Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

June 2018: Despite the lack of sustained anger and grief I find this book more devastating than OotP. Dumbledore dying is much more of a gut punch than Sirius. Because Dumbledore is the last line of defense before Harry is untethered and alone (we’ll still with Ron and Hermione. Speaking of “Ron and Hermione” that last line is perfect), his death further solidified the awfulness of Sirius dying.
Again I loved the plotting of these books. One day I really am going to diagram them. It makes me wonder about what I would have guessed if I had read these books when I was older. Of course, I would not trade my reading experience for anything. It is just interesting to think about.
Back to Dumbledore. One of my most vivid HP theorizing memories was me pacing around my dining room table and laying beneath it while taking on the phone with Keighly, my childhood best friend, and fellow Potter addict, we were discussing who would die in book six, JKR said someone would die. One of us said “Dumbledore?” We were both silent for a moment before both deciding that that was categorically impossible. We were children and did not know the ‘mentor always dies’ thing. And also we loved him the way all the characters did, and we viewed him as impenetrable as they did. Obviously all of this also is distracted how real they felt on our minds. The consequences of who would die had a great emotional impact. Though I did not cry when reading it I don’t think. I think I only cried once in book seven on my first reading. Reading this book this go around I cried at least 3 times (mostly in chapter 29, because it is wonderful and horrible. “I feel that is a single pupil wants to come, then the school ought to remain open for that pupil.” Sprout made me 😭😭😭 “Professor Dumbledore always valued your opinion and so do I.” 😭😭😭).
I love this book so much. I love a lot of books. But nothing else is really in me the way this series is. It has sunken into my mind so deeply that I genuinely feel that if someone does not love this story they do not have the ability to really know me. Which sounds sentimental and ethereal in a way I normally find repulsive. But I guess Dumbledore’s talk of love had to have worked its way into my review somehow. I am like 100% sure I couldn’t marry someone who hadn’t read Harry Potter. But also reading Harry Potter for me would be romantic as fuck. I’m looking at you, Jake and Amy. That was cute as fuck.
My review has gone off the rails again. I will end saying I can’t wait for Deathly Hallows. And I’m so sad it is going to end. Again. *wizard rock plays in my mind*