Differences Between the UK and US Editions of HBP

Editors: Edward Olson and Michele L. Worley

This page indicates all the differences found between the US and UK versions of the text of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Some differences appear in all the books (e.g. Minister of Magic/Minister for Magic) and these are listed on a separate page. If you spot a difference that we didn’t note, please email us.

pp.	U.K. Edition	U.S. Edition	pp.
7	a far-distant country	a far distant country	1
7	The bridge was less than ten years old	The bridge was fewer than ten years old	2
8	And how dared anyone suggest that it was lack of policemen	And how dare anyone suggest that it was lack of policemen	2
8	moved over to the windows	moved over to the window	2
9	a small and dirty oil-painting	a small, dirty oil painting	3
9	striding forwards with his hand outstretched	striding forward with his hand outstretched	3
10	gesturing towards the hardest of the chairs	gesturing toward the hardest of the chairs	4
11	how he had felt	how he felt	5
11	throw me out of the window	throw me out the window	6
13	Prime Minister had rather resented	Prime Minister rather resented	8
14	Fudge had pulled out his wand, conjured two large glasses full of amber liquid out of thin air, pushed one of them into the Prime Minister’s hand and drawn up a chair. Fudge had talked for over an hour	Fudge pulled out his wand, conjured two large glasses full of amber liquid out of thin air, pushed one of them into the Prime Minister’s hand and drew up a chair. Fudge talked for more than an hour	8
15	Minister had been able to shout	Minister could shout	9
18	grand effect. The Office	grand effect,” he said. “The office	13
23	A team of healers […] is examining	A team of healers […] are examining	18
19	they are. Killed in a room	they are,” he said. “Killed in a room	14
21	round	around	15
26	woman called Narcissa	woman named Narcissa	20
27	street called Spinner’s End	street named Spinner’s End	21
23	he had toothache	he had a toothache	18
28	as though it were not usually inhabited	as though it was not usually inhabited	22
31	Philosopher’s Stone	Sorcerer’s Stone	25
37	Snape had got to his feet	Snape had gotten to his feet	32
29	as though it were encased	as though it was encased	34
45	4. Agree security questions	4. Agree on security questions	42
45	use of Polyjuice Potion	use of the Polyjuice Potion	42
47	as though the sudden darkness was an	as though the sudden darkness were an	44
48	your agapanthuses	your agapanthus	46
51	scared looks at each other	scared looks at one another	48
54	shagpile carpet	shag carpet	51
56	Colour-Change Ink	color-change ink [no capitalization]	54
57	in other words, the moment he	in other words, at the moment he	56
59	conversation with his headmaster	conversation with the headmaster	57
59	not to mention doing his best	not to mention done his best	57
59	outside Hogwarts	outside of Hogwarts	57
66	furniture flew back to its original place	furniture flew back to it original places	65
67	Humph	Hmpf	66
68	so short that they did not	so short they did not	66
70	Dumbledore crossed the room	Dumbledore strode from the room	69
70	then strode to the fire	then crossed to the fire	69
73	He Who Must Not Be Named	He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named	72
73	He Who Must Not Be Named	He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named	73
74	watched Dumbledore fastening his travelling cloak and Harry zipping up his jacket	watched Dumbledore fasten his travelling cloak and Harry zip up his jacket	73
75	spider, spinning a web around him	spider, spinning a web around it	75
80	onwards	onward	79
81	nervous voice that he recognized	nervous voice he recognized	81
85	everybody’s in mortal peril	everybody’s in mortal danger	85
88	something hard in the pillow-case [Note: hyphen in pillow-case at line break]	something hard inside the pillowcase	88
91	avoiding each other’s gaze	avoiding one another’s gaze	92
96	sunlight streaming on to his lap	sunlight streaming into his lap	97
96	gazed at each other	gazed at one another	98
98	part of the previous night’s conversation	part of last night’s conversation	99
100	[OWL table of pass/fail grades in camel-case]	[OWL table of pass/fail grades in upper-case]	102
100	[OWL results: subject name followed by colon, no separator lines]	[OWL results: no colons, separator lines between subjects]	102
101	“Exceeds Expectations” in Defence	‘Exceeds Expectations’ at Defence	103
101	‘Outstanding’ in Defence	“Outstanding” at Defence	103
101	top in Defence	top at Defence	103
102	heard the prophecy a month ago	heard the prophecy a few weeks ago	104
108	Amulets: Effective Against Werewolves, Dementors and Inferi [no line break, set in italics]	Amulets Effective Against Werewolves, Dementors, and Inferi [set in a different typeface]	110
109	Madam Malkin said	Madam Malkin, the owner, said	112
112	further	farther	115
112	Ron and Harry’s new robes	Ron’s and Harry’s new robes	115
113	Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You SHOULD Be Worrying About U-NO-POO – the Constipation Sensation That’s Gripping the Nation! [set in camel-case and italics]	WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW WHO? YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO – THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION THAT’S GRIPPING THE NATION! [set in uppercase and a different typeface]	116
114	around the head and neck; boxes of	around the head and neck, and boxes of	117
114	pairs of pants	pairs of briefs	117
114	Reusable Hangman – Spell It Or He’ll Swing!	REUSABLE HANGMAN – SPELL IT OR HE’LL SWING! [set in small capital letters]	117
115	through to the back	through the back	118
116	“And our Decoy Detonators are just walking off the shelves, look,” said Fred, pointing at a number of weird-looking black hooter-type objects that were indeed attempting to scurry out of sight.	“And our Decoy Detonators are just walking off the shelves, look,” said Fred, pointing at a number of weird-looking black horn-type objects that were indeed attempting to scurry out of sight.	119
117	‘Do they work?’	“Do they work?” she asked.	120
118	put it all back then	put it back then	122
120	under it nowadays	under the cloak nowadays	124
123	Borgin squinted at her	Mr. Borgin squinted at her	127
123	said Borgin coldly	said Mr. Borgin coldly	127
126	slip in it,’ smiled Harry.	slip in it.” Harry smiled.	131
126	zat Tonks,’ mused Fleur, examining	zat Tonks,” Fleur mused, examining	132
128	if he were to tell anyone, Mr Weasley would be the right person	if he was to tell anyone, Mr. Weasley was the right person	133
128	the prefect carriage	the prefects’ carriage	133
130	lost from view	lost to view	136
131	The Quibbler still going	Quibbler still going	137
133	beamed Luna, and she pushed	beamed Luna. Then she pushed	139
135	[Slughorn’s note set off in single quotes, signature in italics]	[Slughorn’s note not set off in quotation marks, signature in italics and elaborate script font]	141
135	as though he were expecting	as though he was expecting	142
136	great silver moustache	great silvery mustache	142
137	greeting, and nor did Harry	greeting, nor did Harry	143
137	wire-haired youth	wiry-haired youth	143
139	as though he were a particularly	as though he was a particularly	145
140	Slughorn continued, sounding	Slughorn said, sounding	147
142	upwards	upward	149
146-147	His eyes lingered for a moment upon Harry’s trainers. ‘That was you blocking the door when Zabini came back in, I suppose?’ He considered Harry for a moment. ‘You didn’t hear	His eyes lingered for a moment upon Harry’s trainers. “You didn’t hear	153
149	on Harry to his fellow Slytherins	on Harry to Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson.	156
149	where he would be recounting his attack	where he could be recounting his attack	156
149	and the train began	and they began	157
149	corridor. Tonks pulled open	corridor. She pulled open	157
149	momentum. Harry followed her	momentum. He followed her	157
152	backwards	backward	160
154	swung open on to the vast	swung open into the vast	162
159	mention of his name, merely raised	mention of his name; he merely raised	167
160	your own and each other’s safety	your own and other’s safety	168
163	miniscule first-year as they joined	miniscule first-year boy as they joined	171
164	ducked under Hermione’s arm	ducked under her arm	172
165	timetables	class schedules	173
165	Humph	Hmph	174
166	timetable	schedule	174
