[HungarianGypsy]

There are sooo many entries on here, I don't want to go through each one. Someone mentioned earlier that a Rowling interview stated that an observant reader would be able to see what was in the next book by the clues on he last page. Is there a source for this info.?

[Tanniker Smith]

Initial impression: I feel like I was stabbed in the back, and not by the characters, but by J.K.R. herself. I say that as a reader and as a sometimes writer.

Let me also add that I did enjoy this book and that I probably enjoyed it more than 4 (which seemed stretched out and then unfinished) and 5 (which didn't seem to go anywhere and had a needless death added in).

I though Neville might have had a bigger part in this. And I wasn't even on the right track before picking up the book as to whom the Half-Blood Prince was (I was thinking Hagrid) but my first guess was Snape when it was a Potions book that was still in the school. Now a few complaints, starting with:

The wisest man in all of wizarddom was simply taken in by Snape? If Snape's that good, the Dark Lord ought to watch out because even he couldn't do that. And Dumbledore had no idea right until the very end? And then a feeble cry for help before his life was ended?

What left me unsatisified:

• Dumbledore doesn't usually reveal his reasoning until the end and then we find that indeed he was so wise. If he was going to be wrong this time, we should have known something somewhere along the way. Which leads to:
• What was the reason that Dumbledore trusted Snape? There must've been a reason that he felt that he would make the best double agent. When Snape proved himself, we were supposed to see Dumbledore's wisdom as he once again revealed that he outthought everyone. Now we're left without that reason.
• And why finally make him DADA teacher?
• Rowling likes setting things up in ways that things are not. Suspicions have always fallen on Snape ... suspicions which had then been red herrings, would have made for great prose, but instead, it's just a bunch of sloppiness.
• The Unbreakable Vow: Okay, so who was wondering how Snape was going to get out of that one? Surprise! He didn't have to because he meant every word of it! And, really, if the Unbreakable Vow was so binding with no loopholes and Snape would have to be on the Dark Side to follow through with it (or die!) then why didn't anyone think that this was serious when Harry mentioned it? (I'm not going back to find out if he told Dumbledore this part or not.)

Some thoughts for the next book:

• I hope Harry meets R.A.B. early, say about the sixth or seventh chapter and he says something like, "Oh, yeah, I've gotten to four of the horcruxes already. You did the diary? cool, only one more and then after I drop dead getting that one, you can face Voldemort alone as it most be."
• Instead of Snape being vindicated and coming off as someone who is just nasty to be around but one of the Good Guys, he now gets to be mercilessly tortured. Snape wasn't being controlled. He's a murderer. Aint no way around that.
• Will the Muggle world be in danger? I got one chapter about the Prime Minister and that was the end of it. He wasn't around again. Nor was Fudge.

That's all for now. I still have 250+ posts to read through.

TS

[Huntress]

Here is a theory that just occurred to me:

I think one of the Malfoys (probably Narcissa) will betray Voldemort in Book 7, and it will lead to his eventual defeat. Throughout the series, Dumbledore has continually made the point that love is powerful, and that Voldemort's weakness is that he fails to understand this. In ordering Draco to kill Dumbledore under the threat of killing his family, Voldemort has set up the instrument of his betrayal. If, in Book 7, it comes down to a choice between her loyalty to Voldemort or the life of her son, Narcissa will choose Draco. Similarly, if Draco is set up to choose between his family and Voldemort, he'll choose his folks. He showed this weakness (a weakness from Voldemort's perspective, anyway) when he couldn't kill Dumbledore in the tower. Snape got him out of that jam, but I'm sure the issue will come up again in Book 7.

Thoughts?

[balero]

I was talking to a coworker and we have realized that R.A.B. can't be Sirius' brother because if his brother was still alive Harry would not have inherited the house and Kreacher wouldn't follow Harry's' orders. The only way Harry was entitled to all of Sirius stuff is if no other Black family member was alive...

[Tanniker Smith]

bumping for a later read....

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

Some things to ponder...

What will happen to the Malfoy family since Draco was unable to fulfil LV's request? I'm pondering a guess that Snape (who I believe is still on Dumbledore's side) will save Draco's life using the 'unbreakable vow' when LV goes to kill the Malfoy family. I'm even guessing that Snape may even give his life to save Draco...

Thoughts anyone?

Here's another thought...who IS "the enormous blond wizard"?!?!?!?

[Houmatt]

Okay, unlike others, it took me about a week to read it.

Here is some of my take on it (with spoilers):

First off, I read elsewhere someone saying it took them two minutes to figure out who the Half-Blood Prince was, as if they were just so enlightened. Thank you very much, I'm so proud of you. As for the rest of us, I did not see Snape being this title character. I also did not see him actually killing a weakened, defenseless Dumbledore the way he did. But it is possible he did it due to the Unbreakable Vow.

Then you have Draco Malfoy. His mission was to re-construct the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement as a way to get Death Eaters into Hogwarts. But then you find out it was done under some kind of duress, namely the threat of death for Draco and his parents. The thought of this made Draco sad, and coupled with his unwillingness to kill Dumbledore, if Snape has indeed switched sides, then perhaps we will see Draco do the same in Book 7.

[Grendel9]

If you have finished the book, I suggest you
go to this site for some really fascinating
clues...some of which have been discussed here
and some entirely new clues re Dumbledore,Snape,
and other characters. This guy is GOOD!

http://www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com/introduction.html

[Tanniker Smith]

ping for later

[grellis]

We started this thread so we could have a conversation about the books with no fear of giving anything away. I know it seems like a pretty long thread but it actually reads pretty quickly and we have had some GREAT discussions about the books and what we think will come next. Give it a look through, tell us what you think!

FReeper retrokitten keeps a Harry Potter ping list. She'll be glad to add you to it if you're interested.