Questions tagged [jk-rowling]
This tag should be used when asking about J. K. Rowling's motivations, philosophies, and comments on her works. She is a famous fantasy author, best known for her Harry Potter series. For questions about the Harry Potter series use [harry-potter] and only add this tag when asking about the author herself.
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Significance of Harry Potter's glasses
I came across this "somewhere" (it's supposed to be an excerpt from a biography) -
Rowling's quality control has become legendary, as her obsession with accuracy. She's thrilled with ...
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Was Emmeline Vance's name inspired by the fantasy author, Jack Vance?
When I read Order of the Phoenix, Emmeline Vance's name stood out to me immediately. I find It unlikely that Rowling ever read Vance, but seeing a witch named "Vance" in a fantasy work tends ...
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What are the rules of town-living in "The Land of The Lost"?
In JK Rowling's The Christmas Pig, the "things" live in a series of towns depending on how much they're loved and missed, following a complex system of rules.
What are the rules? What are ...
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What book is JK Rowling referring to in this line in the credits to "The Christmas Pig"?
In The Christmas Pig, JK Rowling writes this in the acknowledgments:
Without Fiona Shapcott, Di Brooks, Angela Milne, and Simon Brown, I’d probably still be writing the last book but one. ...
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Has Rowling ever recognised mistakes or inconsistencies?
This may be subjective on my part (hence the question) but every time I read a comment or interview by Rowling I get the impression she’s building on the idea of “I had it all planned out from the ...
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Did British Intelligence ever know about the existence of wizards and the Wizarding World?
I am curious to know if there was ever a time when British Intelligence (MI5) knew about the existence of wizards and the Wizarding World.
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How likely is a novelisation or movie of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child?
Has J.K. Rowling ever given any clear answer on whether she might one day adapt, or allow someone to adapt, either a novelisation or TV treatment of Cursed Child? Or conversely has she ever stated ...
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Was JK Rowling inspired by the shoebill when she created Buckbeak?
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid says to Harry about Buckbeak:
Give him a nice bow. Then you wait and see if he bows back.
In this footage, we see people approaching a shoebill in ...
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Is there an official way to refer to communicating by putting your head in the fire?
In books four and five, several characters communicate by sticking their head into a floo fire. This makes their head appear in the other fireplace where they can talk with whoever is there.
Is there ...
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Why is Stephen Fry's narration of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone an hour longer than Jim Dale's on Audible?
Since the pandemic, J.K. Rowling released Stephen Fry's version of the audio book for free. However, the Jim Dale version is 8 hours 18 minutes and Stephen Fry's version is 9 hours 33 minutes. I know ...
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What does JKR mean by Lily's protection adding some goodness to Voldemort?
Just read this on JKR's old website:
Having taken Harry’s blood into himself, Voldemort is keeping alive Lily’s protective power over Harry. So Voldemort himself acts almost like a Horcrux for Harry –...
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Why wasn't Harry Potter home schooled? [closed]
I am wondering if there is a canon explanation for Harry Potter being sent to Hogwarts for his wizarding education instead of being home schooled by professors at a safe place, such as one that would ...
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What was the original version of this post on JK Rowling's website?
On J.K. Rowling's old website there is an "Extra Stuff" post that reads as follows
Owls
Owls feature in many superstitions across the world. To the Greeks, the owl was emblematic of Athena, ...
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Has Rowling commented on the Goblins' resemblance to the common "Jew" caricature?
As a disclaimer, I am not asking whether or not Rowling is an antisemite. She has commented on antisemitism before, and the answer to the question of her deeply held personal views would almost ...
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When did J.K. Rowling decide to make Harry and Ginny a couple?
I asked a similar question recently, and it occurred to me that we only see Harry feeling attraction towards Ginny in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (emphases mine):
They chose the one ...
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When did J.K. Rowling decide to make Ron and Hermione a couple?
We see in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that Hermione seems more than disgruntled when Fleur kisses Ron on both cheeks (my emphasis):
Fleur bent down, kissed Harry twice on each cheek (he felt ...
