What else can I say, Dumbledore is gay.

Seriously. Only a few days after she revealed that her books were always meant to have a Christian subtext, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has revealed that Albus Dumbledore, the beloved Hogwarts headmaster, was gay. Quoth the Associated Press:

Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds “true love.”

“Dumbledore is gay,” the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. “Falling in love can blind us to an extent,” Rowling said of Dumbledore’s feelings, adding that Dumbledore was “horribly, terribly let down.”

Dumbledore’s love, she observed, was his “great tragedy.”

“Oh, my god,” Rowling concluded with a laugh, “the fan fiction.” . . .

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.

Rowling, finishing a brief “Open Book Tour” of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a “prolonged argument for tolerance” and urged her fans to “question authority.” . . .

The books have come to an end, but there are two more movies to go — so it will be interesting to see if they address this. And it will be interesting to see how the series’ Christian fans — and there are quite a few of them — respond to this latest announcement.

OCT 20 UPDATE: Entertainment Weekly‘s Popwatch Blog has its own report on the event where the “outing” took place.

OCT 21 UPDATE: John Granger has some excellent comments on the Dumbledore-is-gay brouhaha at HogwartsProfessor.com.