There is a fundamental misunderstanding in JKR's response that, I believe, privately informed her decisions when it came to either adhering to canon during the writing process or taking her own road. The larger issue is that JKR is only considering herself in this scenario because she alone can decide Harry's fate. Which, on the surface, makes total sense.

So...does Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling? I'm not about to argue a case of authorship versus author. But we can agree that she no longer has sole ownership. Harry also belongs to a conglomerate of creative minds and corporations like Warner Bros, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Hasbro, Mattel, Universal Studios, Johnson and Johnson, Coca-Cola, Funko, Fossil, Parker Brothers, Electronic Arts, and Lego...just to name a few. These companies all have a stake in the franchise, some far more significant than others.

The relationship between Harry Potter and the consumer extends beyond collectibles and DVDs. It is a fictional story in a commercialized world, and yet it is we, the fans, who elevated the franchise, turned it into the phenomenon we know it to be today. With our feverish loyalty, we made Harry Potter a sensation and even a lifestyle. So, the phenomenon itself does not belong to JKR or its commercial entities. No, that belongs to the fans. However, this isn't about commercialism, intellectual property, and rights holders. This is about our shared cultural heritage. Let me explain.

Psychologists have agreed that the mechanics of fandoms are similar to that of cults or established religions. This rabid devotion is personal and grows exponentially based on the size of the fandom and our interconnectivity. Harry Potter is one of the biggest fandoms, drawing an international association. And every alteration that is made to the foundations of that cultural entity, especially for the purposes of profit, risks a disturbance in the collective memory and can impact or negatively influence our cultural experience.

This feeling of ownership stems from the fact that Harry Potter has grown to define a generation of the history of the planet, which makes it so much more than a book and film series. It has become a "cultural artifact". This isn't the case with every franchise, but there is certainly a point at which an entity like Harry Potter moves from commercialism to cultural heritage, where JKR is less the creator god, and more the steward of her creation. But, no matter what our emotional or cultural attachment tells us, the Harry Potter brand will always be a property, fully owned and controlled by J.K. Rowling.

So we ask ourselves, are we "entitled" in some way to consistent storytelling when Harry Potter doesn't really belong to us? The question is both philosophical and emotional... which means it's probably too complex to solve in a Wattpad post. Sorry. But I would say that our individual identities are linked with Harry Potter in a way that JKR's could never be. For decades, we have interacted with this illusion of a fictional universe, with elements quite similar to our own world, knowing that it is a commercial product. However, our experience with it shifts when the product behaves differently or when someone has meddled with established "history". It frustrates us, it causes us to doubt our own connection with the world, and it destroys the "magic". That connection cannot be ignored.

Then why does it matter if JKR believes the world belongs to her alone? Here's my thinking.

1. A story is developed for Cursed Child that pursues the life of Harry Potter before he became a wizard.

2. The new writing team comes together and pushes a different story, one that is convoluted but filled with intriguing new ideas while challenging old ones.

3. If JKR thinks that Harry Potter belongs to her alone, she would never hesitate to go along with an idea that sounds interesting and claims to be accurate to canon.

4. Even if it bends the rules, and could get some fans upset, it's her world. The fans are beholden to her.

5. Therefore, her attitude and her grip on the world of Harry Potter blinds JKR to the reality that the interviewer is right. Harry Potter is so much bigger than one person, even the creator. In many ways, it belongs to the fans.

Before you tell me that she can write whatever she wants, and it's not up to me... know that I agree with you. The fans have no right to dictate to Miss Rowling what she is or is not allowed to create. What I am saying is that she needs to recognize and honor the relationship that her fans have built with this universe, reflect on the place her story exists in the zeitgeist and shared cultural experience, and make sure not to take her plot in directions that could possibly destabilize that culture. As the steward of this world, she has a great responsibility to those who live in it.

At the heart of this, the inflection point is her statement, "I wouldn't go that far, Will..." Sorry, Jo (love you, and all), but Will can go that far. If you want to say that the world doesn't belong to us, then write it in secret and keep it at home in a drawer. But it is a part of our culture now. We have tattooed our bodies, exchanged wedding vows dressed as Hogwarts students, named our children after characters from that world, and much more. It does belong to us. Loosen the grip. It doesn't mean that you would have to give up what it meant to you. It means that... you acknowledge us. You acknowledge that we collectively have experienced far more in the world than you have or ever will. And that doesn't have to be a negative thing.

In the documentary A Year In The Life, JKR reveals how even after completing the series, she planned out a massive, fictional family tree for the characters that went beyond the seven books.

"It gives me a certain satisfaction to say what I think happened and tell people that because I would like my version to be the official version still, even though I haven't written it in a book. Because it's my world."

On the flipside, take a quote from author, John Green.

"[My books] belong to their readers now, which is a great thing, because the books are more powerful in the hands of my readers than they could ever be in my hands."

Author Neil Gaiman recently admitted that he had lost a certain sense of control once his book, American Gods, became a success.

"It definitely no longer belongs to me."

I know I've gone back time and again to Star Wars, but the comparisons with other franchises are few and far between. This is a quote from J.J. Abrams at the 2015 Comic Con, on the eve of taking over for George Lucas in bringing Star Wars back to the screen.

"Everyone has very personal experiences and connections with this. So I don't want to say anything or do anything that could affect that unique, sometimes shared, experience."

He, and the other authors quoted, made it about the fans. Whereas Jack Thorne, in the BBC interview shortly after the comment in question, made it all about JKR.

"And as a fan, can I say, you want it to be her world. Not our world."

So...call it a lack of self-awareness. Maybe defensiveness. I'm sure there have been many people in her life who have tried to claim ownership of some element of Harry Potter. Which would suck. And none of us can really know what it feels like to experience her life. But the treatment of the fans who helped Potter reach those heights is important. Like it or not, we have bound our identities to this world, representing the embodiment of our passage into maturity. And although it sounds extreme, an attack on the canon becomes an attack on the credibility of our beliefs and even risks their very existence. In the time it takes to swipe text 140 characters, an entire crisis of religious proportions can take place.

To sum up: there comes a point when fans are so emotionally invested in a fictional world that it no longer entirely belongs to the creator, to do with as she pleases, regardless of intellectual property ownership. And if fandom is, as the psychologists say, like a religion... there will always be times when our faith will be tested.

The approaching release of the script book would be one of those times.