Hi ForeverBookers,
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all had a great Christmas too. I know I did!
In December, I have a lot of celebrations to go to. Christmas and a few birthdays, including my own so that’s why you don’t hear much from me in December, generally. Anyway, yesterday I finished the book I was reading throughout December, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! It was good, although I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the previous books in the series. I thought it moved at a lot slower pace, which is maybe why it dragged for me. Also, because I was so busy, that may have been why it took me so long to read it.
I read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for a couple of readathons. They were:
I part read it for two Reading Rivalries on facebook! I read up to page 290 in December and after that in January!
For the Cardcaptor-a-thon, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince counts for The Fiery - Read a book with a controlling character - Snape certainly fits this role! He wants everything to go his way. Does it? You’ll have to read to find out...
Spoilers Below...
I honestly can’t really remember the first part of the Half Blood Prince. All I can remember from the first few chapters is Snape being asked by Narcissa Malfoy (Draco Malfoy’s mother) to make a Blood Oath with Draco, so that he won’t die, and that Snape will die instead, in Draco’s place if you like. Does he fulfil this wish? You’ll have to read to find out!
After that the book becomes a little easier to remember. Dumbledore arrives at No. 4 Privet Drive to take Harry to go and see one of his friends, and the new potions teacher, Horace Slughorn. Snape will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry’s sixth year as a Hogwarts student. That’s why Dumbledore needs a replacement potions teacher.
“You shouldn’t have favourites as a teacher, of course, but she was one of mine. Your mother,” Slughorn added, in answer to Harry’s questioning look. “Lily Evans. One of the brightest I ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl. I used to tell her she ought to have been in my house. Very cheeky answers I used to get back, too.”
“Which was your house?”
“I was Head of Slytherin,” said Slughorn,”
is how Slughorn introduces himself to Harry. Harry thinks he’ll get along better with Slughorn than he ever did with Snape, the current head of Slytherin. Another reason why Harry likes Slughorn is that he liked Lily Evans, Harry’s mother. Harry doesn’t think Slughorn will treat him any differently to anyone else, like Snape does. Slughorn invites certain Hogwarts students to parties that he has. I don’t really see what the point of this was, other than to perhaps be something that Malfoy wanted to be a part of but wasn’t at first. Harry and Ginny were invited, along with other characters.
Harry is informed that Dumbledore wants him to take private lessons with him this year. Dumbledore considers Harry special. “Just in case, you understand me?” is what Dumbledore says to Harry about keeping his Invisibility Cloak around at all times. Professor Dumbledore wants to make sure that Harry is protected. He knows that Harry is special.
“Were the muggles alright? Did they treat you OK?”
“Same as usual,” said Harry, as Hermione perched herself on the edge of his bed.”
This is Hermione showing that she cares about Harry’s wellbeing. She’s at the Burrow, the Weasley family home waiting to go back to Hogwarts with Ron and Harry. Ginny is there too, of course, who informs Harry of Fleur Delacour and her and Ron’s older brother Bill’s engagement. Molly Weasley thinks her son is rushing into marrying Fleur.
“Mum hates her,” said Ginny quietly.
“I do not hate her!” said Mrs Weasley in a cross whisper. “I just think they’ve hurried into this engagement, that’s all!”
Ginny doesn’t like Fleur at all. She’d much rather have Tonks as a sister in law. Ginny thinks she’s a laugh.
A part that I really enjoyed of “The Half Blood Prince” was when Harry, Ron and Hermione received their O.W.L.S results. I thought Hermione’s “Oh no!” remark was funny. She really thinks she’s failed when she hasn’t at all. Harry and Ron barely pass, but they do manage to get through. Harry’s dreams of becoming an Auror are shattered when he fails to get the right grade in potions, however. He wanted to become an Auror to defeat Lord Voldemort. With Horace Slughorn teaching potions instead of Snape, will Harry’s grades in potions improve?
In Diagon Alley, the trio visit Fred and George’s wizard joke shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. “You don’t pay here,” said Fred firmly, waving away Harry’s gold.” Fred informs Harry he isn’t to buy anything in their shop, but take it because he gave them the money to start their enterprise with his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament in book 4, “The Goblet of Fire.”
“Not a word to anyone, Borgin, and that includes my mother, understand?”
“Naturally, naturally,” murmured Borgin, bowing again.
Next moment, the bell over the door tinkled loudly as Malfoy stalked out of the shop looking very pleased with himself.”
This is the first time we see Malfoy in “The Half Blood Prince.” He’s clearly plotting something. We’re never sure what, though, in this novel. I can’t wait to find out what in the last novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” I enjoyed seeing Mafoy’s parts as they were some of the parts where the actual plot developed. Lots of the Half Blood Prince is told through flashbacks to Voldemort’s childhood, which is what Dumbledore and Harry are researching in in their private lessons. I thought these parts would be boring when I started reading them. However, it turns out that they’re actually the underpinning of this novel. It’s important to understand what Voldemort feels to understand this novel. We never actually see Voldemort in “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” in real time, just through the flashbacks.
