Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (spoilers)

Cafe Society
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Loved the book, wrote a review. Did not include spoilers there, hope this tag works.

[spoiler]I was completely suprised by Snape killing Dumbledore. I like the thought above that it might have been an unbreakable-vow pre-existing the other unbreakable-vow.

One thought might be that Dumbledore’s freezing Harry into place was deliberate, in part because Harry had declared himself as Dumbledore’s man, in a highly emotional scene.

Again we are drawn back to the person sacrificing himself for Harry out of Love with Harry present. If Snape is Evil does Dumbledore’s sacrifice somehow enhance Harry’s power, does his Phoenix’s death somehow enhance the power of his phoenix feather wand?

The SP2 plot just sets up a Ginny follows Harry so that she can get into mortal peril plotline so it didn’t bother me at all. How many times did Supes rescue Lois?

Dumbledore might Not deliberately kill someone good to make a Horcrux, but many of Voldemorts followers had to be destroyed and if he knew about this method, perhaps a tough decision had to be made, but its very un-Rowling. It is much more significant that Dumbledore’s patronus is a Phoenix. Is it possible that he, or some part of himself can rise from the ashes? Not his whole self but part of him?

Another question. Are we certain that it was in fact Dumbledore who was killed, what if someone willingly underwent the spell to appear to be Dumbledore - again, very unlikely.

I think the R.A.B assumption might be a little too pat. It makes sense, but then again, there are a number of significant B’s in the book, like Botts, that could turn out to be important.

I thought that what Draco went through was really moving. That when it came down to it he was not truly evil. He could not kill Dumbledore. It took Snape to do it for him. I think that this may lead to some kind of redemption for Draco on book 7, perhaps even a last minute change of heart that saves Harry through self-sacrifice. That is how I would write it myself. That would be part of the ultimate triumph of good over evil for someone like Malfoy to actually change his colors.

I am also looking forward to Harry’s 17th birthday on Privet Lane when he is finally free to do Magic at home. Bra Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha HA! That I think will be the funniest yet. If he is not taken out of there for a Weasly wedding long before.[/spoiler]

Well, those are my thoughts.

Peter

262

OH,

I think this is her best book yet.

Peter

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Overall, I liked it. No filler, for a change. And Harry has matured, so I didn’t want to shake the life out of him, as I often did in book 5. He really was a better person, more caring about others, and more willing to shoulder responsibility.

Still, sigh. But hey, no one with any sense wasn’t open to the possibility of Dumbledore dying. As others have said, it’s necessary, because Harry has to go it alone in the final conflict. I am as satisfied as I can be with the way it happened; when they were in the cave, I kept thinking, “Now, how is Harry going to convey Dumbledore’s body back to Hogwarts? Or are D’s last words going to be ‘Fly, you fool!’?”

Funeral was very touching. And as always, I love that the most emotional person in all of Hogwarts is big ol’ Hagrid and his big ol’ heart. Also glad he was able to save Fang, and that Olympe and Grawp were there to comfort him. Also also liked the drinking scene.

Trelawney truly is the stopped clock that’s right twice a day.

I think the Invisibility Cloak was a bit overused. Just IMO.

I’m glad JKR didn’t go too far in ripping off Tolkien with the “armies of the dead” device. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she couldn’t think of a way to avoid actually using the phrase.

Luna rocks! And I’m glad that she and Neville seem to have hooked up.

But my heart just about broke when Harry told Ginny they’d have to break up. Like others, I saw the Spidey/MJ parallel (and Ginny even has the red hair). It probably won’t be a permanent separation, but in the meantime, I would have liked to hear him say, “I still love you, though.” I did think, after the first time they kissed, “No, wait: this should be happening in book 7, not 6; that way we’d know it would last.” But one thing they have in common is that they’ve both faced V. and lived.

And perhaps my memory is fuzzy, but I don’t think V’s primary motivation for taking Ginny hostage in CoS was the fact that she was his best friend’s sister. She was a Weasley, with or without the Potter connection, and she was young and easy to exploit, and Harry’s hero complex that Hermione pointed out in OotP would have led him to save any kid. Her being his friend’s sister was just a bonus, IMO. But I could be wrong.

