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by Dave Haber, Wizard News Wizard

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling posted some new information in the FAQ section of her official web site today, and one of the questions and answers mentions her next book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

To the question "Are all the pure-blood families going to die out? (We've lost the Blacks and the Crouches during the series)," J.K. replied:

"Don't forget that, as Sirius revealed in 'Order of the Phoenix', none of these families is really 'pure' -- in other words, they merely cross Muggles and Squibs off the family tree and pretend that they didn't exist. But yes, the number of families claiming to be pure is diminishing. By refusing to marry Muggles or Muggle-borns, they are finding it increasingly difficult to perpetuate themselves. This subject is touched upon in 'Half-Blood Prince'."

She also answered several other new questions.

On why Veritaserum couldn't have been used to prove Sirius innocent in his trial that sent him to Azkaban, J.K. replied:

"Veritaserum works best upon the unsuspecting, the vulnerable and those insufficiently skilled (in one way or another) to protect themselves against it. Barty Crouch had been attacked before the potion was given to him and was still very groggy, otherwise he could have employed a range of measures against the Potion - he might have sealed his own throat and faked a declaration of innocence, transformed the Potion into something else before it touched his lips, or employed Occlumency against its effects. In other words, just like every other kind of magic within the books, Veritaserum is not infallible. As some wizards can prevent themselves being affected, and others cannot, it is an unfair and unreliable tool to use at a trial.

"Sirius might have volunteered to take the potion had he been given the chance, but he was never offered it. Mr. Crouch senior, power mad and increasingly unjust in the way he was treating suspects, threw him into Azkaban on the (admittedly rather convincing) testimony of many eyewitnesses. The sad fact is that even if Sirius had told the truth under the influence of the Potion, Mr. Crouch could still have insisted that he was using trickery to render himself immune to it."

To the fans who wondered, when the Marauder's Map is insulting Snape, how did Prongs write his insult as he's dead, J.K. says:

"Wizards have ways of making sure their voices are heard after their death - think of Bertha Jorkins rising out of the Pensieve in 'Goblet of Fire', the Sorting Hat continuing to spout the wisdom of the Founders hundreds of years after their deaths, the ghosts walking around Hogwarts, the portraits of dead headmasters and mistresses in Dumbledore's office, not to mention Mrs. Black's portrait in number twelve, Grimmauld Place... there are other examples, too, of which the Marauder's Map is merely one. It is not really Prongs writing the insult to Snape, it is as though he left a magical recording of his voice within the map."

J.K. also answers questions about the Hogwarts school song and why we haven't heard it since the first book, the home schooling of young wizards, and the history regarding Nicholas Flamel. She also denies the rumors that Luna Lovegood is Snape's daughter. Check out her web site for the rest of the info, click on the little pile of paper clips on her desk top to see the FAQ.

More information:
• J.K. Rowling official web site

Published May 13, 2005

This article is Copyright © 2005, David Haber, and may not be reproduced on other web sites or in print, in whole or in part, without expressed permission

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