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Which Death Eaters were named after J.K. Rowling's Friends?
Recently I watched J.K. Rowling's Harvard Commencement Speech and she mentions that she named some Death Eaters after her friends.
Here is the actual quote:
They ...
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What was the original version of this FAQ answer on JK Rowling's website?
On J.K. Rowling's old website there is an FAQ question that reads as follows
Why did Colin Creevey's camera work etc?
As a vast number of people have pointed out to me in the last twenty four hours (...
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Voldemort and Koschei the Deathless [duplicate]
I love the Harry Potter books and movies, and I love all kinds of Folklore and Fantasy as well.
I thought the Potter book's concept of Horcruxes sounded familiar but I couldn't pin it down. The idea ...
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Why (out of universe) were the Slytherins sent to the dungeons in the film?
When Professor McGonagall hears Ms. Parkinson say that Harry Potter should be surrendered to Voldemort, she orders that the Slytherins must be sent into dungeons. Why did she send all of those ...
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Why did the Basilisk in Harry Potter only listen to the Heir of Slytherin?
So in both the books and movies, the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets is said to only listen to the Heir of Slytherin. We all know Tom Riddle was the Heir, but I want to know why the basilisk could ...
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Who came first: Tom Riddle, or Voldemort?
Out-of-universe, which name for the lead villain did Rowling come up with first? Did she always intend to have two names for him? Looking for official sources only.
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Why did the chapter 'The Dark Mark' cause JK Rowling so much trouble?
JK Rowling has written in the past about the trouble that one particular chapter gave her during the writing of the Harry Potter books. She describes 'The Dark Mark' from Goblet of Fire as the most ...
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What was one of the inspiration sources of Harry Potter? [closed]
I wanted to know this because I was curious what triggered J.K. Rowling to write this.
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Who was J. K. Rowling referring to in this quote about the change to the last chapter?
Who was J. K. Rowling referring to in this quote from the Richard and Judy interview, 2006?
The final chapter is hidden away, although it has now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve,...
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How was the plot of the Harry Potter series developed?
When reading the Harry Potter series, I couldn't help but notice: Harry destroyed Tom Riddle's diary with a basilisk fang, and later in the series we find out that its poison can be conveniently used ...
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Did J.K. Rowling name the 'movie only' spells?
Inspired by:
Can Everte Statum be used on a non-stationary opponent?
Uses of Brackium Emendo
There are at least two spells that are named in the films but not in the books.
Did J.K. Rowling create/...
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Has JKR killed off any characters outside of book/movie canon?
A lot of beloved characters were killed off in Deathly Hallows; there were literally corpses lined up in the Great Hall. However, there are a lot more characters in the Harry Potter world whose ...
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JK Rowling and women's situation in magical society [duplicate]
In the Harry Potter books, women in the magical cover very important roles, and are equal to men from this point of view. This emancipation is similar to what has been quite recently achieved in our ...
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Did J.K. Rowling say that a gun would beat a wand?
A common claim online is that J.K Rowling said (at some point or another) that a Muggle with a gun would beat a wizard with a wand. For example, on TV Tropes:
J.K mentioned that in a battle ...
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Who are the reinforcements led by Slughorn? [closed]
Slughorn goes to Hogsmade for collecting reinforcements.
According to an answer on Quora, JK Rowling said in an interview last January 2008 that
the group who followed Slughorn from Hogsmeade to ...
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How many children in Harry's year die?
During the battle of Hogwarts, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we learn that Lavender Brown ends up dying.
However, it's been a while since I read the books, so, I was wondering, of the 40 ...
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Magical tradition in Harry Potter appears to be much older than the Latin language, so why do most spells that we see appear to be based on Latin?
One might expect that as each spell was created, it would be created in the language of the person who created it (or in some older language, perhaps), and that the wording of spells would therefore ...