I also teared up when Molly offered her great-aunt’s tiara to Fleur. Just for a second, I’d thought Fleur was going to prove to be superficial, but the line about Bill’s scars proving his bravery was awesome.

I was convinced, right up until the reveal, that Tonks was pregnant with Sirius’ child. Yes, I know they were cousins, but it was mentioned in book 5 that wizarding families have to do what they have to do to continue pure lines. Not that Sirius and Tonks would be overly concerned with pureblood offspring, but it would mean they didn’t have the mental block of “OMG, s/he’s my cousin!” And then Sirius would live on through his child.

For that matter, I’m not crazy about Tonks being depressed because Lupin didn’t want her. It undermines her character, and it was kind of pointless anyway.

And furthermore, when I saw all the junk Malfoy had amassed in the Room of Requirement, I thought he was looking for the Horcruxes himself. Perhaps he was, though, and it just wasn’t the right time to mention it.

But it was pretty tiresome that apparently the first thing Malfoy learned about being an evil overlord is, “When you have your enemy at your mercy, always take the time for a long, drawn-out convo.”

Furthermore, I can buy Snape not being evil, but I think Malfoy is now beyond redemption. He’s never been a sympathetic person, and he’s young and malleable enough that he may have been permanently warped. And I’m okay with that; I don’t want this whole thing to end in hugs and warm fuzzies.

And I know it sounds terrible, but Dumbledore is expendable in a way Snape is not. I thought his finally being DADA teacher doomed him, but it’s not always a death sentence, and I’m glad it wasn’t for him. I’d like to find out more about him while he’s alive.

And I didn’t know Snape was the HBP, but I thought he might be. Potions, duh. And given what we know about teenage Severus, he was the kind of kid who would call himself (to himself) a Prince. If he was a Muggle, he’d’ve played D&D and taken a Chaotic Evil character.

And I am glad it wasn’t Ron who died; I really thought he might be done for when he was poisoned. Also, I accidentally saw one of the chapter headings when I was opening the book for the first time: “After the Burial”. Should have known it wouldn’t be a significant character, but I was still white-knuckling it until I got that far.

I’m glad JKR has given up on the device of having people TALK IN ALL CAPITALS when they’re angry. She still needs to ditch some of her adverbs and use descriptions instead, though. And, it’s after the fact, since with Dumbledore gone, no one’s likely to be giving orders to Harry, but when someone tells him to do something, he really should just say, “Okay,” instead of “Yes, but—” “Yes, but—” “Yes, but—” I can’t believe Dumbledore never rose up and roared, “Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!! STFU and do what I ask!” I agree with Snape that he needs to learn to keep his mouth SHUT.

One thing I wonder about Quidditch: Why don’t they have a second string? Then, instead of having to press a Chaser into service if the Seeker gets taken out, they’d just bring in the substitute Seeker.

Book 7: JKR just can’t do away with Hogwarts entirely. And I can’t see Hermione, at least, not graduating.

And speaking of Hermione, I hope she has a crucial role in bringing down Voldie. Last we saw, Marietta’s purple boils hadn’t been reduced a bit, only covered with cosmetics, and AFAIK, that’s one of the only two permanent disfigurements, the other being Dumbledore’s hand. So Hermione must be pretty darn powerful; therefore, for her to serve only in an advisory capacity in book 7 would be a serious omission.

Will we ever find out what the deal is with Neville’s parents and the gum wrappers?

Now the kids know how to Apparate. Wonder how that’ll figure into it?

Re: the lockets. Yes, the Horcrux probably is in Grimmauld Place. But Harry noticed that the one he got from Dumbledore’s robes didn’t look like the one that was in the basin—so whiskey tango foxtrot?

(Looking this over, I see I’ve made a lot of Tolkien references myself. But I think JKR owes a bit more to JRRT than she’s willing to admit. :stuck_out_tongue: )

Slag?

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[QUOTE=Rilchiam]

And furthermore, when I saw all the junk Malfoy had amassed in the Room of Requirement, I thought he was looking for the Horcruxes himself. Perhaps he was, though, and it just wasn’t the right time to mention it.
while he’s alive.

