BACKGROUND
I have a confession to make: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince made me a bad friend.
That sounds like an odd statement, so let me explain. Having just watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) on DVD, I developed a crush on Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in these films. It’s a little bit strange that I began to notice him during the fifth movie, because Draco is only in that film for a couple of minutes. After watching, I wondered when the sixth film would be out. At this time, I wasn’t all that interested in the Harry Potter movies, and, with my dad and sister, we were only watching them on DVD. But that was about to change, because now I was definitely going to keep up with them.
I found out that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was going to be in cinemas just a few days later and the best part was I discovered that the sixth story was going to focus more on Draco Malfoy. What great timing! I was excited and I saw the film first with my sister at our local cinema. We had a good time, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and that should’ve been that. But there was still so much left of summer and I couldn’t shake the obsession.
A friend then told me that she was going to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the cinema with her mum. I asked if I could tag along. My friend didn’t seem bothered; she was just amused I had another celebrity crush because I had a lot at that time.
But the worst thing I did as a friend was when I watched it for a third time. I had gone with a different friend to see a live music event in a town nearby. I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing this outdoor concert so I researched the cinema’s times before going and saw that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would be on at the perfect time. I sat at this event for maybe half an hour – and then left to watch the film. My friend was not on her own, she had met up with other friends she knew that I didn’t, so I wasn’t a completely awful person. I returned after the film was over to see the concert was done. I could tell my friend was a bit upset with me for ditching her. I then decided to run an errand before we got the bus home. My friend went on ahead because she couldn’t miss her last bus home since we lived in different towns. I was sure I’d make it to the bus on time, but I arrived at the bus station only to see the bus pull away, two minutes early. I had to wait on my own for an hour for the next one. What’s that thing they say about karma?
Anyway, I still feel guilty about that day and after that experience, I vowed never to become that obsessed with a film ever again…
PLOT
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince begins with a flashback, going back to see Harry Potter and Dumbledore leaving the Ministry of Magic, having just fought Lord Voldemort in the building. This was one of the final scenes of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After denying it for so long, the Ministry has had to finally accept that the Dark Lord is back, so naturally, the press is very interested in this story. Harry is led away from the Ministry by Dumbledore as cameras flash in their faces.
Back in present day London, the non-magical citizens have even started to realise that something bad is going on, as they notice curious, strange storm clouds suddenly rolling in, watching from their office windows and on the streets. The Dark Mark appears in the sky, and Death Eaters fly out of it, heading straight to Diagon Alley. On breaking into Diagon Alley, they dive into Ollivander’s wand shop and promptly kidnap Ollivander himself. On their way out of London, the Death Eaters decide their work is not yet done, and they decide to collapse the Millennium Bridge, causing Muggles to flee and fear for their lives.
We then see Harry, sat at a train station café, reading the latest news in the Daily Prophet, including articles about himself, Lucius Malfoy’s trial, and the bridge incident. A waitress comes over to Harry, and asks who Harry Potter is. Harry doesn’t say he is Harry Potter, but instead, simply says he’s a “bit of a tosser”. She mentions that she thought a picture moved on his paper once and goes back to work. Harry turns around to ask her something, and she responds saying that she gets off work soon, obviously expecting Harry to want to see her later. How presumptuous. Maybe he was just after a refill of his coffee!
Anyway, there is no romance in the air for Harry, as a train noisily rolls past, and he sees Dumbledore on the platform opposite, obviously looking for Harry. Harry goes over to Dumbledore, who tells Harry he has been reckless over the summer. Well, seeing your godfather murdered right in front of you, and finding yourself being possessed by Voldemort all in one night might affect your emotional state… Dumbledore tells Harry he needs to come with him, as he needs Harry’s help. They transport over to a small village via apparition, like teleportation, which shocks Harry, as he has never apparated before.
Dumbledore walks Harry through the streets of Budleigh Babberton and they enter a house, which has been left an absolute mess. The only thing in tact is a stripy armchair in the middle of the room. Harry sees a drop of blood fall on his head. Dumbledore tastes it and then approaches the armchair. Having a wand pointed at it causes the armchair to transform into its real human state. The human pretending to be an armchair is Professor Horace Slughorn, a former Potions teacher at Hogwarts. It turns out Slughorn has been hiding from Death Eaters who have been trying to recruit him for the “other side” – and this isn’t even his house; it’s owned by Muggles who are away on holiday. Dumbledore kindly uses magic to get the house back in order; this is one of the most satisfying film sequences ever to watch.
Dumbledore excuses himself, leaving Harry and Slughorn to talk alone. Slughorn tells Harry he taught his mother, Lily, and that she was one of his favourites. He shows Harry his “collection” of famous former pupils, like a famous Quidditch player and an editor at the Daily Prophet, as well as mentioning that he taught most of the Black family, apart from Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather. He missed out on Sirius but did teach his younger brother Regulus. Dumbledore tells Harry it is time to leave, which confuses Slughorn who was expecting Dumbledore to ask him to come back to Hogwarts to be the Potions teacher. Dumbledore believes it’s a lost cause, and the two walk away. However, before they leave, Slughorn comes out of the house and says he’ll come back if he can have a bigger office.
As Dumbledore and Harry leave the village, Dumbledore tells Harry that Slughorn will want to “collect” him too this year. He also apologises for having Harry miss out on an evening with that girl, before sending him to the Weasley family home, the Burrow, for the rest of summer. Ginny is the first to notice that Harry’s belongings, including owl Hedwig, have turned up there but the Weasleys were unaware they were getting another visitor. Harry walks in and is warmly welcomed regardless. That evening, he, Ron, and Hermione, who is also at the Burrow, catch each other up on what has been going on this summer. It turns out Hermione’s Muggle parents can sense something bad is happening right now, and Ron’s mother didn’t want Ron or Ginny going back to Hogwarts, fearing Dumbledore is too old to lead the Wizarding World through this crisis. She has since allowed them to return.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix Lestrange is heading to Professor Snape’s home with her sister, and Draco Malfoy’s mother, Narcissa. She doesn’t think Snape can be trusted, but Narcissa needs advice. Snape doesn’t believe this is a good idea either, but he lets Narcissa know that he has been informed that Draco has been given a task to complete by the Dark Lord. Narcissa fears for her son, knowing what will happen to him should he not succeed. Bellatrix challenges Snape, telling him if he wants to prove himself loyal to the Dark Lord, there needs to be an Unbreakable Vow between him and Narcissa. He vows to protect and help Draco with his mission, completing it should Draco not be able to do so.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione later go to Diagon Alley, where they see that many of the shops have either closed down or are in a poor state, like Ollivander’s. The only shop still doing well is Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, a new store that has been opened by Ron’s brothers, Fred and George, full of jokes, tricks, and treats. It is incredibly popular, and Harry takes in interest in the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. They soon spot Draco and his mother going down Knockturn Alley, which they know to be dodgy. The three follow them, watching as they head inside the shop Borgin and Burkes. They try to see what is going on from a nearby rooftop, but the blinds are soon shut and they can see nothing.
On the train to Hogwarts, the trio discuss this strange event more. Harry thinks what they saw was an initiation ceremony for Draco, believing he is now a Death Eater, just like his father. He also knows he saw Draco looking at a cabinet, but doesn’t know the significance. Hermione and Ron don’t agree with Harry at all. Harry decides to leave their carriage to “get some air”. He actually takes his Invisibility Cloak and the Darkness Powder and heads to Draco’s carriage. He uses the powder to create a distraction and hides on the luggage rack so he can eavesdrop. Draco seems tetchy and unsettled with his friends, Blaise and Pansy, not wanting to go back to Hogwarts, knowing his future lies elsewhere. He notices some strange movement on the luggage rack though, so as the others disembark the train, Draco uses Petrificus Totalus, revealing Harry who is now unable to move. Draco kicks Harry in the face, and puts the cloak over him, telling him to enjoy the ride back to London. However, luckily, Luna Lovegood is still on the train and uses a strange set of glasses to locate Harry, thanks to all the “wrackspurts” around his head. Wrackspurts apparently make people’s brains go fuzzy. Luna and Harry head to Hogwarts together.
At the entrance gates, they see that Professor Flitwick is doing extra security checks on everyone arriving, showing the seriousness of the time they are living through. Draco is being inspected for his walking stick, with Snape coming over to vouch for him and let him leave. Luna then offers to fix Harry’s nose, which Draco broke by kicking him. He agrees, but he enters the Great Hall still bleeding, sitting with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They tell him that he missed a speech by the Sorting Hat telling them to brave in these dark times. Dumbledore then gives his usual speech, informing the students that Professor Slughorn is their new Potions teacher, with Snape moving over to Defence Against the Dark Arts, a job he’s wanted for years. Dreams really do come true. Dumbledore tells the students about the increased security, and how they need to be careful of their choices and actions in life.
The next day, Harry and Ron laugh at the new First Year students who are lost and uncertain as they walk through the corridors of Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall sees them laughing and calls Harry over. She tells him that Harry should be in Potions class, as Slughorn is accepting students with lower grades than Snape would’ve done. He says he’ll go straight there, and is told to take Ron with him. In class, Slughorn tells the two to get textbooks from the cupboard and then join the class. They see only one new book left and fight over it. Ron wins, so Harry is left with the tatty, old copy. They watch as Slughorn explains the purposes of various potions, including a love potion which makes all the girls in class suddenly very interested in the lesson, before lifting up a tiny vial of something called Felix Felicis, also known as Liquid Luck. He says this is a prize for whoever can make the best draught of another potion called Living Death. The students get to work. Everyone struggles with the task, even Hermione, who unravels more and more as the class goes on, except for Harry. Harry’s textbook has notes all over it, telling him exactly how to make the perfect Living Death. Slughorn is very impressed and hands over the Liquid Luck to Harry.
