1998 Rowling interview reveals fresh canon

Thanks to Jacob Kaufman, we have a whopping total of 9 new articles from 1998. While they are all interesting to read, one is especially rich with new canon! "Face to Face with J K Rowling: Casting a spell over young minds," from The Herald, December 7, 1998 contains the following statements:

• JKR: "To invent this wizard world, I've learned a ridiculous amount about alchemy. Perhaps much of it I'll never use in the books, but I have to know in detail what magic can and cannot do in order to set the parameters and establish the stories' internal logic."
• JKR: "the books do explore the misuse of power, and there's an attempt to make some sense of death"
• JKR: "it's indecent the amount of time I spend thinking up wizarding ways to subvert arrogant Muggles."
• Difference between charms and transfiguration? JKR: "With a charm you add properties to something. With a transfiguration you change its nature completely; the molecular structure alters..."