Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Chapter Notes

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter 21: The Unknowable Room

• “‘Don’t start, Hermione,’ said Harry. ‘If it hadn’t been for the Prince, Ron wouldn’t be sitting here now.’ ‘He would if you’d just listened to Snape in our first year,’ said Hermione dismissively.” – If you look close enough there are many hints that Snape is the Half-Blood-Prince. And one of the things Rowling is particular good at is writing mystery . One of the differences to the previous books is that we are now aware of a secret identity. We never wondered about Mad-Eye Moody in book 4, because the character was new to us, so it was impossible to spot any odd behaviour for example. Now however one of the big mysteries is to reveal who the Half Blood Prince is. It would have been interesting if this book had been released chapter by chapter, if there had been a public discussion about the identity of the Prince. Instead I guess most people just binge-read the book, at least I did the first time, and I admit I did not give much thought to the Prince.

• “‘You’re going about it the wrong way,’ said Hermione. ‘Only you can get the memory, Dumbledore says. That must mean you can persuade Slughorn where other people can’t. It’s not a question of slipping him a potion, anyone could do that –’” – Hermione, of course, is right, as usual. This isn’t a question of force or skill; Dumbledore would have known enough spells or potions to forcefully get the truth out of Slughorn. But for one thing it would be an immense abuse of trust and consent and secondly Slughorn is aware of that and prepared. What Dumbledore wants Harry to use is his Emotional Intelligence (yes, he has one). He is aware of the shame Slughorn feels, knows that Slughorn wants to redeem himself, and how close he was to Lily. Slughorn is not a bad person, but he does not do something simply because it is the right thing to do or for a greater good. His reasons to help Harry in the end are very personal.

• “[…]come to think of it, I’ve never seen the Room of Requirement on there!’ ‘Maybe the Marauders never knew the Room was there,’ said Ron. ‘I think it’ll be part of the magic of the Room,’ said Hermione. ‘If you need it to be unplottable, it will be.’” – I think both are right – the room becomes unplottable if you need it to be, but also the Marauders had never found out about it, because otherwise surely Sirius or Lupin would have mentioned the room to Harry. And I kind of like the idea that Harry had found out one of the many mysteries of Hogwarts his father was not aware of.

• “‘But I don’t think you will, Harry,’ said Hermione slowly. ‘Malfoy already knew exactly how we were using the Room, didn’t he, because that stupid Marietta had blabbed. He needed the Room to become the Headquarters of the DA, so it did. But you don’t know what the Room becomes when Malfoy goes in there, so you don’t know what to ask it to transform into.’” – I wonder if Harry had wished the room to be unplottable or if he had wished that others couldn’t get in. I don’t think he did because he had still figured out the magic of the room. But it is possible that Malfoy did. He needs the room to be unplottable and he needs a room that others can infiltrate. I do think there is some kind of magic at work that makes it impossible for Harry to enter the room while Malfoy is in it or to reveal the room to him, at least the way he tries to find it. He can’t enter whenever he needs to see the room Draco uses, however he later does in fact sees the room when he hides his potions book, but at the time he is not aware that he sees the same room Draco uses. The room still works for Harry, but it does not reveal Draco’s secret.

• “I need to see the place where Malfoy keeps coming secretly … I need to see the place where Malfoy keeps coming secretly …” – First the “Boy Who Scored”, now this *shakeshead*.

• “‘Who were you expecting?’ said Ron, looking at her in the mirror. ‘Nobody,’ said Myrtle, picking moodily at a spot on her chin. ‘He said he’d come back and see me, but then you said you’d pop in and visit me, too …’ she gave Harry a reproachful look ‘… and I haven’t seen you for months and months. I’ve learned not to expect too much from boys.’” – Not to expect anything from boys is the best life lesson Myrtle could have ever learned (or in her case Life after Death lesson).

• “‘No,’ said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. ‘I mean he’s sensitive, people bully him, too, and he feels lonely and hasn’t got anybody to talk to, and he’s not afraid to show his feelings and cry!’ ‘There’s been a boy in here crying?’ said Harry curiously. ‘A young boy?’” – I neither like Harry and Ron making fun of Myrtle or the crying boy who visits her. And I find it odd that Harry assumes that the crying boy must be young, as if it somehow acceptable for young boys to cry but not boys his age. But it is also interesting what we learn about Draco here. He is bullied, despite the fact that he is a bully himself (which Myrtle is unaware of). He is lonely and has nobody to talk to, confirming something we might already suspect: Draco has no real friends. He has people like Crabbe and Goyle who fear him and do what they are told, but nothing more. He has nobody to turn to, nobody he can ask for help or confide in, making his situation even more desperate (and him therefore more dangerous).

• “‘I had a thought,’ said Harry tentatively. He felt strange about voicing it; this was much more Hermione’s territory than his. ‘You don’t think she can have been … you know … in love with Sirius?’ Hermione stared at him. ‘What on earth makes you say that?’ ‘I dunno,’ said Harry, shrugging, ‘but she was nearly crying when I mentioned his name … and her Patronus is a big four-legged thing now … I wondered whether it hadn’t become … you know … him.’” – So close and yet so wrong. Tonks is heartbroken because of a lost love, but it is not Sirius. She is worried about Lupin, so much she had even abandoned her post, to find out whether he is hurt or worse.