Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Half-Blood Prince/Chapter 16
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Chapter 16 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: A Very Frosty Christmas
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[edit] Synopsis
Harry and Ron, at The Burrow for Christmas, talk about what Harry had overheard. Ron agrees it is odd that Malfoy was given a task, and is incredulous that Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to help him. Anyone breaking an Unbreakable Vow will die. Fred and George arrive and start teasing Ron; apparently Ginny told them about about Ron and Lavender. Mrs. Weasley comes in to explain sleeping arrangements; apparently quite a crowd is expected at The Burrow over Christmas, though Percy, still estranged from his family, will be absent.
On Christmas Eve, Harry talks to Mr. Weasley, who admits privately to Harry that of the last three arrests, likely only one was a true Death Eater. Stan Shunpike is still being held to avoid bad publicity by letting him go. Harry tells him and Remus Lupin about the conversation he overheard between Snape and Malfoy. Both say Dumbledore trusts Snape, and that is good enough for them. Lupin tells Harry that he neither likes nor dislikes Snape; Snape always prepared his Wolfsbane Potion perfectly during his tenure at Hogwarts, and while he let it slip that Lupin was a werewolf, he could have done far worse damage, had he a mind to, by messing up the potion. Although the bitterness between them (and also Harry) cannot be healed, they should still trust Snape.
Lupin has infiltrated the werewolves to spy on them for the Order, and he tells Harry they support Voldemort because they can be free under his rule. It is hard to argue against Fenrir Greyback's position. It was Greyback, the head and most vicious werewolf who bit Lupin when he was a child. Fenrir targets children to raise them to hate wizarding kind. He also wants to infect enough people for the werewolves to take over.
Harry asks Lupin about the Half-Blood Prince and the Levicorpus spell that James once used on Snape. Lupin says that spells have peaks of popularity, so the spell appearing at that time does not mean that it was this "Prince" who had invented it. He also has no idea about the Prince's identity except that it was not James, Sirius, or himself. Lupin suggests Harry find out how old the book is to help determine the Prince's identity. Before bed, Harry checks the book's copyright date and learns it was printed fifty years before. As his parents and their friends were at school only twenty years earlier, this seems to rule them out.
Harry and Ron receive Christmas presents the next morning. Among them are the usual jumpers (sweaters), a disgusting necklace for Ron from Lavender, and a package of maggots from house elf Kreacher to "Master" (Harry). Over Christmas dinner, the family (along with Fleur Delacour and Lupin) talk about Tonks, who was invited but declined to come; Mrs. Weasley apparently blames Bill for her absence. Reminded, Harry asks Lupin why Tonks' Patronus would change shape, saying that it is now large and has four legs. Lupin suggests that a major upheaval in someone's life can cause a change, but he is interrupted by Percy and the Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour's unexpected arrival. Scrimgeour claims he and Percy were in the neighbourhood on business when Percy "decided" to drop in for a visit. Mrs. Weasley sobs happily at seeing Percy again, but the other Weasleys receive him coldly.
On the pretext of giving the Weasleys private family time, Scrimgeour asks Harry to show him the garden. Outside, Scrimgeour wants to know more about the prophecy and tells Harry he would like him to make regular visits to the Ministry. They want to present him as the "Chosen One", and show that he supports the Ministry. Whether or not he was "Chosen" is immaterial to the Ministry, only that everyone believes he is. Harry refuses, citing the Ministry failing to listen to him a year earlier, and now imprisoning Stan Shunpike, an obviously innocent person. Offended, Scrimgeour probes for information about Dumbledore, but Harry says nothing. Scrimgeour angrily accuses Harry of being "Dumbledore's man through and through." Harry readily agrees and angrily returns to the house.
[edit] Analysis
Scrimgeour's attempt to woo Harry as a Ministry "poster boy", along with the Ministry's continuing refusal to release innocents like Stan Shunpike, again shows he is more concerned with putting on a good public face for the wizarding community rather than obtaining actual results. He also appears to want to separate Harry from Dumbledore's influence. Harry sees through both ruses and refuses to cooperate, turning around Scrimgeour's insult by saying that he is indeed "Dumbledore's man." Unfortunately, this incident only serves to further estrange the Weasleys from Percy, who obviously used his family to allow Scrimgeour access to Harry.
Lupin's dangerous mission for the Order of the Phoenix highlights his sad and lonely life as a werewolf. He is risking himself by infiltrating Fenrir Greyback's dangerous realm. Lupin also provides insight into how werewolves and other magical creatures like vampires, giants, goblins, and so forth, have been ostracized by the wizarding community, giving some justification to them supporting Voldemort who can offer them more advantages. Only the goblins rebuff Voldemort; as his power increases, he increasingly interferes with their internal affairs, thus losing their allegiance.
Readers will recognize Fenrir Greyback's name as the one that Draco Malfoy mentioned while at Borgin & Burkes earlier in the book. It is now clear why Mr. Borgin was suddenly so cooperative after Draco told him that Greyback was a "family friend". Considering Greyback's reputation, Borgin most likely feared for his life.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why does Scrimgeour want to recruit Harry's help? Why does Harry refuse?
- Why does the Ministry refuse to release Stan Shunpike and other innocent people?
[edit] Extra Study
- Why does Lupin say he neither likes nor dislikes Snape, even though Snape apparently hates him and was responsible for him leaving Hogwarts?
- Why would magical creatures such as werewolves, giants, centaurs, and others support Voldemort? Why do the goblins not?
- Why would Tonks decline an invitation to The Burrow during Christmas?
- Harry's Potions book was printed fifty years ago. What was happening at Hogwarts at that time, and what might that tell Harry?
[edit] Greater Picture
The printing date on Harry's book is fifty years before, putting it into a period near Tom Riddle's time at Hogwarts. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we are led to believe that Tom was a sixth- or seventh-year student fifty years before Harry was a second-year, so Tom, or a contemporary, could have purchased it new. However, all this really tells us is that the Half-Blood Prince was at the school sometime after that date. We have already seen that there is a brisk business in second-hand books, as they appear to change little from year-to-year, so it is entirely possible that one of James Potter's contemporaries owned this book.
Curiously, even though text books are infrequently updated, readers are constantly reminded that new spells, jinxes, and hexes are always being invented. These apparently rarely become standard magical practices, and, as Lupin points out, these new ones fall in and out of fashion.