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Has JKR ever talked about the inspiration of creating the Horcrux idea? Is it related to the One Ring?
Although not completely analogous, there do seem to be some similarities between Sauron's "soul" embodied in the One Ring and Voldemort's "soul" embodied in a Horcrux.
Has JKR ever talked about the ...
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Has the original Fantastic Beasts book been pulled off shelves?
I'm not sure, but I heard that the original 'Fantastic Beasts & Where to find them' from the Hogwarts Library Set has been pulled off the shelves? That the old version will no longer be available ...
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Did JKR's original plan for the ending of the Harry Potter saga include a breakup between Harry and Ron?
I saw a post once, which claimed that Rowling had actually planned a different path for the events of the Deathly Hallows.
JKR was forced to abandon these plans because of the fan pressure.
Has ...
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How did this Fantastic Beasts character disguise themselves?
Spoilers to follow, obviously.
In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we learn that
My assumption is that this character stole the identity of the person they are pretending to be, presumably ...
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Did J.K Rowling ever explicitly talk about the allegorical nature of the Potter series?
Despite literary analysts' constant claims, JRR Tolkien insisted that his (LOTR series) books are not commentaries on class warfare, racism, the world wars etc. and that they are purely self-contained ...
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What Cursed Child elements were foreshadowed by Rowling in previous writings?
We know that Jack Thorne wrote a play called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with JKR's approval, and that Rowling claims to have given the creative team access to all the material she had prepared ...
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Why does MACUSA have no interaction with the US Government?
As more information about American witches and wizards comes out, there are pieces that don't make a lot of sense to me.
My main question is, why does the wizarding governing body (MACUSA) not ...
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Why is JK Rowling considered 'bad at math'?
An often repeated meme about Harry Potter is that JK Rowling is 'bad at math'.
I see this all over this site and the saying is probably used elsewhere.
The following is said, in the comments for the ...
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How could MACUSA exist in 1693 or be in Washington in 1777?
Two brief excerpts from The Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) By J.K. Rowling on Pottermore state the following:
The Magical Congress of the United States of America, known ...
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What is JK Rowling "bad" at? [closed]
We all have come to know that J.K. Rowling considers herself bad at maths. She has even admitted it freely;
ES: How many wizards are there?
JKR: In the world? Oh, Emerson, my maths is so bad.
Has Jo ...
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What were the questions to Rowling's seven FAQ answers?
A few days ago, Rowling had updated her twitter bio with1:
FAQ answers: 1) Because the Basilisk didn't kill him 2) Next year, I hope 3) Yes 4) Wait and see 5) No, he isn't 6) No, he really isn't 7) ...
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Just how much of The Cursed Child is JKR's?
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is marketed as
The eighth story. Nineteen years later.
In big block caps on the back of the book.
The front cover also proclaims
Based on an original new story by
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Is there a mistake in 'The Potter Family' by J.K. Rowling?
I was reading The Potter Family
by J.K. Rowling when I believe I came across a mistake in the end. The last paragraph says that:
Fleamont and Euphemia lived long enough to see James marry a Muggle-...
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What has J.K. Rowling said is "canon"?
Considering how all the answers to this question say that there is no such thing as Harry Potter canon, but the answers to this question point out that Cursed Child has been called "canon", I would ...
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Was the Knight Bus driver Ernie Prang's surname an intentional joke?
In British slang, a "prang" is a minor motor vehicle collision.
According to the answer to the question What happens if Knight Bus is involved in a collision?, it's impossible for the Knight Bus, so ...
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Had J.K. Rowling planned Snape's storyline when she started writing the first book? [duplicate]
Had J. K. Rowling already planned all along the surprise storyline revealed in Deathly Hallows that Snape
In my opinion this is probably true from the fifth book on, because, reading through the ...
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Did J.K. Rowling purposefully name the school founders off of Hogwarts?
So there are four Houses (and four Founders): Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Hmm. HGRS. What does that spell? Oh right! Hogwarts!
Did J. K. Rowling do that on purpose?
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