Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

• Harry found himself newly and happily impervious to gossip over the next few weeks. After all, it made a very nice change to be talked about because of something that was making him happier than he could remember being for a very long time, rather than because he had been involved in horrific scenes of Dark Magic. 

Q1 - What is the happiest you’ve been in recent memory?

• “Well, why not? Harry, there aren’t any real princes in the Wizarding world! It’s either a nickname, a made-up title somebody’s given themselves, or it could be their actual name, couldn’t it? No, listen! If, say, her father was a wizard whose surname was Prince, and her mother was a Muggle, then that would make her a ‘halfblood Prince’!” 

Q2 - Could Hermione be right here?

• “The headmaster has intimated that he would prefer fewer visits from me,” she said coldly. “I am not one to press my company upon those who do not value it. If Dumbledore chooses to ignore the warnings the cards show —” Her bony hand closed suddenly around Harry’s wrist. “Again and again, no matter how I lay them out —” And she pulled a card dramatically from underneath her shawls. “— the lightning-struck tower,” she whispered. “Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time . . .” 

Q3 - What is she talking about here?

• I must confess that, at first, I thought he seemed ill-disposed toward Divination . . . and I remember I was starting to feel a little odd, I had not eaten much that day . . . but then . . .” And now Harry was paying attention properly for the first time, for he knew what had happened then: Professor Trelawney had made the prophecy that had altered the course of his whole life, the prophecy about him and Voldemort. “. . . but then we were rudely interrupted by Severus Snape!” 
• It was Snape who had overheard the prophecy. It was Snape who had carried the news of the prophecy to Voldemort. Snape and Peter Pettigrew together had sent Voldemort hunting after Lily and James and their son. . . . 

Q4 - What do you think about Snape interrupting?

Q5 - Why did Dumbledore hire Snape?

• “Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort’s employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney’s prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know — he had no possible way of knowing — which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onward, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father —” “You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned —” “But he’s a very good Occlumens, isn’t he, sir?” said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. “And isn’t Voldemort convinced that Snape’s on his side, even now? Professor . . . how can you be sure Snape’s on our side?” Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.” 

Q6 - Why does he trust Snape? And why does he say Snape regrets it?

• “I . . . they’re up to something!” said Harry, and his hands curled into fists as he said it. “Professor Trelawney was just in the Room of Requirement, trying to hide her sherry bottles, and she heard Malfoy whooping, celebrating! He’s trying to mend something dangerous in there and if you ask me, he’s fixed it at last and you’re about to just walk out of school without —” “Enough,” said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some invisible line. “Do you think that I have once left the school unprotected during my absences this year? I have not. Tonight, when I leave, there will again be additional protection in place. Please do not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously, Harry.” 

Q7 - What did Draco just do?

• “If I tell you to hide, you will do so?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to flee, you will obey?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you? “I —” “Harry?” They looked at each other for a moment. “Yes, sir.”

Q8 - Is this stuff actually going to happen?

• “No!” said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. “We don’t want it, you take it, who knows what you’re going to be facing?” “I’ll be fine, I’ll be with Dumbledore,” said Harry. “I want to know you lot are okay. . . . Don’t look like that, Hermione, I’ll see you later. . . .”
• Harry turned. At once, there was that horrible sensation that he was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube; he could not draw breath, every part of him was being compressed almost past endurance and then, just when he thought he must suffocate, the invisible bands seemed to burst open, and he was standing in cool darkness, breathing in lungfuls of fresh, salty air. 

Q9 - What is going to happen in the cave?

• He was standing upon a high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. He glanced over his shoulder. A towering cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop, black and faceless. A few large chunks of rock, such as the one upon which Harry and Dumbledore were standing, looked as though they had broken away from the cliff face at some point in the past. It was a bleak, harsh view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by any tree or sweep of grass or sand. “What do you think?” asked Dumbledore. He might have been asking Harry’s opinion on whether it was a good site for a picnic. 

Q1 - What do you think of Dumbledore and Harry’s interactions?

• I imagine that Riddle climbed down; magic would have served better than ropes. And he brought two small children with him, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. I think the journey alone would have done it, don’t you?” 

Q2 - Shouldn’t Riddle have been found out with underage magic? What happened here?

• “Yes, this is the place,” said Dumbledore. “How can you tell?” Harry spoke in a whisper. “It has known magic,” said Dumbledore simply….“Here,” he said. “We go on through here. The entrance is concealed.” Harry did not ask how Dumbledore knew. He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise. 

Q3 - How do you sense magic?

Q4 - How good of a wizard is Dumbledore?

• “You are very kind, Harry,” said Dumbledore, now passing the tip of his wand over the deep cut he had made in his own arm, so that it healed instantly, just as Snape had healed Malfoy’s wounds. “But your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn’t it?
• Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, “Accio Horcrux!” With a noise like an explosion, something very large and pale erupted out of the dark water some twenty feet away; before Harry could see what it was, it had vanished again with a crashing splash that made great, deep ripples on the mirrored surface. Harry leapt backward in shock and hit the wall; his heart was still thundering as he turned to Dumbledore. “What was that?” “Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux.” Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast; Harry’s heart, however, was still pounding. 

Q5 - How chilling is this?

• “I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.” These words did nothing to raise Harry’s morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, “Voldemort’s mistake, Harry, Voldemort’s mistake . . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.” 
• And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface. “Professor!” he said, and his startled voice echoed loudly over the silent water. “Harry?” “I think I saw a hand in the water — a human hand!” “Yes, I am sure you did,” said Dumbledore calmly. Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, and a sick feeling rose in his throat. “So that thing that jumped out of the water — ?” But Harry had his answer before Dumbledore could reply; the wandlight had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed him, this time, a dead man lying faceup inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs, his hair and his robes swirling around him like smoke. 

Q6 - What do you think about Voldemort’s protections?

Q7 - Who’s bodies are these?

• “There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” 
• “Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island.” Harry couldn’t believe it. Was this more of Dumbledore’s insane determination to see good in everyone? “Sir,” said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable, “sir, this is Voldemort we’re —” “I’m sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes.” 

Q8 - Who else knows?

• “Undoubtedly,” he said, finally, “this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?” Their eyes met over the basin, each pale face lit with that strange, green light. Harry did not speak. Was this why he had been invited along — so that he could force-feed Dumbledore a potion that might cause him unendurable pain? “You remember,” said Dumbledore, “the condition on which I brought you with me?” Harry hesitated, looking into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin. “But what if — ?” “You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?” “Yes, but —” “I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?” “Yes,” said Harry, “but —” “Well, then,” said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, “you have my orders.” “Why can’t I drink the potion instead?” asked Harry desperately. “Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable,” said Dumbledore. “Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?” “Couldn’t — ?” “Do I have it?” “But —” “Your word, Harry.” “I — all right, but —” Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. “Your good health, Harry.”

Q9 - Should Harry have drunk this?

• And obediently, Dumbledore drank, as though it was an antidote Harry offered him, but upon draining the goblet, he sank to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. “It’s all my fault, all my fault,” he sobbed. “Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I’ll never, never again . . .” Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Harry’s trembling hands as he moaned, “Don’t hurt them, don’t hurt them, please, please, it’s my fault, hurt me instead . . .” 

Q10 - What is Dumbledore seeing here?

• “Drink this, Professor. Drink this. . . .” Dumbledore drank, and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, “KILL ME!” “This — this one will!” gasped Harry. “Just drink this . . . It’ll be over . . . all over!” Dumbledore gulped at the goblet, drained every last drop, and then, with a great, rattling gasp, rolled over onto his face. “No!” shouted Harry, who had stood to refill the goblet again; instead he dropped the cup into the basin, flung himself down beside Dumbledore, and heaved him over onto his back; Dumbledore’s glasses were askew, his mouth agape, his eyes closed. “No,” said Harry, shaking Dumbledore, “no, you’re not dead, you said it wasn’t poison, wake up, wake up — Rennervate!” he cried, his wand pointing at Dumbledore’s chest; there was a flash of red light but nothing happened. “Rennervate — sir — please —” Dumbledore’s eyelids flickered; Harry’s heart leapt. “Sir, are you — ?” “Water,” croaked Dumbledore.
• The goblet filled and emptied once more. And now Dumbledore’s breathing was fading. His brain whirling in panic, Harry knew, instinctively, the only way left to get water, because Voldemort had planned it so . . . 

Q11 - How sick is Voldemort?

Q12 - Could you have done what Harry is doing?

• And pulling Dumbledore’s uninjured arm around his shoulders, Harry guided his headmaster back around the lake, bearing most of his weight. “The protection was . . . after all . . . well-designed,” said Dumbledore faintly. “One alone could not have done it. . . . You did well, very well, Harry. . . .” 
• “It’s going to be all right, sir,” Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore’s silence than he had been by his weakened voice. “We’re nearly there. . . . I can Apparate us both back. . . . Don’t worry. . . .” “I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. “I am with you.” 

Q13 - How intense was this chapter?

Q14 - If the cave was protected like this, was it the same for the Gaunt shack and all the other horcruxes?

• “What has happened?” asked Dumbledore. “Rosmerta, what’s wrong?” “The — the Dark Mark, Albus.” And she pointed into the sky, in the direction of Hogwarts. Dread flooded Harry at the sound of the words. . . . He turned and looked. There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building . . . wherever they had murdered. . . . 

Q1 - Dumbledore is exhausted here, what’s the tiredest you’ve ever been?

• Harry hurried over to the door leading to the spiral staircase, but his hand had only just closed upon the iron ring of the door when he heard running footsteps on the other side. He looked around at Dumbledore, who gestured him to retreat. Harry backed away, drawing his wand as he did so. The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted, “Expelliarmus!” Harry’s body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. He could not understand how it had happened — Expelliarmus was not a Freezing Charm — Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore’s wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood. . . . Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilized Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell had cost him the chance of defending himself. 

Q2 - Why did Dumbledore do this to Harry?

Q3 - What do you think of Draco disarming Dumbledore?

•  Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled. “Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.” “How do you know?” said Malfoy at once. 
• “But why? I don’t think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe. . . . So tell me, while we wait for your friends . . . how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it.” 

Q4 - What do you think of Dumbledore’s attitude here?

• “I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders —” “He hasn’t been doing your orders, he promised my mother —” “Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but —” “He’s a double agent, you stupid old man, he isn’t working for you, you just think he is!” “We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape —” “Well, you’re losing your grip, then!” sneered Malfoy.

Q5 - How much does it hurt to hear these words?

• “Someone’s dead,” said Malfoy, and his voice seemed to go up an octave as he said it. “One of your people . . . I don’t know who, it was dark. . . . I stepped over the body. . . . I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way. . . .” 

Q6 - Has someone actually died?

• “Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban. . . . When the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco . . . you are not a killer. . . .” Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. “But I got this far, didn’t I?” he said slowly. “They thought I’d die in the attempt, but I’m here . . . and you’re in my power. . . . I’m the one with the wand. . . . You’re at my mercy. . . .” “No, Draco,” said Dumbledore quietly. “It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.” 

Q7 - Is Malfoy redeemable?

• “We’ve got a problem, Snape,” said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, “the boy doesn’t seem able —” But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly. “Severus . . .” The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed. Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. “Severus . . . please . . .” Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. “Avada Kedavra!”

Q8 - How evil is Snape?

• Harry fully expected to receive low marks on his, because he had disagreed with Snape on the best way to tackle Dementors, but he did not care: Slughorn’s memory was the most important thing to him now.

Q1 - How do you think Snape takes on dementors? And is it better than Harry’s?

• ‘It’s one of Fred and George’s Spell-Checking ones … but I think the charm must be wearing off …’ ‘Yes, it must,’ said Hermione, pointing at the title of his essay, ‘because we were asked how we’d deal with Dementors, not “Dugbogs”, and I don’t remember you changing your name to “Roonil Wazlib”, either.’ ‘Ah, no!’ said Ron, staring horror-struck at the parchment. ‘Don’t say I’ll have to write the whole thing out again!’ ‘It’s OK, we can fix it,’ said Hermione, pulling the essay towards her and taking out her wand. ‘I love you, Hermione,’ said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.

Q2 - Is this the first time Ron has said “I love you” to Hermione?

Q3 - What is Malfoy doing in the Room of Requirement?

• ‘God, I’ve been stupid,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? There was a great vat of it down in the dungeon … he could’ve nicked some any time during that lesson …’ ‘Nicked what?’ said Ron. ‘Polyjuice Potion. He stole some of the Polyjuice Potion Slughorn showed us in our first Potions lesson … there aren’t a whole variety of students standing guard for Malfoy … it’s just Crabbe and Goyle as usual … yeah, it all fits!’ 

Q4 - Is Harry (therefore Danny) right?

Q5 - Do you ever remember when a teacher embarrassed you?

• ‘Well, what Harry said is the most useful if we’re trying to tell them apart!’ said Ron. ‘When we come face to face with one down a dark alley we’re going to be having a shufti to see if it’s solid, aren’t we, we’re not going to be asking, “Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?”
• ‘When you say you had lots in common,’ said Ron, sounding rather amused now, ‘d’you mean he lives in an S-bend, too?’ ‘No,’ said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. ‘I mean he’s sensitive, people bully him, too, and he feels lonely and hasn’t got anybody to talk to, and he’s not afraid to show his feelings and cry!’

Q6 - Who is Myrtle talking about here?

Q7 - Why was Tonks going to see Dumbledore?

Q8 - Was she in love with Sirius?

Q1 - What do you think of Hagrid asking the trio to come out after dusk to the burial?

• ‘Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests … try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!’ ‘Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?’ said Harry bitterly. ‘Lucky,’ said Ron suddenly. ‘Harry, that’s it – get lucky!’ ‘What d’you mean?’ ‘Use your lucky potion!’ ‘Ron, that’s – that’s it!’ said Hermione, sounding stunned. ‘Of course! Why didn’t I think of it?’

