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Is there a future for Harry Potter?

Posted: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:32 PM by Dateline Editor
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In her only television interview after the highly anticipated release of the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series, author J.K. Rowling sat down with NBC's Meredith Vieira in Edinburgh, Scotland.

During the interview, Vieira asked the author about what she's left out of past books and what the future holds for Harry Potter.

VIEIRA: Were there other things that you left out that-- you wish you could have put in?

ROWLING: There have been all through the books, not just in this book. I've said before that-- Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books for me. And you-- you just see glimpses of it. But to write it really would take us into prequel territory. And that does take us into Star Wars territory. And that's not really a place I'm-- I'm planning to go. But-- yeah, so there's always been bits that I knew about characters that didn't make final cuts because they weren't that relevant. And I've said-- on my website I think I said that in a way I had to sacrifice Dean's back story for Neville's back story because, ultimately, Neville's back story was more central to the-- to the climax of the books as I knew it would be.

VIEIRA: We've also had a lot of e-mails-- from people that-- who have read the book now and have questions so I wanna go through some of them, set the record straight. Okay. Number one, 19 years later, who's the headmaster of Hogwarts?

ROWLING: Well, it would be someone new. McGonagall was really getting on a bit. So someone completely new. But if I ever do the encyclopedia, I'm promising I will give details.

VIEIRA: You're gonna do that, aren't you?

ROWLING: I think I probably will. But I'm not going to do it tomorrow. (LAUGHTER) 'Cause I'd really like a break. So you may be waiting--

VIEIRA: You mean you haven't started that yet? (LAUGHTER)

ROWLING: Well, in a way I suppose I have because the-- the raw material is all in-- in-- in my notes. But-- I wanna take a break from publishing for a little while. It would be a-- you know, I've still got a young family.

VIEIRA: Do you-- do Ron and Hermione or Harry ever return to Hogwarts in any capacity?

ROWLING: Well, I can well imagine Harry returning to give the odd talk on-- on defense against the dark arts. And-- I-- and, of course, the jinx is broken now because Voldemort's gone. Now they can keep a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from here on in. So that aspect of the-- of the wizarding education is now provided for.

Get the full story of the interview here, and tune in to NBC to see the full interview, which airs on  "Today," Wednesday, July 25, Thursday, July 26 and Friday, July 27 and during a one-hour special of "Dateline," Sunday, July 29.

Wild about Harry? For more Harry Potter mania:

7 signs you're infected with Harry Potter fever
Photos: Fans flock to Harry's 'hometown'
For true Potter fans, no other place to be
First Person: Potter-mania at the book release

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