the book is good..... very very dark and quite scary at times. rowling does well to transform young children of the first four books into pre-mature adults.this edition is essentially a conclusion of the mood introduced in the 5th book.while the 5th book was transition phase this one is the result.a dark cloud hangs through out the book and it actually tugs at the heartm,unlike the time when sirius black was killed.
not light reading beware1

i want to read the book so badly now but i have to wait for it to come in the mail

it's just hard these days to read a novel about an evil cabal set loose on society

If you can't read without hearing echoes of reality, it isn't literature. I would say, based on my own reading of the previous 5, and your review of HP6, that Half-Blood Prince may have entered the realm of literature.

man that was awesome!!!!!!!!!!! but i really wanna know who diesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss man this is intence!!!!

WARNING: PLOT SPOILER IN THIS COMMENT























Professor Dumbledore dies...

Karen: read the book. If you eat the dessert first, the sauerkraut tastes really nasty....

i sobbed through the entire last chapter...i could barely read it through my tears...my family now thinks i am nuts!
that was the best book yet!!! so many unexcected twists!

PLOT SPOILER















I have to admit I have always less than hated for professor snape. perhaps I was feeling sorry for him. I was definitely shocked at what he did. but I'm still clinging onto the possibility that he may still be on the good side. I know he entered the contract with narcissa, I know he killed dumbledore. but might he not have been under the imperius curse or something similar? snape's always been a question mark for harry, the only thing we're absolutely positive about is that he is a superb occlumens with acting skills to rival alan rickman.

bethy, so did i, but with the last 3 chapters. lord, that was the most heartwrenching 3 chapters that i have ever read in my life. i read it twice in 14 hours, and i still cant believe he's dead. Now, let's make it 3 readings.

OH MY GOD.


I read all day.

I finished.

I sobbed like hagrid.

I NEED THE LAST BOOK NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BIG SPOILERS

















when i first read the 2nd chapter, i was cussing snape out in my head. now, the only thing that i want to do is rip his guts out through his nose. if lestrange had killed Dumbledore, that wouldn't have been so bad.

Warning! Plot spoiler ahead, me hearties....

[Edited] is murdered by fanatics after he and Gwen Stefani pay for a room in one of those seedy "by the hour" joints in Brooklyn. Drug dealers gun him down because he didn't have the scratch for them. Don't worry, Muggles...word is that his ghost is going to come back to kick some serious booty in Episode 7...Harry Potter and the Guns of the Navarrone. Harry is a Marshall in the Third Reich who must choose between his love for Hermoine and his duty to Der Fuehrer. Happy reading!

OMGOMGOMGOMOGMOMG

OMFG

--SPOILER BELOW --















i new in the end dumbledore had to die...

but still

i was crying so hard threw the last 3 chapters

i havtn cried like tat since i was 7

I HATE SNAPE

he's sooooo evil, HOW COULD HE DO IT :'(

dumbledore shouldnt have givin him a 2nd chance :'(

no matter all the reasoning

snape is evil n twisted n dumbledore was my favorite caracther

:'(

--SPOLER BELOW--


















i hope dumbledore comes back as a ghost and rips snapes evil heart out of his body

can ghosts do that??

--SPOILER BELOW--


















i cant believe it

actauly i can

i just dont want to



Snape kills Dumbldore

--SPOILER BELOW --




















i wish i had the last book now

I NEED IT

IM GOING INSANE






SNAPE FRICKING KILLED DUMBLEDORE

I WANT HARRY TO KILL SNAPE

AND VOLDEMORT

i wish i never read these books

i cant put them down

WHY DID DUMBLEDORE HAVE TO NOT SEE THREW SNAPES EVILNESS

HARRYS BEEN SAYINGN IT FOR YEARS

stupid snape killed dumbledore

:'(

About spoilers:

We can't catch them all. If you're worried about having the plot spoiled, then you should probably read the book before joining discussions like this one.

So who is the half blood prince then?

all i can say is WOW J.K has done a astounding job with this book not only with the plot twists but all also one of the bigest upsets i have read in any of the previous 5 books i was on tenter hooks through out the whole book not wanting to put it down and wanting to find out everything i could

i read this book in what i belive is a record time for me i started at 6.30am this morning and finished it by 12pm

This isn't a spoiler per say, since Rowling announced it herself: the half blood prince ISN'T Harry or Voldemort. The former part of that statement makes sense-can't have Harry coming up against himself, now can we?

I have just read it and it was amazing. I thought the plot was so much tighter than the last book although there were a few weak points....










SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER













Did anybody else think that the reason Dumbledore totally trusted Snape was a bit weak?? Because Snape was sorry that he'd heard the prophecy and that Lily and James were killed. It seems a very weak point to hang the whole plot round.

i hate snape and i think voldemort should kill him and harry should kill voldemort and then ron should marry hermione and potter should uh kill duddley and his aunt & uncle. i havent read the 6th book yet but j.k wrote it so i no its gonna be good!i love u j.k!

Drat, and here I hoped I was alone in managing about 100 pages per hour.

Anyone else having major eye pains? I COULD NOT STOP. This one has definitely taken PoA's place as my favorite in the series. Tragically, I'd already read a spoiler that WASN'T LABELED, and by chapter 2 I knew it was correct (damned spoilers!!), but the book still kept me enthralled.

Helluva read.

you are all reacting emotionally to Snape. You shouldn't. Dumbledore was nobodies fool, and was almost omnicient at times. You can bet that he thought of everything. I'll bet my retirement fund that He had an arangement with Snape about "killing" him and not allowing anyone else to do it. And I'll also bet that Snape made an Unbreakable promise with Dumbledore regarding all of this years before. And lastly, DD VERY importantly says in the book that Voldemort was foolish to think that no one else knew about splitting the soul. You can BET that DD himself has done the very same thing in order to be "reserected".

So please spoil the plot for me: WHO is the half blood prince? I won't be able to get to this book myself til probably after the next movie comes out, at the rate I'm going in my private life. & I hate suspense anyway. Thanks

Spoiler Below...You Have Been Warned, Muggles!!!









One word can sum up Harry Potter nad the Half-Blood Prince: WOW. I think that is all I can say. Wow.

After zipping through the book like a fire through a dry forest ( I read the book in 4 HOURS 50 MINUTES!! New record... For me!)

J.K. Rowling has seamlessly weaved a story of such intelligence and wonder with an almost stereotypical story fact: Only the main character can kill the bad guy (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars {The old ones}, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, The Pendragon Adventure, Artemis Fowl, etc., etc., etc., etc.).

We really need more genius storytellers like J.K. Rowling. Cheers for my new love...a story that is scary, fascintaing, unputdownable, a touch funny, and pure amazing...Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!!

*sigh* I'm sorry, but I can't find a spoiler of any kind in that. WHO is the half blood prince. Just name a name & don't play games, please. Thanks. I'm too tired to try hunting for hints at this point.

OMG it was awesome. I read it in 4 and a half hours. I was so enthralled by this book. Jk weaves an astounding tale. I am on tenterhooks for the next one to come out.

I think it is funny how Snape is the "Half-blood Prince", like Voldemort is.

I was so sad when Dumbledore died, Snape was an evil son of a gun. I don't think Snape is workin for the good side or the bad side, but fir himself.

I am still not decided on if I like the book or not...dunno. But to the person who wants to know who the HBP is.........






























Snape. No kidding.

Thank you, thank you...you have saved me from a total brain-cell blowout.

I think there's more to Snape than meets the eye. I'm probably wrong, but I agree totally w/comment 24: Dumbledore has never been anybody's fool, and altho older than dirt, he can still think rings around most of them. I wouldn't be surprised if Snape turns out to be a sort of very deep double agent against Voldemort & Co. It's the sort of intrigue he seems to enjoy & excell at.

