Dumbledore visits Harry at the Dursleys’ residence and takes him on a mission to persuade Horace Slughorn to begin teaching
at Hogwarts. Harry encounters Draco Malfoy in Diagon Alley and suspects him to be up to something. Returning to Hogwarts for their sixth year, Harry and his friends find that Slughorn is appointed as the Potions master whereas Snape finally gets the Defence Against the Dark Arts post. Harry comes upon an old book, belonging to the “Half-blood
prince”, which helps him to become terrific at potions and an instant favourite of Slughorn. Apart from the responsibility of being Quidditch Captain, keeping the peace between Ron and Hermione, and coping with his feelings for Ginny Weasley, Harry also has private lessons with Dumbledore where they delve into people’s memories to try and learn as much as possible about Voldemort’s past and his rise to power, which will aid them in their fight against him. They discover that Voldemort, in his quest for immortality, had split his soul into seven parts and concealed each of them in objects known as Horcruxes. Any person wishing to destroy him has to first get rid of his Horcruxes. Meanwhile, there are attacks on students, including Ron Weasley. Who is behind them and where does Malfoy go when he cannot be found on the Marauder’s Map? These questions are answered in the action-packed climax. Harry finds out that he is already familiar with the half-blood prince. The
Death Eaters finally get inside Hogwarts and there is a fierce combat followed by the death of Harry’s greatest protector.
In the sixth and darkest book of the series, Rowling brews up a concoction of suspense, adventure and thrills. The pace is set for a fantastic finale in the seventh book