I am back! And so is Harry!

Whew! It is good to be connected again! I had a few problems with my internet connection for almost a month, and that is why I have not been able to update my blog. My apologies.

Of course, I used the time to do a lot of constructive stuff… getting in touch with my inner self, re-assessing my goals, sorting out my priorities, and basically doing a lot of other impressive-sounding things which basically mean that I have been doing nothing but lazing around. And reading the latest book in the You-Know-Which series in a start-to-finish session. And it was worth it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is snappier and more gripping than the previous installment. Much is revealed, and you find that some events in the previous books were not there just for the heck of it. The connections are shown in an interesting, exciting manner, and the secret of Voldemort’s survival of the Avada Kedavra curse bouncing back onto him is also revealed. So are a few details about Voldemort’s pre-Hogwarts, Hogwarts and post-Hogwarts days. Dumbledore is much closer to Harry than in the previous book (as is obvious from the cover art) and his mastery over ancient magic is shown (not, unfortunately, in duels, though). So is Snape’s cleverness and cunning. There is a new teacher, as expected, and we are shown why the professor teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts never stays for more than one year. There is loyalty, betrayal, love, hatred, luck and bad luck… a proper Bollywood mix! You fail to understand the importance of the Half-Blood Prince until the very last chapters of the book, wherein the identity of the person is revealed. And, of course, another big mystery is the identity of the person who dies at the end. All in all a good read, I would say.

Warning: You may not want to read further if you have not read the sixth book.
Now I am waiting eagerly for the seventh book. My predictions? Well, obviously a more important role for the Order, especially Lupin. Then there is Wormtail, who is under debt to Harry. Hagrid should have a more significant role to play in protecting Harry, owing to the fact that he cannot be hexed or jinxed easily. Obviously a more active role for McGonagall, and Slughorn may stay too. I suspect the Ministry of Magic will be visited again, and St. Mungo’s too. Neville’s parents could probably be healed, or maybe Neville will die? Just a guess. And Harry will probably learn to use the illegal curses, or he will have to find a ‘legal’ way to finish Voldemort. I just hope he returns to Hogwarts. And, of course, the tangle of all those love stories will be sorted out :-). Will Harry live? Well, your guess is as good as mine!

Till next time.

"Nuggets of Wisdom" by Haristotle:
Did you know that ‘half-blood’ is a proper English term? It depicts the relationship between persons having only one common parent, as in ‘half-brother’, ‘half-sister’, etc. It is different from the term ‘step-brother’, wherein there is no blood relation between the ‘brothers’.

Words from the wise:
"Hmm… so there may have been real half-blood princes? And what about a real Harry Potter?"