I have to start with the beginning of this book. I deeply appreciated that we get a scene between the Muggle Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic. Upon thinking about it for a bit, it makes sense that the two would need to communicate. After all, leaders of different countries need to communicate. But the wizarding world and the Muggle world are normally kept so strictly separate and the wizards normally stress the importance of hiding from Muggles to the point where I hadn't thought the Minister of Magic would ever tell the current Prime Minister about wizards. I really felt for the poor guy when it turned out that everything that had been inexplicably going wrong for the past two weeks and blamed on him was not actually his fault. Instead, it was the work of a powerful evil wizard. The feeling of triumph combined with the knowledge that he can never tell people the truth is terribly frustrating and I think we've all felt that injustice at one point or another.
I also like the scene in which Snape makes the Unbreakable Vow. I'm glad that we get to see a bit of how hard being a double agent really is. Aside from Dumbledore, no one at Hogwarts really trusts Snape and, aside from Voldemort (and, apparently, Mrs. Malfoy) none of the Death Eaters really trust him. He constantly has to come up with explanations to satisfy both sides, all the while meticulously guarding his expressions so as not to give anything away. Mrs. Malfoy begging him to make the Unbreakable Vow would appear to force Snape to choose the side of Voldemort definitively but, of course, Snape and Dumbledore find a way out of even that, albeit not an easy way.
I must confess it had been so long since I had read this book that I had forgotten who the Half-Blood Prince really was. I was thinking it might even have been Voldemort. Unlike Harry, I never suspected he wasn't evil although I can't blame Harry for continuing to use the book. If I had mistakenly ended up with a book that included all the answers I totally would have used it. Of course Hermione wanted Harry to stop using it but, in this case, I don't think it was strictly her love of rules. I agree with Harry when he says that she just couldn't stand being shown up in a class. I did, however, like Hermione insisting on the possibility that the Half-Blood Prince could have been a girl. Even though it said "Prince" she refused to give up and finally found that article about the witch whose last name was "Prince".
Most of all I love this book for the background we get on Voldemort and his Horcruxes. As a psych major I diagnose Tom Riddle, in my unprofessional opinion, as a sociopath. He certainly has all of the symptoms. He forms no bonds with other people and it's not just because he doesn't want to trust them, it's because he is completely incapable of forming any such bonds. Even as a child he kills animals and frightens his classmates for fun and those are both classic signs of young sociopaths. Then, at Hogwarts, he shapes up because it benefits him to do so. He sucks up to the right people to get what he wants and those are also classic signs of a sociopath.
So here's my problem: I don't think Voldemort would have been able to create a Horcrux because to do so requires tearing apart one's soul and I don't think Voldemort had a soul to tear. I realize that this can lead to a whole huge discussion on the definition of a soul and it'll never get us anywhere because there is no single definition of a soul. In my opinion, however, a soul is necessary to form bonds with other people. People talk about "soul-mates" and being able to see into another person's soul and I don't believe anybody would ever have been able to say that of Voldemort. I think a person looking into his eyes would not have found anything substantial looking back at them.
Also, YAY GINNY! I loved watching the steady progression of Harry's feelings as Ginny goes from Ron's little sister to a friend that Harry forgets doesn't hang out with them regularly, to the girl of Harry's dreams. I also enjoy Harry struggling with these feelings as he realizes Ron will probably want to murder him if any of his fantasies were to come true. It's a real dilemma but, of course, to the reader who's been paying attention, Ron has already indicated a desire to see Ginny with Harry back at the end of the fifth book when they're on the train from Hogwarts and Ginny has talked about ditching one boy in favor of another. I also love Ginny for yelling at Dean when she thinks he's trying to help her through the Gryffindor porthole. Ginny is not one for chivalry and it's one of the many reasons I love her.
Speaking of dating I have to take a moment to say I much I enjoyed Ron's "relationship" with Lavender. It was so typical of a first relationship in that it was driven purely by hormones and nothing else, as is evident by Lavender's Christmas gift to Ron of a gold necklace. Ron's hesitance to break up with her is also so typical of a teenage boy. Really, what's so hard about it? When Harry realizes he has to break up with Ginny he turns around and does it right away. And he still likes her!
Finally. Dumbledore. Oh, Dumbledore. Reading the end of this book is still heart-wrenching. It's so hard to accept that someone who seemed like a permanent presence, an unstoppable force, is really only mortal and cannot, in fact, always be there to help you. I honestly don't know how Harry can stand it, having watched Cedric die, then his godfather, and then Dumbledore, over the past three years. Just putting one foot in front of the other after all that must require a monumental effort. Rowling, of course, talks about some of this, but she brushes past it pretty quickly and I understand why. Voldemort is still at large and she has a story to finish writing. Harry can't stop now.
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