Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince [R]

[HibaIssa]

Discuss 😁

[Neil]

It was awesome.

I have to say that I kind of miss the lightheatedness of the original couple books as Harry learned new things and was in awe by everything he saw, but I like where the story is going, and it's going to suck when the books are finally done and gone.

Learning all the background info on Riddle was cool as well. I thought the book was a little slow in some places, while still enjoyable, but things picked up the pace big time once Harry leaves with Dumbledore.

[soccerman]

OK now it was a good book, but Snape?
Why didn't he just kill Dumbledore in the first book and save the trouble?
She better not be planning a Gandolf-like reapperance for Dumbledore because that would just be stupid.
In any case book 7 is going to have A LOT happen and I hope she can pull it off.

[SoccerPrime]

Ok I finally finished it yesterday.
I have to agree with Soccerman, why Snape?
I understand and appreciate the HBP being Snape, but why would Dumbledore trust him for so long to just have Snape turn on him in his hour of need? The whole series no one but Dumbledore trusted Snape to begin with. Personally if Snape really is bad and Dumbledore is really dead, it weakens the story immensely. It makes ole Albus look like a fool.

BTW Who was R. A. B.?

[Jim Umber]

I would guess we'll find out who R.A.B. in the next book.

I think Dumbledor's death was necessary because the last book has to be about Harry and Voldemorte, not Dumbledor with Harry as a side-kick. And I think Dumbledor had to be killed by someone he trusted, or he'd have been more prepared, even in his condition. And the only one he trusted that could be evil enough to do it, was Snape.

The thing that gets to me, is how can Harry possibly get strong enough and knowlegable enough to defeat Voldemort, with the school closed and Dumbledor dead? He can't even defeat Snape, he can't even get Snape worried. Snape was still making snide remarks as he easily countered everything that Harry threw at him. Harry is still a kid, up against grown-ups, with all the gulf of ability that that implies. And Harry's supposed to defeat Voldemort. All I can say is there must be a lot of things going on in the next book. I get the impression that this one was mostly a setup for the last one.

I also get the impression that there is still more to Snape than meets the eye. Which brings us to the fact of Dumbledor's death. Dumbledor trusted Snape, and yet Snape made the Unbreakable Vow. He killed Dumbledor, and yet he toyed with Harry when he could easily have done for him, as well. Snape is a major key in this story, and we haven't been given all the facts. Dumbledor was not an idiot. He might give a person a second chance, but he wouldn't trust his life to someone like Snape without adequate proof. I wouldn't be too surprised to find that there was some kind of setup there, even including a return of Dumbledor. If Dumbledor had some way of defeating the Avada Kedavra, then it could have been a setup, to make it look like Snape was truly committed to Voldemort. I can't see how it can realistically be done, but from Snapes actions, I am actually expecting just that.

HOW LONG do we have to wait to see the final installment? I don't think I can stand it.

[SoccerPrime]

Good analysis Jim. I concur on all counts and of course, your explanations are the only ones that make sense. Snape is essential to the story. That much is certain.
I assume that the Last book will focus on Harry hunting down the 4 remaining peices of Voldemorte's soul and confronting Lord Riddle.
I also think it will probably come out in the summer of 2007. But thats just a guess.
Anyone think Rowling will do more after that?

PS wasn't the Unbreakable Vow only to save Draco Malfoy's life? It had nothing to do with killing Dumbledore, did it?

[montgjules]

Helloooo! Snape isn't evil. Isn't that obvious? Killing Dumbledore was planned ahead of time. Dumbledore knew about it. Snape didn't want to do it. Hence Dumbledore pleading with him, "Severus... Please Severus..." It was part of Dumbledore's plan to overthrow Voldemort. Dumbledore couldn't help Harry from the inside. Only somebody trusted could. Book seven will finish with Snape dying to help Harry kill Voldemort.

Snape could have killed Harry but didn't. Snape could have done a lot of nasty things to him or kidnapped him or whatnot. He is a powerful enough wizard but he leaves Harry alone. AND more importantly, he makes sure the other evil people leave Harry alone too. Pay attention and you'll see that he's carefully saving Harry. Seriously, this is so obvious I can't believe nobody else has mentioned it!! I think everybody in my family agrees on these points. It's taken for granted.

Moving on to the controversial stuff: Is Dumbledore really dead? Well, yes. So was Voldemort, though. If Voldemort could be that dead and come back, it is NOT a stretch to say Dumbledore will come back. My idea is that there's some not-evil version of a Horcrux and Dumbledore has hidden his soul away safely somewhere. Probably the "Ha ha you suck, Voldemort - XOXOXO RAB" thing. Down sides to this theory: Dumbledore stated that there are worse things that death and one shouldn't be afraid of it. He said that to tear your soul apart is kind of worse than death. So maybe we're supposed to get the hint that Dumbledore is expecting death, isn't afraid of it, and is reassuring Harry (and us, the readers) that it's okay.

R.A.B. = Regulus Black. Sirius' brother who went to the dark side. In book five, it says that Voldemort killed or had him killed because he didn't want to carry through when he saw how evil Voldemort was. If that's the case, he either went on his Horcrux-destroying (Ha ha Voldemort...) rampage before they found him out or, more likely, he wasn't really killed and is still alive. Hence a father figure entering Harry's life again at the end of book seven.

Seriously, people... time to think outside the box here. 😉 😉

(I'm trying to get you a little riled up so we can have some good discussion on this book!)

[montgjules]

In regard to SP's post via the Unbreakable Vow:

1. Draco was given the mission to kill Dumbledore.
2. Snape knew about it ahead of time.
3. Snape told Dumbledore about the plans. The two of them together decided that Snape was more essential to overthrowing Voldemort than Dumbledore was. Dumbledore gave Snape orders that he was not to interfere or stop this from happening.
4. Snape was confronted by Draco's mother and aunt?? about his loyalty to Voldemort. In order to prove his loyalty, he was forced to make the unbreakable vow to help Draco fulfill his mission, including finishing it for him if necessary. This was necessary to keep on Voldemort's side, which is essential to Harry finishing him off.

[SoccerPrime]

Wow, did we just get scolded about HP? Did the kids have up all night Jules?
:D
Good points. All possible. Of course all the Snape ideas are contigent on Dumbledore not being dead (just can't imagine Rowling killing him really).

I like the Regulus idea, but I thought Regulus was killed (or according to Jules, maybe killed) because he chickened out not because he thought the Dark Lord was too evil.

I do miss Sirius. I was hoping that Lupin might make more of a presense now that Black is gone. At least WereMage got hooked up with Tonks at the end of HBP.

How about WereBill Weasley and Fleur? That was pretty funny when Fleur was talking about Rare Steaks and the Brits. Good stuff!

[SoccerPrime]

Originally Posted by montgjules

In regard to SP's post via the Unbreakable Vow:

1. Draco was given the mission to kill Dumbledore.

Yes but was the Unbreakable Vow that Snape made to protect Draco or to make sure Draco was successful?