The title has been announced!!!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

According to Rowling's official website (http://www.jkrowling.com) this was originally a possible title for Chamber of Secrets!

Furthermore, she says
"...'Chamber' holds some very important clues to the ultimate end of the series"

What do we think people?

Rach55

I am just as delighted of the release of the title, even though we have to wait for it.
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The only connection I can think of, linking book 2 to book 6, is when Draco called Hermione a "Mudblood" which means a half blood, half Muggle. Any more ideas?

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The half blood prince must refer to Tom Marvolo Riddle.
he is a mudblood.

I can't believe that no one mentioned this yet
it's so obvious.

oh, and does everyone know who Tom is?

Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort - it was his name at School before he became Lord Voldemort. and JK Rowling has already said that the Half Blood Prince is neither Harry nor Voldemort.

I was wondering about it being Neville but I think he is pure blood isnt he? or what about Viktor Krum?

As for the clues in book 2 - I think it would be to do with the fight Harry had with , Riddle where he was able to pull out the sword , due to being a Griffindor, and maybe to do with family matters - like the protection Harrys mother left him when she died.

yes, I just surfed over to the Rowling website and confirmed that
right after I made that previous statement
that was my original thought...the Voldemort thing

The Longbottoms were both Aurors before being driven mad by Bellatrix
so, I would say yes, Neville is a pure blood

I don't know about Krum's past
as for the protections...Voldemort can touch Harry now without being burned
so I'm not sure what happened to that.
and it really wasn't a spell...it was Lily's love for her son
that protected Harry

**** SPOILER for book 5*****

Dumbledore mentions that Neville is pure blood. In book 5 when he's discussing the prophecy he commented that Voldemort effectively chose his opponent when he marked Harry and that it was funny that he chose the half-blood over the full-blood.

And Harry still has power against Voldemort, even after the love protection from his mother was removed. In the 5th book, when Voldemort tries to possess Harry, Harry thinks about Sirius. Voldemort can't stand to be in Harry's body, not because of the protection Lily gave him, but because of his ability to feel such intense emotion. It's a power that Voldemort can't understand. Dumbledore says that it was his heart that saved him.

Question, does anyone know for certain whether Dumbledore is full-blood?

Also, I present to you Professor Remus Lupin, whom Mistress Black (the portrait) is continuously calling "Half-blood".

Ooooooh!! It could be Hagrid

I dont think we know anything much about Dumbledore and his background. But he does have a brother who has been mentioned in passing a couple of times.
Maybe there will be some developments on that score?

I like the idea of it being connected to Dumbledore or his brother.

Its the word prince in the title that intrigues me most. It gives the impression of some kind of ruling class but up to now there hasnt been any suggestion that there is such a thing in the wizarding world has there?

Also - there is no reason to assume that this Half-Blood prince will be a "goodie" is there? It was suggested to me that maybe Voldemort has a child... he would be exactly the type to refer to his on as a Prince...

Voldemort having a child...
It's a possibility. It would also mean the line of Slytherin would live on.
But I don't know if that really fits the Voldemort bill. He wants immortality, which would mean he wouldn't need any offspring. He also strikes me as the kind that would consider a son as a threat rather than a blessing.

Its true that if he has immortality then he wouldnt need children to carry on his line. But maybe he farthered a child earlier in his life before he got obsessed with immortality. After all we know that when he left school he travelled a lot - we dont know what happened to him in that time before the re-emerged as Lord Voldemort.

Just a theory ! I expect I am wrong but its fun to speculate...

I like that idea of HBP being Lord Voldemort's son

I look forward to this book a lot. I doubt Harry is Voldemort's son. I think the book makes it clear who his parents are. It is, however, also obvious that there is some form of connection between Voldemort and Harry. I can't wait to read it!

Oh wait, I think I may have mis-read this. Does HBP mean Half Blood Prince? I was thinking it was a typo for HP, or Harry Potter.

Here is a fun site I like to visit to theorize on all things HP:

Harry Potter

Some of the suggestions have included the idea that Petunia and Lily have a brother, and Harry a cousin?

Wasn't Harry sent to live with the Dursleys because they were the only family he had left and he had have the protection of living with his own family? how would that work if he had another Uncle?

At the beginning of book 5 Harry mentions that Dudley beat up a kid named Mark Evans. Later on in the book, Harry discovers that his mothers maiden name is Evans.
On JK Rowlings website there's a poll in the FAQ section where we get to vote for the question we most want to know the answer to. Right now "What is the significance, if any, of Mark Evans" is winning...
Supposedly she'll answer the question with the most votes.

I like this rumour a LOT, maybe, just perhaps, Mark Evans could be the HBP

Just when we think we're onto something.

The FAQ poll has been answered. Actually you should read it, it's quite funny the way she answers it.

Mark Evans is a nobody. A background person who was accidentally given the name Evans. Apparently it wasn't until we started theorising about it that she realised what she'd done.

So we're back where we started. AGAIN

Check the rumours page of the website. She pretty clearly states that Harrys parents are James and Lily Potter and that Harry is of no relationship to Voldemort.

I unfortunately don't have the book available to me at the moment, but isn't one of Harry's housemates revealed as half wizardly blood in book one? I seem to remember someone (Seamus?) saying that it was a nasty shock when his dad found out his mum was a witch.

One other thing to throw in...on her website Rowling writes some background on Dean Thomas that says she originally wanted to reveal in Chamber of Secrets that Dean was a half-blood whose father was a wizard killed by death eaters.

Shame about Mark Evans, I was convinced I was onto something! But it is going to be really interesting to keep on guessing!