You Won’t Believe How J.K. Rowling Celebrated Finishing Harry Potter — She Admits ‘It’s Wrong’
Yesterday, January 11, was the anniversary of the day that J.K. Rowling finished the iconic Harry Potter series. She completed the final page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in a hotel in 2007. And she celebrated the occasion in a very surprising way: by defacing the hotel room she stayed in.
According to Cinema Blend, J.K. Rowling recently posted a tweet sharing the shameful way she commemorated Harry Potter’s completion by drawing graffiti on the wall of the hotel room. In the tweet, she admitted that vandalism is wrong and you should never do it. Even so, Harry Potter fans were excited to see the photo she shared of the graffiti.
Finished Hallows 9 yrs ago today. Celebrated by graffiti-ing a bust in my hotel room. Never do this. It’s wrong. pic.twitter.com/HsqQKydY68
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 11, 2016
The graffiti says “finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11th Jan. 2007” below J.K. Rowling’s signature.
According to Time, the exact hotel that J.K. Rowling defaced is the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. It seems likely that the Harry Potter commemorative graffiti was kept exactly Rowling left it, but it may not be easy for Harry Potter lovers to visit the hotel room as a fan pilgrimage. One night at the Balmoral Hotel costs £1,415, or about $2,057.
If the hotel did keep the graffiti, it’s possible the value of that room has only increased. Maybe J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter vandalism isn’t so “wrong” after all.
Though the Harry Potter series ended years ago, its fantasy universe is still going strong. J.K. Rowling herself recently wrote the script to a brand new Harry Potter film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The trailer for that film, starring Eddie Redmayne, recently released. You can watch it below.
And for those fans who are still obsessed with the Harry Potter books themselves, J.K. Rowling leaves no shortage of information for fans to sink their teeth into. Her active Twitter account is constantly pumping out new nuggets about the Harry Potter universe and its cherished characters.
Earlier this month, Rowling posted a controversial tweet about one of Harry Potter’s most polarizing characters, Severus Snape. While some see the potions master as an unforgivable villain, others see him as one of the most misunderstood heroes in the Harry Potter series.
According to Movie Pilot, Rowling fueled the discussion by commemorating Snape’s birthday with a tweet, acknowledging that the character is undeniably a “big bully” but that he also has heroic qualities.
Been wondering how to mark Snape’s birthday without starting an argument. Here’s to him, the big hero/bully. He really was the best/worst.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 9, 2016
What do you think? Is Snape a despicable bully or a hero in disguise?
J.K. Rowling has also been satisfying the hunger of her fans by releasing tiny slices of new Harry Potter material here and there. In addition to Snape, Rowling has expanded the characterization of other side players like Dolores Umbridge and Professor Trelawney, and she dropped some new bits about the Harry Potter universe, according to Vulture.
“I have noticed more than once in life that a taste for the ineffably twee can go hand-in-hand with a distinctly uncharitable outlook on the world,” Rowling said of Umbridge. “Her desire to control, to punish, and to inflict pain, all in the name of law and order, are, I think, every bit as reprehensible as Lord Voldemort’s unvarnished espousal of evil.”
Do you think J.K. Rowling should leave the Harry Potter universe alone or keep revitalizing it with celebrations and chunks of new material?
[Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images]
