100-671: The Harry Potter universe contains numerous settings for the events in the novels , films and other media. These locations are divided into four categories: Residences, Education, Commerce, and Government. The home of the Weasley family is known as the Burrow. It is located outside the village of Ottery St Catchpole in Devon , England, near the homes of the Lovegoods , the Diggorys and
200-475: A Death Eater . If a wizard is unable to Apparate or is travelling with an underage companion, a Portkey can be used. A Portkey is usually an ordinary object that has been enchanted. The user touches the Portkey and uses the charm "Portus" to travel to the desired destination. A Portkey is often a mundane object such as an old boot or tin can, which allows the device to avoid scrutiny from Muggles. Characters in
300-494: A combination of Muggle-repelling charms, illusions, and other protections. Some magical locations, such as the prison Azkaban and the stadium used for the Quidditch World Cup, are rendered "unplottable", meaning they are impossible to locate on a map. The castle of Hogwarts appears as abandoned ruins to any Muggle close enough to see. Some extremist wizards oppose wizard-Muggle marriages, arguing that it dilutes
400-793: A critic for the Chicago Tribune , highlighted the humour found in the novel and claimed it to be the success of the Harry Potter saga. She acknowledged that "the books are dark and scary in places" but "no darkness in Half-Blood Prince ...is so immense that it cannot be rescued by a snicker or a smirk." She considered that Rowling was suggesting difficult times can be worked through with imagination, hope, and humour and compared this concept to works such as Madeleine L'Engle 's A Wrinkle in Time and Kenneth Grahame 's The Wind in
500-725: A crush on Ginny. When Ron is poisoned and admitted to the infirmary, Hermione visits him, which brings an abrupt end to his relationship with Lavender. Harry discards his Potions textbook after he nearly kills Draco with one of the Prince's scribbled spells. Later, Harry's luck potion helps him obtain Slughorn's memory and causes Ginny to break up with her boyfriend Dean Thomas , which allows Harry to start seeing her instead. Slughorn's memory suggests that Voldemort created six Horcruxes, though Dumbledore explains that two are already destroyed. He asks Harry to accompany him to retrieve another. In
600-539: A delegation of students from Beauxbatons arrives at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. Beauxbatons is described as a boarding school located in the Pyrenees mountains. The school has a preponderance of French students, although students from Spain, Portugal, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium also attend in large numbers. The headmistress of Beauxbatons is Olympe Maxime , and the school's champion in
700-537: A different aspect of the ideal wizard. Mahoutokoro is the smallest wizarding school, and is located in Japan. Students wear enchanted robes which grow in size with the wearer. The robes change colour, from faint pink to gold, as the wearer increases their knowledge of magic. The students of Mahoutokoro are known for their academic prowess and skill at Quidditch. According to the Wizarding World website, Uagadou
800-773: A few of the more notable creatures described in the series. The Ministry of Magic is the government of the British wizarding community. The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, first appears in Chamber of Secrets . Young wizards in Britain usually attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Following completion of a Hogwarts education, there is no standard tertiary education, and there are no known wizard universities. Successful Hogwarts students are considered ready to function as adults, though some wizarding professions require special training programmes after Hogwarts. These include
900-629: A life-sized game of Wizard's Chess, which Harry wins thanks to Ron's skill at the game. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a fantasy novel written by the British author J. K. Rowling . It is the sixth novel in the Harry Potter series, and takes place during Harry Potter 's sixth year at the wizard school Hogwarts . The novel reveals events from
1000-472: A new charge of gloom and darkness. I felt depressed by the time I was two-thirds of the way through." She also compared the setting to Charles Dickens 's depictions of London as it was "brooding, broken, gold-lit, as living a character as any other." Christopher Paolini called the darker tone "disquieting" because it was so different from the earlier books. Liesl Schillinger, a contributor to The New York Times book review , also noted that Half-Blood Prince
1100-406: A path to Diagon Alley. When we first see The Leaky Cauldron in the first film and book (depending on which one, as there are slight differences between the two) when Harry and Hagrid are setting off to gather school supplies. Diagon Alley is a London high street that is accessible to wizards but hidden from Muggles. It contains Gringotts Wizarding Bank and various types of shops. Knockturn Alley
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#17327799832881200-491: A print run of about 100,000 copies. Bloomsbury later released a paperback "Special Edition" on 6 July 2009 and a "Signature Edition" paperback on 1 November 2010. The film adaptation of the sixth book was originally scheduled to be released on 21 November 2008 but was changed to 15 July 2009. Directed by David Yates , the screenplay was adapted by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron . The film grossed over $ 934 million worldwide, which made it
