© Fandom.com, NOVEMBER 16, 2000

J.K. Rowling: Pottermania in Vancouver
At the author`s press conference, adults take a back seat to kids.

Journalists at the conference were obviously very keen about learning more details about upcoming books. Rowling happily supplied some answers. "I know exactly what happens to most of the characters in their past and their future. I know far more, really, than the reader needs to know, but that just makes me comfortable to know that there are no surprises for me. I know exactly what is going on."

However, invented characters can sometimes take a life of their own and surprise their masters. "Hermione gave me a lot of trouble!" laughed Rowling. "She was really misbehaving. She developed this big political conscience about the House elves. Well, she wanted to go her own way, and for two chapters, she just went wandering off. I just let her do it and then I scrapped two chapters and kept a few bits. That I liked. That’s the most trouble anyone’s ever given me, but it was fun so I gave her her head."

In an attempt to glean more tidbits on Harry’s future, Rowling was asked if young Potter would become a headboy. "That’s weird," responded Rowling. "My daughter is obsessed with that. I don’t know why. She’s seven and she keeps saying ‘He’s going to be headboy, isn’t he?’ And I’m saying, ‘Maybe he wouldn’t want to be headboy...’ ‘No, he would!’ It’s funny you should say that. I’m not going to tell you which."

A question also surfaced surrounding Harry Potter’s non-magical relatives, the Muggles who have always tortured or mistreated Harry, because of their fear of magic. For revenge, Harry has magically tortured his cousin Dudley. "I like torturing them," said Rowling. "You should keep an eye on Dudley. It’s probably too late for Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. I feel sorry for Dudley. I might joke about him, but I feel truly sorry for him because I see him as just as abused as Harry. Though, in possibly a less obvious way. What they are doing to him is inept, really. I think children recognize that. Poor Dudley. He’s not being prepared for the world at all, in any reasonable or compassionate way, so I feel sorry for him. But there’s something funny about him, also. The pig’s tail was irresistible."

These are just a few excerpts from the press conference. To read the full article, please follow this link to Fandom.com.