Later, Harry is called to Dumbledore’s office. Dumbledore begins by making small talk with Harry, asking him if he is in a relationship with Hermione. Uh, that’s quite inappropriate, Headmaster. Let’s stick to business. Moving on, Dumbledore leads Harry over to the Pensieve to view one of Dumbledore’s memories. Harry watches as Dumbledore meets Tom Riddle at an orphanage many years ago, when Tom was about 11 years old. Tom never has visitors so Dumbledore’s arrival is strange, and he is made aware of incidents between Tom and other children, “nasty things”. Dumbledore tells Tom about Hogwarts, where he will be able to go to school to control his magical abilities, but he warns Tom that bad behaviour, like stealing, will not be tolerated there. Harry comes out of the memory, and Dumbledore says he didn’t know that Tom would become one of the darkest wizards of all time after this meeting. He also reveals that Tom Riddle was close to one teacher during his time at Hogwarts. Unsurprisingly, this teacher was Slughorn, who has something important that Dumbledore needs. Harry agrees to get close to Slughorn to help the cause. Whilst all this is going on, Draco begins to carry out his own tasks for the Dark Lord. He starts in the Room of Requirement, where he finds and attempts to fix a cabinet.
The following day, Harry and Ginny run try-outs for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Ron has decided to try out for Keeper, but a more athletic boy called Cormac McLaggen seems to have more of a chance of getting it. The two are tied after multiple saves, with Hermione breaking the deadlock by using the Confundus Charm on Cormac to have him miss a save, not liking his arrogance or his intense fascination with her. Ron is selected as the team’s keeper. After the try-outs, Ron is basking in his success, as Harry obsesses over his Potions book. Hermione is annoyed that Harry is essentially cheating through classes and demands to know who owned that book. Ginny manages to take the book from Harry and says the book has an inscription saying it is the property of the Half-Blood Prince.
Hermione continues to gripe about this book later on, and tells Harry and Ron she tried researching the name, but found nothing. They walk into Hogsmeade and hear that Slughorn is going to The Three Broomsticks pub. Harry tells the other two they should go and get Butterbeers there. At the pub, Harry sees Draco acting strangely but has to focus on Slughorn, telling the other two Dumbledore has asked him to get to know him. As Harry waits for Slughorn to approach their table, Ron sees Ginny in the corner with Dean Thomas, and they start kissing. He wants to leave, but Harry says they can’t. Slughorn finally comes over, a little worse for wear, and invites Harry and Hermione to a dinner party he is organising for his best students; Ron is left out. The three leave the pub shortly after, with Hermione feeling a little merry herself! But she soon sobers up, as fellow Gryffindor Katie Bell is seemingly hexed right in front of them. She is dragged up into the air and thrown to the ground. Hagrid rushes over and carries Katie back to school. Harry inspects the package Katie had in her hands. Back at school, Professor McGonagall questions Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Katie’s friend Leanne. Leanne says Katie didn’t have the package when they arrived at the pub, but that she received it whilst they were there and said it had to be delivered to Dumbledore urgently. She is told she can go. McGonagall then wonders why Harry, Ron, and Hermione are always at the centre of the trouble. Ron says he wonders the same thing sometimes! Professor Snape confirms the necklace was hexed. Harry assumes Katie was cursed and accuses Draco Malfoy of cursing her. McGonagall and Snape see no evidence for this. That evening, Harry sees Draco disappear on the Marauder’s Map and wonders what that means. Ron asks what Dean likes about his sister, with Harry saying it could be her skin. Weirdo.
Then it is time for Slughorn’s dinner party, where he asks about his guests and their parents’ lives. Some other guests include Cormac, Blaise, and Marcus Belby, whose uncle is apparently quite famous, but Marcus’ family don’t speak to him much. Well, you’re no use to Slughorn then! Slughorn moves on to ask about Hermione’s parents. She tells Slughorn her parents are dentists, which impresses nobody. Ginny arrives late to the party as the group are tucking into their profiteroles. Hermione whispers to Harry that her eyes are red, so she must’ve been crying, probably from arguing with Dean. As the party wraps up, Harry finds himself alone with Slughorn, after seeing an hourglass whose sand runs depending on the conversation being had. Harry fears he is boring Slughorn as the sand is running slowly, but Slughorn tells him not to worry, but that many of his classmates won’t be making his shelf of most treasured former pupils. Harry asks if Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, made the shelf, and asks for more details about what he was like. Slughorn reiterates that Tom Riddle was just a quiet, talented student, and there was no hint of the dark wizard he would become.
The next morning, it is time for Ron’s first Quidditch match as the Gryffindor Keeper and he is rightly nervous. Sitting down for breakfast, Ron looks very scared and uncertain. Luna Lovegood, sitting nearby, wonders if Harry put a tonic in Ron’s drink to calm the nerves, as she was sure she saw him putting something in Ron’s cup. Harry then appears to put the Liquid Luck vial back in his pocket, making Hermione believe he has used his Liquid Luck on Ron, which would be immoral as that would lead to magic affecting the result of a sports match. Ron is fine with that though and gladly finishes his drink, now ready for the match. Sure enough, Ron has a great game and Gryffindor win. As celebrations take place in the Common Room, Ron smugly stands there and accepts all the praise. Hermione scolds Harry for using the Liquid Luck, however, Harry shows her the vial still full of liquid; Harry did not use it, but the placebo effect was enough to help Ron. Hermione now feels able to join in the celebrations, however, just at that moment, Gryffindor Lavender Brown launches herself at Ron and snogs him in front of everyone, devastating Hermione, who was just beginning to accept her feelings for him. She walks away in tears, with Harry following. They compare what it must be like for each of them to like someone who is already with someone else. Hermione likes Ron, but he is now with Lavender, and Harry likes Ginny, but she is currently with Dean. Ron and Lavender then burst into the room. Hermione shows her clear distaste for this new relationship through a Bird-Conjuring Charm, with the birds trying to attack Ron.
Harry tries to get his two friends to make up, but Ron is dead set on continuing things with Lavender, and Hermione has had to make other arrangements for Slughorn’s upcoming Christmas party. Harry hoped they’d go together, instead of the people they wanted to, annoying Hermione, who didn’t think of that; her date is being left as a “surprise”. Hermione tells Harry he needs to take someone good to the party, and points out Romilda Vane, who is trying to smuggle Harry a love potion, only being interested in Harry because he is “The Chosen One”. Harry responds that he is the Chosen One, with Hermione hitting him with a book as punishment for his arrogance. Harry says he’ll ask someone cool to the party.
Harry arrives to Slughorn’s Christmas party with Luna, so maybe not someone cool, but at least someone he knows! Hermione has taken Cormac McLaggen to the party, thinking it would annoy Ron. She failed to realise that Ron isn’t even at this party, because it’s only for Slughorn’s favourite students, so I doubt he even noticed! And Hermione is having a terrible time as Cormac is getting very handsy with her… She manages to escape him at one point, leaving him with Harry. He says Hermione talks too much and must be playing hard to get. Harry is called away by Professor Snape, who tells him that Dumbledore will be travelling over the Christmas holidays. Snape says nothing further. Draco Malfoy then becomes the centre of attention, as caretaker Filch says he saw Draco lurking around here, despite not being invited to the party. Draco says he was gate-crashing. Snape offers to see him out. Harry follows to listen in on their conversation. Snape warns Draco to take his advice, as he has made an Unbreakable Vow for him. Hmm. Interesting.
On the train back home for Christmas, Harry tells Ron what he heard Snape and Draco talking about, including the Unbreakable Vow. Their conversation is interrupted by Lavender, drawing a heart on their train carriage door. Ron is starting to think Lavender is a bit too clingy and obsessive now… Anyway, back to Snape. Ron informs Harry that you can’t break an Unbreakable Vow. No duh. Continuing that if someone does, then they will die.
Harry spends Christmas at the Burrow with the Weasleys as well as some members of the Order of the Phoenix, like Lupin and Tonks. Lupin tells Harry that he should trust Snape because Dumbledore does, but Harry isn’t so sure about that. Harry has a discussion with Mr. Weasley about Dumbledore, who lets Harry know that Dumbledore travelling this winter is news to the Ministry, but he has some information about Draco Malfoy and the cabinet that Harry saw him looking at in Borgin and Burkes. That cabinet was a Vanishing Cabinet, which were popular during Voldemort’s rise to power the first time. It allowed witches and wizards to transport themselves elsewhere and go into hiding should he or his followers come looking for them. During Christmas Day, Harry and Ginny gradually become closer, but their moments together keep being interrupted, first by Ron with his mince pies, and then by Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback turning up in a ring of fire. Bellatrix taunts Harry by saying she killed Sirius Black, leading him into the fields of reeds around the Burrow. Ginny follows after him, in her pyjamas and dressing gown. The two engage in a battle with the Death Eaters, before Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Lupin come to help them. Bellatrix and Fenrir go back to the Burrow and hit it with fireballs, causing it to go up in flames. The group rush back to see the rest of the Weasley family watching their home burn.
After Christmas and back at school, Harry is once again shown a memory about Tom Riddle by Professor Dumbledore. It shows Slughorn talking to Tom Riddle. Tom asks him about a bit of rare magic that he read about, but the word is muffled and inaudible. Slughorn proceeds to tell Tom to get out of his office and to never speak of it again. Out of the memory, Dumbledore tells Harry that this memory has been tampered with by Slughorn, and he needs the real one to know what they were talking about, as this could bring about the downfall of Voldemort in present day. To get this memory, Harry goes to Slughorn after one of his classes and begins to re-enact the same conversation he just saw, only he does not know what the magic is called. He simply asks if there are some types of magic that they aren’t taught. Slughorn says there are both light and dark types of magic in the world, and it’s always best to choose the light. Harry asks if he said the same to Tom Riddle when he asked the same sort of question. Slughorn figures out the ruse, and starts to avoid Harry.
Back in his dormitory, Harry sees Ron has eaten a box of chocolates meant for him, sent by Romilda Vane. They have clearly been laced with a love potion because Ron is now in love with Romilda despite having never met her. Not knowing what to do, and seeing this as a way to get back to Slughorn, Harry takes Ron to Slughorn’s office to get him an antidote. Ron recovers after drinking it but now feels odd and unlike himself, so Slughorn pours them all a drink to get Ron to feel better. However, Ron drinks first and collapses to the ground, seemingly choking from being poisoned. Slughorn freezes in shock, leaving Harry to try and save him. Luckily, Ron comes round, saying these girls are going to kill him someday. Ron is taken to the hospital wing, where he is resting. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny stay with him, as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Slughorn try to figure out what happened. It turns out the bottle Slughorn poured from was intended as a gift for Dumbledore. Lavender bursts into the room, and wonders why Hermione would be here. Lavender reassures Ron that she is here, but, unconscious, Ron mumbles the word “Hermione”, causing Lavender to run off in tears. The others leave Hermione and Ron alone. Meanwhile, Draco has managed to successfully mend the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, making a passage to Hogwarts from the cabinet in Borgin and Burkes. However, the pressure of this mission all seems to be getting to him.