Q2 - Is this the best way to get the memory?

Q3 - What do you think of Harry’s Euphoria potion?

• Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle. ‘Well, here goes,’ said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp. ‘What does it feel like?’ whispered Hermione. Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done anything, anything at all … and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively easy …

Q4 - What would you use Liquid Luck on?

• Getting through the portrait hole was simple; as he approached it, Ginny and Dean came through it and Harry was able to slip between them. As he did so, he brushed accidentally against Ginny. ‘Don’t push me, please, Dean,’ she said, sounding annoyed. ‘You’re always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own …’

Q5 - Was Dean being chivalrous or annoying?

• After an hour or so, Hagrid and Slughorn began making extravagant toasts: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine and to – ‘Harry Potter!’ bellowed Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it. ‘Yes, indeed,’ cried Slughorn a little thickly, ‘Parry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who – well – something of that sort,’ he mumbled, and drained his mug, too.
• ‘But she didn’t move. Dad was already dead, but she didn’t want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort … but he just laughed …’ ‘That’s enough!’ said Slughorn suddenly, raising a shaking hand. ‘Really, my dear boy, enough … I’m an old man … I don’t need to hear … I don’t want to hear …’ ‘I forgot,’ lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. ‘You liked her, didn’t you?’ ‘Liked her?’ said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more. ‘I don’t imagine anyone who met her wouldn’t have liked her … very brave … very funny … it was the most horrible thing …’ ‘But you won’t help her son,’ said Harry. ‘She gave me her life, but you won’t give me a memory.’

Q6 - Is there any new info you gained from the Lily story?

• ‘Be brave like my mother, Professor …’
• ‘You’re a good boy,’ said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus moustache. ‘And you’ve got her eyes … just don’t think too badly of me once you’ve seen it …’

Q7 - What will this memory tell them?

• ‘Good gracious, Harry,’ said Dumbledore in surprise. ‘To what do I owe this very late pleasure?’ ‘Sir – I’ve got it. I’ve got the memory from Slughorn.’ Harry pulled out the tiny glass bottle and showed it to Dumbledore. For a moment or two, the Headmaster looked stunned. Then his face split in a wide smile. ‘Harry, this is spectacular news! Very well done indeed! I knew you could do it!’
• ‘Well,’ said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystallised pineapple, ‘well, it can’t hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.’ ‘I don’t quite understand how that works, though, sir,’ said Riddle. His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement. ‘Well, you split your soul, you see,’ said Slughorn, ‘and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one’s body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But, of course, existence in such a form …’ 

Q1 - What do you think of Horcruxes now?

• ‘How do you split your soul?’ ‘Well,’ said Slughorn uncomfortably, ‘you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature.’
• ‘Yes, sir,’ said Riddle. ‘What I don’t understand, though – just out of curiosity – I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn’t it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces? I mean, for instance, isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn’t seven –?’ ‘Merlin’s beard, Tom!’ yelped Slughorn. ‘Seven! Isn’t it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case … bad enough to divide the soul … but to rip it into seven pieces …’

Q2 - Do you think Voldemort ripped his soul into seven pieces?

• ‘But now, Harry, armed with this information, the crucial memory you have succeeded in procuring for us, we are closer to the secret of finishing Lord Voldemort than anyone has ever been before. You heard him, Harry: “Wouldn’t it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces … isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number …” Isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number. Yes, I think the idea of a seven-part soul would greatly appeal to Lord Voldemort.’ ‘He made seven Horcruxes?’ said Harry, horror-struck, while several of the portraits on the walls made similar noises of shock and outrage. ‘But they could be anywhere in the world – hidden – buried or invisible –’ ‘I am glad to see you appreciate the magnitude of the problem,’ said Dumbledore calmly. ‘But firstly, no, Harry, not seven Horcruxes: six. The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body. That was the part of him that lived a spectral existence for so many years during his exile; without that, he has no self at all. That seventh piece of soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack – the piece that lives in his body.’

Q3 - Is Dumbledore right?

• ‘But the six Horcruxes, then,’ said Harry, a little desperately, ‘how are we supposed to find them?’ ‘You are forgetting … you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another.’ ‘You have?’ said Harry eagerly. ‘Yes indeed,’ said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. ‘The ring, Harry. Marvolo’s ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been – forgive me the lack of seemly modesty – for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape’s timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale. However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort’s soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux.’

Q4 - What AND where are the other Horcruxes?

Q5 - Does this make you trust Snape a bit more?

• ‘He seems to have reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly significant deaths. You would certainly have been that. He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invincible. I am sure that he was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death.

Q6 - Did he have an object with him then and what would he have used for a Horcrux after killing Harry?

• ‘Yes, I think so,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical power remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort, even without his Horcruxes.’ ‘But I haven’t got uncommon skill and power,’ said Harry, before he could stop himself. ‘Yes, you have,’ said Dumbledore firmly. ‘You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can –’ ‘I know!’ said Harry impatiently. ‘I can love!’ It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, ‘Big deal!’ ‘Yes, Harry, you can love,’ said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. ‘Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great and remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are, Harry.’

Q7 - What is the deeper thing here? Why is Harry too young to understand this?

• He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons!’ ‘But –’ ‘It is essential that you understand this!’ said Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake; Harry had never seen him so agitated. ‘By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job! It is Voldemort’s fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders, and yet, Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort’s world (which, incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort’s followers!’

Q8 - How did Voldemort actually give him these powers and this connection?

• I do not think he understands why, Harry, but he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole.’
• Harry watched Dumbledore striding up and down in front of him, and thought. He thought of his mother, his father and Sirius. He thought of Cedric Diggory. He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done. A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat. ‘I’d want him finished,’ said Harry quietly. ‘And I’d want to do it.’ ‘Of course you would!’ cried Dumbledore. ‘You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal … in other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you … which makes it certain, really, that –’ ‘That one of us is going to end up killing the other,’ said Harry. ‘Yes.’ But he understood at last what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him. It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew – and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents – that there was all the difference in the world.

Q9 - How do you destroy a Horcrux?

Q10 - What do you think of this and everything in this chapter?

Q1 - Why isn’t Dumbledore just doing this himself? Why is he roping Harry into this whole thing?

• ‘I think I’m going to take another swig of Felix,’ said Harry, ‘and have a go at the Room of Requirement again.’ ‘That would be a complete waste of potion,’ said Hermione flatly, putting down the copy of Spellman’s Syllabary she had just taken out of her bag. ‘Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn’t enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don’t go wasting the rest of that potion! You’ll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him …’ She dropped her voice to a whisper.

Q2 - How do you think Harry is going to use the last of the Felix Felicis?

• ‘No one can help me,’ said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can’t do it … I can’t … it won’t work … and unless I do it soon … he says he’ll kill me …’ And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.

Q3 - Is it shocking to see Draco in this state?

Q4 - What is he talking about here?

• There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—’ ‘SECTUMSEMPRA!’ bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.

Q5 - Thoughts on Draco using Crucio?

• The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushing Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand and traced it over the deep wounds Harry’s curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy’s face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.
• He gasped. Despite his haste, his panic, his fear of what awaited him back in the bathroom, he could not help but be overawed by what he was looking at. He was standing in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Harry knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhab- itants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud houseelves. There were thousands and thousands of books, no doubt banned or graffitied or stolen. There were winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover half-heartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon-egg shells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords and a heavy, blood-stained axe.

Q6 - What do you think of this room?

• Harry hurried forwards into one of the many alleyways between all this hidden treasure. He turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way, took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet in which Montague had got lost the previous year, finally pausing beside a large cupboard which seemed to have had acid thrown at its blistered surface. He opened one of the cupboard’s creaking doors: it had already been used as a hiding place for something in a cage that had long-since died; its skeleton had five legs. He stuffed the Half-Blood Prince’s book behind the cage and slammed the door. He paused for a moment, his heart thumping horribly, gazing around at the clutter … would he be able to find this spot again, amidst all this junk? Seizing the chipped bust of an ugly old warlock from on top of a nearby crate, he stood it on the cupboard where the book was now hidden, perched a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara on the statue’s head to make it more distinctive, then sprinted back through the alleyways of hidden junk as fast as he could go, back to the door, back out on to the corridor, where he slammed the door behind him and it turned at once back into stone.

Q7 - What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever just found?

• One by one Snape extracted Harry’s books and examined them. Finally the only book left was the Potions book, which he looked at very carefully before speaking. ‘This is your copy of Advanced Potion-Making, is it, Potter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry, still breathing hard. ‘You’re quite sure of that, are you, Potter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry, with a touch more defiance. ‘This is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry firmly. ‘Then why,’ asked Snape, ‘does it have the name “Roonil Wazlib” written inside the front cover?’ Harry’s heart missed a beat. ‘That’s my nickname,’ he said. ‘Your nickname,’ repeated Snape. ‘Yeah … that’s what my friends call me,’ said Harry. ‘I understand what a nickname is,’ said Snape. The cold, black eyes were boring once more into Harry’s; he tried not to look into them. Close your mind … close your mind … but he had never learned how to do it properly … ‘Do you know what I think, Potter?’ said Snape, very quietly. ‘I think that you are a liar and a cheat and that you deserve detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. What do you think, Potter?’ ‘I – I don’t agree, sir,’ said Harry, still refusing to look into Snape’s eyes.

Q8 - Hermione reprimands Harry for following the Prince…but who is the Prince?

• Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.

Q9 - Love at last?

Q1 - At the beginning of this chapter, Harry gives Hermione the details about what happened with Malfoy…do you have any other theories or thoughts on that?

• ‘He accused me of being “Dumbledore’s man through and through”.’ ‘How very rude of him.’ ‘I told him I was.’ Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry’s intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady. ‘I am very touched, Harry.’
• ‘So they still don’t know where you go?’ asked Harry, hoping for more information on this intriguing subject, but Dumbledore merely smiled over the top of his half-moon spectacles. ‘No, they don’t, and the time is not quite right for you to know, either. Now, I suggest we press on, unless there’s anything else –?’

Q2 - Where does Dumbledore go?

• Dumbledore listened to Harry’s story with an impassive face. When Harry had finished he did not speak for a few moments, then said, ‘Thank you for telling me this, Harry, but I suggest that you put it out of your mind. I do not think that it is of great importance.’ ‘Not of great importance?’ repeated Harry incredulously. ‘Professor, did you understand –?’ ‘Yes, Harry, blessed as I am with extraordinary brainpower, I understood everything you told me,’ said Dumbledore, a little sharply. ‘I think you might even consider the possibility that I understood more than you did. Again, I am glad that you have confided in me, but let me reassure you that you have not told me anything that causes me disquiet.’

Q3 - Why doesn’t this bother Dumbledore?

• I believe that it was then that he dropped the name for ever, assumed the identity of Lord Voldemort, and began his investigations into his previously despised mother’s family – the woman whom, you will remember, he had thought could not be a witch if she had succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death.
• ‘We have no memories to show us this, but I think we can be fairly sure what happened. Voldemort Stupefied his uncle, took his wand, and proceeded across the valley to “the big house over the way”. There he murdered the Muggle man who had abandoned his witch mother, and, for good measure, his Muggle grandparents, thus obliterating the last of the unworthy Riddle line and revenging himself upon the father who never wanted him. Then he returned to the Gaunt hovel, performed the complex bit of magic that would implant a false memory in his uncle’s mind, laid Morfin’s wand beside its unconscious owner, pocketed the ancient ring he wore and departed.’
• They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish, gravitating towards a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts.

Q4 - What do you think about this memory and Voldermort’s power?

• Dumbledore took from an inside pocket another crystal phial and Harry fell silent at once, remembering that Dumbledore had said it was the most important one he had collected. Harry noticed that the contents proved difficult to empty into the Pensieve, as though they had congealed slightly; did memories go off?

Q5 - Do memories go bad?

• As several of the boys tittered, something very odd happened. The whole room was suddenly filled with a thick white fog, so that Harry could see nothing but the face of Dumbledore, who was standing beside him. Then Slughorn’s voice rang out through the mist, unnaturally loudly: ‘– you’ll go wrong, boy, mark my words.’

Q6 - What happened here?

• ‘Look sharp, Tom,’ said Slughorn, turning round and finding him still present. ‘You don’t want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect …’ ‘Sir, I wanted to ask you something.’ ‘Ask away, then, m’boy, ask away …’ ‘Sir, I wondered what you know about … about Horcruxes?’ And it happened all over again: the dense fog filled the room so that Harry could not see Slughorn or Riddle at all; only Dumbledore, smiling serenely beside him. Then Slughorn’s voice boomed out again, just as it had done before. ‘I don’t know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn’t tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don’t let me catch you mentioning them again!’

Q7 - What are Horcruxes?

• ‘And so, for the first time, I am giving you homework, Harry. It will be your job to persuade Professor Slughorn to divulge the real memory, which will undoubtedly be our most crucial piece of information of all.’

Q8 - What is going on here? Why is this important?

Q1 - Do you think Dumbledore doesn’t know what Horcruxes are?

• Harry dawdled behind, taking an inordinate amount of time to do up his bag. Neither Ron nor Hermione wished him luck as they left; both looked rather annoyed. At last Harry and Slughorn were the only two left in the room.

Q2 - This obviously doesn’t work, but how do you think Harry will get the memory?

• “of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction” 

Q3 - What is this dark magic?

• The second attempt was no better than the first. The third was just as bad. Not until the fourth did anything exciting happen. There was a horrible screech of pain and everybody looked around, terrified, to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started.

Q4 - What would your preferred mode of wizard transportation be?

