Spoiler Alert: Contains
plot revelations, deaths ( to read the spolier which is located at the
end the article...you will need to highlight and read as fonts
are white...)
06:06 PM CDT on Saturday, July 16, 2005
By JEROME WEEKS / The Dallas
Morning News
Spoiler Alert: What follows is the first quick synopsis of the
events in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to appear on the Web –
including all major plot revelations and deaths. Because Lord Voldemort is back and so many uncontrollable, evil things are
happening, Cornelius Fudge has resigned as Minister of Magic and replaced by
Rufus Scrimgeour, a vampire. Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater and arranges to smuggle a secret item
into Hogwarts. Voldemort has sent him on a special, possibly suicidal mission,
possibly to kill Harry. Draco's mother has Severus Snape swear an Unbreakable
Vow to keep Draco from harm, if he can, and aid him on his mission. Harry inherits the late Sirius Black's house – although Sirius' murderer and
sister, Bellatrix, also has a claim to it. Harry becomes captain of his
Quidditch team. Draco declares he may never finish school next year at Hogwarts
because the Dark Lord will value his loyalty and service before then. Professor Dumbledore takes Harry on a memory-trip vision to witness
Voldemort's origins - with the Dark Lord's grandparents, who are Merope Gaunt, a
witch, one of the last of a long, pure-blood magic family, and a Muggle named
Tom Riddle. But like Harry, Voldemort soon becomes an orphan. Harry gets into a Potions class at the last minute, taught by a new teacher,
an old friend of Dumbledore's named Slughorn whom he's brought back to Hogwards.
Harry is issued an old magic textbook with scribblings on it from the previous
owner: the Half-Blood Prince. A female student named Katie Bell unwraps a package while in Hogsmeade, the
local village. She finds an old locket - and is nearly killed by it. Harry
learns from another of his visits to the past that the Slytherin locket belonged
to Merope Gaunt, Voldemort's grandmother. And he learns that Riddle/Voldemort
has murdered people for that locket. he also learns that Riddle/Voldemort tried
to become the teacher of the Defense against the Dark Arts class but was refused
by Dumbledore, even though Dumbledore knew Riddle/Voldemort was after something
else entirely. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny get into various who-kissed-whom,
who's-cheated-on-whom arguments. Jealous, teenagery arguments. And like
teenagers, everyone switches partners in a matter of weeks. Ron accidentally
swallows a love potion. In their memory-traveling, Harry and Dumblebore see Slughorn meet Voldemort
when Slughorn first taught at Hogwarts – but Slughorn's memories have been
deliberately "cleansed." Harry tries to get into Slughorn's good graces to find
out more about the "horcrux" memory but fails. Harry gets two house elves to spy on Draco. He's becoming paler, greyer –
perhaps his mission is going badly. They see him regularly sneak into the Room
of Requirement. Which Harry can't enter. Hagrid's favorite giant spider, Aragog, dies. He holds a funeral for it, and
Harry uses the occasion to get Slughorn drunk and get the "horcrux" memory he
needs. A few days before yet another Quidditch match, Harry heads into a bathroom to
find Malfoy talking to Moaning Myrtle. They battle, Harry nearly kills Draco.
Snape saves Draco and demands to know how Harry knew such a curse. Harry is
given detention, which will prevent him from playing in – yes – the Quidditch
match. Harry learns that it was Snape who told Voldemort about the prophecy
concerning Harry, and he accuses Dumbledore of bringing Snape to Hogwarts in the
first place. But Dumbledore convinces Harry to accompany him to a cave where
Voldemort has left a "horcrux" - essentially a piece of his soul. Dumbledore
must drink a potion (that contains the locket) and it nearly kills him. Harry
helps him back to Hogwarts - only to find Malfoy has let Death Eaters in. If you do not wish to learn the ending, do not read any further. Dumbledore immobilizes Harry (under his Invisibility Cloak) but is disarmed
by Malfoy. Malfoy and the Death Eaters can't kill Dumbledore – but Snape can,
blasting Dumbledore over the wall while Harry can only watch, helpless. It is
Snape who is the Half-Blood Prince. Snape and Harry battle, until Hagrid saves Harry and the Death Eaters are
eventually driven away. Harry learns what was inside the locket all along - a
mysterious message. Harry, the survivors and an "extraordinary assortment" of people from the
Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts alumni gather as they
burn Dumbledore's body and encase the remains in a white marble tomb. form: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/entertainmen t/books/stories/071605dnoveharryspoilers.ad97b32a.html
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