ES: We thought it was clearer than ever that Harry and Ginny are an item and Ron and Hermione - although we think you made it painfully obvious in the first five books -
JKR: [points to herself and whispers] So do I!
ES: What was that?
JKR: [More loudly] Well. so do I! So do I!
[All laugh; Melissa doubles over, hysterical, and may have died.]
ES: Harry/Hermione shippers: delusional!
JKR: Well no, I'm not going to - Emerson, I am not going to say they're delusional! They are still valued members of my readership! I am not going to use the word delusional. I am however, going to say - now I am trusting both of you to do the spoiler thing when you write this up -
[More laughter]
JKR: I will say, that yes, I personally feel - well it's going to be clear once people have read Book 6. I mean, that's it. It's done, isn't it? We know. Yes, we do now know that it's Ron and Hermione. I do feel that I have dropped heavy -
[All crack up]
JKR: - hints. ANVIL-sized, actually, hints, prior to this point. I certainly think even if subtle clues hadn't been picked up by the end of Azkaban, that by the time we hit Krum in Goblet...
But Ron - I had a lot of fun with that in this book. I really enjoyed writing the Ron/Lavender business, and the reason that was enjoyable was Ron up to this point has been quite immature compared to the other two, and he kind of needed to make himself worthy of Hermione. Now, that didn't mean necessarily physical experience, but he had to grow up emotionally and now he's taken a big step up. Because he's had the meaningless physical experience - let's face it, his emotions were never deeply engaged with Lavender -
[Much laughter in which Melissa emits a "Won-Won"]
JKR: - and he's realized that that is ultimately not what he wants, which takes him a huge emotional step forward.
ES: So he's got a little bit more than a teaspoon; now there's a tablespoon?
JKR: Yeah, I think. [Laughter]
MA: Watching all this, were you surprised when you first logged on and found this intense devotion to this thing that you knew was not going to happen?
JKR: Yes. Well, you see, I'm a relative newcomer to the world of shipping, because for a long time, I didn't go on the net and look up Harry Potter. A long time. Occasionally I had to, because there were weird news stories or something that I would have to go and check, because I was supposed to have said something I hadn't said. I had never gone and looked at fan sites, and then one day I did and oh - my - god. Five hours later or something, I get up from the computer shaking slightly [All laugh]. "What is going on?" And it was during that first mammoth session that I met the shippers, and it was a most extraordinary thing. I had no idea there was this huge underworld seething beneath me.
ES: She's putting it into a positive light!
JKR: Well I am, I am, but you know. I want to make it clear that delusional is your word and not mine! [Much laughter]
MA: You're making our lives a lot easier by laying it on the table -
JKR: Well I think anyone who is still shipping Harry/Hermione after this book -
ES: [whispered] Delusional!
JKR: Uh - no! But they need to go back and re-read, I think. ES: Thank you.
.