At Hogwarts, Harry didn’t know he’d be taking potions again, as he dropped it because he didn’t think he was good enough. When he finds out that Slughorn is teaching the class, he needs a Potions text book so Slughorn finds him one from the classroom that he can borrow for now, until his new copy arrives. The same thing happens with Ron. Harry’s copy is special, however. It has secret text written in it. No one, not that Harry spreads around he has a special book, but nobody knows who wrote this secret text, although I guessed pretty early on and I was right! I won’t spoil it, but it’s a good reveal! This book paves the way in “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” as it’s the main mystery in the book. Who wrote in the book and who was the Half Blood Prince?
“How old is this book, Harry?”
“I dunno, I’ve never checked.”
“Well, perhaps that’ll give you some clue as to when the Prince was at Hogwarts,” said Lupin.”
This happens at Christmas when Harry, Ron and Hermione are back at the Burrow. Lupin is discussing the book with Harry. The age of the book doesn’t give Harry a clue, though, as it’s only right at the end that he discovers who’s book it was.
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good ... or that Malfoy is anyway.”
At once, the Marauder’s Map appeared in the parchment’s surface. Here was a detailed plan of every one of the castle’s floors and, moving around it, the tiny, labelled black dots that signified each of the castle’s occupants.
“Help me find Malfoy,” said Harry urgently.”
When Harry wants to find someone in the castle he can generally call up the Marauder’s Map and pinpoint them. However, when Malfoy can’t be seen, Harry wonders where he could be. It’s later revealed that Malfoy is in the Room of Requirement, a secret, untraceable room at Hogwarts. Why, though? You’ll have to read to find out! I also thought that the way this was written was funny. Harry wasn’t up to no good. It was Malfoy!
Harry is still Gryffindor Quidditch captain. He takes this role seriously but not as seriously as finding out just what Malfoy is doing. This is seen in, “If he could catch it good and early, there might be a chance he could get back up the castle, seize the Maurader’s Map and find out what Malfoy was doing ...” He needs to hurry up, and get finish the game to find out what Malfoy is up to...does he? You’ll have to read to find out!
“Kreacher will not insult Harry Potter in front of Dobby, no he won’t or Dobby will shut Kreacher’s mouth for him!” cried Dobby in a high-pitched voice.” Dobby is still the ever trusting, cute house elf from the second book, while and Kreacher is the dodgy house elf Harry found himself the master of after Sirius died. They both play their part for good though when Harry asks them to spy on Malfoy. Do they succeed? And what do they find out if anything at all? You’ll need to read to find out!
“Master thinks of everything and Kreacher must obey him even though Kreacher would much rather be the servant of the Malfoy boy, oh yes ...” is basically what Kreacher thinks of Harry. When he considers Malfoy as someone he’d “much rather be the servant of,” we know he’s had a tough life! I did feel a little pity for Kreacher, though not much, I assure you!
“Did he still want the Defence Against the Dark Arts job, sir? He didn’t say ...”
“Oh, he definitely wanted the Defence Against the Dark Arts job,” said Dumbledore. “The aftermath of our little meeting proved that. You see, we have never been able to keep a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for longer than a year since I refused the post to Lord Voldemort.” This is significant because the Defence Against the Dark Arts job has had a curse over it, ever since it was offered to Tom Riddle, who later became known as Lord Voldemort. Now Snape has the job...what will become of him?
There are a few cute moments within this sixth book in the Harry Potter franchise. As the children get older they start developing feelings for each other. “I love you, Hermione,” said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.
Hermione turned faintly pink, but merely said, “Don’t let Lavender hear you saying that.”
“I won’t,” said Ron into his hands. “Or maybe I will ... then she’ll ditch me ...” This happens between Ron and Hermione. There are other scenes between Ron and Lavender (a girl I hated) and Harry and Ginny too. Also, Tonks is revealed to have feelings for a character in this book as well as previous books. Who? You’ll have to read to find out!
My favourite character in the Harry Potter franchise is Severus Snape. He’s a very layered, multi dimensional character, with lots of secrets. The way he treats Harry though, especially in the Half Blood Prince is despicable!
“Oh, very good,” interrupted Snape, his lip curling. “Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. Ghosts are transparent.” Snape makes fun of Harry in front of the whole class, much to Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin’s delight!
“I know what you’re up to! You want to steal my glory!”
There was another pause, then Snape said coldly, “You are speaking like a child. I quite understand that your father’s capture and imprisonment has upset you, but —” Snape is trying to reason with Malfoy. He doesn’t want to see Malfoy end up like him, at the bottom of the pile, I believe. He wants Malfoy to succeed where he failed!
The last part of the novel I’ll just quickly sum up because I don’t want to spoil anything and this review is already quite long. Dumbledore takes Harry with him to find one of the Horcruxes, something it’s revealed in this book, Voldemort used to prolong his life. Is it a trick or real? Will it endanger Harry and Dumbledore? Will they both survive the last chapters of the book? You’ll need to read to find out!
Overall then, I liked Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince but there was something missing for me. Only a little something, but I don’t feel it was as strong as its predecessors. I’ll still one hundred percent read it again, in a couple of years or whenever I reread the series but it’s not my favourite. I think I like it best when Harry, Ron and Hermione have their lessons. I find those entertaining to read about, and there wasn’t much of that in this book. That’s why I’m giving Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 4.5 stars, which is still a good rating!
I think I’ll possibly pick up either a manga, which I won’t review here I don’t think or the sequel to my favourite book EVER, that I reread last year!
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