Date: 18th June 2003

Rowling's tears over who died in Harry book


Harry Potter author J.K Rowling was moved to tears as she killed off one of her key characters, she has revealed.

The identity of the person who dies in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a closely guarded secret.

The mystery will be revealed this Saturday when the fifth book in the series hits the shops.

Rowling said during an interview with the BBC she cried after finally writing the death scene.

She told of the moment her husband, Dr Neil Murray, found her in tears at their home. Rowling has kept the victim's identity so secret that even he has no idea who it might be.

"I had re-written the death, re-written it and that was it. And the person was definitely dead," she said, "And I walked into the kitchen crying and Neil said to me, 'What on earth is wrong?' and I said, 'I've just killed the person'. Neil doesn't know who the person is.

"
And he said, 'Well, don't do it then'… and I said, 'Well, it just doesn't work like that'. You are writing children's books, you need to be a ruthless killer."

Elsewhere in the interview, Rowling revealed she feels mixed emotions about life after Harry. She plans to write seven books in total, taking the schoolboy wizard to the end of his time at Hogwarts.

The author said: "
It's going to be very difficult to leave it … I mean, I do look forward to a post-Harry era in my life, because some of the things that go along with this are not as much fun.

J.K Rowling: The Interview will be screened on BBC2 at 7.30pm on Thursday.

Source: Press Release