Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

For the film, see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film).

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on July 16, 2005, is the sixth of seven novels in J.K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores Lord Voldemort's past, and Harry's preparations for the final battle amidst emerging romantic relationships and the emotional confusions and conflict resolutions characteristic of mid-adolescence.

In 24 hours, the book sold 6.95 million copies in the United States alone, or 287,564 books per hour, making it the fastest selling book in history. It generated over £100 million in sales on its opening weekend, outpacing even the combined take of the top movies at the box office that same weekend. Bookseller Barnes and Noble reported sales averaging 105 copies per second in the first hour of sales.

The British edition has 608 pages, and the US edition has 652 pages. The book is dedicated to Rowling's daughter Mackenzie, who was born while Rowling was writing it.

Plot

Voldemort and his Death Eaters openly wreak havoc and chaos throughout Britain. Following public outcry over Cornelius Fudge's mishandling of the Voldemort situation, he is forced to resign, and is succeeded by Rufus Scrimgeour as the new Minister for Magic. As a result, Arthur Weasley receives a promotion.

At his home in Spinner's End, Severus Snape receives a visit from Draco Malfoy's mother Narcissa and her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange. Narcissa swears Snape to an Unbreakable Vow, ensuring he will protect Draco and, should her son fail, complete his mission for the Dark Lord.

Albus Dumbledore arrives at the Dursley's and asks Harry Potter to accompany him to see retired professor Horace Slughorn. With unwitting help from Harry, Dumbledore persuades Slughorn to resume his old teaching post at Hogwarts. Harry then spends the remaining summer months at The Burrow with the Weasleys and Hermione, who is also visiting. To his family's dismay (mainly Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Fred and George), Bill Weasley has become engaged to Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons champion in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry, Ron, and Hermione receive their O.W.L. results. Hermione receives high marks in all her subjects, but Ron and Harry fail Divination and History of Magic. They are also unable to take N.E.W.T.-level Potions because Snape only accepts "O" (Outstanding) grades. The course is a requirement to Harry's ambition of becoming an Auror. While in Diagon Alley buying supplies for their upcoming year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione spot Draco Malfoy sneaking off into Knockturn Alley, where they follow him, and spy on him. They see him enter Borgin and Burkes, a dark magic shop, and harass Mr. Borgin about repairing one thing, and keeping the other safe for him.

As school begins, Snape is surprisingly announced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor while Slughorn takes his place as the Potions teacher. Since Slughorn only requires a minimum "E" grade (Exceeds Expectations) at O.W.L. to take his N.E.W.T.-level Potion classes, Harry and Ron are now able to sign up. Slughorn lends Harry and Ron old Potions textbooks. Harry's copy is marked as the property of "The Half-Blood Prince". The talented former owner's handwritten notes help Harry excel in the class. As a reward, Slughorn gives him a small vial of Felix Felicis, a good luck potion.

As the year progresses, more Death Eater attacks that may be linked to events happening at Hogwarts occur. On the first Hogsmeade visit, Katie Bell, a Gryffindor student, is seriously injured when she is forced to carry a cursed necklace while under the Imperius Curse. Harry suspects Malfoy or another Death Eater is involved. In another incident, Ron is accidentally poisoned when he drinks mead that was intended for Dumbledore - Harry's quick thinking saves his life when he forces a bezoar, a poison antidote, into his mouth. Hermione is so distraught over Ron's near death, that the two end their ongoing feud, and Ron breaks up with Lavender Brown, whom he was dating mostly to annoy Hermione because she had kissed Viktor Krum. Ron and Hermione's continual bickering had caused Harry to fear they would never reconcile. In the meantime, Harry realizes that he has feelings for Ginny when he jealously observes her kissing her boyfriend, Dean Thomas.

Dumbledore tutors Harry in private lessons using his Pensieve to view collected memories about Voldemort's past. A memory belonging to Slughorn is partially missing. Aided by the Felix Felicis potion, Harry retrieves it from him. Dumbledore speculates that Voldemort has split his soul into seven fragments, storing six pieces in Horcruxes to grant himself immortality, while leaving the seventh in his own body. Two Horcruxes have been destroyed (Tom Riddle's diary by Harry^[HP2] and Marvolo Gaunt's ring by Dumbledore).

