Rowling: Two 'Potter' characters will die - Page 2

Harry Potter, the boy wizard credited with reviving reading among children—and their parents—may die in Book Seven. Actually, he may have died 16 years ago. His creator, J K Rowling, claims she wrote the end of the phenomenally bestselling series in 1990, so she's always known exactly how it would end.
"The final chapter is hidden away although it's now changed very slightly. One character got a reprieve. But I have to say two die that I didn't intend to die,'' Rowling said in a TV interview. "A price has to be paid, we are dealing with pure evil here. They don't target extras, do they? They go for the main characters—well, I do.''
The big question—will one of the two characters be Harry himself ? Millions of fans will be praying it isn't so, but Rowling hinted it might just be. She said she had never been tempted to kill off Harry before the end of book seven. Then added, "I can completely understand the mentality of an author who thinks, 'Well I'm gonna kill them off because that means there can be no non-author written sequels. So, it will end with me and after I'm dead and gone they won't be able to bring back the character'.'' Pressed to reveal the victims' identities, Rowling declined. "I'm not going to commit myself, because I don't want the hate mail or anything else,'' she said.
She also cited Agatha Christie killing off much-loved master sleuth Hercule Poirot. "Agatha Christie did that with Poirot, didn't she? She wanted to finish him off herself...I admire people who go out when people still want more.''
Rowling notably didn't mention Arthur Conan Doyle, who killed off Sherlock Holmes in 1893. After resisting public pressure for years, Conan Doyle finally revived Holmes in 1903. But he frequently expressed irritation that Holmes's presence in his life prevented him from devoting himself to "higher'' literature. TNN & AGENCIES

Harry's magic will live on


Harry Potter's creator, J K Rowling, is sure of two things: some characters assume real proportions to burden their authors a little too much and that they are uniqune.
Many believe Rowling too is similarly fatigued by the larger-than-life presence of Harry Potter in her life and that of her family.
In the TV interview, she said her 11-year-old daughter Jessica had been pestered at school by children desperate to know Harry's fate. "She's been phenomenal and it hasn't always been easy for her.''
Rowling, who turns 40 next month, has gone on to become the richest woman in Britain thanks to Pottermania. Last year, her fortune was estimated at over $1 billion.
It's been built almost entirely on the back of a series which has sold over 100 million books and been translated into 42 different languages. And whatever else she may write, Rowling is absolutely sure it won't be as successful as Harry Potter.
"I don't think I'm ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry.'' TNN & AGENCIES