One 'l' in 'excel'. Sorry. Told you I was worn out.

PLEASE! SOMEONE TELL ME WHO THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE IS! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!I REALLY WANT TO KNOW AND I H8 BEING IN SUSPENSE! PLEASE!!!!WHO IS IT????

It's













































Snape. See #s 28 & 29.

I loved the book. I thought your review was spot on, particularly the comparison to The Empire Strikes Back. That's exactly what I think.

Why do people keep asking who the darned half-blood prince is? He's been mentioned several times in postings throughout the forum. So there.

SPOILER****
















i knew dumbledore would have to die, but i never saw snape actually doing the deed himself. Once the HBP was established as a potionsmaker i had thought of snape and slughorn both, but for some reason i thought them both to be purebloods so i dismissed the fact. I liked the mentioning of the open warfare against voldemort, however i still feel that we really don't have a very clear idea how the course of the war is going. In the beginning remember Fudge telling the Prime Minister about the dementors' breeding and the giant damage, but throughout the rest of the book giants or dementors posed no threat (although i loved the threat of the new werewolf villain). I was suprised in myself to find that i was almost as sad about the ending of harry's romance with ginny as i was about dumbledore's death, but i think Rowling has us where she wants us.... expecting the 7th and final book.

P.S. Dumbledore wouldn't split his soul that requires murder, he is gone for good.

o and by the way...you heard it here first....Wormtail will save Harry's life in the next one.

SPOILER ** * **


SPOILER ** * **


SPOILER ** * **


SPOILER ** * **


SPOILER ** * **

so harry wont be going back to hogwarts next year...and neither will ron and hermione. i wonder if harry and ginny will get back together in the end. wow i so hope he kills snape and voldemort next book. if he doesnt itll be sooo AWFUL

Thank god, now I don't have to read the book.

Dave

heh.
oh god itll be like another 3 years before the next book. this is AWFUL! i neeeeeed the next book!!

Plus, I hear the next book is going to be 30,000 pages long.

Dave

Yup, so nice of folks to put spoilers in the first clause of the first sentence of their comment, so it will show up on every Blogcritics page.

That way those of us who haven't read the books yet don't even have to visit the Harry Potter topics at all to have every conceivable suprise ruined for us.

I have't read the book, but how could Snape do that???????????Dumbledore sooooo rocked, for an old as rocks themselves guy.

Spoilers - that's why everyone wants to get the book at midnight and hole up away from the world until they've finished it...

Keeping away from spoilers if you haven't read HP6 yet would really only require staying off the 'Net.

And we can no more do that than the jerks who just gotta tell the kickers could hold their tongues.

Woe is you.

Just wait'll I finish my incantation, "nobody" (if that's even your real name). Your Internet anonymity will not protect you from reaping the whirlwind you have sown with your spoileraceous mockery.

Once I finish researching the appropriate spell of vengeance, it'll be you who is the one... er... woeing.

About a great many things.

Spoiler and speculation about book 7















This was a very quick read for me, and it was reminiscent of part 2 of a trilogy (part one being OOTP). To tell the truth, Snape being the Half-Blood Prince, and Dumbledore dying by his hand really wasn't all that surprising to me.

As for book 7, I can see that being an epic similar to The Return of the King... we have three groups now, going off to do their thing : 1) Harry, Ron and Hermione, searching for the Horcruoix ala Frodo, 2) The Order of the Phoenix as Aragorns army, and 3) The rest of the DA (perhaps lead by Neivelle and Luna)... I'd hate to think that they basically become fodder. On the other side we have the Dark Forces united under Voldemort, and the Grey forces associated with the Ministry of Magic. Seems to me that they'll have to plow through the grey to get to the black.

It seems to me that Dumbledore doesn't seem to be the type to make himself a ghost -- those his picture in the administrator's office might have some choice words for Harry. Harry may also get Dumbledore's Pensieve, and may be able to have conversations with him via that means as well. But I don't think he'll 'come back'.

I predict that Snape and Dumbledore will have had an arrangement about his death, and that he is still working for 'Dumbledore' (his cause, at least)... perhaps Dumbledore knew he was dying, and made such an arrangement with him. And I think Wormtail will also turn against the Dark Lord. I think the real conflict here will be Malfoy... will he renounce the Dark Lord, or stay by him? Either one could happen.

And, while the story probably will revolve around the trio's ultimate battle with Voldemort, I could also see the situation whre Harry rallies the wizarding world to battle against the death eaters:

"Don't you see? He cannot know love and thus despises it. And it's only a matter of time before he decides to take vengeance on anyone who ever dared to love a parent, a spouse or a child. He is insane, and can only exist in a world filled with himself."

Wow....

I loved this book!! Even though I sobbed throughout the last 100 pages of it...

PLOT SPOILER...(kind of)




If Dumbledore dies who is gonna be the new headmaster of Hogsward?... And even if it is professor McGonagald, dont you all think that she is kinda getting (old)? I was pretty awed about Snape being the HBP. I think in the next book J.K. Rowling should let Snape escape so she can write a eight book about how Harry has to risk his own life to kill Snape.

I take it I'm definitely one of the few who less-than-hates snape?

spoilers

the only thing we know for sure about snape is that he is a very good occlumens, and possibly an even better actor.
I have formulated several theories on snape's murdering that would fool the outer eye (trelawney tribute heh):
1. it wasn't really snape at all, but narcissa who killed dumbledore. remember that draco had stocks of polyjuice on hand. hermione and luna didn't follow snape after he ran out of his office, they don't know for sure where he went. also, the snape advancing on dumbledore was described to have an expression of pure hatred. what has dumbledore ever done to snape to deserve this? and lastly, "snape" shielded draco as they were leaving hogwarts grounds.
2. snape was forced magically to act the way he did because of his unbreakable vow to narcissa.
3. imperius curse

I also like another explanation above about dumbledore having his own horcruxes, but remember that you have to split your own soul by doing evil to manage it. whatever came from dumbledore's death, I think one thing we can be certain of is that there's a lot more to it than harry is currently seeing.

Oh yeah... "craig", dude you gotta stop lieing. Everybody knows that you, like the rest of us you were freaking out when you read that Snape killed Dumbledore.(bad job)


But I did like your theory about book seven and how you used the lord of the rings to go along with your theory.(good job)

hey does anyone know of any major/really good harry potter forums?

I believe you're kinda on one.

well I mean like, where there are forums and different rooms for different topics and stuff. I started posting here cause all the other ones are shut down for the weekend or whatever until people can finish their books.

Has anybody noticed that comments are subtly changing from **PLOT SPOILERS* to people saying "I love this book!" as more and more readers finish ye olde sixthe booke?

Somebody post another thingydoodlebobber or i'll hex you.

I noticed that too. We all must bravely wait for multi-topic forums.

spoilers

well, once I got over the shock of dumbledore, the next thing I wanted to do was complain about harry and ginny. heh sorry. I'm not sure why but I suspect that I never stopped seeing her as a child, anyways this has always been the pair that I was least supportive of. I was hoping for harry/luna, to tell the truth. but I suppose she is a bit too much to handle sometimes.
but yeah, as far as HBP romance goes, I liked the adult couples very much: remus and tonks (two of my favorite characters YAY) and bill and fleur. I was so scared fleur was going to leave bill in the end, but I laughed out loud when she said "I think I am good looking enough for both of us!"
p.s. cho is still my favorite character, and I guess she's out of the story now :(

SPOILER

I was stunned that Snape killed Dumbledore. I do not think that he was acting under the Imperius Curse, nor was he a Polyjuiced person (he would have wards on his study that a Polyjuicer might not know). IF Snape is acting on the side of the "good" then, why did he have such a plain look of hatred on his face when he killed Dumbledore?