QUOTE]

I got the impression that the room of requirement was full of everything anyone ever tried to hide at Hogwarts. That was why Harry finally got in…and he just happened to stumble on the same room Malfoy was using, and for the same reason.

Wonder what else is in there? Makes me think of the warehouse at the end of “Lost Ark” full to the rafters with all kinds of goodies.

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I got the impression that the room of requirement was full of everything anyone ever tried to hide at Hogwarts. That was why Harry finally got in…and he just happened to stumble on the same room Malfoy was using, and for the same reason.
[/QUOTE]

This was my impression. There is only one “room to hide stuff,” that everybody uses. BTW, did you notice how one of the items was a bloody axe? :eek:

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I belive it was Luna who said Scrimgeour was a vampire, based on what her father was going to report in [del]The Post[/del] The Quibbler. I don’t think we were supposed to believe that.

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So here’s a thought I came up with this morning, pre-caffeine. Until reading this thread, I hadn’t entertained the possibility that Harry himself is a horcrux. I can’t buy that Voldemort would do that on purpose, but I suppose it could happen by accident as Voldemort surely didn’t expect events at the Potters to pan out the way they did so it could be yet another thing that went wrong on that evening.

I’m more open to the idea that Harry’s scar, rather than Harry himself is the horcrux (if he’s the horcrux at all). So, (here is my big idea), if the final confrontation is going to involve destroying the horcrux to defeat Voldemort, Harry makes the decision that he will sacrifice himself if need be. However, whatever magic happens results not in the end of Harry’s life, but in the scar … and along with that, the end of Harry’s magical powers. Muggle life for Harry. It’s a good final curtain, I think, because it firmly ends the possibility of books about adult Harry (Harry Potter and the Mortgage Escrow Account, anyone?) while keeping him alive, and presumably eventually at peace with outcome because he protected his friends and the wizarding world.

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Oh no, no, NO! He’s got too much invested in magic for that not to destroy him psychologically! Oh, that doesn’t even bear thinking of!

(Not that it’s not a good idea, mind.)

269

Oh, come on. Harry is not going to die.

Ok, so we can all see why it might make good ending for Harry to die, but, guys, these are still children’s books. JKR’s admonitions that it’s dark and scary and what not aside, there is no freakin way the main character is going to actually die at the end and traumatize a generation of kids!

I could buy that Harry will think he needs to sacrifice himself, and try to do so, but only insofar as his willingness to die versus Voldemort’s refusal will prove to be the advantage he needs, not Harry’s actual death.

Also, a couple random thoughts:

  • Did anybody else notice that Snape, the master potion maker, only took the Unbreakable Vow after Narcissa and Bellatrix had each had a drink? I’m kind of curious as to why Bellatrix didn’t flat out refuse to drink anything Snape would give her. Snape specified what Wormtail should bring, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he had all kinds of potions pre-mixed and ready to go in his wine cellar.

  • Dumbledore is definitely dead. It would be cheating the reader, the narrative arc, and the whole tradition of the hero’s journey if he’d had some underhanded plot to get around it. And I agree that Snape is really still on the side of right, just playing a very deep cover operation, which Dumbledore knew of and knew he might need to die to preserve.

  • I thought I was going to hate Voldemort’s backstory, but instead I loved it. All the sympathetic buildup with his mother, and then we meet him…and he’s clearly a sociopath. I like that in the end, JKR isn’t pinning it all on upbringing or whatever – some people really are just broken. And every once in a while, one of these broken people happens to be magical.

  • I am so happy we finally have seen a Slitherin who isn’t a bad guy. Ambitious, yes, evil, no. And it only took SIX books.

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At first I thought Dumbledore was begging Snape not to kill him, but that struck me as really out of character. As it was about 3:30 in the morning, though, I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around what was wrong with that picture. Now I think the people who said it was Dumbledore begging Snape to kill him that was right. I think Dumbledore might’ve been begging Snape to kill him to save Draco from having to do it. He knew Draco’s hand was forced, but he didn’t want the boy to make that final irreversible decision that would forever change him. Draco is still redeemable.

