Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Albus Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, an old and powerful wizard rumored to be the only one Voldemort ever feared. He is a mentor to Harry and serves as one of his “fiercest protectors” until his death in the book. Dumbledore is the person who deposited an orphan Harry with the Dursleys; it is his enchantments that keep Harry safe in the confines of his aunt’s house for as long as he can call it home.

Dumbledore is an almost-omniscient presence in the book. He has an uncanny ability to see through people and divine their true motivations and character; he displays this during his first encounter with Voldemort, whom he never quite fully trusts, despite the latter’s success in charming all his other teachers. Dumbledore is, fittingly, the person to whom the original prophecy is made. This, combined with his superior intelligence, prodigious magical skill, and astute understanding of Voldemort’s character, lend Dumbledore an unparalleled understanding of Harry and Voldemort’s intertwined destiny. It allows him to keep Harry safe thus far by initially depositing him with the Dursleys and invoking the ancient magical protection Lily afforded Harry at her death; it allows Dumbledore to track down and extract important pieces of information from people in Voldemort’s past via their memories; most importantly, it allows Dumbledore to piece these seemingly disparate pieces together to deduce exactly what it is that will allow Harry to eventually defeat Voldemort. Dumbledore, thus, comes to serve as a mentor and guide to Harry, who has never known the love and protection of a parent.

Dumbledore’s perceptiveness about people is complemented, or perhaps tempered, by his strong belief in second chances. Dumbledore repeatedly chooses to see the good in people; despite Snape having pointed Voldemort in the direction of the Potters, he accepts Snape’s tale of remorse after the fact and welcomes him onto their side. Dumbledore’s faith in Snape is seemingly never shaken, even up to the very end. This side of Dumbledore often frustrates Harry, who sees things as far more black and white and does not believe that everyone is worthy of redemption. However, this aspect of Dumbledore’s character also continues to shroud in mystery his manner of death. On the one hand, it is difficult to imagine someone as intelligent and perceptive as Dumbledore to have been fooled by Snape, indicating that there may be more to the story; on the other, Dumbledore’s desire to see the best in people may just have allowed Snape to successfully deceive him. The question lingers in the air even after Dumbledore’s death, creating an air of intrigue about the rest of the story to follow.

Severus Snape is a teacher at Hogwarts and a member of the Order. Formerly the Potions master, he finally manages to secure his dream job of becoming the DADA teacher. Snape used to be a Death Eater and is the one who informed Voldemort about the prophecy, having partially overheard it while it was being made. However, Snape eventually switches sides and turns spy for Dumbledore, expressing remorse over Voldemort’s decision to murder the Potters. Until Dumbledore’s death, Snape remains one of Dumbledore’s most trusted confidantes; the fact that Snape is the one to kill Dumbledore comes as a shock to everyone. It is further revealed that Snape is the titular Half-Blood Prince.

This installment of the series greatly revolves around Snape’s character. The title is derived from Snape’s chosen nickname, and Snape effectively gives rise to two of the biggest mysteries throughout the book: the identity of the Half-Blood Prince and where it is that Snape’s loyalties truly lie. He is equally convincing as a Death Eater and an Order member, right until the moment he kills Dumbledore and escapes. Given this, it is fitting that very little is revealed about Snape’s perspective or motivations on the events that take place throughout the book.

As a character, thus, Snape remains somewhat of a mystery. That he is a skilled wizard is established—besides having been a Potions prodigy, as evidenced by his edits in the textbook as the Half-Blood Prince, his work as a double-agent presupposes that he has managed to deceive at least one of two extremely powerful wizards: Voldemort or Dumbledore. Snape also displays a reverence and affinity for the Dark Arts, which explains his past as a Death Eater and his desire to teach the subject at Hogwarts. Solemn and aloof, Snape is fairly isolated from his colleagues and fellow Order members; he is tolerated by the latter mostly because of Dumbledore’s unwavering trust rather than his likability. Harry and Snape share a mutual hatred for each other, a legacy of the bitter rivalry Snape shared with Harry’s father when they were at Hogwarts together. After Snape’s actions and the discovery that it was Snape who told Voldemort about the prophecy, Harry’s hatred for the man deepens.

Lord Voldemort, born Torn Marvolo Riddle, is one of the most powerful Dark wizards of all time. Voldemort reigned supreme for many terrible years before he lost his powers when he attacked an infant Harry; believed to have been dead, he was seemingly resurrected after 13 years. Voldemort has been at large again for two years as of the beginning of the book and is looking to establish pure-blood supremacy by wiping out all the Muggles and Muggle-born witches and wizards.