1300-444: A quarter Veela ; Rubeus Hagrid , who is half- giant ; and Filius Flitwick , who has goblin ancestry. Prejudiced wizards sometimes use the derogatory term "half-breed" to refer to mixed-species individuals. The Harry Potter universe is home to many magical creatures. Some are derived from real-world folklore and mythology, while others were created by Rowling. Some are modified versions of creatures from real-world lore. Below are
1400-565: A recipient. A Patronus is conjured with the Patronus Charm and is primarily used to repel Dementors . It can also be used for communication by a talented wizard. Albus Dumbledore devised a method of using Patronuses to deliver vocal messages, which he used in the service of Order of the Phoenix . Minerva McGonagall is the only character in the series who demonstrates the ability to project multiple message-carrying Patronuses. While
1500-459: A remote cave, Harry and Dumbledore overcome many obstacles before seizing the Horcrux . Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore unexpectedly immobilizes Harry under his invisibility cloak . A group of Death Eaters arrives with Draco, who falters in an attempt to kill Dumbledore. Snape then casts the killing curse on Dumbledore and sends him falling to his death. Harry tries to fight Snape as he flees, but
1600-524: A shop known for its connection to the Dark Arts . At Hogwarts, the students learn that Slughorn will be teaching Potions , while Snape will be taking over Defence Against the Dark Arts . For Slughorn's first class, Harry and Ron borrow a pair of old textbooks. Harry's textbook previously belonged to someone known as "The Half-Blood Prince", and it contains many helpful tips. Following the instructions of
1700-498: A society of wizards that live parallel to Muggles. The wizarding world is described as a veiled society wherein magic is commonly used and practised; the wizards live in self-enforced seclusion and hide their abilities from Muggles. The novels are set in 1990s Britain, which contains both Muggle and wizard communities. Any new works taking place in this universe are released under the Wizarding World brand. The plot of
1800-495: A solid barrier between platforms 9 and 10. After the Harry Potter novels were published, Rowling found that she had confused the layout of King's Cross with that of Euston station . During production of the Harry Potter films, the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel , which is part of St Pancras station , was used for King's Cross station. A plaque depicting the supposed location Platform 9¾
1900-421: A wall between Platforms 9 and 10, which visitors can "walk through" to access Platform 9¾. Fictional universe of Harry Potter The fictional universe of the Harry Potter series of novels contains two distinct societies: the "wizarding world" and the " Muggle world". The term "Muggle world" refers to a society inhabited by non-magical people ("Muggles"), while the term "wizarding world" refers to
2000-501: A wizard's soul. Dumbledore wants to see the memory as it appears in Slughorn's mind, and asks Harry to retrieve it from him. Harry joins the Slug Club, a group of Slughorn's famous, talented and well-connected students. Hermione and Ginny also attend the club, which causes Ron to feel left out. He accepts an invitation from Hermione to Slughorn's Christmas party, but upsets her when he kisses Lavender Brown . Meanwhile, Harry develops
2100-599: Is Quidditch, which is a team sport played up in the air on broomsticks . Every House at Hogwarts has a Quidditch team and competes in the Quidditch Cup. Outside of Hogwarts, the Quidditch World Cup is a major international event that draws teams and spectators from countries around the world. Wizard's Chess is a version of chess played with pieces that are magically animated. In Philosopher's Stone , Harry, Ron and Hermione become human chess pieces in
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#17327799832882200-527: Is a Squib who was placed in Little Whinging by Dumbledore to keep an eye on Harry. Scenes set at the Dursley residence in the film adaptation of Philosopher's Stone were filmed at 12 Picket Post Close in the city of Bracknell . Filming for subsequent films took place on a constructed set at Leavesden Film Studios , which proved to be cheaper than filming on location. Number 12, Grimmauld Place
2300-538: Is a magazine first mentioned in Order of the Phoenix . It is edited by Xenophilius Lovegood and often prints articles about conspiracy theories and cryptozoology . In Order of the Phoenix , Hermione blackmails Rita Skeeter into writing an article about Harry's encounter with Voldemort. The interview is published by Xenophilius, and he later sells it to the Daily Prophet . The most popular wizard radio station
2400-478: Is a prison for criminals of the British and Irish wizarding world. According to Half-Blood Prince , Azkaban is located somewhere in the North Sea. It is guarded by Dementors , which render the inmates incapable of happiness. According to Sirius Black, many inmates simply stop eating and eventually die of starvation. It was considered impossible to escape from Azkaban until Sirius managed to do it. Performing any of
2500-431: Is also portrayed as an inborn ability of individuals. This organic ability can be honed and mastered through study and practice. Wizards expend a great deal of effort keeping Muggles unaware of magic and the wizarding world. The novels explain that in the past, the two worlds co-existed. Over the centuries, persecution of wizards by Muggles resulted in the creation of laws designed to keep the wizarding world hidden, such as
