Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

[SchtoopingHer]

Did they ever mention what was guarding Azkaban now? Cause we know the dementors revolted, so who or what is guarding Lucious?

On the subject of Lucious giving over his son, i think its quite possible, but I hesitate to make any real judgement, as I feel I know very little about him.

Ever since I heard there "was more to Petunia", I've had the hunch she had magical abillites, too. Maybe she is could have had the abilities of a wizard, but she shunned that lifestyle, or refused proper training (unlike her sister) at hogwarts, and thus she resented the importance and significance her sister's life took afterward.

Again, a wild guess - but who knows?

And as far as the Avada curse, I think if Snape truly was persuaded by DD that his death/Snape's continued spying was of the utmost importance, he could have convinced himself that he "wanted" to do it (for the greater good). And that's my stance on that.

And I clearly see the possibility that Jo wanted everyone to assume Snape's innocence, to make his evil deed at the end all the more shocking. But for some reason, (to me) the signs seem to point to a more complicated scenario, of which we are not fully aware at the moment. The overheard conversation, DD's faith and insistence in the face of Harry's revelations to him, and hagrid's overheard convo, specifically seem to point to a scenario that we don't fully comprehend (on purpose).

[Guest Lullaby]

A new website, which was launched last Friday to help fans cope with the distress they've been experiencing upon completing the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has discovered an important inconsistency between the American and British editions of the book.

David Haber, creator of DumbledoreIsNotDead.com, says the site uses clues hidden in the book to help fans understand what's really going on behind the book's emotional event, presenting actual quotes and information from Half-Blood Prince and the other Harry Potter books.

"We've received over 200 emails from fans since last Friday," said Mr. Haber, "thanking us for the web site and offering additional ideas and clues of their own."

It was one of those emails that triggered an important revelation.

"We won't say here what the quote is, in case anyone who still hasn't completed the book yet is reading this, but there is one particular quote in the book that is a really obvious clue, and we included this quote on the site. But then we got an email, asking us if we had gotten the quote wrong, because they couldn't find that sentence in their book. Turns out, we can confirm, since we have copies of both editions, that this line in the book that's a really important clue, is only in the American edition of Half-Blood Prince, it's not in the British edition at all."

Mr. Haber explained that there are lots of differences normally between the US and UK editions of Harry Potter books, but they are mostly spellings or changed words to clarify a British phrase for the American audience.

"But it's unlikely," Mr. Haber told us, "for complete sentences to be in one edition and not the other. On top of that, when you read the missing sentence I think you'll agree it's a very important sentence, making it extremely suspicious that it's missing from one of the editions."

But why is it missing? Mr. Haber thinks he knows.

"J.K. Rowling is playing a big game with us, and us with her. She buries clues in her books that we need to find to solve the mystery of the climax of that particular book, but there are also clues that pertain the story overall, what we call the 'Harry Potter Septology'. It really looks to me like it's possible that J.K. wrote this sentence, and then realized it went too far and gave too much away, and removed it from the book. However, somehow, by accident, it found its way into the American edition anyway."

You'll need to go over to the site to see the passage from the book in question. It's the second item on the "Dumbledore Clues" page.

More information:

[avadakedavra]

A friend of a friend of mine came up with an interesting idea about the horcruxes and I thought I'd share it here.

For those not aware of the suits of the Tarot, they are (in most cultures) the pentacle(coin), the sword, the cup and the wand. (During the Inquisition, pentacle, sword cup and wand were changed to spade, heart, club and diamond, not necessarily in that order. So when playing solataire you're actually messing with a version of the tarot. Fun huh?).

Anyway, theory:

...she thinks it's Ravenclaw's wand because the sacred items seem to be following the tarot cards: sword (Gryffindor, CoS,) grail (cup, Hufflepuff,) and coin (pendant/locket, Slytherin) so the last thing left would be the sickle for Ravenclaw.

[SchtoopingHer]

A new website, which was launched last Friday to help fans cope with the distress they've been experiencing upon completing the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has discovered an important inconsistency between the American and British editions of the book. . .

More information:

[viJ]

pfff...finished the book in <12hours....well...didn't have any feeling about it...it was a bit...'empty' really different from the others...a bit less descriptive on the other characters...dunno if anyone feels the same..damn!i'm having difficulty expressing myself...