Ron is soon released from the hospital and learns that he and Lavender broke up, but he doesn’t know what he said to lead to it. He doesn’t care that they broke up, but Lavender is clearly devastated by it. The three then see Katie Bell return to normal school life after being cursed and hexed. Harry goes over to Katie to get information from her; however, she cannot remember who cursed her. Draco walks into the room at that point, and seeing Katie and Harry, turns away and leaves. He goes to the bathroom and begins to cry. Harry follows him and accuses him of hexing Katie. The two battle, destroying the bathroom. Harry then uses the spell Sectumsempra which he learnt from his Potions book, on Draco. He is seriously wounded. Snape comes in to the bathroom and begins to heal him. Due to this event, Harry is told by his friends he must give up the textbook. Ginny takes Harry to the Room of Requirement to hide it, so he will never be able to find it. Ginny tells Harry to close his eyes whilst she hides it. On her return, the two kiss.
That evening, Harry and Ron run into Slughorn, who awkwardly avoids passing them in the corridor, turning around and walking the other way. Harry realises he’s going to need some luck to get that memory from Slughorn and drinks the Liquid Luck potion. Harry ignores the plan he made with Hermione and Ron, and instead chooses to go to Hagrid’s. On the way, he passes Slughorn taking Tentacula leaves from the greenhouses. He spots Harry and tells him he can’t go wandering around the grounds on his own this late at night. Harry says Slughorn can always come with him. The two discover Hagrid in front of a deceased Aragog, the huge spider Harry and Ron came face-to-face with a few years before. Slughorn asks if he can take some venom from Aragog as it is incredibly rare. Hagrid allows it. Slughorn then says a few words in his memory. The trio return to Hagrid’s hut, where Slughorn and Hagrid have a few drinks and have a bit of a sing-song. Hagrid reminisces about his times with Aragog, leading Slughorn to say he was given a fish once by Harry’s mother Lily, and noticed it had simply vanished one day, the same day Lily was murdered. Slughorn finally accepts he needs to hand over his real memory of Tom Riddle.
On receiving the memory, Harry goes straight to Dumbledore’s office to the Pensieve. They view the memory and learn the two were discussing Horcruxes, magic that allows part of a witch or wizard’s soul to remain in an object after murdering someone; it allows someone to never die. Tom Riddle plans to have seven of these. Dumbledore tells Harry this is just as he suspected, having already found Tom Riddle’s diary and his mother’s ring were both Horcruxes. Harry learns the key to destroying Voldemort is to destroy each Horcrux – and Dumbledore thinks he knows where a third one might be. Harry readies himself to go with Dumbledore to find this next Horcrux, inadvertently hearing a conversation between him and Snape, with Snape saying how he doesn’t want to do this anymore – whatever that means. Dumbledore apparates with Harry to a cave in the middle of the sea.
On entering the cave, Dumbledore uses his blood to allow passage further in, telling Harry he must obey all his commands. They cannot see much in the dark cave, but figure out with a Lumos spell that they need to get over to the other side to find the Horcrux. They find a boat and sail over there. They get onto a platform of crystals, surrounded by water, and see a bowl of potion. Dumbledore figures the potion will have to be drunk in its entirety to get the Horcrux. Dumbledore drinks a bit and starts to feel unwell. Harry has to force him to finish it all, collecting a locket at the end of it. Dumbledore asks for water. Harry tries to conjure some, but is unable to, so he goes to the edge of the platform to get water, however, he is grabbed by a creature, a skeletal corpse-like thing called an Inferi, with a whole group of them trying to get to him and Dumbledore. Harry is dragged into the water by one. Luckily, Dumbledore recovers enough to be able to take his wand and cast fireballs throughout the cave, destroying the Inferi. Harry and Dumbledore are able to leave the cave.
The two return to Hogwarts’ Astronomy Tower, where Harry is told to find Snape, however, they both hear noises. Harry is told to hide underneath the tower, and not say a word or be seen, regardless of what happens. Dumbledore is approached by Draco, who instantly disarms Dumbledore. Dumbledore tries to dissuade Draco from killing him, knowing this was what he’d been asked by Voldemort to do, and as he does so, Bellatrix and other Death Eaters arrive in the tower. Dumbledore learns that Draco fixed the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, allowing them to enter the school from Borgin and Burkes. Underneath the tower, Harry sees Snape, and believes that Snape will stop this. Draco seems unable to carry out this task, so Snape steps in front. He kills Dumbledore instead, with the force of the spell launching Dumbledore off the Astronomy Tower. The Death Eaters, including Snape and Draco, walk out of Hogwarts, with Bellatrix destroying as much property as she can, including Hagrid’s hut. Harry follows and demands to know why Snape betrayed Dumbledore, but he refuses to engage. Harry attempts to use Sectumsempra on Snape but the spell is blocked. Snape reveals that is his spell as he is the Half-Blood Prince. Harry returns to the castle, where all the teachers and students mourn the death of their Headmaster, pointing their wands into the sky, dispelling the Dark Mark that has appeared.
The next day, once the dust has settled, Harry goes to Dumbledore’s office, feeling lost. Professor McGonagall attempts to console him, but Harry doesn’t want to talk. She says Harry meant a great deal to Dumbledore before he walks away from her. Back at the Astronomy Tower, Harry tells Hermione that he feels guilty for not doing anything to save Dumbledore. To make it even worse, the locket Horcrux they found was fake. Hermione reads the note inside, saying someone named R.A.B. stole the real one, in the hope of destroying it. Harry says he needs to finish the mission that Dumbledore started, by finding the remaining Horcruxes, so he won’t be returning to Hogwarts next year. Hermione says she and Ron will help him, and they will work together to find them.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sees Harry finally getting an idea of how to destroy Voldemort, thanks to Dumbledore’s persistence and assistance. Harry spends much of this film with either Dumbledore or Professor Slughorn, wanting to get as much information as possible to figure out how to rid the world of Voldemort once and for all, meaning he does not spend as much time with Ron and Hermione, who provide some help, but have their own problems going on. Hermione is upset with Ron for dating Lavender, when she likes him, and she has her own admirer in Cormac McLaggen bothering her in the first part of this story. Eventually, Ron tires of Lavender and the two start talking again, but they refuse to admit their real feelings – unlike Harry who gets a kiss from his love interest, Ginny. Meanwhile, some of the Death Eaters have returned to help kill Dumbledore, with this being Draco’s task, although Snape ends up completing it as Draco cannot. There are less scenes taking place in lessons, and less frivolity between the students, so the story really focuses on these characters I’ve mentioned, however, many characters returned to reprise their roles in this sixth film, if only in minor roles, with some new character additions also being made.
One of these new characters is a new Hogwarts Professor, except this time it is not a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but a Potions teacher. The hiring of Professor Horace Slughorn in Potions has led Professor Snape to be moved over to Defence Against the Dark Arts like he had always wanted. Professor Slughorn was a Potions teacher at Hogwarts years before, during the time that Tom Riddle was at school, before he became Lord Voldemort. That is why Dumbledore has had him return – because he has information that should help bring about the downfall of Voldemort, since he was close to Tom during his time at Hogwarts. Slughorn likes to focus on his most brilliant students, the ones he feels are the most talented and will go far in life; Tom Riddle must’ve been one of those, until his dark side came to the surface. Now, Slughorn is looking to “collect” Harry as one of his current favourite students, with Lily, Harry’s mother, having been one before. Slughorn is a friendly teacher, although he does have a tendency to write students off if they prove to not be worthy or talented, such as having Neville Longbottom be a waiter at his Christmas party after not making it into “The Slug Club”. However, Slughorn is clearly ashamed about his dealings with Tom Riddle, leading him to learn about Horcruxes and therefore return to power. Slughorn didn’t mean to do this, but would rather hide his secret than try to fix the mistakes he’s made. In the end, Harry has to guilt-trip Slughorn into providing him and Dumbledore with his memory of Tom and the Horcrux discussion.
Jim Broadbent was cast as Professor Slughorn, despite not having much resemblance to the character, as per his physical description in the books. In the books, Slughorn is described as being a very large, stout man, with a big moustache. Broadbent does not look like that; however, this did not bother fans of the series, who loved Broadbent’s depiction of the character, including his great comic delivery and portrayal of Slughorn’s eccentricities[1]. Broadbent is known for various film and television roles. Some of his more comedic roles have included playing Pod Clock in The Borrowers (1997); being cast as Colin Jones, Bridget’s dad in the Bridget Jones’s Diary film series; appearing as Inspector Frank Butterman in Hot Fuzz (2007); and starring as Kempton Bunton in The Duke (2020). He also has played Santa Claus a couple of times, voicing the character Malcolm Claus in the animated film Arthur Christmas (2011), and acting as the character in Get Santa (2014). Broadbent is also known for his role as Samuel Gruber in the Paddington films. Outside of that, Broadbent played Dean Charles Stanforth in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and portrayed Denis Thatcher in the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady (2011). He has won numerous awards throughout his career, such as a BAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! (2001); a BAFTA and Golden Globe win for his title role in the television film Longford (2006); and an Oscar and a Golden Globe win for Best Supporting actor for his role as John Bayley in Iris (2001). More recently, Broadbent was cast in the title role for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2023) and as Peter Schneider in Jay Kelly (2025). Reportedly, Bob Hoskins was initially considered for the part of Horace Slughorn. Hoskins was known for such roles as Smee in Hook (1991), and Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
Following on from that, we have some new villain roles that had to be filled in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We’ve already met Voldemort in a few different forms so far in this series, like teenage Tom Riddle being played by Christian Coulson in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Ralph Fiennes first appearing as the revived Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Years later, we needed Tom Riddle to return as a student at Hogwarts, getting a glimpse of his cockiness and self-assuredness, as well as his penchant for dark magic, through a past memory of Slughorn’s. Coulson, despite allegedly being happy to return, was considered too old to reprise his role, so a new actor had to be found. Frank Dillane was chosen to portray this character in this film.
After Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dillane went on to play Nick Clark in the spin-off television series Fear the Walking Dead (2015-23) in its first four seasons and played Henry Coffin in In the Heart of the Sea (2015). Later, Dillane played Charles Devereux in the Disney+ series Renegade Nell (2024) and was cast as Boise Hannington in the ITV drama series Joan (2025) starring Sophie Turner. More recently, Dillane starred as Mike in the drama film Urchin (2025), winning the Best Actor award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, with the film premiering in the Un Certain Regard section. He also played John Willoughby in the 2026 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility (2026).
We also see an eleven-year-old Tom Riddle, who has been isolated at Wool’s Orphanage, being kept away from other children due to his strange demeanour and behaviour. He is led to believe he is mad, but Dumbledore visits him with a lifeline: to come to Hogwarts and learn to control his magical gifts, as long as he learns to behave. Hero Fiennes Tiffin was cast as young Tom Riddle, giving a chilling, haunted quality to this kid we know will grow up to become one of the most evil wizards of all time. In recent years, Fiennes Tiffin has gone on to star as Hardin Scott in the After film series and was cast as Charlie in the Amazon Prime film Picture This (2025). He is set to play Rhodes in the upcoming survival film Above the Below (2026) with Idris Elba. In series, Fiennes Tiffin currently portrays the character of Sherlock Holmes in the Amazon Prime series Young Sherlock (2026-present), alongside his uncle Joseph Fiennes, who played Silas Holmes in the series. Another of Fiennes Tiffin’s uncles is Ralph Fiennes, who was already playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter series by this point.
Further new characters on Voldemort’s side in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are Narcissa Malfoy, Draco’s mother and Lucius’ wife, and Fenrir Greyback. Narcissa Malfoy doesn’t play a huge role in this film, other than to go to Snape for help after finding out that her son has been recruited as a Death Eater by Voldemort and given the task of murdering Dumbledore. Narcissa is rightly scared and concerned for her son, knowing what will happen to him should he fail. Narcissa brings along her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, to help plead her case, although Bellatrix doesn’t know what Narcissa is fussing about, thinking they should feel honoured. Bellatrix isn’t sure that Snape can be trusted, so she uses this meeting to force his loyalty, having him make an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa to help Draco succeed. Fenrir Greyback is first shown in this film kidnapping Ollivander. He returns to join Bellatrix in taunting Harry Potter and the others at the Weasley home, helping to destroy the Burrow. Fenrir comes back again, to be present at the Astronomy Tower to see Snape kill Dumbledore. He provides the muscle for Voldemort, I guess!
Narcissa Malfoy was played by Helen McCrory, who was originally meant to play Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but had to drop out. I’m glad they found a good role for her in later films instead to make up for it. In film, McCrory portrayed Cherie Blair in The Queen (2006), and voiced Mrs. Bean in Wes Anderson’s film Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) prior to and around the time of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. After this, she was cast as Jehanne D’Alcy in Hugo (2011) and appeared as Clair Dowar MP in the Bond film Skyfall (2012). In television, McCrory was known for her role as Polly Gray in the first five seasons of Peaky Blinders (2013-22) and played Evelyn Poole in Penny Dreadful (2014-16). She also provided the voice of Stelmaria in the first two series of His Dark Materials (2019-22). McCrory sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 52.
Fenrir Greyback was played by Dave Legeno, who was a mixed martial artist as well as an actor. Some of his roles included being cast as John in Snatch (2000) and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro in the series Borgia (2011-14). Legeno died in 2014 at the age of 50, with the films Sword of Vengeance (2015), where he played Osgar; and Last Knights (2015), where he played Olaf, being released after his death.
Now for the students that feature either for the first time or more prominently in the Harry Potter series in this sixth film. First up is Lavender Brown. She is shown to have a crush on Ron as early as their trip to Diagon Alley, as she says “hi” to Ron, despite him barely even noticing her. She watches as he takes part in the try-outs for the Quidditch team in the freezing cold, cheering him on, and then takes her chance after he helps the team win their first match, by kissing him in front of everyone. Ron initially loves all the attention that Lavender gives him, but soon finds her to be too clingy and odd, never leaving him alone and seemingly falling in love with him very quickly. But Ron doesn’t know how to turn her down, so Ron kind of strings her along for a while. This makes it even more upsetting for Lavender when Ron mutters Hermione’s name in his sleep at the hospital and doesn’t even break up with her properly. He’s lucky she didn’t go out to get revenge on him because she seems unhinged enough to do something like that!
Jessie Cave was cast as Gryffindor student Lavender Brown, beating out thousands of girls who had auditioned for the part. It was her natural chemistry with Rupert Grint that was said to have got her the role. After the Harry Potter series had ended, Cave went on to play Annie Maddocks in the E4 drama series Glue (2014), before being cast as Heather in the Sky One comedy series Trollied (2011-18) from Series 5. More recently, she played Rosie in the ITV sitcom Buffering (2021-23), which starred and was co-written by comedian Iain Stirling. In film, Cave appeared as Biddy in the 2012 film adaptation of Great Expectations and was cast as Zoe in the historical drama film Pride (2014). She has also written and performed comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, such as her shows Bookworm in 2012 and Sunrise in 2018. Cave published her first novel titled Sunset in 2021.
We first see Cormac McLaggen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as he is trying out to be Gryffindor’s Keeper in Quidditch, against Ron. Cormac seems to be the most likely one of the two to be selected, and his arrogance and over-confidence comes across well. Cormac also says he is interested in Hermione, wanting Ron to help him get close to her; Ron doesn’t want to get involved with all that! Hermione isn’t interested in Cormac anyway, because, although Cormac is quite handsome, he is vain and smug. Hermione dislikes Cormac so much, she uses a spell on him during Quidditch try-outs to ensure Ron gets to be Keeper. Hermione tries to avoid Cormac at all costs, however, after Ron starts dating Lavender, her jealousy starts to rule her head, and she ends up taking Cormac to Slughorn’s Christmas party, essentially using him and ditching him when he keeps her under the mistletoe for too long. After this party, we don’t see much more of Cormac in this film. He either got the hint that Hermione doesn’t like him or felt she wasn’t worth chasing anymore!
Cormac McLaggen was played by Freddie Stroma. Stroma returned to reprise his role in the final two Harry Potter films. After the series ended, he went on to be cast as Luke in Pitch Perfect (2012) and as Ben Thornton-Wild in The Inbetweeners 2 (2014). He also played Adam Cromwell in the first season of the drama series UnReal (2015-18), and was cast as Ron Ebsen in Second Act (2018), which starred Jennifer Lopez. More recently, Stroma starred as Adrian Chase / Vigilante in the HBO Max series Peacemaker (2022-25).
There are a variety of other Gryffindor students who are involved in the story of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince too. Two are Romilda Vane and Dean Thomas. Romilda Vane does not appear much in this film, first appearing in Potions class with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, when Harry gets that old textbook, and is seen sitting in the library, looking at Harry, as Hermione tells him Romilda is looking to smuggle him a love potion, wanting to be with the “Chosen One”. That is all we see of Romilda in this film; however, her actions are fairly important because it transpires that she does actually attempt to give Harry a love potion, in the form of chocolates. Ron ends up eating them and falling in love with Romilda instead, giving Harry the perfect excuse to talk to Slughorn again, opening up pathways to get Slughorn to hand over his memory of Tom Riddle.
Romilda Vane was played by Anna Shaffer. Shaffer had no spoken lines in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I feel is quite unfair, seeing as Romilda is definitely trying to make an impact on that love triangle between Harry, Ginny, and Dean, so it’s not like she’s trying to fade into the background. Shaffer reprised her role as Romilda in the following two Harry Potter films, going on to have a regular role in the British soap Hollyoaks (1995-present) from 2011 until 2018. She later played Triss Merigold in the fantasy drama series The Witcher (2019-27) for Netflix.
Dean Thomas has been in and around Harry and Ron’s friendship group throughout their time at Hogwarts, across all six years. He is part of that group, along with Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan, that have classes with Harry and Ron, and chill out with them in the Gryffindor Common Room, but don’t get involved in all the action very often. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dean has slightly more of a role as he is part of this same love triangle – or square? – with Romilda, Harry, and Ginny, since he is dating Ginny at the beginning of the film. The two are also seen kissing in The Three Broomsticks pub. But the couple apparently argued often, with Hermione saying that must’ve been why Ginny was late to Slughorn’s dinner party. Dean has never seemed very confrontational, so this surprised me, but no more than the pairing of Dean and Ginny did; it just all seemed odd.
Alfred Enoch was cast as Dean Thomas, playing the character since the very first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001). Shortly after the Harry Potter series had ended, Enoch went on to play Wes Gibbins in the legal drama How to Get Away with Murder (2014-20). Continuing his work in series, Enoch was cast as Pete Thomas in the first series of the Channel 4 mini-series The Couple Next Door (2023-present) opposite Eleanor Tomlinson, going on to play Mr. Lidderdale in the BBC One mini-series Miss Austen (2025), which starred Keeley Hawes. Enoch also starred as Adam in the British rom-com This Is Christmas (2022). Recently, Enoch played DS Isaac Fagbenle in the Netflix series Run Away (2026) based on the novel by Harlan Coben, and starred alongside Gal Gadot and Damian Lewis in the Prime Video action thriller The Runner (2026), being cast as Ted. On stage, Enoch played the lead role in Pericles for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2024, returning to star as in the title role of Henry V in 2026 at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Katie Bell is also a Gryffindor student, and part of the Quidditch team. Her main role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is to be cursed by Draco Malfoy at The Three Broomsticks, so that she will deliver a hexed necklace to Dumbledore, meaning Draco can succeed in killing him, without being connected to it easily. Katie inadvertently touches the necklace herself and is hexed, remaining in hospital for a long portion of the school year. On her return to normal school life, she has no idea who cursed her, although Harry knows it was Draco. Katie’s friend, Leanne, witnesses these events and is quizzed on them by Professor McGonagall but can give no further information, other than the fact Katie didn’t have the necklace when they arrived at the pub and wanted to go quickly once she did.