Also, in order to cast a working Unforgivable you have to MEAN it. Obviously Snape meant to kill Dumbledore.

I agree that Snape's reason for gaining D's (that's my abbrev for Dumbledore now) trust is pretty skeptical and really, really weak. However, trusting people too much might have been D's weakness, like Voldemort's weakness was underestimating love.

At first read, I was really rooting for D to not be dead, b/c we never really saw his body underneath the velvet funeral cloak and D told Malfoy that he could fake his death and hide him. However, after seeing D's portrait in the Headmaster office, I think that would be highly unlikely.

All in all, I'm upset at being lulled into a false sense of security with Snape. I actually wanted him to be "good." Overall, though I'm really stunned that he is indeed not.

Yet, we still have one more book to go... so who knows.

I wonder who is Harry's love interest. Could you guys spill the beans once more?

That is right...wormtail owes Harry for showing him mercy and not letting Lupin and Sirius kill him, forgot that.

I cried my eyeballs out when Dumbledore died, Malfoy has alway been such a weenie...no surprise he didn't have the guts...

Dumbledore was very anxious to get to Snape I think because it is part of his plan. Just like Voldemort has followers who don't know everyting...so does Dumbldore...he is just too smart.

Ok, I got who is his love interes...

If Snape was protecting Malfoy maybe Malfoy senior saved Snapes life and he is in debt!

But didnt DD save him first? bliney...

holy crap that was an awesome book i couldnt put it down. but i think harry will return to hogwarts despite wat he said, not sure y though. u noe how dumbledore dies he might have a horcrux coz he killed grimwald or wat eva..

I have a problem with inacurate spoilers.... SNAPE IS NOT THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE. He claims to be, but unless the ghostwriter who wrote this messed up, it is revealed that it is snapes MOTHER (maiden name of prince) that is the half blood prince.... anyone who think j.k is a good writer after this book, well i pity you.

HPatHBP rox my soxs!!!!

Snape IS the Half-Blood prince. I know there is a lot to be said for reading quickly, but make sure you read it accurately too!

I have to say I am on the side of Snape:not guilty. However, I doubt he was acting under an imperius curse. Harry managed to rebuff these in his fourth year. Snape is an incredibly powerful wizard who would know exactly what one felt like, and would no doubt be able to shield himself from one. I agree that Dumbledore's pleading was not to beg Snape not to kill him, but to kill him before anyone else did. I also agree that the reasons given for Dumbledore trusting Snape were very weak, and not up to scrutiny.

One thought: as Snape came out of the building, he realised that Dumbledore was going to die anyway (if, not necessarily by his hand). He therefore killed him, bringing himself closer to Voldemort, learning more plans for the Order (if they believe him). If he had not done it, he would have comprimised his situation as a spy.

One more: what use do pictures have? They seem fairly intelligent to me, and it has often be said that Dumbledore discussed matters with the potraits of the old headteachers. What is there to stop Harry (or anybody else) talking to Dumbledore's portrait for help or information etc etc.?

to a. comment number 64.

SPOILERS

You obviously haven't read the book. At the very end when Snape and Malfoy are running away and Harry is trying to stop them, Snape tells Harry the he is the Half-Blood Prince. Hermione clarified it by telling us that Snapes' mthers' maiden name was Prince and that his father was a muggle. You should try reading the book before you post about stuff that's not true.

I don't believe Dumbledore made a Horcrux. When he was explaining to Harry about them, he said something about them being evil and committing horrible crimes or something like that...well, something along those lines. Dumbledore would never kill a person...or persons for the hell of it like Voldemort. I think in a few reviews people stated that because Dumbledore killed Grindlwald,(give me a break...i'm a horrible speller...dunno how to spell it) he would automatically have a Horcrux. That can't be true because Voldemort has only seven and I'm pretty sure he has murdered more than seven people in his lifetime. hmm. I know there was more I was going to say but i just blanked. blah. I stayed up really late finishing it and now it's waaay past by bedtime.

Hope this was helpful to someone.

SPOILERS




I've just rememberd what i forgot. When Dumbledore and Harry were looking at the memory the Harry had to recieve from Slughorn, they lern about the Hrocrux's/ Slughorn also stated towards the end that in order to make one, you need a spell. Dumbledore most likely didn't know the spell because it seems like not even he knew what a Horcrux was before watching the memory.

~~~~SPOILER~~~~~~

Could Dumbledore have known that Snape made that Vow? Dumbledore has repeatedly proven that he truly loves his students and he has never seemed the type to beg or plead for his life. Yet in the scene in which Snape appears, Dumbledore appears to be "pleading" before he's hit with the Avada Kedavra. Perhaps he was really pleading with Snape *to* kill him rather than expose Draco as "weak" and sentence him to death at Voldemorts hand? Just a theory, although it may be my stupid optimism coming into play. :) Any ideas?

SPOILERS!!










It's possible that destroying someone elses horcrux enables Dumbledore to create his own. In those last chapters he doesn't seem 100% (and don't forget the withered right arm). Snape is undoubtedly a goody; he had to kill Dumbledore because he was tied in with an unbreakable vow which had aided his position with the death eaters. Dumbledore was concerned about Malfoy and had not Snape done the deed it was possible Malfoy might still have, and as a result been lost to the dark side.
There's something sus about that locket. Who else could have got to it. Perhaps a switch by Dumbledore?
Still JKR's at the helm and she can move the goal posts how she likes in seven!

Hmmm HBP was a great book no doubt but 4 is still my fav.

SPOILERS...





Is it me or is harry still completely useless at duelling? Coz when he fought snape he got whooped. And on a different thread, if snape can block spells why cant voldy.
Still very happy harry's goin voldy hunting..... had to happen eventually.
And about DD dying it was something that had to happen.......... the mentor passing on to show that the succesor is ready.

By the way; like comment 66, especially about pictures. That's the trouble with magic, oh what a tangled web!

Who is REB?

~~~~SPOILAH!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, just as a theory...

Isn't it possible, given all of the emphasis put on non-verbal communication and spells in this novel, just before Dumbledore's death and the entire time Snape was on the roof that he and Dumbledore were indeed conversing using ligilimency? Being so talented they wouldn't really need anything more...you don't really need your wand to use ligilimency I don't think. It's a brain thang. Or perhaps not and it was all planned. Or perhaps not and nothing was planned and Snape's a jerk-off. This however seems like such an unlikely and frankly unintellegent move on Rowling's part that I'd rather believe one of the first two theories were true.

Do you mean R.A.B. ?

Yes RAB! Whoever it is will be big in the next book. They are already on the trail of Voldies soul. I thought only DD had thought of that?

Whoa thats a good thought.... someone else is already tracking down Voldy maybe whoever it is will team up with the trio to find the remaining horocruxes

remember hagrid overhearing dd and snape arguing in the forest. DD was telling snape he had promised to do something that he didn't want to do.
DD was telling snape to kill him. He needs snape close to voldemort to help harry in the final battle.

We never did hear what happened to DD's hand remember he said "It is a thrilling tale and i wish to do it justice" all we ever found out was that it was something to do with the sytheryn artifact (the ring). I wonder if it was from destroying the soul inside? or was it the protective measures around the ring?

Macgooner has got a good point.... i might look that up when i read it again

thanks for all the spoilers!cant wait to get the book on thursday!!!

