SNAPE???
I was totally blind-sided...
In fact, I was so deep into the book at the time he made the announcement that the question "who the half-blood prince was" had totally slipped my mind.
It was the second shock. When he killed Dumbledore, I was flat-footed. Looks like even the greatest wizard of them all can make a mistake.
I have to pat myself on the back about one prediction I was sure would come true. After Cho and Harry broke up, I sort of figured that he would end up cuddling with Ginny in this book.
Sort of sad the way he broke it off in the end, though.
FYI start to finish, 8 hours and 20 minutes. But I took a nap in the middle when I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. That was about 2 hours, so roughly 6 hours.
I began to suspect that Snape was the HBP early on, since he was so adept at potions. When Harry realized that his book was fifty years old, I was even more convinced of Snape, rather than put off. It was a second hand book. For some reason, that memory of Snape's from his childhood, when he was watching his parents argue, made me think that Snape had been brought up in poor, squalid conditions. A hand-me-down textbook fit him.
OY! Only time will tell, and we've got some waiting to do!!!
Good call.
Personally, I was pleased to see Remus Lupin apparently finding some measure of happiness with Tonks. I always felt rather sorry for his lonely situation.
Go back and read the Odyssey -- there's a pretty strong similarity in the circumstances.
You mean like the way Mary Jane let Spidey go off alone at then end for similar reasons? ;-/
Redheads you know. Once they get something in their minds... and I figure Ginny's made up her mind.
As for Snape; I think he told D about his Unbreakable Vow... D didn't want Draco to slide irreversably down into the dark side. And had to plead with Serveus to do what he vowed.
Dumbledore was a master wizard, and like a grandmaster chess player, thinks and plans many, many, many moves ahead.
The next book ought to be real interesting.