2600-568: Is an American school of magic. It first appeared in a short story by J. K. Rowling in 2016, and was subsequently depicted in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them . The school was founded in the seventeenth century by Isolt Sayre in Adams, Massachusetts . It is located on Mount Greylock and is concealed from Muggles with enchantments. Like Hogwarts, Ilvermorny is divided into four houses. The Ilvermorny houses are Horned Serpent , Pukwudgie , Thunderbird and Wampus , each said to represent
2700-624: Is described in the novels as a dark and seedy alleyway diagonal to Diagon Alley. Many of the shops in Knockturn Alley, such as Borgin and Burkes , are devoted to the Dark Arts . Objects that have appeared in Borgin and Burkes include a cursed opal necklace, a Hand of Glory , and a Vanishing Cabinet which is used by Draco Malfoy to infiltrate Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince . Voldemort worked at Borgin and Burkes briefly during
2800-492: Is located on a fictional Muggle street called Spinner's End. The street first appears in Half-Blood Prince when Snape is visited by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy . In Deathly Hallows , it is revealed that Snape lived on Spinner's End as a child, and that Lily Potter and Petunia Dursley lived in the same town. The Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is a French magic school. It is first introduced in Goblet of Fire when
2900-455: Is often a mouthpiece for the Ministry of Magic; as described by Rita Skeeter , " The Prophet exists to sell itself!" The Prophet remains respectable for the first three books, but by Goblet of Fire , it has hired Rita Skeeter, an unscrupulous journalist who supplies several thrilling and blatantly false articles. When Minister Fudge takes the stance of firmly denying Voldemort's return,
3000-422: Is overpowered. Snape reveals himself as the Half-Blood Prince and brags about creating the spells Harry is using. After Snape escapes, Harry discovers that the Horcrux he obtained is fake. He resolves to find and destroy all the remaining Horcruxes, and Ron and Hermione pledge to join him. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth novel in the Harry Potter series. The first novel, Harry Potter and
3100-421: Is quite difficult to Apparate; therefore underage wizards and witches are forbidden to do it. There are many examples of failed Apparition attempts made by people who have not passed their "Apparition test", which is like a Muggle driving test. If not Apparating correctly, a person may lose a body part in the process, referred to as "splinching". In Deathly Hallows , Ron gets splinched after being grabbed by Yaxley,
Places in Harry Potter - Misplaced Pages Continue
3200-457: Is raised from infancy by his aunt Petunia Dursley and his uncle Vernon Dursley at Number 4, Privet Drive. The house is located in the fictional town of Little Whinging, which is south of London in the county of Surrey . Albus Dumbledore explains to Harry that when his mother sacrificed herself to save him, an "ancient magic" was created that protects Harry while he lives with her sister Petunia. Unbeknownst to Harry, his neighbour Arabella Figg
3300-531: Is revealed that the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald attended Durmstrang. Several writers have commented on the depiction of the Durmstrang students. The British journalist Julia Eccleshare has claimed that the Durmstrang delegation is depicted as dishonest and untrustworthy. Marek Oziewicz called Durmstrang a "medley of scary stereotypes" of Eastern Europe. Christina Flotmann wrote that the first appearance of
3400-624: Is the Wizarding Wireless Network . Harry learns about the wizarding band The Weird Sisters from his peers who listen to the WWN. In Deathly Hallows , Ron introduces Harry and Hermione to Potterwatch, an underground anti-Voldemort radio program. Butterbeer is a drink popular with young wizards. It can be served cold or hot, but either way it has a warming effect. Rowling said she imagines it tastes like "less-sickly" butterscotch . The Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed area at
3500-623: Is the London home of the Black family . In the fifth novel, it is selected as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix . A house-elf named Kreacher inhabits the house. In Half-Blood Prince , Harry learns that he has inherited the property from his deceased godfather Sirius Black, and he donates it to the Order. In Deathly Hallows , Grimmauld Place becomes a sanctuary for Harry, Ron, and Hermione while they are hiding from Voldemort. Shell Cottage
3600-565: Is the home of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour after they get married. It overlooks a beach outside the village of Tinworth in Cornwall county. The cottage serves as a hiding place for Harry and his companions after they escape from Malfoy Manor. After Dobby dies, Harry buries him in the garden. The scenes set at Shell Cottage in the film adaptations of Deathly Hallows were shot on Freshwater West beach in Wales. The house of Severus Snape
3700-496: Is the oldest of several African wizarding schools, and the largest wizarding school in the world. Its precise location is unknown. The Leaky Cauldron is described as a dark and shabby pub and inn, located on the Muggle street Charing Cross Road in London. The Leaky Cauldron is a way of entering Diagon Alley from the Muggle world. The rear of the pub opens onto a courtyard, in which a particular brick must be tapped three times to open
