Boy, this topic seems to be going in one big circle. If I may add my opinion on the matter...
It seems to me that the ideas that you address - the ones where Rowling and Tolkien seem to overlap - are concepts that make
great fantasy. And, to be completely honest, I don't think we can accuse Ms. Rowling of anything close to "copying" - it could just be that she had a good enough mind to come up with ideas, whether influenced by outside sources or not, that were much like Tolkien's ideas.
And in any fantasy novel you read, you see overlaps with other fantasy novels. Typically, they draw back to old mythology. However, I own that two-book set by the
Comic Relief charity that Rowling wrote that contains
Quidditch Through the Ages and
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Now, if you look through
Fantastic Beasts, upon first glance, it looks like it should be filled with old creatures of mythology. And yes, they mention the griffin, the hippogriff, the basilisk, the centaur, and the unicorn (among others). But then, there are these creatures: the ashwinder, the bundimun, the billywig, the crup, and the grindylow (again, among others). Some of these are unlike creatures I've ever seen in fantasy. And actually,
Quidditch Through the Ages is a very amusing read. Ms. Rowling created not only the sport, but also the history, the teams and a great number of the players.
Yes, so, due to these books, I definitely more than I should about various parts of the world of Hogwarts. But also, people always belittle Rowling's writing style. Meanwhile, I love how she writes - she is writing to convey an entirely different world from Tolkien, so obviously her words would be different. Also, as someone who is roughly the age she is writing about, I completely understand everything her characters go through - the books, written mostly from Harry's point of view, voice things exactly as I would voice them in my own head. So often, adults have problems writing from the point of view of an adolescent - either making them too mature or too immature. She creates characters exactly at the stages I was in when I was their age. They think and act in a very similar way. Of course she wouldn't use such eloquent words as Tolkien: that's not how Harry Potter would voice his thoughts.
At the same time, there is an undercurrent of irony and sarcasm throughout all of her story - from the funniest of moments to the most terrible - that I just find so enjoyable. It's as though part of Rowling is always saying, "This isn't a real world" - it's basically a world
derived from this sarcasm. She mocks in the most innocent of ways how people treat each other, how prejudice forms, the gullibility of the public, one's own self-image and concept of self-worth, and even the genre of fantasy. And I find that gentle mockery to be very enjoyable, myself.
And if you disagree, I have my wand, I now know "Sectumsempra", and I'm not afraid to use it.