[SchtoopingHer]

pfff...finished the book in <12hours....well...didn't have any feeling about it...it was a bit...'empty' really different from the others...a bit less descriptive on the other characters...dunno if anyone feels the same..damn!i'm having difficulty expressing myself...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, I know what you mean.

To me, its seemed like she ditched all the cutesy magical world tidbits, and instead focused on the narrative.

However, I still thuroughly enjoyed it, and I feel its a great book, totally worthy of the series.

[alilandryfan]

Well guys, I've listened to the book on cd and I've taken in new things and have questions. The first thing I really noticed was that when Harry confronted DD about Snape being the one to over hear the prophecy, at one point DD pauses "as if trying to decide something" or at least thinking at some point. Makes me wonder if DD was pondering whether he should tell Harry the whole truth. If indeed it was Lily that Snape was upset that got killed and DD knew it, maybe he was trying to decide if then was the right time to tell Harry. Why else would he need to stop and think about what Harry was saying? He gave such a general answer. Never once saying that it was any Potter in particular he felt bad for having killed. At the end, all that was said was Lupin stating that "Snape hated James." Which I have to say, certainly doesn't add up and not to anyone.

I'm trying to go in order of what I've noticed. lol One of my really big questions is that when DD drunk the potion in the cave, what was it's effects? DD clearly stated many times that "he did wrong" and that he'd "never do it again" and to "leave them alone". "Them" who? Was he reliving a really bad memory of the past or was he being thrown into an unreal scene of people being hurt and him pleading for them? If it's something from his past, I really want to know what it was.

Now when I listened to it on cd, I really wanted to hear the tone in which DD posed "Severus...please." And the way Jim Dale did it, it came off very pleadingly. Not like a request, but as in a "Don't kill me" sorta way and that bothered me. I did go to the dumbledoreisnotdead.com site and held tight to what I heard cause it'll kill me if Snape indeed is horrible. Further evidence that confuses me is why would he stun Professor Flitwick? He had no cause to unless he wanted him out of the way while he performed his duty or was on the bad side and had one out of the way. Then again, he could have just as easily killed Flitwick cause if he was going to go be with VD, then he could do as he wished, right? However, if this was something they had planned (SS, DD) why allow Harry to witness it? He knew Harry would assume the worst. He knew everyone would know Snape did it and would be after him. Out to kill him. So indeed, he was giving Severus a suicide mission if you ask me. Sure they could catch up with him and he could fill them in but unless DD plans to reveal himself in time (and I really think he's dead) then what good was all this? And from the sounds of it, no one else was really even in on it. But if he did as DD asked and they had a plan, then I really believe he promised, as Harry did, to do whatever DD asked, no matter how much he didn't want to. Harry hated himself for what he did. Pouring that potion down DD's throat. But as I listened and Malfoy said that Severus was on their side, that he was playing a double agent, it makes me wonder if DD didn't just realize in that instant that maybe Snape wasn't on his side and that's why he pleaded for his life.

However, when it came time to leave, Snape did ask that everyone leave. Now unless he was under strict orders by VD to do so, why would he make everyone leave? They had a perfect chance to kill more members of the Order but Snape grabbed Malfoy and ran off with him. As if protecting him and made everhone else follow. DD was "dead" and they could have killed quite a few members. They clearly had the upper hand and yet, they retreated. Could Snape have been trying to protect everyone? Lastly, when Harry told Severus to kill him like he killed DD and called him a coward, what was Snape's response? "DON'T...call me a coward" or close enough anyway. If he had just killed DD, why not brag about it? Why not be cold hearted and really dig in? Why get picky over being called a coward unless he knew something Harry didn't and was sickened at being called a coward when he knew he wasn't one. That he knew what he had just done took a lot of courage because he really liked DD and was sick at having to "kill" him?

Just my new thoughts on things guys. Very curious about this book and each time I go back, I find something new. Not sure if I'm grasping at straws or latching onto something. lol Just let me know what you think, even if it's to say I'm way off target. (do so nicely, I'm sensitive! lol) ttyl

[SchtoopingHer]

Well, as far as dumbledore pleading, you have to take into account that Jim Dale doesnt get any pointers from anyone on how to read the lines, so that at best was just his interpretation.

