J.K. Rowling Reveals Favorite Chapter In Harry Potter Series
Ever since the series ended, J.K. Rowling has been revealing new tidbits of information about the beloved Harry Potter saga. Now, she’s shared her favorite chapter in the entire series.
Out of 4,224 pages and 198 chapters, she has just 13 pages and one chapter that really hits home for her, and it’s in the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
@jk_rowling If you had to choose one chapter from the entire HP series as your favourite, what would you choose? #HarryPotter
— Rob McCarter (@RetraccMboR) October 17, 2015
When asked on Twitter about her favorite chapter, she admitted it was chapter 34, “The Forest Again.” This is the point in which Harry Potter knows that he is going to die at the hand of Lord Voldemort. He plans to give himself up, yet again, to save his friends who are fighting on the grounds of Hogwarts.
During his walk through the forest to meet his death, he activates the Resurrection Stone hidden inside the Golden Snitch. This stone has special powers to bring imprints of the dead back into existence, allowing Harry to see his parents James and Lily Potter, godfather Sirius Black, and beloved teacher Remus Lupin once again. They share a very tender walk until Harry comes face to face with Voldemort, and he releases the stone and subsequently his family.
Chapter 34 Deathly Hallows 'The Forest Again' https://t.co/DniVfbTjKT
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 17, 2015
After she posted this response, one of her fans replied, “Really? Because I bawled,” to which J.K. Rowling replied that she did too. After 17 years of writing his story, it was a very important moment for her.
So did I, but it was the culmination of 17 years' work and the most cathartic piece of writing of my life. https://t.co/XG0srTyVIE
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 17, 2015
This isn’t the first time that Rowling has shared her favorite chapter with fans, however. According to Tech Times, Rowling stated in a 2007 interview that chapter 34 of the final book had the largest emotional effect on her, making her cry multiple times as she got closer to the end of the series and closing the book on her beloved characters’ lives.
She might not have known it then, but her time in the Harry Potter universe was far from over. Despite the fact that she has also written other things, including her two mystery novels, The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo’s Calling, she continues to keep fans captivated with her revelations about Harry Potter’s world and her spinoffs.
For members of the fan-based website Pottermore.com, Rowling continually releases short stories and extra information about the history and continued life of everyone’s favorite characters. There’s something new at least once a month.
Most recently, she’s been working on the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which follows the life of Newt Scamander, a noted magizoologist who lived 70 years before Harry’s time and devoted his life to magic research, eventually writing a textbook that was used at Hogwarts during Harry’s time there. The film is currently filming in England, and it stars Eddie Redmayne, with special appearances from Jon Voight and Colin Farrell.
Rowling herself wrote the screenplay for the film, which is being directed by Harry Potter film veteran David Yates. American fans of the series are excited to learn that Scamander spends some time in New York City on his travels, though it was recently revealed that the filming for that portion of the movie will be performed in Liverpool, England, rather than in the States.
The Harry Potter spinoff is set to be released worldwide in November of 2016, and fans wait anxiously to see what J.K. Rowling will say about it in the future.
[Image via Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]