Hint, hint: Jo Rowling on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter series book 7)

A compilation and summary of ten years of interviews, weighted for importance

Rankings by Lisa Waite Bunker, interview summaries by Deborah Skinner.

Why Some of These Statements May Not Be True Anymore

Jo says she has the whole series planned out but she allows herself small digressions. [link to source]

JKR: “I've never, to my knowledge, lied when posed a question about the books. To my knowledge. You can imagine, I've now been asked hundreds of questions; it's perfectly possible at some point I misspoke or I gave a misleading answer unintentionally, or I may have answered truthfully at the time and then changed my mind in a subsequent book.” [link to source]

Jo says she is someone “who loves to pull the wool over her readers' eyes.” [link to source]

JKR: “The final chapter is hidden away, although it has now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two [main characters] die that I didn't intend to die.” [link to source]

JKR: “I’ll probably leave some loose ends hanging.” [link to source]

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Fan Theories

Jo loves fan-theories. People have been very close to figuring out things and some people have even figured out part of Book 7. [link to source]

Jo gets “cold shivers when someone guesses at something that's very close” but enough ideas are “off the wall” that she doesn't really worry; the ending is “clearly not that obvious.” [link to source]

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High importance

The fact that Harry has his mother’s eyes is very important to a future book. [link to source]

We will find out the significant information about Harry’s mother in two parts: books 5 and 7. Both are “very important in what Harry ends up having to do.” [link to source]

Jo says a question we should be asking is “why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry.” Dumbledore did not give the real reason. [link to source]

Dumbledore’s “gleam of triumph” will be enormously significant to Book 7. [link to source]

We will learn more about Dumbledore in book 7. It is possible that one of the things we will find out is what spell Dumbledore was trying to cast on Voldemort in the Ministry. [link to source]

Jo says an important question we should be asking is: “Why did Dumbledore have James' Invisibility Cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?” [link to source]

Jo won't answer if Snape is evil or not because it will have such a huge impact on what will happen when Harry and Snape meet again: “I love the theories.” [link to source]

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Important

What Harry’s parents did for a living is important. [link to source]

We will find out why Voldemort gave Lily so many chances to live. [link to source]

Snape might have had a love life/has a redemptive pattern to his life. [link to source]

JKR: “Dumbledore's family would be a profitable line of inquiry.” [link to source]

Death is not reversible, even in the Wizarding World, though in Book 7 "you'll see just how close you can get to the dead." [link to source]

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Could Be Huge, Could Be Just an Interesting Plot Device

“There is more to the Sorting Hat than what you have read about in the first three books.” [link to source]

As one can guess from the end of Book 6, the founders of Hogwarts will play a role in Book 7. [link to source]

A few of the Hogwarts professors have spouses, but the information is restricted – we’ll find out why! [link to source]

Aunt Petunia is truly a muggle, but there is “a little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye.” “She is not a squib, although that is a very good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly indiscreet.” [link to source]

Petunia knows about dementors because she “overheard a conversation” between Lily and someone else. But there is more to it than that; we will learn more in Book 7. [link to source]

When asked about Aunt Petunia being oddly flushed when she heard that Harry would only be returning to Privet Drive once more, Jo said that “There is a little more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye and you will find out what that is in book seven.” [link to source]

What did Dumbledore's Howler to Aunt Petunia mean? (“Remember my last?”) [link to source]

Who is R.A.B.? JKR: Regulus Black is a “fine choice.” [link to source]

We will learn why Sirius detested Snape. [link to source]

We will see whether or not Wormtail pays his life-debt to Harry. [link to source]

At least one of the remaining Horcruxes is pretty easy to guess at if you are a careful reader. [link to source]

Does the destruction of a Horcrux involve more than the destruction of the object? [unanswered FAQ poll question from JKRowling.com]

There will be a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher in Book 7. [link to source]

The magical protection Harry receives from staying at the Dursleys will not hold once he turns 17 and becomes a man. [link to source]

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows we will become better acquainted with another member of the Order of the Phoenix. This is someone we know about but have not “met properly.” [link to source]

Harry believes that Draco would not have killed Dumbledore even if he had all the time in the world. Indeed he would not have; this will have implications for Draco’s future. [link to source]

When asked about Draco, Jo said that all of her main characters except for Voldemort can be considered redeemable. [link to source]

The two-way mirror Sirius gave Harry will be useful in some way. [link to source]

JKR: “The mirror that Harry got from Sirius might not have helped as much as you think but, on the other hand, will help more than you think.” [link to source]

JKR: Regulus is dead, “so he's pretty quiet these days.” [link to source]

JKR will not comment on whether or not Sirius's mirror will allow communication with Regulus or not. [link to source]

JKR won’t tell us if there will be another scene in the locked room in the Department of Mysteries. [link to source]

Fawkes probably has a role to play in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. [link to source]

World folklore about snakes holds clues to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. [link to source]

We will learn more about the relationship between wands and their wizards/witches in Book 7. [link to source]

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Interesting, but Probably Not Crucial

We will find out more about the history of James Potter’s family in the next books. [link to source]

