Will Gompertz: It seems incredible to me that as a writer you've created a portfolio of characters which connect with millions, maybe even billions of people. And those characters have got plenty more story in them. Surely to goodness, as a writer, you can't leave them be.

JK Rowling: It was murder saying goodbye. But truly, where Harry's story is concerned, I'm done. I just think it would be for the sake of milking it and that's just not in me.

Clearly there was an appetite for eight, nine, ten, and I could have done it. I know that world so well that moving in and out of it is like walking through my own front door. But I had enough plot for seven novels, and to go further would have been money for old rope. Couldn't do it. And that's largely why I slapped on that epilogue. Because the epilogue says he's leading a quiet life, and he's earned it. He's done.

Now, having said all of that, I have always left the door ajar because I'm not that cruel. If I had a fabulous idea that came out of that world, because I loved writing it, I would do it. But I've got to have a great idea, I don't want to go mechanically into that world and pick up odds and ends and glue them together and say "here we go, we can sell this". It would make a mockery of what those books were to me. They really kept me going through some very rough times... So I just don't want to betray them in that sense.

But you're right, you know what, if I did have a great idea for something else, I probably would do it. I'm very averse to the prequel / sequel idea. I've never seen it work well in either literature or film. That's a personal preference.

...

Will Gompertz: When were you in that position?

JK Rowling: There were a couple of the Potters and I definitely knew that they needed another year. There's one towards the beginning and there's one towards the end, that I definitely felt that about. I had to write on the run and there were times when it was really tough. And I read them, and I think "Oh God, maybe I'll go back and do a director's cut". I don't know.

But you know what? I'm proud I was writing under the conditions under which I was writing. No one will ever know how tough it was at times.

威尔·冈珀茨：在我看来不可思议的是，作为一个作家，你创作了一组影响千万人的人物。那些人物自身还有不少丰富的故事。作为一个作家，出于善意，你不能对他们置之不理。

J·K·罗琳：（和哈利·波特故事）说再见非常残忍。但是说真的，哈利·波特的故事，我已经完成了。如再写下去，只会像挤牛奶一样挤内容，而这不是我想要的。

确实有写第八部、第九部、第十部的欲望存在，我本也可这样做。我太熟悉那个世界了，进出那个世界就好像我从自家前门出入一样容易。但我已为之前的七部小说安排了足够的情节，再写下去就是顺老藤赚大钱了。我不能这样做。这很大程度上就是为何我利落地收尾了。尾声中说他过上了平静的生活，他也值得过这样一份生活。他的故事结束了。

现在，说了这么多，我也一直给哈利·波特的故事留着门在，因为我不想那么残忍。如果我有绝妙的点子从那个世界蹦出来——因为我也喜欢写它，我会继续写下去的。但我必须有很棒的点子，我不想机械地进入哈利·波特的世界，捡些七零八碎的东西一拼凑，然后说“好了，我们开卖吧”。这将是对我之前几部书的一种蔑视。它们确实支撑我度过了一段艰难时期。所以在这个意义上，我不想背叛它们。

但你说得没错，知道吗，如果我真的有了好想法，我可能会写下去。我非常反感出前传和续集的做法，我还从没见哪部文学或影视作品弄出过好的前传或续集。这只是我个人的偏好。

……

威尔·冈珀茨：你是什么时候感到自己需要对作品进行“重新加工一下”的？

J·K·罗琳：有两本《哈利·波特》我明确知道还需要一年的时间完善打磨。一是开头那本，一是结尾那本，我明确感到应该这样做。那时我必须赶着写，那真是一段艰难的时期。当我读着它们，我觉得“天呐，也许我该穿越回去做个导演剪辑版出来。”我不知道。

但是你知道吗？我非常自豪自己在那样的条件下还能写作。没有人知道那曾是一段多么艰辛的时光。