And I hate to be doubting hermione, but no one ever saw snape knock out flitwick, and the only sound heard coming from the room was him hitting the floor. Some have disputed that a wand might not make a noise, but I still think its important to note that no one saw him do it, and we never heard him do it either. I truly believe he just fainted, as Snape said.

That, or he did it to make sure Flitwick didn't hurt himself or try to stop him, since he knew what he had to do (irregardless), and that entailed pretending to be on the side of evil.

And you are repeating virtually word-for-word what I said (in another post) about Snape's response to Harry. He was totally acting like Harry didn't understand, and if he had killed DD out of malice, it is totally unlike Snape to not brag about it.

So I agree, completely.

[alilandryfan]

I wanted to point out something about the book belonging to or not belonging to Lily. My friend recently pointed out that Snape had said that James used his spells against him in school. What if Snape had been copying down notes, as suggested by SchtoopingHer, for Lily and the whole "Property of the Half-Blood Prince" was him only claiming rights to what he had copied for her? And if James and Lily were every chummy before they dated as it seems they may have been, he got the spells from her? It's just a thought and probably a bit of a stretch but how else would James know about Snape's own spells if they were his inventions alone?

[SchtoopingHer]

Alilandryfan-

When Harry thought James was teh HBP, he pointed out that James knew the spell, to which (i believe) Lupin replied spells go in and out of popularity .

So it seems maybe everyone was using the spell.

But the origin of everyone knowing it is interesting. It could very well be that Lily got the spell from Snape, and gave it to James. And perhaps thats why he was so angry at Lily, for giving that spell to James, who then used it against him (thus the reason snape called her mudblood).

Just a guess.

[Guest Lullaby]

On the identity of R. A. B.: An Alternative to Regulus Black?

An original editorial by Erika

The moment I finished HBP and wiped the tears off my face, I, too, started pondering the question: who is R. A. B.? It took me (and everyone else out there, it seems) all of thirty seconds to come up with Regulus Black. He seemed to be the only wizard whose initials, at least the ones we know, fit. He was a Death Eater, so he would address Voldemort as Dark Lord. And, as people more observant than myself have pointed out, there's that mysterious locket at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

However, something did not seem quite right. I read and re-read the note. Its tone struck me as very personal: it was written by someone who knew Voldemort well, possibly for a very long time. That is why they signed using only their initials: they were confident Voldemort would identify them correctly. The note sounds like it had been written to someone who had done the writer a great personal wrong and got away with it. The writer wants Voldemort to know that, in the end, he or she was not powerless and did exact his or her revenge: "I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret... I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more."

All this is inconsistent with what Sirius told Harry about Regulus. According to Sirius, his brother had been a Death Eater for about five minutes, "then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out" and was not even "important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person" (p. 112, OOTP, American edition). Others have argued that Sirius could have been mistaken about the degree of his brother's involvement. Just as easily, he could have been right. Since we don't know all the facts, this point can be debated indefinitely.

There is another strike against Regulus, one that is harder to ignore. How did he know about the cave? Even if Voldemort had told his Death Eaters about the existence of Horcruxes, I doubt very much he would tell them their locations. I am sure he does not trust anyone that completely. And the last (and, possibly, the least weighty) argument against Regulus: it was just too easy a guess!

So who do we know to fit the following criteria: (a) had initials R. A. B.; (b) had known Voldemort well or for a long time; © had suffered a personal wrong at his hands; (d) knew about the cave. The last criterion narrows down the list of suspects to just a few people, and only one of them may have initials R. A. B.: Amy Benson, the little girl terrorized inside that same cave by young Tom Riddle. It has been assumed that Amy Benson is a Muggle, but she does not have to be. She is an orphan, just like Tom Riddle, so we know nothing about her parents. It is plausible that if she has at least one parent who is a wizard, her first name may be something bizarre like Reminadhorrea or something (Romilda? Rowena?). Thus, at the orphanage, she would go by her more "normal" middle name: Amy.

