Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter One:
The Other Minister

Notes by Steve Vander Ark and Michele L. Worley
Synopsis and links by John Kearns

U.S. hardcover edition: pages 1 - 18
U.K. hardcover edition: pages 7 - 24
Timeframe: An evening in late June or early July, 1996 [Y16]

In which the Muggle Prime Minister recounts his encounters with Cornelius Fudge, Fudge visits him again with Scrimgeour, and we learn that Scrimgeour is the new Minister for Magic. We also hear of the wizarding world's open war with Voldemort - dozens of Muggles have been killed along with Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance, the Dementors and giants have joined Voldemort, and the Ministry is struggling to fight.

Interesting facts andnotes about the text of this chapter:

Still to come....

Characters introduced in this chapter:

• Scrimgeour, Rufus (briefly mentioned in OP but this is his first appearance)

• (unnamed) Muggle Prime Minister

• (unnamed) messenger in the picture frame in the Prime Minister's office

Characters returning in this chapter:

• Fudge, Cornelius

Characters mentioned in this chapter:

• Black, Sirius

• Bones, Amelia

• Chorley, Herbert and his family

• Dumbledore, Albus

• Merlin

• Riddle, Tom Marvolo (as Lord Voldemort, You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named)

• Potter, Harry

• Roberts family

• Shacklebolt, Kingsley

• Vance, Emmeline

• (unnamed) President of a far distant country

• (unnamed) the Prime Minister's political opponent

• (unnamed) the Prime Minister's predecessor

• (unnamed) several carpenters, a builder or two, an art historian, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer who tried to remove the portrait from the Prime Minister's wall

• (unnamed) the Prime Minister's niece

• (unnamed) eyewitnesses to Sirius's guilt

• (unnamed) team of Healers from St. Mungo's

Settings and locations introduced or returning in this chapter:

• Prime Minister's office, London

Settings and locations mentioned in this chapter:

• Azkaban

• Brockdale Bridge

• Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

• North Sea

• Somerset

• St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

• the West Country

• a far distant country

Exceptional character moments:

• Still to come....

Spells:

• Apparition

• Conjured items: Fudge conjures two glasses of whiskey

• Imperius Curse

• Memory Charm

• Permanent Sticking Charm (not mentioned by name but used on the portrait in the Prime Minister's office)

• Transfiguration: Fudge turns the Prime Minister's teacup into a gerbil

• (unnamed) nonverbal spells Scrimgeour uses to lock the door and close the curtains

Links and Resources:

• Aurors

• Bestiary

  • dementor

  • dragon

  • giant

  • sphinx

• Death Eaters

• Floo Network

• Minister for Magic

• Ministry of Magic

• Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

• Muggle Liaison Office

• Office of Misinformation

Memorable lines:

• The idea of invisible creatures swooping through the towns and countryside, spreading despair and hopelessness in his voters, made him feel quite faint.

• "My dear Prime Minister, you can't honestly think I'm still Minister for Magic after all this? I was sacked three days ago! The whole Wizarding community has been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I've never known them so united in my whole term of office!"

• "The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister."

Strictly British:

• Axminster

• bad job

• bowler hat

• Chancellor of the Exchequer

• Opposition

• Prime Minister

• sacked

Timelines/Calendar:

The entire chapter takes place in one evening, though we aren't given much indication of when this evening might be, or how it relates to the dates of the following chapters. All we do know is that it's at the end of a 'long week' for Fudge and the Prime Minister, that it happens sometime while Harry is at Privet Drive (so late June or early July), and that it's been three days since Scrimgeour has become the new Minister for Magic.