Mugglenet and HP Lexicon have jointly written an open letter to
JKR after being nominated for fan site awards in 9/04 and 7/04
respectively. Here are the contents of the letter, with some
pressing questions attached below:
Dear Jo,
Not surprisingly, we're thrilled to know that you visit MuggleNet
and the Lexicon on occasion. We are delighted that the work we've
done is helpful and appreciated, not only to you but also to fans
all over the world. Thank you so much for honoring us on your
site.
First, let us say that we don't want to know any big secrets from
upcoming books. However, there are some more mundane things that
we'd love to know. As obsessive as we are, we would love to have
some nagging things answered, partly to add missing details into
the Lexicon and MuggleNet's pages, but also just because it's fun
to learn these kinds of things. We discussed this with your
solicitor and he suggested that an open letter might be the best
way for you to do this. That's why this letter is here.
At the bottom of this letter is a list of questions that just beg
to be answered. We don't think any of them cross the line into
giving too much away, and we would be thrilled if you could fill in
the blanks for us. Feel free to skip over any questions you don't
want to answer.
Thanks for considering this. We can't thank you enough for creating
your website and for communicating with us all. And most of all,
thanks for creating such a wonderful world for us to play in.
Sincerely,
Emerson & crew
MuggleNet.com
and
Steve Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions:
What are the first names of Flitwick, Sinistra, Vector, Sprout, and
Hooch? What houses were they in?
If a teacher is head of a house, can we assume that they were
sorted into those houses when they were students at Hogwarts? Is
that also true for the house ghosts? So was Snape a
Slytherin?
Who teaches Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies and are there other
teachers or subjects that we haven't heard about yet?
How did you feel about the POA filmmakers leaving the Marauder's
Map's background out of the story?
Is Flitwick a short human or is he some other type of being?
What IS Godric's Hollow? Is is a town, a house, a street, a
tree...?
How many students are there really at Hogwarts? You said 1000 once,
but that doesn't really work out very well with information
elsewhere in the books. Can you give us an explanation?
How old are Molly and Arthur Weasley? (Thanks for letting us know
that Lucius is 41, by the way. We wondered.)
You said recently that Charlie was two years older than Percy. If
that's so, he would have been the Seeker in Harry's first year. Can
you clarify his and Bill's ages for us?
As you probably know, we have worked out the years of the books to
1991 through 1998 using information from the books. The official
timeline on the Chamber of Secrets DVD follows this as well. Is
that correct?
Speaking of that official timeline, there is some pretty convincing
evidence that they took the timeline directly from the Lexicon. Do
you know anything about that? The folks at Warner said that they
took a timeline and gave it to you for review. Was the timeline
they gave you from the Lexicon's calendars?
Did you actually write the information that ended up on the Famous
Wizard cards? Most of it fits pretty well into the overall story
and they do seem to be written in your style. In fact, the material
from the cards is now turning up on your website. So how about it?
And then what about things like "Flipendo"? For that matter, what
about the spells in the films? Some of them do seem a bit dodgy.
Did you invent those or did Steve Kloves? And why were new
incantations created for the movie in the first place? (Example:
"Incendio" to "Lacarnum Inflamari".)
What house was Myrtle in? What was/is her last name?
Are there other Gryffindors in Harry's year besides the ones we've
met in the books?
Is Theodore Nott the "stringy" Slytherin mentioned in the Thestral
class scene? If he isn't, who is that boy?
Were Gideon and Fabian Prewett Molly's brothers?
Was James a Chaser, as you said in an interview at one point, or a
Seeker? Or did he play both positions?
On your website, you used the term "marauders" to refer to James
and his friends. Were they actually called that or are you just
borrowing the fan term?
Do all young people in Britain's Wizarding World go to Hogwarts?
For example, did Stan Shunpike attend Hogwarts? Or is Hogwarts a
school just for those who are particularly good at magic while
others go into trades without formal schooling?
In fifth year, some students are made Prefects. Are there sixth
year and seventh year Prefects as well? Are they simply the same
kids or are there new Prefects chosen each year? (We're resisting
the urge to ask how James became Head Boy if he was't made a
Prefect in fifth year.)
What is the core of Hermione's wand?
What are Dumbledore, Draco, and Hermione's wands made of and what
are their cores?
How old are Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks and what houses were they
in?
You've told us that Hermione's birthday is September 19. When she
first came to Hogwarts, then, was she nearly eleven years old or
was she nearly twelve? The official timeline says that she was
nearly eleven, but we're all still very unsure about this.
Is there a living heir of Gryffindor? What about Hufflepuff and
Ravenclaw?
Source: Mugglenet