WARNING: SPOILERS! …Read at your own risk if you have not completed HPB yet…
Oh. My. God.
I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince about an hour ago, and I’m still in shock over the events of the book. It was certainly…different, in many aspects, from the previous HP books. The tone of the book kind of jumped around alot. There was just something about the book in general that seemed off to me. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is…
Harry and Ginny? Too predictable. I always thought it’d be fitting if Harry ended up alone (the whole martyr thing, I suppose). At least J.K. didn’t make them all sappy and mushy (except when Harry was mooning over her, I just skimmed over those parts – urgh).
The whole thing with Malfoy was certainly interesting. He showed hope there at the end (I would have just thrown the book down in disgust if he had killed Dumbledore – again, that scenario would have been too predictable, but J.K. sure put a twist on that scene, didn’t she?) Heh, I’m a diehard Draco/Ginny shipper, and a semi-Draco fan. I always thought there had to be more to him than just the two-dimensional character featured in previous books.
Dumbledore’s death, while not unexpected, was a complete shocker in the way that happened. Never in a million years would I have thought it’d be Snape who would deal the blow. I always imagined, that if Dumbledore had to die, it would be at Voldemort’s hands, and he would go in a blaze of glory, not toppling off a tower. But Snape? I mean, everyone’s always speculated on why exactly Dumbledore trusts Snape so much, and Harry’s explanation for that was weak. There has to be something more, unless Dumbledore really was too much of a trusting fool. And Snape’s a half-blood?! And he lives in a run-down shack?! There goes all those theories about him being some pure-blood lord and living in style in a manor like the Malfoys.
Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but I can’t help but have this nagging feeling that there’s more to what happened in that final scene between Snape and Dumbledore. Maybe this is part of some grand master plan, and Dumbledore had to die for some reason. This is just speculation also at this point, though I know theories will be swirling around before long. See this fanfiction for more insight. The thing is, it just – doesn’t – feel – right that Snape would turn out to be the predictable bad guy. And I really can’t imagine Albus Dumbledore as the type to be begging for his life. He has more dignity and bravery than that mockery we saw. I’m hoping J.K. will have a few surprises and twists left in the last book, including why exactly Dumbledore had to die. I still don’t see how Sirius’ death was necessary either, and hopefully both of those deaths will be addressed in the next, and final, book.
Here’s a snippet from a Fanfiction.net review to support my Snape theory:
Duj: Cecelle suggested to me that the argument Hagrid heard was Dumbledore telling Snape that he’d have to fulfil the Vow and kill him when the time came and that killing Dumbledore was the only sure way of saving Harry from the Death Eaters (and BTW, the other students from Fenrir who’d have been happy for an excuse to linger). The only question then is why did Snape make the Unbreakable Vow? Does he owe some binding obligation to the Malfoys or is Draco more important than we’ve ever been given reason to suppose?
Go Remus and Tonks! I’ve always supported that particular ship, too, and now it’s officially canon. Ron and Hermione? Same old dance, they fight, they bicker, they make up, but they still haven’t officially hooked up. And of course, the Ministry is being as stupid as ever, even with the new Prime Minister (who I really don’t like, by the way. In some ways, he’s even worse than Fudge. I started feeling kinda sorry for Fudge in the first chapter when he was talking with the Muggle PM. Almost.)
About Harry not coming back to Hogwarts, I find that idea very intriguing. But if the 7th book really is going to be the last one ever, it had better be longer than HPB, at least as long as OOTP. I don’t see any other way J.K.’s going to be able to wrap up everything. I mean, there are still four Horcruxes left to be found, not to mention Harry and Voldemort have to duke it out, with one (or both) dying.
Ooh, one last thing. About the fake Horcrux and the note, I think R.A.B is Regulus Black. Just speculation on my part, but the initials fit, don’t they? And Regulus did die long before Voldemort did (or will). I remember Remus mentioning something earlier in HPB about how Regulus only lasted a few days before old Voldie killed him. Maybe that’s why Voldemort offed him; he had to have known Regulus had betrayed him in some fashion or another.
Man, there’s going to be a ton of fanfiction once everyone’s read the book. There is a whole bunch of ideas just waiting to be explored from HPB now…
Rating: 