When Harry finds Malfoy sobbing in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, they begin hurling curses at each other. Harry casts Sectumsempra (a spell gleaned from the Half-Blood Prince's annotations), causing large slashes across Malfoy's body. Snape arrives and saves Malfoy. Recognizing the spell, he orders Harry to hand over his Potions book. Harry instead gives him Ron's copy. Snape assigns Harry detention for the same day as the Quidditch finals. After detention, Harry learns that Gryffindor won the finals, with Ginny Weasley as their substitute Seeker. During the victory celebration, Harry's suppressed feelings for Ginny are revealed when he spontaneously kisses her; Ginny had broken up with Dean Thomas several days before, and she and Harry begin dating.

Just before Harry and Dumbledore leave to find another Horcrux (Salazar Slytherin's locket), Harry gives the remaining Felix Felicis to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. He has suspected all year that Malfoy may be a Death Eater and has confided his suspicions to Dumbledore, who seemed unconcerned. He learns later that Dumbledore had Snape investigate Malfoy. One day, Harry learns from Professor Trelawney that it was Snape who had passed information to Voldemort about Harry's parents fifteen years before; enraged, Harry confronts Dumbledore about trusting Snape after what he had done. Dumbledore reveals that he has learned the location of one of the Horcruxes, and invites Harry to accompany him in retrieving it. Believing Malfoy and Snape are involved in something sinister, Harry asks Ron, Hermione, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny to patrol the halls while he and Dumbledore are gone. Harry then Disapparates with Dumbledore to a secret cave. Upon retrieving the Horcrux, Dumbledore is seriously weakened by a potion he drank in order to uncover the locket inside a basin.

Returning to Hogsmeade, Harry and Dumbledore see Lord Voldemort's Dark Mark hovering over Hogwarts. They borrow broomsticks from Madam Rosmerta, whom they later discover to be under the Imperius Curse. They fly to the Astronomy Tower where they are ambushed by Draco Malfoy. Dumbledore paralyses Harry, who is under his Invisibility Cloak, just before Draco disarms Dumbledore. Draco reveals that he helped the Death Eaters enter Hogwarts, although Dumbledore discerns that the obviously frightened boy was coerced into aiding Voldemort's followers. In the meantime, members of the Order of the Phoenix (including Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Professor McGonagall and Bill Weasley) battle the Death Eaters.

Death Eaters appear on the Astronomy Tower where the Dark Mark is and urge Draco to fulfill his mission—killing Dumbledore—but Draco is reluctant and apparently scared. Snape arrives; still weak from the potion, Dumbledore entreats Snape with an ambiguous plea. Snape kills Dumbledore with the Avada Kedavra killing curse. The spell's force hurls Dumbledore's body over the tower wall. Upon Dumbledore's death, Harry is freed from the paralysing spell. The Death Eaters flee, and Harry pursues Snape, who identifies himself as the Half-Blood Prince in a short-lived duel before escaping with Malfoy. Snape states how Harry doesn't have the strength to defeat him and he is weak just like his father, only enraging Harry even more, but they still escape leaving Harry angry and very upset.

Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore's body only to discover that it is a fake. Inside is a note from someone with the initials "R.A.B." who has stolen the real Horcrux and has vowed that it will be destroyed with the hope that when Voldemort meets his match he "will be mortal once more".

The school year ends abruptly with Dumbledore's funeral, which is attended by hundreds of people, including the students, teachers, and magical creatures that live in the Forbidden Forest. Professor McGonagall is appointed Hogwarts' interim headmistress, although the school may not reopen. Professor Slughorn replaces Snape as the head of Slytherin house. Regardless, Harry decides to leave Hogwarts to search for the remaining Horcruxes. Ron and Hermione vow to accompany him, while Harry ends his relationship with Ginny to protect her from Voldemort. The book concludes as Harry looks forward to Bill and Fleur's wedding and being comforted that "...there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione".

Controversies

The record-breaking publication of Half-Blood Prince was accompanied by controversy. In May 2005 bookmakers in the UK suspended bets on which main character would die in the book amid fears of insider knowledge. A number of high value bets were made on the death of Albus Dumbledore, many coming from the town of Bungay where, it was believed, the books were being printed at the time. Betting was later reopened. Other controversies included the "right to read" Potter books inadvertently sold before the release date, environmental concerns over the source of the paper used in the printing of millions of books, and fan reactions to the plot developments and revelations of the novel.

Right to read

In early July 2005, a Real Canadian Superstore (a Canadian big-box grocery chain) in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, accidentally sold fourteen copies of The Half-Blood Prince before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books before the official release date or from discussing the contents. Purchasers were offered a Harry Potter T-shirt and an autographed copy of the book if they returned their copies before July 16.

