An uncertain future

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 30

Funerals and tombs.

Not the most pleasant of topics. But Dumbledore did deserve to be honored. I suppose we needed closure as much as the fictional characters, especially Hagrid. Glad he doesn't just cry over deaths of spiders and assorted other odd creatures.

No word on R.A.B, but I suppose that will come. Perhaps R.A.B. is on the trail of other Horcruxes, and Harry could join him or her in the quest. Every book brings us new characters so why not a reveal of the mysterious R.A.B. in "The Deathly Hallows."

Harry took the big step lots of heroes have taken by breaking up with Ginny to protect her from evil forces. Didn't expect it, but I'm not surprised. Maybe there's a future for them when this ends if Harry lives through it.

Harry sure won't have anything to do with the Ministry of Magic. He sent old Schemegour away in another huff. Takes guts to rebuff the powerful. But Harry, I think, knows the tighter the circle of trust the better. Voldemort surely has spies everywhere as we've seen.

So what happens in "The Deathly Hallows?" Don't tell me. But we know Harry will work hard to find the Horcruxes, hope for an encounter with Snape and make plans for Voldemort. And, I'm quite convinced, there will be more death. I mean, it is called "The Deathly Hallows."

The urgent question, however, was left unanswered at the conclusion on pages 651 and 652. Ron and Hermione assume they will accompany Harry on his quest. He says no. Ron says they're coming anyway. Harry didn't argue.

But the last sentence reveals his thought of one last day of peace with his friends. Is that Bill and Fluer's wedding day and then he's off on his own? Does it mean something else? This is vague.

A Harry Potter book with little to no Ron and Hermione? That's difficult to imagine. But these are the most difficult of times, and difficult times call for sacrifice.

See you soon in Book 7. I'm dying to get started.

Good for you, Harry

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 16

First, another chapter in which we learn unexpected things. Some propel the plot, some just add to our knowledge of the way of life for magical folk or a little of both.

So you die if you break an unbreakable vow. (Did I know this already. Can't remember.) That puts double-agent-man Snape in some tight spots around the Malfoys.

Everyone, it seems, trusts Snape because they trust Dumbledore who trusts Snape. This could put Harry in a tight spot. (I just watched "O, Brother, Where Art Thou," and Everett says "tight spot" like four times in one scene. It's funny.)

Celestina Warbeck punishes magical folk with awful Christmas songs like the one we're forced to hear every December: Last Christmas I gave you my heart, the very next day you gave it away. What does that even mean?

Lupin has been undercover with other werewolves. And the appropriately named Greyback is a general in Voldemort's growing army of mercenaries. Good to know for when the moon is full.

And Lupin, so he says, knows nothing about a Half-Blood Prince.

Second, 100 points to Gryffindor on behalf of Harry for standing up to the scheming Minister of Magic and knowing who to trust. With a name like Rufus Scrimgeour what else would he be but a schemer. The war has three sides: Voldemort/mercenaries, Dumbledore/the Order of the Phoenix and the Minister of Magic/minions.

The Order and the Ministry would presumably be allies. But they're not playing nice right now. The Ministry is building a political house of cards, and no one wants to be aligned with a house destined to collapse. Yes, it will be the Order that brings down Voldemort. And the Ministry of Magic will always be a step (or many steps) behind. But Schemegeour, or whoever replaces him in the meantime, will swoop in to take the credit. That's what my crystal ball says.

Oh, and I wish garden gnomes were real. But I'm not sure why.

Ministers and more Ministers

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 1

As promised, summer is here and so is my determination to finish the Harry Potter series before the end of time. I can't just wave a wand, mutter something like Readus Blogus! and be done.

I wish.

I actually have to read and write a chapter at a time. Don't get me wrong. It's been a fun journey. But compared to how most people have read this series, it's been like the difference between hiking the Appalachian Trail and apparating to anywhere in the world. And you thought Dumbledore's beard took a long time to grow.

But I press on.

My first question: Does the Prime Minister have a book of secrets like the one in the second National Treasure movie? My second: Does the Queen also get magical visits at Buckingham Palace? My Third: What did the Minister of Magic tell Churchill?

Crikey!

If nothing else, Fudge has caught us up on where things stand in the wizarding war of the worlds. Voldemort and his legions are making magical mayhem. And the poor Prime Minister now knows the cause, but he can't tell anyone. Nobody said it would be an easy job.

Now that the Prime Minister of not-so-jolly-old England is in the story I wonder what his role will be.

And what about this new no-nonsense Minister of Magic. Can we trust him? Is he up to the job? And how do you even pronounce Scrimgeour? I'm gonna call him Scrim for short.

And I'm going to stay the course of this long journey. Just gonna take it one chapter at a time.