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''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series, written by British author J. K. Rowling. Set during protagonist Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores the past of Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, and Harry's preparations for the final battle against Voldemort alongside his headmaster and mentor Albus Dumbledore. The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic on 16 July 2005, as well as in several other countries. It sold nine million copies in the first 24 hours after its release, a record at the time which was eventually broken by its sequel, ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''. There were many controversies before and after it was published, including the right to read the copies delivered prior to the release date in Canada. Reception to the novel was generally positive and it won several awards and honours, including the 2006 British Book of the Year award. Reviewers noted that the book took on a darker tone than its predecessors, though it did contain some humour. Some considered the main themes to be love and death, and trust and redemption. The character development of Harry and several other teenage characters was also remarked upon. The film adaptation of ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' was released 15 July 2009 by Warner Bros. ==Plot== Severus Snape, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, meets with Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, who expresses concern that her son might not survive a dangerous mission given to him by Lord Voldemort. He makes an Unbreakable Vow with her to protect and assist Draco in his mission. Dumbledore takes Harry to the home of Horace Slughorn, former Potions teacher at Hogwarts, and persuades him to return to teach. Harry is taken to the Burrow, where Hermione has already arrived. The next morning they get their O.W.L. results, and school supplies lists. Later, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger follow Draco to Dark Arts supplier Borgin and Burkes. Harry is instantly suspicious of Draco, whom he believes to be a Death Eater. The students return to school, where Dumbledore announces that Snape would be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts this year, while Slughorn would resume his post as Potions teacher. Harry now excels in Potions, thanks to having received a used Potions textbook that once belonged to someone named "The Half-Blood Prince", who wrote numerous tips and spells in his Potions textbook. The "Half-Blood Prince's tips help Harry win a bottle of Felix Felicis, or lucky potion, from his lessons. However, Harry's newfound brilliance in potions angers Hermione and causes much tension between the two. Believing that Harry needs to learn Voldemort's past to gain advantage in a foretold battle, Dumbledore schedules regular meetings with Harry, in which they use Dumbledore's Pensieve to look at memories of those who have had direct contact with Voldemort. Harry learns about Voldemort's family and his evolution into a murderer obsessed not only with power, but with gaining eternal life. Using his Felix Felicis, Harry eventually succeeds in retrieving one of Slughorn's memories about how he revealed the secrets about splitting one's soul and hiding it in several objects called Horcruxes, granting Voldemort immortality. Dumbledore explains that in order to grant him mortality, all the horcruxes must be destroyed. Two Horcruxes, including Riddle's Diary from ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,'' have already been destroyed but four others remain. The love lives of the main characters come into play during the year. Ron and Hermione grow closer together, but after learning from his sister Ginny that Hermione had previously kissed Viktor Krum, Ron shuns her. Harry's attempts to repair things between the two fail, resulting in Ron going out with Lavender Brown to make Hermione jealous. Ron and Hermione later reconcile after Ron is nearly killed in an attempt on Dumbledore's life. Harry meanwhile falls in love with Ginny, but he is reluctant to enter a relationship with her for most of the year because of his friendship with Ron. He does enter in a relationship with her though, with the permission of Ron. Later in the year, Harry and Dumbledore journey to a cave to retrieve a Horcrux. They reach the basin where the Horcrux is hidden underneath a potion. Dumbledore drinks the potion and is severely weakened by the potion as Harry fights off Voldemort's Inferi. They take the Horcrux, Slytherin's locket, and return to find that the Dark Mark has been placed over Hogwarts in their absence. Dumbledore uses his magic to freeze Harry in place while Harry remains hidden by his cloak of invisibility. When Draco arrives, he disarms and threatens to kill Dumbledore, acting on his mission from Voldemort. Dumbledore tries to stall Draco, who is unable to go through with it, but Snape arrives and kills Dumbledore. Because of Dumbledore's death, his spell on Harry is broken, and Harry rushes after Snape to avenge Dumbledore. Snape reveals that he is the Half-Blood Prince and escapes with the other Death Eaters who had infiltrated the school. Later, Harry finds out that the locket is not the real Horcrux, containing only a note from someone named "R. A. B". After Dumbledore's funeral, Harry breaks up with Ginny, saying it is too dangerous for their relationship to continue. Harry is so devastated by Dumbledore's death, he decides to tell his friends he will not be returning to Hogwarts next year and will instead search out and kill Voldemort by destroying all of the Horcruxes. Ron and Hermione vow to join him in destroying Lord Voldemort for good. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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