Harry stayed silent. He didn't know how to respond to that. He counted himself lucky that he had never experienced that kind of insecurity.

Jo took a biscuit, before pouring herself another cup of tea.

"More tea, Harry?" she asked. Harry thanked her as she poured him some more. There seemed to be infinite tea in the teapot, and it always came out piping hot. Harry supposed this was either the product of magic, or the dream he reminded himself he was having. It was bizarre; he knew he must be having some sort of dream, and yet, the whole situation felt oddly real.

"So, what are you doing in your classes at the moment?" inquired Jo.

Harry shrugged. "I have an essay due about the Great Elven War for History of Magic."

"How's that going?"

"It's going," replied Harry. "Certainly nothing creative. I'm just regurgitating stuff from the textbook."

Jo smiled at him. "You could always make it creative, pretend you're writing it for a different reason than for class. You could be sending a report to the Ministry or something."

"I don't think I am very creative," said Harry. "I certainly don't do a lot of creative things. I prefer doing more practical stuff."

Jo took a sip of her tea. "Each to their own."

Harry stirred some sugar into his cup. "What makes you creative? I mean, what kind of characteristics do you have that make you creative?"

Jo set down her cup, and paused before replying. "I suppose I find it easy to get lost in my own thoughts. Off in my own world, if you like. I find it easy to disconnect, and shut everything out entirely. My husband has scared the death out of me so many times, by coming up to me when I'm in that state.

"As soon as I knew what writers were, I wanted to be one. I've got the perfect temperament for a writer; perfectly happy alone in a room, making things up."

She took a biscuit before continuing. "I'm stubborn too. Seventeen years is a long time to work on one project, but I had to see it through. Many of the things that happen at the end of the series, I had in my mind from the beginning. It was some of those images I desperately wanted in my books, and half the time, that kept me from killing off characters."