Katie Bell was played by Georgina Leonidas. Prior to her role in this film, Leonidas had played Molly in the British children’s show The Basil Brush Show (2002-07). Leanne was played by Isabella Laughland, who went on to be cast as Beth in the teen drama Now Is Good (2012), which starred Dakota Fanning, and as Kay in the horror film Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018). She later played Deb in the Paramount+ series The Road Trip (2024) and was cast as Becky in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2025). Both actresses continued to play their characters Katie and Leanne until the end of the Harry Potter series.
Following on from that are two of Draco’s group. He had normally been flanked by his henchmen Crabbe and Goyle, and yet in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we see Draco mostly talking to Blaise and Pansy Parkinson, both Slytherins, of course. Draco only really talks to these two on the train to Hogwarts, as he distances and isolates himself throughout the course of the school year. Pansy has popped up time and again around Draco, seemingly being a potential love interest for him, in earlier Harry Potter films, whereas Blaise first appears in this film. Blaise is also a part of “The Slug Club”, so we see him at the dinner party and at Slughorn’s Christmas party too.
Pansy Parkinson was played by Scarlett Byrne in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, continuing with the role to the end of the film series. Pansy had previously appeared in other Harry Potter films, but was played by different actresses, such as Genevieve Gaunt playing the role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Following the conclusion of Harry Potter, Byrne was cast in the recurring role of Nora Hildegard in Season 7 of The Vampire Diaries (2009-17), having received a main role in Season 4 of the science-fiction series Falling Skies (2011-15), as Lexi Glass-Mason, the year before. Louis Cordice was cast as Blaise Zabini, appearing in the role in the final two Harry Potter films.
There are a couple of other characters and actors that I would like to mention, although their roles in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are quite minor. The first is Marcus Belby, who attempts to be a part of “The Slug Club”, but after failing to give much information on his famous uncle to Professor Slughorn, he finds he did not make it into this exclusive club, and according to Neville, has been left to hand out towels in the bathroom at the Christmas party. What a terrible demotion. Marcus Belby was played by Rob Knox. Allegedly, Knox was set to reprise his character in the following Harry Potter film, however, he was tragically stabbed to death before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was even released. Knox died at the age of 18 in May 2008.
The other is the waitress in the café, who flirts with Harry, but finds she has been stood up by him in favour of a trip with Professor Dumbledore. That’s so typical of Harry! She was played by Elarica Gallacher, who has since gone on to be cast as Juliette Durand in series 1 of A Discovery of Witches (2018-22) for Sky, and voiced Drolta Tzuentes in the animated Netflix series Castlevania: Nocturne (2023-25).
Finally, there are a couple of cameo appearances by people who may look familiar, particularly to British viewers. One is from TV presenter Ben Shephard, who can be seen in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment within the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes shop scene; he plays a wizard father with his kids, and can be seen as Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave the shop. Ben Shephard had been presenting the behind-the-scenes documentaries Behind the Magic for the last few Harry Potter films, so that is likely why he was offered the role as the documentary followed him getting ready for his big moment on screen[2]. Shephard is known for presenting shows like the daytime show This Morning (1988-present) from the 2000s, returning as a permanent host in 2024, and presenting the game show Tipping Point (2012-present). He co-hosted Ninja Warrior UK (2015-22) and later participated as Conkers in Series 7 of The Masked Singer UK (2020-present) in 2026, coming in second place.
The other is the cameo appearance of actor Paul Ritter as Eldred Worple, an attendee of Slughorn’s Christmas party, who is briefly visible in the background of the scene but has no lines. Ritter starred as Martin Goodman in the sitcom Friday Night Dinner (2011-20), as well as playing Dr. Billy Cartwright in ITV’s crime drama Vera (2011-25). Some more dramatic roles of his included portraying Bentley Purchase in the war drama Operation Mincemeat (2022) and Jeremy Hutchinson in the BBC mini-series The Trial of Christine Keeler (2019-20). Ritter passed away in 2021 at the age of 54.
MUSIC
Having already composed the score for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Nicholas Hooper was well prepared to work on the music for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
As with all Harry Potter films, John Williams’ iconic instrumental track “Hedwig’s Theme” is used in this sixth film. The opening track uses a few notes of this theme, before moving into other motifs that will be used later in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It is used more obviously during the track “Ginny”, which is playing as Harry arrives at the Burrow after his visit to see Slughorn with Dumbledore.
You’ll also notice a few tracks that first appeared in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix being used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As these tracks appeared in an earlier film, they are not listed on the official soundtrack for the sixth film.
The first “borrowed” track to be heard is “Fireworks”. “Fireworks” was used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the scene of Fred and George Weasley crashing an exam to throw fireworks at Dolores Umbridge and ruin the calm order of the day, as well as destroying her huge number of glass-encased rules. This shows Fred and George choosing to leave school to start their own business. And they did start their own business in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as they opened their own store, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, in order to sell all the products they were already selling to students at Hogwarts. Due to the link between these two scenes from the two different movies, it makes sense to link them with the music as well. What is odd though is that a specific track was written for this moment called “Wizard Wheezes”, but it was not used; it is on the official soundtrack. I’m personally glad they chose to use “Fireworks” for this scene, as I find “Wizard Wheezes” too loud and chaotic with its jazzy, big band feel.
The other recycled musical track was “Dumbledore’s Army”, playing during the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs. I actually associate this piece more with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince than with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I guess I’ve just watched and paid attention to the sixth film more than I have the fifth! “Dumbledore’s Army” was still an important track in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix though, as the building up of Dumbledore’s Army, the group of students that Harry helps train to defend themselves against dark forces, is a main plot point in that story.
I like both “Dumbledore’s Army” and “Fireworks” alongside various other pieces within the score of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. One of these is “Living Death”, used for the sequence of Harry and his classmates in Potions class trying to make the perfect draught of the potion Living Death. Harry is doing well, thanks to the old textbook, whereas everyone around him is struggling and not able to complete the task. I like how upbeat the track is, whilst seeing others, like Hermione, crumbling as the class goes on and they still can’t get understand why they can’t make this potion. It’s a comical scene. The victorious and triumph nature of “Ron’s Victory”, after Ron successfully helps Gryffindor win in his first Quidditch match is another highlight of the soundtrack.
On the more emotional and sadder side, I quite like “Harry & Hermione”, which is playing after Hermione sees Ron kissing Lavender and she is heartbroken by it, knowing she likes Ron. Harry tries to comfort her, knowing he feels the same when he sees Ginny with Dean. “Dumbledore’s Farewell” is, of course, the saddest moment in the film, as we see the students and staff at Hogwarts mourn the loss of their beloved headteacher. It brings tears to my eyes, just because of the collective grief, and the fact that despite this tragedy, they point their wands to the sky in an act of defiance against the evil of Voldemort and his followers. It’s a very touching scene, and shows that what Harry will soon face will not be easy.
There are also a few songs heard within Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, although not all are on the soundtrack. The song “Big Beat Repeat” written and performed by Josh Powell is playing as Ron and the other Gryffindors celebrate his heroic day out on the Quidditch pitch in his first game as Keeper. It is mostly drowned out by the students chanting “Weasley, Weasley”, so it’s not all that audible or noticeable. Later, Slughorn and Hagrid sing briefly after they have held a funeral for Aragog, Hagrid’s giant spider friend. It is a fictional drinking song called “Odo the Hero”, which makes it perfect for this scene, as Hagrid is drowning his sorrows after the shock, with Slughorn helping him get through this tough time by having a drink or two as well. The song was written by J.K. Rowling for the book, and is performed by Robbie Coltrane and Jim Broadbent. These songs are not on the soundtrack.
One that is on the soundtrack is titled “In Noctem”. It is a haunting choral piece, being performed by the Hogwarts Choir as Professor Flitwick conducts them. It was supposed to be a foreboding piece of music accompanying the sequence of the students and staff at Hogwarts noticing the sky getting darker and the clouds coming in, signalling that something bad is about to happen, likely with Voldemort and the Death Eaters at the centre of it. This happens shortly before Dumbledore is murdered. This track was part of a deleted scene, so it was cut from the final version of the film. It’s a shame too, because this music and this scene I think would’ve worked well in the film and would’ve added to the atmosphere[3]. “In Noctem” is played during the End Credits though.
The soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, consisting of the original score, was released on 14th July 2009, just a day before the movie premiered. It was said to have debuted at No. 29 on the US Billboard Top 200, making it the highest charting soundtrack of the six soundtracks in the franchise released to this point[4].
Nicholas Hooper was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for his work on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He lost to Michael Giacchino’s emotional score for Pixar’s Up.
PRODUCTION
Filming any Harry Potter movie was a challenging and stressful experience for all involved.
Although some of the main cast members did feel overwhelmed by the level of fame that hit them all at some point during the course of the movies coming out, they were committed to continue their journeys as these beloved characters, knowing that fans would be disappointed or even angry to see such major roles recast partway through.
This, however, was not the same for the directors of the Harry Potter movies, as these had changed consistently throughout the first half of the Harry Potter film series. Christopher Columbus had managed to direct two in a row, before citing exhaustion as a reason for passing the baton over to someone else to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The fourth film was then directed by someone new as well.
But after David Yates came on to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he would do the unthinkable and unimaginable – sign on to direct the sixth Harry Potter film, equalling Columbus’ record by directing two Harry Potter films in a row. Wow. Instead of being tired and drained after working on the fifth film, Yates was enthusiastic to keep working on further films, especially as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince would allow him to work on a story that was less tense and more playful than the fifth film.
The screenwriter on the Harry Potter films had been quite consistent though. Steve Kloves had successfully adapted each of the first four books to make the screen adaptations, however, he decided to step back from the Harry Potter franchise and let someone else write Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The break turned out to be the perfect way for Kloves to reset, having stated that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had been particularly challenging to adapt, and was ready to delve into the more mature and darker themes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
As with all the Harry Potter films, the books they were based on had to be condensed in order to fit a standard runtime for a full-length feature film. This meant compromises and omissions, which have been less bothersome for fans in some cases, and more of a problem in others. For Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, there appeared to be too many cuts and changes from the original story to satisfy the most avid Harry Potter readers.