3800-501: Is the term applied to a person who is born to magical parents, but has no magical abilities. The only Squibs mentioned in the novels are Argus Filch , Arabella Figg , and a cousin of Molly Weasley . Unlike Muggles, Squibs are aware of the wizarding world and can see magical places (such as Hogwarts) and magical creatures (such as Dementors). Some wizards are the offspring of unions between humans and magical creatures. Examples include Fleur Delacour and her sister Gabrielle, who are both
3900-484: Is the term applied to a wizard whose parents are Muggles. Pure-blood supremacists often use the derogatory term "Mudblood" to refer to a Muggle-born wizard. When Voldemort returns to power, Muggle-borns are required by law to register with the Ministry of Magic. Under Voldemort's leadership, the Department of Mysteries claims that Muggle-borns acquire their magical ability by stealing magic from "real" wizards. "Squib"
4000-635: Is truly "pure", but those who wish to claim purity deny the existence of Muggles and Squibs in their ancestry. Some families inbreed to maintain blood purity, which can result in offspring with mental instability and violent natures. "Half-blood" is the term applied to wizards who have both magical and Muggle ancestors. Half-blood is the most common blood status, far outnumbering pure-bloods and Muggle-borns. Rowling has stated that fifty per cent of first-year Hogwarts students each year are half-bloods. Pure-blood supremacists view half-bloods as inferior to them but superior to Muggles and Muggle-borns. "Muggle-born"
4100-463: The Harry Potter series occurs between 1991 and 1998. The exceptions are the opening chapter of the first novel, which takes place in 1981, and the epilogue of the seventh novel, which takes place in 2017. At various points throughout the Harry Potter timeline, flashbacks and flash-forwards depict time periods ranging from the 1920s to the 2020s. The depiction of the wizarding world is centred on magic , which not only imbues objects such as wands , but
Places in Harry Potter - Misplaced Pages Continue
4200-467: The Prophet initiates a smear campaign against Dumbledore and Harry, the most influential proponents of the opposing view. After Fudge is forced to admit that Voldemort has returned, the Prophet changes its stance overnight, calling Harry "a lone voice of truth". According to Rowling, Ginny Weasley becomes Senior Quidditch correspondent at the Prophet after the events of the novels. The Quibbler
4300-551: The Unforgivable Curses on a human is punishable by a life sentence in the prison, although there are occasions when Aurors are allowed to perform those curses. Following Voldemort's demise, Kingsley Shacklebolt becomes Minister of Magic and ends the use of Dementors at Azkaban. The Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) is the magical body in charge of governing the wizarding population of
4400-715: The Universal Orlando resort sells a line of food and beverages inspired by Butterbeer, and the Jelly Belly candy company has produced Butterbeer-inspired sweets. The celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal created a version of the drink for his show "Heston's Tudor Feast". Many types of magical sweets are mentioned in the series. Some have bizarre side effects, particularly those created by Fred and George Weasley . Chocolate Frogs are packaged with collectible cards depicting famous wizards. According to Rowling, Harry and his friends are featured on Chocolate Frog cards after
4500-412: The Wizarding World website, Durmstrang is located in the "far Northern reaches of Europe". The school's headmaster is the former Death Eater Igor Karkaroff , and the novel reveals that Durmstrang students are instructed in the Dark Arts . Durmstrang is portrayed as an all-boys school in the film adaptation of Goblet of Fire , but is depicted as co-educational in the novel. In Deathly Hallows , it
4600-502: The "purity" of wizard blood. These extremists use the term "pure-blood" to refer to a wizard who has very little Muggle blood in their ancestry, or who claims to have none at all. Pure-blood supremacists believe that blood purity is a measure of a wizard's magical ability, although Ron Weasley refutes this idea by pointing to the existence of so-called pure-blood wizards with low magical skills. He also claims that "most wizards these days are half-blood". J. K. Rowling stated that no bloodline
4700-549: The 1940s. The shop is owned by Caractacus Burke and Mr. Borgin, though Mr. Borgin is the only owner to appear in the novels and films. Hogsmeade Village, or simply Hogsmeade, is a wizarding village located near Hogwarts . It primarily consists of a single thoroughfare called High Street, which is home to shops, cafés and pubs. Hogwarts students who are in their third year or above are permitted to visit Hogsmeade during scheduled weekends. Places in Hogsmeade Azkaban
4800-606: The Canadian writer's review on its website at 9:00 that morning. Commentary was also provided on the Raincoast website. Some reviewers noted that Half-Blood Prince contained a darker tone than the previous Potter novels. The Christian Science Monitor 's reviewer Yvonne Zipp argued the first half contained a lighter tone to soften the unhappy ending. The Boston Globe reviewer Liz Rosenberg wrote, "lightness [is] slimmer than ever in this darkening series...[there is]
4900-554: The Deathly Hallows , Harry uses a shard of his broken mirror to call for help from the Malfoys' cellar, and later finds out that Aberforth Dumbledore had been watching over Harry using Sirius' mirror, which he obtained from Mundungus Fletcher. Apparating is disappearing from a place and appearing almost instantly in another. Wizards and witches often Apparate to their destinations, which is quite similar to teleportation. It
