Out of the blue, during the climactic last scene, there’s some line that goes:
“Harry reocgnized the old wizard who had killed the Prewetts.”
I swear to God – I have no clue who the Prewetts are. Is it important? I need an index of names. That would have been very helpful because I had no idea in which book the Prewetts showed up.
I got this little lump in my throat when I realized that Sirius was … you know. I just felt awful about that. I was just getting to like Sirius, and rely on him … when poof. He was gone. What a great character.
I don’t want to get too deep about all of this, but I’ll just make one observation, the main one that I have after completing the book:
Harry is 16 years old in this book. He is no longer the little boy from the other books, and he is also no longer the Golden Boy of the school. He has been isolated, he has a failed romance with Cho, there is no quidditch, and things just keep getting darker and darker. Harry is 16 years old. He is a moody temperamental teenager in this book, completely self-consumed. To me, the book ended up being all about identity. For example: when he goes back in the past and sees his father as a 16 year old boy, being kind of an arrogant and mean to Snape … he has this whole identity crisis afterwards. He had counted on the fact that his father was someone to look up to … he had based much of his identity on that “fact” … And now he had to actually just accept that his father was a human being, and not perfect. In a way, that’s Harry’s journey of the book as well. Things always went very well for him in the other books. Sure, he had challenges … but the general feeling in the magic world about him was that he was a star, he was special … In this book, he no longer has that protection. So he actually has to … you know … develop his character. And it’s hard, and he doesn’t like it, and his growth spurt in this area is NOT graceful … but by the end of the book it’s happened.
You know the moment when I realized how much he had changed? At the end of the book, before he leaves Hogwarts, he runs into Luna Lovegood in the common room. She says she’s looking for her things – and that everybody always “takes her stuff” and hides it around the tower.
I don’t have the book with me, but then there’s a moment that goes something like this:
“It took a minute for Harry to realize what he was feeling towards Luna. It was pity. He felt sorry for her.”
Through the entire book he is so self-consumed that Hermione and Ron constantly have to scold him, saying, “Why are you yelling at US? We’re on YOUR side?” He is incapable of feeling for other people, because it’s such a full-time job feeling his own feelings.
But in that moment – when he suddenly feels pity for Luna – and then when he says in the next moment: “That’s not right, Luna. They shouldn’t hide your stuff” … I realized how much he had grown up.
It still “took him a second” to figure out what he was feeling – it didn’t come immediately – because it was a new muscle being used. It feels weird when, after a time of being consumed with your own problems, you come out into the world, and not only realize that other people have problems too – but that you actually FEEL for them. Not in a “let me be the one to swoop in and solve the problems and save the day” feeling (which Harry had through the other books) – because that would still have to do with satisfying his own ego. “Look at me! Helping people!!” No. That moment with Luna – he truly feels for her as a human being. Not only that, but in that moment he actually REALIZES that she is a human being.
This is such an important step for teenagers to take. Being all wrapped up in your own life is part of being adolescent, part of separating yourself from your parents, part of growing up … But that’s not the only part.
Harry has learned that (in a painful way) by the end of the book. It was strangely moving.
You’re right about that. One of the things I really liked about Half-Blood Prince is the way he ended up sitting in a compartment with Luna and Neville again on the Hogwarts’ Express. There was a remark (again, echoing Order of the Phoenix) about wanting to sit with someone cooler or some such, and Harry said, “They weren’t at the Ministry with me. You were,” or something like that. I like the way Neville and Luna begin to come into their own.
From the Harry Potter facts site:
In book 5, “Moody shows Harry an old picture of the original Order of the Phoenix, which he found when he was looking for his spare Invisibility cloak since Podmore didn’t return his best one. The picture shows Moody, Dumbledore, Dedalus Diggle, Marlene McKinnon who was killed two weeks after the photo was taken, Frank and Allice Longbottom, the parents of Neville. Also there’s Emmeline Vance, Lupin, Benjy Fenwick who also died, Edgar Bones brother of Amelia Bones, who also was killed. Furthermore Podmore, Caradoc Dearborn who vanished six weeks after the photo, Hagrid, Elphias Doge, Gideon Prewett and his brother Fabian who were also killed.”
Antonin Dolohov, the Death Eater who killed the Prewetts, is one of the ones who escapes from Azkaban, along with Bellatrix Lestrange.
I did not know this off the top of my head, just so we’re clear about that…
Linus – you truly amaze me. I mean, it’s like: seek and ye shall find, basically. Thank you! I’m going to need that site in the future.
Oh, although it’s not been mentioned in the books as of yet, they were brothers of Mrs. Weasley.
Okay, random geek, that’s enough looking ahead. No spoilers allowed. Haven’t read the latest one yet.
It’s okay, it’s not a spoiler.
It’s a wonderful book. Dark in many places, but with the funniest moments in any of the series. You previously mentioned the Weasley twins’ blaze of glory exit from Hogwarts, but my favorite laugh-out-loud embarrass yourself in the back of the bus moment was when Harry and Ron compared their dismal performances on their O.W.L.S. in divination. And Luna Lovegood is a stroke of genius – comic relief for certain, but isn’t it funny how many times she is the one who plays the critical role in one of Harry’s key “self-realization” moments.
Enjoy “Half Blood Prince,” and trust me – when you finish, you’re not going to want to wait 2-3 years for the final chapter!
Jeff – there’s only going to be one more book after Half Blood Prince?
I want them to keep going on forever.
The Prewetts are Molly Weasley’s brothers, Gideon and Fabian I think. They were original OoP members and are seen in the picture Mad-Eye shows Harry at the Xmas dinner.
You can actually look up everyone’s relationships in the Wikipedia, my new favorite website.
On the other hand, you might not want to look into the Wikipedia if yo’ure easily tempted by spoilers. Save it until you’re done with Half-Blood Prince, and then go to town. I spent a whole afternoon on it once.
Red, I may be way off base, but my understanding is that she was planning to wrap it up after the 7th book, which would be Harry, Ron and Hermione’s last year at Hogwarts. Which isn’t to say that there couldn’t be another series.
Oh, I know what you mean that you don’t want them to end. I read the latest one sooo slowly. I almost dread the release of the next one because that means it’s over, it’s really over!
And I heard J.K. Rowling say in a recent interview that she is really done with this story, 7 books and phffft — she’s out. Said she’s ready for something else. Guess we can’t blame her.
Or can we?? ;-)
I’m sorry, I’d’a sworn you read Half-Blood Prince and then doubled back to read Order of the Phoenix.
Durn it all, anyway….
Ken – nope – gotta tackle Half Blood Prince next. Can’t wait!!!
Don’t know much of anything about these books, but I had a fine dog named Sirius once.