Thoughts on HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE by J. K. Rowling

At the conclusion of Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort and his Death Eaters openly attack the Ministry of Magic. There is now no doubt that Voldemort had returned and the Wizarding world was in open war.

The Ministry of Magic finally understands . . . everything Harry and Dumbledore have been saying, regarding the return of Voldemort, is true. Harry and Dumbledore are vindicated.

In Half-Blood Prince, Harry returns to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, normalcy dominates despite the fact that war rages; beneath this surface of calm, appearances can be deceiving. Moves and counter-moves by forces for Voldemort and by those who oppose him threaten to reduce Hogwarts into a bloody battlefield. Although supernatural elements pervade Half-Blood Prince, it is the terror and horror of war that is most commonly felt and experienced

“We’ve got a problem, Snape,” said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, “the boy doesn’t seem able —”

But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly.

“Severus . . .”

The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.

Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.

Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.

“Severus . . . please . . .”

Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.

“Avada Kedavra!”

A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape’s wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry’s scream of horror never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air. For a split second, he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backward, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.

An excerpt from page 595/596

J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published in 2005 by Scholastic Press and was the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. Half-Blood Prince was also the third of the large novels and the penultimate volume of the series—only one more to go.

The Sorcerer’s Stone (Book 1), 1997. Page count 309.

The Chamber of Secrets (Book 2), 1999. Page count 341.

The Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3), 1999. Page count 435.

The Goblet of Fire (Book 4), 2000. Page count 734.

The Order of the Phoenix (Book 5), 2003. Page count 870.

The Half-Blood Prince (Book 6), 2005. Page count 652.

The Deathly Hallows (Book 7), 2007. Page count 759.

The increasing complexity of the multiple plotlines in this book makes the following chronological extract from The Harry Potter Lexicon website a highly useful aid to comprehension and to provide context to the reader.

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The Expanded World

Half-Blood Prince opens with two scenes absolutely necessary to further the storyline and explore aspects of the Potterverse we have not seen before. The first scene explored the relationship between the Minister of Magic and the muggle Prime Minister during the previous six Harry Potter books. How the Wizarding community relates to the wider world and the muggle government is very interesting and not something the reader has really seen before. Further, now that fighting has broken out, the impact of the wizard war on the muggle world is described in detail.

The second scene brings the reader into Snape’s home outside of Hogwarts. It was very interesting to see the living space of a Hogwarts’ professor outside of the school environment. His home reflects a solitary life dedicated to scholarship. And, as Snape becomes more and more a crucial character in the storyline, his back-story becomes vital and has to be explored.

Finally in Chapter 2, and as an interesting aside, is Bellatrix’s comment while visiting Snape’s home. She and her sister, Narcissa Malfoy (Draco’s mother), discuss Voldemort’s plan and Draco’s part in it. Narcissa is afraid that Draco has little chance of surviving. Bellatrix has had enough and erupts:

“You should be proud!” said Bellatrix ruthlessly. “If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord!”[i]

It is significant to note that Bellatrix states “If I had sons,” and not “If I had children.” The subtle implication here is that Bellatrix did have children, just not sons; daughters, perhaps? The quote above not only presages, but is the entire basis for the plotline for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. In this work set almost twenty years later, the daughter of Bellatrix and Voldemort, Delphini, returns to avenge her parents and torment Harry Potter and his children.

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Well, well.

The Past Instructs

The primary concept lurking behind this section is concerned with the power that Voldemort knows not. Voldemort cannot comprehend love and just how powerful a force it can be. Furthermore, Voldemort’s arrogance leads to his inability to even conceive of his followers betraying him.

Snape’s depth as a character is further explored and even enhanced. Snape’s love for Lily and Voldemort’s role in her death leads to Snape’s becoming Dumbledore’s man. Until the very end of the series, the reader is unsure whether Snape is repentant or not. Is Snape really Dumbledore’s man or as Draco mockingly states: is Dumbledore just a stupid old man who is losing his grip?

