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Illustrations by Mary Grandpré copyright © 2005 by Warner Bros.

HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of

and © Warner Bros. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J. K. Rowling.

All rights reserved. Published by Arthur A. Levine Books,

an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920.

SCHOLASTIC, THE LANTERN LOGO and associated logos are

trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005921149

ISBN 0-439-78454-9

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 05 06 07 08 09

Printed in the U.S.A. 23

First American edition, July 2005

Contents

ONE - The Other Minister

TWO - Spinner's End

THREE - Will and Won't

FOUR - Horace Slughorn

FIVE - An Excess of Phlegm

SIX - Draco's Detour

SEVEN - The Slug Club

EIGHT - Snape Victorious

NINE - The Half-Blood Prince

TEN - The House of Gaunt

ELEVEN - Hermione's Helping Hand

TWELVE - Silver and Opals

THIRTEEN - The Secret Riddle

FOURTEEN - Felix Felicis

FIFTEEN - The Unbreakable Vow

SIXTEEN - A Very Frosty Christmas

SEVENTEEN - A Sluggish Memory

EIGHTEEN - Birthday Surprises

NINETEEN - Elf Tails

TWENTY - Lord Voldemort's Request

TWENTY-ONE - The Unknowable Room

TWENTY-TWO - After the Burial

TWENTY-THREE - Horcruxes

TWENTY-FOUR - Sectumsempra

TWENTY-FIVE - The Seer Overheard

TWENTY-SIX - The Cave

TWENTY-SEVEN - The Lightning Struck Tower

TWENTY-EIGHT - Flight of the Prince

TWENTY-NINE - The Phoenix Lament

THIRTY - The White Tomb

The Other Minister

It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. He was waiting for a call from the President of a far distant country, and between wondering when the wretched man would telephone, and trying to suppress unpleasant memories of what had been a very long, tiring, and difficult week, there was not much space in his head for anything else. The more he attempted to focus on the print on the page before him, the more clearly the Prime Minister could see the gloating face of one of his political opponents. This particular opponent had appeared on the news that very day, not only to enumerate all the terrible things that had happened in the last week (as though anyone needed reminding) but also to explain why each and every one of them was the government’s fault.

The Prime Minister’s pulse quickened at the very thought of these accusations, for they were neither fair nor true. How on earth was his government supposed to have stopped that bridge collapsing? It was outrageous for anybody to suggest that they were not spending enough on bridges. The bridge was fewer than ten years old, and the best experts were at a loss to explain why it had snapped cleanly in two, sending a dozen cars into the watery depths of the river below. And how dare anyone suggest that it was lack of policemen that had resulted in those two very nasty and well-publicized murders? Or that the government should have somehow foreseen the freak hurricane in the West Country that had caused so much damage to both people and property? And was it his fault that one of his Junior Ministers, Herbert Chorley, had chosen this week to act so peculiarly that he was now going to be spending a lot more time with his family?

“A grim mood has gripped the country,” the opponent had concluded, barely concealing his own broad grin.

And unfortunately, this was perfectly true. The Prime Minister felt it himself; people really did seem more miserable than usual. Even the weather was dismal; all this chilly mist in the middle