Before I embark on how I imagine little Amy's life story, I would like to make a slight detour that, again, has to do with the tone of the note. In HBP, Harry and Hermione have several arguments about the person styling themselves the Half-Blood Prince. One of them has to do with the person's gender. For instance, on p. 538 of the American edition, Hermione suggests that a girl named Eileen Prince is the HBP. Harry disagrees: "It's the way he writes, I just know the Prince was a bloke, I can tell." Well, Harry turns out to be right: HBP was, indeed, "a bloke". So why all this fuss, why did JKR include all these arguments? I think it was to alert us the fact that in another instance, another piece of writing had, in fact, been done by a woman.

While I'm covering slightly tangential topics, I will also add that it is likely that the person who took the locket, whoever it may be, did not make it out of the cave alive and is now in fact one of the Inferi guarding the Horcrux. That is why, when Harry said "Accio Horcrux!" only one Inferius came out of the water. It was the one with the locket.

So, now on to Amy Benson. Below I present one, very brief, possible version of the story that I believe to be consistent with everything we know so far. R... Amy Benson was born to one wizarding and one Muggle parent and was orphaned at an early age. She did not show any magical ability as a young child and was thus powerless to defend herself against Tom Riddle's cruelty. She (and Dennis Bishop, the little boy taken into the cave along with her) was never the same since, according to Mrs. Cole, the matron at the orphanage. Possibly, she never recovered enough to go to Hogwarts and, instead, was placed into the permanent care ward at St. Mungo's, the same ward where Neville's parents now live.

Now, many people have speculated that Lily Evans worked as a Healer. If so, she could have worked at the same ward. Since this was all happening before 12 Grimmauld Place became the headquarters of the OOTP, the Closed Ward as St. Mungo's might have been used for that purpose. Thus, Amy Benson may have been able to overhear things like, "Voldemort's name used to be Tom Riddle" and "He probably created a Horcrux, but where did he hide it?!" The memory of the suffering she had endured at Tom Riddle's hands and the information that only she had concerning the location and the significance of that cave may have been enough to stir Amy to action.

I do not believe that she acted alone, but I do think that, ultimately, she was the one who took the real Horcrux and left the note signed R. A. B. I also believe that she faced Voldemort at least one more time, probably before she ventured again into the cave. The reason she escaped the encounter alive was that Voldemort did not take her seriously, as is probably natural with a person who one used to bully and terrorize. But he was reminded of her existence, of the impact that he had had on her life, and she was sure that he would recognize her as the writer of the note.

source

[Guest Lullaby]

Here's another essay some of you might enjoy. I'll pull an excerpt from it, one of my favorites, to give you an idea.

The look Snape and Dumbledore exchange on the battlement is to me the most chilling moment of Half-Blood Prince. If my assumption is correct and Snape has kept the third clause of the Unbreakable Vow from Dumbledore, then those few seconds are even more heart-breaking than I found them at first sight. When Dumbledore whispers

[SchtoopingHer]

On the identity of R. A. B.: An Alternative to Regulus Black?

An original editorial by Erika

source

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very interesting.

The end kind of lost me a bit, but I think it seems very possible that RAB is not Regulus. And furthermore, a girl. The author is right that the HBP's gender mixup is good foreshadowing, and that the relationship between RAB and LV seems more developed than we've been led to believe Regulus and he.

But, I think the girl from the cave might be a stretch, especially in the scenario where she didn't have any powers and Lily was her healer.

Interesting reading, though, thanks Lullaby.

[babranski]

I figured people were coming to the conclusion of Black too quickly. I thought, either JK has lost her touch, or shes got somthing so far up her sleeve we might mistake it as a shoulder pad and ignore it all together.

[schadenfreude]

On another forum, someone posted this:

"Hey guys, I am like best friends with the author of harry potter so let me fill you in on the facts.

Dumbledore comes back to life because fauxe the pheonix revives him. It turns out snape really is good and harry must learn to forgive him. Gryffindor is a horcrux. RAB is not SB's brother, he's just some random dude who is a muggle and harry must train him as a wizard.

Hermione and harry are going to get married. Hedwig is under the imperius curse. Malfoy is the half blood prince. And Voldemort is really James Potter."