Concerning RAB: His/Her note twice mentioned the possibility that s/he will be dead soon after taking the Horcux. So it seems unlikely that this person will be around to help Harry. Altho it would make a good surprise.
I couldn't figure out why Harry wasn't more interested in the identity of RAB. Also, if he won't talk to McGonagall, are there no adults left in whom Harry will confide? In book 7 will it be three 17 year olds against the world?
After the whole bit about 'if one student wants to come Hogwarts will be open to that student' I have a hard time believing Hogwarts will be closed next year however, I think it's smart to wager that the trio will not be traditional students.
And about Dumbledore's portrait. He'll be around to help out. Maybe Harry could keep a portrait in his pocket. :-D And why haven't they had a portrait made of Sirius or Harry's parents? Then he could ALWAYS talk to them! hmmm complicated... JK has not given a good explanation for this.
OK, I'm done. :) for now

RAB is regalus black and he was killed by voldy for deserting shortly after he destroyed the horcrux

IMO

mmmmm interesting theory!

WOW!!!dis woz da best book ive ever read!!!i read it in 16hrs which is a new personal record!!!i cudnt believe it when snape kiled dumbledore!!i nearly fell of my bed!!i cudnt believe dat dumbledore died for nufin! it was so sad when harry actually cried at his funeral! can any of u remember if harry's eva cried before? i woz cryin all the way through DD's funeral and when harry and ginny broke up!!i woz really enjoyin da harry and ginny romance. It shudve started sooner and they totaly have to get back together in the next book after voldys been thrashed! ron and hermione totaly have to hook up to in da next book coz they so like eachother! im liking the theory dat regulus black mite b R.A.B, i neva thought of dat. apparently, lily's past will play a big part in da 7th book and so will lupin. jkr has beein buildin up 2 da 7th book so well and now all the pieces r in place, its time for harry ron and hermione to kick sum death eater butt!!! bring it on!!! cant wait!!!

The defeat of Hitler by Dumbledore is the cause for his slaying by Wesley Snipes. Snipes, indebted to Der Fuehrer for allowing him to make Passenger 57, slays Dumbledore in a public pay-toilet at London's Heathrow Airport. He asks Dumbledore if he plays roulette to which Dumbledore answers "On Occasion." Snipes replies, "Always bet on black" before decapitating him with his katana of unflinching might. The Japanese steel decapitates the good professor and his head drops to the cold table. His eyes glaze over and Harry Potter, who is the Mulatto Prince, vows vengance on Nino Brown.

if harry doesn't go back to hogwarts, i hope that it's some kind of ploy to squeeze an 8th book out of the series seeing as how the book is supposed to follow harry until he completes his schooling. another thing is that dumbledore said that he'd prefer death over a horcrux, so i doubt he did it. now i was confused because they said they were looking for snape in the last two chapters but shortly after he had done the deed, jk wrote a short paragraph that made it sound as though buckbeak had killed snape

Hello kids ...looks like I am the only person here never to have read any Harry Potter book....and totally unaffected by all the hype and hoopla ;-)

I feel woeful for you.

listen, i love the theory of rab being reglas black and i didnt think of it but its good. plus there should be more than seven books because she killed dumbledor so thathe could write more. Unless she makes the book more the one year long. Also, i tink there is more to harry and dumbledors relationship, because he cried when harry said he was his man through and through. I also saw the ron-hermione thing from book 1 and the harry-ginny thing from book 2.However, in the 5th bok i though i saw harry and luna mabey, but no. I stayed up all night reading the book, i couldn put it down. i didnt cry when dumbledor died but i almost did. Tonks and lupin i didnt see coming and i thought she was under the imperious curse for the longest time. Dumbledor may have been pleading for snape TO kil him, and tat was made easier for him when he made the unbreakable vow. But u have to really mean it for an unbreakable curse to work. I was alo really creeped out with the inferi. I kept seeing them in my rom, and one umped up and touched me ut it was just my cousin ( whose 5 yrs old) coing to wake me up. It wa dar so i couldnt see and he was weraing white. It really pissed me off wen dumbledor died for nothing, and what happened to grimwauld pkace by the way. Srry, that was all realy jumping around, and i hafta go but ponder wa ive said by.

my first thought upon seeing RAB was rabastan lestrange, but those aren't even his real initials, I dunno why thought of it. my second thought was regulus black but to me he's always come across as a sort of idiot I guess; plus remember sirius saying that regulus believed his parents' pureblood-mania. I don't know his middle name either so it doesn't seem very likely for RAB to be regulus black.

all my likely suspects so far are death eaters for some reason. do you guys think this RAB is a death-eater turned good, or just a good person?

There will be no 8th book because, as we have learned...

7 is a magical number.

7 horcruxes.
7 books.

ps - i like the reg. black theory.

I'm really pissed off at snape!! I knew he was going to kill dumbledore though when malfoy couldn't, because of the unbreakable vow. I still don't like that dumbledore put so much trust in him. also I was suprised by how powersul snape seemed in the last couple of chapters, for some reason I always considered him to be a lot weaker. I think that its a good idea and all that snape killed dumbledore on his word, but I don't really think that's right. I don't think dd would of left harry at such a crucial time on purpose. I personally think snape left dd because he could tell that dumbledore was getting weaker. all throughout the book it was brought up that dd had a hurt hand and couldnot react and do magic as well anymore. also I'm pretty sure now dd mention that snape first saw his hand or something before he died.also I think that Snape likes power, and I think he switch to the death eaters because he thought that they were going to win the war.

I also feel real bad for malfoy, eventhough harry hates him. I always thought that malfoy would come to Harry's side eventually, and the fact that malfoy cracked and was not able to kill dd make me thing that he will more. I always kinda liked malfoy.

also there is not going to be a 8th book jk said so. i wish there would be. :-(

GREAT BOOK, I LOVE IT -- guess I'm going to have to read a couple more times though to find out who rab is, I really have no clue and I read the other five at least 7 times.

Wow that book was great!!

Also, there is a very good chance that Dumbledore did create a horcruxe. Dumbledore was the head of the Order of the Pheonix and as such he was a part of the previous fight against Voldemort. A person in such a position most likley did end up killing someone even if it was for the greater good.

Ok lets get this straight Dumbledore does not have a horcrux..... When Voldy got hit with a rebounced avada kedavra there was no body left.... simple

SPOILERS

regulus black was the very first person i thought of when i saw RAB. it is most likely a death eater becasue the note is adressed to the dark lord and death eaters are the only ones who call him that. and we know regulus panicked about something he was being asked to do and tried to back out. so i think regulus is our best bet. and i think it was really cool that he died so that it would be easier for someone to defeat voldemort once and for all. well i guess we wont know for sure until book 7. and i still cant believe snape killed dumbledore, alhtough i should have expected it from back in the 2nd chapter when he made the unbreakable vow. i guess i wanted to believe that snape would rather die by breaking the vow than kill dumbledore, but then i remembered what phineas nigellus said about slytherins, that they would always choose to save themselves. but i am siding on the theory that dumbledore wanted snape to kill him, because his reason for trusting snape seemed far too weak. again, i guess we'll just have to wait a few more years...

oh yeah and adding to the comment above, i dont think dumbledore would have created a horcrux, he said himself that he would rather choose death. and about the pictures, i believe JKR answered a question on her website once that concerned portraits of dead people, ill have to look it up again, but i dont think dumbledore will be able to talk with harry about killing voldemort through his picture. good idea though.

why did DD hve 2 die...i still can't believe it...like itz DD...hez da greatest wizards of all time...he can't b dead itz not possible...god...im so mad at jk first she killz of sirius now DD...who next? nd stupid snape...didn't like him from da beginin...he shod die dat stupid aaaahhh....i refuse 2 believe dat DD dead like com on hez DD like he can't die...he jus can't :'(

Something that really makes me laugh is the fact that Trelawney is an alcholic now

MORE SPOILERS***********


WOW.

