So THAT'S why Dumbledore wanted Barty Crouch Sr to have a drink

[davewitley]

Sean wrote:

> This kind of afterthought throws me a bit; it's not as if JKR needs to
> maintain interest by throwing out random backstory clues here and
> there. Pinning the random gay tag on a character seems off-kilter; it
> doesn't add to the narrative the way it might have to a student, for
> instance. Next it'll be a secret gnome-fancying coven among the
> Hufflepuffs which demonstrates the reality of inter-species fetishes.

There's been quite a bit of speculation around the internet about why 
she should reveal this now - poking the religious right in the eye and 
so on.

Personally, I think that she was revelling in the chance to give a, um, 
straight answer to a straight question, instead of prevaricating, 
equivocating, and refusing to answer as she has so often had to do over 
the years.  (Even now she has to be circumspect about Aberforth's 
inappropriate charms.)  I don't see any agenda in the timing of this.

David