# The Half-Blood Prince pool (Harry Potter and the thread full of SPOILERS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927 "2004-08-22T02:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/41 "2004-08-23T16:13:54Z")
I thought I was the only one who liked Snape as the HBP, thanks **Apos**. The quote describes a picture of the four founder, and it describes Godric. The reason why Snape has been able to be reaccepted by the Deatheaters is that he is really royalty. He is only half-blood, a muggle grandparent, so he can not claim a title but he is unquestionably royal. This is why he was sorted into Syltherin. He longs to advance - by his achievements - not by his blood. However he has not done the great deeds that would allow him to advance by achievements. He was courted by the Deatheaters because he was royalty, and he joined because he wanted to be special. Snape is a good character without being a nice character. In book six we find out much more about him, and why Dumbledore trusts him implicitly. Snape is the manifestation, for Harry, of evil – at Hogwarts. He is dealt with in tHBP, book six. While in book 7, Harry’s manifestation of evil to the world - Voldemort is dealt with. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/42 "2004-08-23T18:24:03Z")
> [@Draelin](#): > > If Aberforth is a prince, then logically so is Dumbledore. And I don’t think a halfblood would have been approved as Headmaster of Hogwarts. He could be a half-brother of Albus. Perhaps both of Albus’s parents were purebloods, but one of them got together with someone else and had Aberforth. That way Albus’s parents are both purebloods, but Aberforth’s parent (the one that is not a parent to Albus, of course) could be royalty and yet still be considered “half-blood” because of the snobbery of folks like the Malfoys. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/43 "2004-08-24T00:09:25Z")
Godric’s actually the favourite right now among fans. My main problem with this is that if Godric was a Half-blood prince, and Harry is his descendant, that would probably make Harry a Half-blood prince, assuming there are no other heirs around. And Rowling has said “Harry is not the Half-Blood Prince.” I suppose you could make the argument that “Harry isn’t _the_ Half-Blood Prince, just _a_ Half-Blood Prince,” but I really hope she doesn’t do that. > [@](#): > > I know a lot of fans have jumped on the mention in OotP of Mark Evans, a Little Whinging kid that Dudley and his gang pounded on. I haven’t yet decided if I think the name’s just a coincidence. Wonder no longer! She killed that one on her website. She said it was just an accident – she needed a name, grabbed a very common name, and forgotten she’d already used it. After the fans noticed, she got swamped with letters, and said she almost ran off to Bolivia. > [@](#): > > I think it’s most likely that the HBP will be a brandy-new character. A friend of mine suggested that possibly Krum is Bulgarian royalty, but I doubt Durmstrang is as halfblood-and-Muggle-friendly as Hogwarts. Still possible, but if the excerpt is about the prince, he doesn’t match the description. > [@](#): > > If Aberforth is a prince, then logically so is Dumbledore. And I don’t think a halfblood would have been approved as Headmaster of Hogwarts. We know so little about those two. We only found out where Aberforth was last book. > [@](#): > > Regarding Grimmauld Place, I had it in my head somewhere that Sirius had likely left all his possessions and property to Harry. If I’m wrong, then it will probably go to the Malfoys, or possibly Tonks. I had a momentary thought that she would be disinherited because she’d been blasted off the family tree, but then again, so had Sirius. If Sirius had a will, it would probably be Harry. If not, or if they’re on a system of primogeniture, it could be any pureblood family. The Malfoys are on one side, but the Weasleys are on the other. > [@](#): > > And I agree that Dumbledore will likely go to the Great Quidditch Pitch in the Sky before the end of the series, quite possibly in a “straw that broke the Chosen One’s back” manner, giving Harry just the incentive needed to kill Voldemort or do something else daunting and dangerous. I also suspect Dumbledore won’t live to see the end (unless he’s been cursed with unwanted immortality – something that’s been speculated about on fanboards). BTW, we speculated in another HP thread on this board that Lockhart was based on her ex-husband. She finally said, “No, this guy was much worse [than her ex].” Of course, “much worse” is a bit of a backhanded compliment to her ex 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/44 "2004-08-24T00:13:15Z")