On July 15, less than twelve hours before the book went on sale in the Eastern time zone, Raincoast warned The Globe and Mail newspaper that publishing a review from a Canada-based writer at midnight, as the paper had promised, would be seen as a violation of the trade secret injunction. The injunction sparked a number of news articles alleging that the injunction had restricted fundamental rights. Canadian law professor Michael Geist posted commentary on his blog; Richard Stallman called for a boycott, requesting that the publisher issue an apology. The Globe and Mail published a review from two UK-based writers in its July 16 edition and posted the Canadian writer's review on its website at 9 AM that morning. Commentary was also provided on the Raincoast website.

In the same week, a Chicago Walgreens mistakenly sold a copy of the book. When the purchaser read about the Canadian incident on the Internet she said she would not return the book, but that she would not read the novel until the US release date.

Environmental concerns

Before and after the release of the book, the environmental organizations Greenpeace and the National Wildlife Federation urged consumers in the United States who planned to buy Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to do so from the book's Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, which published on 2% recycled, chlorine-free, ancient forest–free paper. The U.S. edition of the book, published by Scholastic Press, was printed with a percentage of recycled paper that Scholastic declined to make public. The Scholastic Hardcover edition of the book claims, on the last page, to be free of fibres from ancient forests.

Dedication

Rowling became pregnant with her third child during the writing of this book, and often joked about them racing each other into the world. For this reason, the book has this dedication:

To Mackenzie,

my beautiful daughter,

I dedicate

her ink and paper twin

Movie release date

Box Office Mojo reports that the movie based on the sixth book is scheduled to be released on November 21, 2008. Steve Kloves is expected to write the screenplay, and David Yates is set to direct.

Spoilers

The plot detail "Snape kills Dumbledore", along with a list of chapter titles, were leaked on the Usenet group alt.fan.harrypotter as early as July 14 2005 — two days before the official release date. Weeks earlier, betting patterns on the website "Blue Square" recorded an unusual surge in bets originating in a town where the book was being printed (as pointed out in the Guardian newspaper May 24 2005).

Text changes

As with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the United States version of the novel has slightly changed text from the British version. One particular section has been remarked upon, where the alteration makes the nature of Dumbledore's offer to Draco Malfoy before Snape kills Dumbledore in the Half-Blood Prince explicit. The reason for the editing of the below text has not been explained on the author's webpage, but the British edition is more ambiguous. The text can be found in chapter 27, "The Lightning-Struck Tower". The US text was changed to match the UK version with the publication of the paperback edition. The parts added in the United States version have been highlighted in bold, below:

"[…] He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice." "He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me — forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother — it is what they would do themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban […]"
(US Edition p. 591)(CND Edition p. 552) ^[HP6]

Trivia

• The first two chapters of this book mark the first time that an entire chapter has not included Harry himself in any way - They are not told from Harry's perspective, he is not present for any of the events, and he does not observe any of the events. The first chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are told from the perspectives of others, but in the first instance the infant Harry appears near the end, and in the second instance Harry observes most of the events in his dreams.

• According to a 2002 interview with J.K. Rowling [2], Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was the original working title for what was to become Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Rowling also commented that she "quite liked" this title, but it didn't fit in with the plot of the second book and so it was changed.

• The unnamed Prime Minister who features in the first chapter is most likely John Major, as the chapter takes place in the summer of 1996, at which time he was still in office.

• The character of Demelza Robins, introduced as a Gryffindor chaser in the novel, is named after Demelza House, a children's hospice in Kent, England which film star Daniel Radcliffe has championed for years.

• Snape kills Dumbledore.

• When Harry and Ron attend Slughorn's office, Slughorn mistakenly calls Ron 'Rupert'. This may be an in-joke, as the actor who portrays Ron in the Harry Potter films is Rupert Grint.

Translations

See: Harry Potter in translation

Various publishers have announced release dates for local translations of the book.

Editions

Bloomsbury (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, etc.)

• ISBN 0-7475-8108-8 Hardcover
• ISBN 0-7475-8110-X Hardcover (adult edition) (Different cover and binding, same text)

Raincoast (Canada, etc.)

• ISBN 1-55192-756-X Hardcover
• ISBN 1-55192-760-8 Hardcover (adult edition) (Different cover and binding, same text)
• ISBN 0-7475-8152-5 Hardcover (large print edition)

Scholastic (United States, etc.)

• ISBN 0-439-78454-9 US Hardcover
• ISBN 0-439-79132-4 Deluxe Edition
• ISBN 0-439-78596-0 US Paperback

External links

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki