Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chapter Twelve:
Silver and Opals

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

U.S. hardcover edition: pages 237 - 257
U.K. hardcover edition: pages 223 - 241
Timeframe: a Saturday halfway through October, 1996 [Y16]

In which Harry tries one of the Half-Blood Prince's spells while reading in bed and levitates Ron by accident, argues with Hermione over the danger of the Prince, and gets word of his next lesson with Dumbledore. The trio then walks to Hogsmeade, where Slughorn corners Harry in Honeydukes and Harry sees Mundungus with things stolen from Grimmauld Place. On the way home, an Imperiused Katie Bell touches a cursed necklace and is hurt; Harry then suspects Draco and tells McGonagall this, though Ron and Hermione don't believe him.

No comments about the chapter title yet.

Interesting facts and notes about the text of this chapter:

Still to come....

Characters introduced in this chapter:

• (surname unknown) Leanne

Characters returning in this chapter:

• Bell, Katie

• Fletcher, Mundungus

• Granger, Hermione

• Hagrid, Rubeus

• McGonagall, Minerva

• Potter, Harry

• Slughorn, Horace

• Tonks, Nymphadora

• Weasley, Ginny

• Weasley, Ron

Characters mentioned in this chapter:

• Black, Sirius

• Crabbe, Vincent

• Dumbledore, Aberforth

• Dumbledore, Albus

• Fat Lady, the

• Filch, Argus

• Finnigan, Seamus

• Goyle, Gregory

• Grawp

• Longbottom, Neville

• Lupin, Remus

• Macmillan, Ernie

• Malfoy, Draco

• Malfoy, Lucius

• McLaggen, Cormac

• Pomfrey, Poppy

• Potter, James

• Riddle, Tom Marvolo (as Voldemort)

• Roberts, Mr. and family

• Rosmerta, Madam

• Snape, Severus (as the Half-Blood Prince)

• Thomas, Dean

• Weasley, Fred

• Weasley, George

• Weasley, Molly

• Zabini, Blaise

• (unnamed) Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup

• (unnamed) warlocks staring at Harry in the Three Broomsticks

Settings and locations introduced or returning in this chapter:

• Hogsmeade

  • Honeydukes

  • Three Broomsticks, the

• Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

  • Great Hall

  • Gryffindor Tower

    • common room

    • Harry's dormitory

  • McGonagall's office

Settings and locations mentioned in this chapter:

• Hogsmeade

  • Madam Puddifoot's tea shop

  • Zonko's Joke Shop

• Hogwarts hospital wing

• London

  • Borgin and Burkes

  • number twelve, Grimmauld Place

Exceptional character moments:

• Still to come....

Spells:

• Apparition

• Imperius Curse

• Langlock

• Levicorpus

• Liberacorpus

• Muffliato

• (unnamed) other spells and jinxes scribbled in the margins of Harry's copy of Advanced Potion-Making

• (unnamed) hex that causes toenails to grow alarmingly fast

Links and Resources:

• books: Advanced Potion-Making

• food and drink

  • butterbeer

  • candy

    • Cockroach Cluster

    • sugar quill

• items and devices, magical

  • necklace, opal

  • Pensieve

  • Secrecy Sensor

• Order of the Phoenix

Memorable lines:

• He did not usually lie in bed reading his textbooks; that sort of behavior, as Ron rightly said, was indecent in anybody except Hermione, who was simply weird that way.

Strictly British:

• cheek

• nick

• prat

Timelines/Calendar:

The entire chapter takes place in one day, which we know is "halfway through October," and which is almost certainly a Saturday like all Hogsmeade days have been. The date is most likely either 12 or 19 October, but as the dates get even more difficult to determine in the next two chapters, there's no way to determine for sure.