Voldemort is the clear villain of the book and the series. A character with no grey shades, he is presented as the epitome of evil. Despite this, the book delves into Voldemort’s background in some detail, giving the reader an understanding of the circumstances that created such a character. Brought up in an orphanage with no knowledge of his parents, Voldemort grew up with the clear sense that he was special because his powers manifested fairly early in his childhood. Upon discovering that he is a wizard, Voldemort’s obsession with his parentage grows, only to ultimately culminate in an effort to stamp out the weak, non-magical parts of him and eventually conquer death itself.

Even as a child, Voldemort displayed both great natural talent and instincts for cruelty: Not only was he able to use and control his powers at a very early age, but he used them specifically to hurt people who crossed him. This lack of empathy is complemented by an intense narcissism, seen in his unwavering belief in his uniqueness. Both are very clearly inherent character traits rather than a product of Voldemort’s circumstances; accordingly, these traits develop to shape Voldemort into a remorseless murderer and fuel his obsession with immortality.

Voldemort is the inverse of Harry in many ways: He is power-hungry and desirous of glory from a very young age; he actively rejects friendships and love at every stage in his life; and he is motivated, in large part, by fear. Even as powerful as Voldemort is, he is a typical tyrant, constantly fearing what will topple him one day. In addition to making every effort to outrun death, Voldemort chooses to try and eradicate the threat he sees in Harry, as outlined by the prophecy. Ironically, it is in doing so that he marks Harry as his nemesis and sets the prophecy in motion. While Harry embraces his destiny and prepares to meet it with dignity, Voldemort makes every effort to outrun it, inadvertently bringing it closer to fruition.

Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger are Harry’s closest friends. The trio has been best friends since their first year at Hogwarts and are the only people in whom Harry confides about everything Dumbledore teaches him.

Ron is the youngest boy in the Weasley family; Ron and his family serve as a surrogate family for Harry, and Harry frequently spends his holidays with the Weasleys. Ron is also on the Quidditch team along with Harry. Having grown up in a large family as the youngest of many brothers, Ron occasionally experiences a sense of insecurity. This insecurity is seen in his inconsistency as a Quidditch player, as his performance is greatly hampered by nerves. It is most evident, however, in Ron’s behavior toward Hermione when faced with the fact of her past relationships: Ron, who is attracted to Hermione, is both threatened by and jealous of Hermione’s experience with dating, leading him to act coldly toward her and eventually date Lavender Brown. While generally a jovial and easygoing person, Ron’s lack of confidence sometimes brings out a nasty side to him. When it comes down to it, however, he values Harry and Hermione more than anyone else; he chooses to stick by Harry when the latter decides to leave Hogwarts and hunt for the Horcruxes the next year.

Hermione is a Muggle-born and the cleverest in their year. Her intelligence is impressive even to her teachers—she unhesitatingly identifies every single potion brewing in their first lesson with Slughorn, earning her his admiration and future invitations to “Slug Club” meetings. Hermione’s perceptiveness is also seen in the connection she draws between the cursed necklace and the poisoned mead, astutely noting how dangerous the attacker could be. Justice and fair play are important to Hermione; part of the reason she is annoyed by the Prince is that not only is she being bested in a class for the first time by Harry, but he is doing it merely following someone else’s instructions, without putting in the hard work. This sense of fair play is also seen when Hermione confronts Harry about him supposedly dosing Ron with Felix Felicis before the match. However, Hermione is not above bending the rules for the people she loves. She Confunds McLaggen to allow Ron to become Keeper, displaying her soft spot for Ron. Like Ron, Hermione is also brave and loyal, unhesitatingly choosing to go along with Harry on the dangerous journey ahead of him.

Ginny Weasley is the youngest Weasley sibling and the only girl. Pretty, talented, and popular, she serves as Harry’s primary love interest. Although she is dating Dean Thomas at the beginning of the book, she eventually breaks up with Dean and reciprocates Harry’s feelings for her. Ginny and Harry make a good match for several reasons: Ginny and Harry have grown up together, what with Harry having spent so much time around the Weasley family. She knows him well, and the sense of comfort and familiarity he feels with her undoubtedly contributes to the strength of their relationship. In addition to this, Ginny matches Harry in skill and bravery. She is a talented Quidditch player, easily making the Gryffindor team; she is invited to be a part of the “Slug Club” owing to her superior magical skills. She was also one of the people who fought alongside Harry at the Department of Mysteries. The fact that Ginny reconciles with Harry’s decision to end their relationship as he pursues Voldemort displays that she understands and accepts the kind of person Harry is. Given his epic destiny, Ginny serves as the right kind of partner for Harry: one who can match him while simultaneously allowing space for him to make the difficult choices he must.