Q5 - Where is Malfoy going? Is he really going off campus?

• ‘Harry!’ said Ron suddenly. ‘What?’ ‘Harry, I can’t stand it!’ ‘You can’t stand what?’ asked Harry, now starting to feel definitely alarmed. Ron was rather pale and looked as though he was about to be sick. ‘I can’t stop thinking about her!’ said Ron hoarsely. Harry gaped at him. He had not expected this and was not sure he wanted to hear it. Friends they might be, but if Ron started calling Lavender ‘Lav-Lav’, he would have to put his foot down.

Q6 - What do you think of the whole love potion thing?

Q7 - Can you imagine if Ron died here?

• ‘So, all in all, not one of Ron’s better birthdays?’ said Fred.
• Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff. She had been exceptionally quiet all day. Having hurtled, white-faced, up to Harry outside the hospital wing and demanded to know what had happened, she had taken almost no part in Harry and Ginny’s obsessive discussion about how Ron had been poisoned, but merely stood beside them, clench-jawed and frightened-looking, until at last they had been allowed in to see him.

Q1 - What is Hermione feeling?

Q2 - What is the deal with these two failed attempts at danger?

• ‘I dunno, Harry, I shouldn’ta heard it at all! I – well, I was comin’ outta the Forest the other evenin’ an’ I overheard ’em talkin’ – well, arguin’. Didn’t like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked an’ tried not ter listen, but it was a – well, a heated discussion, an’ it wasn’ easy ter block it out.’ ‘Well?’ Harry urged him, as Hagrid shuffled his enormous feet uneasily. ‘Well – I jus’ heard Snape sayin’ Dumbledore took too much fer granted an’ maybe he – Snape – didn’ wan’ ter do it any more –’ ‘Do what?’ ‘I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin’ a bit overworked, tha’s all – anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. An’ then he said summat abou’ Snape makin’ investigations in his house, in Slytherin. Well, there’s nothin’ strange abou’ that!’ Hagrid added hastily, as Harry and Hermione exchanged looks full of meaning. ‘All the Heads o’ House were asked ter look inter that necklace business –’

Q3 - What is this conversation about?

• Harry added, getting to his feet and picking up his Firebolt, ‘will you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? She’s driving me mad as well.’ ‘Oh,’ said Ron, looking sheepish. ‘Yeah. All right.’ ‘If you don’t want to go out with her any more, just tell her,’ said Harry. ‘Yeah … well … it’s not that easy, is it?’ said Ron. He paused. ‘Hermione going to look in before the match?’ he added casually.
• He hurried down through the deserted corridors; the whole school was outside, either already seated in the stadium or heading down towards it. He was looking out of the windows he passed, trying to gauge how much wind they were facing, when a noise ahead made him glance up and he saw Malfoy walking towards him, accompanied by two girls, both of whom looked sulky and resentful.

Q4 - What is Draco up to?

Q5 - How do you like Luna’s coverage of the match?

• ‘Dobby is a free house-elf and he can obey anyone he likes and Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter wants him to do!’ said Dobby, tears now streaming down his shriveled little face on to his jumper.

Q6 - What do you think of Dobby now?

• Hermione even escorted them down to breakfast, bringing with her the news that Ginny had argued with Dean. The drowsing creature in Harry’s chest suddenly raised its head, sniffing the air hopefully. ‘What did they row about?’ he asked, trying to sound casual as they turned into a seventh-floor corridor which was deserted but for a very small girl who had been examining a tapestry of trolls in tutus. She looked terrified at the sight of the approaching sixth-years and dropped the heavy brass scales she was carrying.

Q1 - What does Secumsempra do?

Q2 - Why do people stay together if they are miserable?

• ‘I see,’ said Dumbledore eventually, peering at Harry over the top of his half-moon spectacles and giving Harry the usual sensation that he was being X-rayed.

Q3 - Do you think Dumbledore is ever using Legilimency on Harry?

Q4 - Do you think that the pensieve itself holds ancient magic? Like does it sift through thoughts and give you a better analysis of them?

• ‘But now, Harry,’ said Dumbledore, ‘now things become murkier and stranger. If it was difficult to find evidence about the boy Riddle, it has been almost impossible to find anyone prepared to reminisce about the man Voldemort. In fact, I doubt whether there is a soul alive, apart from himself, who could give us a full account of his life since he left Hogwarts. 
• ‘I wonder whether you know what it is, Tom? Pick it up, have a good look!’ whispered Hepzibah, and Voldemort stretched out a long-fingered hand and lifted the cup by one handle out of its snug silken wrappings. Harry thought he saw a red gleam in his dark eyes. His greedy expression was curiously mirrored on Hepzibah’s face, except that her tiny eyes were fixed upon Voldemort’s handsome features. ‘A badger,’ murmured Voldemort, examining the engraving upon the cup. ‘Then this was …?’ ‘Helga Hufflepuff’s, as you very well know, you clever boy!’ said Hepzibah, leaning forwards with a loud creaking of corsets and actually pinching his hollow cheek. ‘Didn’t I tell you I was distantly des- cended? This has been handed down in the family for years and years. Lovely, isn’t it? And all sorts of powers it’s supposed to possess, too, but I haven’t tested them thoroughly, I just keep it nice and safe in here …’

Q5 - What power do magical objects possess?

• ‘That’s right!’ said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Voldemort gazing at her locket, transfixed. ‘I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn’t let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value –’ There was no mistaking it this time: Voldemort’s eyes flashed scarlet at her words and Harry saw his knuckles whiten on the locket’s chain.
• ‘Time to leave, Harry,’ said Dumbledore quietly, and as the little elf bobbed away bearing the boxes, Dumbledore grasped Harry once again above the elbow and together they rose up through oblivion and back to Dumbledore’s office. ‘Hepzibah Smith died two days after that little scene,’ said Dumbledore, resuming his seat and indicating that Harry should do the same. ‘Hokey the house-elf was convicted by the Ministry of poisoning her mistress’s evening cocoa by accident.’

Q6 - Why is he collecting these objects?

Q7 - Is there anything else in the Hepzibah memory that seems odd to you?

• ‘So, Tom … to what do I owe the pleasure?’ Voldemort did not answer at once, but merely sipped his wine. ‘They do not call me “Tom” any more,’ he said. ‘These days, I am known as –’ ‘I know what you are known as,’ said Dumbledore, smiling pleasantly. ‘But to me, I’m afraid, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the irritating things about old teachers, I am afraid, that they never quite forget their charges’ youthful beginnings.’

Q8 - Why is calling him Tom such a flex?

• I have come to you to ask that you permit me to return to this castle, to teach. I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard.’ Dumbledore considered Voldemort over the top of his own goblet for a while before speaking. ‘Yes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us,’ he said quietly. ‘Rumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them.’ Voldemort’s expression remained impassive as he said, ‘Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore.’ ‘You call it “greatness”, what you have been doing, do you?’ asked Dumbledore delicately. ‘Certainly,’ said Voldemort, and his eyes seemed to burn red. ‘I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed –’ ‘Of some kinds of magic,’ Dumbledore corrected him quietly. ‘Of some. Of others, you remain … forgive me … woefully ignorant.’

Q9 - What is he talking about here?

Q10 - What is the magical power of love?

• ‘I am surprised you have remained here so long,’ said Voldemort after a short pause. ‘I always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school.’

Q11 - Does Tom have a point…why would Dumbledore stay on as headmaster and not anything greater?

• Dumbledore set down his empty glass and drew himself up in his seat, the tips of his fingers together in a very characteristic gesture. ‘… let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we both know you do not want?’ Voldemort looked coldly surprised. ‘A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much.’ ‘Oh, you want to come back to Hogwarts, but you do not want to teach any more than you wanted to when you were eighteen. What is it you’re after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?’

Q12 - What is he coming back to the school for?

• ‘The time is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repayment for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom … I wish I could …’

Q13 - What do you think of this memory?

• ‘Ah,’ said Dumbledore, ‘perhaps she could. But it is my belief – I am guessing again, but I am sure I am right – that when her husband abandoned her, Merope stopped using magic. I do not think that she wanted to be a witch any longer. Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen. In any case, as you are about to see, Merope refused to raise her wand even to save her own life.’
• ‘She wouldn’t even stay alive for her son?’ Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. ‘Could you possibly be feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?’ ‘No,’ said Harry quickly, ‘but she had a choice, didn’t she, not like my mother –’ ‘Your mother had a choice, too,’ said Dumbledore gently. ‘Yes, Merope Riddle chose death in spite of a son who needed her, but do not judge her too harshly, Harry. She was greatly weakened by long suffering and she never had your mother’s courage. And now, if you will stand …’

Q1 - What does Dumbledore mean that Lily had a choice?

Q2 - It mentions that Dumbledore’s hair was Auburn…is he a Weasley?

• And then –’ Mrs Cole took another swig of gin, slopping a little over her chin this time, ‘on the summer outing – we take them out, you know, once a year, to the countryside or to the seaside – well, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that they’d gone into a cave with Tom Riddle. He swore they’d just gone exploring, but something happened in there, I’m sure of it. And, well, there have been a lot of things, funny things …’

Q3 - Should Dumbledore have denied entrance for Tom knowing these things?

• ‘I don’t believe you,’ said Riddle. ‘She wants me looked at, doesn’t she? Tell the truth!’ He spoke the last three words with a ringing force that was almost shocking. It was a command, and it sounded as though he had given it many times before. His eyes had widened and he was glaring at Dumbledore, who made no response except to continue smiling pleasantly. After a few seconds Riddle stopped glaring, though he looked, if anything, warier still.
• ‘I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.’

Q4 - Is it alarming that he is this advanced in magic already?

• ‘I knew I was different,’ he whispered to his own quivering fingers. ‘I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.’

Q5 - What do you think of Tom and Dumbledore’s interaction?

• ‘He believed it much quicker than I did – I mean, when you told him he was a wizard,’ said Harry. ‘I didn’t believe Hagrid at first, when he told me.’

Q6 - What’s the difference in Harry and Tom?

• ‘Did you know – then?’ asked Harry. ‘Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time?’ said Dumbledore. ‘No, I had no idea that he was to grow up to be what he is. However, I was certainly intrigued by him. I returned to Hogwarts intending to keep an eye upon him, something I should have done in any case, given that he was alone and friendless, but which, already, I felt I ought to do for others’ sake as much as his.
• ‘Firstly, I hope you noticed Riddle’s reaction when I mentioned that another shared his first name, “Tom”?’ Harry nodded. ‘There he showed his contempt for anything that tied him to other people, anything that made him ordinary. Even then, he wished to be different, separate, notorious. He shed his name, as you know, within a few short years of that conversation and created the mask of “Lord Voldemort” behind which he has been hidden for so long.
• ‘I trust that you also noticed that Tom Riddle was already highly self-sufficient, secretive and, apparently, friendless? He did not want help or companionship on his trip to Diagon Alley. He preferred to operate alone. The adult Voldemort is the same. You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one
• ‘And lastly – I hope you are not too sleepy to pay attention to this, Harry – the young Tom Riddle liked to collect trophies. You saw the box of stolen articles he had hidden in his room. These were taken from victims of his bullying behavior, souvenirs, if you will, of particularly unpleasant bits of magic. Bear in mind this magpie-like tendency, for this, particularly, will be important later.

Q7 - Why is this important?

Q8 - What happened to the ring?

• ‘But I still don’t get why Dumbledore’s showing you all this. I mean, it’s really interesting and everything, but what’s the point?’ ‘Dunno,’ said Harry, inserting a gum shield. ‘But he says it’s all important and it’ll help me survive.’

Q1 - Why is Dumbledore showing him all this?

• ‘“Slug Club”,’ repeated Ron with a sneer worthy of Malfoy. ‘It’s pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don’t you try getting off with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug –’ ‘We’re allowed to bring guests,’ said Hermione, who for some reason had turned a bright, boiling scarlet, ‘and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it’s that stupid then I won’t bother!’

Q2 - Is Ron being stupid?

Q3 - Is Harry an idiot for interrupting their communication session?

• When Harry pushed open the tapestry to take their usual short cut up to Gryffindor Tower, however, they found themselves looking at Dean and Ginny, who were locked in a close embrace and kissing fiercely as if glued together. It was as though something large and scaly erupted into life in Harry’s stomach, clawing at his insides: hot blood seemed to flood his brain, so that all thought was extinguished, replaced by a savage urge to jinx Dean into a jelly.

Q4 - Have you experienced the large scaly thing in your stomach?

• ‘You go!’ said Ginny. ‘I want a word with my dear brother!’ Dean left, looking as though he was not sorry to depart the scene. ‘Right,’ said Ginny, tossing her long red hair out of her face and glaring at Ron, ‘let’s get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron –’ ‘Yeah, it is!’ said Ron, just as angrily. ‘D’you think I want people saying my sister’s a –’ ‘A what?’ shouted Ginny, drawing her wand. ‘A what, exactly?’ ‘He doesn’t mean anything, Ginny –’ said Harry automatically, though the monster was roaring its approval of Ron’s words.

Q5 - What was Ron going to call her?

• ‘Been kissing Pigwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of Auntie Muriel stashed under your pillow?’

Q6 - Is Ginny a savage?

• They hurried up the stairs and along a seventh-floor corridor. ‘Oi, out of the way!’ Ron barked at a small girl who jumped in fright and dropped a bottle of toad-spawn. Harry hardly noticed the sound of shattering glass; he felt disorientated, dizzy; being struck by a lightning bolt must be something like this. It’s just because she’s Ron’s sister, he told himself. You just didn’t like seeing her kissing Dean because she’s Ron’s sister …

Q7 - Harry loves Ginny, right?

