Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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This article is about the book. For the character, see Half-Blood Prince (character).
For the film, see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film).
Harry Potter Books
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Author J.K. Rowling
Illustrator Jason Cockcroft (UK),
Mary GrandPré (US)
Genre Fiction
Publisher Bloomsbury (UK),
Scholastic (US)
Release date 16 July 2005
Number in series Six
Sales 15.6 Million (US) as of December 2006

[1]
Dedicated to "Mackenzie, my beautiful
daughter, I dedicate her
ink-and-paper twin"
Story timeline 1996-1997
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 July 16, 2005, is the sixth of seven planned 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. In 24 hours, the book sold 6.9 million copies in the United States alone, or 287,564 books per hour, making it the fastest selling book in recent 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. [2] The book is dedicated to Rowling's daughter Mackenzie, who was born in the middle of writing this book.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Plot Synopsis

Voldemort and his "Death Eaters" openly wreak chaos throughout Britain. Following public outcry over Cornelius Fudge's mishandling of the Voldemort situation, he is sacked, and is succeeded by Rufus Scrimgeour as the new Minister for Magic. As a result, Arthur Weasley receives a promotion following the set-up of several new offices. The new windfall greatly improves the family's financial situation.

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.

As school begins, Snape is announced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor. With unwitting help from Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore has persuaded retired teacher, Horace Slughorn, to resume his old Potions position.

Because Slughorn only requires a minimum "E" grade ("Exceeds Expectations") in O.W.L. exams for N.E.W.T. Potion classes, Harry and Ron are now able to sign up. Slughorn lends Harry an old textbook marked as the property of "The Half-Blood Prince." The talented former owner's handwritten notes help Harry excel in the class, gaining a reputation worthy of Hermione. As a reward, Slughorn gives him a small vial of Felix Felicis, a good luck potion.

Suspecting Malfoy may be a Death Eater, Harry confides his suspicions to Dumbledore, who appears unconcerned, as do Ron and Hermione. Later it is revealed that Dumbledore entrusted Snape to investigate.

Just when Ron and Hermione seem on the verge of a relationship, Ron begins dating Lavender Brown — although it is mostly to spite Hermione, who, Ron learned, kissed Viktor Krum. Ron and Hermione continually bicker until Ron is accidentally poisoned. Hermione is so distraught that she and Ron end their feud, and Ron soon breaks up with Lavender.

Dumbledore begins giving Harry 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 the missing portion from him. Dumbledore speculates that Voldemort split his soul into seven parts, storing six pieces in Horcruxes to grant himself immortality, while leaving the seventh in his body. Two Horcruxes have been destroyed (Tom Riddle's diary by Harry[HP2] and Marvolo Gaunt's ring by Dumbledore).

After this time, Harry and Ginny Weasley begin a relationship.

As Harry and Dumbledore leave to find another Horcrux (Salazar Slytherin's locket), Harry leaves the rest of his Felix Felicis to Ron, Hermione and Ginny, for he suspects that Draco Malfoy is up to something again. Giving them swift instructions to patrol the corridors, Harry disapparates with Dumbledore to a secret, hidden cave. Upon retrieving the Horcrux, Dumbledore is seriously weakened. Returning to the castle, they find Lord Voldemort's Dark Mark hovering over Hogwarts. They are ambushed by Draco Malfoy atop the Astronomy Tower. Dumbledore paralyzes Harry, who is hidden under his Invisibility Cloak, just before Draco disarms him. 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.

Death Eaters appear and urge Draco to fulfil his mission—killing Dumbledore—but Draco hesitates. Snape arrives; Dumbledore pleads with Snape, though it is unclear exactly what he is pleading for. Snape, at the end of the plea, kills Dumbledore with the Avada Kedavra killing curse. The force of the spell hurls Dumbledore's body over the tower wall. Upon Dumbledore's death, Harry is freed from the spell Dumbledore placed on him. 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.

Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore's body only to discover it is a fake. Inside is a note from someone with the initials "R.A.B.". The real Horcrux has been stolen and 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. Professor McGonagall is appointed Hogwarts' interim headmistress, although the school may remain closed. Regardless, Harry decides to leave Hogwarts to search for the remaining Horcruxes. Hermione and Ron vow to accompany him, while Harry ends his relationship with Ginny to protect her from Voldemort. Harry enjoys one last golden day with his friends, although there will be one additional happy occasion before the trio sets off on their mission—Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding.

[edit] Controversies

The record-breaking publication of Half-Blood Prince was accompanied by controversy both inevitable and unpredictable. 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.[3] 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.