The most glaring exclusion was information, seen via the Pensieve as memories, about Tom Riddle’s past and his Horcruxes. The book has information about Tom Riddle’s family, like the Pure Blood Gaunt family, and the fact his mother, Merope Gaunt, bewitched the Muggle Tom Riddle, his father, into marrying her. There was also a moment in the book where an older Tom Riddle asked former Hogwarts Headmaster Professor Dippet, who is briefly mentioned in the second Harry Potter film, for a job in the Defence Against the Dark Arts department. This was an excuse so as to find objects he would later use as Horcruxes. A further chapter would’ve had Harry see two more memories, showing Riddle murdering people and stealing items, including Salazar Slytherin’s locket, the one Dumbledore and Harry go to the cave to find, in order to create Horcruxes. As someone who has not read the books, although this information does sound interesting, connecting items to individual victims, this wasn’t something that I felt needed explaining in the films. I also did not mind that Harry ended up figuring out much of this on his own, or with the help of Hermione and Ron, in the final two films, instead of being given the facts by Dumbledore in the sixth story. I would have liked to see more background into Tom Riddle though, as I did find myself online searching for answers to questions that came up whilst watching the final two films, which could’ve been answered in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But I understand the need to keep the plot clean and uncluttered for a feature film.
Something else that wasn’t necessarily required to be explained in the film but might’ve been nice to understand was the meaning behind Snape’s nickname of the “Half-Blood Prince”. Those who have not read the books but have watched the films would be able to deduce that the “half-blood” part of the name simply means that Snape has one magical and one non-magical parent. Not surprising or particularly unique. However, for me, I thought that Snape was calling himself a prince. Of what, I didn’t know, but I’d just assumed because he was a bit of a loner at school, he was trying to make himself feel better about himself by giving himself a royal title to try and escape his real life. Well, had I read the book, I would’ve learnt that the “prince” part of that nickname just refers to Snape’s mother’s maiden name of Prince, so it was not meant to be pretentious at all! He did this in order to distance himself from his abusive Muggle father.
Other moments missing from the film that were in the book include a battle happening at Hogwarts as Harry and Dumbledore return from their cave exploration. The Death Eaters that Draco smuggled in via the Vanishing Cabinets begin to attack the teachers, students, and the Order of the Phoenix members who are trying to protect the school. It was decided that this battle sequence would be cut from the movie to avoid repetition, as the final story has a huge battle at Hogwarts to end the storyline. I personally like the ending of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, with its quiet menace, and it allows for the final film to have a real cinematic fight that we hadn’t seen on screen before.
Speaking of this moment in the story, this battle would’ve led to the scene of Dumbledore’s murder in the Astronomy Tower. In the movie, Harry obeys Dumbledore by hiding underneath the tower, looking up at the action from under the floorboards. When Snape arrives and motions for Harry to stay quiet and not do anything, he simply trusts that Snape is there to help Dumbledore and would not end up murdering him. I’m fine with all of this; to me, it makes perfect sense. But others did not agree and wanted this scene to match the book. In the book, Harry is frozen under his Invisibility Cloak by Dumbledore to stop him from interfering. This makes watching Dumbledore’s murder worse for Harry as he knows what is coming, but can’t do anything to stop it. I think some didn’t understand why Harry would be so passive if he wasn’t forced to be, but I think it shows Snape’s betrayal of Dumbledore more obviously, which sets things up for what is to come in the final two books.
Some readers also felt that the scene of Dumbledore finding Harry at the train station, taking him away from his potential date with a waitress to go and find Slughorn, was better in the book, as this scene is completely different there. In the book, Dumbledore picks Harry up from the Dursleys’ house, and basically calls them out on their poor treatment of Harry. The Dursleys actually don’t show up nearly as much as you’d expect them to in the films after Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so it might’ve been nice to have seen some more from them – but I do like the scene with the waitress; it’s funny and it makes sense that Harry would avoid spending time at the Dursleys by sitting in a train station.
Other more minor omissions relate to characters that were either not used, replaced by others, or had their storylines changed slightly. Firstly, the opening of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book sees Cornelius Fudge talking to the Muggle Prime Minister about Lord Voldemort and the danger that is coming. This is also where the new Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour is revealed. In the film series, Scrimgeour does not appear until the seventh film. Secondly, Tonks was meant to find Harry petrified and unable to move on the Hogwarts Express, after being attacked by Draco for eavesdropping. Tonks does not see Harry get off the train and goes to find him. Personally, I think Luna finding Harry makes more sense; she’s probably still on there picking up discarded editions of The Quibbler to pass out to students again, and the Wrackspurt-finding glasses just add to her character. Moaning Myrtle is present for the fight between Harry and Draco in the bathroom, where Harry almost kills Draco, having built up some sort of friendship with Draco during the year. After appearing in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and briefly in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Moaning Myrtle did not appear in another Harry Potter film.
Finally, Tonks and Lupin appear to be a couple in the film of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as they go to the Burrow together for Christmas with the Weasleys and leave together. This is quite a shock to those who have not read the books, as we barely even see them together in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the story where they would’ve met. In the books, this romance is more fleshed out, with Lupin questioning whether he deserves love at all, given his self-hatred due to being a werewolf, eventually accepting Tonks’ love[5]. This isn’t touched on during the films at all, with only brief hints of their relationship timeline coming out during the main storylines. It’s not important to Harry’s journey though, so I can see why there aren’t too many details about this relationship.
Something that might have non-readers a little bit confused is that we are not told in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film how Fred and George got the money to open their shop on Diagon Alley. It hadn’t really occurred to me to question this when I first watched it, assuming that they’d made enough money from selling their products at Hogwarts to be able to do this, or they managed to get a bank loan. In actual fact, the books explain that Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes came to be because Harry gave Fred and George his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament. Harry didn’t want the prize money due to the trauma that he experienced. This happens at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Filming for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince took place from September 2007 until May 2008. The cast and crew returned to a variety of filming locations that they’d already visited before alongside some new locations.
One of these returning locations was Gloucester Cathedral, used to depict the hallways and corridors of Hogwarts Castle in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Now the team were back, as they filmed scenes in the Lavatorium, specifically the moment where Harry overhears Snape and Draco discussing the Unbreakable Vow after Slughorn’s Christmas Party, and the West Corridor, for the moment where Professor McGonagall sends Ron and Harry to Potions class, to stop them laughing at the lost and overwhelmed First Year students[6]. They also returned to Oxford, to the Duke Humfrey’s Library in the Bodleian Library as the location for Hogwarts’ library. In this scene in the library, Harry and Hermione are talking about dates to the Christmas Party.
A new location used was Lacock village in Wiltshire, which was used as the setting of the Muggle village Budleigh Babberton, where Slughorn has been hiding, trying to avoid being recruited by the Death Eaters[7]. Lacock Abbey had previously been used as a location for the first two Harry Potter films. This time though the village’s streets were being used for filming for three nights in October 2007. It was almost unanimously approved by villagers and the National Trust for the Harry Potter film crew to return to the area[8].
Other locations used for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince include Surbiton train station being used as the train station where Harry is at the start of the film, where he attempts to flirt with the waitress before seeing Dumbledore on the opposite platform. Also, filming took place in Norway, but only to get a snowy background for the sequence of the Hogwarts Express taking the students back home for Christmas.
Another location worth mentioning is the Millennium Bridge, as it has a featured role in the opening sequence of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Millennium Bridge began construction in 1998 and first opened in June 2000, hence the name, although it then closed for repairs shortly after opening, and reopened in 2002. The bridge connects the City of London to the Bankside area. The Millennium Bridge was likely chosen for this sequence due to how recognisable it is. However, as this bridge was not even built during the timeline of the original books, the Brockdale Bridge, a fictional bridge created by J.K. Rowling, was destroyed instead. In the book, Muggles actually died during the collapse of the bridge. The film isn’t quite so bad, as, although Muggles are clearly fearing for their lives as they race to get across the Millennium Bridge, no-one dies. Some fans of the books dislike the fact the Millennium Bridge was used in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film as it completely disrupts the books’ original timeline, not thinking these films are set in the time that they were filmed. I would counter that by saying there are many elements of the Harry Potter films which would suggest they were set in the times that they were filmed, like outfit choices, hairstyles, and background music. I never felt that these films took place in the 1990s, so I don’t have a problem with the use of the Millennium Bridge here.
As well as real-life locations, Harry Potter films are known for their impressive sets. One of these was using a set they had of a stock London street with dilapidated Georgian architecture. Wool’s Orphanage, the home of young Tom Riddle, was then built at the end of this street. For inspiration, the team had researched buildings such as those from Victorian times, wanting to have the orphanage look like a workhouse from that era, needing it to be bleak, dark, and miserable. Visual effects were used to extend the street.
Another set that was used was that of Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley had originally been filmed at Leadenhall Market in London for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, before it was decided to create the alley at Leavesden Studios. The Diagon Alley in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince lacks a lot of the magic and wonder when compared to the street we see in the earlier films, because now, many shops have either shut or been ransacked by Death Eaters, like Ollivander’s, with its owner also missing. The only shop doing well and bringing all the light and colour to Diagon Alley is the bright orange Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. James and Oliver Phelps, who played Fred and George Weasley, were very excited to see the shop come to life, although they did find the mechanical man on the shopfront, meant to be a recreation of one of their characters, to be quite creepy. But they did like all the products that the design team had created to fill the store. It took 15 people about a year to design all the products on the shelves, some created for the film whereas others were written about in the books, with reportedly 40,000 packages and boxes created for this purpose. It apparently took five days to shoot this one sequence at the shop[9].
The Weasley home of the Burrow was once again seen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on a couple of occasions, having first appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as a homely, eccentric, higgledy-piggledy house in the middle of a marsh. The set was already at the Leavesden studios, with an actual controlled 420-foot ring of fire being used to film the scene of the Death Eaters attacking the Burrow, and having Ginny and Harry chase them into a field of reeds. Additional effects, like rolling fireballs, were added in post-production, whilst shots of the reeds were filmed in the reed beds at Abbotsbury in Dorset, to use as the surrounding background for the scene. This whole sequence of the Burrow being attacked and burnt was not even a scene in the original book. It was included in the film so as to show that nowhere in the Wizarding World was safe from random attacks. It also adds in an additional, highly cinematic action sequence, especially since that battle at Hogwarts does not exist in the film.