• It seemed as though Gryffindor could do no wrong. Again and again they scored, and again and again, at the other end of the pitch, Ron saved goals with apparent ease. He was actually smiling now, and when the crowd greeted a particularly good save with a rousing chorus of the old favorite Weasley is our King, he pretended to conduct them from on high.

Q8 - What was your favorite sports moment that made you feel like Ron?

• ‘I didn’t put it in!’ said Harry, now grinning broadly. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and drew out the tiny bottle that Hermione had seen in his hand that morning. It was full of golden potion and the cork was still tightly sealed with wax. ‘I wanted Ron to think I’d done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking.’ He looked at Ron. ‘You saved everything because you felt lucky. You did it all yourself.’

Q9 - Is Liquid Luck a placebo?

Q10 - What’s the deal with Ron and Hermione?

• Harry had to put up with the frequent presence of Lavender Brown, who seemed to regard any moment that she was not kissing Ron as a moment wasted.
• ‘She can’t complain,’ he told Harry. ‘She snogged Krum. So she’s found out someone wants to snog me, too. Well, it’s a free country. I haven’t done anything wrong.’
• ‘I never promised Hermione anything,’ Ron mumbled. ‘I mean, all right, I was going to go to Slughorn’s Christmas party with her, but she never said … just as friends … I’m a free agent …’

Q1 - What will the outcome of this be between the two?

• ‘There isn’t anyone I want to invite,’ mumbled Harry, who was still trying not to think about Ginny any more than he could help, despite the fact that she kept cropping up in his dreams in ways that made him devoutly thankful that Ron could not perform Legilimency.

Q2 - What is Harry dreaming about?

Q3 - What’s your favorite prom/dance story?

Q4 - Hermione mentions that love potions aren’t dark…is she right?

• ‘The library is now closed,’ she said. ‘Mind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct – what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy?’ ‘It isn’t the library’s, it’s mine!’ said Harry hastily, snatching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making off the table as she lunged at it with a clawlike hand. ‘Despoiled!’ she hissed. ‘Desecrated! Befouled!’ ‘It’s just a book that’s been written in!’ said Harry, tugging it out of her grip. She looked as though she might have a seizure; Hermione, who had hastily packed her things, grabbed Harry by the arm and frogmarched him away.

Q5 - Do you write in books?

Q6 - Harry mentions there might be something going on between Pince and Filch. Is that possible?

• ‘She’s a bit upset,’ said Luna. ‘I thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She said something about that Ron Weasley …’ ‘Yeah, they’ve had a row,’ said Harry. ‘He says very funny things sometimes, doesn’t he?’ said Luna, as they set off down the corridor together. ‘But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year.’

Q7 - Is Ron unkind?

• ‘Hi, Harry,’ said Parvati who, like him, looked faintly embarrassed and bored by the behavior of their two friends. ‘Hi,’ said Harry. ‘How’re you? You’re staying at Hogwarts, then? I heard your parents wanted you to leave.’ ‘I managed to talk them out of it for the time being,’ said Parvati. ‘That Katie thing really freaked them out, but as there hasn’t been anything since … oh, hi, Hermione!’

Q8 - Let’s rehash what has happened at Hogwarts…

• There was a noise like a plunger being withdrawn from a blocked sink and Ron surfaced.

Q9 - Is Hermione kinda a low-key it girl?

• Ron looked strangely blank and said nothing. Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.

Q10 - Is Rufus Scrimgeor a vampire?

Q11 - Are Slughorn’s parties good parties?

Q12 - Should Harry have a biography written about him?

• ‘Harry Potter!’ said Professor Trelawney in deep, vibrant tones, noticing him for the first time. ‘Oh, hello,’ said Harry unenthusiastically. ‘My dear boy!’ she said in a very carrying whisper. ‘The rumors! The stories! The Chosen One! Of course, I have known for a very long time … the omens were never good, Harry … but why have you not returned to Divination? For you, of all people, the subject is of the utmost importance!’

Q13 - Should Harry have taken divination this year?

• ‘Remind me what other subjects you’re taking, Harry?’ asked Slughorn. ‘Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology …’ ‘All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror,’ said Snape, with the faintest sneer. ‘Yeah, well, that’s what I’d like to be,’ said Harry defiantly. ‘And a great one you’ll make, too!’ boomed Slughorn. ‘I don’t think you should be an Auror, Harry,’ said Luna unexpectedly. Everybody looked at her. ‘The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They’re working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic using a combination of Dark magic and gum disease.’
• Filch’s expression of outraged disappointment was perfectly predictable; but why, Harry wondered, watching him, did Malfoy look almost equally unhappy? And why was Snape looking at Malfoy as though both angry and … was it possible? … a little afraid?

Q14 - Why is Snape afraid?

• ‘Who suspects me?’ said Malfoy angrily. ‘For the last time, I didn’t do it, OK? That Bell girl must’ve had an enemy no one knows about – don’t look at me like that! I know what you’re doing, I’m not stupid, but it won’t work – I can stop you!’ There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, ‘Ah … Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from your master, Draco?’

Q15 - Is it shocking to know that Draco has learned Occlumency?

Q16 - Who is his master?

• ‘Looks like you’ll have to break it, then, because I don’t need your protection! It’s my job, he gave it to me and I’m doing it. I’ve got a plan and it’s going to work, it’s just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!’

Q17 - What is going on?

• ‘An Unbreakable Vow?’ said Ron, looking stunned. ‘Nah, he can’t have … are you sure?’ ‘Yes, I’m sure,’ said Harry. ‘Why, what does it mean?’ ‘Well, you can’t break an Unbreakable Vow …’ ‘I’d worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?’ ‘You die,’ said Ron simply. ‘Fred and George tried to get me to make one when I was about five. I nearly did, too, I was holding hands with Fred and everything when Dad found us. He went mental,’ said Ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. ‘Only time I’ve ever seen Dad as angry as Mum. Fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since.’

Q1 - Thoughts on Fred and George wooing muggle women with magic tricks?

• There was silence for a moment or two, then Ron said, ‘Course, you know what they’ll all say? Dad and Dumbledore and all of them? They’ll say Snape isn’t really trying to help Malfoy, he was just trying to find out what Malfoy’s up to.’ ‘They didn’t hear him,’ said Harry flatly. ‘No one’s that good an actor, not even Snape.’ ‘Yeah … I’m just saying, though,’ said Ron. Harry turned to face him, frowning. ‘You think I’m right, though?’ ‘Yeah, I do!’ said Ron hastily. ‘Seriously, I do! But they’re all convinced Snape’s in the Order, aren’t they?’

Q2 - Do we trust Snape?

• ‘You are determined to hate him, Harry,’ said Lupin with a faint smile. ‘And I understand; with James as your father, with Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice.

Q3 - Do you think this is true?

Q4 - What do you think of Lupin’s background and being bitten by Greyback?

• Everybody was wearing new sweaters when they all sat down for Christmas lunch, everyone except Fleur (on whom, it appeared, Mrs Weasley had not wanted to waste one) and Mrs Weasley herself, who was sporting a brand new midnight-blue witch’s hat glittering with what looked like tiny starlike diamonds, and a spectacular golden necklace.

Q5 - Is Fleur that unbearable?

• She gave Lupin an annoyed look, as though it was all his fault she was getting Fleur for a daughter-in-law instead of Tonks, but Harry, glancing across at Fleur, who was now feeding Bill bits of turkey off her own fork, thought that Mrs Weasley was fighting a long-lost battle. He was, however, reminded of a question he had with regard to Tonks, and who better to ask than Lupin, the man who knew all about Patronuses? ‘Tonks’s Patronus has changed its form,’ he told him. ‘Snape said so, anyway. I didn’t know that could happen. Why would your Patronus change?’ Lupin took his time chewing his turkey and swallowing before saying slowly, ‘Sometimes … a great shock … an emotional upheaval …’ ‘It looked big, and it had four legs,’ said Harry, struck by a sudden thought and lowering his voice. ‘Hey … it couldn’t be –?’

Q6 - What was Tonk’s new patronus form?

Q7 - What do you think of Scrimgeor and his proposal?

Q8 - HOW is Umbridge still working at the ministry?

• ‘I don’t want to be used,’ said Harry. ‘Some would say it’s your duty to be used by the Ministry!’
• You don’t care whether I live or die, but you do care that I help you convince everyone you’re winning the war against Voldemort. I haven’t forgotten, Minister …’ He raised his right fist. There, shining white on the back of his cold hand, were the scars which Dolores Umbridge had forced him to carve into his own flesh: I must not tell lies.

Q9 - Is Harry right or wrong?

• ‘Well, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you,’ said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses. ‘Dumbledore’s man through and through, aren’t you, Potter?’ ‘Yeah, I am,’ said Harry. ‘Glad we straightened that out.’

• Hermione’s remonstration was drowned by a loud giggle; Lavender Brown had apparently found Ron’s remark highly amusing. She continued to laugh as she passed them, glancing back at Ron over her shoulder. Ron looked rather pleased with himself.

Q1 - Does Lavender like Ron?

• ‘Humph,’ snorted Professor McGonagall. ‘It’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have – particularly after what happened at the Ministry.’

Q2 - Do you ever think McGonagall could go bad?

Q3 - Do you think Gryffindor will win the Quidditch Cup this year?

• Snape set off around the edge of the room, speaking now in a lower voice; the class craned their necks to keep him in view. ‘The Dark Arts,’ said Snape, ‘are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.’ Harry stared at Snape. It was surely one thing to respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress in his voice?
• His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked round and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling. ‘Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry stiffly. ‘Yes sir.’ ‘There’s no need to call me “sir”, Professor.’

Q4 - Do you view Harry as a better wizard than Snape?

• This left Harry, Ron and Hermione to share a table with Ernie. They chose the one nearest a gold-coloured cauldron that was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at The Burrow. He found that he was breathing very slowly and deeply and that the potion’s fumes seemed to be filling him up like drink. A great contentment stole over him; he grinned across at Ron, who grinned lazily back.

Q5 - What do you think of the Amortentia?

• It’s supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and –’ But she turned slightly pink and did not complete the sentence.

Q6 - What is the last smell Hermione smells?

• ‘No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m Muggle-born, you see.’ Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her. ‘Oho! “One of my best friends is Muggle-born and she’s the best in our year!” I’m assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?’ ‘Yes, sir,’ said Harry. ‘Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger,’ said Slughorn genially.

Q7 - Is Slughorn growing on you?

• ‘Amortentia doesn’t really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room – oh yes,’ he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. ‘When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love …

Q8 - What do you think of this line?

Q9 - What do you think of Liquid Luck?

Q10 - What is a time when you beat everyone in class at something?

• ‘The clear winner!’ he cried to the dungeon. ‘Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good Lord, it’s clear you’ve inherited your mother’s talent, she was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are – one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!’
• Nobody else was looking. Harry bent low to retrieve the book and, as he did so, he saw something scribbled along the bottom of the back cover in the same small, cramped handwriting as the instructions that had won him his bottle of Felix Felicis, now safely hidden inside a pair of socks in his trunk upstairs. This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince

Q11 - Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

Q1 - Should Harry be following the book's advice?

Q2 - What do you think of Snape and Slughorn in their roles?

• ‘Well, I have decided that it is time, now that you know what prompted Lord Voldemort to try and kill you fifteen years ago, for you to be given certain information.’

Q3 - Jenn, did your heart rate go up here?

• ‘I told you everything I know. From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork. From hereon in, Harry, I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who believed the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.’

Q4 - Where have you seen Little Hangleton before?

• There was a scuffling noise in the corner beside the open window and Harry realized that there was somebody else in the room, a girl whose ragged gray dress was the exact color of the dirty stone wall behind her. She was standing beside a steaming pot on a grimy black stove, and was fiddling around with the shelf of squalid-looking pots and pans above it. Her hair was lank and dull and she had a plain, pale, rather heavy face. Her eyes, like her brother’s, stared in opposite directions. She looked a little cleaner than the two men, but Harry thought he had never seen a more defeated-looking person.

Q5 - What do you think of Merope and Morfin?

Q6 - Is a Squib made from abuse?

Q7 - What do you think of Tom Riddle’s origin story?

• ‘Sir … is it important to know all this about Voldemort’s past?’ ‘Very important, I think,’ said Dumbledore. ‘And it … it’s got something to do with the prophecy?’ ‘It has everything to do with the prophecy.’

Q8 - Why is this important?

Q9 - What is the ring and what happened to Dumbledore’s hand?

• Non-verbal spells were now expected, not only in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but in Charms and Transfiguration too. Harry frequently looked over at his classmates in the common room or at mealtimes to see them purple in the face and straining as though they had overdosed on U-No-Poo.
• ‘We’ve got to go and explain,’ said Hermione, looking up at Hagrid’s huge empty chair at the staff table the following Saturday at breakfast. ‘We’ve got Quidditch tryouts this morning!’ said Ron. ‘And we’re supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti charm for Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?’

Q1 - What is the Aguamenti charm?

Q2 - Is Hagrid childish for this?

• ‘Oh, come on, Harry,’ said Hermione, suddenly impatient. ‘It’s not Quidditch that’s popular, it’s you! You’ve never been more interesting and, frankly, you’ve never been more fanciable.’ Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper. Hermione spared him one look of disdain before turning back to Harry.

Q3 - Why is Ron gagging?

Q4 - Harry mentioned he hoped Lupin would write…why doesn’t Lupin write?

Q5 - Do you think Stan Shunpike is a Death Eater?

• ‘People are terrified – you know the Patil twins’ parents want them to go home? And Eloise Midgeon has already been withdrawn. Her father picked her up last night.’

Q6 - If you had kids, would you take them out of Hogwarts?

Q7 - Dumbledore is gone missing a lot…what is he doing?

Q8 - How do you think this years Gryffindor quidditch team looks?