First of all:

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Rest In Peace Albus Dumbledore.

We loved you.
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Snape kills Dumbledore but he had to do it. Dumbledore knew he made the unbreakable vow, and valued Snapes life above his own.

"Please...Severus" Dumbledore was not pleading for his life but for Snape to gather the courage to do it. Then Snape explodes when Harry calls him a coward. He was not being a coward. Harry didn't get it.


Why? Because Snape, by killing Dumbledore, becomes Voldy's closest ally and most trusted DE. Which makes him Harry's greatest weapon to find and destroy Voldemort.

This book was all about showing us how great a wizard Snape really is, and boy, the guy is a great wizard. I think we have only seen the beginning of what Snape can do.

A dark but great book. Maybe my favorite (GOF was my previous favorite).

The last book will be a doozy and I can see it being a very long one, longer than OOTP.

I was happy that Rowling gave Dumbledore a proper sendoff. And no, I don't think he will come back. Why?

"To the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure."

It's too bad he had to go, so much knowledge left with him.

Oh, and something else I have a theory on - Snape must also have made an unbreakable vow with Dumbledore, whether it was to obey him always, or to help Harry. Something along those lines.

I love that JK explained Voldemort's upbringing and how he is "immortal" and what now needs to be done.

It sets the stage for the last book.

I hate to say it, because Dumbledore was my favorite, but he had to go. The story has to get darker before the hero pulls it out at the end, and this had to happen.

I was also impressed that there was no stupidity in this book. Harry was mature and made mature decisions in this book, and so did most of his colleagues. With this book, JK has finally stopped pandering to all the kiddies that should be reading about "Babar" or "Arthur" instead.

Wow. What a great book. Just enough to leave me salivating for the final chapter. Man, the wait is already excruciating.

i gess it was a good book but the only problem i see is for the next book. harry couldnt even inflict damage on SNAPE!! i noe snape is powerful but voldemort is much more powerful so i dont see harry beating voldy. JKR shuldve made harry stronger coz he cant get THAT much stronger in order to kill voldy. i noe this isnt relative but hey...

i dont think snape killed dumbly on dumbly orders!!i mean cmon it was obvious from the 4th book that he was still in tuch with the DE!! KARKAROF!! if karkaroff trusted snape into to confiding into him then surely...

personally i think this book isnt that great but it is just... ok.

Let's all remember when Hagrid overheard Snape and Dumbledore arguing in the woods (pg 405 & 406) Snape said he didn't want to do it anymore and Dumbledore said that he'd agreed to do it and that was all there was to it.

Dumbledore knew about Draco's plot to kill him all year, he also knew about Snape's Unbreakable Vow. DD spent the entire year preparing Harry to go on alone. He was PREPARING TO DIE!

I agree that he wasn't pleading for his life but rather trying to give Snape the courage to kill him. He also wanted to save Draco from performing an Unforgivable Curse and falling forever into the dark side.

Also, as icing on the cake, The Half Blood Prince (SNAPE) did nothing but HELP Harry ALL YEAR. If it wasn't for SNAPE then Harry would never have made the potion to win the Felix Felicis potion. Without the Felix Felicis he would never have gotten the memory from Slughorn, and his friends never would have survived the attacks of the Death Eaters. Not to mention that Harry also saved Ron with the Prince's help.

JK would never let a bad person help Harry. The sides of good and evil are clearly too drawn.

questions? Comments? :)

Good book. Much more darker than its predecessors. JK used great dramatic irony by revealing that Snape was not on our side very early in the book. I think the real reason Dumbledore trusted Snape is a lot stronger than the explanation given. Or JK was not up to her usual standards.

Hmmm... I think that this book was nowhere near as dark as the past two. The only thing that would be considered dark would be the death at the end-- but seriously! One death a dark book does not make. Especially considering we all knew it had to happen. It was surprising, sure... I figured it'd happen in book 7... but still.

There was no where near the tension in this books as the past two. Indeed it felt like a romp through the good ol' days of books one through three.

All of the above isn't a criticism. I'm just saying...

ummm........ I remember the initials R.A.B. from another book anyone have and idea what other minor character this may be or is it most likely someone who was minisculey mentioned and she will bring into the book

besides the the book was beyond greatness

This is an official review of Harry Potter and The Half-Breed Prince. Rowling has done it again in spectacular style. Her wiz-bang theatrics combined with her taut prosody make for a roller-coaster ride of spills, thrills, chills, and (gasp!) eco-terrorism. It seems as if our girl Hermoine has grown up. Once a faithful girlfriend to Harry and his schoolchum Mortimer, Hermoine has grown into a girl with right-wing beliefs, a pair of smoking six-guns, and fabulous pumps worthy of Paris Hilton at her most extravagent. I could never have expected that brutal shoot-out scene when Hermoine kicks down the door to a secret meeting of Islamic Extremists and blasts away, giving the terrorists a hot dose of .45 caliber justice. Take that, Osama! After this, she loads up the Colt pistols, boards a plane to Pakistan, and rings in Ramadan in a whole new way. After this, she visits Washington D.C. and encourages the powers that be to eschew that communist Kyoto treaty and she stokes the fires of a coal-burning factory with some old-growth Redwood. Now that's what I call unilateral action!

dumbldore says since voldemort applies for the defence against the dark arts job (2cnd time) hogwarts has never had a DADA teacher for more than one year. im sure quirrel had been there ages.

really confused. anyone explain for me??

hmmm..i read it from 11 to 3...excellent read..but why did he have to dump her? i mean..he cant do this alone. he is going to need her to help him. okay he has hermione and ron in the end, but he knows he loves her. i mean if hes willing to break her heart then have her be in danger, but have his best friends be exposed to danger..then something needs to happen.
its probably not making any sense, but idk. i cant wait for two years...two more years until the end
hmmm...

To sum up the most coherent and concise theories and the important developments:

*Snape is the Half-Blood Prince and his involvement in Dumbledore's death may or may not reveal him to be good or evil despite it's severity. Chances are, however, that the act of killing Dumbledore was concious and un-influenced by magic from Death Eaters (other than the Unbreakable Vow made in chapter 2, though technically he could have died rather than fulfil the vow).

*Dumbledore's death is the final step in Harry's preparation to begin his quest to weaken and destroy Voldemort, a step painstakingly planned and nutured by Dumbledore himself with nothing less than heroic sacrifice and selflessness.

*Wormtail is going to do something very, very important next book.

*Regulus Black is most likely the person referred to by the initials "RAB"; he was a Death Eater, he was destroyed with surprising expedience even for a traitor hinting at something special about him (knowledge of the Horcruxes perhaps?), and the first and last name match up.

*Dumbledore is dead, no questions about it, Dumbledore never wished to learn about, create, or use a Horcrux himself under any circumstances. Recurring evidence of Dumbledore stating that he despises the Dark Arts and especially Horcruxes (enough to ban all traces of knowledge of them from his own school) seem to make this pretty clear. Sorry.

*A lot of people are anxiously anticipating the last book.

Oh and is this a plothole? (sorry I might have misread)

Why werent Kreacher and Dobby following Malfoy the night of Dumbledore's death?

The last time Harry sees them and the last time the book mentions them, he orders them to continue following Malfoy...considering how he doesnt order them otherwise (or so it seems)wouldn't they have been bound to continue watching over Malfoy and thereby have alerted Harry or anyone of the culmination of Malfoy's misdeeds?

