Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Chapter Notes

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 18: Birthday Surprises

• “‘It’s a shame that the Prince won’t be able to help you much with this, Harry,’ she said brightly as she straightened up. ‘You have to understand the principles involved this time. No short cuts or cheats!’ […]Harry pulled out his trusty copy of Advanced Potion-Making and turned to the chapter on Antidotes. There was Golpalott’s Third Law, stated word for word as Hermione had recited it, but not a single illuminating note in the Prince’s hand to explain what it meant. Apparently the Prince, like Hermione, had had no difficulty understanding it.” – I mean the very reason why Snape improved so many potion recipes (and then never shared them with his own students) is because he understood the principles of potion making. There is more to it than simply following instructions, Slughorn even calls it “an almost alchemical process”, something that Hermione just like Snape understands.

• “‘Sir,’ said Harry, reminding himself irresistibly of Voldemort, ‘I wanted to ask you something.’ ‘Ask away, then, my dear boy, ask away …’ ‘Sir, I wondered what you know about … about Horcruxes?’ Slughorn froze. His round face seemed to sink in upon itself.” – Even Harry himself realizes how eerily similar the situation is to young Tom Riddle asking Slughorn the very same question. But it must be haunting for Slughorn, who is so deeply ashamed of what he did, getting asked the same question again, by the very boy who defeated Voldemort, and who reminds Slughorn so much of Lily, for whose death he feels partly responsible. And as Tom Riddle once noted in the Chamber of Secrets Harry even looks a bit like him. The past is coming after Slughorn; you can’t escape your ghosts.

• “They were temporarily detained by Peeves, who had jammed a door on the fourth floor shut and was refusing to let anyone pass until they set fire to their own pants, but Harry and Ron simply turned back and took one of their trusted short cuts. Within five minutes, they were climbing through the portrait hole. […]He broke off as Neville entered the dormitory, bringing with him a strong smell of singed material, and began rummaging in his trunk for a fresh pair of pants.” – There are several pages between those two sentences; I love Rowling’s attention to details.

• It is a totally Harry move that while he suspects that Draco is up to something it takes him 6 months to realize he can use the Marauder’s Map to properly stalk Draco. Coming to think about it the map is a tool of total surveillance and a massive invasion in one’s privacy (but hey since when seemed anyone bothered by those things in the Wizarding World?).

• “As for the fact that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle appeared to be going their different ways when they were usually inseparable, these things happened as people got older – Ron and Hermione, Harry reflected sadly, were living proof.” – That makes it sound like a tragic love triangle between Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle… better not to think about it.

• “Frustration was running high and there was a certain amount of ill-feeling towards Wilkie Twycross and his three Ds, which had inspired a number of nicknames for him, the politest of which were Dog-breath and Dung-head.” – Yeah, I can think of a few names teenagers would have used on him starting with ‘D’.

• “‘Was this potion within date?’ asked Slughorn, now eyeing Ron with professional interest. ‘They can strengthen, you know, the longer they’re kept.’” – Ron’s behaviour after he had accidently drunk the love potion might be meant to be funny, but it really isn’t. He gets aggressive towards Harry and acts clearly obsessed. It is possible that within date the effect of the love potion wouldn’t be quite that intense, but that shows just how dangerous it can be. The longer you keep them the stronger they become; something even Fred and George might not have foreseen. Those potions can be legally purchased at a joke’s shop, therefore they are presented as a joke device, and yet they can cause quite dangerous consequences. (The potion Ron drank had been lying around for roughly three months, so one can only imagine its effects after 6 months, a year, or even longer than that)

• And then we have Slughorn, a teacher, handing out alcohol to his students. Sure Ron is off by age now, but they are still at school and it is early in the morning. It is never mentioned which day it is, by according to my research March first 1997 was a Saturday, so at least they didn’t have any classes. Still, Slughorn acts a bit too casual when it comes to alcohol, and seems to forget that most of his students are still minors.

• “‘There you are, then,’ said Slughorn, handing Harry and Ron a glass of mead each, before raising his own. ‘Well, a very happy birthday, Ralph –’ ‘– Ron –’ whispered Harry.” – I always thought that teachers who can’t remember their student’s name act very disrespectful. Yes, there are many students at Hogwarts, but in the case of Slughorn this is also a very clear sign of his favouritism.

• “‘Professor!’ Harry bellowed. ‘Do something!’ But Slughorn seemed paralysed by shock. Ron twitched and choked: his skin was turning blue. ‘What – but –’ spluttered Slughorn.” – I don’t think we should judge Slughorn too hard for him being too shocked to help; people react very different to emergencies and crisis. Harry on the other hand is used to react fast and immediate, he is always on alert, he has to be in order to survive and to help others. Which will make him a great Auror one day.