Q9 - What do you think about Hermione confounding Cormac?

• ‘But how can he have done, Harry?’ said Hermione, putting down the newspaper with a surprised look. ‘We were all searched when we arrived, weren’t we?’ ‘Were you?’ said Harry, taken aback. ‘I wasn’t!’ ‘Oh no, of course you weren’t, I forgot you were late … well, Filch ran over all of us with Secrecy Sensors when we got into the Entrance Hall. Any Dark object would have been found, I know for a fact Crabbe had a shrunken head confiscated. So you see, Malfoy can’t have brought in anything dangerous!’

Q10 - What was this Shrunken head? And did Malfoy sneak anything in?

Q11 - What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?

• Where was Dumbledore and what was he doing?

Q1 - Where was Dumbledore and what was he doing?

Q2 - Is the Half-Blood Prince a dark person?

• Harry rather doubted he would be able to bring off this particular spell; he was still having difficulty with non-verbal spells, something Snape had been quick to comment on in every DADA class. On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far.

Q3 - Do you think Snape really is a good teacher and Harry is just blinded?

Q4 - Is Harry dumb to be practicing these spells on his friends?

Q5 - Harry thinks that the Prince could be his dad, do you think he’s right?

• Harry had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, he pulled out his wand. ‘Harry!’ squealed Hermione. ‘You took that from Sirius’s house,’ said Harry, who was almost nose-to-nose with Mundungus and was breathing in an unpleasant smell of old tobacco and spirits. ‘That had the Black family crest on it.’

Q6 - What is Mundungus stealing from the Black house?

• At once, Katie rose into the air, not as Ron had done, suspended comically by the ankle, but gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she were about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie … her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Leanne had all halted in their tracks, watching. Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was clearly causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed; Leanne started to scream too, and seized Katie’s ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed forwards to help, but even as they grabbed Katie’s legs, she fell on top of them; Harry and Ron managed to catch her but she was writhing so much they could hardly hold her. Instead they lowered her to the ground where she thrashed and screamed, apparently unable to recognise any of them.

Q7 - What kind of magic is this?

Q8 - What’s the worst amount of pain you’ve ever been in?

Q9 - Why would someone want to curse an object? What else do you think you could do with objects in the wizarding world?

Q10 - Who gave Katie the necklace and where was Katie delivering it?

Q1 - Tonks seems really sad and out of it at the beginning of this chapter…why?

• ‘What do you like me to call you when we’re alone together?’ Even by the dim light of the lantern Harry could tell that Mrs Weasley had turned bright red; he himself felt suddenly warm around the ears and neck, and hastily gulped soup, clattering his spoon as loudly as he could against the bowl. ‘Mollywobbles,’ whispered a mortified Mrs Weasley into the crack at the edge of the door. ‘Correct,’ said Mr Weasley. ‘Now you can let me in.’

Q2 - What do you think of Mollywobbles?

• Mrs Weasley made a noise that sounded like ‘tchah!’ ‘Mum hates her,’ said Ginny quietly. ‘I do not hate her!’ said Mrs Weasley in a cross whisper. ‘I just think they’ve hurried into this engagement, that’s all!’ ‘They’ve known each other a year,’ said Ron, who looked oddly groggy and was staring at the closed door. ‘Well, that’s not very long! I know why it’s happened, of course.

Q3 - What do you think of Fleur coming back into the story?

• ‘Nobody knows what it said, though,’ said Hermione quickly. ‘It got smashed.’ ‘Although the Prophet says –’ began Ron, but Hermione said, ‘Shh!’ ‘The Prophet’s got it right,’ said Harry, looking up at them both with a great effort: Hermione seemed frightened and Ron amazed. ‘That glass ball that smashed wasn’t the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore’s office, he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said,’ Harry took a deep breath, ‘it looks like I’m the one who’s got to finish off Voldemort … at least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives.’ The three of them gazed at each other in silence for a moment.

Q4 - What do you think of Harry telling Ron and Hermione the prophecy?

• Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.

Q5 - Why do you think Harry is feeling this?

Q6 - What do you think of Harry’s OWL results?

Q7 - Do you remember what you got on your SATs?

• Harry looked back down at his results. They were as good as he could have hoped for. He felt just one tiny twinge of regret … this was the end of his ambition to become an Auror. He had not secured the required Potions grade. He had known all along that he wouldn’t, but he still felt a sinking in his stomach as he looked again at that small black ‘E’.

Q8 - So Harry can’t become an Auror, what career path will he go down now?

• He spent most of his days playing two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys’ orchard (he and Hermione against Ron and Ginny; Hermione was dreadful and Ginny good, so they were reasonably well-matched).

Q1 - How much does Ron suck at Quidditch?

• ‘And they’ve found Igor Karkaroff’s body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it – well, frankly, I’m surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius’s brother Regulus only managed a few days as far as I can remember.’

Q2 - What do you think about Igor Karkaroff being dead?

Q3 - What do you think of Ollivander being gone?

Q4 - How is Bill able to take money out of Harry’s vault?

• ‘I see that being Dumbledore’s favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won’t always be there to protect you.’ Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. ‘Wow … look at that … he’s not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!’

Q5 - Is Harry smart to instigate this?

• Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You SHOULD Be Worrying About U-NO-POO – the Constipation Sensation That’s Gripping the Nation!
• ‘“Patented Daydream Charms …”’ Hermione had managed to squeeze through to a large display near the counter and was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a highly coloured picture of a handsome youth and a swooning girl who were standing on the deck of a pirate ship. ‘“One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side-effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens.” You know,’ said Hermione, looking up at Harry, ‘that really is extraordinary magic!’ ‘For that, Hermione,’ said a voice behind them, ‘you can have one for free.’

Q6 - How brilliant is the joke shop?

Q7 - What is their best invention: Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, or Shield Hats?

• They had drawn level with the only shop in Knockturn Alley that Harry had ever visited: Borgin and Burkes, which sold a wide variety of sinister objects. There in the midst of the cases full of skulls and old bottles stood Draco Malfoy with his back to them, just visible beyond the very same large black cabinet in which Harry had once hidden to avoid Malfoy and his father. Judging by the movements of Malfoy’s hands he was talking animatedly. The proprietor of the shop, Mr Borgin, an oily-haired, stooping man, stood facing Malfoy. He was wearing a curious expression of mingled resentment and fear…‘… you know how to fix it?’ ‘Possibly,’ said Borgin, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. ‘I’ll need to see it, though. Why don’t you bring it into the shop?’ ‘I can’t,’ said Malfoy. ‘It’s got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it.’

Q8 - What is Draco trying to mend?

• ‘No?’ said Malfoy and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. ‘Perhaps this will make you more confident.’ He moved towards Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.

Q9 - What did Draco show him?

• ‘Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?’ ‘That’s my point, I don’t know!’ said Harry, frustrated. ‘But he’s up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father’s a Death Eater and –’ Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him. ‘Harry?’ said Hermione in an anxious voice. ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Your scar’s not hurting again, is it?’ asked Ron nervously. ‘He’s a Death Eater,’ said Harry slowly. ‘He’s replaced his father as a Death Eater!’

Q1 - You think Harry is right about Draco being a Death Eater?

• ‘Au revoir, ’Arry,’ said Fleur throatily, kissing him goodbye. Ron hurried forwards, looking hopeful, but Ginny stuck out her foot and Ron fell, sprawling in the dust at Fleur’s feet. Furious, red-faced and dirt-spattered, he hurried into the car without saying goodbye.

Q2 - Is Ginny becoming a mean girl?

• ‘They’re staring at you because you were at the Ministry, too,’ said Harry, as he hoisted his trunk into the luggage rack. ‘Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must’ve seen it.’ ‘Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity,’ said Neville, ‘but she was really pleased. Says I’m starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!’ He pulled it out and showed it to Harry. ‘Cherry and unicorn hair,’ he said proudly. ‘We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day – oi, come back here, Trevor!’

Q3 - Is Neville going to be better or worse now that he has a new wand?

Q4 - Why did Draco forgo his role as Prefect?

• Every now and then students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception was Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry coming. As Harry passed the window he saw her deep in determined conversation with her friend Marietta, who was wearing a very thick layer of makeup that did not entirely obscure the odd formation of pimples still etched across her face. Smirking slightly, Harry pushed on.

Q5 - Does Marietta deserve this?

Q6 - What do you think about Slughorn’s little club?

Q7 - Is Draco dating Pansy Parkinson?

• Malfoy yawned ostentatiously. ‘I mean, I might not even be at Hogwarts next year, what’s it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?’ ‘What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?’ said Pansy indignantly, ceasing grooming Malfoy at once. ‘Well, you never know,’ said Malfoy with the ghost of a smirk. ‘I might have – er – moved on to bigger and better things.’

Q8 - What do you think he means by this?

• ‘I thought so,’ he said jubilantly. ‘I heard Goyle’s trunk hit you. And I thought I saw something white flash through the air after Zabini came back …’ His eyes lingered for a moment upon Harry’s trainers. ‘That was you blocking the door when Zabini came back in, I suppose?’ He considered Harry for a moment. ‘You didn’t hear anything I care about, Potter. But while I’ve got you here …’ And he stamped, hard, on Harry’s face. Harry felt his nose break; blood spurted everywhere.

Q9 - What do you think of Draco besting Harry?

Q1 - How do you think Tonks found Harry?

• ‘Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it instead. And incidentally,’ said Snape, standing back to allow Harry to pass him, ‘I was interested to see your new Patronus.’ He shut the gates in her face with a loud clang and tapped the chains with his wand again, so that they slithered, clinking, back into place. ‘I think you were better off with the old one,’ said Snape, the malice in his voice unmistakeable. ‘The new one looks weak.’

Q2 - What do you think of Patronus’ changing form? How would it change form?

Q3 - Why do you think Snape is mean to her?

• ‘Fifty points from Gryffindor for lateness, I think,’ said Snape. ‘And, let me see, another twenty for your Muggle attire. You know, I don’t believe any house has ever been in negative figures this early in the term – we haven’t even started pudding. You might have set a record, Potter.’

Q4 - The points are stupid.

• ‘Professor Snape, meanwhile,’ said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, ‘will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.’ ‘No!’ said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defence Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn’t it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?

Q5 - What do you think of Snape getting the Defense against the Dark Arts job? And knowing the curse on the position, do you think he’ll be there after a year?

• It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. 

Q1 - What do you think of the book opening like this?

• He turned over the second page of the memo, saw how much longer it went on, and gave it up as a bad job. Stretching his arms above his head he looked around his office mournfully. It was a handsome room, with a fine marble fireplace facing the long sash windows, firmly closed against the unseasonable chill. With a slight shiver, the Prime Minister got up and moved over to the windows, looking out at the thin mist that was pressing itself against the glass. It was then, as he stood with his back to the room, that he heard a soft cough behind him.

Q2 - Did you think Umbridge was back?

• It was coming – as the Prime Minister had known at the first cough – from the froglike little man wearing a long silver wig who was depicted in a small and dirty oil-painting in the far corner of the room. ‘To the Prime Minister of Muggles. Urgent we meet. Kindly respond immediately. Sincerely, Fudge.’ The man in the painting looked enquiringly at the Prime Minister.
• He was not remotely pleased to see Fudge, whose occasional appearances, apart from being downright alarming in themselves, generally meant that he was about to hear some very bad news. Furthermore, Fudge was looking distinctly careworn. He was thinner, balder and greyer, and his face had a crumpled look. The Prime Minister had seen that kind of look in politicians before, and it never boded well.
• At this, the Prime Minister had found his voice at last. ‘You’re – you’re not a hoax, then?’ It had been his last, desperate hope. ‘No,’ said Fudge gently. ‘No, I’m afraid I’m not. Look.’ And he had turned the Prime Minister’s teacup into a gerbil. ‘But,’ said the Prime Minister breathlessly, watching his teacup chewing on the corner of his next speech, ‘but why – why has nobody told me –?’ ‘The Minister for Magic only reveals him or herself to the Muggle Prime Minister of the day,’ said Fudge, poking his wand back inside his jacket. ‘We find it the best way to maintain secrecy.’ ‘But then,’ bleated the Prime Minister, ‘why hasn’t a former Prime Minister warned me –?’ At this, Fudge had actually laughed. ‘My dear Prime Minister, are you ever going to tell anybody?’

Q3 - Do you think the President gets a familiar visit from the US magical authorities?

• ‘So you think that …’ he had squinted down at the name in his left hand, ‘Lord Vol—’ ‘He Who Must Not Be Named!’ snarled Fudge. ‘I’m sorry … you think that He Who Must Not Be Named is still alive, then?’ ‘Well, Dumbledore says he is,’ said Fudge, as he had fastened his pinstriped cloak under his chin, ‘but we’ve never found him. If you ask me, he’s not dangerous unless he’s got support, so it’s Black we ought to be worrying about. You’ll put out that warning, then? Excellent. Well, I hope we don’t see each other again, Prime Minister! Goodnight.’

Q4 - Do you think Fudge here believes Dumbledore?

• Whatever the press and the opposition might say, the Prime Minister was not a foolish man. It had not escaped his notice that, despite Fudge’s assurances at their first meeting, they were now seeing rather a lot of each other, nor that Fudge was becoming more flustered with each visit. Little though he liked to think about the Minister for Magic (or, as he always called Fudge in his head, the Other Minister), the Prime Minister could not help but fear that the next time Fudge appeared it would be with graver news still. 

Q5 - Cool point about who the other minister is…

• Fudge took a great, deep breath and said, ‘Prime Minister, I am very sorry to have to tell you that he’s back. He Who Must Not Be Named is back.’ ‘Yes, alive,’ said Fudge. ‘That is – I don’t know – is a man alive if he can’t be killed? I don’t really understand it, and Dumbledore won’t explain properly – but anyway, he’s certainly got a body and is walking and talking and killing, so I suppose, for the purposes of our discussion, yes, he’s alive.’