I keep hoping he’s not really dead. The little foreshadow hints (the living death potion, his comment to Draco) are definitely there for that possibility. I hope so. I kept waiting for Dumbledore to pop back up at the end. All the way to the last page I kept hoping.

Snape is a wonderfully complex character, and I’m not ready to believe he’s really evil yet. The number of times he’s readily stood in harm’s way to protect Harry, despite their shared loathing of one another, is a sign that in some ways, he’s more noble than Harry (maturity levels not withstanding). I think the fact that he never did anything but counter Harry’s curses, and quickly put a stop to the ones the Death Eaters tried to cast on him was important. And hey, if Voldemort wanted to kill Harry himself, why not paralyze him and then cart him off to the Evil Headquarters right then? Seems that would be a real coup for a loyal follower. I hope he doesn’t die, but I suspect he will.

I loved us seeing Draco in a vulnerable state (crying in the bathroom, afraid to kill Dumbledore, fearing for his family). It made him much more real, and at least gives room in book seven for Harry and Draco to work together, however reluctantly. I was hoping Harry would at least attempt to apologize to Draco for casting that hex on him.

I laughed at all the silly teenage love story stuff. I felt Rowlings really nailed the age group well, with their sucking face all the time and worry over whether the girl/boy likes them taking precedent in their minds over the important stuff. I thought it was terrific that these kids really seem like teenagers, and not some children’s story version of beatific teenagers, who never curse or are rude. These kids make rude hand gestures, curse loudly and are real smart asses (Harry’s “You don’t have to call me sir, Professor” made me gasp.)

Harry’s a great character. On the one hand he’s noble, brave, strong, loyal and determined. On the other he’s arrogant, quick-tempered, and violent. You really started to see flashes of the man he will (may?) become.

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I am now rereading book 5, to help me make sense of book 6.
Anyone have an answer for this one?

Dumbledore is the Secret Keeper for the Black residence in London.

I see a major problem, there.

Also, how could Godric’s sword not be a horcrux? Can an object ahve more than one use at any given time? I know the sword will serve some purpose in book 7–it’s too potent a symbol to not.

And I’ll bet that the Sorting Hat also serves a purpose.

RE: Dumbly’s death. Going back over the book (6)–there is a scene where AD tears up when HP declares his loyalty to AD–I think that AD knows he is dying thoughout the whole book. Didn’t catch that the first time.

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I think that anyone who has already been told can find it, but no one new can. That would make sense, anyway.

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Not an accident–but perhaps a charm of Lily’s to protect Harry from death at V’s hands?

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That’s right, the Sorting Hat is Gryffindor’s old hat! So the sword is not the only artifact of his, and AD was wrong, I guess.

That said, the Hat can talk and, while it may not be sophisticated enough to warn AD about what’s happened to it (and when exactly would Voldy get to it, it lives in AD’s office) it doesn’t seem to have changed its ‘personality’ recently. Its songs (missed it this time around, dang) are still about unity and courage and goodwill, everything Voldemort hates, so it hasn’t been corrupted.

I’m not sure that AD was dying throughout the book, since he was going off on missions and didn’t get increasingly frail or anything and the blackening curse never ‘spread’ from his hand. In fact, in the final mission to the cave he was very vigorous, swimming and jumping and all. But I still agree with the theory that the potion was doing something to him that he knew would kill or make him evil/beholden to Voldemort, and that he had a deal with Snape to finish him off in that case and not let the Death Eaters do it, or capture him. Snape hated himself for doing it and hated Harry for somehow making it necessary for AD to sacrifice himself, being weak or something. But re-reading the chase scene at the end, it’s clear that Snape stops the others from killing Harry several times; he might be enraged enough to torture him right before Buckbeak attacks him and drives him away, but he doesn’t use Adava Kedavra on him when he could.

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Of course Dumbledore would not be pleading for his life. The two interpretations are:
[list=A][li]Snape is evil. Dumbledore is saying “Please Severus don’t go back to Voldermort’s side”. Snape kills Dumbledore because his attaction to the Dark Arts is too great.[/li][li]Snape is good. Dumbledore is saying “Please Severus do what we agreed on even though it is painful to you.” Snape kills Dumbledore as part of the secret master plan.[/list][/li]
And like everyone else (almost everyone else?) I know that interpretation B is the correct one.

