Brenna meets J.K. Rowling

The morning I left for New York, waiting in the airport, I saw a Globe and Mail cover story about J.K. Rowling. The headline referred to her outing of Dumbledore—first I had heard about it—so I bought a copy. Mostly the story was about a reading she had given in Toronto to hundreds of students. I thought, "Too bad Marian and Brenna didn't get a chance to go," and set the paper aside.

Back home on Monday I called both girls, got to speak to Brenna, and caught up on news. I told her about my trip, and asked about school.

Now in grade nine, she seems to have found her niche. Her new school looks like Hogwartz. She likes her teachers and classmates, and although she is not boarding there, tends to stay late to join social and extracurricular activities. I was afraid her old school hadn't taught good enough work habits, but it sounds like she is carrying on diligently. I'm relieved that the move and transition have gone well for her.

Then I asked, "Did you hear the news about J.K. Rowling?" (Meaning the outing of Dumbledore.)

But Brenna started babbling excitedly: "You mean that I got to see her?" (She had forgotten to tell me.)

Students at her school had to write why they should be chosen to meet the author, and the best answers went into a lottery.

("What did you write?" I asked. "Nothing much," she replied: "I used my persuasive powers.")

She and three other students were chosen to travel to Toronto and hear J.K. Rowling read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was the chapter where Ron comes back. Brenna liked how she used different voices in the dialogue. There were 850 kids, and after the reading a pile of 850 books was brought out for her to sign. Brenna felt sorry for her.

"So did you get to meet her?"

"Sort of. We lined up to get our free copies of the book. When I went up I said, 'You must be tired.' And she said, 'Always.'"