Q6 - Why won’t Dumbledore explain it, and what is he explaining?

• ‘I thought Dementors guard the prisoners in Azkaban?’ he said cautiously. ‘They did,’ said Fudge wearily. ‘But not any more. They’ve deserted the prison and joined He Who Must Not Be Named. I won’t pretend that wasn’t a blow.’ ‘But,’ said the Prime Minister, with a sense of dawning horror, ‘didn’t you tell me they’re the creatures that drain hope and happiness out of people?’ ‘That’s right. And they’re breeding. That’s what’s causing all this mist.’

Q7 - Will you ever look at mist the same way again?

• ‘Now see here, Fudge – you’ve got to do something! It’s your responsibility as Minister for Magic!’ ‘My dear Prime Minister, you can’t honestly think I’m still Minister for Magic after all this? I was sacked three days ago! The whole wizarding community has been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I’ve never known them so united in my whole term of office!’ said Fudge, with a brave attempt at a smile.

Q8 - What do you think of Fudges sacking? Do you have pity for him at all?

• ‘I wish him luck,’ said Fudge, sounding bitter for the first time. ‘I’ve been writing to Dumbledore twice a day for the past fortnight, but he won’t budge. If he’d just been prepared to persuade the boy, I might still be … well, maybe Scrimgeour will have more success.’

Q9 - What does Fudge mean, “persuade the boy?”

• The Prime Minister’s first, foolish thought was that Rufus Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp. There was an immediate impression of shrewdness and toughness; the Prime Minister thought he understood why the wizarding community preferred Scrimgeour to Fudge as a leader in these dangerous times.

Q10 - What are your impressions of Scrimgeour?

• The Prime Minister gazed hopelessly at the pair of them for a moment, then the words he had fought to suppress all evening burst from him at last. ‘But for heaven’s sake – you’re wizards! You can do magic! Surely you can sort out – well – anything!’ Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, ‘The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.’ And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the other into the bright green fire and vanished.

Q11 - What do you think of the first chapter?

• The harsh cry startles the fox, now crouching almost flat in the undergrowth. It leapt from its hiding place and up the bank. There was a flash of green light, a yelp, and the fox fell back to the ground, dead.

Q1 - Why did they kill the fox?

• “He lives here?” asked Bella in a voice of contempt. “Here? In this muggle dunghill? We must be the first of our kind ever to set foot —”

Q2 - Why does Snape live here?

• Some of the streetlamps were broken; the two women were running between patches of light and deep darkness. The pursuer caught up with her prey just as she turned another corner, this time succeeding in catching hold of her arm and swinging her round so that they faced each other. ‘Cissy, you must not do this, you can’t trust him –’ ‘The Dark Lord trusts him, doesn’t he?’ ‘The Dark Lord is … I believe … mistaken,’ Bella panted, and her eyes gleamed momentarily under her hood as she looked around to check that they were indeed alone. ‘In any case, we were told not to speak of the plan to anyone. This is a betrayal of the Dark Lord’s –’ ‘Let go, Bella!’ snarled Narcissa and she drew a wand from beneath her cloak, holding it threateningly in the other’s face. Bella merely laughed. ‘Cissy, your own sister? You wouldn’t –’ ‘There is nothing I wouldn’t do any more!’ Narcissa breathed, a note of hysteria in her voice.

Q3 - What is the difference between Narcissa and Lily here?

• ‘So, what can I do for you?’ Snape asked, settling himself in the armchair opposite the two sisters. ‘We … we are alone, aren’t we?’ Narcissa asked quietly. ‘Yes, of course. Well, Wormtail’s here, but we’re not counting vermin, are we?’ He pointed his wand at the wall of books behind him and, with a bang, a hidden door flew open, revealing a narrow staircase upon which a small man stood frozen…‘Wormtail will get us drinks, if you’d like them,’ said Snape. ‘And then he will return to his bedroom.’ Wormtail winced as though Snape had thrown something at him. ‘I am not your servant!’ he squeaked, avoiding Snape’s eye. ‘Really? I was under the impression that the Dark Lord placed you here to assist me.’ 

Q4 - What is Wormtail helping Snape with?

• ‘Narcissa, I think we ought to hear what Bellatrix is bursting to say; it will save tedious interruptions. Well, continue, Bellatrix,’ said Snape. ‘Why is it that you do not trust me?’ ‘A hundred reasons!’ she said loudly, striding out from behind the sofa to slam her glass upon the table. ‘Where to start! Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never make any attempt to find him when he vanished? What have you been doing all these years that you’ve lived in Dumbledore’s pocket? Why did you stop the Dark Lord procuring the Philosopher’s Stone? Why did you not return at once when the Dark Lord was reborn? Where were you a few weeks ago, when we battled to retrieve the prophecy for the Dark Lord? And why, Snape, is Harry Potter still alive, when you have had him at your mercy for five years?’ She paused, her chest rising and falling rapidly, the color high in her cheeks. Behind her Narcissa sat motionless, her face still hidden in her hands. Snape smiled. ‘Before I answer you – oh, yes, Bellatrix, I am going to answer! You can carry my words back to the others who whisper behind my back, and carry false tales of my treachery to the Dark Lord! Before I answer you, I say, let me ask a question in turn. Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?’ She hesitated. ‘I know he believes you, but –’ ‘You think he is mistaken? Or that I have somehow hoodwinked him? Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?’

Q5 - Is Snape fooling Dumbledore or Voldemort?

Q6 - Why didn’t Snape attempt to find the Dark Lord?

Why did Snape stand between the Dark Lord and the Sorcerer’s stone?

Why didn’t he return when the dark mark burned?

Why didn’t he fight at the ministry?

Why has Snape not killed Harry Potter?

Q7 - Are Snape’s answer’s satisfying to you?

• ‘You are avoiding my last question, Snape. Harry Potter. You could have killed him at any point in the past five years. You have not done it. Why?’ ‘Have you discussed this matter with the Dark Lord?’ asked Snape. ‘He … lately, we … I am asking you, Snape!’ ‘If I had murdered Harry Potter, the Dark Lord could not have used his blood to regenerate, making him invincible –’

Q8 - Is the Dark Lord invincible with Harry’s blood?

• ‘And through all this we are supposed to believe Dumbledore has never suspected you?’ asked Bellatrix. ‘He has no idea of your true allegiance, he trusts you implicitly still?’ ‘I have played my part well,’ said Snape. ‘And you overlook Dumbledore’s greatest weakness: he has to believe the best of people. I spun him a tale of deepest remorse when I joined his staff, fresh from my Death Eater days, and he embraced me with open arms – though, as I say, never allowing me nearer the Dark Arts than he could help. Dumbledore has been a great wizard – oh yes, he has’ (for Bellatrix had made a scathing noise) ‘the Dark Lord acknowledges it. I am pleased to say, however, that Dumbledore is growing old. The duel with the Dark Lord last month shook him. He has since sustained a serious injury because his reactions are slower than they once were. But through all these years, he has never stopped trusting Severus Snape, and therein lies my great value to the Dark Lord.’

Q9 - Is Dumbledore weak?

• Narcissa looked up at him, her face eloquent with despair. ‘Yes, Severus. I – I think you are the only one who can help me, I have nowhere else to turn. Lucius is in jail and …’ She closed her eyes and two large tears seeped from beneath her eyelids. ‘The Dark Lord has forbidden me to speak of it,’ Narcissa continued, her eyes still closed. ‘He wishes none to know of the plan. It is … very secret. But –’ ‘If he has forbidden it, you ought not to speak,’ said Snape at once. ‘The Dark Lord’s word is law.’

Q10 - What is this plan?

• ‘Severus,’ she whispered, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. ‘My son … my only son …’ ‘Draco should be proud,’ said Bellatrix indifferently. ‘The Dark Lord is granting him a great honor. And I will say this for Draco: he isn’t shrinking away from his duty, he seems glad of a chance to prove himself, excited at the prospect –’

Q11 - What is Draco doing? Why is he part of this?

• ‘Severus – oh, Severus – you would help him? Would you look after him, see he comes to no harm?’ ‘I can try.’ She flung away her glass; it skidded across the table as she slid off the sofa into a kneeling position at Snape’s feet, seized his hand in both of hers and pressed her lips to it. ‘If you are there to protect him … Severus, will you swear it? Will you make the Unbreakable Vow?’ ‘The Unbreakable Vow?’ Snape’s expression was blank, unreadable: Bellatrix, however, let out a cackle of triumphant laughter.

Q12 - What is the unbreakable vow?

Q13 - Can you break it, or what would happen if you do break it?

Q1 - Is it good to get back into Harry’s head?

• Though Ministry spokeswizards have hitherto refused even to confirm the existence of such a place, a growing number of the wizarding community believe that the Death Eaters now serving sentences in Azkaban for trespass and attempted theft were attempting to steal a prophecy. The nature of that prophecy is unknown, although speculation is rife that it concerns Harry Potter, the only person ever known to have survived the Killing Curse, and who is also known to have been at the Ministry on the night in question. Some are going so far as to call Potter the ‘Chosen One’, believing that the prophecy names him as the only one who will be able to rid us of He Who Must Not Be Named.

Q2 - Is Harry the Chosen one? 

Q3 - What do you think about the ministry trying to cover up all this? Should this information be in the public domain?

• Rufus Scrimgeour, previously Head of the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, has succeeded Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic. The appointment has largely been greeted with enthusiasm by the wizarding community, though rumors of a rift between the new Minister and Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, surfaced within hours of Scrimgeour taking office.

Q4 - What is the rift between the two?

Q5 - The ministry leaflet talks about Inferi, what do you think these are?

• Dear Harry, If it is convenient to you, I shall call at number four, Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven p.m. to escort you to The Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays. If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of your assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend on the way to The Burrow. I shall explain this more fully when I see you. Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday, I am, yours most sincerely Albus Dumbledore

Q6 - What do you think of this letter, and what is the matter he wants to attend to with Harry?

• ‘I don’t mean to be rude –’ he began, in a tone that threatened rudeness in every syllable. ‘– yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often,’ Dumbledore finished the sentence gravely. ‘Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia.’ The kitchen door had opened, and there stood Harry’s aunt, wearing rubber gloves and a housecoat over her nightdress, clearly halfway through her usual pre-bedtime wipe-down of all the kitchen surfaces. Her rather horsy face registered nothing but shock. ‘Albus Dumbledore,’ said Dumbledore, when Uncle Vernon failed to effect an introduction. ‘We have corresponded, of course.’ Harry thought this an odd way of reminding Aunt Petunia that he had once sent her an exploding letter, but Aunt Petunia did not challenge the term. ‘And this must be your son Dudley?’

Q7 - What do you think of this intro?

• As he replaced his wand in his pocket, Harry saw that his hand was blackened and shrivelled; it looked as though his flesh had been burned away. ‘Sir – what happened to your –?’

Q8 - What happened to Dumbledore’s hand?

• ‘This is, in the main, fairly straightforward,’ Dumbledore went on. ‘You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts and you inherit all of Sirius’s personal possessions. The slightly problematic part of the legacy –’ ‘His godfather’s dead?’ said Uncle Vernon loudly from the sofa. Dumbledore and Harry both turned to look at him. The glass of mead was now knocking quite insistently on the side of Vernon’s head; he attempted to beat it away. ‘He’s dead? His godfather?’ ‘Yes,’ said Dumbledore. He did not ask Harry why he had not confided in the Dursleys. ‘Our problem,’ he continued to Harry, as if there had been no interruption, ‘is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place.’
• ‘But how are you going to find out if I’m allowed to own it?’ ‘Fortunately,’ said Dumbledore, ‘there is a simple test.’ He placed his empty glass on a small table beside his chair, but before he could do anything else, Uncle Vernon shouted, ‘Will you get these ruddy things off us?’ Harry looked round; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their heads as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, the contents flying everywhere.‘You see,’ Dumbledore said, turning back to Harry and again speaking as though Uncle Vernon had not uttered, ‘if you have indeed inherited the house, you have also inherited –’ He flicked his wand for a fifth time. There was a loud crack and a house-elf appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat’s ears and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the Dursleys’ shag carpet and covered in grimy rags.

Q9 - How is Dumbledore able to summon Kreacher like this?

• ‘Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents’ murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own.’ Dumbledore paused, and although his voice remained light and calm, and he gave no obvious sign of anger, Harry felt a kind of chill emanating from him and noticed that the Dursleys drew very slightly closer together. ‘You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you.’

Q10 - What do you think of this?

• None of the Dursleys said anything. Dudley was frowning slightly, as though he was still trying to work out when he had ever been mistreated. Uncle Vernon looked as though he had something stuck in his throat; Aunt Petunia, however, was oddly flushed.

Q11 - Why was Petunia flushed?

• ‘And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.’

Q12 - Where are they going?

• This is mad,ʹ Ron murmured, moving his free hand gingerly up and down his horseʹs neck. ʹMad… if I could just see it ‐ʹ  ʹYouʹd better hope it stays invisible,ʹ said Harry darkly. ʹWe all ready, then?ʹ 

Q1 - Is Harry being a dick here?

Q2 - Thoughts on riding on an invisible horse?

Q3 - What animal would you want to ride from the magical world?

• Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.ʹ  ʹHarry Potter, Ron Weasley Hermione Granger,ʹ Harry said very quickly, ʹGinny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood… weʹre here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!ʹ  Thank you,ʹ said the cool female voice. ʹVisitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes.ʹ  Half a dozen badges slid out of the metal chute where returned coins normally appeared. Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry over Ginnyʹs head; he glanced at the topmost one, Harry Potter, Rescue Mission.

