# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Selkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/61 "2004-08-25T01:32:43Z")
> [@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? Assuming the author isn’t in the habit of deliberately misleading readers by posting false information on her website, [Crookshanks isn’t an animagus](http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/rumours_view.cfm?id=7). ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/62 "2004-10-03T17:49:58Z")
A quick bit of reasoning: Fact: Harry had the opportunity to be in Slytherin Assume: this means Harry is a pureblood It follows: this means Harry’s parents were both purebloods Ergo: Harry’s aunt Petunia is a pureblood squib Therefore: Dudley Dursley has half wizard’s blood. But this doesn’t really follow. It’s seemed pretty clear to me that Lily Potter was a freak witch coming from a normal family–like Hermione. That would make Harry not pureblood and therefore… not a candidate for Slytherin in the first place. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/63 "2004-10-03T17:52:54Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > A quick bit of reasoning: > > Fact: Harry had the opportunity to be in Slytherin > Assume: this means Harry is a pureblood > It follows: this means Harry’s parents were both purebloods > Ergo: Harry’s aunt Petunia is a pureblood squib > Therefore: Dudley Dursley has half wizard’s blood. > > But this doesn’t really follow. It’s seemed pretty clear to me that Lily Potter was a freak witch coming from a normal family–like Hermione. That would make Harry not pureblood and therefore… not a candidate for Slytherin in the first place. Right? Voldemort wasn’t pure blood either. I don’t think that’s a true qualification to be in Slytherin. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/64 "2004-10-03T17:57:31Z")
It’s a problematic inconsistency, then. The Sorting Hat’s song at the beginning of OOTP talks about Slytherin being a place that caters to purebloods (the nasty variety); also, when Malfoy is taunting Harry and his friends, he only levels “mudblood” at Hermione, not at Harry… right? ---
**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:** [October 3, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/65 "2004-10-03T18:00:44Z")
Yep. One of the deleted plot lines JKR describes on her web site involves the daughter of a Squib and a Muggle being sorted into Slytherin (the character was dropped for reasons unrelated to her bloodline or House placement). I think the Hat will put any student into Slytherin if they show enough cunning or ambition and they _want_ to be there, regardless of their background; it’s just that most Muggle-born students _don’t_ want to. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/66 "2004-10-03T18:08:52Z")
(Sorry for the double-post – **Sattua** got in there after I started composing the last one.) The Sorting Hat’s song in OotP says that Salazar Slytherin wanted to teach only pureblooded students _a thousand years ago_; it doesn’t follow that the Hat necessarily honors Salazar’s wishes _now_. “Mudblood,” as far as I can tell, is an insult leveled _only_ at Muggle-born witches and wizards, not half-bloods, and in any case, Draco Malfoy doesn’t necessarily _know_ that Harry is a half-blood. The only thing Harry’s told him about his ancestry is that his parents were both magical, and the none-too-savvy eleven-year-old Draco apparently assumed that this meant he was a pureblood. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/67 "2004-10-03T18:22:37Z")
Thanks for the clarification. I have just bought Harry’s school books, both for me and for my ten-year-old cousin. I bought the pack of two–the one about magical creatures and the one about quidditch. Are those the only two? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/68 "2004-10-03T23:03:52Z")
> [@Fretful Porpentine](#): > > The Sorting Hat’s song in OotP says that Salazar Slytherin wanted to teach only pureblooded students _a thousand years ago_; it doesn’t follow that the Hat necessarily honors Salazar’s wishes _now_. The Hat _doesn’t_ follow the four Founder’s wishes to the letter. In that same song, it says that Godric Gryffindor chose students who had “great deeds to their name” or somesuch. I strongly doubt that Gryffindor House is populated with 11-year-old children who have accomplished great deeds. The Hat sorts based on personality. Brave people go into Gryffindor, cunning & ambitious people go into Slytherin, highly intelligent people go into Ravenclaw, and everyone else goes into Hufflepuff. (and yes, I think it’s become pretty clear that Hufflepuff is the “miscellaneous” category.) As for the Half-Blood prince: I say Goderic Gryffindor, or a descendant of his. Altho’ given how Rowling likes to mislead people, it’s probably going to be someone completely out of left field, like Filch. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/69 "2004-10-04T01:29:04Z")
My thoughts… Godric Gryffindor–It’s predictable, but it _could_ work… if JK writes it really convincingly, involving all sorts of cool tricks with time travel and apparations and the suchlike. Aberforth–I think he’s more of a running joke than an actual character (inappropriate charms on a goat, sounds like an SDMB member in disguise ;)); then I remember Mrs. Figgs, who actually got developed from one-dimensional caricature to three-dimensional character. It’s possible, but again, JK would have to do it really well. Lupin–He has shabby clothes and that battered old briefcase all the time… I dunno, but I think a prince would look more, well, royal. He could always be in disguise, but I have my misgivings. Still, I think he’s the strongest candidate so far. Neville–If the paragraph on the website is right, then Neville is way too young. But if it’s not, it’s a fascinating angle on the story. Hagrid–The only way I can see him elevated to princely status is through the giant society we saw in Book 5, and he’s most definitely not a part of _that_. Plus, he doesn’t fit the description on the website. Could the Prince be Dumbledore himself? Or even… Nearly Headless Nick? I think it’d be the coolest if she did make up a new character. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/70 "2004-10-04T20:36:44Z")
Has it been ruled out that the half-blood prince could be Voldemort? ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927/71 "2004-10-04T20:40:15Z")
> [@Airblairxxx](#): > > Has it been ruled out that the half-blood prince could be Voldemort? [Ahh, never mind.](http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/faq_view.cfm?id=57) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-half-blood-prince-pool-harry-potter-and-the-thread-full-of-spoilers/260927.md?page=3)