167	apart from half a dozen seventh-years	apart from a half dozen seventh years	175
167	from the fourth-year. It zoomed	from the fourth-year student. It zoomed	176
169	again, the class watched him	again, the class watched him	178
172	the Beaters on the previous year’s	the Beaters on last year’s	180
174	who grinned lazily back	who grinned back lazily	183
177	made a ‘shush’ing gesture	made a “shhing” gesture	186
178	There was a silence	There was silence	188
185	‘Acid Pops,’ said Harry. The gargoyle	“Acid Pops,” said Harry, and the gargoyle	196
186	to do with him that evening	to do with him this evening	196
207	see the marks where that evil	see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil	219
211	The second group comprised ten	The second group was comprised of ten	224
212	broad-chested third-year who had	broad-chested third-year boy who had	225
214	grinned around at the team	grinned at the team	226
215	flowery pinny	flowery apron	228
216	timetables	schedules	229
217	spider, Aragog, that dwelled	spider, Aragog, who dwelled	230
217	suckers and stings	suckers and stingers	230
218	when we were there in the summer	when we were there last summer	231
219	was Confunded. And he was	was Confunded this morning. And he was	232
225	bed again!’ grinned Ron, helping	bed again!” Ron grinned, helping	240
229	furry hat and overcoat	furry hat and an overcoat	243
229	display of Cockroach Cluster.	display of Cockroach Clusters.	244
231	who was turning slowly purple	who was slowly turning purple	246
232	She watched them through the door	She watched them go through the door	246
234	as though she were about to fly	as though she was about to fly	248
235	trying to quieten her	trying to quiet her	250
245	mass of memory whence he had come	mass of memory from when he had come	261
249	drained her own glass in one.	drained her own glass in one gulp.	265
251	She looked at Dumbledore again	She looked around at Dumbledore again	268
255	possessions must have been in there	possessions must be in there	272
263	Ron, meanwhile, who was	Meanwhile, Ron, who was	281
263	try getting off with McLaggen	try hooking up with McLaggen	282
264	hit the bowl and it shattered	hit the bowl and shattered it	282
264	I got off with McLaggen	I hooked up with McLaggen	282
264	sitting there with the pair	sitting here with the pair	282
268	kissing fiercely as if glued	kissing fiercely as though glued	286
271	older-brotherly	elder-brotherly	289
274	drained it in one	drained it in one gulp	293
275	Harry smiled vaguely back	Harry smiled back vaguely	294
279	said Harry, now grinning broadly	said Harry, grinning broadly	299
281	just in time to see the portrait hole closing	just as the portrait hole was closing	301
281	look like surfacing soon	look like he would be surfacing soon	301
285	Charms the following morning	Charms next morning	304
288	book that’s been written in!	book that’s been written on!	308
290	greater than Ron’s just then	greater than Ron’s just now	310
294	a certain amount of giggling from	a certain amount of giggles from	314
294	set of […] robes that was attracting	set of […] robes that were attracting	314
295	was a small, bespectacled man	was a small, stout, bespectacled man	315
299	first lesson, The Draught of Living Death	first lesson, Draught of Living Death	319
299	what I’d like to be,’ said Harry defiantly.	what I’d like to do,” said Harry defiantly.	320
299	working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic using	working to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using	320
301	room . but Harry pressed his ear	room … Harry pressed his ear	322
303	reliance on assistants	reliance in assistants	324
306	Fred, who turned it into a paper aeroplane	Fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane	327
306	sprouts knife at	sprout knife at	327
309	large wooden wireless.	large wooden wireless set.	330
317	package which came	package that came	339
320	checked on her name	checked her name	342
321	garden and then Percy	garden, and Percy	343
322	at him, so pretended	at him so he pretended	344
322	out of the corner of his eyes	out of the corner of his eye	344
325	to check people really are	to check that people really are	346
331	before 31st August	before the 31st August next	354
