Pottermore-

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Okay - I confess; I joined Pottermore, out of sheer curiosity. I want to know if, by any strange chance, I will sort to Slytherin, and also what sort of wand I get. Still, some things struck me at once (I've spent about 20 minutes exploring the first chapter):

When describing Number 4, Privet Drive, Rowling said that she chose the number four because she disliked that number, finding it hard and unforgiving. I believe those were the exact words! Do you suppose that feeling is limited to the number four, or might it extend to other numbers?

On a more serious note, she based the look and floorplan of the house on that of a house she lived in herself - and got wierded out because, without discussing it with her, the filmmakers got the floorplan exactly right.

And - this is fascinating! - she had to argue with the publishers, who wanted to convert all the British measurements into metric ones. She also said that Wizards can do complex calculations magically. Can they, really? Then why did we never see them doing this?

Oh, dear. Maths.

But I'm very glad that she talked the publishers into keeping the old fashioned measurements. Can you imagine a metric Wizarding World? I can't.

Comments

[600ants.livejournal.com]

My current opinion - and it won't be good news :) - is, that the length of wand has nothing to do with your character, it just indicates how "cool" you are. Pettigrew, 9“ - what a fat loser! Dumbledore, 15“ - is he cool or what? He's the best. For example, the cooler Neville Longottom becomes in the course of the books, the longer wands he gets. Same, but in reverse, happens in the case of Ron. Voldy is meant to be evil but pretty cool, so he gets a long wand no matter his character flaws. et. etc.

However, there's the minor problem with Hagrid's 16“ and the Potter family's 11“ - probably residuals from the times when JKR still thought that the wands matched their owner's physique rather than psyche. :)
(all data taken from HP Lexicon)