At the moment the last word is still “scar.” [link to source]

“In my books, magic almost always shows itself in a person before age 11; however, there is a character who does manage in desperate circumstances to do magic quite late in life, but that is very rare in the world I am writing about.” [link to source]

Jo has written an epilogue that explains what some of the characters' lives are like, but she may not actually use it. [link to source]

JKR said she wouldn’t answer questions about religious content until the end of the seventh book. [link to source]

There might be more to the eye regarding the cats in the stories. [link to source]

We will learn what Dudley “saw” when he faced the Dementors. [link to source]

We will find out what happened to Sirius’s flying motorbike. [link to source]

Cuaron “put things in the [Prisoner of Azkaban] film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books.” [link to source]

Umbridge is still at the Ministry; we will see more of her because Jo wants to “torture” her a bit more. [link to source]

Ravenclaw “Will get their day, if you know what I mean!” [link to source]

Grawp will continue to become “more amenable to human contact.” [link to source]

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Obvious Stuff: Things We Can Guess From the Books or That Are No Big Surprise

Book 7 will see Harry come of age – face his destiny. [Guardian Unlimited, 1999]

In Book 7, Harry will be 17, which means he will be “of age.” He will become a full wizard and be able to use his magic outside school. [Barnes & Noble chat, 1999]

Dumbledore's guesses about how to kill Voldemort are “never very far wide of the mark.” Harry will need to get rid of four Horcruxes, and then “go for Voldemort.” Dumbledore has given Harry “some pretty valuable clues” and Harry “has amassed more knowledge than he realizes.” [The Leaky Cauldron/Mugglenet interview, 2005]

What Harry (and all the characters) will be going through will be quite “tough.” [Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004]

More characters are going to die. [Jo's website]

“What's very important for me is when Dumbledore says that you have to choose between what is right and what is easy. This is the setup for the next three books. All of them are going to have to choose, because what is easy is often not right.” [Entertainment Weekly, 2000]

As she writes Book 6, Jo feels as if Book 6 and Book 7 “are two halves of the same novel.” [Jo's website]

JKR: “You really sort of skid off the end of six straight into seven” because you know at the end of six that the main plot line isn't finished. [BBC-Radio4, 2005]

After Book 6 “you're left with a very clear idea of what Harry's going to do next.” [Time Magazine, 2005]

In Book 6 Harry found out a lot about the past which “hopefully will be of use to him in the future.” [Dateline NBC, 2005]

Refers to Neville as “the boy who was so nearly King” but does not tell us if he will ever find this out. Also refers to Neville as an “also-ran” and a “might-have-been.” [Jo's website]

Neville does have a “significant part to play in the last two novels and the fight against Voldemort.” [Jo's website]

JKR will not tell us if Lord Voldemort ever finds out what the prophecy fully said. [ITV, 2005]

Lupin will not be able to overcome prejudice against werewolves and return as a Defense against the Dark Arts professor. [Jo's website]

There will be no more Quidditch matches. [The Leaky Cauldron, 2005]

“There will be some characters [in Book 7] who you don't know particularly well, and there may be a couple of new characters, but nobody really major. You know pretty much the cast list by now.” [ITV, 2005]

JKR: “Some people will loathe it [Book 7], some will love it, but that's the way it should be.” [Radio City-pressconf, 2006]

Characters We Will See Again (in addition to the obvious ones)

Viktor Krum [World Book Day, 2004]

Rita Skeeter [Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004]

Dolores Umbridge -- JKR will get to torture her again. [The Leaky Cauldron, 2005]

In Book 7 we will become better acquainted with another member of the Order of the Phoenix. This is someone we know about but have not “met properly.” [ITV, 2005]

Unimportant to the Big Picture?

Harry will get back at Dudley. [Book Links, 1999]

Harry might get a different pet. [Raincoast Books, 2001] This statement might have been referring to Buckbeak, though if this is Fawkes this statement would definitely move up in importance to the plot.

Someday we may find out how Dumbledore got his scar shaped like the London Underground. [Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004]

Harry and Ron will never read Hogwarts, a History. [The Leaky Cauldron, 2005]

Denials

JKR: “The shape is not the most significant aspect of [Harry’s] scar [World book Day, 2004]

No book character has returned from the future. [Jo's website]

The last part of the prophecy does not mean that Neville and Harry must kill each other. [Jo's website]

The prophecy did not mystically intertwine Neville's fate with Harry's. [Read the exact quote form Jo's website]

Wormtail won't kill Lupin. [ITV, 2005]

Aunt Petunia has never performed magic, and will never be able to do so. [Jo's website]

Peter Pettigrew’s silver hand will not be used to kill Lupin. [Jo's website]

Lupin will not be able to overcome prejudice against werewolves and return as a Defense against the Dark Arts professor. [Jo's website]

The Sorting Hat is not a Horcrux. “Horcruxes do not draw attention to themselves by singing songs in front of large audiences.” [Jo's website]

Dumbledore will not “do a Gandalf;” he is truly dead. [Radio City2, 2006]

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Original page date 12 November 2006; last updated 1 July, 2007