'If I had known this would have made you this happy,' she said, 'I would have announced it years ago.' The audience immediately leapt to its feet and roared its approval. Rowling casually tossed off one of the biggest announcements in the history of her landmark fantasy phenomenon: Dumbledore, Harry’s mentor and the greatest wizard in the world until his dramatic death in book six, was gay. In October 2007, at a rare appearance at a packed Carnegie Hall, Harry Potter author J.K.