I like the idea of the Unbreakable Vow between Lily Potter and Severy Snape. Snape’s unbreakable vow is to do whatever he can to protect the life of Harry Potter.

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I was much more saddened at Dumbledore’s death than at Sirius’s.

I was shocked about Snape’s turnaround. I know that many of you still think he was acting under Dumbledore’s orders, but I can’t imagine he would have made the Unbreakable Vow if he were.

I can’t believe that Umbridge had the nerve to impose her presence at the funeral. I was also surprised that, in addition to standing up for Stan Shunpike, Harry didn’t also demand Umbridge’s removal from the Ministry as a pre-condition for helping Scrimgeour.

I love how the magical, and evil-sounding names “Narcissa” and “Bellatrix” get shortened to the very normal-sounding “Cissy” and “Bella.”

On the other hand, I couldn’t help thinking “Slugworth” every time I was trying to remember the new Potions Master’s name (ironic, being on the same weekend that the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie was released), and one of the kids at Slughorn’s first get-together (on the train) was named “Marcus Belby,” and I immediately added the suffix “M. D.”

I was glad to see Draco get some licks in. Of course he’s the bad guy, but if he never wins against Harry, it makes me feel like Harry is bullying him somewhat. At least they now seem to be on a more even footing.

As soon as Dumbledore gave Harry the Slughorn mission, I knew he was going to use Felix Felicis to accomplish it. And I also guessed that Harry had only pretended to give it to Ron as a confidence-booster for the Quidditch match.

I can’t imagine that Harry and co. aren’t going to be in Hogwarts next year, if only because the whole point of the seven-book series length is that it’s the length of a Hogwarts school career. If being a Hogwarts student isn’t essential to the plot, there’s no reason Harry can’t go on hunting Horcruxes forever.

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Given how much Snape hated James Potter, he must have loved Lily very much to agree to protect James’ child out of Lily.

I looked up Scrimgeour this morning and found out it is a Scottish clan name. I was surprised as I thought it was going to be something made up. Their clan motto is “Dissipate” and there is a rampant lin holding a sword on the coat of arms. I was primarily looking for a guide to pronunciation (Srimjer, apparently). Interesting. Many warriors associated with this nme.

I looked up Merope, too…interesting that she was married to Sisyphus (and the only one of her sisters not to marry a god). One of the sites I looked at said she lived in Chaos (how appropriate). Sorry for not posting links.

I haven’t seen anyone else post about this, so sorry if I am simple-minded for posting the obvious.

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My guess would be that the secret can now be revealed by anybody to anybody. I guess we’ll find out.

Voldemort would have to have gotten his hands on the sword in order to make it a horcrux. My impression is that the sword was in Dumbledore’s possession for quite some time.
Did anybody else get the impression that there’s a big power vacuum in the Order right now? In the scene just after McGonagall presses Harry for information about what Dumbledore had been doing, they all seemed resigned to deferring to the Ministry until Harry stepped up and said that wasn’t what Dumbledore wanted. It will be interesting to see what the leadership of the Order looks like in book 7, especially seeing as it looks likely that Harry will be keeping his own counsel from now on.

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Yes, and that to me is problematic. If all heads turn to HP–he doesn’t ahve enough knowledge or skill to defeat Voldy at this point.

No way could Harry have gotten thru the cave w/o AD, IMO.
So, who is to lead the OotP? McGonagall? Snape? (who knows?) Lupin? or the Weasley’s?

I can’t see Hermione not graduating, but I do see Ron and Harry up and leaving to search for horcruxes.

280

Yep, and this is why he’s so ungracious about the whole thing. The love of his life (unrequited) runs off with his worst enemy (who bullied him all though school) and for love of the mother he agrees to protect the child. Add to that the fact that he was complicit in the death of that woman. It must rip Snape’s heart out every time he looks at Potter. Love for the mother, hate for the father, duty and guilt.

Which fits with how angry and wrathful he was after having to kill Dumbledore. I’m sure those same feelings were going through Snape again- Love, hate, duty, guilt.