Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Narcissa Malfoy arrives at Severus Snape’s house, followed by her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, who warns Narcissa against trusting Snape. A former Death Eater, Snape is currently a teacher at Hogwarts and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, the secret organization founded by Albus Dumbledore that is rallying against Voldemort.

Snape invites the sisters in. Narcissa begins to make her request, but Bellatrix interrupts, warning her sister to hold her tongue. Among other things, she questions Snape’s loyalty, especially since he remained working at Hogwarts after Voldemort fell and did not return immediately after Voldemort was revived. Snape retorts that Voldemort himself has already asked these, among other questions, and found the answers satisfactory. Snape has remained loyal to Voldemort throughout and is playing a double agent while remaining under Dumbledore’s roof and protection in Hogwarts.

Narcissa tearfully asks for Snape’s help with the task Voldemort has given her son, Draco. The task is a seemingly impossible one, and Voldemort has chosen Draco for this as punishment: Lucius, Draco’s father, failed in retrieving an important prophecy for Voldemort, getting himself captured and imprisoned instead during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort is very angry, and Draco has been chosen for a task in the pursuit of which he will most likely die trying. Snape reveals that Voldemort intends for Snape to eventually do it when Draco fails; however, he promises Narcissa that he will help Draco, making an Unbreakable Vow.

Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, arrives at the Dursleys’ home to collect Harry Potter. Harry is a wizard, though he only discovered this about himself when he was 11 years old. Orphaned at the age of one when Voldemort killed his parents, an infant Harry was left on the Dursleys’ doorstep by Dumbledore 15 years ago. Aunt Petunia, though Harry’s mother’s sister, is a Muggle; she and her magic-hating husband, Uncle Vernon, raised Harry grudgingly and abusively, hoping to eliminate all traces of magic in him. However, when Harry turned 11, he was visited by Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, with his official acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the process, Hagrid revealed the truth about Harry’s past, including that he is famous in the wizarding world. Voldemort’s attempt to kill an infant Harry backfired on him, and the powerful Dark wizard disappeared, vanquished, and no one knew why. Harry was left unharmed, the only mark from his encounter with Voldemort being a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. For 13 years, the wizarding community lived in peace; however, Voldemort continued to make attempts to regain his old strength again, and Harry encountered the Dark wizard four times after joining Hogwarts. Two summers ago, Harry witnessed Voldemort return to power, though it took a whole year for the Ministry of Magic to believe Harry and accept that Voldemort was back. Since then, Harry and Dumbledore have been publicly maligned by the Ministry and the newspapers for what Fudge believed were their attempts to seek attention and gain power.

Dumbledore invites himself in. Harry notices that his right hand is “blackened and shriveled” (51), but Dumbledore doesn’t elaborate when Harry asks him about it. Dumbledore tells Harry that his godfather Sirius Black’s will has been discovered. Upon his death during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries a couple of months prior, everything he owned has passed to Harry; this includes Sirius’s house in London, Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Once the Order headquarters, the house was vacated after Sirius’s death. Despite Sirius’s will, there may be secret enchantments to ensure that the ownership pass to a family member; Sirius’s next-of-kin is his cousin Bellatrix, the Death Eater who killed him. To test this theory, Dumbledore summons Kreacher, the old house-elf attached to the house. Kreacher hates Harry and desperately wants to go to Bellatrix, whom he considers his true mistress; however, Kreacher cannot resist obeying a direct order from Harry, clarifying that the house does, indeed, belong to Harry. Kreacher is sent to work at Hogwarts, where the other house-elves in Dumbledore’s employ will be able to keep an eye on him.

Dumbledore then addresses the Dursleys. While the Dursleys have not treated Harry well all these years, allowing him houseroom has protected him from Voldemort by an old enchantment Dumbledore evoked when he first left Harry there. To ensure the continuation of this protection, Dumbledore asks the Dursleys that they allow Harry to visit one last time next year before he turns 17 and comes of age as a wizard. Harry and Dumbledore then leave Privet Drive together.

