In a surprisingly little-noticed interview, Harry Potter creator, J.K. Rowling, confirmed that she is in the early stages of a new installment of the Harry Potter series.

Rowling, who insisted that the seventh novel—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—would conclude her work with the beloved Hogwart’s students, has reconsidered. Despite pressures to expand on the adult adventures of central characters, Rowling will move to a subplot largely unexplored—the life trials of Voldemort before the birth of little Harry Potter.

The new novel, which is yet to be named, will use Voldemort as a central character, as the reader will have the opportunity to engage more deeply with the life events and psychology of “Tom Riddle” the villain’s childhood/teenaged identity.

While Rowling has interwoven Voldemort’s past and rise to power into the Harry Potter plot line, she felt readers would benefit from a concentrated account of Voldemort’s difficult past. However, readers can anticipate many of the cherished adult characters to surface in the new novel including Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Dumbledore, as well as Harry’s parents, Lilly and James Potter.

While Voldemort deserves little sympathy for his ruthless behaviors, readers might find themselves surprised at the level of empathy possible when they walk through his difficult life with him, Rowling alluded. The monster was a man at one time—a thinking, feeling, reasoning and oftentimes hurting man.

Rowling, who was named the first billionaire author by the Guinness Book of World Records, reached incredible success with her Harry Potter series as well as the subsequent movie series. The seven novels have brought in nearly eight billion dollars in total sales, having sold over 400 million copies.

In a 2012 interview with The Guardian, J.K. Rowling said of her future writing endeavors, “I am the freest author in the world. I can do whatever the hell I like.” While at the time Rowling spoke of branching out to different genres, it will come to the delight of millions that “whatever,” in this case, is a return to the world of magic.

Ed: Brianna Bemel