Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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Harry Potter books Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Author	J. K. Rowling
Illustrators	Jason Cockcroft (UK) Mary GrandPré (US)
Genre	Fantasy
Publishers	Bloomsbury (UK) Scholastic (US) Raincoast (Canada)
Released	16 July 2005
Book no.	Six
Sales	~65 million
Story timeline	1996-1997
Chapters	30
Pages	607 (UK) 652 (US)
Preceded by	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Followed by	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, released on 16 July 2005, is the penultimate of the seven novels from British author 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.

The book sold nine million copies in the first 24 hours after its release, a record at the time which was eventually broken by its sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.^[1]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Development 2.1 Prequels and sequel 2.2 Pre-release controversy 2.2.1 Right to read controversy 3 Film 4 Translations 4.1 Textual changes 5 References 6 External links

Plot

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As Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters commit crimes in both the magical and Muggle worlds, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge is replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour. Professor Snape, appearing to have rejoined the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort, is visited by Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. A terrified Narcissa tells Snape that her son Draco has received orders from Lord Voldemort, and asks Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow to protect her son, and complete the task for him should he fail. Snape agrees, and the vow is sealed.

Harry Potter accompanies Albus Dumbledore on a trip to persuade retired Hogwarts professor Horace Slughorn to return to Hogwarts to fill in the vacant spot in the teaching staff. Harry notices that one of Dumbledore's hands is withered and burnt black, and that he is wearing a ring with a distinctively-marked stone. Harry spends the remaining holiday at The Burrow with the Weasleys and Hermione, where they receive their O.W.L. results. Harry and Ron must take N.E.W.T. level Potions to become Aurors, but their O.W.L.s in the subject are too low to enrol in Snape's Potions class.

At Hogwarts, Snape is unexpectedly announced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor, with Slughorn becoming the Potions teacher. Harry and Ron’s O.W.L.s are sufficient for admittance to Slughorn’s class, which has lower standards, but neither had purchased a textbook, so Slughorn lends them old Potions textbooks. Harry's book has notes and corrections scribbled all over the pages. Harry discovers that these corrections yield better results than the textbook's instructions (winning him a vial of Felix Felicis, a potion that infuses luck, on his first day in class), and that the book is inscribed as having previously belonged to the "Half-Blood Prince".

Romantic subplots are a major theme of the novel. Ron's brother Bill Weasley is engaged to Fleur Delacour, whom his mother disapproves of. This conflict is not resolved until the end of the novel, when Fleur remains loyal to Bill even after he suffers significant facial scars in battle. Meanwhile, Auror Nymphadora Tonks is seen in low spirits throughout the year, with dialogue suggesting she may have harbored unrequited love for her now-slain cousin Sirius Black. However, it is eventually revealed that she has fallen for Remus Lupin, and remains besotted despite his protests that he is unworthy of her. They marry over the summer, as revealed in the early chapters of the next book.

Ron and Ginny both gain membership on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, which Harry now captains, as Keeper and Chaser respectively. This puts Harry in frequent contact with Ginny, who for a long time harbored an unrequited attraction to him. Now, however, she is dating Dean Thomas—unexpectedly conjuring up feelings of jealousy in Harry. This is exacerbated when Dean also gains membership on the team, replacing original member Katie Bell who was almost killed while attempting to deliver a cursed necklace under the influence of the Imperius Curse. Furthermore, Ron is displeased with the idea of his younger sister dating anybody, forcing Harry to ignore his attraction for the sake of loyalty. After a blazing row with Ginny in which Ron's dating inexperience is made clear, Ron then takes up with Lavender Brown, creating a divide between him and Hermione (whose unresolved sexual tension have been an ongoing plot thread for several years). The two stop speaking, forcing Harry to accompany them one at a time. This particular rift is only mended on 1 March 1996, Ron's 17th birthday and legal majority, when he accidentally consumes a love potion attracting him to Romilda Vane, and then poisoned mead which almost kills him.

During the school year at Hogwarts, Dumbledore privately tutors Harry, using his Pensieve to show Harry collected memories about Voldemort's past. Dumbledore asks Harry to retrieve a key memory from Slughorn that Slughorn has resisted providing, regarding Slughorn's conversation with a sixth-year Tom Riddle. After disappointing Dumbledore once by not getting the memory from Slughorn, Harry uses his vial of Felix Felicis to gain the memory.

