, so I can see why people would pronounce it that way. I must be going crazy. I double-checked, and I was wrong about that pronunciation – it is a short “i”. I was right about the others, though – “Voldemor” and “Hermyohknee” and “Lestrawnge.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-you-hope-jk-rowling-will-clear-up-in-book-7/313276.md?page=4)