Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Half-Blood Prince/Chapter 18
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Chapter 18 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Birthday Surprises
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[edit] Synopsis
Harry confides to both Hermione and Ron about Dumbledore's task to retrieve Slughorn's memory.
Slughorn assigns the Potions class the difficult assignment of brewing the antidote for various poisons. The notes in Harry's textbook provide no assistance. With only a few minutes left, Harry finds a scrawled note in his book, "Just shove a bezoar down their throats." Harry also remembers that Snape once said a bezoar (a stone from a goat's stomach) will protect against most poisons. He rushes to the cabinet and finds one. No one in the class succeeds in making a good antidote, but when Slughorn comes to his table, Harry simply holds up the bezoar. Slughorn is amused, yet impressed, telling Harry that he thinks like his mother, then shoves the stone into his bag. Hermione, however, is critical.
Harry lingers after class and asks Slughorn about Horcruxes. Slughorn, realizing what Harry is attempting, insists there was nothing more to the memory that he gave Dumbledore, and departs hurriedly.
Students sit their first Apparation training in early February with a Ministry wizard. Malfoy, involved in a whispered argument with Crabbe, is reprimanded. Harry positions himself to eavesdrop if they start again. Apparently, Crabbe is upset at being told to guard something that Malfoy is doing, without knowing what it is. The class is called to order again, and they start practicing. Being their first lesson, students only attempt to apparate a few feet away. After several attempts, no one succeeds except Susan Bones, who splinches herself on the fourth attempt, leaving a leg behind.
After hearing Malfoy and Crabbe's conversation, Harry resolves to track his movements on the Maurauder's Map. He sees Malfoy in the Slytherin Common room with Crabbe and Goyle. Over the next several weeks, he watches Crabbe and Goyle moving around the castle on their own rather more than usual, sometimes standing in an empty hall. Harry is often unable to locate Malfoy on the map and considers that Malfoy is actually leaving the school, but dismisses this due to Hogwarts' increased security.
While opening presents on his birthday, Ron mistakenly eats several chocolates that Romilda Vane gave Harry. When Ron becomes dreamy over Romilda, Harry realizes the candies were spiked with Love Potion to get Harry to take Romilda to Slughorn's Christmas party. Ron has developed an obsessive love for Romilda. Not knowing the antidote, Harry takes Ron to Slughorn. En route, they bump into Lavender, and Ron announces that Harry is taking him to Romilda. Slughorn administers an antidote, then decides they should toast Ron's birthday. Slughorn opens a bottle of mead, offhandedly mentioning that he had intended it as a present for Dumbledore last Christmas. Ron takes a drink, and it is quickly obvious he has been poisoned. When Slughorn is slow to react, Harry finds the bezoar in Slughorn's bag, and forces it into Ron's mouth.
[edit] Analysis
Obtaining Slughorn's complete memory is more difficult than Harry realized. Slughorn knows Dumbledore wants to retrieve this information, and, for whatever reason, he refuses to share it. Knowing that Harry is attempting to extract the memory from him, Slughorn carefully avoids being caught alone by Harry. If Harry is to be successful, he will have to devise a more clever plan.
Harry also becomes more obsessed with discovering what Draco is doing and watches him constantly on the Marauder's Map, although he is unable to figure out why Draco's name occasionally disappears. That no one else seems concerned about Draco's suspicious activities, further frustrates Harry. He will have to devise some other means if he is going to discover what Dark activity Draco is engaging in.
Although Hermione continually disapproves that Harry uses information from the Half-Blood Prince's book, she is perhaps being a little overly critical and obsessive when Harry uses the Bezoar stone in Slughorn's class. It was, after all, something Harry had previously learned about in Snape's class, and the notes in the book only acted as a reminder. It is possible that Hermione not only resents what she considers cheating, but also anyone outshining her in class. She will be grateful, however, that Harry knows how to use the stone when Ron is poisoned.
Harry is 16 years old; Ron is turning 17 on his birthday. American readers who know that mead is alcoholic may be dismayed that Slughorn offers an alcoholic drink to a clearly underage Harry. It is worth mentioning that the drinking age in the UK is much lower than it is in the United States; it is legal to drink at age 18 in a pub, or at 16 in a restaurant with a meal, and at age 5 at home. The laws in the Wizarding world must be even more lenient, as the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head are clearly pubs, yet third-years (age 13 and 14) can order Butterbeer (which is apparently mildly alcoholic).
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why is Malfoy arguing with his cronies?
- Why does Ron fall in love with Romilda Vane?
- Was Harry actually cheating when he presented the Bezoar stone to Slughorn during the class?
[edit] Extra Study
- Why does Malfoy keep disappearing from the Marauder's Map? Where might he be during those absenses?
- Who could have poisoned the mead, and who might it have been intended for?
[edit] Greater Picture
Disapparating can be dangerous when done improperly. And although Susan Bones' splinched leg during the Apparation training is presented as a humorous mishap, in the next book, Deathly Hallows, Ron's shoulder will be badly splinched while Disapparating under perilous and chaotic circumstances, causing a severe injury needing immediate medical attention.