In Half-Blood Prince, the readers are introduced to Professor Slughorn, the new potions master. Dumbledore uses him and his hire as a means to enhance understanding of the past. Slughorn’s unique knowledge concerning the historic past is what makes him (in particular his knowledge) vital to the plotline. Only much later is the true reason for his hire revealed.

A major plot driving force throughout Half-Blood Prince is Dumbledore’s reliance upon the magic of the pensieve. It reveals to Harry Voldemort’s origins and background as Tom Riddle. In addition, the pensieve is used to explore the role of the horcrux as an obscene tool of evil. Riddle’s origins, as seen via the pensieve, bear more than a passing resemblance to Harry’s background and origins. The reader is meant to draw parallels between Harry and Riddle/Voldemort. This leads to the philosophical question of whether evil is born or made. Is it nature or nurture?

By the conclusion of Chapter 17, it is strongly suggested that having an understanding of the past goes a long way to making the present very clear. And, this can be used as a powerful weapon to fight evil. Finally (and as a little historic side-note that is alluded to in the special memory provided by Slughorn), Dumbledore and Harry witness Riddle’s and Slughorn’s discussion concerning horcruxes and the magic number. Though never explicitly mentioned in the text, it is highly probable that if Dumbledore had concealed and restricted access to the knowledge of horcruxes, the logical corollary to this is that he knew enough of them to be wary. How did Dumbledore come across such dark knowledge? The implications of this are unsettling.

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Hormones are A-Ragin’ — (formerly Hormonal Challenges)

While there were a few hints in the previous novels, it is really in Goblet of Fire that young love makes it first awkward and most disruptive appearance. By the time of Half-Blood Prince, our trio’s love-life has become ferociously complicated.

Leading the chaos is amortentia. At the first day of Slughorn’s potions class, the trio is exposed to the amortentia love potion, which should smell differently depending on what attracts the inhaler. Though little is know of Ron’s olfactory experience, Hermione states:

“and it’s supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and —”

But she turned slightly pink and did not complete the sentence.[ii]

Nor would she ever complete that sentence. However, in a 2007 Bloomsbury Live Chat shortly after the Release of Deathly Hallows, Rowling was asked about that incomplete sentence. Rowling confirmed that it was Ron. She replied: “I think it was his hair. Every individual has very distinctive-smelling hair, don’t you find?”[iii]

Ron and Hermione find themselves caught in a cycle of unreasonable animosity, with no end in sight. Sending each other mixed signals, they hurt each other over and over. Ron’s . . . involvement with Lavendar and Hermione’s harsh words, innuendo and “date” with the foul McCluggen, leave the reader questioning how, or perhaps even if, they will find their way back to each other.

Only with a Deus—ex—machina event is that cycle broken. Thus Ron and Hermione are provided the opportunity to re-discover what they had lost. After all, with a little “luck,” anything is possible.

Now turning to Harry, when he first inhales amortentia, Harry, as usual, is clueless:

. . . a gold-colored cauldron that was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: Somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle, and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow.[iv]

Treacle Tart is Harry’s favorite dessert. The smell of broomstick handle is obvious for a quidditch player. But a flowery scent that he smelled at the Burrow? A few pages later, Harry gets his answer. Though naturally he doesn’t recognize it:

. . . he caught a sudden waft of that flowery smell he had picked up in Slughorn’s dungeon. He looked around and saw that Ginny had joined them.[v]

Harry, almost as clueless as Ron but much more oblivious, is torn between his growing attraction and feelings for Ginny and his worry over how this would impact his friendship with Ron. Ron has made very clear how he regards anyone who tries to get together with his little sister.

Harry and Ginny eventually find happiness for a short time before fear compels Harry to push her away for her own good. Tellingly, immediately following Dumbledore’s death, ignoring Hagrid’s urging for Harry to leave Dumbledore’s body, Harry will not. It is only the gentle touch and soft words of Ginny who is able to reach Harry through his grief over Dumbledore’s killing.

