HBP: Chapter Sixteen

[amanuensis1]

Warning: Do not post any comments here if you have read beyond chapter 16 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

This is the discussion post for Chapter 16 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (and for all chapters prior to chapter 16). SPOILERS are expected to be contained in these comments for all of these chapters--though not for

Comments

[nosinabook]

Couldn't Snape have picked up the book second-hand? After all, he seemed not to come from money, judging from the scenes of his childhood in the Pensieve. So the book, despite it's publication date, could still have been Snape's.

Yay for the puppy-shippers!! And could Tonks' new patronus be a large black dog???

[smaragdgrun]

The only other student we know from that time is Hagrid... ?!?!?!?! But he never made it to 6th year Potions...

[isiscolo]

I think the book is even older. I now think the HBP is Dumbledore, which also fits with the speculation that the cover always shows something relevant to the title.

[marginaliana]

What really gets me is how everyone seems to think that Snape is all Mr Cool as a Cucumber when it seems to me like he doesn't practice what he preaches. He certainly wears his heart on his sleeve about Harry and the Gryffindors and a number of other subjects.

That said, yay for Harry actually accomplishing calm and cool and collected and refusing to be used by the Ministry (although I still think he's letting himself be used by Dumbledore, but I don't think we're supposed to feel that way).

And I love love love Harry's gesture with his hand. Symbolic! That's going to be an icon when we get out of spoiler time.

Somehow I still like the way the minister manipulates Percy so he can have a chat with Harry. So much more politically savvy than Fudge. At least he makes a worthy adversary for Harry's anti-ministry feelings. He's teaching Harry something, even when they face off. Especially when they face off.

[slythwolf]

He certainly wears his heart on his sleeve about Harry and the Gryffindors and a number of other subjects.

That's one of the reasons I hope think he may still be on the right side. A Death Eater interested in preserving the appearance that he was in fact on Dumbledore's side would want to suck up to Dumbledore's favourites, don't you think? But then what does that say about Slughorn?! OMG!

[sabinareborn]

Well, he hasn't had any hysterical hissy fits so far in this book. I dunno, seems like Snape's changed a bit too. Or maybe Harry's stopped provoking him as much. all in all a much more mysterious book than the last few

[smaragdgrun]

Harry grows a backbone! Rar!

And "I'll boil you up some hot, strong love to keep you warm tonight"? What kind of hormone cocktail is this woman taking?!?

[garillama]

Ooo. . .la. . .la!

;)

And Fleur is definately bitchier than I remember her. . .

[isiscolo]

I'm going to make a wild half-assed prediction that Rufus Scrimgeour is a werewolf.

[veryshortlist]

Do you think Remus has met him? He'd be able to tell if the man was a werewolf, right?

[isiscolo]

I don't know if he can tell or not, actually. I'm going on the name Rufus (reddish), the leonine description (beastlike?), the "scarred" description, and the importance of non-human creatures that appears to be a theme.

[garillama]

Maybe he's a were-lion? Hmm. . .

[kerrypolka]

"To Master, from Kreacher."

AHAHAHAHAHA! I'm just picturing Kreacher after hours, sneaking around, collecting maggots for Harry, and then framing this basic little pseudo-normal Christmas tag. I laughed my head off.

[slythwolf]

House elves are so dysfunctional. I love them.