5000-535: 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
5100-598: The Durmstrang delegation links the school with "sinister literary tropes such as the Flying Dutchman ." She also suggested that the name Durmstrang sounds dark and threatening. The name of the school is likely a play on the German phrase Sturm und Drang , meaning storm and stress . Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a British school of magic . It is the primary setting for the first six Harry Potter novels. Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
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#17327799832885200-549: The Fawcetts. The Burrow is used as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix in Deathly Hallows . The dilapidated house has seven floors and remains standing only through the use of magic. Godric's Hollow is a fictional West Country wizarding village where Lily and James Potter lived with their infant son Harry . It has been a home to Albus Dumbledore , Bathilda Bagshot and Godric Gryffindor , for whom it
5300-575: The Floo Network is intended for use as a method of transport, it also occasionally serves as a method of communication. A wizard can throw a pinch of Floo Powder into a lit fireplace connected to the Network and put their head into the flames, causing it to appear in the fireplace of the wizard with whom they intend to speak. This use of the Network is first seen in Goblet of Fire when Harry observes
5400-597: The Goblet of Fire , a discussion is held around the politics of importing flying carpets . Thestrals are winged horses which can only be seen by those who have experienced loss through death. They pull the Hogwarts school carriages and can also be tamed and ridden. The Daily Prophet is the most widely read daily newspaper in Britain's wizard community. Its journalistic integrity is lacking; it has been known to be more concerned about sales than about factual accuracy and
5500-674: The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692. Enchantment of Muggle artefacts is forbidden, underage wizards are restricted from using magic outside of school, and any deliberate revelation of magical ability to the Muggle community is punishable. These laws are enforced by the British Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards. There are some exceptions: Muggle relatives of British wizards are allowed to know about
5600-459: The Philosopher's Stone , was originally published by Bloomsbury in 1997. Philosopher's Stone was followed by Chamber of Secrets (1998), Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Goblet of Fire (2000), and Order of the Phoenix (2003). Half-Blood Prince was followed by the final novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . Half-Blood Prince sold 9 million copies in
5700-549: The Phoenix states that the manor is located in Wiltshire . In Deathly Hallows , Voldemort uses Malfoy Manor as his headquarters and imprisons Luna Lovegood , Dean Thomas , Mr. Ollivander and Griphook in the basement. When Snatchers capture Harry , Ron , and Hermione , they are also imprisoned in the manor. Some scenes set at Malfoy Manor in the Harry Potter films were shot at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. Harry
5800-399: The Prince, Harry becomes an expert potion brewer. He rises to the top of the class and wins a vial of the luck potion Felix Felicis. Dumbledore prepares Harry for his eventual battle with Voldemort by educating him about Voldemort's past as Tom Riddle. While a student at Hogwarts, Riddle had asked Slughorn about objects called Horcruxes , which can grant immortality by encasing fragments of
5900-497: The Triwizard Tournament is Fleur Delacour. In the film adaptation of Goblet of Fire , all Beauxbatons students are female, while in the novel the school is co-educational . Beauxbatons translates from French as "beautiful sticks". The depiction of French students in the Harry Potter series has been described as stereotypical by several scholars. Marek Oziewicz has called the Beauxbatons delegation "homogeneous" and lacking
6000-539: The United States. The MACUSA is led by a President and is located in the Woolworth Building in downtown New York City. The Ministry of Magic is the government of the wizarding community of Britain and Ireland. St Mungo's Hospital is a wizarding hospital in the Harry Potter universe. It is located in London. Nurmengard is a prison that the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald built to incarcerate Muggles and foes. After Albus Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald,
6100-507: The West Country. Many wizarding homes in Harry Potter are depicted as being on the outskirts of a Muggle town. Only one settlement in Britain, the village of Hogsmeade , is home to an entirely magical population. The wizarding high street Diagon Alley lies in central London, just off Charing Cross Road . The Hogwarts Express train departs from King's Cross station using the fictional Platform 9¾ . Magical locations are hidden by
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#17327799832886200-471: The Willows . Rosenberg wrote that the two main themes of Half-Blood Prince were love and death and praised Rowling's "affirmation of their central position in human lives." She considered love to be represented in several forms: the love of parent to child, teacher to student, and the romances that developed between the main characters. Zipp noted trust and redemption to be themes promising to continue in