Great book
i think dumbledore and snape have work together on his death so that snape can go back to spy on voldemort and not be called a traitor. i'm not sure how they have done it but i don't think dumbledore is really dead, they just need voldemort to think he is.????

Yeah...what happened to Kreacher and Dobby keeping an eye on Malfoy????

I understood it to be that after they reported back to Harry he learned what he needed to and thus they weren't needed anymore.

But Harry never told the house elves specifically to stop tailing Malfoy right?

Sorry...just trying to find ways to have made Dumbledore's death avoidable.

Dumbledore is dead, there's really no way around it; his death was probably planned by Snape and himself, but ultimately I'm afraid that anyone who denies that Dumbledore is gone(and neccesarily so) is in denial.

There's no way to know whether DD is dead or not until the next book is available. JKR can take the plot where she likes. Horcruxes may be too "black" but there's nothing to stop her devising a "white" equivalent if DD's presence is needed. Myself, I think he'll be back because too many questions have been left hanging.

Harry murdered Dumbledore disguised as Snape. This is going to be the BOMBSHELL J.K. is going to drop in the first few chapters of the next book.

hah! that would be hilarias. You should write the parody of this book..

y did dumbledore stop harry from leavin? was he afraid that he would be alone? and how wouldnt he be able to keep a dada teacher if quirrel was there for more than im sure a year?

ok i think RAB is two peoples initials, as in someone and someone, a being and not a middle name cuz it took two people to get the horcruxes DD and harry. he said one person couldn't do it well thats what i think

Very clever idea--that someone wanted to be killed at the end of the book and therefore the person who killed him was only following his orders. Perhaps Harry wouldn't have had the passion and determination to be single minded about finishing off Voldemort if this did not happen. He has been told exactly how to do it. (Seven parts) Perhaps that someone who died was already dying anyway-and he has a portrait he can still communicate from to possibly teach Harry more.
One thing I had hoped to see(but did NOT) in this book was a chance for Harry to express his regret to Snape for his father James's behavior. Even if Snape doesn't accept Harry's remorse for James's unkindness, it will be a great credit to Harry's character that he took courage and offered it.

Spoiler!!!!!!!!!!!!1




I think that snape had to kill Dumbledore even though he didnt plan on it. Remember the unbreakable vow with Narrcisa? He probably thought he could talk malfoy out of being a death eater. And then when she added in the part were he had to take up malfoys duty if he doesent finish it well i dont think snape had expected that and he had to say yes or they would know he wasnt loyal to Voldemort. When malfoy didnt kill dumbledore snape then had to kill him ore snape himself wouldave died cause of the vow. I myself would have just died i wouldnt turn on him.

spoiler!!!

The horehux that harry and dumbledore sake out i think dumbledore sat it up. I think that dumbledore sat it up to teach harry how voldemort sets up traps so he can reconize them in the future and was showing him what measures of secrurity voldemort puts on his stuff (inwhich i think isnt that good for a advanced wizard although its pretty sick)
Also I think he did this whole thing with the locket cause he knew the right track but was afraid that he wouldnt live to tell harry. So he did all this to put harry in and inform him if the worse happened. Also it gave harry more strenght to hurry and find these relics and destroy them quickly. But although of these suspicions of mine i still cant wait to find out who or what rab means! I also want to know what the dursleys are going to say with ron and hermione staying with harry! And what about bill did yall forget bout him what is he going to turn into? And him and fluer marrying? Think of there kids little veelawerewolves they can use there charm to lure kids and then ..... ill stop there. I dont mean to be harse but u know u have to consider what is goin on!

It really hurt to read the last three chapters. It sucked that Dumbledore died. I thought he would last at least up until the end of the seventh book. It really sucked that harry had to end his relationship with Ginny. I hope it's only until harry finally kills voldemort. I thought they made a great couple. I admit that I had heard that harry would find some romance in this book, I just thought it might of been hermione. I didn't think ginny until harry kept talking about going out with ginny and worried if ron would kill him. it was a great book that even though I thought it would be longer seeing that the books got bigger with every release. that could of answered the question to harry's relationship with ginny. it will a funny thing to read the seventh even though he won't be in school.

for number twenty one..it cant be two people cause the person spoke in a singular pov..he would have made it clear that there were two of them speaking...i cant wait for two more years...number seven will be the best one and i just cant wait..

u guys are real wusses!! hu cries wen a FICTIONAL CHARACTER DIES!!! the book was average... anyways people are stupid to believe that snape and dumbledore planned his death dumbly is great and everything but he dead get over it!! dumbly wuldnt ditch harry just to protect malfoy. and dont give me crap about snape being a spy dumbly wuld be more useful than a spy... plus if snape was a spy for dumbly how is he gonna convince the order without being cursed as soon as they see him??!! use ur brains people... JKR has now made it impossible for harry to kill voldy he IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH... GEEZ

Snape is not evil or a coward I love him!
Dumbledore pleaded for Snape to kill him, to save Malfoy from Voldemort and to make sure Snape's cover was not blown.
The reason Harry gave at the end of the book for D trusting S is obviously rubbish I don't think it is the real reason, it will all come out in the next book when Harry is discovered to be one of Voldemort's horcruxes and has to be killed.

loveee the book best yet apart from some of the plot.

For those of you worried that Hp is not strong enough to tackle V remember he has not had his 17th birthday yet, when wizards come of age. Who knows what may be revealed then?

It is clear that the butchery of innocents will continue until J.K. Rowling comes out and issues a definitive statement on the Iraq situation. All Americans put 100% faith in the opinions of celebrities regarding Foreign Policy. Unless her next book is going to be entitled "Harry Potter and The Jihadists From Afghanistan," Rowling owes it to us to condemn terrorism in all forms.

SPOILER


dumbledore was too smart for snape to fool him. and besides he must have had a good reason to have him at the school where he had been so close to harry for five years there is much more to this i just don't think it all adds up( his death i mean) it just seems weird..but i hadn't thought of the portrait theory that works also ..maybe the order is in on the plan??? and just because some people cried at the end ( myself included and i'm 34)dosn't mean we are wusess i read the whole book in a day nad a half because i got so involved these books sweep me away to another world and even though this sounds stupid i feel like i know them all,, like the are friends so it's sad when someone dies (or maybe not????)so please don't mock us wusess (be kind)LOL :)

I have considered Regulus Black as being R.A.B. for a while, and I think that he probably is. Despite the initials, the Story Sirius tells about him in OotP fits perfectly with the contents of the note. I had thought about Harry being the sixth Horcrux too, although I reall hope that this isn't the case. As far as Harry and Ginny... wake up Harry! During his last conversation with Dumbledore before setting off for the cave, Dumbledore couldn't have been more obvious with his 'love is your secret weapon' speech. The question is, who's love? Harr'y love for Ginny? His love for his best friends? Some people even think Snape's alleged love for Lily Evans. Possibly all of these? Nevertheless, I am of the impression that it will be important for Harry to reunite with Ginny BEFORE defeating Voldemort.

SPOILERS*********************
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Sorry - I'm afraid Dumbledore is really dead.

Too many asterisks.

SPOILERS*****************

Yeah, I definitely believe Snape is still good. Dumbledore called Snape's name while occlumenting what he wanted Snape to do. Remember he called his name twice so Snape even hesitated. Dumbledore is dead thats for sure. But, Snape and, possibly Draco, will fight on Harry's side. I just wished they give him a secret weapon. I mean Love is all good and stuff but he's going to have to kill not write poetry

Oh yeah RAB is Sirius's Brother

how on earth could harry be a horcrux?? voldemort has never been near him right after murdering someone. the only exception is after he killed harrys parents and why would he want to turn him into one if he planned to kill him in a few seconds anyway??

