JKR Said it's Descendant, not Ancestor (WAS: Tom Riddle's Origins)

[Monita]

No: HPFGUIDX 57501

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "erisedstraeh2002" 
<erisedstraeh2002 at y...> wrote:
> Lissa wrote:
I don't think this is a contradiction.  Dumbledore doesn't 
say "only" remaining ancestor of Slytherin, he very carefully uses 
the word "last".  <snip leaving in the previous passage because it 
says so much.>

> 
> Phyllis in reply:
> 
> In an October 2000 Scholastic interview, JKR admitted to making a 
> mistake by using "ancestor" instead of "descendant:"
> 
> Q (from HPfGU!): "Is Voldemort the last remaining ancestor of 
> Slytherin, or the last remaining descendent of Slytherin?"
> 
> JKR: "Ah, you spotted the deliberate error. Yes, it should 
> read 'descendent.'  That's been changed in subsequent editions. 
(Keep 
> hold of the 'ancestor' one, maybe it'll be valuable one day!)"
> 
  British HPfGU listees have clarified that JKR's use of the 
> phrase "deliberate error" is intended to signify her admission that 
> she unintentionally goofed and is now owning up to her error, 
> rather than that she intentionally tried to mislead her readers.
> 
Hi Phyllis,
Curious that in spite of what the British Listees interpret JK's 
meaning to be. Rowling herself instructs us not to ignore the 
original "mistake" text. As the term "ancestor", in relation to 
Voldies acsendency/descendence of Salazar Slytherin, may yet be 
useful.
How inconcievable is it that he may be both? (By the way). 

Although the listees that you have quoted do not recommend it, I feel 
it is pertinent that we still consider the quote "deliberate error" 
in its literal context, and not only relatively. Even if we never 
want to believe it, the probability that it was meant literally is 
not, IMO, negatably low.

Valky