A final interesting set to mention is that of the cave where Dumbledore and Harry find the locket. The exterior of the cave is said to have been the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland. The production team ended up going to a quartz cave in Switzerland and a salt cave near Frankfurt in Germany to get inspiration for the interior of the cave, settling on making it a cave of crystals, having to test how crystals would react to the moving, changing light that occurs from Lumos charms. A full-scale portion of the cave wall was built as a template for the visual effects team to use as a guide.
Since this cave is meant to be around 2000 feet long, it was decided that CG would have to be used to create most of it, with a small crystal platform built for Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Gambon to use for their acting scenes. The platform was surrounded by green screen, and it was apparently quite slippery for the actors to walk on.
Further digital visual effects were then required to create the creatures that attack Dumbledore and Harry within the cave. These water gremlin creatures are named the Inferi, and they are supposed to be corpses being used as guardians through the use of dark magic. The Inferi had to not look too much like zombies, and instead were basically based around emaciated and skeletal versions of the human body. The aim was to make them appear as human as possible whilst also looking ominous and scary. Facial and motion capture from actors helped to add the necessary expressions and motions to these creatures. The same tank that was used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire swam for the second Triwizard Tournament task was used again here. The cave sequence was one of the most complex and challenging to complete on a Harry Potter movie, but they succeeded in making something that is quite scary to watch.
As well as a large proportion of visual effects, the use of practical effects was still being heavily promoted on the sets of Harry Potter films, even as technology was advancing. It was decided that Aragog, who is deceased in the only scene we see of him in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, would again be a real-life model. Aragog was an animatronic puppet model in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, his first appearance in the stories. This model was made with the translucent material polyurethane, and was airbrushed with paint and flocked with hair to look like the spider. It took many weeks to complete the models, with two being needed, in order to fit in with the forced perspective that is involved in many of Hagrid’s scenes, to make him appear like a giant. It would’ve been expensive to create Aragog in CGI anyway, so the team in Creature Effects were glad they fought to make the model, especially as it is also good reference for the actors[10].
Some other practical effects included Jim Broadbent being sat on a plank of wood that sprang up, for the moment of Slughorn turning from a chair into a human. Broadbent was asked to act out this transformation as best as possible with the digital animation being placed over the top of this shot. In the Potions lab, bottles of gas were disguised as the cauldrons so as to make flames come out of them, plus 1000 gallons of warm water were used in the bathroom fight scene, with pipes bursting, and mirrors being blown up with compressed air, to avoid glass shatters. Dryers and pumps would then need to be brought out in order to reset the scene for the next take.
Quidditch made a return to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince too, after being omitted from the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film. This time, Rupert Grint got to do some green screen work and stunt training for his scenes as Ron, trying out to be the Gryffindor team’s Keeper, and then playing in a match. As well as the bicycle seat mount and the actors acting out their Quidditch movements in front of a green screen, it would seem that the actors also worked on a trampoline too, with a harness to start off with, and then with their broomsticks, whilst having a soft version of a Quaffle thrown at their face, to simulate their saves. Other contraptions were used by the stunt team, like a “Russian Swing”, to allow for some interesting falls and dives to be filmed and used in the film[11].
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the sixth film in the series, and some of these actors had been working on the films for about eight years by this point. However, there was never a quiet day on the set of Harry Potter, with many characters having breakthroughs at different points in the film series.
Tom Felton had not actually been seen on screen all that much in the Harry Potter films up to the point of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, despite being one of Harry’s earliest antagonists. That all changed on this sixth film, as Draco was recruited to become a Death Eater, following in his father’s footsteps, and given the monumental task of killing Professor Dumbledore. This film gave Felton a chance to really get his teeth into his role as Draco, getting a more interesting journey than just being a standard, stereotypical school bully. Felton did well to portray Draco Malfoy as a sympathetic character, struggling to cope with this added pressure. I particularly like the Astronomy Tower sequence where we see Draco falter under the pressure, and start to question his new role as a Death Eater, but feeling helpless to change it now; it’s too late for that. Jason Isaacs, who played Felton’s on-screen father, Lucius Malfoy, stated how impressed he was with Felton’s portrayal of Draco in this film, seeing it as a major turning point for him and his character[12]. Felton did apparently struggle in this scene though, for a completely different reason. After the death of Dumbledore, Snape leads all the Death Eaters out of Hogwarts. During this scene, Felton accidentally stepped on Snape’s cloak, and Alan Rickman, who played Snape, became quite irritated by this, because the cloak was attached around his neck. He told Felton in no uncertain terms to stop stepping on his cloak. Felton was not even the only actor in the scene to do this[13]. I’m sure Rickman forgot all about it the next day!
In comparison to all this darkness and isolation that Draco is feeling, Ron and Harry have their own problems, romantic ones. Rupert Grint found himself at the centre of filming his first on-screen kissing scene as Ron, much how Daniel Radcliffe had to kiss Katie Leung in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. There had been plenty of teasing of Radcliffe around this time, but actually, both Leung and Radcliffe said it was as comfortable as possible, and it was made easier by the fact only the two of them were in that scene at that time. Grint ended up having to have his on-screen kiss in the middle of a packed scene of the cast and extras. He said this made the kiss more difficult for him, whereas Jessie Cave, who played Lavender Brown, said the rehearsal with just them was more awkward than kissing in front of a crowd! Daniel Radcliffe did not avoid a second on-screen kiss in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and this time it was with Bonnie Wright, a member of the Harry Potter cast since the very first film. This was said to have been quite awkward for Radcliffe and Wright, as they had not expected their characters to ever be in a relationship with each other, and they’d known each other since they were children.
The rest of the cast also got to have some relatively new experiences during the filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, including shooting a night scene as a group. The difficulty was that some of the young actors were quite excited to be filming at night, but this scene was Dumbledore’s death, so they were supposed to look sad. Evanna Lynch, who played Luna, even believed that her character’s tears must have been added in during post-production as she didn’t remember crying, only that David Yates was getting quite agitated, trying to get everyone to look sad!
Helena Bonham Carter was finally able to cast some “real” magic for a change as well. She had said that the actors can feel kind of ridiculous, waving bits of wood around and nothing actually happening, so when she was told she’d get to blow up Hagrid’s Hut, she was pretty pleased to move her wand and see it do something for a change! The wave of Bellatrix’s wand was used as the cue for the team to blow up the hut[14].
It is extraordinary to note as well that Dame Maggie Smith, who played Professor McGonagall, was undergoing treatment for cancer whilst filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, persevering through all the side effects to give us a performance that was just as stellar as it had been in every movie before[15].
RECEPTION
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was originally supposed to be released in November 2008; however, it was delayed, with this news being reported around August 2008.
The reasoning for this was said to be, according to the president of Warner Bros., that the studio wanted the film to be a major summer blockbuster so would now release it in July 2009. It was stressed that the film was not behind schedule, and was ready, but they wanted to make the most of its release by waiting until the summer. The Writers’ Strike of 2007-08 was also blamed as it caused a delay in other movies being ready to film. This meant a two-year gap between the fifth and sixth films though[16]. It has also been speculated that Warner Bros.’ success with The Dark Knight in 2008 had meant they wanted to keep a “guaranteed” financial hit until the following year, in order to have strong revenue in 2009.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince finally reached cinemas on 15th July 2009 in most countries, with some waiting a week or two more, after having held three premieres of the movie in the week beforehand. There was a premiere in Tokyo on 6th July; one in London on 7th July, where it rained heavily, and one in New York City on 8th July 2009. Some had wondered whether the delayed release date, and the fact that this was the first film in the franchise to be released after all the books had been published, would cause the financial figures to drop from the previous film. That proved not to be the case.
Despite this film being one of the most expensive films ever made, with a reported budget of $250 million, Warner Bros. had much success with its release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as it ended its run at No. 2 in the Worldwide Box Office, bringing in around $934 million. I doubt the movie would’ve made any more or any less had it kept to its original release date of November 2008, because fans are fans; they will come to see the film regardless of the time of year. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, despite these impressive figures, was still way behind the movie at No. 1 in the Worldwide Box Office, and that was James Cameron’s Avatar, released in December 2009, making over $2.7 billion during its first theatrical release, breaking many box-office records in the process.
Other big films of 2009 finished their theatrical runs behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Some of its competition included Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, released in June 2009, which made $836 million and ended in fourth position at the Worldwide Box Office; Pixar’s Up, released in May 2009, making $735 million and hitting No. 6 on the list; and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the third film in the franchise, which was just behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in third position with $886 million. The Twilight Saga’s second film New Moon finished the year at No. 7 with $709 million. It came out in November 2009, no doubt in order to avoid direct competition with Harry Potter.
However, positive financial results do not mean that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was not criticised. In fact, many fans of the books were annoyed at how much of the original book’s story had been left out of the movie adaptation, with the choice to focus on the teenage romances, and not on the flashbacks to Voldemort’s past, being considered the wrong decision. I can only assume the reason we did see quite a lot of romantic moments was probably to balance out the darker topics, and to have more of a rom-com-feel to this film ahead of the difficult moments that were to come. For others, the pacing was not great here, with it being too slow in places and too quick in others. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was also said to be too confusing for those who had not read the books. As someone who has not read the books, although I will admit I have had to look up a few facts about Voldemort’s family life, I don’t feel the lack of details affected my enjoyment or understanding of this film’s story. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is seen as a step towards the big finale and nothing else by some.
That doesn’t mean everyone disliked Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince though, because I certainly liked it a lot and still do. I like the mix of genres in this film, being able to have some moments of comedy in between the more emotional and darker moments. There are a lot of plot twists in this film, particularly the death of a major character like Dumbledore being one that I personally did not see coming. Many also praised the performances of Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter for their characters once again, but some of the younger actors were also highlighted, such as Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, who were seen to have more opportunities within this film to grow as actors. Others also said that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince felt very cinematic and set up the final two films well.