This book review has been selected for Advance.net. You'll be able to find this and other Blog Critics reviews at such places as Cleveland.com's Book Reviews column.

Okay I honestly believe that harry is a horcrux. When he was speaking with dumbldore he asked if a living thing could be one, and yes they can. Also i'm not sure if voldemort would have been strong enought but after trying to kill harry, if he realized that this boy would not be killed and would be protected greatly why not hide a horcrux in him that would be protected. remember that he didn't care that one of his horcrux was distroyed.

But a flaw in my hypothesis is that the prophecy said, " . . .and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives. . ." But in order for voldemort to survive wouldn't harry have to live?

Either way at the end of the novel i have to face it that Harry will most likely die. Most great heros in mythology die tragic but heroic, and honerable deaths.

Yer i agree but it cud still go either way from here. I hope Harry doesn't die though coz after everyfin he's been through he deserves a happy long life after this don't you think??? Anyway, wot did you lots think of the Harry-Ginny relationship coz i personaly thought it was great and they totaly have to get back together in the next book!!!

I always hoped that harry and ginny would get together and was very disappointed when harry broke up with her to protect her.

Well wat can 1 say about harry potter and the half blood prince except wow has jkr has got 1 hell of an imagination!!! hu saw ne of dat cumin not i, i tell u!! iv read alot in to it and i reckon snape was defnetly the the best character coz hes so mysterious!!

An emotional read. A reality that no matter how much courage, honor, and integrity stands up to EVIL, we are all vunerable to it. Even as Evil demands respect through oppression and fear, there is still bravory that will fight it wherever it trys to hide.

I am still trying to delve into the thoughts of Dumbledorf and Snape. Something just does not fell right about what transpired at the end of this novel.

Everyone is trying to figure out who the character RAB is. Everyone also seems to keep suggesting Regulus Black, however, it has been stated time and time again that he is dead. The person that I believe RAB is was killed at the very beginning of the book, as the note inside the fake horcrux said said the person would be soon after it was found. I think RAB could possibly Amelia Bones. Does she have a name before amelia? I think it seems a likely thing for JK Rowling to do... anyone agree?

I personaly hope the r4elationship between harry and ginney turns out like peter parker and mj in spiderman.

I think that also there might be 6 horcuxs instead of 7 cause he might have been saving the last one for the murder of harry but as u can see his plans were kind of messed up lol!

WAIT DOES NEONE KNOW WHEN THE SEVENTH BOOK IS cOMING OUT!?!?!?

SPOILERS*****
I definately agree with Mo (comment #103) and Nav (comment #100) that Dumbledore had ordered Snape to kill him (sacrifice, really).
Remember how good an Occlumens Snape is, and how he told Harry in OotP that he can hide the memories that contradict things he's telling Voldemort? I would bet Dumbledore is a greater Legilimens that even Voldemort (seeing as how Dumbledore continually pointed out numerous holes in Voldemorts plots and thinkings), and however good both Vold. and DD are at telling if someone's lying to them, DD would be better.
So... Snape is still a double agent for both sides, but DD is aware of all his work for the other side. I doubt DD would be hoodwinked by Severus Snape! C'mon, there's got to be concrete reasons why DD trusts him so deeply that Rowling has not yet revealed.

fucking hell u guys are nerds!! give it a freakin rest u fucking sluts

Couple points. First, I always thought RAB was one of two people: Amelia Bones, or "Mr. Borgin" whose first name is never given (and would be familiar with the locket and w/Tom Riddle).

Second, Dumbledore and Snape worked together. Dumbledore makes Snape Professor of DADA -- why? B/c if he still tought potions, Harry can't get into the class (Snape requires an Outstanding on the O.W.L. for 6th year potions), Potter doesn't get Snape's old potions book, etc. It's all part of a master plan.

Third, some people mention that Dumbledore is dead and now can talk to Harry from his portrait. The more important thing is, former headmasters can move between their own portraits in different places. Dumbledore must have a million portraits. This would give him access and knowledge that is completely invaluable. Dumbledore knew this.

I just finished reading the book about 15 minutes ago...I am STILL crying. I freaking hate you Snape! I never liked you...but now I REALLY loathe you. Oh Dumbledore...you trusted so much. I cried through pretty much the last 3 chapters of the book, it was rather difficult to see the pages through all of my tears....And I SO hoped that Sirius would come back...I dunno, maybe some crazy twist where he didnt die, just fell into another dimension or something? But NOOOOOO J. K. Rowling feels the need to kill off someone ELSE that I love. ::so stressed::

I can't believe anyone would even suggest that JKR has any political message within the Harry Potter series, much less the War against Terror. I am confident that she would be appalled at that suggestion. She is sending a message about lots of human conflicts, none in particular. This type of thing HAS happened before - World War II...anyone?

I absolutely loved the book btw. I thought it was a work of pure genius.

Rowling's manifesto is indisputably about the terrorist strife at home and abroad. Everyone in this tale is a symbol for something else. Dumbledore stood for the concept of justice and freedom. Now that he has been murdered by the Islamic Abdul-al Snape who is a Pakistani Mullah, the world is in disarray. It is up to Harry and his common-law wife Hermoine to stop Snape, go find Osama, and bring this madness to an end. I look foward to book 7, "Harry Potter and The Whores from Kabul."

My guess: Snape, while once a protege of Dumbledore's, is now a real peer. In fact, I'd say Snape is the more powerful of the two (not just because he killed him).

The two are running the Order of the Phoenix, and Snape must now focus his energies on finding the remaining Horcruxes. There is NO WAY that bumbling goofball Harry is going to find them, let alone have the talent to destroy them (hmm, Dumbledore destroys the ring - losing use of an arm and needing Snape's help - Harry would be dead if he tried).

Harry may have to kill Voldemort, but Snape is the one pulling together all the strings. Snape, with his Occlumens and as a *powerful* double-agent, is much more crucial to the end-game than Dumbledore. Both Snape and Dumbledore both realized this at Dumbledore's end - Snape's Unbreakable Vow simply served double-duty as a plot device to sympathize with Harry's hatred of the most brilliant wizard ever (jeez Harry, go study for once).

well some people asked for it...and I think you probably found it somewhere already but just incase...

the SPOILER on who is the Half Blood Prince...





Snape is the Half Blood Prince. So there is just for the people who left comments asking incase you havent found it yet.

oh..and here is just a theory...but RAB...is there any chance that perhaps it could be Sirius' younger brother Regulus Black? I dont know if we ever got his middle name..but it could be an A...I mean he was a death eater...and he did want out...so there is a slight possiblity it could be him!

ok, ive got a theory but im not sure what you guys will think............... what if Dumbledore was a Horcrux??? and he wanted to be killed but not before he had shown Harry how to defeat Voldemort?? Dumbledore did say that living things could be Horcruxes. It was just an idea so please dont go biting my head off if you think its a crap idea!!!

Yes, yes. Dumbledore is a Horcrux, but a Horcrux for Snape, who is a master of the Dark Arts. The Dumbledore Horcrux trusts Snape implicitly because they share the same soul, and thus the hesitation on both ends when the Dumbledore Horcrux is destroyed.

I like it. Snape is so powerful he has to break into two awesome wizards. He's the man.

