The CBC was trumpeting the news yesterday that two key characters are going to be offed come the newest installment of the bespectacled moppet’s adventures.

They reported that an interview broadcast on Monday on Britain’s Channel 4 saw author J.K. Rowling reveal that “one character [gets] a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn’t intend to die.”

She refrained from letting us in on which characters get the ax because she doesn’t want “hate mail.” And, one would assume, because spoiling the surprises in your upcoming novel isn’t such a savvy business move. (Rowling’s nothing if not savvy: the story also reports that she is “considered one of the wealthiest people in the world…. Her personal fortune is estimated to be more than $1 billion.”)

While Harry seemed safe at the beginning of the interview – “I’ve never been tempted to kill him off before the end of book seven, because I always planned seven books and that’s where I want to go” – she then reflected that any characters left standing at the end of the series could be co-opted by another author, prompting her to say, “It will end with me and after [I’m] dead and gone they won’t be able to bring back the character.”

After all, “a price has to be paid, we are dealing with pure evil here. They don’t target extras do they? They go for the main characters … well, I do. This is a world where some pretty nasty things can happen.”

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Read the CBC piece here