6300-758: The Year Award and the 2006 Royal Mail Award for Scottish Children's Books for ages 8–12 in its native United Kingdom. In the United States, the American Library Association listed it among its 2006 Best Books for Young Adults. It won both the 2005 reader-voted Quill Awards for Best Book of the Year and Best Children's Book. It also won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Seal for notable book. Before publication, 1.4 million pre-orders were placed for Half-Blood Prince on Amazon.com , breaking
6400-554: The book on 30% recycled paper. In early July 2005, a Real Canadian Superstore in Coquitlam , British Columbia, Canada, accidentally sold fourteen copies of The Half-Blood Prince before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books , obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court of British Columbia that prohibited the purchasers from reading the books before the official release date or discussing
6500-611: The book received a 77 out of 100 based on 23 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Liesl Schillinger of The New York Times praised the novel's various themes and suspenseful ending. However, she considered Rowling's gift "not so much for language as for characterisation and plotting." Kirkus Reviews said it "will leave readers pleased, amused, excited, scared, infuriated, delighted, sad, surprised, thoughtful and likely wondering where Voldemort has got to, since he appears only in flashbacks." They considered Rowling's "wry wit" to turn into "outright merriment" but called
6600-438: The climax "tragic, but not uncomfortably shocking." Yvonne Zipp of The Christian Science Monitor praised the way Rowling evolved Harry into a teenager and how the plot threads found as far back as Chamber of Secrets came into play. On the other hand, she noted it "gets a little exposition -heavy in spots," and older readers may have seen the ending coming. The Boston Globe correspondent Liz Rosenberg wrote, "The book bears
6700-464: The contents. Purchasers were offered Harry Potter T-shirts and autographed copies of the book if they returned their copies before 16 July. On 15 July, less than twelve hours before the book went on sale in the Eastern time zone , Raincoast warned The Globe and Mail newspaper that publishing a review from a Canada-based writer at midnight, as the paper had promised, would be seen as a violation of
6800-481: The cultural diversity of Hogwarts. Christina Flotmann claimed that the contrast depicted between Beauxbatons and Hogwarts functions as an allusion to a historical competition between the "sober and proper" England and the "immoral and decadent" France. Castelobruxo ( / k æ s t ɛ l oʊ b r uː ʃ uː / ) is a Brazilian school of magic that specialises in Magizoology and Herbology . The exact location of
6900-473: The early life of Lord Voldemort , and chronicles Harry's preparations for the final battle against him. 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
7000-408: The events of the novels. Both Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans have been manufactured in the real world. The Bertie Bott's Beans produced by Jelly Belly include flavours such as black pepper, dirt, earwax, grass, sausage, soap, and vomit. The Hershey company has also produced various candy items based on Harry Potter. The most prominent sport in the Harry Potter universe
7100-425: The final book, which she thought "would add a greater layer of nuance and complexity to some characters who could sorely use it." Deepti Hajela also pointed out Harry's character development, that he was "no longer a boy wizard; he's a young man, determined to seek out and face a young man's challenges." Paolini had similar views, claiming, "the children have changed...they act like real teenagers." On Metacritic ,
7200-424: The first 24 hours of its worldwide release . Rowling stated that she had Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince "planned for years," but she spent two months revisiting her plan before she began writing the story's first draft. This was a lesson learned after she did not check the plan for Goblet of Fire and had to rewrite an entire third of the book. She started writing the book before her second child, David,
7300-509: The first nine weeks of publication, 11 million copies of the US edition were reported to have been sold. The US audiobook, read by Jim Dale , set sales records with 165,000 sold over two days, besting the adaptation of Order of the Phoenix by twenty percent. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published simultaneously in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Along with
7400-561: The former Hogwarts headmaster Phineas Nigellus travels between Dumbledore's office and his other portrait in Grimmauld Place. Another form of closed communication used in the books and films is a set of mirrors that belonged to Sirius Black. Sirius gives Harry one mirror in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , with a note explaining to Harry that Sirius and James Potter used to use the mirrors to talk to each other when they were put in separate detentions. In Harry Potter and
7500-476: The gold Galleon, the silver Sickle, and the bronze Knut. The wizarding world does have at least one train, the Hogwarts Express , which is pulled by a steam locomotive. The novels depict wizards using radio but not television. The wizarding world of the Harry Potter universe is embedded within the Muggle world. Wizards often live in magical enclaves within Muggle villages, such as Godric's Hollow in
7600-506: The graveyard where Voldemort is restored to bodily form in Goblet of Fire . On a hill above the village is the former estate of the Riddle family , where Voldemort killed his father, his grandparents and the Muggle gardener Frank Bryce . Also nearby is the former home of the Gaunt family . Malfoy Manor is the home of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and their son Draco . The novel Order of