The series of memories reveals that to attain immortality, Voldemort splintered his soul (through committing murders) into six fragments attached to objects called Horcruxes, while leaving a seventh piece in his body. As long as any of the Horcruxes exist, Voldemort cannot be killed. Two Horcruxes have been destroyed: Tom Riddle's diary by Harry in the Chamber of Secrets^[HP2], and Marvolo Gaunt's ring by Dumbledore (the ring Harry noticed on his hand earlier). The memories indicate that three other Horcruxes are most likely a locket formerly owned by Salazar Slytherin, a cup formerly owned by Helga Hufflepuff, and the snake Nagini; but the last of the six Horcruxes remains unidentified. Dumbledore speculates that it may be a possession of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, as Tom Riddle would have wanted a possession of each of the founders of Hogwarts, his first and only real home.

After seeing Harry cast an unusual curse, "Sectumsempra" (a dark curse which leaves deep gashes) against Draco Malfoy, Snape attempts to repossess the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book, but Harry gives him Ron's copy instead and hides his copy in the Room of Requirement, distinguishing his hiding spot with an old bust wearing a wig and a strange-looking tiara whose significance is not revealed until the next book. Harry gets detention from Snape and misses the Quidditch finals, but Gryffindor wins the Cup with Ron and Ginny starring in the match. During the victory celebration, Harry spontaneously kisses Ginny, and with Ron's grudging approval they begin dating.

Dumbledore locates another Horcrux and asks Harry to accompany him to destroy it. They travel to a secret cave to retrieve a locket. Harry and Dumbledore find the entrance, present a blood offering to a secret door, and row in a small boat across an Inferi-infested lake. To acquire the locket, Dumbledore must drink a mysterious potion. After drinking the potion, Dumbledore faints, and while attempting to minister to him, Harry provokes the Inferi which attack him and Dumbledore. Harry retrieves the Horcrux and guides Dumbledore to safety in Hogsmeade, but as they arrive they see the Dark Mark hovering over the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts and hurry back to the school.

Dumbledore and an invisible Harry are confronted atop the tower by Draco Malfoy, and before Harry can reveal himself, Dumbledore immobilises Harry just before Malfoy disarms him. Draco admits that he was behind the attacks on Hogwarts students (Katie Bell's cursing and Ron's poisoning), with both objects intended for Dumbledore, whom Voldemort had ordered Draco to kill. Dumbledore offers Draco asylum and protection from the Death Eaters, and Draco cannot bring himself to carry out his orders, even with the urging of fellow Death Eaters once they arrive. Instead, to fulfill his Unbreakable Vow, Snape kills Dumbledore. Harry, enraged and freed from immobility by Dumbledore's death, pursues Snape, who reveals that he is the Half-Blood Prince, and fends off Harry's attacks until he can get outside Hogwarts grounds and Disapparate.

Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore's body, only to discover it is a fake left by someone with the initials R. A. B. who had apparently stolen the real Horcrux and left a note about his opposition to Voldemort. The school year ends abruptly with Dumbledore's funeral. He and his personal wand are buried in a white tomb beside the lake on Hogwarts's grounds. The fate of the school is uncertain, but Harry vows not to return to school and to hunt for the remaining Horcruxes. Harry breaks up with Ginny to keep her safe from danger during his quest, and Ron and Hermione pledge to accompany him.

Development

Prequels and sequel

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series.^[2] The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997 with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, three hundred of which were distributed to libraries.^[3] By the end of 1997 the UK edition won a National Book Award and a gold medal in the 9 to 11 year-olds category of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.^[4] The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was originally published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999.^[5][6] Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999.^[5][6] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic.^[7] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the longest novel in the Harry Potter series, was released 21 June 2003.^[8] After the publishing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released 21 July 2007.^[9] The book sold 11 million copies within 24 hours of its release: 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US.^[10]

Pre-release controversy

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.^[11] 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 controversy

In early July 2005, a Real Canadian Superstore 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 16 July.

On 15 July, 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;^[12] Richard Stallman called for a boycott, requesting that the publisher issue an apology.^[13] The Globe and Mail published a review from two UK-based writers in its 16 July edition and posted the Canadian writer's review on its website at 9 a.m. that morning.^[14] Commentary was also provided on the Raincoast website.^[15]

Film

The film based on the sixth book was originally scheduled to be released on 21 November 2008, but was pushed back to 15 July 2009.^[16][17] The screenplay was written by Steve Kloves, and David Yates directed the film.^[18] The film is 153 minutes long, making it the third longest Harry Potter film of the series.^[19]

Translations

Along with the rest of the books in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was translated into 67 languages.^[20] A translation into Scots Gaelic is planned to be released by Bloomsbury in July 2009.^[21]

Textual 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 following 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 U.S. text was changed to match the UK version with the publication of the paperback edition.^[22] 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 [...]"

—(U.S. Edition p. 591)(CND Edition p. 552), ^[HP6]

References

External links

Wikinews has related news: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince released

The Wikibook Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter has a page on the topic of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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

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