Potions and notions

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 9

A few observations before I get into the stirring part of this chapter.

• Clearly Hermione will be the prefect to fear. Taking Frisbees? Yeah, she would do that.
• Ron is a prefect in name. But in spirit? Not sure yet.
• I rediscovered what N.E.W.T. stands for: Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. That's just what I would've named them.
• And to apparently have time to deal with the workload of N.E.W.T.s they now have free periods. My experience with college students (I was once one too) is that they will often use this time for anything but studying: gaming, show-binging, napping, donut runs, etc. Hogwarts students aren't of college age, but in their world it amounts to the same.
• Snape's description of fighting the Dark Arts is memorable: "... You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible."
• And Harry's slip of the tongue: "There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." Well, let's just say if a student such as Harry said that to me, I would undoubtedly laugh and immediately give 20 points to his dorm.

Chapter titles are meant to tease. But come on. I should've expected not to expect the revealing of the identity of the Half-Blood Prince. I won't guess. Would probably just make myself look silly. And who's to say it's a character we've even met. I need someone to cauldron me up a patience potion.

In these stories it doesn't pay to believe in coincidences. Slughorn just happens to be teaching the class? Harry just happened not to realize he could get into the potions class? Harry just happens to stumble upon an old book that helps him win the "lucky" potion? And the book just happens to have once been the property of the Half-Blood Prince?

Did Harry already drink the lucky potion? I can only assume that this discovery is another step toward Harry's destiny. The Chosen One he is.

Now if I could just whip up a potion that graded papers for me.