Q4 - Is Harry dumb to say this stuff?

• ʹWhatʹre those things?ʹ whispered Ron. ʹDunno,ʹ said Harry. ʹAre they fish?ʹ breathed Ginny. ʹAquavirius Maggots!ʹ said Luna excitedly. ʹDad said the Ministry were breeding —ʹ  ʹNo,ʹ said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. Theyʹre brains.ʹ  ʹBrains?ʹ ʹYes… I wonder what theyʹre doing with them?ʹ

Q5 - What is the ministry doing with these brains?

• Instead of a chained chair, however, there was a raised stone dais in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched. ʹWhoʹs there?ʹ said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.

Q6 - Is there someone behind this veil?

• ʹI can hear them too,ʹ breathed Luna, joining them around the side of the archway and gazing at the swaying veil. There are people in there!ʹ  ʹWhat do you mean, ʺin thereʺ?ʹ demanded Hermione, jumping down from the bottom step and sounding much angrier than the occasion warranted, ʹthere isnʹt any ʺin thereʺ, itʹs just an archway, thereʹs no room for anybody to be there. Harry, stop it, come away ‐ʹ 

Q7 - What’s going on with this veil?

Q8 - Why is Hermione so angry?

Q9 - Why didn’t Harry make a quick stop to Grimmauld Place?

• S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?)Harry Potter

Q10 - What does this all mean?

• Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust. And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke. ʹVery good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me.ʹ 

Q11 - Who’s voice is this?

• ʹItʹs time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy. ʹNow give me the prophecy, or we start using wands.ʹ 

Q1 - Thoughts on this being a prophecy?

• ʹSo,ʹ said Harry, ʹwhat kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?ʹ  He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Nevilleʹs arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking; he could feel one of the othersʹ  quickened breath on the back of his head. He was hoping they were all thinking hard about ways to get out of this, because his mind was blank. ʹWhat kind of prophecy?ʹ repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. ʹYou jest, Harry Potter.ʹ  ʹNope, not jesting,ʹ said Harry, his eyes flicking from Death Eater to Death Eater,.looking for a weak link, a space through which they could escape. ʹHow come Voldemort wants it?ʹ Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses. ʹYou dare speak his name?ʹ whispered Bellatrix. ʹYeah,ʹ said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. ʹYeah, Iʹve got no problem with saying Vol—ʹ  ʹShut your mouth!ʹ Bellatrix shrieked. ʹYou dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half‐bloodʹs tongue, you dare ‐ʹ ʹDid you know heʹs a half‐blood too?ʹ said Harry recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear. ʹVoldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle ‐ or has he been telling you lot heʹs pure‐blood?ʹ 

Q2 - Is Harry right to instigate here?

• ʹDumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?ʹ Malfoy sneered.

Q3 - Why didn’t Dumbledore tell Harry?

• Harry stared into the slitted eye‐holes through which Malfoyʹs grey eyes were gleaming. Was this prophecy the reason Harryʹs parents had died, the reason he carried his lightning‐bolt scar? Was the answer to all of this clutched in his hand?
• The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eaterʹs shoulder and hit a glass‐ fronted cabinet on the wall full of variously shaped hour‐glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up on to the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered ‐ 

Q4 - What happened here?

• The Death Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre, his tiny babyʹs head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions, narrowly missing Harry, who had ducked. Harry raised his wand but to his amazement Hermione seized his arm. ʹYou canʹt hurt a baby!ʹ 

Q5 - Thoughts on Hermione saying this?

• But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermioneʹs chest. She gave a tiny ʹOh!ʹ as though of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless.

Q6 - What is this magic and is Hermione dead?

• Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as they walked slowly towards the door. ʹMy granʹs going do kill be,ʹ said Neville thickly, blood spattering from his nose as he spoke, ʹdat was by dadʹs old wand.ʹ 

Q7 - Thoughts on this?

• ʹPotter, your race is run,ʹ drawled Lucius Malfoy, pulling off his mask, ʹnow hand me the prophecy like a good boy.ʹ  ʹLet ‐ let the others go, and Iʹll give it to you!ʹ said Harry desperately. A few of the Death Eaters laughed. ʹYou are not in a position to bargain, Potter,ʹ said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure. ʹYou see, there are ten of us and only one of you… or hasnʹt Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?ʹ  ʹHeʹs dot alone!ʹ shouted a voice from above them. ʹHeʹs still god be!ʹ 

Q8 - Do you see why I love Neville so much now?

• Harry did not have to think; there was no choice. The prophecy was hot with the heat of his clutching hand as he held it out. Malfoy jumped forwards to take it. Then, high above them, two more doors burst open and five more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley.
• ʹHarry, take the prophecy, grab Neville and run!ʹ Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. Harry did not see what happened next: Kingsley swayed across his field of vision, battling with the pockmarked and no longer masked Rookwood; another jet of green light flew over Harryʹs head as he launched himself towards Neville ‐ 

Q9 - thoughts on everything happening here?

• He gave another stupendous heave and Nevilles robes tore all along the left seam ‐ the small spun‐glass ball dropped from his pocket and, before either of them could catch it, one of Nevilleʹs floundering feet kicked it: it flew some ten feet to their right and smashed on the step beneath them. As both of them stared at the place where it had broken, appalled at what had happened, a pearly‐white figure with hugely magnified eyes rose into the air, unnoticed by any but them..Harry could see its mouth moving, but in all the crashes and screams and yells surrounding them, not one word of the prophecy could he hear. The figure stopped speaking and dissolved into nothingness.
• Harry turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body ‐ they were saved.

Q10 - How good do you feel that Dumbledore is here?

• Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrixʹs jet of red light: he was laughing at her. ʹCome on, you can do better than that!ʹ he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest. The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock. Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais. It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch. Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfatherʹs wasted, once‐ handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place. Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrangeʹs triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing ‐ Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second… But Sirius did not reappear. ʹSIRIUS!ʹ Harry yelled. ʹSIRIUS!ʹ  He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out… But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back. Thereʹs nothing you can do, Harry ‐ʹ  ʹGet him, save him, heʹs only just gone through!ʹ  ʹ‐ itʹs too late, Harry.ʹ  ʹWe can still reach him ‐ʹ Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go… Thereʹs nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… heʹs gone.ʹ 

Q11 - Thoughts on Sirius death here?

• Lupin dragged Harry away from the dais. Harry, still staring at the archway, was angry at Sirius now for keeping him waiting But some part of him realised, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before… Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him… if Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back… that he really was

Q1 - How will Sirius’s death affect Harry?

• `Aaaaaah … did you love him, little baby Potter?ʹ  Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before; he flung himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed, `Crucio!ʹ  Bellatrix screamed: the spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain as Neville had ‐ she was already back on her feet, breathless, no longer laughing. Harry dodged behind the golden fountain again. Her counter‐spell hit the head of the handsome wizard, which was blown off and landed twenty feet away, gouging long scratches into the wooden floor. `Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?ʹ she yelled. She had abandoned her baby voice now. `You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain ‐ to enjoy it ‐ righteous anger wonʹt hurt me for long ‐  Iʹll show you how it is done, shall I? Iʹll give you a lesson ‐ʹ

Q2 - Harry just used an unforgivable curse…thoughts?

• `Potter, Iʹm going to give you one chance!ʹ shouted Bellatrix. `Give me the prophecy ‐ roll it out towards me now ‐ and I may spare your life!ʹ  `Well, youʹre going to have to kill me, because itʹs gone!ʹ Harry roared and, as he shouted it, pain seared across his forehead; his scar was on fire again, and he felt a surge of fury that was quite unconnected with his own rage. `And he knows!ʹ said Harry, with a mad laugh to match Bellatrixʹs own. `Your dear old mate Voldemort knows itʹs gone! Heʹs not going to be happy with you, is he?ʹ  ʹWhat? What do you mean?ʹ she cried, and for the first time there was fear in her voice.
• `Donʹt waste your breath!ʹ yelled Harry, his eyes screwed up against the pain in his scar, now more terrible than ever. `He canʹt hear you from here!ʹ  `Canʹt I, Potter?ʹ said a high, cold voice.

Q3 - How intense is this? Did you expect Voldemort to be there?

• `It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `The Aurors are on their way’ `By which time I shall be gone, and you will be dead!ʹ spat Voldemort.

Q4 - How good is this comeback?

• Dumbledore flicked his own wand: the force of the spell that emanated from it was such that Harry, though shielded by his golden guard, felt his hair stand on end as it passed and this time Voldemort was forced to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it. The spell, whatever it was, caused no visible damage to the shield, though a deep, gong‐like note reverberated from it ‐ an oddly chilling sound. `You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?ʹ called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. `Above such brutality, are you?ʹ  ʹWe both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom,ʹ Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk towards Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. `Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit’ ‘`There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!ʹ snarled Voldemort. `You are quite wrong,ʹ said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks. Harry felt scared to see him walking along, undefended, shieldless; he wanted to cry out a warning, but his headless guard kept shunting him backwards towards the wall, blocking his every attempt to get out from behind it. `Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness’

Q5 - Why would Dumbledore not be satisfied to take Voldy’s life?

Q6 - What is this magic Dumbledore is using?

• He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creatureʹs began: they were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape.

Q7 - What is happening here?

• Let the pain stop, thought Harry… let him kill us… end it, Dumbledore… death is nothing compared to this… And Iʹll see Sirius again…

Q8 - How much do you hate Fudge?

Q9 - What is the plan of action next?

• It was unbearable, he would not think about it, he could not stand it… there was a terrible hollow inside him he did not want to feel or examine, a dark hole where Sirius had been, where Sirius had vanished; he did not want to have to be alone with that great, silent space, he could not stand it ‐ 
• `Let me out,ʹ Harry said yet again, in a voice that was cold and almost as calm as Dumbledoreʹs. `Not until I have had my say,ʹ said Dumbledore. `Do you ‐ do you think I want to ‐ do you think I give a ‐ I DONʹT CARE WHAT YOUʹVE GOT TO SAY!ʹ Harry roared. `I donʹt want to hear anything youʹve got to say!ʹ  `You will,ʹ said Dumbledore steadily. `Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it.ʹ 

Q1 - Is Dumbledore to blame for everything that happened?

Q2 - What are your thoughts on Harry’s response?

• Harry, I believe I was right to think that Voldemort would have made use of you in such a way. On those rare occasions when we had close contact, I thought I saw a shadow of him stir behind your eyes …
• `Kreacher lied,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `You are not his master, he could lie to you without even needing to punish himself. Kreacher intended you to go to the Ministry of Magic.ʹ  `He ‐ he sent me on purpose?T ʹOh yes. Kreacher, I am afraid, has been serving more than one master for months.ʹ  `How?ʹ said Harry blankly. `He hasnʹt been out of Grimmauld Place for years.ʹ  `Kreacher seized his opportunity shortly before Christmas,ʹ said Dumbledore, `when Sirius, apparently, shouted at him to ʺget outʺ. He took Sirius at his word, and interpreted this as an order to leave the house. He went to the only Black family member for whom he had any respect left … Blackʹs cousin Narcissa, sister of Bellatrix and wife of Lucius Malfoyʹ 

Q3 - Thoughts about your confirmed suspicions of Kreacher?

• `Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harryʹ said Dumbledore. `Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobbyʹs. He was forced to do Siriusʹs bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacherʹs faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacherʹs lot easier —

Q4 - Do you hate or pity Kreacher?

• `Snape made it worse, my scar always hurt worse after lessons with him - Harry remembered Ronʹs thoughts on the subject and plunged on `‐ how do you know he wasnʹt trying to soften me up for Voldemort, make it easier for him to get inside my - `I trust Severus Snape,ʹ said Dumbledore simply `But I forgot ‐  another old manʹs mistake ‐ that some wounds run too deep for the healing. I thought Professor Snape could overcome his feelings about your father ‐ I was wrong.ʹ 

Q5 - Do you trust Snape?

• ʹIt is time,ʹ he said, `for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything. I ask only a little patience. You will have your chance to rage at me ‐ to do whatever you like ‐ when I have finished. I will not stop you.ʹ 

Q6 - Did you get excited after reading this line?

• `While you can still call home the place where your motherʹs blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.ʹ 

Q7 - Thoughts on Remember my Last?

• `The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …ʹ 

Q8 - What does this all mean?

• `The odd thing, Harry,ʹ he said softly, `is that it may not have meant you at all. Sybillʹs prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born at the end of July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course, was you. The other was Neville Longbottom.ʹ 
• `There is a room in the Department of Mysteries,ʹ interrupted Dumbledore, `that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.ʹ 

Q9 - Is Love the only power Harry has over Voldemort?

• They were in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting on the end of Ronʹs bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermioneʹs bed; Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, was in a chair between the two beds; and Luna, who had dropped in to visit, clutching the latest edition of The Quibbler, was reading the magazine upside‐down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione was saying.

Q1 - How do you guys deal with grief?

• Malfoy looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him; he felt a kind of detached satisfaction at the sight of his pale, pointed face contorted with rage. ʹYouʹre going to pay,ʹ said Malloy in a voice barely louder than a whisper. `Iʹm going to make you pay for what youʹve done to my father…ʹ  `Well, Iʹm terrified now,ʹ said Harry sarcastically. `Iʹsʹpose Lord Voldemortʹs just a warm‐up act compared to you three ‐ whatʹs the matter?ʹ he added, for Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle had all looked stricken at the sound of the name. `Heʹs a mate of your dad, isnʹt he? Not scared of him, are you? ʹYou think youʹre such a big man, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy, advancing now, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him. `You wait. Iʹll have you. You canʹt land my father in prison - `I thought i just had,ʹ said Harry.
• Perhaps the reason he wanted to be alone was because he had felt isolated from everybody since his talk with Dumbledore. An invisible barrier separated him from the rest of the world. He was ‐ he had always been ‐ a marked man. It was just that he had never really understood what that meant…

Q2 - What do you think of Harry’s grief?