> [@Reepicheep](#): > > Snape is a good character without being a nice character. In book six we find out much more about him, and why Dumbledore trusts him implicitly. Snape is the manifestation, for Harry, of evil – at Hogwarts. He is dealt with in tHBP, book six. While in book 7, Harry’s manifestation of evil to the world - Voldemort is dealt with. Rowling hates Snape, and can’t understand why he has fans (although she says he’s fun to write: “a gift of a character”). He is in the running for Half-Blood Prince, though. The only thing Rowling has said about his ancestry is that he’s not Muggle-born – he’s either pureblood or halfblood. Of course, I still think it’s Remus. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/45 "2004-08-24T03:13:57Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > … > BTW, we speculated in another HP thread on this board that Lockhart was based on her ex-husband. She finally said, “No, this guy was much worse [than her ex].” > > Of course, “much worse” is a bit of a backhanded compliment to her ex 😃 Not trying to hijack but I thought I heard rumors that Lockhart was based on an author of another popular fantasy series who’s rather fond of himself. Or has that one already been shot down? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/46 "2004-08-24T07:48:39Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > Rowling hates Snape, and can’t understand why he has fans (although she says he’s fun to write: “a gift of a character”). Has she actually said she _hates_ him? That seems a strange thing for her to say about a character she enjoys writing and who she hasn’t portrayed as an outright baddies (like Umbridge). I have read interviews where she expressed surprise and puzzlement over the way some fans just _love_ Snape and have attributed all kinds of desirable qualities to him that she never wrote about (she, and I, think that Alan Rickman may have something to do with it), but that’s not the same as hating him. > [@Tiramisu](#): > > Not trying to hijack but I thought I heard rumors that Lockhart was based on an author of another popular fantasy series who’s rather fond of himself. Or has that one already been shot down? It seems unlikely that she had to “endure” another popular fantasy author for two years. I personally suspect the real-life Lockheart was a professor or administrator of some kind. Rowling has said that the real guy would never recognize himself as Lockheart and probably believes and tells other people that he was the model for Dumbledore. ---
**Author:** ![graememorrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/graememorrison/32/2287_2.png) [@graememorrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/graememorrison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/47 "2004-08-24T11:31:14Z")
Well according to the Sunday Mail (i cant believe im admitting to reading that), the inspiration For Lockhart, was her [ex Husband](http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14558206&method=full&siteid=86024&headline=writer-s-shock---jk--my-revenge-name_page.html). ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/48 "2004-08-24T13:14:56Z")
> [@Tiramisu](#): > > Not trying to hijack but I thought I heard rumors that Lockhart was based on an author of another popular fantasy series who’s rather fond of himself. Or has that one already been shot down? Orson Scott Card. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/49 "2004-08-24T13:42:55Z")
Piers Anthony? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/50 "2004-08-24T14:31:40Z")
> [@](#): > > My main problem with this is that if Godric was a Half-blood prince, and Harry is his descendant, that would probably make Harry a Half-blood prince, assuming there are no other heirs around. I actually hope Harry _isn’t_ a Godric descendant (because that plot twist has already been done with Salazar and Tom Riddle, not to mention beaten to death in fanfiction), but in any case, Godric’s descendant wouldn’t be another Half-Blood Prince if there _is_ no modern British wizarding royalty. And I strongly suspect this is the case, since we’ve never heard of any yet. This is why I think the HBP has to be somebody from the past, or perhaps a foreigner. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/51 "2004-08-24T14:45:33Z")
> [@Fretful Porpentine](#): > > I actually hope Harry _isn’t_ a Godric descendant (because that plot twist has already been done with Salazar and Tom Riddle, not to mention beaten to death in fanfiction), but in any case, Godric’s descendant wouldn’t be another Half-Blood Prince if there _is_ no modern British wizarding royalty. And I strongly suspect this is the case, since we’ve never heard of any yet. This is why I think the HBP has to be somebody from the past, or perhaps a foreigner. There is always the “hidden line” gimmick. I suspect Neville. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/52 "2004-08-24T17:30:04Z")