[babranski]

well damn, now the whole series is spoiled.

[avadakedavra]

On  another forum, someone posted this:

"Hey guys, I am like best friends with the author of harry potter so let me fill you in on the facts.

Dumbledore comes back to life because fauxe the pheonix revives him. It turns out snape really is good and harry must learn to forgive him. Gryffindor is a horcrux. RAB is not SB's brother, he's just some random dude who is a muggle and harry must train him as a wizard.

Hermione and harry are going to get married. Hedwig is under the imperius curse. Malfoy is the half blood prince. And Voldemort is really James Potter."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think my brain just broke.

[alilandryfan]

I just finished listening to the 5th book on cd again. I have to say, it's a really dull book. Umbridge is about the most exciting thing in the whole book. Gotta love hating her. lol Anyway, just noticed a few bits here and there. Firstly, my fave part of the whole book is Dumbledore's long speech to Harry at the end. Very tear worthy. Anyway, maybe I'm making a big to do about nothing but when Dumbledore describes how Harry is feeling, about how bad it hurt ot lose Sirius, is it just me or is he talking like someone that has lost a great deal? Sure it could be said he felt loss after members of the Order died but he never reacted heart broken to be honest unless he kept it inside himself some how. I just keep wondering about what Dumbledore saw or was forced to relive when he drank that potion in book 6. If it was an event from his past, maybe that's the pain he was refering to when talking to Harry. He was drawing on that pain to summarize how Harry was feeling. Secondly, is it just me or does Dumbledore care more about Harry than any teacher should or would? It's one thing to feel sorry for Harry cause he's orphaned but talking about not caring who died as long as Harry was okay? Seems like he might have a bit more invested interested in Harry than we know about. Also saying how VD possessing Harry would be Harry's downfall, not Dumbledore's. How so? The moment he possessed Harry he had to flee cause he thought about Sirius. I might be grasping at straws but it was just a few thoughts. Apparently something huge is to come out about Lily in the last book and her green eyes play a huge role. As we all know, green is the color for Slytherin and I'm curious, how is it that Lily is a witch? JK herself said that her parents died regular muggle deaths so how come her whole family were muggles and she was the only witch? Makes you wonder about her roots, huh? And notice how JK always puts emphasis on DD's blue eyes? Hmm seems like I had something to say on Snape too as well and forgot. Oh, I do remember something. Know how that boy (can't spell his name lol) got shut into that cabnet? He showed up in the toilets, right? Well in the 6th book Malfoy says he apperated out. How could he apperate out and land in a bathroom at Hogwarts? You can't do that. And if Malfoy knew about it, how come Snape didn't when it was he they fetched to help put him back together? Why couldn't he have told about the cabnet to help the Dark Lord? And I noticed he could get through the security in the 6th book when he fetched Harry from Tonks. If he knew of the security around the castle, why couldn't he have told VD how to get around it? He could have met him some place and slipped him in? I dunno, after reading the 5th book again, VD doesn't seem all that grand. He had to use Harry to get the prophecy. If he's so great, couldn't he have waltzed in there himself disguised and gotten it? Like put everyone to sleep while he snuck in or something? He's supposed to be all powerful and it took him months to find a way in? Sounds sorta pathetic, doesn't it? Oh well, just a few new random thoughts. lol

[Lullaby]

As we all know, green is the color for Slytherin and I'm curious, how is it that Lily is a witch? JK herself said that her parents died regular muggle deaths so how come her whole family were muggles and she was the only witch? Makes you wonder about her roots, huh?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's why they're called muggleborns. It's also how a squib can come from a family of pureblood wizards and witches. It just happens.

And for later reference, can you not use the purple? It's hard to read on my theme and Avada's theme too so it might be hard for others as well.

[SchtoopingHer]

You know, the more I think about it, the more I believe there is gonna be some major revelation about James Potter in book 7.

I don't know anything that hints at this, but I really feel James has been sort of an empty character, with litte redeeming value (as we've seen). He is basically just a talented (at quidditch) bully.

I really think there will be some piece of information that redeems or changes our view of James. Lots of good people had a little bit of bully in them when they were young.

I hope I;m right, because I've kind of always felt that James had some type of importance of which we were unaware.