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Resentment & Anger Issues

Carrying on from a previous post is the theme of resentment and anger Harry feels towards others; mainly Dumbledore and Snape. Harry voices his suspicions concerning Snape to others. No one takes his concerns seriously, even dismissing them. And to make matters worse, Harry is actually correct; as later events will reveal.

Harry’s animosity and suspicion toward Snape, combined with the fact that no one takes his concerns seriously, leads him to behave like a true 16-year-old shit:

“Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?”

“Yes,” said Harry stiffly.

“Yes, sir.”

“There’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor.”

The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying. Several people gasped, including Hermione. Behind Snape, however, Ron, Dean, and Seamus grinned appreciatively.[vi]

When I first read this, I actually laughed out loud.

Later, still fixated on Snape, Harry reiterates to Lupin his strong resolve that Snape, and to a lesser extent Draco Malfoy, is plotting something evil. Lupin cuts through Harry’s attitude to the real crux of his problem. From the book, Lupin says:

“You are determined to hate him, Harry,” said Lupin with a faint smile. “And I understand; with James as your father, with Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice. . .”[vii]

Discovering that it was Snape who overheard the prophecy in part and thus leading directly to the death of his parents, Harry rages against Dumbledore. Especially Dumbledore’s efforts to reconcile Harry to the idea that Snape can be trusted. At the novel’s conclusion, when Snape kills Dumbledore, Harry’s worst fears were made real.

§

Once again I also listened to the unabridged audiobook narration of Harry Potter

and the Half-Blood Prince. This narration was once again superbly voiced by Jim Dale. And, once again, this greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the novel.

§

In the opening paragraphs to this essay, I touched upon that nature of horror seen and experienced by the reader in these novels is not of the supernatural variety. After all, the entire wizarding world is supernatural. However, what is experienced by the characters and, by extension, felt by the reader is the anxiety and apprehension of war. War is a kind of horror unto itself.

Keep in mind, the trio are only 16 years old! For them, they may intellectually understand that they could die in pursuit of some goal. This is far different from the real stink of war. Among many other things, war is:

•the death of goodness and innocence.

•those willing to die for a cause they believe in.

•treachery of the presumably loyal.

•blood and the callous disregard for its spilling.

§

In my previous Harry Potter post covering Order of the Phoenix, I wrote that it was “the last bit of normalcy before the upheaval of war really hits.” It turns out this was not entirely true on the surface. Unfortunately, by the conclusion of Half-Blood Prince, there is no more doubt that war has come. The trio will spend, what should have been their final year at Hogwarts, instead, running for their lives.

Good Evening.

References

Print Resources

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic Press, 2005. Print

Digital Resources

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Narrated by Jim Dale, Listening Library (Audio). 2005. Audiobook. CD.

Online Resources

“Audio Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Publishersweekly.com. PWxyz, LLC.Web. 06 November 2018. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-307-28365-8

Contributors. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Harry Potter Wiki. FANDOM Books Community. 26 September 2018. Web. 02 November 2018. http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince

Haber, David. “The power The Dark Lord knows not.” Beyond Hogwarts. Beyond Hogwarts.com.18 March 2007. Web. 16 September 2018. https://www.beyondhogwarts.com/harry-potter/articles/the-power-the-dark-lord-knows-not.html

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” The Harry Potter Lexicon. Wordpress.com. Web. 02 November 2018. https://www.hp-lexicon.org/source/the-harry-potter-novels/hbp/

“Interviews – Bloomsbury Live Chat.” The Harry Potter Lexicon. Wordpress.com. Web. 30 October 2018. https://www.hp-lexicon.org/source/interviews/blc/

“Jim Dale Talks Recording Half-Blood Prince Audiobook.” The-Leaky-Cauldron.org. The Leaky Cauldron. 23 July 2015. Web. 05 November 2018. http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2005/06/23/jim-dale-talks-recording-em-half-blood-prince-em-audiobook/

Wikipedia contributors. " Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 October 2018. Web. 30 October 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince

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[i] Page 35.

[ii] Page 185.

[iii] Lexicon

[iv] Page 183.

[v] Page 192.

[vi] Page 180.

[vii] Page 333.