331	they had a great nerve asking	they had a great deal of nerve asking	354
332	as though he were a gorilla	as though he was a gorilla	355
333	object of that day’s Charms lesson	object of today’s Charms lesson	355
333	Dumbledore’s hands lay either side of it	Dumbledore’s hands lay on either side of it	356
345	did memories go off?	did memories go bad?	368
346	Harry recognized Riddle at once.	Harry recognized Voldemort at once.	369
346	retiring?’ Riddle asked.	retiring?” he asked.	369
347	Riddle, however, stayed behind.	Voldemort, however, stayed behind.	370
347	except that Riddle had asked	except that Voldemort had asked	371
347	see Slughorn or Riddle at all	see Slughorn or Voldemort at all	371
352	He glanced at Ron	He glanced around at Ron	376
354	‘You’ve got a nerve, boy!’	“You’ve got nerve, boy!”	378
356	memory,’ said Slughorn. ‘Well? Hasn’t he?’	memory. Well? Hasn’t he?”	379
358	Apparition test in this time	Apparition Tests in this time	382
358	Heads of House	Heads of Houses	382
360	face the front.	face the front again.	384
361	concentrate continually upon	concentrate continuously upon	385
361	lost his balance	lost balance	385
362	back to Gryffindor Tower	back to the Gryffindor Tower	386
366	impractical idea; he had lessons	impractical idea; Harry had lessons	391
375	recounted what felt like	recounted, it felt like	400
379	brain like his,’ said Hagrid staunchly.	brain like his,” said Hagrid.	404
380	Heads o’ House	Heads o’ Houses	406
381	Hagrid and Filch’s raised voices	Hagrid’s and Filch’s raised voices	406
381	not pleased to be awoken	not pleased to be woken	407
383	he had been in the Potion master’s room at the time	he had been in the Potions master’s room at the time	408
383	and that now Harry was	and that now that Harry was	409
386	changing room	changing rooms	412
387	dirty-blonde hair, or the necklace	dirty-blonde hair, nor the necklace	414
391	only just arrived in time for the match	only just arrive on time for the match	417
393	continued to try to kick	continued to try and kick	420
396	corridor which was deserted	corridor that was deserted	423
396	turned into a seventh-floor	turned onto a seventh-floor	423
398	up to that point	up to this point	426
400	my staff problems	my staffing problems	427
402	from him,’ Harry said earnestly	from him,” he said earnestly.	431
403	the Special Award for Services to	the Award for Special Services to	431
406	many flourishing pot plants in brass containers	many flourishing potted plants in brass containers	434
409	scarlet at her words	scarlet at the words	437
409	was back on its red velvet cushion	was back in its red velvet cushion	437
414	and who has twice, I think	and who have twice, I think	442
414	why you – who is so often asked	why you – who are so often asked	442
419	the only other people still up were	the only other people awake were	448
421	Fred and George’s Spell-Checking ones	Fred and George’s Spell-Check ones	449
422	ink all over his essay	ink all over his freshly completed essay	450
430	in the Prophet about	in the paper about	459
430	open your books at page	open your books to page	459
430	organising its things	organizing their things	459
432	seemed merely to irritate	seemed to merely irritate	461
434	Harry pulled out the Marauder’s Map	Harry pulled the Marauder’s Map	463
434	wished Ron and Hermione luck	wished Ron and Hermione both luck	463
440	narrow, slanting writing	narrow, slanted writing	470
444	smugness, or excitement, or superiority	smugness, excitement, or superiority	474
444	wonderful,’ said Slughorn clapping his hands together an hour and a half later, as	wonderful,” said Slughorn an hour and a half later, clapping his hands together as	475
445	‘Yeah, I s’pose I’d better,’ said Harry. ‘I don’t reckon I’ll need all of it, not twelve hours’ worth, it can’t take all night…I’ll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it.’	‘Yeah, I s’pose I’d better,’ said Harry. ‘I don’t reckon I’ll need all of it, not twenty-four hours’ worth, it can’t take all night…I’ll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it.’	476
446	smiling, brimful of confidence	smiting, brimming with confidence	477
449	there were Acromantula in the Forest	there were acromantulas in the forest	480
