J.K. Rowling Updates Official Site, Book 7 Has 2 Titles

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling updated her official site this morning with news about writing Harry Potter Book 7:

Now that I’m back from New York, the only real news is that I’m continuing to work hard on the book. I’ve done quite a lot, and I’m really enjoying it, though every now and then I look up and realise that it’s THE LAST ONE. You might think I’d have got used to that idea during the sixteen years I’ve been planning seven books, but it still keeps hitting me… no more Harry after this… and then I bury myself in book seven again and tell myself I’ve still got plenty to write.

The heightened security restrictions on the airlines in August made the journey back from New York interesting, as I refused to be parted from the manuscript of book seven (a large part of it is handwritten, and there was no copy of anything I had done while in the US). They let me take it on, thankfully, bound up in elastic bands. I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t; sailed home, probably.

I am currently trying to decide between two possible titles. I was quite happy with one of them until the other one struck me while I was taking a shower in New York. They would both be appropriate, so I think I’ll have to wait until I’m further into the book to decide which one works best.

Also, in the “Extra Stuff” section of her site, J.K. has posed a “Never Asked Question”:

Why did Dumbledore have James’ invisibility cloak at the time of James’ death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

Prior to posting this I had a quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn’t what we in the know call ‘a Mark Evans situation.’* There IS a significant – even crucial – answer.

* Note to newcomers: my attempt to put to rest certain wild theories about the unimportant character of ‘Mark Evans’ backfired when I inadvertently built up even more excitement by promising to explain his significance.