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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of the boy wizard's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle against Voldemort alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic on 16 July 2005, as well as in several other countries. It sold almost seven million copies in the first 24 hours after its release, a record eventually broken by its sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There were many controversies before and after it was published, including the right-to-read copies delivered before the release date in Canada. Reception to the novel was generally positive, and it won several awards and honours, including the 2006 British Book of the Year award. Reviewers noted that the book had a darker tone than its predecessors, though it did contain some humour. Some considered the main themes love, death, trust, and redemption. The considerable character development of Harry and many other teenage characters also drew attention. Plot New Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, meets with the Muggle prime minister to discuss recent wizarding events affecting the non-magical world. Meanwhile, Harry, grieving his late godfather, Sirius Black, endures another summer at the Dursleys. Dumbledore unexpectedly arrives to escort Harry to the Weasleys' home. First, they visit retired Hogwarts professor Horace Slughorn, whom Dumbledore wants to resume his former post. Slughorn agrees only after meeting the famous Harry Potter. Elsewhere, Bellatrix Lestrange and her sister Narcissa Malfoy secretly seek out Severus Snape at his home. Narcissa asks Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow to protect her son, Draco, and to carry out a task, should he fail. While school shopping in Diagon Alley, Harry, Ron, and Hermione observe Draco suspiciously slipping into Knockturn Alley. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry, wearing his Invisibility Cloak, overhears Draco claim he may not return to Hogwarts the following year to instead, "go on to better things." Harry suspects that Draco may have become a Death Eater. During the Welcome Feast, Slughorn is introduced as the new Potions teacher while Snape is now the Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor. Harry and Ron take Slughorn's advanced potions class. Harry finds a tattered potions textbook bearing the inscription, 'The Half-Blood Prince.' The book contains tips, as well as new spells, scribbled in the book margins that yield better results than the printed instructions. With it, Harry rises to the top of the class and wins a vial of Felix Felicis, a luck-enhancing potion. Hermione says Harry is cheating while Slughorn compares his potions skill to his mother, Lily. Dumbledore begins tutoring Harry on Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort, to prepare him for their foretold battle. He shows Harry memories of Riddle's past, including his meeting young Riddle in an orphanage. One memory from Slughorn's early Hogwarts' days suddenly goes dark when Riddle utters the word, 'horcrux'. This memory has been altered, and Dumbledore tasks Harry with retrieving Slughorn's true one. To that end, Harry attends the Slug Club, an informal group of Slughorn's favourite students. Hermione and Ginny are also included, though Ron is excluded. Hermione invites Ron to Slughorn's Christmas party, but he remains upset about her previous relationship with Viktor Krum and begins seeing Lavender Brown, inducing strong jealousy in Hermione. Harry takes Luna Lovegood to the party but leaves early to follow Draco when he gatecrashes the event. Shortly after, Ron is poisoned drinking mead that Slughorn had intended as a gift for Dumbledore. Ron survives but while he is in the infirmary, Lavender breaks up with him when he favors Hermione. Also, Harry and Ginny become romantically involved. Using the Felix Felicis potion, Harry successfully obtains Slughorn's unaltered memory. It reveals how Tom Riddle created six Horcruxes to become immortal. Horcruxes, magical objects encasing one's soul, are created with ancient dark magic. Two, Riddle's diary and a ring, have been destroyed, but Dumbledore believes four Horcruxes remain. Dumbledore discovers another Horcrux location, and he and Harry journey to a remote cave. Inside, a Horcrux is hidden under protective enchantments in the middle of a lake. Dumbledore nearly dies retrieving a Locket Horcrux. Returning to Hogwarts, Dumbledore and Harry see the Dark Mark hovering above the Astronomy Tower. Atop the tower, they hear footsteps approaching. Dumbledore casts a protective spell on Harry, forcing him to watch helplessly when Draco arrives and disarms Dumbledore. A distressed Draco reveals that Voldemort ordered him to murder Dumbledore. He is unable to follow through, however; Snape arrives and casts the Killing Curse at Dumbledore. Released from Dumbledore's protection, Harry pursues Snape, firing a curse at him. Snape easily deflects it. Snape taunts Harry for using his own spell against him and reveals that he is the Half-Blood Prince. Snape escapes with Draco through the ensuing battle between Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's lifeless body is found at the base of Astronomy Tower. Representatives from all wizarding races attend his funeral. Later, Harry discovers that the Locket Horcrux is fake, switched by someone whose initials are, R.A.B. Ron and Hermione vow to help Harry find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes. To protect Ginny, Harry ends their relationship. Development Franchise Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. The first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was first published by Bloomsbury in 1997, with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, 300 of which were distributed to libraries. By the end of 1997, the UK edition won a National Book Award and a gold medal in the 9- to 11-year-olds category of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was initially published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year later in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8 September 1999. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000 at the same time by Bloomsbury and Scholastic. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the longest novel in the Harry Potter series, was released 21 June 2003. After the publishing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released 21 July 2007. The book sold 11 million copies within 24 hours of its release: 2.7 million copies in the UK and 8.3 million in the US. Ba.... Discover the J K Rowling Klaus Fritz popular books. Find the top 100 most popular J K Rowling Klaus Fritz books.