Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince - Spoilers

OK, it took me roughly six hours (discounting the "interruptions") to read it, but I've finished it. To be fair to anyone who reads this Blog but hasn't yet read or finished HP6, I will leave a large space before I start talking details. I'm not going to name the character who dies, but I am going to talk about other things that some readers might consider spoilers, so don't say you haven't been warned !!

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I'm devastated about who died, I really thought Rowling would leave killing him off until nearly the end of book 7. I worked out who it was at the end of Chapter 25 - big clue in there, I feel...

I'm glad that we didn't have any more of CAPSLOCK!Harry as they called him in the HP for GrownUps group (ie. the Harry who was nearly always SHOUTING at people in The Order of the Phoenix) - and very glad that Rowling gave Harry the chance to be the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, though I was even more glad she spared us endless descriptions of the games, despite his Captaincy (not being a sports fan, they were rather dull after a while)... I'm also very, very glad that she gave Harry the chance to spend so much time with Dumbledore this year, particularly after he spent so little time talking to Harry last year (I mean his previous year, obviously), except in that big exposition scene... I was quite glad, too, that we missed out on the big exposition scene this time - although not glad about the reason why...

I was amused that Felix Felices turned out to be a potion, not a person as so many people had believed; intrigued that Snape got the Dark Arts job finally (much good it did him !) - I've never trusted Snape - but not just because Harry didn't, I really didn't like him, although I know some HP fans who think he's lovely (just goes to show that attraction is a peculiar thing !); I'm intrigued by the fact that Draco couldn't complete his task - and wondering what will happen to him now - will Voldemort kill him before Harry catches up with him ? It's clear that Harry was totally appalled at what the Sectumsempra curse did - and that he felt a twinge of pity for Draco after Snape killed Draco's intended target...

I was pleased as punch that Harry got nearly all his OWLS after all... I think I'd predicted he wouldn't get Astronomy either, because of the exam being interrupted - but I'm glad I was wrong on that score... I am also pleased that Harry and Ginny finally got together (if only Ron and Hermione had managed it too !) although disappointed (but not surprised) that he "finished" with her at the end of term - I understand his reasoning, although I'm not sure I agree with it - after all, Ginny is becoming a very powerful young witch. I also liked the fact that it was Neville, Luna, Ginny, Hermione and Ron who got involved in trying to watch Draco and Snape - the same five DA members who went to the Ministry with him in The Order of the Phoenix, and the fact that half of that group were girls (if you include Harry in the group), just proves my contention that the critics who moaned about the girls being just giggling/shrieking wallflowers were wrong - thank you, J K Rowling, for continuing to prove me right !

Well, much material to digest ready to start writing about it in my current essay-in-progress... I shall, of course, begin re-reading it tomorrow, and start filling my copy of the book with my spidery notes... (I hasten to add that my notes will be on notepaper, not in the book - I do NOT write in books - well except to pencil in proof-reading corrections occasionally !)