The Harry Potter Companion

So after a quick, one-chapter-long detour, it’s back to Hogwarts for Harry, and back to memory-watching for us. I love the insight these chapters give us, not just into Voldemort, but into Dumbledore – we learn what he’s been up to, what the focus of his life has been in recent years, and indeed a large part of why the Order of the Phoenix exists. After all, would you confide in the Ministry if you learned of the Horcruxes?

These chapters are also a big part of the reason that this is the first book in which Ron isn’t the second most-mentioned character after Harry (it’s Dumbledore instead; Ron is third). The focus of the series is turning away from the kids and towards the adults, and finally resting squarely on Voldemort.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, chapter seventeen: ‘A Sluggish Memory’

Of course in the seventh book the second most-mentioned character isn’t Dumbledore OR Ron, or Voldemort for that matter. Trivia question of the day – who is it?

Okay, so I have to admit that Christmas in May feels a little strange. But ultimately, I decided it was preferable to waiting another seven months for the next update to the site. ;) Or, I suppose, skipping this chapter and coming back to it much later….

At any rate, I have a distinct memory of the first time I read this chapter. It was when we lived in Charlotte, NC, and I was sitting on the futon in our second bedroom. And the reason I remember that that was where I was is because when I read the last line of the chapter – where Harry declares himself to be “Dumbledore’s man,” turns his back on the Minister of Magic, and walks back toward the house – I jumped up on top of the futon and screamed, proclaiming Harry’s awesomeness to anybody who happened to be in a neighboring apartment. I’d had this sort of reaction before with Dumbledore (i.e. Phineas’s “I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts, but you cannot deny he’s got style.”), but this was the first time I’d had it with Harry – and it really marks, I think, Harry’s coming into his own as a wizard, as a person, and as a force in the wizarding world. Amazing.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, chapter sixteen: ‘A Very Frosty Christmas’

A few of you may have noticed this one yesterday – I posted the chapter yesterday afternoon but then got pulled away by a baby and didn’t have a chance to post the update (apologies!). But anyway, I figured it was time to move past the shipping wars once again and onto HBP15- so here it is!

There are so many things about this chapter that I love. I love Harry’s having to elude all the girls who are in love with him – and then asking out the only one who seemingly isn’t. I love Slughorn’s party (I mean, there are so many reasons an event like that wouldn’t happen in most modern schools). And I love the fact that Harry follows Snape and Malfoy to discover that – for a change – he was right about something! Such mystery and intrigue, and also the official halfway point of the book. Here goes nothin’….

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, chapter fifteen: ‘The Unbreakable Vow’