British investigative journalist Greg Palast is claiming that four years ago, after he struck up an unlikely friendship with J.K. Rowling while the two both had books on the bestseller list, the author confided in him that she had discarded some alternate endings to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. One of the endings is notably different than the one that made the final cut, and Palast recounts it on his blog, noting, “Sorry Jo, that’s the danger of befriending an investigative reporter.” In this version, Harry defeats Voldemort with a time-reversing spell that eventually freezes the Dark Lord as a child in his parents’ embrace, and the epilogue is even more controversial: Harry is the headmaster at Hogwarts, Ginny turned herself into a bird instead of growing old (totally normal behavior), and their great-great grandson, “Tom,” has evil stirrings. “Harry watched [Tom], and knew the whole world would soon darken again for generations to come,” Palast writes. Non-canonical! [Greg Palast]