450	but if there were any way	but if there was any way	481
450	the beast has only just died	the beast only just died	481
451	face to face with the Acromantula	face-to-face with the acromantulas	482
451	stopped them eating Hagrid	stopped them from eating Hagrid	482
452	said Hagrid in a shaky voice	said Hagrid in a shaking voice	483
452	through the trees and its rays	through the trees now, and its rays	483
454	Pekinese	Pekingese	486
456	Slughorn sang plaintively: ‘And Odo the hero, they bore him back home To the place that he’d known as a lad, They laid him to rest with his hat inside out	And Odo the hero, they bore him back home To the place that he’d known as a lad, sang Slughorn plaintively. They laid him to rest with his hat inside out	488
458	Harry leant	Harry leaned	490
462	much younger Horace Slughorn	much younger Slughorn	494
462	the half a dozen teenage boys	the half-dozen teenage boys	494
469	maintain his immortality	maintain their immortality	502
469	transformation he had undergone	transformation he has undergone	502
471	as you now know, I have made it my business for many years to	as you now know, for many years I have made it my business to	504
471	But Lord Voldemort use	But would Lord Voldemort use	504
471	what I have shown you	what I have showed you	504
475	discredit Arthur, have me thrown out of Hogwarts and get rid of a highly incriminating object in one stroke	discredit Arthur and get rid of a highly incriminating magical object in one stroke	508
475	if he is secretly glad	if he is not secretly glad	508
475	his magical power remain	his magical powers remain	509
479	Harry, but he was in	Harry, but then, he was in	511
486	known his team fly better	known his team to fly better	520
487	he was often unable	he was unable	521
487	inside the Room, he	inside the Room of Requirement, he	521
488	He couldn’t hear anything.	He could not hear anything.	521
488	lest Filch should turn up	lest Filch turn up	521
488	Harry slipped over as Malfoy	Harry slipped as Malfoy	522
492	large cupboard which seemed	large cupboard that seemed	526
493	gazing around at the clutter	gazing around at all the clutter	527
493	he stood it on the cupboard	he stood it on top of the cupboard	527
496	however, though he knew he little deserved	however, little though he knew he deserved	530-531
499	triumph, Harry grinned down	triumph, he grinned down	534
501	forced to revise for hours	forced to study for hours	536
503	One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi	A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi	539
508	in my room at the inn.	in my room.	544
512	as though he were fighting	as though he was fighting	548
516	fetch your Cloak	fetch your Invisibility Cloak	551
516	“What does Dumbledore want?”	“What does he want?”	551
516	‘I haven’t got much time,’ Harry panted	“I’ve got to be quick,” Harry panted	551
515	into Hermione’s hand	into Hermione’s hands	552
516	through the portrait hole towards	through the portrait hole and toward	553
519	cliff stood behind, a sheer drop	cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop	555
520	niches that made footholds led down to	niches made footholds leading down	556
522	he pointed his wand	he now pointed his wand	558
524	suggestion, but much keener	suggestion. But he was much keener	561
528	as though an invisible rope were pulling it	as though an invisible rope was pulling it	565
530	given Ron and Hermione the Felix Felicis	given Ron and Hermione Felix Felicis	567
532	not want immediately to kill	not want to immediately kill	569
534	as though he were deeply asleep	as though he was deeply asleep	571
534	three gobletfuls of the potion	three goblesful of the potion	571
536	glass; Harry was	glass; then Harry was	573
538	struggling to cling on to the smooth	struggling to cling to the smooth	575
540	extreme pallor and his air of exhaustion	extreme pallor and by his air of exhaustion	577
544	flying behind him in the night air	flying behind him on the night air	582
544	broom shudder for a moment when	broom shudder when	583
544	so that they could enter at speed	so they could enter at speed	583
545	who gestured to him to retreat	who gestured him to retreat	584
546	some of your guard.	some of your guards.	585