On R.A.B. - I agree with the post in 144 and some others - Amelia Bones strangely disappeared at the start of the book - perhaps Lord V reclaiming his Horcrux. Or a masquerade.
On Snape - really a stumper. Is he the obvious Judas betrayer or was there some understanding between DD and Snape - remember the argument reported by Hagrid. Perhaps DD, knowing of the Death Eater plan from Snape and knowing of his own imminent demise from his injury is pressing a reluctant Snape to play his part in the theatrical saving of Draco's soul and the ultimate bamboozling of Lord V. Certainly DD goes to great pains to make sure that HP is both concealed from the view of others and unable to respond until DD's death in the tower showdown. Snape does not attack any of the good guys in his escape. Snape does not attack HP and indeed seems to be trying to improve HP's dueling technique before his escape. He is, above all, angered by HP calling him a coward, whereas Snape has probably run more risks for the OP than any other member, but to continue to be useful he cannot reveal himself in open conflict with the Death Eaters. Snape, the accomplished legilimens and occlumens has been an enigma since the first book, his disdain saved for HP's "arrogance and laziness".
On the other hand, Snape's occlumency lessons in OP seemed tailor-made to increase HP's exposure to Lord V's suggestions and not to help HP resist. The problem for the double-agent, if he has not turned against the OP, is how to reapproach the good guys - someone else must know of the true nature of the goings on with DD or Snape will ultimately have to convince someone else in order to spring any kind of trap on Lord V.
If Snape has truly turned to the dark side, then he has become nothing but a boring twit still nursing an adolescent hatred - then HP's dispatching him in book 7 will be a nice warmup for the finishing off of Lord V.

with regards to post 149 christopher ..there is no need to speak to people that way or use lanuage like that if you don't like what your reading leave the site and don't read the posts this is a great site for people who love the books to throw their ideas and theory's around not to have a foul mouth person like you put them down


post 153 sanuel gatling.... this is not a political forum so please don't throw your own political beliefs on to others ..this site is about a fantasy book that many people love and not some master plan of terroists what the hell are you on about harry and his common law wife hermione... mate get a grip or get out of the forum... are you sure your not related to luna lovegood fair dinkum you are a tosser IT'S A BOOK for godsake can anyone tell me where there is another posting site dedicated to the book where one dosn't have to put up with lunatics like these two????

Good post #159. If the end of HBP is just as it appears with no hidden twist revealed in the next book JKR must be slipping. Think of all the loose ends that haven't been tidied up.
Snape virtually has to be a goody otherwise what's the point of half the book; so Harry can say "told you so" at the end? As for whether DD's dead or not, could go either way. Better if he's not as he'll leave a big hole in the plot. Sirius wasn't too bad, he'd never really become a central figure but DD has been there from the start

Wow - lots of comments here, and I didn't have time to read them all. Did anyone mention that Dumbledore's pet was a phoenix? Maybe that's a clue that somehow Dumbledore himself will come back refreshed from his own death. And Snape knew this, making it necessary to kill him.

Ok, here is the way it is. Snape is good. We all know Dumbledore is smarter than Voldemort, so Snape probably had some sort of arrangement with Dumbledore to kill him. And Dumbledore WANTED Harry to see him killed...otherwise why would he have used his last strength to freeze Harry in place? Dumbledore wants everybody to THINK Snape is bad, just like you all are! The other Horcrux???? It's HARRY!!!!! Voldemore wasn't trying to kill Harry, he was trying to use him as a Horcrux. This way, Harry has to die in order for Voldemort to die. It's a very logical conclusion....

I wish you all could have heard the blood curdling scream that came from my kid last week when I told him what happens to between Snape and Dumbledorf according to what it said on RMS's site.

He seems to hate me now for some reason. I mean, even more than usual. Should I feel bad?

hey what if voldemort put the letter in the locket to keep anyone from destroying it, thinking it was a fake? i mean, the guy DOES plan ahead, so whats not to say that he thought of a way to keep the person who might find it from blowing it up....just a thought...think about it...

What an evil dude that Snape is. To be honest, I expected Dumbledore to die in book 5.

Here's a crazy thought, what was more important to dumbledore. To live and continue the fight against Voldemort. Or prearrange snape to kill him so that snape can now be voldemorts most trusted and closest advisor.

I know this is far fetched but I can't help bbut wonder if there is more here than meets the eye.

Awww...This book is so sad but I would've been happier if Voldemort had killed Dumbledore though. In this book I kind of felt sorry for Malfoy...It was really weird to when Hermione was acting really dumb in borgin and burkes but I can let these things go because Rowlings HBP was great

Remember, Old Voldy is close to nobody. He can't have a trusted advisor, as he trusts no one. Snape did as he was told, by Dumbledore. He didn't want to do it, but he had to for the entire wizarding world (even the dark wizards)to know he was dead. Now, nobody will be looking for him, giving a false sense of security. He must have a reason to trust Snape. I really think it is all part of a plan.Just wait...Harry must to the next step without Dumbledores help. Just read it, carefully.

Dumbledore drank the horcrux! Remember at the black lake? Dumbledore forced Harry to make sure that DD drank every drop of the green liquid. DD then begged for Snape to come to his office and begged Snape to kill him. It was all planned. DD made sure that HP was unable to rescue DD. Vordy's horcrux was inside DD's body. I am convinced
DD has his own horcrux. I believe that DD killed the large spider (Aragog?) in the Forbidden forest in order to split his own soul for his horcrux. Your thoughts?

I just really think that if DD was ever going to come back why would JKR write the funeral?? A fitting end to a character

post # 169 is the most sensible of all. It makes complete sense.

Nah, i agree with post 170. The funeral seamed to make DD's death official and sorry people but he aint comin back.

if the 6th is as dark, imagine the 7th! really i was at a loss for words for about half an hour after having finnished the book. Well, from what we get:

---- SPOILER -----

in the 7th: draco will be nice,
a wedding (duh)
snape dead (lets hope)
voldemort dead (?) --- JKR should make one book for every horcrux
ginny, neville, luna will help harry against the strugle against the evil lord

cant he use the portrait for help either?

In Book 7, "Harry Potter and The Rapist From Alpha Centauri," Harry and Hermoine (Potter's lover and confidant) defeat a team of rapists from beyond the stars. Those who attempt to penetrate Hogwarts with their insidious behaviour will pay with their heads and Harry will make millions atone in blood.

Okay okay. I can't resist putting in my two cents... There have been some great theories here with a few nasty comments from some warped people but on the whole pretty cool.

A. Absolutely I think that Snape is on the good guys side. He has always received the raw end of the deal and it will come out in the end that he was always working for the good side. Besides, he's got the following going for him: Dumbledore, the Order of the Pheonix, the argument in the forest, teaching Harry at the very end and finally pulling someone off of Harry that was giving him the Crucius curse. He hates being called coward because he is the least coward of anyone.

B. I also believe that Wormtongue will play a crucial role in the next book as well as a cool fight between Lupin and Greyback.

C. The RAB theory about being Sirius' brother seems to be the best theory to me.

D. I too don't see Harry to be a wizard capable of defeating Voldemort. He usually escapes from dumb luck. He couldn't even remember that Dumbledore had told him that fire repels the Inferius when they were in the cave. He will either have to get really smart quickly or have LOTS of help and Felix potion.

E. I immediately thought Harry might be carrying a Horcrux when he found out about them but now feel that would be a bit too messy for this story. Harry has to win in the end. "The boy who lived..."

F. Something I haven't seen here and hope to hear some feedback on... Why was Mundungus even mentioned? I think that he has one or two of the horcruxes or maybe sold them as junk.. He did steal stuff from the black place and was caught by Harry and Ron with a goblet (although it supposedly had the Black insignia on it rather than Hufflepuff and was described as being golden too). Just a thought.

Pretty good book but not my favorite of the series so far. I think that was #4.

SPOILER****G. Uhhh.. One more. I think Snape will sacrifice his life for Harry at some point in the next book. That's all.

Massive spoiler below

































u fools!!!!!!!!!!!

do u really think th