hp_reread (original) (raw)

In which the wizarding world assembles for Dumbledore's funeral.

Lessons and exams are cancelled. Bill, though badly hurt, is recovering. Guests begin to arrive for the funeral.

Hermione tells Harry that she had been right, in part, about the Half-Blood Prince: the Eileen Prince she had discovered in a news clipping had married the Muggle Tobias Snape and given birth to a "murderer," as Harry says. (637) Harry speculates that Snape, like Voldemort himself, was a half-blood who played up his mother's pureblood side. He still can't reconcile the unknown boy of his potions textbook with Professor Snape.

The funeral takes place out by the lake and is well attended--not only by members of the Order but by representative of the Ministry, including Umbridge, Fudge, and Scrimgeour. After the merpeople serandade Dumbledore, Harry turns to Ginny and tells her that he can't afford to continue seeing her, that he has to go one alone now.

Harry departs for time alone and is confronted by Scrimgeour, who is still looking for support. Harry says that he is "Dumbeldore's man, through and through." (649)

The chapter ends with Harry telling Ron and Hermione he doesn't plan to return to Hogwarts. After the requisite visit to the Dursleys, he wants to go to Godric's Hollow to see his parents' graves and then go on to hunt down the Horcruxes. Ron and Hermione pledge to stay with him.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 29: The Phoenix Lament
Next chapter: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS!

In which Harry enters the hospital wing and learns that he body he stepped over during the battle was Bill, who was not killed but ravaged by Greyback. Those assembled at Bill's bedside--Order members McGonagall, Lupin, and Tonks especially--are devastated by the news of Dumbledore's death and Snape's betrayal. They all recount the battle, each admitting that they did not remember what side Snape had joined. Hermione and Ginny, put on guard to watch Snape, let him escape when he reported that Flitwick had collapsed.

Fleur arrives with the elder Weasleys and declares that her love for Bill hasn't changed, despite the attack. This declaration sparks a reconciliation with Molly and an outburst from Tonks, who apparently has been turned down several times by Lupin, who thinks that he is "too old..too poor..too dangerous" for her. (624)

McGonagall invites Harry into her office and asks him to recount the day's events to her, but Harry replies that information is not to be shared. McGonagall assembles the heads of houses to discuss whether Hogwarts should open next year. They decide that the school will remain open for the students to attend Dumbledore's funeral.

Harry returns to the dorm to tell Ron that the Horcrux he and Dumbledore had discovered was a fake. Fawkes, who has been lamenting Dumbledore's death all this time, finally falls silent.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 28: The Flight of the Prince
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 30: The White Tomb

In which Snape, Draco, and the Death Eaters flee.

Harry enters the ongoing battle in a corridor downstairs and then pursues Snape across the castle grounds. They duel for a moment, Snape parrying all Harry's curses. When a Death Eater uses Crucio on Harry, Snape intervenes, saying that the Dark Lord wants Harry for himself. Before he departs, Snape tells Harry not to use his own curses, the Half-Blood Prince's, against him. Harry's accusation of cowardice finally seems to spark Snape's anger, but Buckbeak protects Harry, and Snape escapes.

Hagrid finds Harry, and Harry tells him of Dumbledore's murder. Hagrid refuses to believe him. They make their way back to the castle and discover Dumbledore's lifeless body at the foot of the tower. The locket they had taken from the cave earlier that evening had fallen out of Dumbledore's pocket, and Harry opens it and discovers a slip of parchment with a note addressed to the Dark Lord, signed RAB. The note says that RAB has taken the real Horcrux and destroyed it in an effort to make Voldemort mortal once more.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 27: The Lightning-Struck Tower
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 29: The Phoenix Lament

In which Harry and Dumbledore return to Hogsmeade to find the Dark Mark illuminated over Hogwarts. Upon their arrival in the Astronomy Tower, Draco corners the ill Dumbledore, but Dumbledore has immobilized Harry under the invisibility cloak.

When Dumbledore questions Draco, Draco explains that he has been set the task of killing Dumbledore by the Dark Lord. He tells of repairing the Vanishing Cabinet to create a portal through its brother in Borgin and Burke's, and Dumbledore deduces that Rosmerta has been under the Imperius Curse.

When Draco fails to kill him, Dumbledore offers Draco an amnesty of sorts, telling him that Voldemort cannot kill him and his family if he thinks them already dead. Before Draco has time to consider this, four Death Eaters storm the room. Finally, Snape arrives, and after Dumbledore utters the words "Severus, please", Snape kills Dumbledore using the Avada Kedavra curse.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 26: The Cave
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 28: The Flight of the Prince

In which Harry and Dumbledore visit the seaside cave where many years ago Tom Riddle had terrorized two other children.

The cave is entered by a payment of blood and contains a large lake filled with Inferi, dead bodies that will become reanimated to protect the Horcrux stored on a small island in the center. The island is accessed by a small, hidden boat that emerges from the water when Dumbledore locates it, following the traces of Voldemort's magic.