548	… there is a pair, I take it?’ ‘The other’s in Borgin and Burkes,’ said Malfoy	… there is a pair I take it?” “In Borgin and Burkes,” said Malfoy	587
552-553	‘Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban…when the time comes, we can protect him too… come over to the right side, Draco…you are not a killer…’	“He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me — forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother — it is what they would do themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban…when the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco…you are not a killer…”	591 – 592
552	he was suddenly as white as Dumbledore	he was suddenly white as Dumbledore	591
554	‘That’s right,’ said Greyback	“That’s right,” said Fenrir Greyback	593
554	Fenrir Greyback grinned, showing pointed	Greyback grinned, showing pointed	593
554	He was not looking at Greyback; he	He was not looking at Fenrir; he	593
555	‘I’ll do it,’ snarled Greyback, moving	“I’ll do it,” snarled Fenrir, moving	595
558	Harry felt Greyback collapse	Harry felt Fenrir collapse	598
558	him; it was the werewolf, Greyback.	him. It was the werewolf, Fenrir.	598
558	one of the fighters detached themself	one of the fighters detached themselves	598
559	right behind her. Harry launched	right behind her. He launched	599
559	bloody footprint which showed	bloody footprint that showed	600
560	brother and sister Death Eaters running	brother and sister running	600
560	he leapt over the wreckage	he leapt the wreckage	600
560	suit of armour which exploded	suit of armor that exploded	600
561	revealed suddenly from behind clouds	revealed suddenly behind clouds	602
563	somewhere above him Snape was	somewhere overhead Snape was	603
567	last half an hour	last half hour	608
568	beside him. Harry had known	beside him. He had known	608
568	force with which it had hit the ground	force with which it hit the ground	609
571	‘Neville’s in the hospital wing, but Madam Pomfrey thinks he’ll make a full recovery, and Professor Flitwick was knocked out, but he’s all right, just a bit shaky. He insisted on going off to look after the Ravenclaws.	“Neville and Professor Flitwick are both hurt, but Madam Pomfrey says they’ll be all right.	612
571	a Killing Curse the huge blond one	a Killing Curse that huge blond one	612
574-575	sorry that they were dead.’ ‘And Dumbledore believed that?’	sorry that they were dead.” They all stared at him. “And Dumbledore believed that?”	616
575	She looked disorientated	She looked disoriented	616
577	Ron had taken the Marauder’s Map	Ron had taken the map	619
578	said Harry, who in his mind’s eye was watching Snape running up the marble staircase,	said Harry, who was watching Snape running up the marble staircase in his mind’s eye,	619-620
578	afterwards	afterward	620
578	up the stairs to the Tower … then	up the stairs … then	620
580	might be like when he wakes up …’	might be like when he awakens. . . .”	622
581	Ron looked as stunned as Harry felt	Ron looked as stunned as he felt	623
586	governors, who will take the final decision	governors, who will make the final decision	629
588	‘Is it really true?	“It is really true?	630
590	Entrance Hall which was resolved	Entrance Hall that was resolved	633
591	what he knew it was right to do	what he knew was right to do	634
594	looking out of the window	looking out the window	637
595	laid to rest. Harry had never	laid to rest. He had never	639
595	real to him once the funeral was over	real to him once it was over	639
597	Leaky Cauldron	Leaky Cauldron in London	641
597	recognize, but there were a few that he did, including	recognize, but a few he did, including	641
598	insubstantially in the gleaming air	insubstantially on the gleaming air	641
598	Fudge walked past them towards	Fudge walked past toward	642
598	They alone of all the DA had	Neville and Luna alone of the D.A. had	642
598	The staff were seated at last	The staff was seated at last	642
599	into both Ginny and Hermione’s laps	into both Ginny’s and Hermione’s laps	643
602	as though the sunlight was blinding them	as though the sunlight were blinding them	646
604	favourite ever pupil.	favorite pupil ever.	648

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Editor: Steve VanderArk