Q3 - How do you think knowing that he is a marked man will effect Harry?

• Professor Umbridge left Hogwarts the day before the end of term. It seemed she had crept out of the hospital wing during dinnertime, evidently hoping to depart undetected, but unfortunately for her, she met Peeves on the way, who seized his last chance to do as Fred had instructed, and chased her gleefully from the premises whacking her alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk. Many students ran out into the Entrance Hall to watch her running away down the path and the Heads of Houses tried only half‐heartedly to restrain them. Indeed, Professor McGonagall sank back into her chair at the staff table after a few feeble remonstrances and was clearly heard to express a regret that she could not run cheering after Umbridge herself, because Peeves had borrowed her walking stick.
• Harryʹs heart began to race. He remembered seeing his dead parents in the Mirror of Erised four years ago. He was going to be able to talk to Sirius again, right now, he knew it ‐  He looked around to make sure there was nobody else there; the dormitory was quite empty. He looked back at the mirror, raised it in front of his face with trembling hands and said, loudly and clearly, ʹSirius.ʹ  His breath misted the surface of the glass. He held the mirror even closer, excitement flooding through him, but the eyes blinking back at him through the fog were definitely his own. He wiped the mirror clear again and said, so that every syllable rang clearly through the room: ʹSirius Black!ʹ  Nothing happened.

Q4 - How devastating is this part?

• Nick turned away from the window and looked mournfully at Harry. `He wonʹt come back.ʹ  `Who?ʹ  `Sirius Black,ʹ said Nick. And so strong was his belief, Harry actually turned his head to check the door, sure, for a split second, that he was going to see Sirius, pearly‐white and transparent but beaming, walking through it towards him. `He will not come back,ʹ repeated Nick. `He will have… gone on.ʹ 

Q5 - Do you understand how ghosts work now?

• Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered that she, too, could see Thestrals. `Have you…ʹ he began. `I mean, who… has anyone you known ever died?ʹ  `Yes,ʹ said Luna simply, `my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine.ʹ  `Iʹm sorryʹ Harry mumbled. ʹYes, it was rather horrible,ʹ said Luna conversationally. `I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But Iʹve still got Dad. And anyway, itʹs not as though Iʹll never see Mum again, is it?ʹ  `Er ‐ isnʹt it?ʹ said Harry uncertainly. She shook her head in disbelief. `Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didnʹt you?ʹ  `You mean…ʹ  `In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, thatʹs all. You heard them.ʹ 
• Harry was surprised to find that this information did not hurt at all. Wanting to impress Cho seemed to belong to a past that was no longer quite connected with him; so much of what he had wanted before Sinusʹ,ʹ death felt that «°av these days… the week that had elapsed since he had last seen Sirius seemed to have lasted much, much longer; it stretched across two universes, the one with Sirius in it, and the one without.

Q6 - Would Harry and Cho be a good couple now? Do you think they’ll get back together?

• When the ticket inspector signaled to Harry, Ron and Hermione that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, however, he found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him who he had not expected at all…Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead, he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around and led the way out of the station towards the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.

Q7 - How will Harry go from this point on?

• Eventually the area was roped off and Filch, gnashing his teeth furiously, was given the task of punting students across it to their classrooms. Harry was certain that teachers like McGonagall or Flitwick could have removed the swamp in an instant but, just as in the case of Fred and Georges Wildfire Whiz‐bangs, they seemed to prefer to watch Umbridge struggle.

Q1 - What prank would you play on Umbridge now?

• None of the staff but Filch seemed to be stirring themselves to help her. Indeed, a week after Fred and Georgeʹs departure Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves, who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier, and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth, ʹIt unscrews the other way.ʹ

Q2 - Should Harry be that serious about occlumency and going back to Snape?

Q3 - Hagrid mentions he’s going to help Dumbledore when he gets sacked…what is he going to do?

• ʹWhat are those ropes for, then?ʹ Harry asked. He had just noticed ropes thick as saplings stretching from around the trunks of the largest nearby trees towards the place where Grawp lay curled on the ground with his back to them. ʹYou have to keep him tied up?ʹ said Hermione faintly. ʹWell… yeah…ʹ said Hagrid, looking anxious. ʹSee ‐ itʹs like I say ‐ he doesnʹ  really know ʹis own strength.ʹ 

Q4 - Is Hagrid right to have his brother like this?

Q5 - What do you think about Centaurs?

• ʹOh, come off it, Harry!ʹ said Hermione angrily, stopping dead in her tracks so that the people behind had to swerve to avoid her. ʹOf course heʹs going to be chucked out and, to be perfectly honest, after what weʹve just seen, who can blame Umbridge?ʹ  There was a pause in which Harry glared at her, and her eyes filled slowly with tears. ʹYou didnʹt mean that,ʹ said Harry quietly. ʹNo… well… all right… I didnʹt,ʹ she said, wiping her eyes angrily. ʹBut why does he have to make life so difficult for himself ‐ for us?ʹ 

Q6 - Why is Hermione so mad here?

Q7 - What do you think about Ron having a good match?

Q1 - Have you ever had that moment of euphoria like Ron is at the moment?

Q2 - Were you guys studyers?

•  ʹBut I daresay the Ministry of Magic will track him down soon enough.ʹ  ʹI doubt it,ʹ shouted tiny Professor Marchbanks, ʹnot if Dumbledore doesnʹt want to be found! I should know… examined him personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did NEWTs… did things with a wand Iʹd never seen before.ʹ 

Q3 - Who after Dumbledore is the best witch or wizard?

• The first question: a) Give the incantation and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly. Harry had a fleeting memory of a club soaring high into the air and landing loudly on the thick skull of a troll… smiling slightly, he bent over the paper and began to write.

Q4 - Is Harry going to get high marks?

• ʹWell, we were always going to fail that one,ʹ said Ron gloomily as they ascended the marble staircase. He had just made Harry feel rather better by telling him how he had told the examiner in detail about the ugly man with a wart on his nose in his crystal ball, only to look up and realize he had been describing his examinerʹs reflection.

Q5 - Why are they sacking Hagrid so late?

Q6 - What do you think of the whole sacking of Hagrid?

Q7 - In your opinion, did wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots of the eighteenth century?

Q8 - Harry mentions Legilimency for this exam, would that work?

• But there was a shape on the floor at the very end, a black shape moving on the floor like a wounded animal… Harryʹs stomach contracted with fear… with excitement… A voice issued from his own mouth, a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness… Take it for me… lift it down, now… I cannot touch it… but you can The black shape on the floor shifted a little. Harry saw a long‐fingered white hand clutching a wand rise at the end of his own arm… heard the high, cold voice say ʹCrucio!ʹ  The man on the floor let out a scream of pain, attempted to stand but fell back, writhing. Harry was laughing. He raised his wand, the curse lifted and the figure groaned and became motionless. ʹLord Voldemort is waiting Very slowly, his arms trembling, the man on the ground raised his shoulders a few inches and lifted his head. His face was bloodstained and gaunt, twisted in pain yet rigid with defiance… ʹYouʹll have to kill me,ʹ whispered Sirius. ʹUndoubtedly I shall in the end,ʹ said the cold voice. ʹBut you will fetch it for me first, Black… you think you have felt pain thus far? Think again… we have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear you scream…ʹ  But somebody screamed as Voldemort lowered his wand again; somebody yelled and fell sideways off a hot desk on to the cold stone floor; Harry awoke as he hit the ground, still yelling, his scar on fire, as the Great Hall erupted all around him.

Q9 - What do you think is happening?

• ʹI donʹt wonder youʹre shocked, Potter,ʹ said Madam Pomfrey, with a kind of fierce approval in her face. ʹAs if one of them could have Stunned Minerva McGonagall face‐on by daylight! Cowardice, . thatʹs what it was… despicable cowardice… if I wasnʹt worried what would happen to you students without me, Iʹd resign in protest.ʹ 

Q1 - What should the teachers do here?

Q2 - Are Ron and Hermione wrong to be questioning Harry here? Has Harry proved himself untrustworthy?

• ʹOK,ʹ she said, looking frightened yet determined, ʹIʹve just got to say this ‐ʹ  ʹWhat?ʹ  ʹYou… this isnʹt a criticism, Harry! But you do… sort of… I mean ‐ donʹt you think youʹve got a bit of a ‐ a ‐ saving‐people thing!ʹ she said.

Q3 - Is she right here?

• ʹIʹm trying to say ‐ Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, itʹs the kind of thing he does, he knows youʹre the ‐ the sort of person whoʹd go to Siriusʹs aid! What if heʹs just trying to get you into the Department of Myst—?ʹ

Q4 - Is she right here?

• ʹWeʹll have to use Umbridgeʹs fire and see if we can contact him,ʹ said Hermione, who looked positively terrified at the thought. ʹWeʹll draw Umbridge away again, but weʹll need lookouts, and thatʹs where we can use Ginny and Luna.ʹ  Though clearly struggling to understand what was going on, Ginny said immediately, ʹYeah, weʹll do it,ʹ and Luna said, ʹWhen you say ʺSiriusʺ, are you talking about Stubby Boardman?ʹ

Q5 - Is this a good plan?

• ʹWhereʹs Sirius, Kreacher?ʹ Harry demanded. The house‐elf gave a wheezy chuckle. ʹMaster has gone out, Harry Potter.ʹ  ʹWhereʹs he gone? Whereʹs he gone, Kreacher?ʹ  Kreacher merely cackled. ʹIʹm warning you!ʹ said Harry, fully aware that his scope for inflicting punishment upon Kreacher was almost non‐existent in this position. ʹWhat about Lupin? Mad‐Eye? Any of them, are any of them there?ʹ  ʹNobody here but Kreacher!ʹ said the elf gleefully and turning away from Harry he began to walk slowly towards the door at the end of the kitchen. ʹKreacher thinks he will have a little chat with his mistress now, yes, he hasnʹt had a chance in a long time, Kreacherʹs master has been keeping him away from her ‐ʹ  ʹWhere has Sirius gone?ʹ Harry yelled after the elf. ʹKreacher, has he gone to the Department of Mysteries?ʹ  Kreacher stopped in his tracks. Harry could just make out the back of his bald head through the forest of chair legs before him. ʹMaster does not tell poor Kreacher where he is going,ʹ said the elf quietly. ʹBut you know!ʹ shouted Harry. ʹDonʹt you? You know where he is!ʹ  There was a momentʹs silence, then the elf let out his loudest cackle yet. ʹMaster will not come back from the Department of Mysteries!ʹ he said gleefully. ʹKreacher and his mistress are alone again!ʹ 

Q6 - Will Sirius not come back from the Department of Mysteries?

• Snape gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave. Harry knew his last chance of letting the Order know what was going on was walking out of the door. ʹHeʹs got Padfoot!ʹ he shouted. ʹHeʹs got Padfoot at the place where itʹs hidden!ʹ  Snape had stopped with his hand on Umbridges door handle. ʹPadfoot?ʹ cried Professor Umbridge, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. ʹWhat is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?ʹ  Snape looked round at Harry. His face was inscrutable. Harry could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he did not dare speak more plainly in front of Umbridge. ʹI have no idea,ʹ said Snape coldly.

Q7 - Is Snape good or bad?

Q8 - What do you think about the reveal that she was the one who sent Dementors to little whinging?

Q9 - She was going to use the Cruciatus curse?!

Q10 - What is Hermine leading them to?

• ʹCan we have your wand, then, if weʹre going first?ʹ Harry asked her. ʹNo, I donʹt think so, Mr Potter,ʹ said Umbridge sweetly, poking him in the back with it. The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, Iʹm afraid.ʹ 

Q1 - If you were leading Umbridge into the woods, where would you take her?

• But as he stretched out a hand towards it, a centaurʹs hoof descended upon the wand and it broke cleanly in half. ʹNow!ʹ roared a voice in Harryʹs ear and a thick hairy arm descended from thin air and dragged him upright. Hermione, too, had been pulled to her feet. Over the plunging, many‐coloured backs and heads of the centaurs, Harry saw Umbridge being borne away through the trees by Bane. Screaming non‐stop, her voice grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer hear it over the trampling of hooves surrounding them.

Q2 - Is this the end of Umbridge magical journey?

Q3 - Will she be back in this book?

• He opened his mouth even wider. ʹHagger.ʹ  Harry did not know what ʹhaggerʹ meant, or what language it was from.

Q4 - Is Harry the dumbest person in this book?

• ʹExcuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!ʹ said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking. ʹYouʹre too ‐ʹ Harry began, but Ginny said fiercely, ʹIʹm three years older than you were when you fought You‐Know‐Who over the Philosopherʹs Stone, and itʹs because of me that Malfoyʹs stuck back in Umbridgeʹs office with giant flying bogies attacking him ‐ʹ  ʹYeah, but ‐ʹ  ʹWe were all in the DA together,ʹ said Neville quietly. ʹIt was all supposed to be about fighting You‐Know‐Who, wasnʹt it? And this is the first chance weʹve had to do something real ‐ or was that all just a game or something?ʹ  ʹNo — of course it wasnʹt ‐ʹ said Harry impatiently. Then we should come too,ʹ said Neville simply. ʹWe want to help.ʹ  Thatʹs right,ʹ said Luna, smiling happily. Harryʹs eyes met Ronʹs. He knew Ron was thinking exactly what he was: if he could have chosen any members of the DA, in addition to himself, Ron and Hermione, to join him in the attempt to rescue Sirius, he would not have picked Ginny, Neville or Luna.

Q5 - Who is your starting three from the DA?

Q6 - Have your thoughts on Thestrals changed?