7700-732: The head of Amos Diggory in the Weasleys' fireplace. Harry uses this method to communicate with Sirius Black on several occasions during the series. Voldemort uses a method of communication called the Dark Mark, which is like a brand on the inner forearms of the Death Eaters. When the mark is pressed, contact is made with other Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Pressing one's Dark Mark causes every other Death Eater's mark to burn, signalling them to Disapparate from wherever they were and immediately Apparate to Voldemort's side. Hermione uses
7800-409: The internet less than two days after release, long before German translator Klaus Fritz could translate and publish the book. Since its wide hardcover release on 16 July 2005, Half-Blood Prince was released as a paperback on 23 June 2006 in the UK. Two days later on 25 July, the paperback edition was released in Canada and the US, where it had an initial print run of 2 million copies. To celebrate
7900-724: The main themes love, death, trust, and redemption. The considerable character development of Harry and many other teenage characters also drew attention. After his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry has spent two weeks mourning the loss of his godfather, Sirius Black . As Albus Dumbledore escorts him to the Weasley home, they visit the retired Hogwarts professor Horace Slughorn , who agrees to resume teaching. Meanwhile, Bellatrix Lestrange and her sister Narcissa Malfoy convince Severus Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow to protect Narcissa's son Draco at Hogwarts. While out shopping for school supplies, Harry, Ron Weasley , and Hermione Granger observe Draco making inquiries at Borgin and Burkes ,
8000-469: The mark of genius on every page" and praised the imagery and darker tone of the book, considering that the series could be crossing over from fantasy to horror. The Associated Press writer Deepti Hajela praised the newfound emotional tones and ageing Harry to the point at which "younger fans may find [the series] has grown up too much." Emily Green, a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times ,
8100-537: The principle of the Dark Mark in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix . Instead of burning/engraving the message into the members of Dumbledore's Army's skin, she uses fake Galleons which all mimic each other and have messages on the rim. Later Malfoy and Madam Rosmerta, who was under the Imperius Curse, used Galleons to contact each other. Characters painted into magical portraits can carry messages between locations where their portraits hang. For example,
8200-471: The prisoners were released and Grindelwald himself was imprisoned in the top-most cell. In Deathly Hallows , Voldemort arrives at Nurmengard seeking information about the Elder Wand . When Grindelwald refuses to tell him anything, Voldemort kills him. The Hogwarts Express train departs from the fictional Platform 9¾ at King's Cross railway station. The platform is accessed by magically walking through
8300-739: The professions of the Auror and the Healer. In addition to Hogwarts, the novels mention the French wizarding school Beauxbatons and the Northern European school Durmstrang . In 2016, Rowling created four additional schools and described them on the Wizarding World website. These four schools are Ilvermorny (United States), Castelobruxo (Brazil), Mahoutokoro (Japan) and Uagadou (Africa). Wizards use owls to deliver mail, newspapers, and parcels. The novels do not explain how an owl locates
8400-423: The record held by the previous novel, Order of the Phoenix , with 1.3 million. The initial print run for Half-Blood Prince was a record-breaking 10.8 million. Within the first 24 hours after release, the book sold 9 million copies worldwide: 2 million in the UK and about 6.9 million in the US, which prompted Scholastic to rush an additional 2.7 million copies into print. Within
8500-552: The release of the American paperback edition, Scholastic held a six-week sweepstakes event in which participants in an online poll were entered to win prizes. Simultaneous to the original hardcover release was the UK adult edition that featured a new cover and was also released as a paperback on 23 June. Also released on 16 July was the Scholastic "Deluxe Edition," which featured reproductions of Mary GrandPré 's artwork and had
8600-404: The rest of the books in the Harry Potter series , it was eventually translated into 67 languages. However, because of high security surrounding the manuscript, translators did not get to start on translating Half-Blood Prince until its English release date, and the earliest were not expected to be released until the fall of 2005. In Germany, a group of "hobby translators" translated the book via
8700-489: The school is unknown, but it is said to appear to wizards as a golden temple, and to Muggles as nothing more than ruins. Castelobruxo is guarded by magical creatures called Caipora . The Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning is a school that makes its first appearance in Goblet of Fire . Like Beauxbatons , Durmstrang sends a delegation of students to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament . According to
8800-559: The second-highest-grossing film of 2009 worldwide and the fifteenth-highest of all time. Additionally, Half-Blood Prince gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography . A video game adaptation of the book was developed by EA Bright Light Studio and published by Electronic Arts in 2009. The game was available on the Microsoft Windows , Nintendo DS , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation Portable , Wii , Xbox 360 , and macOS platforms. The book