On the island, Harry and Dumbledore find a stone basin filled with an emerald green liquid. It is inaccessible at first, but then Dumbledore realizes that the potion must be drunk to reach the Horcrux inside. On Dumbledore's orders, Harry forces him to drink the potion, which causes the headmaster to become frightened, and then pray for death, and then become thirsty. Harry is too horrified by the situation to take much notice of the gold locket at the bottom of the basin.

Unable to Summon any water to their site, Harry is forced to fill the goblet with water from the lake, which rouses the Inferi. They attack him, and Harry is saved only when Dumbledore recovers enough strength to create a wall of flames to protect them.

They take the boat back to the shore, and a worried, desperate Harry escorts the weakened Dumbledore out of the cave. As they depart, Dumbledore comforts him. "I am not frightened," he says to Harry. "I am with you." (576)

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 25: The Seer Overheard
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 27: The Lightening-Struck Tower

In which Harry gets a message from Dumbeldore, requesting an immediate meeting, but first runs into Sybill Trelawney, who has been thrown out of the Room of Requirement by an unknown person who was whooping with glee. Harry assumes this is Draco and asks Trelawney to accompany him to Dumbledore's office. En route, Harry learns that it was Snape who overheard the prophesy Trelawney delivered to Dumbledore so many years.

Dumbledore says that has discovered a Horcrux and asks Harry to accompany him, but Harry confronts him about Snape. Dumbledore reiterates his faith in the professor, explaining that Snape regretted the consequences of relating the prophecy to Voldemort. "I trust Severus Snape completely," Dumbledore says. (549) He also refuses to hear Harry's warning that Draco is jubilant and may threaten the castle while they are away.

Just before they depart, Harry leaves the map and the bottle of Felix Felicis with Ron and Hermione, asking them to keep a watch on Draco and Snape and to share the potion with Ginny so that they are safe while he is gone. Harry and Dumbledore walk to Hogsmeade and Apparate to the cave where the Horcrux is.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 24: Sectumsempra
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 26: The Cave

In which Harry discovers Draco crying in the boys' bathroom, being comforted by Moaning Myrtle. The encounter quickly escalates out of control, and Draco is trying to perform the Cruciatus curse when Harry hits him with Sectumsempra first. The Half-Blood Prince's unknown spell slashes Draco across the face and chest, and only because Snape appears immediately is Draco healed and sent to the hospital wing.

Hermione can't help pointing out the reservations she's had about the Half-Blood Prince all along, but, much to Harry's surprise, a newly single Ginny comes to his defense, and Harry wonders again if getting together with her will ruin his friendship with Ron. Later, Harry misses the last Quidditch match because he is in detention, but when he returns to the common room, Gryffindor has won, and he kisses Ginny in celebration.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 23: Horcruxes
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 25: The Seer Overheard

In which Harry and Dumbledore finally view Slughorn's memory, watching a reluctant Slughorn tell Riddle about the way Horcruxes work and Riddle contemplate splitting a soul into seven pieces.

Dumbledore speculates about the six possible Horcruxes containing parts of Riddle's soul: Riddle's diary, Marvolo's ring, and perhaps four items representing the four Hogwarts houses, including Slytherin's locket and Hufflepuff's cup. Harry struggles with the implications of this new knowledge: Voldemort will be vulnerable when the Horcruxes have been destroyed, but Dumbledore insists that Harry will kill Voldemort because of the history between then and not because of the prophesy. "It was, [Harry] thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the area with your head held high," a crucial difference. (512)

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 22: After the Funeral
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 24: Sectumsempra

In which Harry take some Felix Felicis and heads out attends Aragog's funeral. He runs into Slughorn, who accompanies him in hopes of procuring some acromantula venom and joins Hagrid in a drink (or a few) in Aragog's memory. Lucky Harry tells Slughorn the story of his mother's death and coaxes the memory out of him.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 21: The Unknowable Room
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 23: Horcruxes

In which Harry continues to obsess over Draco's plans while trying to think of a way to get Slughorn's memory, and Tonks makes an unexpected appearance.

Kreacher and Dobby report that Draco is disappearing into the Room of Requirement regularly, accompanied by "a variety of students." Harry surmises that these are the Polyjuiced Crabbe and Goyle, but he is unable to gain access to the room. Meanwhile, Hermione refuses to help, telling him he should be concentrating on Slughorn.

When the Prophet reports that Mundungus Fletcher was captured impersonating an Inferius during a robbery, Seamus brings up the topic during DADA, and Snape tells the class that an Inferius is "a corpse that has been reanimated by a Dark Wizard's spells."

Harry and Ron encounter Moaning Myrtle in the boy's bathroom and learn that she has been visiting with a lonely boy who is bullied, too.

Another attempt at entering the Room of Requirement fails, but Harry unexpectedly runs into Tonks, mousy-haired and glum again, whose eyes fill with tears when Harry says he hasn't heard from anyone in the Order recently. When Harry tells Hermione and Ron about the encounter, including the odd excuse she'd offered at being discovered in the castle--that she'd been looking for Dumbledore--he voices his suspicion that Tonks might have been in love with Sirius. Ron agrees that she's "gone a bit funny," but Hermione's not sure what to make of the situation.

Previous chapter: Half-Blood Prince 20: Lord Voldemort's Request
Next chapter: Half-Blood Prince 22: After the Burial