Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter Nine:
The Half-Blood Prince

Notes by Steve Vander Ark and Michele L. Worley
Synopsis and links by John Kearns

U.S. hardcover edition: pages 171-193
U.K. hardcover edition: pages 163-183
Timeframe: Monday, 2 September, 1996] [Y16]

In which Gryffindors get course schedules and discuss Malfoy and Quidditch trials, then go to their first day of classes.  In Defence Against the Dark Arts Harry fights back against Snape's attempt to jinx him and gets detention, during break he hears his first lesson with Dumbledore will be Saturday, and in Potions Harry wins the Felix Felicis thanks to a perfect potion he brewed with the instructions written in his book by the Half-Blood Prince.

As we learn later, the Half-Blood Prince is a half-blood wizard (the son of a "pure-blood" witch and a Muggle) whose witch mother's family name was Prince.

Interesting facts and notes about the text of this chapter:

Still to come....

Characters introduced in this chapter:

• none

Characters returning in this chapter:

• Bell, Katie

• Boot, Terry

• Corner, Michael

• Crookshanks

• Granger, Hermione

• Longbottom, Neville

• Macmillan, Ernie

• Malfoy, Draco

• McGonagall, Minerva

• Nott, Theodore

• Patil, Parvati

• Potter, Harry

• Sloper, Jack

• Slughorn, Horace

• Snape, Severus

• Weasley, Ginny

• Weasley, Ron

Characters mentioned in this chapter:

• Borage, Libatius

• Brown, Lavender

• Crabbe, Vincent

• Crouch, Jr., Bartemius (as a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher)

• Dagworth-Granger, Hector

• Dumbledore, Albus

• Finnigan, Seamus

• Firenze

• Goyle, Gregory

• Hagrid, Rubeus

• Lockhart, Gilderoy (as a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher)

• Longbottom, Augusta (Gran)

• Lupin, Remus (as a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher)

• Malfoy, Abraxas

• Parkinson, Pansy

• Potter, Lily Evans

• Quirrell, Quirinus (as a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher)

• Riddle, Tom Marvolo

• Sprout, Pomona

• Thomas, Dean

• Trelawney, Sybill

• Umbridge, Dolores (as a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher)

• Zabini, Blaise

• (unnamed) Gryffindors staring, pointing, and whispering at Harry in the common room

• (unnamed) first-year who was pointing at Harry, and his friend

• (unnamed) fourth-year with a Fanged Frisbee, and his friends

• (unnamed) Slytherin and two Ravenclaws taking N.E.W.T. potions

Settings and locations introduced or returning in this chapter:

• Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

  • Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom

  • Potions classroom

  • Great Hall

  • Gryffindor Tower common room

Settings and locations mentioned in this chapter:

• Diagon Alley

  • Flourish and Blotts

• Hogwarts Express, the

• Ministry of Magic Headquarters

Exceptional character moments:

• The various reactions to Amortentia.

Spells and Potions:

• Amortentia

• Cruciatus Curse

• Draught of Living Death

• Felix Felicius

• Jelly-Legs Jinx

• Occlumency

• Polyjuice Potion

• Protego

• Specialis Revelio

• Veritaserum

• (unnamed) nonverbal spell McGonagall uses to make Neville's course schedule appear on a parchment

Links and Resources:

• Aurors

• Bestiary, the

  • dementor

  • Inferius

• books

  • Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage

  • Confronting the Faceless

  • The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six

• Death Eaters

• Harry's course schedule: sixth year

• Hogwarts classes

• Ancient Runes

• Arithmancy

• Defence Against the Dark Arts

• Potions

• house points: HBP

• items and devices, magical

  • ceiling, enchanted

  • Frisbee, Fanged

  • Riddle's diary

• Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers

• passwords

• potion ingredients

  • sopophorous

  • valerian roots

Memorable lines:

• "It's high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she's got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have - particularly after what happened at the Ministry."

• "There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor."

• "Slughorn could've handed me that book, but no, I get the one no one's ever written on. Puked on, by the look of page fifty-two, but-"

Strictly British:

• cheek

• doss

• innit

• queue

Timelines/Calendar:

The entire chapter takes place on the first day of classes, Monday, 2 September. For reasoning, see HBP08.