[edit] Right to read

In early July 2005, the Real Canadian Superstore, a 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 weblog;[4] Richard Stallman called for a boycott, requesting that the publisher issue an apology.[5] 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.[6] Commentary was also provided on the Raincoast website.[7]

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.[citation needed]

[edit] Environmental concerns

Before and after the release of the book, the environmental organisations 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 [8], 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.

[edit] Other

[edit] Fan reaction

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Crowds wait outside a Borders store in Delaware for the midnight release of the book
Crowds wait outside a Borders store in Delaware for the midnight release of the book

More so than any of the previous books, fans of the series were polarised by the revelations of the sixth book. Rowling herself expected this when she stated on her website:

Book six does what I wanted it to do and even if nobody else likes it (and some won’t), I know it will remain one of my favorites of the series. Ultimately you have to please yourself before you please anyone else! [9]

A vocal segment of fans also expressed their displeasure at the lack of romance between Harry and Hermione Granger. Although the latest book was the most obvious evidence of their purely platonic relationship, Rowling claims to have made such insinuations as early as the third book pointing toward putting Hermione with Ron Weasley, even going so far as to say that there were "anvil-sized hints" in the fourth installment. Rowling had also said in earlier interviews that Harry and Hermione had a "very platonic relationship," though this didn't dissuade certain fans from believing that Rowling intended for them to be together in the end.

The identity of the Half-Blood Prince character has no apparent bearing on the main plot of the series, some critics charge, and since Harry's main concern throughout this book is to solve the mystery of this character's true identity, the driving plot of the book is not truly resolved. Also, vast tracts of the book deal with Harry passively receiving instruction from Dumbledore regarding Lord Voldemort's past, and this slows down the pace considerably. This view is in part countered in statements made by J.K. Rowling, in which she has stated that book six is very much to be regarded as the first half of a two-volume work, with book seven rounding up the story.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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, but a director has yet to be chosen. [10]

[edit] 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 published (as pointed out in the Guardian newspaper May 24) [11]. A number of direct scans from the book were also leaked, with the spoiler highlighted to attract viewers' attention. It noted that the spoilers had already appeared on Ain't it Cool News before a cease and desist letter from the book's publishers led to its removal.[citation needed] This leakage, however, enabled some people to run around release parties shouting the spoilers and was made into an Internet meme; on some parts of the internet, the phrase "Snape kills Dumbledore" has become synonymous with spoilers.

[edit] 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. The reason for the editing of the below text has not been explained on the author's webpage, but it clearly makes the nature of Dumbledore's offer to Draco in the Half-Blood Prince explicit. The British edition is more ambiguous. The text can be found in chapter 27, "The Lightning-Struck Tower". 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]

[edit] Translations

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

See: Harry Potter in translation

[edit] Editions

Bloomsbury (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, etc.)
Raincoast (Canada, etc.)
Scholastic (United States, etc.)
UK Children's Edition
  • Bloomsbury
  • Raincoast
UK Adult Edition
  • Bloomsbury
  • Raincoast
US Children's Edition
  • Scholastic
US Deluxe Edition
  • Scholastic
Danish Edition
  • Gyldendal
Dutch Edition
  • De Harmonie
French Edition
  • Gallimard
German Edition
  • Carlsen
Japanese Edition
Spanish Edition
  • Salamandra
Ukrainian Edition
  • A-Ba-Ba-Ha-La-Ma-Ha
Swedish Edition
  • Tiden

[edit] References

  1. ^  "Potter's 'Prince' Conjures Record" by E!Online
  2. ^  "Bets reopen on Dumbledore death" from the BBC
  3. ^ 
  4. ^  "The Harry Potter Injunction" by Michael Geist
  5. ^  "Don't Buy Harry Potter Books" by Richard Stallman
  6. ^  "Much Ado As Harry Potter Hits the Shelves" by The Globe and Mail
  7. ^  "Greenpeace to U.S. Potter fans: Buy Canadian" from the CBC
  8. ^  "Do You Like 'Half-Blood Prince" from J.K. Rowling's Official Site

[edit] External links

 v • d • e J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series
Philosopher's Stone book film game soundtrack
Chamber of Secrets book film game soundtrack
Prisoner of Azkaban book film game soundtrack
Goblet of Fire book film game soundtrack
Order of the Phoenix book film game
Half-Blood Prince book film
Deathly Hallows book
Other books Other games
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Quidditch Through the Ages
Characters • Places • Spells • Translations • Quidditch
Films • Fandom • Controversy • Money
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