In terms of awards, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was nominated for an Academy Award, for Best Achievement in Cinematography, but the winner was Avatar. At the BAFTAs, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was nominated for Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects, but Avatar won in both these categories. At the Saturn Awards, Harry Potter also lost out to Avatar in Best Production Design and Best Special Effects. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was also nominated here for Best Fantasy Film and Best Costume, but this time lost out to the superhero film Watchmen (2009) on both occasions. At the Satellite Awards, despite the sixth Harry Potter film being nominated, Fantastic Mr. Fox won Best Animated or Mixed Media Film.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also received nominations for its acting. At the People’s Choice Awards, the film was nominated for Favorite Movie and for Favorite On-Screen Team for the trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Twilight won both these categories and beat out Harry Potter for Favorite Franchise here too. At the Teen Choice Awards, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was nominated for Choice Movie: Fantasy, with Emma Watson being nominated for Choice Movie Actress: Fantasy, but Harry Potter lost to The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Kristen Stewart. But it does seem that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince won the Teen Choice Award in Summer 2009 for Choice Summer Movie: Action. Why it appears to have been nominated in two different years, I don’t know. Evanna Lynch was recognised for her performance as Luna Lovegood by being nominated at the Young Artist Awards, for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress, but she did not win, unfortunately.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince did get some other wins too though. At the MTV Movie Awards, Tom Felton won the award for Best Villain for his role as Draco Malfoy in this film. The film was also nominated for Best Movie, but lost out to The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart beat out Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson for Best Male and Best Female Performance respectively. At the Scream Awards, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince lost to Twilight in Best Fantasy Movie; Emma Watson lost to Kristen Stewart in Best Fantasy Actress; Daniel Radcliffe lost to Robert Pattinson in Best Fantasy Actor; Evanna Lynch lost to Jennifer Carpenter in Dexter (2006-11) for Best Supporting Actress; Rupert Grint lost to Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in Best Supporting Actor; and Helena Bonham Carter lost to Alexander Skarsgård in True Blood (2008-14) for Best Villain. Best Sequel ended up going to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, instead of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as did the award for Best F/X. But the cast did win the award for Best Ensemble here, and the team won an award for the scene of the Death Eaters attacking London at the start of the film.
Outside of this, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince won the UK National Movie Award for Family Film, and seemingly won Best Movie at the UK SFX Awards. At the Art Directors Guild Awards, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince appears to have been nominated for Excellence in Production Design, but seems to have lost to Avatar.
LEGACY
By the time Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been released in July 2009, there were no more Harry Potter books being published. The final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had been published two years before, in July 2007, shortly after the premiere of the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. J.K. Rowling was working on other novels by this time, completely unrelated to Harry Potter.
However, there were still exciting opportunities available to expand the franchise after the final book had been published, and after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out. There was, of course, the standard video game based on the plot of this film, available on most major gaming devices, but there was something much more interesting coming.
There had been talks of a “Harry Potter theme park” for some time, with discussions going back to around 2003 or 2004 that something was in the works. There were said to have been conversations about building Harry Potter attractions at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, but these talks ended up going nowhere. However, in May 2007, it was confirmed that Universal and Warner Bros. were working together to create The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, to become part of Universal Orlando Resort’s theme park Islands of Adventure. This was potentially the best expansion of the franchise that fans could hope for, as they were being promised a really immersive theme park land to explore.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter finally opened to the public on 18th June 2010, taking over part of the Islands of Adventure Park known as The Lost Continent. This was great timing as Universal could capitalise on the additional buzz surrounding the final two movies, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 due to be released in November 2010, and the second part less than a year after that. Fans were wondering and debating how the best moments from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would play out on screen.
Cast members from the Harry Potter films were on hand to open up the land to the thousands of people waiting to be one of the first people to see it, with the cast having had some time to explore it on their own beforehand. These cast members were Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Warwick Davis, Bonnie Wright, Matthew Lewis, Tom Felton, and James and Oliver Phelps. There was even a small stage constructed so that the cast could give a short speech, signalling the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, complete with a train conductor for the Hogwarts Express as the “opening act”; a white sheet hanging to block the view until the proper moment; and the cast’s arrival as the Hogwarts Express “pulled in” to the station. As a note, although the Hogwarts Express train is now an attraction in itself, it was not a moving train when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter first opened; it was just a static engine available for photo ops and to add to the ambience[17].
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a challenging project for the Harry Potter films’ creative team, specifically production designer, Stuart Craig, who had to ensure that the theme park land was recreating Hogsmeade Village as it had been seen in the Harry Potter films, as well as the specific shops and restaurants that were seen in the films and mentioned in the books. This included The Three Broomsticks, which is used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; Honeydukes, the sweet shop; the Hogshead Pub; and Zonko’s Joke Shop. The Owlery was also recreated, allowing guests to send letters to those back home with a Hogsmeade postmark, as was Ollivander’s wand shop, which is technically meant to be in Diagon Alley, but is such an iconic part of the Harry Potter stories that it was built in the Hogsmeade area. Ollivander’s is not only a shop either; it is an interactive experience, where selected guests will find that the wand really does choose the wizard[18].
Outside of this, three attractions were created for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010. There was a small family coaster titled Flight of the Hippogriff, which remains there to this day. It has an animatronic figure of Buckbeak that guests pass during their ride. This ride was actually just a retheme of The Lost Continent attraction The Flying Unicorn. Another was Dragon Challenge, which, again, was a retheme of the rollercoaster Dueling Dragons. Dueling Dragons consisted of two intertwined coaster tracks that would “duel” at various points during the ride. It became Dragon Challenge with some retheming of the queue, so that it matched the dragon challenge in the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the tracks were renamed from Fire and Ice to Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail. Dragon Challenge closed in 2017 to make way for an entirely new Harry Potter attraction, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which opened in June 2019 to much acclaim.
The other attraction is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, housed within the recreation of Hogwarts Castle, meaning the queue takes place inside Hogwarts, allowing guests to walk through different parts of the castle, including classrooms seen in the films. The ride itself is a motion simulator that takes fans through moments from the Harry Potter films, encountering familiar faces and creatures along the way. It is meant to make guests feel like they are flying on a broomstick. Cast members filmed scenes especially for this ride.
I remember going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter a few weeks after it first opened. I didn’t like thrill rides, so my mum and I went on Flight of the Hippogriff, whilst my dad and sister went on the other two rides. We ended up waiting around for them by the stage where small shows take place throughout the day, including the Frog Choir and the Triwizard Spirit Rally. We definitely remember seeing the Frog Choir. Other than that, we just remember how busy it was. It was not easy to walk through the area, let alone explore it. We didn’t even get in any shops because there were queues to enter those, so my experience there was slightly disappointing, although the land itself does look amazing and is very immersive. I have since been on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and it was certainly thrilling, one of the most unique theme park rides I’ve been on. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter continues to be a very popular area within Islands of Adventure.
Expansions of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter later opened in other Universal theme parks and at Universal Orlando. One of these was the Diagon Alley area that opened at the Universal Studios Park at Universal Orlando in 2014. From Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, guests can go into a recreation of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and travel down Knockturn Alley to visit Borgin and Burkes.
Back in the UK, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London has sets that also showcase moments from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Some of these are Diagon Alley, with Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes; the Potions Classroom; and Dumbledore’s Office, complete with the memory cabinet and the Pensieve.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince marks another transition in the film series.
This story gives Harry a roadmap to destroying Lord Voldemort once and for all, and as he knows he will have to continue Dumbledore’s hunt for Horcruxes in order to do that, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the last film to feature a “normal” school year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione go off on their travels together.
Yes, sadly the darkness has come – and that means no more magical lessons, no more dinner scenes in the Great Hall, and no more harmless flirting. This is serious now.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is my second favourite Harry Potter film. The fact that Draco Malfoy got more of a featured role here was a major factor in me liking this film, but I also enjoy the comedy in this one and the fact it still revolves around another school year at Hogwarts; I like the structure.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the thrilling finale. It’s just nice to have a bit of a chance to reflect on Harry’s journey up to this point before the chaos and turmoil begin.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Maximum Movie Mode: Focus Points’, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).
[2] Credit: ITV, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Behind the Magic (2009), Special Features YouTube Channel, 9th April 2024.
[3] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Additional Footage’, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).
[4] Credit: Rhino Entertainment, ‘Rhino Announces The Last 4 Harry Potter Original Motion Picture Soundtracks Out August 15 on “LP Clear Vinyl’, ShoreFire.com, 9th July 2025.
[5] Credit: Jack Otway, ‘Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince: 10 Changes From The Book To The Movie’, ScreenRant.com, 29th January 2020.
[6] Credit: BBC News, ‘Harry Potter 20th anniversary: The UK film locations’, BBC.co.uk, 20th November 2021.
[7] Credit: National Trust, ‘Explore Harry Potter filming locations’, NationalTrust.org.uk, date unknown.
[8] Credit: BBC, ‘Potter at Lacock this week?’, BBC.co.uk, 17th September 2007.
[9] Credit: ITV, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Behind the Magic (2009), Special Features YouTube Channel, 9th April 2024.
[10] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Maximum Movie Mode: Focus Points’, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).
[11] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘Close-Up with the Cast of Harry Potter’, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).
[12] Credit: HBO Max, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022).
[13] Credit: Tom Murray, ‘Harry Potter star Tom Felton recalls Alan Rickman’s terse words after he repeatedly stepped on his cloak’, Independent.co.uk, 9th October 2022.
[14] Credit: Adam Markovitz, ‘Harry Potter: Casting the Spell’, EW.com, 1st July 2011.
[15] Credit: The Telegraph, ‘Dame Maggie Smith reveals Harry Potter breast cancer treatment struggle’, Telegraph.co.uk, 5th October 2009.
[16] Credit: BBC News, ‘Potter film release date delayed’, News.BBC.co.uk, 15th August 2008.
[17] Credit: Inside the Magic, ‘Grand opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with Daniel Radcliffe & other movie stars’, Inside the Magic Official YouTube Channel, 18th June 2010.
[18] Credit: Warner Bros., ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Sneak Peek’, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 11-Disc Blu-Ray Set (2011).