Rowling Lets Dumbledore Out of the Closet

But, not surprisingly, others were appalled.

( AP Photo)

"Thank you for permanently staining my view of Dumbledore," read a post from someone identifying himself or herself only as "Concerned Reader."

One major anti-Potter crusader is Laura Mallory, a mother of four from Georgia, who made headlines earlier this month when she told the Gwinnett County Board of Education that the series was trying to indoctrinate children into the Wicca religion. In response to Dumbledore's outing, Mallory told ABC News that the Potter series has "an anti-Christian agenda," and, "this only further supports that."

"My prayer is that parents would wake up, that the subtle way this is presented as harmless fantasy would be exposed for what it really is -- a subtle indoctrination into anti-Christian values," said Mallory. "The kids are being introduced to a cult and witchcraft practices.

"A homosexual lifestyle is a harmful one," she added. "That's proven, medically."

Not surprisingly, conservatives at Saturday's Values Voters' summit in Washington also had some thoughts on the now controversial wizard.

"I feel like children's books shouldn't be political -- they shouldn't have political ties, they're entertainment," attendee Katie Beach said. "I think it's pretty ridiculous for her to say that or to do that."

But none of that has stopped Rowling, who said she considers her novels as a "prolonged argument for tolerance," and urged her fans to "question authority."

Rowling's last Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," made history when it was released in July. Eleven million copies flew off shelves in the first 24 hours alone. And though the story chronicled the last of Harry's adventures, the renewed controversy may suggest Rowling's characters, muggle or wizard, gay or straight, will live on far beyond the end of the series.