Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (SPOILER THREAD)

[Taryn]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 4:54pm

Okay, I'm finished. I HATE being right. I've known in my gut for a long time that Dumbledore had to die in this book. It just had to happen for Harry to come into his own--and, from the ending of the book, it's clear that's what he's going to do. The NY Times put it well when the review talked of Harry being much more Henry V than Hal, much more King Arthur than Wart. He has gone past the angst of book five, thank God. He is becoming a man.

God, what a load of dating! And I loved it, too. It made me all warm and fuzzy inside. It rather kills things for the poor H/Hr shippers, unless they want to hold out for book seven. But I've always thought R/Hr has been incredibly clear for a while now. I thoroughly enjoyed the H/G we got in this book, although I'm still unsure what will happen with them come book seven. Tonks/Lupin I was ECSTATIC about; the excellent fanfiction "Blood on the Moon" had converted me to the ship a couple of years ago.

I was absolutely fascinated and, dare I say, IMPRESSED with the memories of Tom Riddle. He truly is a brilliant, terrible, POWERFUL man. Out of all of the memories, I think the most unsettling was when Dumbledore visited him at the orphanage as a boy. Even at 11, his future power was clear. Very interesting.

I KNOW there has to be more coming with Snape. I just know we're going to have to see more of his history and motivations before this is all over. I will say that, while I KNEW Dumbledore was going to die, I never expected Snape to be the one to kill him.

I just finished, so everything's a bit jumbled in my head. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts as I calm down.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:02pm

I always knew Harry'd go for Ron's sis. They've been hinting ( @ least in the films) WHO WILL BE THE NEXT TO DIE!? MWAHHHA HAH>>>

[Parks]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:13pm

Harry gon die.

I haven't read any of the books. Go me.

[billygoatgirl300]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:34pm

I haven't read book yet. I thought Dumbledore was the one who would die. So Ron and Hermione finnaly get togerther in this one? It's about time. I was wondering if this is longer than book 5? since it seems the books are getting longer and longer.

[iRuvPrinceton]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:42pm

My inner Ron/Hermione fangirl is having a blast right now.
But I guess I'll have to put away my Luna/Harry fangirl for now, since Harry is clearly with Ginny.

But, lord, what a load of snogging in this one!

Anyway. Wow. Riddle's memories. How he wanted power and to be above the rest...

And Snape! The Half-Blood Prince! I never guessed! I thought it would be Neville or Peter Pettigrew.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:49pm

My inner Ron/Hermione fangirl is having a blast right now.
But I guess I'll have to put away my Luna/Harry fangirl for now, since Harry is clearly with Ginny.

But, lord, what a load of snogging in this one!

Anyway. Wow. Riddle's memories. How he wanted power and to be above the rest...

And Snape! The Half-Blood Prince! I never guessed! I thought it would be Neville or Peter Pettigrew.



AMEN to all of that.

[iRuvPrinceton]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:52pm

Sally- hee hee, thanks!

By the by, please note my avatar- me dressed up as Pansy Parkinson when I volunteered for my library's book release party.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 5:59pm

HA! I love it!

[LoudIrishGirl]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 6:08pm

Part-way through the book I started to suspect Snape as being the Half-Blood Prince, as he was so good at Potions and had that nasty streak to him (plus he was such a focus of the book...even though he wasn't too heavily mentioned, he always was at the back of my head through the read...always just out of focus, so he had to play some larger part in the end).

I wonder if Snape loved Lily or something. I dunno, but if that moment (when Voldemort killed the Potters) was what turned him back to 'good' (if he ever was, which I have to believe Dumbledore on at some level) then there had to be some stronger tie to the Potters. Or something else.

But I loved the book and I was definitly crying my ass off for about 30 min after I finished it (at which point I promptly fell asleep). Can't wait for the next one! (in like 3 years)

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 6:09pm

Awww part of me hopes that Snape was in love with Lily.....

[Mythus]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 6:29pm

I cried a lot. Phew. Two things I never thought would've happened - Dumbledore showing fear and Dumbledore dying. It was a shock, to say the least. And when Myrtle mentioned someone in the bathroom crying, right away I knew it was Draco. I feel bad for him.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 6:49pm

the death of Dumbledore was easiest to predict....In Hollywood, Richard Harris (may he rest in peace) was only signed for 6 of the 7 movies....go figure

[Therese]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 7:04pm

Lupin + Tonks!!! Yes Yes Yes! I haven't read fanfic on this, I just came out of OotP a couple of years ago convinced that they would make such a great couple! Woohoo! I hope we get more of them in Book 7.

My first thought, early in the book, was that Snape would be the casualty, after Narcissa made him take the Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. We always knew that Dumbledore was most likely a goner by either the climax of Book 6 or early in Book 7, though, and the farther it went, the more likely it seemed for this one. I really really didn't expect Snape to turn out evil, though. She has really set up a lot of pins to knock down in Book 7: Who has the real locket, what/where are the other Horcruxes, then Harry vs. Snape (and presumably Draco, although we may see him switch sides - and yes, I guessed, too, that Draco was the one Myrtle had been talking to), then Harry vs. Voldy, and I still think we've got to have a Remus vs. Peter showdown before this is all done. It seems like we're going to lose touch with an awful lot of characters, though, if there's no Hogwarts in the last book - but we'll have to wait and see about that, I suppose.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 7:21pm

I think that Harry is one of those Cruci thingys & he hasta die to free the world forever of the menace that is Lord V. ( Can u say Christ figure? Ha take that POPE!)