8900-688: The series make use of several magical devices and artefacts to transport themselves within the Wizarding World and to the Muggle world. Among the most common of these objects are broomsticks , the Floo Network (a network of fireplaces magically connected to one another), the Knight Bus , and the Hogwarts Express . Some characters have been known to enchant Muggle vehicles to have magical features, such as Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia or Sirius Black's Flying Motorbike . In Harry Potter and
9000-439: The title of Half-Blood Prince on her website on 24 June 2004. This was the title she had once considered for the second book, Chamber of Secrets , though she decided the information disclosed belonged later on in the story. On 21 December 2004, she announced she had finished writing it, along with the release date of 16 July. Bloomsbury unveiled the cover on 8 March 2005. The record-breaking publication of Half-Blood Prince
9100-399: The trade secret injunction. The injunction sparked a number of news articles alleging that the injunction had restricted fundamental rights. Canadian law professor Michael Geist posted commentary on his blog. Richard Stallman called for a boycott and requested the publisher issue an apology. The Globe and Mail published a review from two UK-based writers in its 16 July edition and posted
9200-426: The wizarding world are depicted as being less-than-modern compared to the Muggle world. Candles are used for illumination instead of electrical or gas lamps, and owls are used to send messages instead of phone calls or emails. Instead of using pens or computers to take notes and write essays, Hogwarts students use ink-dipped quills and parchment. Wizards do not use paper currency, but instead rely on three types of coins:
9300-486: The wizarding world, as is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) depicts wizarding laws in the United States during the 1920s. These laws differ in some ways from those in 1990s Britain. For example, the film reveals that American wizards are forbidden from having any contact or relationships with Muggles. In the Harry Potter series, some aspects of
9400-517: Was "far darker" but "leavened with humor, romance and snappy dialogue." She suggested a connection to the 11 September attacks , as the later, darker novels were written after that event. David Kipen, a critic of the San Francisco Chronicle , considered the "darkness as a sign of our paranoid times" and singled out curfews and searches that were part of the tightened security at Hogwarts as resemblances to our world. Julia Keller,
9500-475: Was "seriously upset" writing the end of the book, although Goblet of Fire was the hardest to write. When asked if she liked the book, she responded, "I like it better than I liked Goblet , Phoenix or Chamber when I finished them. Book six does what I wanted it to do and even if nobody else likes it (and some won't), I know it will remain one of my favourites of the series. Ultimately you have to please yourself before you please anyone else!" Rowling revealed
9600-493: Was accompanied by controversy. In May 2005, bookmakers in the UK suspended bets on which main character would die in the book amid fears of insider knowledge. A number of high-value bets were made on the death of Albus Dumbledore , many coming from the town of Bungay where it was believed the books were being printed at the time. Betting was later reopened. Additionally, in response to Greenpeace 's campaign on using forest-friendly paper for big-name authors, Bloomsbury published
9700-552: Was born, but she took a break to care for him. The first chapter, "The Other Minister", which features meetings between the Muggle Prime Minister , Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge , and his successor, Rufus Scrimgeour , was a concept Rowling tried to start in Philosopher's Stone , Prisoner of Azkaban , and Order of the Phoenix , but she found "it finally works" in Half-Blood Prince . She stated that she
9800-529: Was generally positive about the book but was concerned whether young children could handle the material. Cultural critic Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune called it the "most eloquent and substantial addition to the series thus far" and considered the key to the success of the Potter novels to be humour. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince won several awards, including the 2006 British Book of
9900-514: Was named. At the centre of the village square is a war memorial that magically transforms into a monument to the Potter family. At the end of the main street are the remains of Harry's old home. In Deathly Hallows , Harry discovers that the Godric's Hollow cemetery where his parents are buried also contains the grave of Ignotus Peverell . Little Hangleton is a fictional Muggle village. It contains
10000-594: Was placed on a wall at King's Cross, along with a luggage trolley "stuck" halfway through the wall. A wrought-iron "Platform 9¾" gate used in the film set is preserved at the National Railway Museum . After Alan Rickman 's death in 2016, Harry Potter fans created a memorial to the actor at Platform 9¾. A Harry Potter –themed store is also located in the station near the plaque. There is a replica of King's Cross at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter themed area at Universal Orlando Resort . It features
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