Monday 9th July – 12 days

Monday 9th July – 12 days
Chapter 9: The Half-Blood Prince
In this chapter... Professor McGonagall tells Harry that he will still be able to take Potions. Professor Slughorn accepts pupils with lower O.W.L.’s. Ron is also accepted too. The Trio have their first Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Snape. They are learning non-verbal spells. Harry isn't surprised when he gets into an argument with Snape and lands himself in detention. Harry also gets a note from Professor Dumbledore – his first private lesson with him will be on Saturday evening.
The first Potions class with Professor Slughorn is extremely interesting. Harry and Ron borrow Potion ingredients and the set textbook from Professor Slughorn. Their first test is to create the Draught of Living Death. Whoever does the best potion will win a tiny bottle of Felix Felicis potion. Felix Felicis makes you have a lucky day, everything will go right for you. Harry looks more closely at his textbook. With the instructions of how to make the potion, the previous owner wrote their own instructions in the margins. Harry decides to follow the handwritten ones – they work much better than the textbook instructions. Harry wins Felix Felicis. Hermione is annoyed that Harry cheated. And Ginny is not impressed that Harry is following orders from a book – it is like the diary, four years previously. Harry learns that the book once belonged to someone called the Half-Blood Prince.

“Do you remember me telling you we are practising non-verbal spells, Potter?” “Yes,” said Harry stiffly.
“Yes sir.”
“There’s no need to call me “sir”, Professor.”

What does Professor Slughorn ask his class to make in his first lesson? Draught of Living Death

Chapter 10: The House of Gaunt
In this chapter... Harry continues following the Half-Blood Prince's instructions over the book's instructions and becomes the star of the Potions class, much to Hermione's disgust. Harry goes to his first private lesson with Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore tells Harry that they are going to learn about Lord Voldemort’s past. Harry goes into the Pensieve with Professor Dumbledore, into a Bob Ogden’s memory. Ogden used to work in the Ministry – Harry and Professor Dumbledore see him going to see a family, called Gaunt. The Gaunt home is nothing more than a hut.
Ogden informs Morfin Gaunt that he is going on trial for hexing Muggles. Morfin is a Parseltongue. Harry sees Merope Gaunt, who is Morfin’s sister – who seems to do the most of the work in the home – and Marvolo Gaunt, the father to Morfin and Merope. The Gaunts are descendents of Salazar Slytherin. Professor Dumbledore tells Harry that Merope was Voldemort's mother. She enchanted a Muggle – Tom Riddle – to fall in love with her and marry her. Morfin was Voldemort’s uncle, while Marvolo (Lord Voldemort’s middle name is Marvolo) was Lord Voldemort’s grandfather. With his head swimming with tons of new information about Voldemort's past, he says goodnight and heads back to the Common Room to fill in Ron and Hermione with everything he's learned.

“Is it true?” said Gaunt in a deadly voice, advancing a step or two towards the terrified girl. “My daughter – pure-blooded descendant of Salazar Slytherin – hankering after a filthy, dirt-veined Muggle?”
Merope shut her head frantically, pressing herself into the wall, apparently unable to speak.

Harry goes to his first lesson with Professor Dumbledore. What is the password to Professor Dumbledore’s study, for his first lesson? Acid Pops