A few rambling thoughts from the press conference.

For those among us who wondered about the Snape/Dumbldore relationship (OK, maybe it's just me), JKR did have this to say (backpeddling slightly from earlier interviews): DD was indeed meant to be seen as a Machiavellian character. He was the master puppeteer and apparently for a good literarary reason. If I understood Rowling correctly, at the point Snape dies, and we (and Harry) are lead through Snape's memories to the point where you see in flashbacks the tangled and totally unhealthy relationship the dynamic duo had, your sympathies are supposed to be with Snape, not Dumbledore. JKR said that she loved the frailty of DD's human failings because it could train the focus, on Snape's strengths and ... dare I say it ... his heroism?

JKR seemed really happy to be talking to the kids. She is clearly in her element now, even in front of the press, who you just know she hates. This day was for the kids who were clearly awestruck by the whole event -- from the reporters, TV cameras, and the flashes of more than a dozen photographers to the weight of meeting probably the most important literary figure of the last 100 years. If I were 10 again, I'd probably have the same deer-in-the-headlights looks that many these children had, and in fact I did.

I can see exactly why this event was so special. Even if the debate rages about the Potter series being a gateway book to get children interested reading (some statistics would show that it hasn't), Rowling is still a pop-culture icon and this really was a big deal for fans and for literature and for encouraging a positive alternative form of entertainment at the very least.