Or maybe modern British Wizarding royalty is rather like muggle royalty - no real power or influence, except the wizard royals don’t get into the Daily Prophet as much as the muggle royals get into the papers? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/53 "2004-08-24T19:29:40Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > There is always the “hidden line” gimmick. > > I suspect Neville. Isn’t Neville a pureblood, though? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/54 "2004-08-24T20:02:37Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > This quote from Rowling’s website is probably about the prince himself: “[He] looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his tawny hair and in his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp.” I know everybody’s been assuming that Crookshanks is a Kneazle, but has Rowling ever actually come right out and _ **SAID** _ he’s a Kneazle? 'Cos the above passage would make a pretty good description of the human form of Crookshanks Granger – unregistered Animagus. Anybody think Rowling’s got the ovaries to try that one again? ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/55 "2004-08-24T21:21:54Z")
> [@Fretful Porpentine](#): > > And I strongly suspect this is the case, since we’ve never heard of any yet. This is why I think the HBP has to be somebody from the past, or perhaps a foreigner. Speaking as a member of a constitutional monarchy whose citizens tend to forget they have a Queen, I’m not so sure this is the best argument 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/56 "2004-08-24T21:24:39Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Isn’t Neville a pureblood, though? On his father’s and formidable paternal grandmother’s side, yes. How much do we know about Neville’s kindly mum? I don’t recall Crookshanks walking with a limp. For those of you who were wondering what a Kneazles is, apparently it’s descibed in one of [Harry’s school books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0613325419/qid=1093382586/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/103-3572683-7623853). I lifted this quote from another site, “The Kneazle was originally bred in Britain, though it is now exported worldwide. A small catlike creature with flecked, speckled, or spotted fur, outsize ears, and a til like a lion’s, the Kneazle is intelligent, independent, and occasionally agressive, though if it takes a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes an excellent pet. The Kneazle has an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicous characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are lost. Kneazles have up to eight kittens in a litter and can interbreed with cats. Licenses are required for ownership as (like Crups and Fwoopers) Kneazles are sufficiently unusual in apperance to attract Muggle interest.” ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/57 "2004-08-24T21:26:29Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Isn’t Neville a pureblood, though? Yep. According to Dumbledore in _Order of the Phoenix_, and Neville in _Chamber of Secrets_. It’s not impossible, if either Alice or Frank had a secret. It’s been pointed out in this thread that “halfblood” is a word invented by people who think these things are important. If either one had a Muggle ancestor 5 generations back, Neville might be called halfblood. Also, Neville doesn’t sound like the one in the excerpt. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/58 "2004-08-24T21:30:33Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Has she actually said she _hates_ him? That seems a strange thing for her to say about a character she enjoys writing and who she hasn’t portrayed as an outright baddies (like Umbridge). I have read interviews where she expressed surprise and puzzlement over the way some fans just _love_ Snape and have attributed all kinds of desirable qualities to him that she never wrote about (she, and I, think that Alan Rickman may have something to do with it), but that’s not the same as hating him. I may have spoke too strongly. But she has said that loving snape is “worrying.” ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/59 "2004-08-24T21:33:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I know everybody’s been assuming that Crookshanks is a Kneazle, but has Rowling ever actually come right out and _ **SAID** _ he’s a Kneazle? > > 'Cos the above passage would make a pretty good description of the human form of Crookshanks Granger – unregistered Animagus. > > Anybody think Rowling’s got the ovaries to try that one again? I doubt it. Anyway, while she didn’t say he was half-kneazle, she did say the answer was in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. **Devil’s Grandmother** has posted the quote above. Is there anything in _Fantastic Beasts_ about animagi? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/60 "2004-08-25T01:15:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Is there anything in Fantastic Beasts about animagi? On a quick flip-through, I can’t find anything. (Which isn’t too surprising, since we have yet to meet an Animagus who turns into an actual Fantastic Beast; so far, we’ve had rat, cat, beetle, dog, and deer, all thoroughly mundane animals.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927.md?page=4)