[nztheatreluva]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 8:11pm

Awww, this was so sad I cried so much! I want Dumbledore back!

But yay for the Ron/Hermione thing even though they never properly got together, we all know it's gonna happen and I think it's cute.

[insomniak]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 8:30pm

EDIT

I want my own review thread. I never get them. *moves post* Updated On: 7/16/05 at 08:30 PM

[iRuvPrinceton]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 10:48pm

Oh, I just remembered- I loved that whole thing with Mrs. Weasley trying to fix Bill up with Tonks. Buuut. LUPIN/TONKS 4EVAH.

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 10:57pm

I just finished it. Wow. The beginning's great, the middle, well, Little Sally would say, "too much exposition," but it's worth it to get to the end which was stunning and, for me, shocking. Like Dumbledore, I have too much faith in people and trusted Snape. I knew Dumbledore was likely to get the axe, but I didn't really want to admit that to myself it could actually happen.

Therese- I thought Snape would die too. I stupidly though he would die a heroic death defending Harry, though perhaps that vow would bite him on the ass in some fashion. And I was sure that Malfoy's mission somehow involved harming Harry; I never suspected Dumbledore was the target (which now seems stupid as well).

I probably care about the coupling off of all the characters less than anyone, but I think Luna and Neville would be great together.

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 11:10pm

great book!!! i disliked how it was so predictable though.the only thing that wasn't predictable, to me at least, was Snape being the Half-Blood Prince (like said). i was so upset when dumbledore died.

overall-great job by J.K. Rowling.

[rKrispyt]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 11:51pm

Loved this book (but I'm a mushy romantic when it comes down to it and R/H are my fave)

the R/H shipper in me is recooperating from numerous heartattacks of giddiness, lol.

I love that this book made me feel a way I haven't since the first one - like I was really inside that world. I keep pacing around my house and thinking "I don't want to be here, I wanna do something, I wanna go somewhere..." and after thinking through my friends and realizing I didn't feel like hanging out with any of em', I realized...I wanna go back to Hogwarts

I've felt, since I finished and put it down, like I just got out of a Harry Potter coma.

I love that these books make me feel like a lil kid - I get giddy and daydreamy and I love it. Makes me realize how much of htat I've lost in my everyday life and how uplifting it can make you feel to just...imagine and daydream and let yourself feel like a lil kid again sometimes.

I heart JK Rowling. She's my girl.

[RaininSmilies]

Posted: 7/16/05 at 11:56pm

I can't believe Snape killed Dumbledore!!!!! I cried about 5 times while I was reading that. And I really, really hate Snape now!!

I loved all Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Harry, and especially Tonks/Lupin!

[Elizabeth_DeBris]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 11:18am

Whew, I just finished the last fifty pages this morning. I got the book at around dinnertime, but didn't sit in one place and do nothing but read. Anyway, Snape being the Half-Blood Prince thoroughly shocked me. I thought it would turn out to be Voldemort, although looking back on it: Snape would be more logical, as I don't think it was ever mentioned that Riddle had a flair for potions. Either way, I was rather suprised that Hermione hadn't figured out who it was...

As far as pairings go: LOVE R/Hr, like H/G, would have adored Bill/Tonks. I'd like to see Neville/Luna in the next book, but I won't be scandalized if it doesn't happen. Not to fond of the Remus/Tonks... it seemed rather tacked-on and unnecessary, to me, other than that it explained Tonks's appearance and patronus- neither of which were of much consequence. Ah, well, maybe in the 7th book, their being together will prove important. Incidentally: anyone else rooting for a Filch/Madam Pince romance?

I kinda had a feeling Dumbledore would die, but I had thought it would be in the last book. It seems like the seventh book will be very different from what we've seen so far.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 12:05pm

I haven't read the book yet, but I loved Dumbledore!

[Millie42]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:32pm

In my absolutely devestated state after finishing the book (at 2:40 am so I was already I little crazy) I ventured on to some HP message boards since I had no one online at the moment to discuss with.

It's very interesting to see all the speculation about where or not Snape and Dumbledore had pre-arranged the situation. Perhaps Dumbledore decided having someone on the inside was more valuable than his life.
There was mention of how:
1. Dumbledore has never feared death so it is unlikely he would plead for his life... perhaps he was pleading for Snape TO kill him and earn V's trus.
2. When Snape roared at Harry something along the lines of "NEVER CALL ME A COWARD!"... it was an interesting reaction.
3. No one in the Order knew this deal had been made b/c they would have done everything to prevent D's death, even if he thought it was necessary

Of course, once again, these could be wrong and Snape is truly evil.

That's the magic of JKR--- we have NO CLUE whether or not Snape is on the dark side and now we can completely talk the subject to death for the next 2+ year. She's good.

[LariTheLoud]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 2:36pm

I felt Chapter Two gave away far too much. By the end of it, I felt I could guess that Draco was sent to kill Dumbly and Snape's Unbreakable Vow was to do it for him. Snape as the half-blood prince, I felt, was kinda obvious--if you take another look at Chapter Two, he lives in a muggle neighborhood. That tipped me off the most, although I admit, I came into the book with the theory that Snape would be it.

I'm interested to see if Snape and Dumbledore planned it all, but I doubt it. I remember an interview with Rowling once... she said "Snape was a terrible person" and she couldn't understand why anybody liked him. I'm figuring he's going to stay evil, although I find that a tad disappointing--he was practically the only gray area in the entire series. I prefer gray areas to clear-cut blacks and whites.

Updated On: 7/17/05 at 02:36 PM