Dumbledore first takes Harry by Side-Along Apparition (magical teleportation) to Horace Slughorn’s house. Slughorn is an old colleague of Dumbledore’s whom the latter wants to persuade to rejoin the faculty of Hogwarts. Harry and Dumbledore find Slughorn’s house deserted and in ruins. Harry is worried that something terrible has happened, but Dumbledore discovers Slughorn hiding, disguised as an armchair. Dumbledore and Harry had set off his magical intruder alarms, following which he had set up the house to appear as if it had been raided. Slughorn spots Harry and divines that Dumbledore has brought him along to help persuade Slughorn. Slughorn insists that he is too old and weak to return; however, Dumbledore points out that a post at Hogwarts would be more restful than Slughorn’s current lifestyle, where he has been constantly on the move for a year to avoid the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore excuses himself to use the washroom. Slughorn reveals that he taught Harry’s parents, and Lily, Harry’s mother, was one of his favorite students. He also expresses his hesitation at rejoining Hogwarts, worried that it will automatically link him to the Order; in turn, Harry observes that Slughorn would probably be safest at Hogwarts, as Dumbledore is rumored to be the only person Voldemort ever feared. Dumbledore returns and bids Slughorn farewell, claiming to accept Slughorn’s refusal to come back; however, Slughorn finally and grudgingly relents. After they leave, Dumbledore thanks Harry for his inadvertent help in persuading Slughorn to come back. He also tells Harry that Slughorn likes to “collect” people, warning Harry to be on his guard: “He will undoubtedly try to collect you […]. You would be the jewel of his collection: the Boy Who Lived […] the Chosen One” (78).

Dumbledore and Harry Apparate to The Burrow, the Weasleys’ home; Harry is best friends with Ron Weasley, the youngest Weasley boy, and has been invited to spend the rest of the summer with them. Before they go in, Dumbledore addresses the widespread rumors about the prophecy that Lucius Malfoy failed to retrieve. The prophecy foretells the arrival of the one with the power to defeat Voldemort, stating that “(n)either can live while the other survives” (79). Voldemort believes the prophecy to mean Harry, which leads him to kill Harry’s family and attack him as a baby. Although only Harry and Dumbledore have heard the complete prophecy, people have made guesses and are calling Harry the “Chosen One.” Dumbledore gives Harry permission to let his closest friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, know the truth. He also tells Harry that he will be having private lessons with Dumbledore this year; furthermore, he advises Harry to keep his Invisibility Cloak with him at all times.

Mrs. Weasley greets Dumbledore and Harry at The Burrow. She readies dinner for Harry, and they are joined shortly after by Mr. Weasley, back home from work at the Ministry. Harry goes to bed late and is woken up early by Ron and Hermione, who are joined by Ginny Weasley, Ron’s younger sister. The three welcome Harry back before Fleur Delacour, Ron’s oldest brother Bill’s fiancée, brings Harry his breakfast. Fleur and Harry competed in the Triwizard Tournament together in the past, and Fleur has a soft spot for Harry after he rescued Fleur’s sister during one of the tasks. While Ron is enamored by Fleur’s beauty, Ginny, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley perceive her as condescending, vain, and shallow.

Harry tells Ron and Hermione about the prophecy and him starting private lessons with Dumbledore; Ron and Hermione are shocked but supportive, which means the world to Harry. The trio receives the results of their Ordinary Wizarding Level (OWL) exams at breakfast; they have all passed with flying colors, and Harry has even achieved the top grade in Defence Against the Dark Arts. However, he is slightly disappointed, as he has not secured the required Potions grade to continue with the subject; without it, Harry’s dream of becoming an Auror (Ministry official trained to fight Dark wizards) comes to an end.

Towards the end of the summer, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione take a trip to Diagon Alley to visit Fred and George Weasley, Ron’s older twin brothers, at the joke shop they own and buy school supplies. They are met by Hagrid, who is serving as added security.

Hagrid accompanies Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Madam Malkin’s store to buy new school robes; there, they run into Narcissa and Draco. Draco insults Hermione, calling her a “Mudblood” (a derogatory term for a Muggle-born); he warns Harry that Dumbledore will not be around forever to protect him. Harry raises his wand, but Draco, who is being measured by Madam Malkin, suddenly recoils as she adjusts his sleeve and slaps her hand away. Contemptuous of the “kind of scum” (117) that shops at Madam Malkin’s, Narcissa and Draco leave the store.

After completing their shopping, the group eventually arrives at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Fred and George’s hugely successful joke shop. The twins give Harry the tour, refusing to let him pay for anything, as Harry is the one who gave them their start-up loan. Through the store window, Harry, Ron, and Hermione catch a glimpse of Draco hurrying up the street alone. Convinced that he must be up to no good, Harry persuades Ron and Hermione to use the Invisibility Cloak with him and follow Draco. They find Draco going into Borgin and Burkes, a store that sells Dark objects, and overhear Draco asking Mr. Borgin if he knows how to fix an unnamed object. Draco shows Mr. Borgin something the trio can’t see to threaten him into secrecy and mentions that “Fenrir Greyback” will be checking in. Draco tells Mr. Borgin to “keep that one safe” (127) before he leaves.